In Heaven Awaits, Michael Youssef wants to help readers to embrace Heaven and to get ready for what is coming soon. He begins the book by explaining how we should view Heaven with an eager awaiting and expectation. They moved to America and had to mentally and emotionally prepare for the journey. He uses this example to showcase how we need to approach our view of going to Heaven. He explained how our Father’s house has many rooms for us and He has gone ahead of us to get them ready for us. Heaven is made Heavenly when we are in the presence of God and getting to see Jesus’ face to face.
He covered the nine blessings of Heaven. These included no more temptation, no more lost, no more tears, no more death, no more regrets, and much more. He explored the three Heaven’s. People will be shocked to learn that the first is devil’s version of Heaven and where he lives. We are constantly in a battle against the spiritual forces of evil. He shared how these forces of evil can be seen in the drug addiction, violent crimes, pornography, queer theory, and much more that could be linked to the invisible war happening in the first Heaven. The third Heaven is considered paradise and this is where if we believe in Jesus we will wind up. He explained how this isn’t the new Heaven which is to come after Revelations events. He touches on the New Jerusalem and what it will look like for us.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus (Jonathan Roumie), seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the seven-season series shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.
• With over 250 million viewers (as of 7/27/24), The Chosen is one of the most-watched shows in the world.
• The Chosen is back for Holy Week, the most pivotal week in human history. Tables are turned. Friends are betrayed. And powerful leaders plot the death of Jesus. The Chosen: Last Supper is the must see event of the Easter season.
• The Chosen: Last Supper is releasing in theaters in 3 parts! Part One (episodes 1-2) releases on March 28; Part Two (episodes 3-5) releases on April 4; and Part Three (episodes 6-8) releases on April 11.
• Watch this powerful new season of The Chosen in theaters starting March 28th!
• Synopsis: The table is set.
The people of Israel welcome Jesus as king while his disciples anticipate his crown ing. But—instead of confronting Rome—he turns the tables on the Jewish religious festival. Their power threatened, the country’s religious and political leaders will go to any length to ensure this Passover meal is Jesus’ last.
Shot in a beautiful cinematic format, The Chosen: Last Supper brings the most pivotal week in history to audiences in this special three-part theatrical release.
My Review:
The first movie in the three part series was very eye opening and entertaining. It ends at cliffhanger to make you want to come back to watch each one. Part one was roughly about one hour. This movie follows the series the Chosen. And what’s cool is you can stream the other four seasons of the series online. You don’t have to really watch the other seasons first to see this film you can still follow along and understand that the stage is set for the last supper and Jesus getting betrayed. I really liked how they started the film with the last supper and how Jesus tried to prepare them for what is to come. I also liked how they included some humor and jokes in the movie and I think it helped to make it more modern where watchers can relate to it. I think it’s very interesting to watch Christian based movies and tv shows are becoming more popular and the production of this film is astonishing.
Sib Squad is a kid’s novel about the family of the Woodson filled with 8 kids. There is a bear, turtle, fox, bunny, duck, pigs, beaver, mouse. The younger children were jealous of the older. The older got to do fun stuff such as action movies, board games, sailing with grandpa, and much more. The younger started a club to combat the older ones. They had a rule not do anything boring. They brainstormed ideas of fun adventures to take.
This book I received was only a sample of the first two chapters. The illustrations are very colorful and will appeal to kids aged 3-6. It’s easy to read and the story will entertain the younger kids. It would be a good story for kids who have older sibling and they often ask their parents why they can’t do certain activities older kids can.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In Standing Alone, Nye Robinson explored the importance of independence and being authentic and building resilience. She begins the book by explaining how she wrote this book for women. They might feel misunderstood and they feel like they don’t have a place in this world. They might feel like pressure to perform for others. She wants to help people to have independence and to be able to stand alone. She shared how independence is forced through the fire of hardship. The trials we go through teaches us perseverance and our mistakes show us where we need to grow. When we go through the hardship it makes us stronger. Our scars tell remind us of our ability to endure and thrive through any adversity. In our darkest moments, we have the choice to choose how we respond and rise to the occasion.
Another critical chapter discussed owning our value and realizing that not everyone deserves our time and energy. We can choose to have meaningful connections and focus on quality. Our priorities need to be investing in people who uplift us and inspire us. By choosing to emphasis on relationships that matter we don’t get tie down by negative ones. We need to know the difference between them and have discernment. It’s easy to get distracted by the appeal that we must have the most followers or fans to be successful. This will cause us to embrace what matters.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In This the Thing, Shane Jackson discussed how we can discover our purpose and find joy in life. He begins the book by exploring the topic we all hate to think about and our afraid to discuss. This is death. We don’t like to go to funeral and we don’t care to be reminded of our sadness. In life, we are meant to pause and enjoy the rituals such as marriage, an achievement, or an event. He shared how a funeral is for the living. We are faced with the notion to take better care of ourselves, we need to call someone more often, pondering what people will say about us when we are gone, all of this causes us to ponder and reexamine our lives. We can instead choose to cherish every moment.
There is a chapter discussing mantra and exercises on how on have a clear statement on bringing decisions into your life. This takes readers through a journey on writing down your life, including stories, interviewing yourself, conducting a rule book, listing your strengths, exploring the different seasons, and lastly learning how to leave a legacy. This chapter was very beneficial in learning to make the most in your life and to discovering your mantra and to leave a legacy.
I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is ready to live out their purpose and to go after a life they want to live. He encouraged readers not to settle for anything less than the best life has to offer. He wants to help us live in the moment and to focus on what truly matters in life.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up, Loren Ridinger opened up about falling in love with her husband and begins the book with a letter. They met when she was 18 years old. She explained how she was enchanted with his laugh and she knew she wanted to be a part of his life. He became an architect, engineer, and CEO for Market America. She wishes he would have gotten to read her letter but he suddenly died.
It started around the time he gotten blood work completed they were a little unusual but he had no symptoms. They took a trip to Dubrovnik and he struggled climbing stone stairs because his knee was hurting. It became stiff. One this trip, he was quieter and he was staring off more into space looking at the water. Then a few days later they were on a boat ride. They discovered him on the floor not breathing. They stated later that it was a pulmonary embolism from his knee. She admitted that she wasn’t by his side when he died and she felt guilty. She didn’t get to say goodbye. She struggled with knowing what to eat for breakfast should she have scrambled eggs or sunny side up. She was in a mental battle and she didn’t know how she would ever move forward. She shared how she wanted shut out the world and sink into her loneliness. She opened up about how she realized that she would have to step her leadership game and embrace her new role in the company. She will help readers to deal with her grief and understand the different emotions they will face.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with grief and they are wanting to find some sort of relief. This book was very helpful in dealing with grief and how to regain back your life after a loss. Her story was interesting in learning about how they fell in love and began their business and changed the internet.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In Compassion in the Court, Frank Caprio is the famous judge on the hit TV show, Caught in Providence. He was a judge from 1985 to 2023. He served for 23 years for the Providence Municipal Court. He is known for his compassion in the court room and he tries to help others. He wanted to be a different type of judge one that had kindness, compassion, and dignity. He explained how he tries to make decisions based on everything he could learn from the individual and what brought them in front of his courtroom. Many of them were immigrants, poor people, people down on their luck. In the book, he shared how he grew up as immigrant himself and the challenges he faced.
He shared his first case and how his father discussed with him how he could have handled it better. His woman had parking tickets and she explained how she couldn’t pay it and that’s it. She basically told him flat out she wouldn’t be paying any of them. He ruled that a boot would be placed on her car. He tried to help him see that she would have no way to take her kids to school or drive. He helped him to realize that she was a person and focus on more what might be going on in their lives.
He shared the popular story of Victor Colella and how he was charged with speeding in a school zone. He was 96 years old still driving taking his son to get blood work who is handicapped. His son was 63 years old. He was deeply touched by this story and he dismissed the case. He later even met him outside the court room to hear his whole story and this older man advice was to do right and don’t bully and go to church every Sunday. He even celebrated his 100 birthday with him by bringing him a cake. There aren’t too many judges who would go that far.
I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is curious about the life of judge Frank Caprio. He was often moved by trying to understand why the person in front of him came to be in his court room. They each had a story and a background that brought them there. I haven’t watched the full show but I recall seeing clips on social medias and he seems like a very compassionated judge. The stories presented were very touching and insightful and he tries to teach others to be kind to others. He tried to help us to view others as real people who have made mistakes but they have the ability to learn from their mistakes and change. There is tons of lessons we can learn in this book!
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In How to Be Well, Amy Larocca looked at the ways we can discover our self-care when we are constantly bombarded with ads on social media and TV about how we can better ourselves. She was a fashion journalist and she studied fashion and watched countless fashion shows. She has first hand experience with navigating all the different suggestions on wellness we see in the world. There is many ideas on how to achieve beauty and look younger. We can color our hair, take collagen, take medication such as Ozempic, do meditation, exercise, and a number of other things we try to purse to make us better.
She explored the topics of the Oura ring and how this jewelry gathers data from our sleep patterns and fitness levels. It lets you know when it is time to go to bed to get our rest. She shared how she tried showers, gratitude journals, dimming lights, blue filtering glasses to try and boost her sleep score. Her heart rate variability goes up and down. Celebs have tried it from Gwyneth Paltrow to Kim Kardashian. Kim had a score of 95. She shared how she even tried Lumen and CGM. They track when we should consume food and exertion. She couldn’t locate any meaningful patterns.
This book is very well researched and explores tons of information on beauty and wellness. I liked how she looked at a number of different tips and techniques on everything we do to look and feel younger. It’s very eye opening what women are especially pressure to do. There is one chapter on men and how they are are expected to handle erectile dysfunction, baldness, and being fit. It was interesting to learn how we can be content and how we can catch after wellness.
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
In Pray Bold, Joel Osteen has written a brand-new book about taking the limits off of God and boldly praying holding nothing back. This book encouraged readers to ask God for explosive blessings and receive everything God has for us. Joel explained how what we pray determines what kind of life we will live. He reminded us that scriptures declare how He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or even imagine. Many of us get stuck in a rut of praying the same prayers over and over again and praying small. If God was able to grant everything, we ask for right now, would it be a small prayer or something bigger.
One of my favorite stories was about a man named Casey. He owned a company that moved houses. They had to regularly move power lines and signage to clear the way to move the house down the road. One day they arrived to realized that the main chain to unload the house was missing. He didn’t have time to go back and find it. He didn’t want to abandon the house either. He told his crew that all they could do was pray. He decided to pray and someone commented and made a joke about how is this even going to happen. It’s not like God is going to make one fall from Heaven. Casey still prayed that God would provide and supernaturally do something to help. A few minutes later, there was a truck coming down the road making a sharp turn in the curve. It had the tail gate open and out comes flying and lands near Casey’s feet. He picks it up and they finish the job. This story was very inspiring in believing and having faith that God can provide for us whenever we need His help.
One of my favorite chapters discussed receive when you believe. A lot of us who are single are praying that we will meet someone soon. Others are praying for healing and wholeness. Some are praying that their marriage will be restored. Some could be praying about relationships that have gone astray, a new job, financial help, just to touch on a few. Joel reminded readers about Mark 11 and how whatever we ask for in prayer we must believe it first and receive it and how then it would be ours. He stated how we need to instead declare how we receive our healing right now. He then retold the story about his mother being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 1981. The doctors couldn’t do any treatment for her. He shared how they prayed and asked God to heal her. She wrote it down on her calendar the day healing come into her body. She would constantly thank God even though she didn’t feel any different. She kept on thanking Him for healing. She had to received it in her spirit before she saw any evidence in the natural. This chapter deliberated how we don’t have to keep asking God over and over instead we can learn to receive it and believe that it has happened. We can thank Him for it and this shows that we trust Him and His power. He also went over how we don’t need to cancel out our prayers with doubts and unbelief. Being double minded isn’t going to help you.
I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is ready for a change and they are tired of praying small prayers. This book will inspire you to pray bold prayers and to take the limits off God and believe and then receive it. It was very eye opening to me to be reminded about how we don’t have to keep praying and instead we can receive it by faith. We can learn to control our doubts and not being doubled minded. The stories presented in this book will encourage readers to pray prayers that will stretch your faith. The book also enclosed thirty prayers we can pray such as facing adversity, feeling like a failure, controlling your thoughts, victory over fear, stop living for people’s approval, and much more. There is a special section of discussion questions. This book is another excellent book from pastor, Joel Osteen and readers will love it!
“I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon:
• Buy tickets today to see I Am Living Proof in theaters starting March 9!
• I Am Living Proof is a compelling and intimate look into the lives of three individuals who face an extraordinary life-altering event. Bri, once a promising student, finds her academic dreams derailed by an illness that’s deteriorating her body. For seven years, she’s caught in a cycle of failed medical treatments and excruciating pain, pushing her toward assisted suicide. Steve’s life spirals out of control after a workplace accident leaves him dependent on opioids. Jobless and desperate, he attempts to end it all with an overdose. Mary, a mother of five, faces debilitating pain from a spinal injury that leaves her unable to care for her children—until a vivid dream sparks an unexpected turning point. Unbeknownst to them, their paths are about to intersect with Mario Murillo, a traveling preacher who’s spent his life sharing God’s love and healing power when his old-school-style tent revival happens to be in town. This chance encounter challenges their beliefs and offers a glimmer of hope in their darkest hours.
I Am Living Proof chronicles their transformative experiences as we together meet
the real God of miracles.
• In the summer of 2022, thousands gathered under a revival tent in Colorado Springs
as churches across the community joined forces to host renowned evangelist Mario Murillo. Among the countless testimonies of healing that emerged, three extraordinary stories from local residents captured the attention of director Bob Maddux and producer Shane Gilbert. These compelling accounts of transformation - each uniquely powerful - demanded to be shared with a broader audience, leading to the creation of this groundbreaking documentary.
• Watch this powerful documentary in theaters starting March 9th!
• Short Synopsis: Is God real? If so, where is He? Meet three skeptics suffering from
critical illnesses when they attend a healing meeting at a modern-day tent revival
whose lives are forever changed.
My Review:
I Am Living Proof is a brand new documentary featuring the teaching of evangelist Mario Murillo. He begun a movement using an idea from God about conducting big white tents and using them for miracles and healings. It started in 2022 in Colorado Springs. The film is focused on three key individuals who were all experiencing pain and desperately wanted healing. Bri was a student who had high hopes of graduating when everything changed. She was dealing with physical pain that no one could explain. I have been there before myself when I was battling Lyme disease and had extreme pain, and kidney stones issues for a period of time. I too felt the suicide ideas and the hopelessness. But eventually I was healed as well with 3 months of antibiotics. I liked how the film covered three stories that viewers could easily relate to connect with how they wanted to be healed. Some wasn’t instantly they had to attend a few times before it happened. It was very inspirational and it begs the question is God for real and where is He in our suffering. I was in awe in watching the miracles that occurred at the tent and how they received their healing. I also like how the film included medical professionals and their opinions as well as scriptures discussing healing.
Check out my blog and book reviews. I like to review Christian, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, and pretty much anything else in between. Feel free to contact me if you want me to review your books. Just check out the section "About Me". Then click "View My Complete Profile" for my email address. Thank you!
Welcome to My Blogger:
Check out my blog and book reviews. I like to review Christian, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, and pretty much anything else in between. Feel free to contact me if you want me to review your books.
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