Books

Unjunk Your Junk Food

April 15, 2012 By Virginia 4 Comments

I recently joined the review team for Naturally Savvy.

Admittedly, I am not a “crunchy” mama. I know am not green enough, natural enough, or organic enough to be considered crunchy. I am, however, migrating my family toward healthier lifestyles, and I like the Naturally Savvy website. So, when I had a chance to join their team of reviewers, I signed up. Naturally.

As a reviewer for Naturally Savvy, I recently received a copy of the new book Unjunk Your Junk Food, coauthored by Andrea Donsky, Randy Boyer, and Lisa Tsakos.

As a parent of a child with a food allergy, I am a label reader. By necessity, I always read the ingredient labels first, because I am looking for the allergen. Coupled with this, as a family, we have become more conscious of other things in our foods, as well. And we want better options.

Several months ago, I declared that we were doing away with boxed foods altogether. I failed. Miserably. Because, let’s face it, boxes are more convenient and often easier. Not to mention CHEAPER. That’s where the Unjunk Your Junk Food guide comes in handy. The point of the book is to help you avoid the junk (i.e. chemical additives, colors, etc) in your food.

The book lists The Scary Seven, or seven things you DON’T want to see in your foods. What are The Scary Seven?

HFCS: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (AKA glucose-fructose in Canada)
TRANS-FATS: Anything listed as ‘partially hydrogenated’ or ‘hydrogenated’ (includes vegetable shortening);
MSG: Monosodium glutamate;
ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS: Any artificial flavoring;
ARTIFICIAL COLORS: Any type of artificial dyes;
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS: Chemical sweeteners including Aspartame, Splenda (sucralose), Ace-K (Acesulfame Potassium), Saccharine, etc.
PRESERVATIVES: Polysorbate 60, 65 & 80, TBHQ, Sodium Benzoate, BHA, BHT, Sulfur Dioxide (sulfites).

You’d be surprised by how few items in most pantries escape without at least ONE of the seven in them. I know I was. Even my “healthy” nutrition bars have some of the scary stuff in them. Bleh. While my cupboard isn’t quite there yet (I do use Splenda), it is moving in the right direction! The healthiest packaged food in my cupboard? WOWBUTTER.

The NaturallySavvy.com team has started an ‘edible (R)evolutionTM and I plan to join in. Check it out, you may decide to join, too! While your at it, Like Naturally Savvy on Facebook.

Unjunk Your Junk Food is available wherever books are sold, including on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

Filed Under: Books, Reviews Tagged With: Book, healthy eating, natural, Review

Beckon- A Book Giveaway (4/29)

April 14, 2012 By Virginia 3 Comments

I recently read Beckon, by Tom Pawlik, which I received from Tyndale and shared my review here.

As I said in my review, it was my first Pawlik novel, and despite the heebie jeebies that spider like creatures gave me, I simply could NOT put it down. The book was pure literary adrenaline, and convinced me that I should read more Pawlik.

More frequently than not, when I post a review of a book I receive from one of the book blogging networks, that is the end of said review. Imagine my surprise, then, when I received an email from Mr. Tom Pawlik himself, thanking me for my review.

(not to mention my surprise that he was familiar with Hay Wells Syndrome!!!)

Anyway! He graciously offered four signed soft-cover copies of Beckon for giveaway. Squee! I think that’s awesome!

About Beckon… Some things are better left undiscovered. Three people—an ex-cop investigating the mysterious disappearance of her cousin; a business genius looking to retire AND looking for a miracle cure; an anthropologist researching a legend in hopes of finding closure—all find themselves in Beckon, a small town in Wyoming. All three discover, one by one, that the town they hoped held their answers has a ghastly secret that the residents will protect at all costs… will any of them survive?

See for yourself…

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Giveaways Tagged With: Book, giveaway, lovetoread, mustread, Review

The 5 Love Languages of Children

April 11, 2012 By Virginia 3 Comments

A years ago, my Mother-in-Law blessed me with a copy of The 5 Love Languages of Children. She knows that one of my all time favorite non-fiction books is The Five Love Languages, written by Gary Chapman, and that I make an effort to read it every year. It made sense, then, that as a new Mom, I would enjoy and come to treasure the book that details how to best love your child in the love language that he or she speaks.

Considering that I frequently think my child speaks a different language altogether, she couldn’t have picked a better book for me. As a 21 years old, it made sense to me that my Dad speaks an entirely different love language than I do. I don’t know why, then, as a thirty something parent, I was flabbergasted to realize that my child doesn’t speak the same love language as me. But… it’s MY child. Of course their love language should be the same…

NOT.

In fact, both of my children speak a different language.

My primary love language is Words of Affirmation. Words have the power to build me up, or tear me down. Mister’s primary love language is quality time. He feels most loved when I play a game with him, read him a book, watch a show sitting next to him, etc. Sister, on the other hand, speaks love through physical touch. She feels most loved when I hug her, pick her up, let her sit on my lap, massage her shoulders, etc.

Did you catch that? Neither one of those are words of affirmation. I have to love my kids differently than I feel loved. And their attitudes and behavior will strongly reflect how well I am doing. When children feel loved, they do their best. I know, for example, that when my daughter throws fit after fit after fit, she hasn’t been getting enough hugs. I also know that when my son gets sullen or starts to back talk, he feels like I haven’t been spending enough time with him.

I love that The 5 Love Languages of Children has helped me discover Mister and Sister’s primary language and what I can do to effectively convey unconditional feelings of respect, affection, and commitment that ensures they know they are loved beyond measure. It isn’t always easy to love someone in a language that isn’t your primary love language. But knowing is half the battle.

The 5 Love Languages of Children is available wherever books are sold, including many Christian retailers and on Amazon. It would make a great gift for Mom this Mother’s Day or Dad this Father’s Day.

Learn more about The 5 Love Languages by checking them out at 5lovelanguages.com/, by liking the 5LoveLanguages on Facebook, or by following Dr. Gary Chapman on Twitter.

If you haven’t already, also check out A Perfect Pet for Peyton, a new book by Rick Osborne and Gary Chapman, designed to help children understand the love languages. My kids love it!

***Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.***

***I originally received The Five Love Languages of Children as a gift from my Mother-in-Law. I also received a review copy of from the publisher. I have donated my extra copy to our church resource library.***

Filed Under: Books, Faith, Family, Reviews Tagged With: Book, lovetoread, mustread, Review

Beckon by Tom Pawlik

April 5, 2012 By Virginia 7 Comments

I don’t typically read horror thriller type novels. However, when I first saw the cover of Beckon, by Tom Pawlik, I was immediately intrigued and requested a review copy through Tyndale.

Tom Pawlik is a Christy-Award winning author. Aside from Beckon, his works include Vanish, Valley of the Shadow, and a novella- Recollection from the 7 Hours anthology. Tom Pawlik is well loved for writing, which is as thought provoking as it is attention grabbing. That being said… this is my first Pawlik.

About Beckon… Some things are best left undiscovered. Three people—a young anthropologist researching a Native American legend; an ex-cop investigating her cousin’s mysterious disappearance; a retiring business genius hoping for a miracle cure—all find themselves in the small town of Beckon, Wyoming. All three are searching for answers, one by one they discover the town has a ghastly secret that the residents will protect at all costs… will any of them survive?

My thoughts… Beckon is pure literary adrenaline! While there were elements in the book that simply gave me the heebie jeebies (i.e. spider like creatures), I simply could NOT put it down. From the moment Jack, Ben, and Rudy enter the caves I was hooked.

While Beckon addresses faith, morality, and mortality—with the question “What would you give for the ability to live forever? Would it be worth it?—I would not label it as “Christian fiction” but rather as “fiction written by a Christian.” The difference? No mention is made of salvation, only vague references to prayer and one character’s joy and peace, which were related to her faith. Of course, the contrast between eternal life and earthbound immortality existed, though it was left virtually unexplored.

I will be checking out Pawlik’s other works!

Beckon is available on Amazon, ChristianBook.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and at Christian retailers nationwide.

***Courtesy copy provided by publisher to facilitate review. All opinions are my own.***

Illusion by Frank Peretti

April 4, 2012 By Virginia 3 Comments

If you enjoy fiction, with a sci-fi twist, you will love Illusion by Frank Peretti, which is his first major release in seven years. Frank Peretti is the author of New York Times bestsellers This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness, both of which made him one of the foremost storytellers living today.

About Illusion…

Dane and Mandy were a couple, brought together by their love of magic, that were deeply in love. A popular magic act for forty years, they are preparing to retire when they are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life. Or so it seems.

As Dane mourns and tries to rebuild his life without her, Mandy, wakes up in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Plagued by bizarre memories, she turns to the one thing she knows for certain to build a new life… her love of magic. A grieving Dane goes to see a new magic act and is floored to see the young women, who resembles the women he fell in love with forty years prior.

They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy’s powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her.

This 576 page novel is as emotionally complex as it is transfixing. At points, I was just as confused as Mandy was. At other points, just as heartbroken as Dane. How is it that two master illusionists become the subject of one great illusion—and are quite unaware for the longest time. Peretti is a master wordsmith and is brilliant at taking the unusual—the unexplainable even—and giving them plausible explanation that is faith based.

I’ll be honest and tell you, the only thing I didn’t like about the book was the cover (top left). It looked like someone had been hanged, and while I enjoy a good whodunit book, I don’t like gore on the cover. Fortunately, for whatever reason, the cover was changed for street copy.

Illusion is available on Amazon, ChristianBook.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and at Christian retailers nationwide.

***Courtesy copy of the book provided by publisher to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.***