I grew up listening to Psalty sing praise songs and Adventures in Odyssey play on the radio on Saturday mornings.

But I was an adult before I learned the true story of what Jesus sacrificed to save me while I was watching an Easter play in 1998.

The story came to life with the actors and choir and I was moved to the core of my heart by the story of the cross.

Jesus won me to Himself that day.  And, I have never been the same.

I have tried to be much more intentional about sharing the stories of the Bible with my children.  We open the Word for wisdom, guidance and direction.  When my boys were small, they loved hearing the story of Daniel and the lion’s den and the three men {whose names I know but am not going to attempt to spell} in the fiery furnace.

Now that the boys are older, we tend to focus on different stories, like Gideon’s fleece or King Hezekiah.  Men of courage and valor.  Men willing to make the hard choices at the Lord’s prompting.

I was so blessed to review this amazing new way to tell the stories of the Bible.

The music and lyrics truly bring these biblical stories to life.

Two of my favorites include It Must Be You (MOSES) sung by Bart Millard and Broken Praise (JOB) by Todd Smith.  I enjoyed every.single.song!  Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant and many other talented Christian artists provide some of their best work for this CD!

I was moved to tears by these songs, peacefully lulled by the lyrics and moved by the musical movement of the stories God wrote.

This is what is being said about The Story:

THE STORY is an unparalleled project from the best-known artists in Christian music. The songs on THE STORY take timeless biblical stories and provide a completely new context into how God’s story of love and redemption intersects with our story of brokenness and failures resulting in a new story of hope and rescue. The CD contains 18 all-new songs written by multiple Dove Award-Winners Nichole Nordeman & Bernie Herms, produced by Brown Bannister & Bernie Herms, and a stellar line-up of artists across all major labels. (Music Inspired By) THE STORY is based on a collaboration with authors Randy Frazee (The Heart Of The Story) & Max Lucado (God’s Story Your Story) as well as Zondervan’s bible The Story.

You can find The Story at Amazon.com and on iTunes.

The Story (watch this video on YouTube for a sneak peek)

This would make a wonderful Christmas gift for family and friends of all ages!

*This is a sponsored review.  I was provided with The Story for my feedback.  All opinions and stories expressed are my own.

Image by Brad Ruggles via Flickr

I was honored to interview Shaun Groves {he allowed three questions} to help spread the word about his new release, Third World Symphony.

I found Shaun’s blog when some of the bloggers I read regularly traveled to Kenya with Compassion International last year. Shaun is an award winning singer and songwriter and recently released a new album, called Third World Symphony.  His passion is helping spread the word about poverty and what we should all be doing to fix it.  He is authentic and funny {a nice combination}.

So, here are the three questions I came up with {and my comments in italics cause of course I have to talk too}:

1. Does your family ever accompany you on Compassion trips overseas?

2. Is there one thing you feel every Christian should be doing to help eradicate poverty and spread the gospel?

{Okay, God is so cool.  Shaun doesn’t read my blog and certainly does not know that I am releasing an ebook on this very topic next month.  Cutting through the clutter of what keeps us from God’s best is so important! I just LOVED this answer}

3.  What is your favorite pizza topping?

I’m craving pizza with white sauce now

Fear has kept me from publishing them.

That and not knowing what the heck am I doing! 

I was thrilled when Sarah Mae, co-founder of the Relevant Conference {a life changing weekend for me last October} and author of one of my favorite blogs, wrote her latest ebook, How to Market and Sell your eBook, everything you need to know to make money with epublishing.

I devoured the ebook.  I even printed it out so I could highlight and take notes.

The book delivers on it’s promise to teach you everything you need to know about epublishing and it does not disappoint.  It is chock full of resources, tips and practical knowledge that every would-be ebook writer needs to know.

I feel equipped and ready to move my manuscript from documents to .pdf and make it available to my readers.  Thank you to Sarah Mae for the information and the kick in the pants to make this dream a reality.

If you have considered epublishing at any point in your writing journey, please do yourself a favor and invest in this ebook.  It is well worth the $4.99 investment {and way more}!

and that is why I love this new CD, by Ginger Millermon, called Rescued that I had the opportunity to review. 

Talk about heartfelt lyrics….here are the lyrics from my favorite song on the CD:

I found God’s mercy in an old wooden pew in 1983~When I realized He gave His life for me~He changed my heart so unexpectedly~That’s when I found God’s mercy

I saw God’s mercy in a children’s hospital, room 223~My little boy was barely holding on to life~then a miracle, it showed up one night~That’s when I saw God’s mercy

Oh, the Lord is good~and His mercy is forever~and even if I could explain this mystery~How much He loves me~and it goes on and on and on and on and on~and it goes on and on and on and on and on

I held God’s mercy in an orphanage 8000 miles away~a little girl abandoned without hope~I promised her I would take her home~That’s when I held God’s mercy~That’s when I saw God’s mercy~That’s when I found God’s mercy

This song briefly touches on what is an amazing testimony- a child fighting for life, adopting a little girl from India and all the ways God intervened in between.

One of her song’s “Let Your Healing Begin” has also become a favorite after listening to this CD.

I encourage you to check out Ginger’s Facebook page and consider purchasing a CD…especially if you are like me and God uses music to minister to your soul.

I received a complimentary copy of “Rescued” for review, all opinions expressed are mine.

Thankfully, my kids have grown up in an era when the Bible is translated into words they can understand.  Couple that with the creative folks at Tyndale Publishing and you have the Hands-On Bible- an interactive Bible that my youngest son, Matt, has been enjoying since it arrived in the mail earlier this week.

Here are some things I am impressed with:

• The graphics are “cool” and engaging.  They draw my son in to want to read more and learn more about the stories they depict.
• There is a feature called “Bible Hero Biographies” that really pique a boy’s interest by making the people in the Bible stories relatable and interesting.  Every boy loves a good hero!
• There are “hands on Bible experiences” throughout the Bible that my son has been enjoying.  He has already completed several in just the few days he has had this Bible. (I will share my favorite at the end of this post).  Science experiments, crafts, snack ideas, journaling…true hands-on learning is encouraged in this Bible.

I also like the NLT (New Living Translation) for kids this age.  Matt understands what he reads in a way other translations have not provided him, which is great!  I also appreciate the effort the publishers put into the bonus interactive website, My Hands on Bible, that provides parents with additional resources and ideas (devotions, music and more) for making the Bible interesting and relevant to our kids.

Before I tell you about the contest going on over at the Hands on Bible site (think pizza, Bibles and family fun), I wanted to share one of the activities Matt recently completed from his Hands on Bible.

In the Hands on Bible, it was being explained that Psalm 119 is written as an acrostic poem, except in the Hebrew alphabet.  Then the activity was for kids to make an acrostic poem of their own, using their first name and words that describe God. Here is Matthew’s (spelling errors included =)

M- Maker

A- All-Knowing

T- Tollerent

T- True

H- Holy

E- Extrordinary

W- Willing

Isn’t that awesome?  The Word coming alive to our kids? Nothing better!

So, head on over to their website and check out this awesome Bible and an opportunity to win big!  I will be heading over to purchase one for my six year old nephew!

I was provided a complimentary copy of the Hands On Bible for review.  All opinions are mine (and my child’s) and were not influenced by anyone else.  Thank you to the MOB Society for facilitating this review!

The dashboard for parents is great. Comparing it to trying to keep track of my son’s “goings-on” with Facebook, Yoursphere makes it so much easier.  I get to see all their activity from the dashboard including friends, messages and activity. 

The only problem I have encountered is due to my laptop dying (yes, it was a sad day).  I haven’t been able to upload the boys profile pics yet and they are anxious to do that as they think it will help them get more friends (being popular is apparently important online too LOL).

The time my boys are allowed to be online is limited but Yoursphere is quickly becoming one of the sites they gravitate towards when they log on the computer.  That is a-ok with this mama.

Yoursphere is FREE.  If you want to sign your child up for a safe and fun online community, use this code:  YSMC-0054. 

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

I love music.

According to my grandmother and mom, I always have.  I would say “put the do-do on” at a very young age (calling music “do-do” because those who loved on me would dance around singing “do-do-do-do”, etc…it didn’t take much to make me happy )

I took flute, piano and voice lessons as a girl and today I sing on the worship team at my church.

Why are you telling us this Melissa?

For a few reasons:

1. to convey how much I love music
2. to convey how daggone adorable I was as a toddler
3. to convey my love for a new CD I just reviewed

Jennifer Shaw’s Love Broke Through CD is an eclectic mix of songs…some fun and upbeat and some that showcase her background as a dramatic singer on stage.  

Not only does Jennifer have a beautiful voice and touching lyrics, she has a story to tell too.

And y’all know I love any story of how God moves in someones life!

To read Jennifer’s story visit her about page.  To listen to some of her songs click here.

I hope you will find yourself connecting with the songs as I did.

Music is one of my very favorite things and Jennifer Shaw’s CD went right on my iPod!  And I am not the only one that thinks her music is awesome- her first single from the CD, “Your Great Name”, quickly rose to the top 3 of the CMW Worship Charts!

Here is an even finer thing- the lovely folks that sent me Jennifer’s CD to review want to give one to one of my lucky readers!

If you want a chance to have Jennifer’s CD sent to you simply leave me a comment letting me know a song that has recently spoken to your heart.  I would love to hear your stories!

Details/Disclosure:  This giveaway is open to all residents of the US and Canada.  Open from 3/13/10- Wednesday 3/17/10 at 10pm. Winner will be chosen via random.org from qualifying comments and announced Thursday 3/18/10.  I was provided with a copy of this CD for review.  All opinions expressed are mine and not influenced in any way by any third party.

Since Banquet pot pies and other frozen entrees frequently find their way into my deep freezer I was glad to assist in spreading the word about the Banquet Thanks a Million program.  Inside specially marked packages of Banquet foods is the opportunity to win up to $100,000 for your family.  Pretty cool, huh?

So, next time you grab a Banquet meal from the freezer section of your local grocery store, be sure to grab a specially marked package and follow the instructions at the link above to see if you are a winner.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Banquet and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

With all our talk of organizing our finances in January, I turned to my favorite organizing program to get my shopping list under control.  When you use coupons, pair them up with circular ad sales and are shopping for hungry tween/teen boys, groceries can be a lot to keep track of.

Cozi makes grocery shopping a breeze for me.  Their online program {which is free by the way} has a grocery shopping component where I add things to my list as I become aware that we need them {much like the days of notebooks with a magnet on the fridge type of running list- do you follow me?}. No more sticky notes for this gal =)

One reason I love this feature is because I tend to misplace a paper list…especially when I am using it to keep a running tab of what I need at the store.  Unless I lose access to a computer, my Cozi list is always there for me.  Even if I forget to bring my list to the store Cozi is there for me {see next paragraph}

Another cool feature is the ability to text messages {to myself or the hubby}.  So, for instance, we are out of milk and I am not in the mood to go to the store.  Hubby is already out.  I can send him a text message via Cozi to pick up the milk or text him the ENTIRE list{or any other reminder…I will talk about the family calendar feature in another post}.

How cool is that?

When you log into your Cozi account you have a dashboard, similar to a homepage.  This has links to coupons.com and a search engine for recipes.  Menu planning can’t get much easier than that.

Those are just a few of the ways Cozi simplifies my grocery shopping.

Not only did I want to share the 411 on this time saving program with you but I also wanted to let you know about a HUGE giveaway that Cozi is promoting.

Cozi is giving away FREE groceries for a YEAR!  Entering is simple {click here} and you can earn extra entries by telling your friends, as well as playing their fun spin to win game.

Here is the fine print:

Cozi 2010 Shopping List Celebration: A Year of Free Groceries Sweepstakes. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Open to legal residents of the United States, except Rhode Island, 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Entrants must be physically located in the United States. The sweepstakes begins on January 14, 2010, and ends on March 11, 2010. Limit one entry per manual email address submission (additional entries optional for each friend that clicks through on referral link sent via “tell a friend” tool on cozi.com). All entries and referrals received by March 11, 2010, will be included in a random drawing on or about March 17, 2010. Entrants are responsible for keeping the email address used for entry valid until after the drawing has been conducted to remain eligible to win the prize.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go enter to win some free groceries and check out all that Cozi has to offer while you are there.

Through my relationship with Pink Lemonade I frequently get the opportunity to participate in mega reviews (where a bunch of the contributors share their opinion of the same product).  This time we all got three canisters of the new limited edition (the images on the bottles are by artist, Anthony Yankovic) Dentyne gum.

I like the bottles compared to boxes or sticks of gum because they don’t get lost in my purse. In addition, they fit perfectly in the cup holder of my car.  The bottles come in the three standard flavors of Dentyne- spearmint, peppermint and my personal favorite, Arctic Chill.

My kids (who are tweens/teens) and knew who Anthony Yankovic was thought the artwork on the bottles was “cool” and made them want to share the bottles with their friends.  I guess I’m not that cool

**I participated in this mega review as a contributing writer to Pink Lemonade.  Dentyne provided me with three bottles of gum to facilitate my review.  All opinions expressed are mine (and my kids).