7 Family Ministry Essentials: A Strategy for Culture Change in Children’s and Students Ministries by Michelle Anthony and Megan Marshman Book Review

My Review:   My favorite chapter would be, “The Holy Spirit Teaches” because this one discussed the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit and His ultimate guidance. We receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and repent for our sins. The author shared countless passages about who the Holy Spirit is. In Ephesians 14, we learned He is a counselor, comforter, and teacher. In this chapter, they also covered how beneficial worshiping God truly is and the different ways people worship God. Michelle also shared in this chapter that they felt it was time to remove the video games her church allowed the children to play and instead create a worship center filled with a prayer wall. I liked how she revealed how it impacted a small boy and how he was so excited to share how much closer to God he felt. I also liked how the authors included at the end of this chapter ideas on how to create a prayer wall in your home and theses are really creative to encourage your family and church to pray for others.   I would recommend this wonderful book to anyone who is seeking a resource to improve and transform their family ministry. I strongly believe if church leaders would apply these seven principles to both their home life and their church we would dramatically reach more people for Christ and they would have a deeper relationship with their Creator. I liked how each chapter included a ministry assignment and had tons of questions to assist readers into comprehending the material. If you’re looking for an excellent book on refining your ministry and growing deeper in your walk with God, then read this book!   “I received a review copy of 7 Family Ministry Essentials from Litfuse for this review.”   About the book: 7 Family Ministry Essentials: A Strategy for Culture Change in Children's and Student Ministries (David C. Cook, June 2015) With decades of ministry experience, Michelle Anthony and Megan Marshman capture the guiding essentials of life-changing family ministry. These seven essentials for children and student leaders emphasize: 1. Empowering families to take spiritual leadership in the home  2. Forming lifetime faith that transcends childhood beliefs  3. Teaching Scripture as the ultimate authority of truth  4. Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit to teach and transform  5. Engaging every generation in the gospel of God's redemptive story  6. Making God central in every biblical narrative and daily living  7. Participating in community with like-minded ministry leaders 7 Family Ministry Essentials will energize and equip you with the practical steps, inspirational stories, and biblical foundation you need as you lead those in your ministry. Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1KIAw33 About the Authors:       DR. MICHELLE ANTHONY is the vice president and publisher of learning resources at David C Cook and a popular speaker in the area of family ministry. She is the author of Spiritual Parenting, The Big God Story, and Becoming a Spiritually Healthy Family. Michelle has graduate degrees in Christian education, Bible and theology as well as over twenty-five years of family ministry experience. Michelle and her husband, Michael are the parents of two adult children and live in Colorado. MEGAN MARSHMAN is the director of student resources and production for David C Cook and has led and challenged thousands of students in their faith at Hume Lake Christian Camps. With a master's degree in organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University, Megan speaks nationally at churches, conferences, and university chapels. She and her husband, Randy, live in Long Beach, California.

 

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http://litfusegroup.com/author/AnthonyMarshman

Pirate’s Code: The Adventures of Mickey Matson DVD Movie Review

Pirate’s Code is the second movie in the film series, “The Adventures of Mickey Matson”. This movie features stars like Christopher Lloyd (famous for his role in playing Fester Addams in The Addams Family movies and Back to the Future), Kenton Duty (famous for starring in Disney’s TV Show Shake it Up!), Frank Collision (played in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Patrika Darbo (played Nancy Westley in Days of Our Lives), Derek Brandon, and Francesa Derosa. Pirate Code follows the voyage of Mickey Matson and his best friend Sully. They have been summoned again by the Secret Order of the Patriots to join the important mission of stopping the corrupted Admiral Ironsides and his pirates. Admiral Ironsides is inventing an electromagnetic pulse weapon that will wipe out of the world’s technology and cause the world to erupt in chaos.

 

I would recommend this awesome movie to anyone who enjoys action packed movies especially young teenagers. I haven’t seen the first movie in the series but it can certainly be a standalone title. I was able to watch it and understand the film and enjoy it. I liked how the movie was clean of curse words and is very family friendly. There was only some fighting scenes but nothing was too graphic. Parents can sit back and let their children enjoy this film and not have to worry. I really liked how they have actors and actresses that the older generation will recognize while watching the film as well as some younger actors that our kids love. It had a great mix of cast members. I have always enjoying watching movies Christopher Lloyd has played in especially The Addams Family and I was excited to see he was starring in this one. I also liked the many different technology devices and I thought they did an excellent job at appearing to the younger teens. If you’re looking for a new family friendly summer movie, then check out this one!

 

About the movie:

Releases on DVD June 2, 2015

91 Minutes // Genre: Adventure // Rating:  NR

 

In this follow up to Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure, Mickey Matson is at it again; this time pitted against the evil Admiral Ironsides and his gang of pirates who are intent on destroying civilization.  They're new invention, the Tesla Coil, is a weapon of mass destruction that will send an electromagnetic pulse throughout the world, destroying every electronic device in existence.  With the help of a secret organization, Mickey and his best friend Sully embark on a mission to stop the pirates from taking over a submarine and stealing the last part needed to complete their devastating weapon.  If Admiral Ironsides succeeds in his plan, civilization will be sent back to the Stone Age.  It's a race against time, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.  

 

 

SOCIAL • C O R N E R  

 

Twitter:  @MickeyMatson

 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mickey-Matson/211224175604758?fref=ts

 

Official Website:  http://mickeymatson.com

 

Trailer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UMBliD1W3I

 

Official Website to Purchase:  http://pureflix.christianbook.com/adventures-mickey-matson-the-pirates-code/pd/03738X?event=ESRCG

 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

 

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You Can, You Will: 8 Undeniable Qualities of a Winner by Joel Osteen Book Review

In You Can, You Will, Joel Osteen shared eight different qualities that will radically change a believer’s life and assist them in living the abundant life. Some of the eight qualities are, “Keep Your Vision in Front of You”, “Run You Race”, “Expect Good Things”, “Stay Passionate”, and much more.

 

My favorite chapter was, “Keep Your Vision in Front of You” because this one discussed how critical it is to have a vision for your life. Joel reminded readers that even the scriptures declare the danger of having no vision and how people will perish. I really enjoyed how Joel encouraged readers to have something in front of them that they see every day that will remind them what they are believing God for. He suggested for the single people to have an empty photo frame or set an extra plate. If you’re dreaming of attending college, he recommended you buy a college apparel to wear. He also stated to go ahead and thank God for answering your prayers.

 

He shared a touching story about his brother-in-law, Kevin and his sister, Lisa and how they struggled to conceive a child. They both desperately wanted to have a baby. One day, a sample pair of diapers from Huggies arrived in their mail box and they didn’t order them. Kevin believed this was a sign from God. He had a strong desire to have twins because he has a twin and he believed that they would have twins. He kept the diapers as a reminder that God was able and He could answer their prayer. A couple of years later, they received a phone call and the lady asked them if they wanted to adopt two twins. God miraculously answered their prayer. I really connected with this story and this has encouraged me to keep believing for my desires in my heart and keep the vision in front of me. Some of my dreams is to get married and have children. My mom actually has an empty photo frame in her living room where she will put my future wedding photo. I also purchased a nice desk decoration that stays Hebrews 11:19 on it where when I see it daily I am reminded that with God all things are possible.   

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is desperately needing some much needed encouragement and they are ready to unlock eight qualities that will change their entire life. I enjoyed how honest and inspiring Joel Osteen was in this book and it helped me to get my expectations and hopes back and to stand strong and believe that God is more than able to answer the desires in my heart. I immensely loved how Joel Osteen shared the story about Jim Carrey. When Jim Carrey was a young man and poor, he wrote himself a check for ten million dollars for acting services. He didn’t have ten million in the bank. He had a huge vision for his life to become an actor. He put the check into his wallet to keep him encourage and to never give up on his dream. And years later he is a very rich millionaire and a famous actor. I also liked how he explained the importance of excellence and passing the small test. He stated that one way to live with excellence is when we don’t want something in a store we should return it where we correctly found it including the shopping cart. He reinforced how God see everything and how others notice how Christians act. I highly recommend this book and if you’re looking for an impactful book to read, then read this one!

 

“I received this book free from Hachette Book Group/Faith Works.”

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of You Can, You Will, then check it out on Amazon.com:

 

http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Will-Undeniable-Qualities/dp/1455575712

Praying Over God’s Promises: The Art of Taking Him at His Word by Thomas R. Yeakley Book Review

 

 

In Praying Over God’s Promises, Thomas R. Yeakley has written an excellent book about the immeasurable promises found in God’s written Word. He began the book by sharing that there are different types of promises: general, specific, conditional, and unconditional. An example of a general promise would be John 3:16 and God sending His own Son and whoever believes in Him will receive eternal life. Another example would be Ephesians 6:2-3 which tells us the importance of honoring our parents and our reward will be enjoying a long life. He also revealed how he relied on the promises of God when they were expecting their first child. They just graduated from college and they were struggling to save up extra money. They choose to depend on God to assist them in buying the needed items for raising a child. They believed the mighty promise found in Philippians 4:19 which declares that God will supply our every need. God miraculous provided every single item they needed for the new baby during this time.

 

One of my favorite chapters was called, “Theology of Promises” because this one discussed how God promised to Abraham that He would make him a great nation and He will bless him and curse people who were against him (Genesis 12:2-3). This passage lead Thomas in to asking God to let him meet people in every continent and be able to disciple there. He has already made it to four of the seven continents. It also contained helpful references on where to find in scriptures where God fulfilled his promises to different Bible characters such as: Nehemiah, David, Joshua, Paul, and much more. This is especially helpful in seeing how God came through for His people time and time again and how He is still on the throne and able to be amazing things!

 

I would recommend this marvelous book to anyone who enjoys learning more about God’s written Word and they are wanting to learn about His promises for their lives. This book taught me that there are many commands, principles, and promises found in the Bible and they can literally change our entire life and assist us in standing strong on His Word when the hurricanes of life try and break us down. I liked how the book included many scriptures verses and a helpful appendix on certain topics listing scripture references. I was also deeply reminded and touched when he discussed how critical patience is and God’s timing is always right and patience gives us time to build our faith while we are waiting for God’s answer. If you’re looking for an impactful book about God’s promises, then check this one out!

 

 “Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.”

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Praying Over God’s Promises, then check it out on Amazon.com:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Over-Gods-Promises-Taking/dp/1631463780