FIRST tour: Power PraiseMoves DVD by Laurette Willis

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Laurette Willis

and the book:

Power PraiseMoves™ DVD

December 1, 2009

***Special thanks to David P. Bartlett - Print & Internet Publicist - Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laurette Willis, the founder of PraiseMoves®, is a Women’s Fitness Specialist and certified personal trainer, as well as a popular keynote speaker and an award-winning actor and playwright. She has produced the videos PraiseMoves™ and 20-Minute PraiseMoves™ and written BASIC Steps to Godly Fitness.


Visit the author's website.


Product Details:

List Price: $16.99
Actors: Laurette Willis
Directors: Josh Atkinson
Format: NTSC
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: CT Videography
DVD Release Date: December 1, 2009
Run Time: 120 minutes
ASIN: 0736928456

AND NOW...A SAMPLE OF THE VIDEO:

Tyndale: "Does God Exist? Kit"

From the Tyndale Media Center:


In this first DVD set of the TrueU series, Dr. Stephen Meyer plays a “philosophical survival game,” pitting four worldviews against one another in the quest to decide which one gives the best answers. Dr. Meyer examines the evidence and provides the tools needed for students to defend their faith and make it their own. This is the perfect resource for students preparing to enter college and a culture that may be hostile to their faith. Additional discussion guides can be purchased separately, either in singles (978-1-58997-115-8) or in a 10-pack (978-1-58997-116-5).


My Opinion:


If you have teens who are wondering how to defend their Faith in the midst of being questioned and in the age of New Atheists then this set will definitely help them formulate their answers. In conjunction with Focus on the Family this DVD set is well laid out and actually fun to watch - even if you not a teen or young adult. Dr. Meyer is presenting the facts in a classroom setting, much like college, complete with young people and dialogue between them. Words superimposed on the screen and images highlighting main points add more to the discussion, especially if you're a visual learner, some of these images are also included in the 64 page study guide.


The host of Drive Through History is also on the DVD sort of like an emcee for the next segment, he gives a bit of a introduction into what will be talked about. There are ten 30-minute lessons on two DVD's covering things from faith and reason, The Big Bang Cosmology (3 parts), DNA, The return of the God Hypothesis and a few more. In a culture that is more and more accepting of all things scientific and immoral these DVDs will give the tools to help defend our faith in God and His Holy Word. The two DVDs each come packaged in their own case and both them and the study guide all fit nicely into a slipcase for easy storage.


I can see this being a much needed item in churches across this country, especially those who are becoming seeker friendly instead of relying on God's Word to lead them, but any church can use this. As more children and young adults are leaving Christianity behind this will give them a solid foundation in why believing in our Creator is of utmost importance. While this would be good for churches to keep on hand this would also provide a well grounded apologetics/Bible curriculum for middle school and high schooled children both in homeschooling or in traditional schools. The culture today is hostile to genuine Christians and anything that can be of an aid and Biblical is what's needed for our children today.


**I was provided a copy of this kit in exchange for my honest review,no other compensation was given. For full disclosure see my disclosure tab above.

Gigi's Hugest Announcement (DVD)

About the DVD from the Thomas Nelson's reviewer site:


The Royal Tea Party finds Gigi with a dilemma. She has important news to share with her best friend, Frances, but how best to make such a grand announcement? This slice-of-life peek into the life of God’s little princess reinforces the vital message that each child is royally important to God.


In The Pink Ballerina, Gigi and Frances take their first dance lesson. With reluctant practice and awkward help from Tiara (her new dog) and Lord Fluffy (her not-so-cooperative cat), Gigi struggles to dance perfectly to make God proud of her. But she unexpectedly learns that God is most proud when we show love to others.


My Opinion:


My girls were thrilled to get this DVD from Thomas Nelson - they really enjoy the God's Little Princess items from Sheila Walsh so this was sort of like icing on the cake. Pink and frilly Gigi is God's little princess and wants to share the news with her friend and neighbor but things keep falling apart. She is finally able to do what she knows God would want her to do. In the second title Gigi leans about God wanting us to show love to others.


I'll admit I was a bit bored with this movie but my girls were very much into it - par for the course in this house. I will say neither I, my husband or my oldest daughter thought the use of lord toward Gigi's cat was correct - considering the nature of the DVD - God. This did lead to us discussing the fact that we don't call others lords and there is only one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, even though Sarah did call Abraham lord in the Old Testament.


Overall, I thought this was a neat way to introduce children to aspects of the Bible, I did think my 8 year old was a bit old for it but my 5 1/2 year old enjoyed it. The DVD sells for $14.99 and can be purchased at Thomas Nelson's website.


**I was given a copy of this DVD from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna

I had the chance to review The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna and published by Thomas Nelson.

My children love animals, any animals, particularly hippos, penguins, lions, bunnies and horses. So this book was a big hit in our house and as soon as I unpacked it they were devouring it! My oldest began reading it right away to my younger children. I love how a book that has a theme which all children love can bring peace into a house!

I was impressed with this book as well. I particularly like books that don't focus on millions of years or evolution - none of which I found in this book. Educational is also one of my goals for books, and this hit the nail on the head. There are over 20 different animals listed in this book and you can learn about what they eat, where they live, how big they get, what makes them wild, weird or wacky and a few other neat facts about the animal. For instance did you know that the Great White Shark's skin looks rubbery but it actually feels like sandpaper? Neither did I, nor do I want to get close enough to check it out personally!

The book is a hardback with a colorful cover and animals on it, which will grab your and your children's attention immediately. The pages are wonderfully thick, just right for the little ones in the house to be able to enjoy the book without risking ripping the pages. The pages are also very colorful, with huge pictures of the animals so you can get up close and personal to the animal. The book is not overly difficult to read so that the youngest reader with a good knowledge of phonics can grasp the words. My 7 year old read it just fine, with some help sounding out some words or names, like Chameleon.

Also included in the book, is a DVD full of bloopers from Jack Hanna. This didn't interest my younger two as much as it did my oldest and I. There were some funny moments that made me laugh out loud. The DVD is secured in the front of the book in a plastic case that can be removed. If you order this book on a hot summer day though be prepared for the gluey tape that holds it together to become very sticky! I had to put some packing tape over the area where the DVD was secured to cover up the glue factor from the DVD. Overall though it wasn't a major drawback.

I do recommend this book w/DVD to any parent who has children who enjoys animals or just wants their children to learn more about animals. So if your child would like to know what animal can lick it's own ears, eats regurgitated food for dinner or smells like popcorn then I suggest you get this book written by Jack Hanna, the Director Emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo.

You can purchase this book directly through Thomas Nelson.

Read and Share DVD Bible Volume I

I love anything that anything that drives home Biblical truths, and when it's done with little one's short attention span and understanding in mind, it's even better. I had the chance to review Thomas Nelson's Read and Share DVD Bible Volume I (you can view it http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400313031 )

I was very impressed from the time I put in the DVD until the time that it ended. The short Bible stories begin with Adam and Eve and go through 12 more stories culminating in The Lost Sheep (the wayward son parable). The cartoon style movie was very colorful and allowed for easy focusing for the child, even a child whose focus isn't maintained for long will enjoy it. The narrator spoke slowly and carefully for the child to understand the story and along with titles before each 3 minute story, it was easily understood what the story was about.

The total running time for the DVD is 60 minutes - not including the special features. With each story a length of 3 minutes, a family can watch one and then read the corresponding story from the Bible for even more Biblical applications, or allow the child to watch the whole DVD at a time. If you choose to let your child watch the whole DVD at a time, there are no worries about inappropriate language, behavior or costuming - so it is okay to use it while you get the laundry done or was the dishes.

Like every DVD there are bonus materials: dolby surround sound, widescreen/fullscreen, interviews with "real kids", "behind the scenes", trailers, coloring pages and auto-start. We didn't view much of the bonus materials but from what I did view, it was much like other materials on other DVD's. I must say the best bonus material is by far the coloring pages and auto start. Pop the DVD into your computer and follow the easy directions to get a 10 page coloring book. The images are big and will allow the youngest to the oldest child to enjoy coloring the images. The auto-start allows you (or your child) to put in the DVD into the player and off it goes - no need to press play or other buttons - it's made this way so that children can watch it by themselves.

My children insisted on watching it immediately after me removing it from the package and we were not dissapointed. They were all enthralled, my oldest at 7 years, my middle child at 4 1/2 and my youngest at 2 1/2 years old. Overall, this is a truly well made and Biblically correct DVD that children can enjoy and parents don't have to worry over letting their children watch it. I even learned part of a Bible story that hadn't been told to me in all my years of Sunday school.