One Line Drive: A Life-Threatening Injury and a Faith-Fueled Comeback By Daniel Ponce De Leon Book Review

In One Line Drive, Daniel Ponce De Leon opened about his rise to becoming a major league baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted four times and he worked hard to overcome his challenges and to play in the major leagues. He began the book by sharing the day his life forever changed. He was playing in the minor league for the Memphis Redbirds at the Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa. It was located at 1 Line Drive he would later discover. He was pitching and he threw a fastball and it didn’t travel the path he intended it too. When the batter hit the ball, it flew and it struck him in the head right above his eye. He tried to raise his arms to try and catch and stop the ball but he was unable too. He also turned his head to try and deflect some of the impact. This event was referred to as a one-line dive when the ball struck him. He had glasses on and amazingly they didn’t even break. He did suffer from internal bleeding and he did go unconscious. Though he doesn’t remember much about the event. He will describe what others witnessed when the horrible event occurred. He explained how he had to have life threatening surgery and the recovery process. He revealed how this event taught him a valuable lesson about how life and how precious it truly is. He also shared how God protected him and how his dad was the one who first introduced him to Jesus. He walked readers through his comeback and how he eventually made it onto the major leagues. He also opened up about his college life and how he met his future wife there. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who loves baseball and also loves a good comeback story. I immensely loved how inspirational this autobiography was and how the book had an overall message about trusting God through your circumstances, no matter how good or bad and how critical it is to have faith. He strongly encouraged readers to read Hebrews 11 and learning about faith and how we can apply it to our daily living. I liked how he shared how he had to overcome his injury and how he chose to keep striving and going after his dreams of playing in the majors. I also appreciated how open he was in having a child out of wedlock and how he struggled with telling his girlfriend that he loved her and it took a couple therapy session to become the first time, he told her that he loved her. I liked how honest, he was in explaining why it took so long for him to say those words and how women want to hear them. I also enjoyed how he connected to his faith and how he came closer to Christ and readers will be able to be inspired through his story. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.” 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of One Line Drive, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Drive-Life-Threatening-Faith-Fueled/dp/1546034552/

Dolphin Island 20% Off Code

Here is an exclusive 20% off code (for a digital copy of Dolphin Island)

Here's the link: 

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/dolphinisland#product_id=5323449&promo=749215&v=aHpjTW1PRH

Here's the 20% code:  Spring

Breaking the Miracle Barrier: Releasing God’s Power for Breakthrough by Jennifer LeClaire Book Review

In Breaking the Miracle Barrier, Jennifer LeClaire explored the topic of prayer and sound and how we can get our breakthrough. She begins the book by explaining how she experienced a Job season in her life. She struggled with a limp while reading a Christian book in one of her chairs. She got up to walk to the kitchen and she heard a snap. In the next two days, she was supposed to lead an intercessor retreat in Kansas and she was still determined to go and lead the event. While she was away next, she was told that her church back wall had collapsed and it made the news. She recalled how Chuck Pierce preached there a few months before and he told the congregation that the walls would shake and God was going to shake them out of that place and he declared that the church would be know as the church that shook. She revealed how people left the church during that time and the church’s equipment was still inside and the city threatened to condemn the building. She shared how she learned about the sound of now by seeing a truck with it printed on the side of truck. She felt God speaking to her and began to study the sound of now and how this is an act of desperate faith. 

 

 

She looked at how key people in the Bible got their breakthrough and broke thru their miracle barrier. These included, Elijah, Job, Abraham, David, and Solomon to name a few. She explored the topic of yes and amen promises of God and how God can’t lie and He won’t forsake us. She looked at releasing God’s written word out of our mouths, winning the mind battle, seeking wisdom, listening to songs of deliverance, and the power of intercession, and much more. 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is ready to break their personal chains, and they are seeking a miracle and a breakthrough. I immensely loved how Jennifer was honest in her own Job experiences and how open she was in how she was able to break thru the challenges and get to the other side. I don’t recall hearing about a church’s wall falling down but you can see the after look of the building on a YouTube video online. Through the trial and struggle, she was able to teach others what she learned from God after this event. One of my favorite areas, she looked at was the one on how music can help us and even heal us and how music therapy has shown to help patients. I also love how she discussed the power of our words and how we use them to bind the enemy’s attacks and even Jesus used His own words, “It is written” against the enemy. I also liked how she discovered that sound can assist us in activating our prayers out loud and Jesus prayed out loud. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Breaking the Miracle Barrier, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Miracle-Barrier-Releasing-Breakthrough/dp/0800762169

My Brother’s Keeper Movie Review

My Brother’s Keeper is a movie written by the writers of A Question of Faith. My Brother’s Keeper follows the journey of Travis Fox. He is a returning war veteran who is struggling with PTSD. His best friend Preach and his team is killed in a deadly explosion. After the event, he travels back to his hometown to find answers about his parents and to try and live a normal life. Throughout the movie, we witness how the PTSD is greatly affecting his life and how he is barely able to function. The fears and the haunts of war rage up in his mind and he is unable to control them. Travis life is being torn and he is questioning his faith in God and he is fighting his inner demons. He is later introduced to Tiffany who is a church counselor and is the leader of a group therapy dealing with PTSD. Redemption and healing are trying to reach him, will he let God and his friends reach him. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome movie to anyone is looking for a Christian movie that shows redemption, healing, and the power of faith and how love can reach our brothers and sisters. I loved the number of top stars in this movie and some of them have already had a few faith- based roles. The cast included Joey Lawrence (Melissa and Joey and Blossom), Keshia Knight-Pulliam (The Bill Cosby Show, House of Payne, Madea Goes to Jail), TC Stallings (War Room and Courageous). I loved Keshia role in this movie and I believe she always is able to shine her light in her roles, especially when she was starring in her Tyler Perry movie and TV shows. Her role in this movie shows her as a caring counselor who refused to give up on anyone and she is very supportive. She believed in healing and how God is able to still perform miracles. I loved the message this movie portrayed and I liked how the movie had a military theme and it tried to show the real struggles with PTSD. It also provided hope for us to be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ and to walk alongside them in their joys and sorrows. It proved that silence isn’t always the best way, when we open up and connect with others change can truly happen. I also liked how the film covered how the church was able to handle PTSD and other difficult trials and it showed what it meant to be the church to a dying world. 

 

 

The film comes out in theaters on March 19, 2021. 

Trailer:

 

Link to the film and to buy tickets: 

 

https://mbkfilm.com

 

 

Enter to win a free digital code of the movie: (North America Only) The code will be sent after the film is released on home entertainment.

 

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Talking with God: A Practical Plan for Personal Prayer by Dick Eastman Book Review

In Taking with God, Dick Eastman explored the topic of prayer and intercession. In his early thirties, he learned a great deal about prayer and how it can change our lives. He started praying an hour each day for the world and nations. He wrote this book as a guide to prayer and included 12 focus groups that we can use when we pray. These included, “praise, waiting, confession, scripture praying, intercession, thanksgiving, singing, mediation”, and much more. He explained how important praise is and how we need to declare that our Savior is worthy and powerful and worthy of our praise. He also shared how we can pray scriptures our loud while we read the Bible. We can focus more on Psalms, Proverbs, Gospels, of the Epistles because these books of the Bible are easier to pray out loud. He revealed how we can also sing songs as weapons of warfare. He looked at Jehoshaphat and how Judah gained victory in battle when they sung praises out loud their enemies were defeated. He recognized that there are six different types of praise songs and how we can use each one to benefit and help grow our scriptural lives. He discussed how we can use petitions and to grow deeper in our conversations with God. 

 

 

I would recommend this book to anyone is ready to grow and develop their prayer life. I liked how in depth he went into explaining how we can use all 12 focus points to transform our prayer life. One of my favorite areas was the topic of singing and using our voices in different types of songs to covey who God is to us and how worthy of praise He is. I connected with how we can use the songs to combat the attacks of the enemy. I also enjoyed how he included a prayer at the end of each chapter, scripture verses to pray, and a recap list of the meaning of the step. I also liked how they enclosed a ribbon bookmark to help readers to mark their reading process. I also liked the color of the book and how they made the book more colorful to appeal to readers. I liked how he designed the 12 steps in prayer in a colorful wheel. 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Taking with God, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Talking-God-Practical-Personal-Prayer/dp/0800762134

Talking with Teens about Sexuality: Critical Conversations about Social Media, Gender Identity, Same-Sex Attraction, Pornography, Purity, Dating, Etc. by Beth Robinson, EdD and Latayne C. Scott, PhD Book Review

In Talking with Teens about Sexuality, Beth Robinson and Latayne Scott has written a book to guide parents in discussing all aspects of sexuality. They shared how parents often have the notation of one and done on having the talk with their children. They don’t typical keep the conversation on going so our kids are choosing to learn about sex from their friends or online. They also revealed how in 2015, Centers for Disease Control discovered that teens are having less sex before they graduated from high school. In the book, the discussed God’s plan for sex and how it binds us to the other person and what physical effect that happens in our bodies. They looked at the different scriptures concerning sex and marriage. They looked at all types of sexual activities and the views of the world and what we can do as parents to guide our children. They also looked at social media, technology, porn, sexual abuse and violence, same sex attraction, gender issues, unplanned pregnancy, and abortion. They looked in details about what scriptures dealt with these topics and how we can have open conversations with our teens.  

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book to anyone is needing guidance on how to have an open conversation about sex and sexuality with their teens. I liked how these two authors wasn’t afraid to discuss the difficult topics and discussions. Most Christian books are afraid to address same sex attraction, gender identity, all different types of sexual activities, and much more. I do believe that this book would make a great guide to parents on parenting in today’s times when there are many challenges our teens face. I appreciated how the included scriptures on what the Bible says about some of these topics and will keep the conversation going. I also enjoyed the exploration section with your teens and how this book enclosed questions to learn about how your children are viewing sexuality. I also liked how they included personal stories from real life examples to convey the topic and how it might help us to relate to them. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Talking with Teens about Sexuality, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Teens-about-Sexuality-Conversations/dp/0764235834/

Church People Movie Review and Giveaway

 

Church People is a new movie covering a mega church and how the youth pastor and some of its leaders have lost touch with the true Gospel. Guy is the youth pastor and has decided to take a break from public speaking and to get back to his local church youth group. He is ready to rediscover his passion and to get closer to Christ. They showcased the pastor speaking events with beach balls and he started to resent how popular they have become. His senior pastor, has decided to host a real-life crucifixion at the church for an upcoming Easter event. A young new believer, Blaise has agreed to take the nails into his skin and be the represent of Jesus. Meanwhile, the senior pastor daughter comes back into down and becomes a love interest for Guy. Also, to add drama to the mix, the worship leader is also interested in her. Guy also is reconnected with his adopted daughter and movie watchers will get to see how Guy handles this event. Throughout the movie, we will witness church people rediscovering the meaning found in scripture and what the Gospel really means.

 

 

I would recommend this awesome movie to anyone who is seeking a family friendly Christian movie. This movie reminded me more of a TV series style than an actual movie. This movie has the power to assist believers into diving into the meaning of the Gospel and not focusing on religion or falling for the mega church hypes. I liked how the movie shared the important truth of not just trying to entertain our congregation but we need to be preaching the Gospel and how we are supposed to love our neighbors and display Jesus’ love to all. I enjoyed how the film portrayed different types of people in the church and how it added humor to the film to engage the audience. I also loved how it had great cast members in the film such as, Donald Faison, Stephen Baldwin, Carla Finney, Joey Fatone (NSYNC), Thor Ramsey, and Mike Lindell. They all brought a dynamic to the film and they all have a way of entertaining the audience. I do think the storyline could continue in a future film. 

 

 

Discussion Guide:

 

https://churchpeoplefilm.com/images/ChurchPeople-DiscussionGuide.pdf

 

Disclosure: Many thanks to Entertainment Squad for providing this product/product information for review. 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.

 

Trailer: 

 

https://churchpeoplefilm.com/?vid=Xvnr8b4IkEI

Enter to win a free digital code for Church People: 

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Brave: A Teen Girl’s Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety by Sissy Goff Book Review

In Brave, Sissy Goff explored the topic of worrying and dealing with our anxious thoughts. This book is geared and written to young teenage aged girls. It is revealed that 1 in 3 girls struggled with worrying. She shared how we struggle with rejection thoughts, not fitting in, getting sick and possibly getting cancer, someone harming us, failure, and fears in general. Sissy explained that many teenaged girls believe that there is something wrong with them and how that they are alone in how they feel. She looked at fear and how it turns into worry, then turns into full blown anxiety. Sissy is a MeD, LPC-MHSP and she is the director of child and adolescent at Daystar Counseling Ministries. She also looked at how some of the fear was passed down from her mother. Her mother provided her with a 24-inch rusted metal spike to shatter her window in case she went off a bridge and she had to use it to swim out. Her and her sister also got pepper spray every year for Christmas just in case they needed to use it. She revealed some of her own personal anxious and worries she felt and how she is a perfectionist. She shared some studies about how anxious is increasing and how technology is being linked to it. In the book, she also explored what worrying does to our body, mind, and heart. Then in the last section of the book, she looked at the hope we can have and how we can use scriptures to assist us in overcoming the troubles of the world. 

 

 

 

I liked how the book was enclosed in a bright shinny blue book will lure young girls into reading the contents enclosed. I would recommend this life changing book to anyone teenaged girl who is battling anxiety and they have a number of worry whisperers. I immensely liked how open Sissy was in sharing how she dealt with her own worries and how her years of counseling girls has helped her to lead others down a path of freedom. I liked how she included discussion questions and a spot for readers to journal and dive deeper into their fears and worries. I liked how Sissy wrote in a way that will connect with teenaged girls and they will be able to easily relate to her. I also liked how she discussed some about the pandemic and how we can use some of the tools included to battle our own fears. I liked how she guided young girls into becoming brave and finding courage in Christ. 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Brave, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Girls-Guide-Beating-Anxiety/dp/0764238396

Dolphin Island Movie Review

Dolphin Island is a brand-new movie that follows 14-year-old, Annabel Coleridge. She lost both of her parents when they died in a diving accident with a dolphin. She lives with her grandfather, Jonah who is a fisherman. He raised her in a research center to fulfill the last testamentary of his son’s wishes. She is surrendered with an extend family filled with neighbors who are like family. They also have trained a dolphin, Mitzy with cool tricks. Everything changes when her maternal grandparents arrive with a lawyer and they try and take her away with them to New York. And to add fuel to the fire, there is also a social worker investigating the case. The lawyer is determined to win the case and to have Annabel awarded to her maternal grandparents.  

 

 

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is seeking a clean family film. This movie is geared towards kids but adults will also be able to enjoy the film. I immensely loved the plot and how it touched on family extended family and being a part of a community. It was very comforting to witness the love the grandfather had for Annabel and how he hated being separated from her. It was awesome that the film displayed the scripture loud and proud about how love can help conquer all and how it can change people’s lives. I loved how it had conflict to keep the story moving along and it moved at just the right pace. I also love watching the dolphin, Mitzy do some cool tricks and it was nice watching how smart they are. The film made me want to swim with dolphins and to pet them. I could see this become a TV series with more fun adventures in the future. 

 

 

 

Disclosure: Many thanks to Entertainment Squad for providing this product/product information for review. 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.

 

·      Winner of Best Feature Film at the Christian Film Festival in 2021 

·      Dove approved for all ages! 

 

 

https://dolphinislandmovie.com

 

 

Trailer: https://youtu.be/SLiED6uT1mM

 

 

Enter to win a copy of a digital code: North America Winners only

 

 

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