Lost & Found ~ Finding Hope in the Detours of Life

     This is a biography about a young woman named Sarah Jakes.  Growing up her life was anything but typical.  Her father was a well-known pastor of a mega church.  The life of a pastor’s daughter definitely created problems that most children don’t usually experience as they grow up.  However, when she became pregnant at the age of 13 her life as a young girl changed forever.  Her parents loved her through it all and because of her parents she was able to continue her education as well as to be a mother.

     Sarah struggles with relationships and her relationship ship with God is also a continuous struggle.  God however, never gives up on her and He is always there for her during her many trials of life. 

     This book gives the reader hope in knowing that no matter where we may be in our walk with the Lord, or the detour that we might be on, God can still find us.

     I had a hard time getting through this book.   By the last 50-75 pages, I found myself skimming through the pages.  It seemed so repetitive to me and I would have preferred that there wasn't so much detail about the same thing that happened in her life over and over.  But...I'm not an author... and maybe there is a reason for that.  :-)

I was provided with this book free of charge.  In exchange, I agreed to provide my honest review.

Bic Product Review

It was just another boring Thursday afternoon at my house and then…the mail came!!! As you can tell…I lead a very exciting life.  J.  Seriously, I really do enjoy the opportunity that Shoplet gives me to test out products.   I hope that you have already taken the opportunity to check out Shoplet for  Office Supplies, Promotional Products, Medical Supplies, Office Stationary or other items that you need.

I received a box of Big Pens and Big Markers and I could hardly wait to try them.  Pens!  Pens!!  Pens!!! and…Markers!!!!

First up is BIC Tech 2 in 1 Retractable Ball Pen and Stylus.  Like a lot of people that have iPhones or iPads, I have a stylus.  But having a combination of a retractable pen and a stylus together is wonderful.   I’m always replacing my stylus because I lose it ALL THE TIME.  I hope that since the Stylus 2 in 1 Pen is larger, I won’t be replacing it as often.  J  I love using it on my iPad.   It seems to glide across the screen and I’ve added it to my replace when its lost list. 

Next up...the BIC Intensity Permanent Pen.  It certainly didn’t take me long to add this little pen to my stash of favorite pens.  I love fine point pens and this one writes soooo smoothly!  One more important thing ~ it’s doesn’t bleed through your paper, which is pretty important to me!

Next, the BIC Velocity Roller Ball Retractable Gel Pen.  I’m not a big fan of gel pens because they usually smear while I’m writing.  However this gel pen showed no sign of smearing at all!  I was able to write quickly across the paper and the pen seemed to flow across the page.  It is a medium point pen (0.7mm) and since I write rather large, it allows me to write smoothly as I attempt to stay in the space on my lined paper.  

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I love to write, and writing with different colors of pen always brings a breath of fresh ink.  Here are the BIC Atlantis Ballpoint Retractable Pens and they are bright PINK!!!.  They are very comfortable to hold on to while writing because of their contoured grip.  Nice!  They are a Medium point (1.0mm) but they worked for me as well!  Don’t you just love pink!!!!! I can hardly wait to write on my firsties papers when school starts back up.  There are going to be some excited kids!

Last up are these Bic Markers.  These markers claim to write on “most hard-to-mark surfaces such as glass, metal, photos, foils, coated papers, CDs, DVDs and most plastics.”  I decided to check it out by writing on one of my student’s workbooks that have a weird coating on them.  For some reason my Sharpies do not stay on them very well.  These Bic Markers worked just fine.  I am now a believer of their claimed. 

That's it my friends.  I hope I have enticed you to go and check them out.  I have some writing and some reading to do, so I'm checking out for now.  

I was provided these items free of charge.  In exchange, I agreed to provide an honest review for this products.  

REVIEW ~ Squiggly Gets Glasses by Dawn Clark

I’m always on the lookout for books to add to my classroom library.  I was anxious to read this one to see if I wanted to add it to my library, I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed.  Perhaps it was the edition I was reading, but the placement of items seemed to be in the wrong places.  Hopefully the printed version will be much better.J

Squiggly has to go to the eye doctor (Dr. Peepers) because he has problems reading the writing on the board at school.  He gets glasses and is totally thrilled to be wearing them.   I was hoping that problems would be addressed with someone getting new glasses, like a child making fun of him.  This would have been a wonderful teaching moment for students. If I were reading it, I would definitely addresses several issues.   

It is a book that I think small children would really enjoy.  The illustrations are colorful and fun to look at.  

I receive this ebook from NetGalley free of charge.   In exchange, I agreed to review this book and give my honest opinion.

Between Us Girls by Sally John REVIEW

Once again I was searching for a new author and I definitely found one to add to my list of favorites.  Sally John did an amazing job writing this precious book.  The characters were so easy to relate to and I couldn’t help but like each one of them. This story brings together a group of people that have their own history.  I love how Sally John was able to weave their lives into a story that was truly lovely.

For the most part, the setting is at Casa de Vida which is a group of bungalows that are located together and only a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean.  Liv, the owner, trust God to provide someone if there becomes a vacancy.   The Lord certainly did that when Liv first met Jasmyn Albright on the beach.  She quickly became a resident at the Casa de Vida.  Although Jasmyn was unaware of what was happening, God was at work in her life.  Jasmyn was a mess when she first took temporary residence at the Caa de Vida.  Liv, was there to talk to her whenever Jasmyn needed to talk.  They quickly became friends.

This book focuses on friendships and relationships.   There are many other characters in the book and as the story continues to unfold throughout the book,  the characters share their life with others in the group.  Their personalities are different, but somehow they mesh together quite well. 

I definitely loved reading about the relationship that Liv  and God had.  Her relationship with each of her tenants is guided by her relationship with God.  Truly a wonderful thing to read. 

This is one book that I had a hard time putting down and I read in a few short days.  

I received Between Us Girls for free from NetGalley.  In exchange I agreed to write this honest review.  My opinion was not swayed in any way.  

Nine Words Max by Dan Bar-el

Oh my goodness…this book is absolutely hilarious!!!  The pictures throughout the story definitely helps the reader see the characters.  Just look at the book cover above, you can definitely tell there is one of the characters creating problems.  I thoroughly enjoyed the mixture of trivia, sarcasm and the way the story progressed.  I read it to my first graders and although they didn’t “get” everything, they giggle throughout.  

Maximilian is a young prince.  He loves to ask questions.  He then answers the questions with LONG, insightful, and ramblings that go never seem to end.   His three brothers are beyond irritated that their brother talks so much.  The boys take the opportunity to have a spell put on Maximilian when the King and Queen go on a vacation.  The wizard’s spell allows Max to speak only 9 words at a time. 

At first, the boys think it is absolutely wonderful.  They quickly encounter a huge problems when a queen from another country comes to visit and they realize that they need Maximilian’s help to get them out of the situation that has been created.

I received an ebook copy of Nine Words Max from NetGalley. In exchange, I have written this honest review.

Undetected by Dee Henderson

I found myself struggling through the first couple of chapters and well as many other places throughout this book.  The information that was given about submarines went way beyond my interest.  In my opinion, the book did not need to be almost 500 pages long.  I personally would have enjoyed it more if the story line had omitted a bunch of the technical stuff.  But that is just me.J However, if you are interested in the Navy, submarines, submarine procedures, submarine warfare, sonar discoveries, scientific discoveries, etc. you will probably find this to be a very interesting book.

There are very few characters in Undetected.  They all are quite interesting for different reasons  Gina Gray is a woman that is smarter than any smart person. J  In fact, she will mostly likely always have a security detail following her because of her vast knowledge and discoveries which other countries would definitely want!   When a 2-year relationship falls apart, she decides to go visit Jeff, her brother, and to continue working on a theory she has at the Naval base.   

Jeff wants his sister to get into another relationship so he ask his best friend Mark to ask her out.  Mark is a widow, a captain on a submarine and very thoughtful man.  He declines partly because of their age difference, but eventually he regrets that decision.  Jeff decides to set him up with Daniel.  Daniel is also in the Navy and a very likeable character.  He quickly realizes how special Gina is and pursues the relationship.  Mark begins to realize that he should have pursued a relationship with Gina, despite their age difference because he has feelings for her.  As the relationships develop Gina realizes that one or both of these men will end up getting hurt.

It is a different sort of love story partly because of the personality of each of the characters and partly because of the other stuff that you have to weed through to get to the romance.  You will need to read the book to see how to the story unfolds.

  

Dee Henderson is a totally new author for me.  I must say I love discovering new authors and adding them to my list of favorite authors.  I’m going to have to give her another chance to be added to this list!!!!

I received copy of Undetected from Bethany House.  The opinions expressed about this book are my own and were not influenced in any way.