"The Way Home" (DVD) published by Lionsgate

What I have to say...
     In “The Way Home,” a DVD published by Lionsgate, a father is tasked to watch his two-year-old son while packing the van for family vacation. He becomes distracted and returns to find his son missing. He and his wife frantically search the area for sign of their son. As they are tested by this difficult circumstance an outstanding amount of support is shown by their community.

     This is definitely an acceptable movie for family night. However, the plot seems more promising of a good story than it is. I watched it with my sister and we both felt the same way; the movie was good but it wasn’t great. I was actually shocked to find out that the movie was a true story, simply because the writing didn’t seem very realistic. Some of the characters reactions and verbal responses seemed like they were just “the right things” to say if you’re a Christian in this circumstance rather than “the real things” you do and say as a Christian who is walking with God through a difficult situation. I really wish I could say this movie was better; I was looking so forward to watching it. While it would not be a waste of your time to watch it, I wouldn’t put it at the top of your list.

To purchase this dvd go here:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400316936&title=The_Way_Home
or here:
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Home-Sub-Ac3-Dol/dp/B003WJ6VE0/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1283354457&sr=1-2

**I received this dvd free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.**

"Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado

What I have to say...
Max Lucado’s Outlive Your Life is a study on Acts unlike any other I’ve seen. Lucado challenges the reader to take after the example of the early church we read about in Acts and get up and make a difference in the world around us for the Lord. Each chapter starts with a scripture verse and ends with one along with a prayer. At the end of the book you’ll find a discussion and action guide that has suggestions to take action that are both reasonable and impactful. Our world is a distant one covered with a façade, we are called to have compassion on this world, to not just see those in need, but to really see the heart of them and to take compassion on them. To use those action words. We really should live in a way that we would be proud if our great-great-great-grandchildren heard about how we responded to the world around us. In a way that we will be excited when the Lord holds are actions accountable to us, to have confidence that we made our Daddy proud! This book has truly challenged me in the way I respond to those around me, especially to those I may not be particularly fond of.
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=0849920698&title=Outlive_Your_Life&author=Max_Lucado
http://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Your-Life-Were-Difference/dp/0849920698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281477971&sr=1-1
For more Max Lucado:
Facebook.com/upwordsministry
Twitter.com/maxlucado
Twitter.com/lucadoteam
Community.maxlucado.com

**I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.**

“You Changed my Life: Stories of Real People with Remarkable Hearts” by Max Lucado

What I have to say...
Max Lucado’s, You Changed my Life: Stories of Real People with Remarkable Hearts, is one of those reads that is bound to challenge, inspire, and change your life. It is a short read with small but hugely powerful stories. Designed to give as a gift to someone who has changed your life, it even comes with space for you to write your own story of appreciation to the receiver of the book. There are many stories of unknown heroes who had courage to do both small and big things that impacted someone’s life for the better. Some of these actions took great courage, while others may be easily overlooked. They are separated into different categories from compassion to friendship. These stories are accompanied by pictures that inspire my love of photography and little inspirational quotes. It’s the perfect size for a “coffee table” book and the stories are the perfect size for any library. Some stories you may recognize from other works by Lucado, but every one will inspire you to tell the people in your life just how much they matter in yours. We often do not thank those who change our lives, but they are exactly who we do not want to overlook. This book is a great way to thank them!
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1404187839&title=You_Changed_My_Life
buy on Amazon
**I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.**

"The Boy Who Changed the World" by Andy Andrews

What I have to say...
Best selling author, Andy Andrews, does a wonderful job illustrating with the art of words exactly what the butterfly effect is in his children’s book The Boy Who Changed the World. Philip Hurst does his job well in the wonderful illustrations that add to the story. The story starts with how a boy named Norman changed the world, and throughout his story a butterfly follows along. Once you finish reading about Norman you find out that really a boy named Henry changed the world and there you see a new butterfly following him along. Then you find out that Henry really didn’t change the world but in fact it was…you get the picture. Not only do you find out how 4 different boys changed the world, but you may actually recognize some historical figures. This is a great book for any child who is old enough to sit and listen to a story that has more than one sentence on the page. In fact, I think the adult reading it to them will enjoy the story and learn something from it as well. Not only does the lesson ring loud and clear that every good choice you make, no matter how small can change the world, but I think the challenge will be heard by the children who read it and confidence to make those choices instilled within them.

**I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.**

"Havah: the Story of Eve" by Tosca Lee

What I have to say...
You know a book is good when you finish reading it and think to yourself “Man, do I love to read.” That is what happened to me when I read Tosca Lee’s Havah: the Story of Eve. When I wasn’t reading it, I was literally dreaming about it. We know about Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Lee fills the reader in on the in-between-the-lines as she would imagine it to have been. Havah starts off with a poetic feel, which is fitting, I think, coming from the female voice-that of Havah’s. I think sometimes we get stuck in these stories we’ve always heard, barely understanding. Lee finds the heart of Eve in this story, connecting the reader to that which we came. I’ve recently started to track my family tree, and as I find things out about my ancestors I find out why I am certain ways. We are so lucky to have accounts of our earliest ancestors and Lee finds their humanness, connecting us to where we came. You will have to keep telling yourself that this is fiction; that it is not fiction at all. As soon as I closed the back cover, I cracked open Genesis, I just had to see where the lines crossed! I don’t think I will ever read my bible the same again; I will try to look at the heart of who I am reading about.
http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/fiction/products.asp?p=9781433668791#about
Havah: Author Spotlight video
Havah: Book Trailer video
http://www.amazon.com/Havah-Tosca-Lee/dp/1433668793/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282668567&sr=1-1

"Demon:A Memoir" by Tosca Lee

What I have to say...
Demon: A Memoir, by Tosca Lee, is one of those books that make you think. The title’s strong; it will draw you in or make you run away. If the title turns you away I urge you to read specifically about what led Lee to write this novel. The questions she asks are ones that you’ll wonder why you’ve never asked yourself. If it draws you in, let it continue to work its magic. This love story that God is so intricately writing, Lee retells in a way that you probably have never heard nor read; from the view-point of a demon. Maybe the least important aspect is how the demon feels, which is what propels the story--therefore making it the most important. Let me explain, through the demon’s story you will find your own. Lucian, the demon, is ravenously jealous over God’s love for humans who mess up repeatedly. This is why “it” wants to tell this story through an editor. The editor, who is cleverly named Clay, becomes wholly enthralled into this task. In the end he faces an ultimate decision, the same as us all. Clay symbolizes every one of us-- those who have heard of God’s love, of his sacrifice, and those who have not. Either way we all must make the same choice, or choose not to make it, that’s still a choice. I urge you to make the choice to read this book.
sample chapter
http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/books/products.asp?p=9781433668807

"Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God" by Max Lucado

Thomas Nelson product page

What I have to say...
Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God definitely tops my favorites list when it comes to books written by Max Lucado. There is just something about his writing style that I love. Each chapter is the story of a different person from the bible. The way Lucado tells each story is uncommon, suitably so since these are stories about “common people and an Uncommon God.” He tells their stories as if they are happening today. I think this aspect helps the unbeliever to understand and the believer to understand stories that they’ve heard and read a million times in a fresh way. You’ve probably heard these stories before, and if you’ve read a lot of Lucado’s books you’ve probably even heard them the way that he tells them. Little did I know I had already read one of the stories that spoke to me most; I guess this was just the time in my life that I really needed to HEAR it. I love how each separate story comes together to form the entire book and an overall message that I think is most magnified in the last couple chapters, those about Lazarus and Peter. These aren’t just their stories, this is your story.


This book was provided for review by Book Sneeze.