Mama Heidi DVD

Mama Heidi DVD Released: 2004 Run Time: 52 minutes

Source: Rented through Netflix.

DVD Description:
In 1994 Mozambique, just after the country's devastating civil war, missionaries Heidi and Rolland Baker arrived to help mend the country and care for its beleaguered. This documentary details the Bakers' selfless African saga as they turn a broken-down orphanage into a safe, clean place where children receive medical attention and education. The Bakers go on to establish three more havens for Mozambique's children


My Review:
Mama Heidi DVD shows the work that God has done through Heidi and Rolland Baker in Mozambique. The viewer does learn why they went there, how they started their orphanage, and so on, but the focus was mainly on the wonderful things God has done there. If you like uplifting missionary movies, then you might enjoy this one.

Something that Heidi said really stuck with me. It was partly in context of the overwhelming needs in Mozambique but also to encourage viewers to reach out where they are right now. She said we can all "just love the one in front of you."


If you've watched this DVD, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the DVD in the comments.

Act Soon: Google Reader is discontinuing on July 1

About three months ago, I heard that "Google Reader was discontinuing on July 1, 2013." Then I didn't hear anything more about it, and I wasn't sure what Google Reader was. Apparently, it's where you "Follow" other people's blogs and then can see the new content on those blogs when you're signed into your blogger account. (Someone please correct me if I'm misunderstanding this.)

Anyway, 106 of you Follow me that way and will lose track of ChristFocus Book Club and my posts on July 1, 2013 if you do nothing.

One option is to sign up to have my new posts sent directly to your e-mail address. You can sign up for this using the below form (which can also be found along the right side of my blog):

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

I'd told that another option is to continue using an RSS reader to receive blog posts using a free service called Feedly. Feedly will transfer all of your feeds from Google Reader in a pretty simple process, and it's free. You can download the Feedly reader from Feedly's blog. That Feedly post includes tips on importing your Google Reader subscriptions.

So if you Follow me, please act soon so that you'll continue to get my reviews and giveaway posts.

Spontaneous Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop

As a part of the Spontaneous Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop, I'm holding a giveaway for:


No Longer a Slumdog by K.P. Yohannan is a Christian nonfiction book. You can read my review.

"You girls stay here. I'm going to get something to drink." But after a few minutes, the train started moving again, and Mom still wasn't back! Our hearts were racing. The train kept going faster and faster. Where was Mom?

Those with no voice—the suffering children of Asia—tell their stories. K.P. Yohannan shares their stories of lives transformed, of families learning to love, of entire communities flourishing with new life.


This giveaway is for USA residents only and ends on June 30, 2013 at midnight. Guess what? Everyone can win! If you are interested in the book, you can order it for free from Gospel for Asia.



The blogs participating in the Spontaneous Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop:

Slumdog Book and Bag Giveaway

I've been participating in many Giveaway Hops over the last few years, but the coordinator of those hops has drastically cut back on the number she is doing. So this month I'm holding a giveaway just for the followers of my four blogs. It's for a book and/or bag.

Carefully read the rules as they are different that normal.


THE BOOK:
No Longer a Slumdog by K.P. Yohannan is a Christian nonfiction book. You can read my review.

"You girls stay here. I'm going to get something to drink." But after a few minutes, the train started moving again, and Mom still wasn't back! Our hearts were racing. The train kept going faster and faster. Where was Mom?

Those with no voice—the suffering children of Asia—tell their stories. K.P. Yohannan shares their stories of lives transformed, of families learning to love, of entire communities flourishing with new life.

If you are only interested in the book, you can order it for free from Gospel for Asia.


THE BAGS:
(Click on the image to see a larger version.)


These bags are made by widows in India to support themselves and their children. They are used by Gospel for Asia missionaries and sold by Gospel for Asia for $15 each. It is the exact style of bag that GFA native missionaries use to carry the Gospel literature and Bibles they give out as they witness.


This contest is for USA residents only and ends on June 19, 2013 at midnight.


If you would like the book and a bag, or only a bag, you can enter by:

1) You can leave a comment to this post asking to be entered and naming what you want to win--the book, the red bag, the white bag, and/or the turquoise bag. You can enter for all four items if you are interested in all of them. (I have comment moderation on to prevent spam comments, so don't worry if your entry comment doesn't appear immediately. It will soon.) Please also leave some way for me to contact you--or follow this blog so you can see the winner announcement.

2) This giveaway is also on my other blogs, and you can also enter on my other blogs for a total of four entries. You can enter here on ChristFocus Book Club, on Genre Reviews, on Different Time, Different Place, and on Adventures With Organics.

3) This is not a requirement to win. You will gain an extra entry for every $1 donated for GFA women's literacy. When you donate, leave a comment giving the name you are using to enter this giveaway. That way I can credit the right person with the extra entries. I'm offering this option as a way to help make people aware of this program that I support.


When the giveaway ends, I will take every entry for the red bag across all four blogs (also counting donation entries), then randomly select a winner from that list and send that winner the bag and the book (if they asked for it). Then I'll do the same for the white bag, and then the turquoise bag. Winners can win only one of the bags, but all three can win the book.


I'll announce the winners on June 20, 2013 on all four blogs. You'll need to leave your e-mail address or check back to see if you won so you can e-mail me your mailing address. If the winner hasn't responded with a mailing address within four days, I reserve the right to pick a new winner.

I hope everyone has fun with this!

Rude Awakening by Mark E. Donnelly

Rude Awakening by Mark E. Donnelly ISBN-13: 9781938670008 Trade Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Engaged Publishing Group Released: July 10, 2012

Source: Review copy through BookCrash.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
What if the things we think impress God actually do the opposite? Two groups of people in the Bible were absolutely convinced they were doing everything right, but they were gravely mistaken. How do you know you're not one of them?


My Review:
Rude Awakening is a Christian Living book. The three main sections of the book were: loving God, loving others, and loving yourself--though perhaps the last section should have been labeled as denying yourself.

From the book description and excerpt I'd read, I was expecting a book about focusing on knowing God rather than simply knowing about Him or doing things for Him. The first few chapters did have that focus and pointed out scripture verses that supported this idea. He did have good and valid points woven throughout the book, but he tended to get distracted from this focus.

He sometimes got sidetracked into promoting and/or defending very specific and unique takes on things found in the Bible. I didn't always agree that his take was supported by the Bible. For example, he took the idea that maybe the blood of murdered righteous men literally had a "voice" that God could hear, and then he moved into a theological point based on this shaky idea. He also had odd takes on the Holy Spirit and on the point of fasting which a lot of Christians won't totally agree with.

The book also got sidetracked into focusing on how Christians and the church are failing and on to-do lists of things you ought to be doing. These lists were slightly different than those you normally see and did make some good points. But I was disappointed that the overall focus of the book seemed to be more on things to do than about knowing God.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: You can find an excerpt on Amazon.

The World Jesus Knew by Anne Punton

The World Jesus Knew: Beliefs & customs from the time of Jesus by Anne Punton ISBN-13: 978-0825463365 Trade Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Monarch Books Released: March 31, 2010 2nd, revised edition

Source: Bought through Amazon.

Book Description from Back Cover:
The Bible reflects a culture very different from our own. This book transports us back to the beliefs and customs which lie behind the pages of the gospels, and allows us to appreciate more fully what we read. For example, many of Jesus' parables are based on agricultural images which make sense only when we understand oriental ways of working the land.

Each chapter covers a distinct aspect of the life of Jesus: the home Jesus entered; the education Jesus received; the clothes Jesus wore; the language Jesus spoke; the prayers Jesus prayed; agricultural methods Jesus observed; religious customs Jesus kept; festivals Jesus celebrated; the Scriptures Jesus read; the opposition Jesus faced, and more.

This book forms an invaluable reference tool, and includes 60 maps and photographs.


My Review:
The World Jesus Knew is a Bible backgrounds book about the time of Jesus. The focus was on what Jesus would have experienced (as a Jewish male raised in Galilee, etc.). This information was based on ancient sources (like the Mishnah) and archaeology.

A few sections, like about the day of Jesus' birth, were full of speculation, but the author was clear about how she got the idea and that it was speculation. Her speculations were reasonable even if her arguments didn't necessarily change my mind. There were some black and white photographs illustrating the text, like of clothing or agricultural tools.

The book was easy to read and understand, and I found it very interesting. She included some information that isn't often focused on. The topics that she talked about helped me to better understand the gospels. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those who would like to better understand the time of Jesus and who'd also like a readable text rather than a more formal one.

Some of the topics covered were: betrothal, the day Jesus was born, his genealogy, circumcision, naming, purification after childbirth, redemption of the firstborn, the educational system, clothing, jewelry, prayer shawls and phylacteries, the language (with examples of certain words that don't translate easily into English), the countryside Jesus traveled, seasons, wells and springs, ploughing, sowing, reaping, threshing, winnowing, selling, buying, baking, types of common foods, hospitality, greetings, farewells, traveling, gates, bazaars, clean and unclean, vows, fasting, charity, the festivals, the temple and how it was run, prayers prayed, synagogues and how they were run, the scriptures Jesus read, pharisees, sadducees, scribes, priests, Levites, Herodians, Zealots, Samaritans, and Essenes.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.