Book Review: Mackenzie Goes Adventuring By J. L. Baumann

Mackenzie Goes Adventuring

By J. L. Baumann

This is a very delightful book about two young snookies who seek an adventure together. Mackenzie Goes Adventuring by J. L. Baumann is a cute story that reminds children they should listen and do what they are told.

The book is very colorful and beautifully illustrated. The patter of the rhyme reminds one of Dr. Suess.  It has  the kind of feel to it of The Night Before Christmas.

We give Mackenzie Goes Adventuring all five stars. We think kids will love the book and want you to read it to them again and again.

You will want to buy a copy of this for every child on your Christmas list.  It just may inspire a love of reading and adventure in your young charges.

We were sent a complimentary copy of Mackenzie Goes Adventuring.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

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Book Review: NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible: Confidence for Such a Time As This from the Emmanuel Foundation

NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible: Confidence for Such a Time As This from the Emmanuel Foundation

To say this book is a study Bible is sort of a misnomer.  Usually, when we think of a study Bible we think of a Bible which has cross references and notes with references, etc.  

NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible: Confidence for Such a Time As This from the Emmanuel Foundation is different.  

We read the Bible everyday and have several study Bibles, each one has a little something different. Some have quite a few maps and illustrations.  One is laden with footnotes that explain in a little more depth what is going on and gives cross references to other parts of the Bible that help to understand the passage.

The NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible does not have all that.  It does have some notes about translation differences in other translations of the Bible.

It also has what could be called articles sprinkled throughout the Bible that discuss the message that all Christians should be getting but many aren’t. The Emmanuel Foundation takes on the issues that preachers should be preaching about but so few do because they are afraid that people don’t want to hear about their sins; they only want to hear about how good they are doing and that everything under the sun is okay.

This NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible gives what should be a wake up call to Christians who have grown up in a world of political correctness and tolerance.   One should read Matthew 7:21-24 to see that many of these so called “tolerant Christians” are not correct. All Christians should read these articles and hear what they may not be hearing from the pulpit of their church.

We give NKJV, Unapologetic Study Bible: Confidence for Such a Time As This from the Emmanuel Foundation all five stars.  We feel like The Emmanuel Foundation is correct in its assessment of what the Bible really says.  This would make a great gift for any Christian.  

The only real issue we have is minor. When this Bible breaks into an article, it often does so in the middle of a Bible chapter.  This sometimes breaks the flow of reading.  This is only a very minor issue.

We were sent a complimentary PDF copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Lies, Half-Truths, and More Lies By Herb Reich

Lies, Half-Truths, and More Lies

By Herb Reich

Herb Reich lost us very early in his book Lies, Half-Truths, and More Lies when he spoke of an inconsistency in the Bible that does not exist.  He discusses where Noah was instructed to take on two of every animal and then was instructed to take on seven of every clean animal.  He states that to be an inconsistency.

This is a good example of Reich’s poor research.  The Bible does say two of each and then later seven.  What Reich fails to observe is that God tells Noah to take two and then later it is God telling Noah, in addition to the two, to take seven pairs of the clean animals.  It is a total of 16 each of the clean animals so that there will be animals for the sacrifices.

Many of the so-called lies believed by Reich are akin to how headlines read in the checkout tabloids.  He gives us a so-called lie and then just corrects minor details.  Case in point, the shootout at the OK Corral actually took place in an adjacent alley.  Is this important?  If I tell you to meet me at the river, I don’t mean in the river, I mean in the general proximity.

There are some interesting tidbits of information. But Reich helps to perpetuate some lies as well. The press could not find any real faults about Dan Quayle, so they made them up.  Reich actually quotes some of these fabrications and continues to state that Quayle said them.

We give Lies, Half-Truths, and More Lies three stars because it is entertaining, and there is some fun information there, too. We just wish he were a little more factually accurate.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships By Sallie Sherman, Josephy Sperry, and Steve Vucelich

Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships

By Sallie Sherman, Josephy Sperry, and Steve Vucelich

As anyone who is in any type of business is aware, relationships with others are important when it comes to business.

Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships will help the reader identify what relationships they have and how to effectively deal with them.

This book is well-written while not necessarily very engaging to the reader.  It isn’t one of those business books that holds the reader’s interest.  However, it does contain a lot of helpful information.

We give Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships four stars.  It is very informative, but lacks a little on style in that it isn’t particularly entertaining.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: This is Texas, Y’all! The Lone Star State from A to Z By Misha Maynerick Blaise

This is Texas, Y’all! The Lone Star State from A to Z  
By Misha Maynerick Blaise

#TexasStrong if you want to learn a little bit of Texas trivia then This is Texas, Y’all! The Lone Star State from A to Z by Misha Maynerick Blaise is a pretty good place to start.  

The author tells a lot about Texas history and all things Texas.  She gets most of it right.  The only two things we see where she may be wrong are both food related.  

Texans can be very opinionated and fanatic about a lot of things like football.  However, when it gets down to barbeque and chili, there are many opinions about what is real Texas and what isn’t.

For some, chili is not chili without beans. It has been pointed out that chili without beans is chili sauce and that chili does not have to contain meat. That is why we have the term Chili Con Carne.  

Some would argue that barbecue without sauce is not barbeque.  Some would argue over mustard-based sauce versus ketchup-based sauce, etc.  The only real consensus we have found over barbeque is that it is slow roasted meat.  One does not barbeque steaks, hamburgers, or hotdogs.  You grill those.

With those two things being the only places we disagree with this author, we must say that This is Texas, Y’all! captures most of what is truly Texas.

This book is well-researched and very well-written.  The illustrations are colorful and cute. We give it all five stars.  This would make a great gift for that wannabe Texan on your Christmas list.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: This Phenomenal Life: The Amazing Ways We Are Connected With Our Universe By Misha Maynerick Blaise

This Phenomenal Life: The Amazing Ways We Are Connected With Our Universe

By Misha Maynerick Blaise

You may believe, as we do, in creation.  This does not mean that the Big Bang Theory is not still possible.  The two can exist side by side. We do not know how Heavenly Father went about creating this world. We just know that He did.  

This Phenomenal Life: The Amazing Ways We Are Connected With Our Universe by Misha Maynerick Blaise does not take on that debate.  Instead, it presents loads of information regarding our lives, science, and the similarities and differences in all kinds of life.

This book is very colorfully illustrated.  The author draws on a great deal of research to deliver loads of information to her readers.

We found the information presented to be very well-written and very interesting.  Although we cannot agree with absolutely everything that is presented, we can tell you that This Phenomenal Life is a very interesting and perhaps eye-opening read, too.

We give This Phenomenal Life all five stars.  We think that this book can make a very interesting book for parents and children to read together and discuss.  

We believe reading this book will give parents an ideal forum to open up a dialog with their children to discuss their beliefs.  

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Passages By Anne Hamre

Passages

By Anne Hamre

Passages by Anne Hamre is a fictionalized account of a true family story.  It is the story of the grandparents of the author.  The big picture is true.  But, as we all know, we can’t possibly know every word or deed in the lives of our grandparents. Creative license comes into play to get the story from one point to the other.   This author uses this license well.

The first thing that came to my mind as I was pondering this review was the description many years ago of the movie Miracle on 34th Street. There is something in Passages for everyone. If you love history, it is in here. If you love drama, it is in here. This book will make you laugh and smile, but it will also make you cry.  There are very happy times and extremely sad times as well.

It is a book about choices and how those choices have played out in the lives of the author’s grandparents. It is a book of the hopes and dreams of a young couple in love and realities that seem to fight them every step of the way. We can all relate to life sometimes getting in the way of living.

It is about stepping forward into your dreams and not looking back, shedding tears as you reach for the smiles life may offer you. It is about going all in and holding fast to your convictions.

It is about the power of love and the love of family. It is one family’s story, but the story of so many.

Read Passages and ponder what it says to you. What is your family’s story?  

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Reaching Your Next Summit! 9 Vertical Lessons for Leading with Impact by Manley Feinberg II

Reaching Your Next Summit! 9 Vertical Lessons for Leading with Impact

By Manley Feinberg II

It is very engaging how Manley Feinberg II was able to weave leadership lessons into several very entertaining stories about extreme rock climbing in some amazing locations.

We give Reaching Your Next Summit! 9 Vertical Lessons for Leading with Impact by Manley Feinberg II all five stars on just the amazing photography.  Add in a very entertaining story or two and some leadership lessons and you have yourself one awesome book.

Feinberg makes the characters in this book come alive.  His story of how one airline employee was indifferent to his plight, but then how several others came to his aid, is very well-told.  

The reader sits on the edge of his seat while reading to find out what happened in several third world countries where Manley was trying to get to his once-in-a-lifetime climb.  And then again when he is trying to get back home.

Reaching Your Next Summit! should be on your gift list of books to give the business and/or management student on your Christmas gift list.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Raw, Quick & Delicious! 5-Ingredient Recipes in Just 15 Minutes By Douglas McNish

Raw, Quick & Delicious! 5-Ingredient Recipes in Just 15 Minutes

By Douglas McNish

We would all love to eat healthier, at least most of us would.  But, how do you eat health foods without giving up taste and variety?  Well, Raw, Quick & Delicious! 5-Ingredient Recipes in Just 15 Minutes by Douglas McNish has the answer.

There is even a recipe for brownies that are actually healthy for you.  We are from Gulf Coast Texas.  Therefore, chili is a must.  There is a recipe in Raw, Quick & Delicious! for chili made with raw ingredients. There is no cooking required.

If you or a loved one has been wanting to eat healthier but did not want to give up taste, now you can have both. We give Raw, Quick & Delicious! all five stars.  The recipes are easy to follow and there are many color photos to entice you to try the recipes.

This would make a great gift for anyone on your list!

We were sent a complimentary copy of Raw, Quick & Delicious!.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: 150 Best Donut Recipes: Fried or Baked By George Geary

150 Best Donut Recipes: Fried or Baked

By George Geary

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the way to a redneck man’s heart must entail deep-fried maple bacon donut bars.  It is a good thing that 150 Best Donut Recipes: Fried or Baked by George Geary has a recipe for that.

No matter how you love your donuts, 150 Best Donut Recipes is bound to have the right recipe for you.  It is chock full of color photos and it gives instructions that are simple to follow. There are even step-by-step numbered illustrations for making some of the recipes.

We give 150 Best Donut Recipes all five stars.  We love it and we know you will, too.  This book will make a great holiday gift for that wannabe baker on your list.  Psst, there is even a recipe for Elvis donuts in here.

Even if you don’t know a teaspoon from a teacup, you can make these simple, easy-to-follow recipes.  

We were sent a complimentary copy of 150 Best Donut Recipes.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 



Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Vegan Everyday: 500 Delicious Recipes By Douglas McNish

Vegan Everyday: 500 Delicious Recipes

By Douglas McNish

You want to eat healthy.  But, you also do not want to have to eat an acre of Bermuda grass or Fescue everyday just to eat healthy.  You want healthy, but you don’t want to give up taste. Vegan Everyday: 500 Delicious Recipes by Douglas McNish has the answer for you.

Who doesn’t like cake?  Well, with vegan everyday you can have watermelon cake. Who wouldn’t like that?  

These recipes are easy to make and very good for you.  We give Vegan Everyday all five stars.  You will like it and you will want to buy a copy for each of your vegan friends.  If you don’t, they will borrow yours.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index By Errol A. Gibbs and Marjorie G. Gibbs

Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index

By Errol A. Gibbs and Marjorie G. Gibbs

What is happy?  Errol A. Gibbs and Marjorie G. Gibbs, a husband and wife team, conducted an in depth study to find out just that. In their book Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index, they give information about that study.

This book is well-written and well-researched.  It is Christian-based and uses countless quotes from famous people both present and very far in the past.

If you are wondering what actually qualifies as happy, and what components make up total happy, this book may just well help you to discover that.

We give Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index five stars.  We think that if you are interested in a study of happiness, you will like Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index by Errol A. Gibbs and Marjorie G. Gibbs.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 
Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: How the Spirit Shapes Prayer: Research findings for Traditional Christians By David S. Luecke

How the Spirit Shapes Prayer: Research findings for Traditional Christians

By David S. Luecke

 

This is a short book that takes a while to read.  The reason it takes a while to read is because it is both a report on an academic research project and a commentary on how effective prayer is.

How the Spirit Shapes Prayer: Research findings for Traditional Christians was written by a Lutheran Clergyman, David S. Luecke.  So, all the findings are from the Lutheran point of view.  

Almost all Holiness denominations have no question that prayer actually changes things.  The author seeks to provide the results of his research, along with his personal findings, regarding answered prayer, starting from the point of no preconceived notion one way or the other, regarding whether God still answers prayer or not.

The book is very well-written.  From the point of view that the author wanted to find out what Lutherans felt regarding prayer, the book was very well-researched. We give How the Spirit Shapes Prayer all five stars.

It would be interesting if Luecke were to continue his research and include other denominations.  This book would make a great gift for any Christian scholar on your list.

We were sent a complimentary copy of How the Spirit Shapes Prayer.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Jimmy Dean The Longest Dog You’ve Ever Seen By Penny A. Smith

Jimmy Dean The Longest Dog You’ve Ever Seen

By Penny A. Smith

 

What isn’t cute about an extremely long wiener dog? Jimmy Dean The Longest Dog You’ve Ever Seen by Penny A. Smith is the story of just such a dog.

This is a cute little story that most little ones will want to hear again and again.  We give it all five stars.  This book is very colorfully illustrated and is absolutely adorable.  

Jimmy Dean is so long he can be inside even when he is outside.  We think young kids will fall in love with Jimmy Dean.  

Jimmy Dean The Longest Dog You've Ever Seen will make a great present for anyone who is very young, or who has a very young child they want to read to.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: You Can Win: A step-by-step tool for Top Achievers. by Shiv Khera

You Can Win: A step-by-step tool for Top Achievers.

by Shiv Khera

We would love to give You Can Win: A step-by-step tool for Top Achievers by Shiv Khera all five stars.  Unfortunately, we can only give it four stars.

The advice and insights offered are very good and very inspiring, but this book needs a proofreader and really needs a fact checker.

There are certain stories that we are familiar with that are not as accurate as they could be, at least not as we have read them in several other places.  The Biblical story of the Ten Lepers from Luke 17:11-19 is told, but is not told the way it is reported in the Bible.

There are several quotes that are slightly misquoted.  In most cases, the meaning is the same or nearly the same.  It would be nice for the book to be more accurate on the things we can fact check so that we can trust it on the things we cannot.

Other than those few points, You Can Win is a great book.  It is very inspiring and motivational.  The chapter on ethics is spot on.  Khera’s insights are very good and uplifting.  

As noted before, we give You Can Win four out of five stars.  With the few points corrected, this book would knock it out of the park.  

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends. by Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Christine McLaughlin

Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends.

by Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Christine McLaughlin

 

If your child is having problems making friends, Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends by Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Christine McLaughlin just might help.

It is a guide for helping kids learn some ways that just might help them make friends, when they are dealing with that awkward situation of being the odd man out.

The concept of the book is very creative.  The authors present different scenarios and guide the reader towards what they feel are the appropriate ways to handle the situation.  The book uses regular text along with cartoons to help hold the reader's interest as well as to underscore their points.

There is a cartoon dog and cat who make light-hearted commentaries throughout the book to make the book more interesting to kids.

We give Growing Friendships all five stars. Whereas it might not work in every situation, the approach presented is probably the best way to attempt to make and keep friendships for older children and young teens.

We think this book would make an excellent gift for any older child/young teen.  Parents will find it helpful, too.  The book could be used to open a dialogue.  

Although Growing Friendships does not have any scripture references, it may still be a good tool for churches to use in small group classes for their youth group.  

This may very well be the best way for church youth groups to empower their kids out on the mission field, also known as school.

Purchase a copy for your youth pastor and one for your church library as well.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Book Review: The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself by Stephen Martin Kohn

The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself

by Stephen Martin Kohn

If you are aware of wrongdoings at your place of work, you will want to read The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself by Stephen Martin Kohn before you take any type of action.

This book is designed to be a guide to what to do when you expect something is wrong and helps you understand what laws may or may not protect you.

This book is chock full of information.  Readers are given many examples of what can go right and what can go terribly wrong.

We give The New Whistleblower’s Handbook all five stars.  Believe it or not, it is very readable and helpful.  It is very well-researched by a top lawyer in the field.  It is well-written and is not in lawyer-speak as one would expect a book like this to be.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 




Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.