Encouragement for an Exceptional Life by Victoria Osteen Book Review

In Encouragement for an Exceptional Life, Victoria Osteen explored the topic of how to reach your highest potential and how to see yourself like Christ see you. She shared with readers who we were called to be exceptional and extraordinary. In scripture, God has called each of us His masterpiece and we were all created in His image. She begins the book by sharing a story about Jim and how when he met his baby sister for the first time. He was 8 years old and he was deeply moved by meeting his sister. His father decided to tell him the truth and explained that he was adopted. They were told by a nurse that they could pick any baby in the room and how they chose him. His parents made it a point to make sure Jim knew that he was handpicked to be a part of their family. Victoria uses this story to remind readers that we are chosen and God adopted us into His family. She encouraged readers to remember that they are valuable. Even when we make mistakes, our worth isn’t based on our performance. She reminded us to take off the negative labels, the guilty, and the pain. 

 

 

She also looked at King David and how God chose David when he the least likely person to be chosen to become King. David had chances to be offended that his father didn’t even consider him to be a prime candidate and how it appeared that his own father didn’t believe in him. Victoria explored how God knew what was inside him and the special calling that was one his life. She explained that we all have an anointed on our lives and how we are royal priesthood. She looked at 7 different key areas to live our lives to our highest potential. Some of these included: know that you are chosen, travel light, encourage yourself, power up, set your eyes on the promises”, and much more. 

    

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is ready to live an exceptional life. I immensely loved how small and compact this book is and it makes it easy to travel with especially to the beach or while you are waiting at an appointment. I loved how inspirational this book was and how she reminded readers how they were chosen by God and who we are in Christ. One of my favorite stories, she shared was about how she received an email from a lady who was dumped by her boyfriend and she didn’t understand why. She thought they were heading towards marriage. She revealed how she dwelled on pondering what she did wrong and focusing on her own negative thoughts. She admitted to not wanting to leave our house for work or anything. She was depressed when she turned on the TV and Joel was on. She started listening to him and watching his program. Eventually, she learned the principles on looking in the mirror and speaking life over her life. I immensely loved with what Victoria shared about our thoughts and how we can think about good thoughts and focus on the good and not the bad. This book is a book that is meant to be reread and we need to let the words get into our spirit and change our thoughts, pattens, lifestyles, and make us stronger.  

 

 

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

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy Encouragement for an Exceptional Life, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1546017879?pf_rd_r=SDJDDH86ZSY9CSM7KVPA

Vooks Review and Giveaway

Vooks is an interactive website that allows kids and parents to explore a storybook. Each book is read and animated to showcase a powerful lesson to teach our kids. Each story has the words moving along on the pages where children can learn the vocabulary and new words to grow in learning. The stories are ad free so no need to worry about inappropriate ads popping up. Some of the books included is Curious George, different types of animals, biography, seasonal themed such as Rudolph, and some of the books are even in Spanish. The age range for the books is baby to elementary age. Some of the messages of the books included: kindness, courage, being yourself, being a good friend, and much more. They even have a resource page that is printable in a PDF format. The resources promoted fun activities such as coloring, matching games, discussion questions, drawing, writing, and crafts to make. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome website to anyone who has kids or they are a teacher. These books are very kid friendly. Parents wouldn’t have to worry about the messages their kids would be reading and learning about. I loved the activities in the resource page and how they make it fun to dig deeper in the story. I loved the books and how they bring the story to life and it will appear to children they are sort of like a cartoon on TV. The words on the screen will also help children to learn how to read and how to use new vocabulary words. I loved how they had books ranging from under the sea creatures, to imagination animals, holidays from Halloween to Easter, messages that teach good character qualities, and much more. There is a wide range of stories and there will be something for each child to enjoy. These books and fun activities would make great bonding times with your children. 

 

 

Key Points about Vooks:

 

● Vooks is a streaming library of ad-free, kid-safe animated storybooks, trusted by teachers and enjoyed by millions of children around the world each week. 

● Vooks is an entire library of storybooks, brought to life, to help encourage the love of reading. 

● 100% kid-friendly and parent-approved! 

● Vooks strengthens literacy and vocabulary & promotes independent learning! 

 

● Vooks has free, fun and printable lesson plans! Vooks lesson plans offer discussion topics, engaging activities, and more! 

 

To sign up for Vooks and to get a free 30 days trial check out the link below:

 

https://www.vooks.com/pages/subscribe?utm_source=collide

 

 

Many thanks to Vooks 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.

 

Enter the Giveaway:

 

 

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Don’t Drop the Mic: The Power of Your Words Can Change the World by T.D. Jakes Book Review

In Don’t Drop the Mic, T.D. Jakes explored the power of communication and how we can be better at speaking, using our body language, and presenting ourselves to others. He has been preaching for countless years and he has learned what works and what doesn’t. He called this book drop the mic because he wants to guide readers into gearing up for their drop the mic performance in their own speeches. First, he shared how his father was a hard worker and rarely stopped what he was doing. Jakes noticed how one day he stopped in his tracks what he was doing to watch the famous speech from Dr. Martin Luther King. He explained how the world listened to his speech and he saw the power of the microsphere and how it can help change the world. Jakes also looked at the Bible and how there is power of life and death in our tongue. Throughout the book, he looked at the pregnant pause, body language, delivering your message, handling the fear factor, the promise of practice, and the process of preaching. In the book, he also teamed up with Dr. Frank Thomas, who is a pastor and a renowned scholar who will also share his own stories in a few chapters in the book. He uses a cooking metaphor to discuss how to be a better communicator and how we can apply the same principles we use for cooking to analyze our own message. 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is wanting to become a preacher but also to anyone who has to give a speech or delivering a message to an audience. He explained that this book is to the job interviewer, businessman/woman, performance on stage, teacher, preacher, and communicating with others. I immensely loved how he covered all aspects of communication and how to deliver a message that has impact. One of my favorite areas, he covered was the topic of sound check and when he discussed perfectionism and how he had to deal with his own challenges. He had to also learn to let go and accept that no matter how hard we try to get the speech correctly, there will always be something we wish we could have done or said better. We can learn from our experiences and use the construction feedback and try and improve what we can. I also appreciated all the tips and how he took readers through the different areas of how he learned to preach and how he dealt with his own challenges and how he was able to become a better communicator. I also enjoyed how the used stories in the Bible to convey how they experienced their own drop the mic moments, such as David. I also enjoyed in the appendix Dr. Thomas’ analysis of one of Jakes sermon and what we can learn from using the principles in this book to become better communicators.   

 

 

 

"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 Don’t Drop the Mic, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Drop-Mic-Power-Change/dp/1455595357/

Philippians: A Biblical Study by Joyce Meyer Book Review

In Philippians study, Joyce Meyer looked at the four chapters and how Paul mentioned joy 13 times. Paul was being held in prison when he wrote this book. She revealed the background of the Philippi and what we can learn by reading the book of the Bible in context. Joyce explored how Paul explored the mind and thoughts and how they are connected to our joy. Paul also discussed how to avoid complaining, letting go of the past and moving forward, rejoicing and trusting in the Lord, living in peace, and leaning on God through whatever we go through. Joyce reinforced the powerful truth found in Philippians 1:6-8, and this talked about how God can begin a good work in each of us and He will bring it to completion. Paul explained that even if he is in chains and defending the Gospel, he would still testify about God’s holy grace. Even when he was in prison, he remained joyful and Joyce reminded readers on how they can rely on joy no matter what you may be currently facing. Paul writes also about the resurrection of Jesus and how we become like Him in death. He also stated how he would forget what is behind him and how we will run his race to obtain his prize. 

 

 

I would recommend this amazing study about Philippians to one who is ready to seek some joy in their lives. I immensely enjoyed reading the background on where Paul wrote this book while in prison. He knew that there was healing and power in choosing to live in peace and joy. Paul was being persecuted for following Jesus but he still believed and remained hopeful about the future. I also liked how he shared the importance of forgetting the past, running our race, and trusting God no matter what we go through. I appreciated how open Joyce was in sharing her own story in the book and how she struggled with guilt and condemnation. She was sexually abused by her father and her mother chose to ignore the truth about it. Joyce explained how she felt not good enough and shameful. She shared how she had to forgive and let go of the hurt and the past to get healing. She related her own story back to Paul’s and how she was able to get freedom for her own life and to find joy again. 

 

 

 

 

"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 Philippians, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philippians-Biblical-Study-Joyce-Meyer/dp/1546026185

How to Age Without Getting Old: The Steps You Can Take Today to Stay Young for the Rest of Your Life by Joyce Meyer Book Review

In How to Age Without Getting Old, Joyce Meyer has written a book to guide readers into the aging process and how to embrace the different seasons of your life. She begins the book by encouraging everyone to stop and say out loud that one day, they will be 70, 80, and 90 if God decides to bless us to live that long and how we need declare that we will not fear getting older. She shared her own personal story about how she was sexually abused by her father in her youth. She left home at 18 years and she got married. Her husband abandoned her twice and had extramarital affairs, couldn’t keep a job, and he stole things. She opened up about how sick she was physically and doctors related it to stress. She was divorced at 22 and had her first child to raise alone. 

 

She eventually met Dave and married him and they had two more babies. She had to get a full-time job where they could afford to purchase a home. She shared how she drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, didn’t sleep much, and was constantly upset and not happy. She shared how she welcomed Jesus into her life at 33 years old and she started received emotional healing. David and her had another child shortly before she realized her calling into ministry and it all began with nothing. She opened up in this book about how the different events in her life started affecting her. She also had breast cancer in 1985 and this caused her to have to get a hysterectomy. She shared how her ministry was growing and how she did around twenty speaking conferences in a year and each was 4-5 sessions. She filmed her TV show, work 2-3 books a year, book signings, traveled and did foreign mission trips. She realized her health needed to become more of a focus in her life so she hired a personal trainer and at 62 started working out three days a week and she tried to eat healthier. In 2017, the doctors discovered that she had a bad hip since birth and this caused her hip problems her entire life. She didn’t understand how to rest. She was also experiencing other health problems such as being nausea, blood pressure running high, shaky, and weak. She didn’t get how important rest was until her doctor made her take 18 months off of work and rest completely. 

 

I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is ready to start living and they want to learn to age graceful and enjoy each moment. I immensely love how she explored the importance of not comparing our lives to each other. She revealed how she had to learn the hard way and God taught her in a personal way about not trying to compare with what others are lifting. She had to be reminded that she only needs to be the best that she can be and to remember that her good enough is more than enough. I also enjoyed the five ways to slow down the aging process. I realize one of the areas I can improve is my water intake to help restore my body. I also liked how she included spiritual verses to help feed the spirit. I benefited from the principles she outlined in this book to guide readers into the aging process. 

 

 

 

"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 How to Age Without Getting Old, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1546026223?pf_rd_r=AAQ5DY5R1YBHQFZKM5XP

The Miracle Collectors: Uncovering Stories of Wonder, Joy, and Mystery by Joan Luise Hill and Katie Mahon Book Review

In The Miracle Collectors, Joan and Katie explored the topic of miracles and how we can be open to witnessing all the miracles that are around us. They shared that statistics discovered that 80% of Americans believe in miracles and this has been true for decades. They opened up about how the first step is to having an open mind and to look for miracles everywhere around us and not to take anything for granted. The next step would be in sharing out personal stories of miracles with others and finding greater meaning and purpose in life. Throughout the book, readers will read about miracles that others have experienced and how their lives were changed. 

 

 

 

They begin the book by sharing the story of Joan’s eighth son, David and how she happened to be at her son’s school when he having chest pains during physical education. She took him to the doctor who discovered that he had a lethal cardiac anomaly. There were only two options open heart surgery or bypass surgery and both were dangerous. The week before the surgery the doctor found out that there wasn’t enough room to just move the coronary artery. The day of the procedure his grandmother sprinkled water on him from Lourdes a place known in France for miracles. Eventually, he experienced a miracle and he was alright. 

 

 

 

Katie also shared her own miracle story about being a freshman in college in San Francisco. She was on her way home from work when she saw a man who asked for help because he just had eye surgery and he couldn’t see well. He needed help looking up his best friend’s parents phone number in the phone book. He wouldn’t stop asking and he told her he was staying at the Hyatt which was a place filled with plenty of people around. She guided him to the pay phone and she shared her terror and how she felt uncomfortable. She also began to question that he had no eye patch and he didn’t know the first name of his friend’s parents. She described how his eyes darkened and something was off. There was movement near the door and a bellman appeared and she was able to get away. 15 years later she opened up about the experience and how Katie’s husband showed her the newspaper about Ted Bundy being put to death. She realized that this was the guy and back then she fit the profile of the women he captured and killed. She could have easily possibly have taken her. 

 

 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is doubting that miracles can still happen in today’s times. This will assist readers into recentering their lives and believing that the impossible can happen and we can see a miracle and a breakthrough. I immensely liked the authors story about their own miracles and how they looked at other people own uplifting stories. The stories discussed healing, forgiveness, the ripple effect, 90 % rule, letting the spirit move in you, co-incidental, and much more. This book has truly remarkable stories that will inspire and bring hope in the midst of a fallen world. 

 

 

 

"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 The Miracle Collectors, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CDWM41M/