If you’ve been tuned into the rising tide of social awareness about the ongoing issue of modern human slavery and want to know more, Stop the Traffik is filled with facts, statistics, and personal stories that cast a portrait of the slavery situation around the world.

However, Stop the Traffik doesn’t seem as reader-friendly as other titles I’ve read on human trafficking (though it is a good, comprehensive overview.)  The bold black and white design often includes large sections of white text planted on black backgrounds, and the layout is more reminiscent of a high-school textbook, with short snippets of information and facts rather than longer stretches of narrative.  It’s a presentation style that I’m not entirely keen on, though I do appreciate the subject matter deeply.

Chalke methodically covers the main areas of trafficking: the problem of modern trafficking, the particular vulnerability of women, the signs of trafficking and how to be aware of it even domestically, factors that make individuals vulnerable to being trafficked, how consumer purchasing decisions can be used as a force for change (fair trade products etc.), and other actions that individuals can take in the fight against trafficking.

Human trafficking can seem like such an overwhelming issue when it is first understood.  The sheer magnitude in numbers of victims, the world-wide geographic scope of the crime….but yes, individuals can make a difference by partnering with regional and international organizations that are banding together to apprehend traffickers.  Many of the first-person portraits included in Stop the Traffik come from victims who have been freed from lives of economic and sexual slavery.  It is possible to make a difference; it is necessary to make a difference.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

…well, we’ve started doing some official-type homeschooling activities again (even though our house is still pretty chaotic – Kaelynn was going a bit nuts without some structure.) and, we have around a week under our belts again, and so far so good! I’ve been thinking and praying about grammar lately. My approach has sort of been just read together, and grammar will come naturally. I’m able to write without a hard-and-fast formal understanding of grammar. However, my daughter has been asking about grammar studies, so I’e been doing some research.

This was sort of my approach to spelling as well, but we’re now doing an official spelling program (almost through All About Spelling Level 1!) Hmm, wasn’t this my approach to learning to read as well, and now we’re using officially leveled readers?

Homeschooling continues to teach me that what I think is going to work, isn’t always going to for my children! I’m continually taught humility (I think I have a lot of it to learn!)

So – what do you do for grammar? Kaelynn is in grade 2 this year, and I’m seriously considering Susan Wise Bauer’s First Language Lessons series.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of TiVo. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ll be the first to admit that our family doesn’t watch as much family as the average North American family does.  We don’t have cable, satellite, or well – any television reception at all!  BUT it is a large part of our culture, so if you and your family enjoy having television programming available for you to view at times other than programmed ‘show times’, you should check out this contest for Tivo remote controls.   These TiVo Slides feature a retractable QWERTY keyboard that makes searching for your favourite shows much easier.

You can Enter to Win – there are 30 prizes being given – one each day for 30 days. This is a social networking contest, so you’ll want to be sure to “Like” TiVo’s Facebook Fan Page. I can certainly understand wanting to ‘veg’ out at the television for a break now and tehn, but what if your favorite show is on during AWANA or your homeschooling co-op times? TiVo definitely makes it easier to catch your favourite shows than the old-school, cumbrous VCR recorders and tapes. If there’s some upcoming Fall TV you can’t bear to miss, you should definitely check this contest out!

My paternal grandma has been living in Brandon, MB, but recently moved out here to the Edmonton area so my Dad could be closer to her and care for her better (she’s 94).  Unfortunately, she hasn’t taken the move well and has stopped eating.  She is going to be hospitalized tonight and I hope to see her tonight or tomorow.

I would truly appreciate your prayers for her!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Immanuel’s Veins Thomas Nelson (September 7, 2010)

by Ted Dekker
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.

Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.

Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.

After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.

In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.

He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.

Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This story is for everyone–but not everyone is for this story.

It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.

Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.

With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.

Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.

Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.

But remember, not everyone is for this story.

If you’d like to read the first chapter of Immanuel’s Veins, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:

I tried to resist Linda Windor’s Healer (I’ve been trying to cut back a bit on my review obligations), but the unique premise drew me in.  Because of my pagan background, I was a big fan of stories set in the Arthurian British Isles that incorporated magic, mysticism, and Celtic paganism.  How unique it was for me to discover this tale that presented the Christian history of the time period rather than a revisionist pagan one!

There are certainly still pagan characters, and there is spiritual conflict between the believers and those following the ‘old ways’.  However, the book is clearly weighted in favor of the Christian characters.

In any case, here’s a basic plot synopsis.  Brenna Gowrys and her clan have suffered at the hands of the O’Byrnes for a generation.  Having received a prophecy from her mother upon her death, this foretelling has sent Brenna into a solitary life of hiding.  Hiding from the O’Byrnes who seek to destroy her, hiding from her kinsfolk who would seek to manipulate her politically.

However, when an O’Byrne lordling is injured, Brenna takes him in without being aware of his past and uses her skills as a trained healer and herbalist to restore his health.  Like many romances, this plot is fairly predictable; I’m sure you can guess what happens!  But while the romance is a bit unbelievable and stereotypically written, the historical background is fascinating, and largely unknown to me.

As a result, I had a bit of a tricky time connecting all of the dots and making complete sense of the historical background (due to lack of familiarity with this newly cast Christian landscape and wealth of characters/allegiances etc.)  What I did glean however has provided many hours of thought and conversation between my husband and myself.

The political intrigue kicks into high gear after the main romance portion of the story moves into a more settled state.  This too isn’t entirely unpredictable, but was more engaging than the romance storyline for me.

The writing is fairly average for Christian historical fiction, but the unique premise and historical angle is what elevates this title from the norm.  If you’re interested in exploring an introduction to the early Christianity (5^th century AD), then this is a good entry-level title to explore this period and setting through fiction.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Our family has greatly enjoyed the Girl ‘n Grace series of short chapter books for young readers.  My daughter loves the bright, colorful designs and the memorable characters and situations that they encounter.

Each of the titles can be read alone, and Sydney Clair: A Girl ‘n Grace in the 1960s is one of our favourite titles.  It deals with Sydney Clair dealing with the typical concerns of a young girl growing up in the ‘60s, and is less politically driven than the first Sydney Clair release – Sydney Clair’s Season of Change.

Sydney Clair’s attempts to raise funds to purchase her own dog results in all sorts of misfires and humorous adventures that are appealing and demonstrate how to deal with disappointments and setbacks.

I actually recommend this title as the first Sydney Clair book a family reads, as it’s a bit more light-hearted and humorous.  It also establishes the beginning of Sydney Clair’s walk in faith with Jesus, which serves well as a foundation for the rest of her books.

My seven-year-old daughter feels a great kinship with the Girl ‘n Grace series characters, and is looking forward to our reading this chapter book together again.  She already plans on working through it independently once her reading skills develop a bit more, and has our collection grouped together in a special section of the bookcase.  It’s great to have a wholesome, faith-focused series that deals with authentic issues and concerns for this age group, which so loves short, chapter-book series.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Parents by their nature are deeply invested in the well-being and success of their children.  Christian parents are even more deeply concerned with the spiritual health and direction of their children’s lives.  Somehow in spite of the best intentions and efforts of parents, there are still children who venture into dangerous territories, leading to serious actions that may have life-long effects, such as early use of addictive substances.  Sadly, even 8th graders have a 19.9% percentage of having used drugs at some point in their lives according to these teen drug statistics.

However, as Christian families, we also need to trust that God will work all things out for our good, including trying family circumstances when they arise.  We can be thankful for programs designed specifically for teen drug rehab, teen alcohol rehab, and teen marijuana rehab.   Taking whatever necessary steps to spare children from lives of future, ongoing addiction is well worth the effort a family invests into freeing their child from the bonds of chemical addiction.

If your family is struggling through the addiction of a family member, please let me know so that I can join with you in prayer.

I’m afraid that Entrecard has just become so spammy.  There are so many sponsor ads that run without approval, and I just dont have the internet access in order to stay on top of everything on a daily basis.  As a result, I’m removing my EC widget.

If you would like to take over the Christian Carders Mr. Linky, please let me know so that I can redirect visitors to your website.  I’m afraid my maintenance of it has been rather lack luster lately as well .

Personally, there are some freebies that I’m always up for.  Throw a homeschooling or educational freebie my way, and I’m all over it.  Same with organizational/homemaking/Christian family living resources.  BUT when it comes to conventional freebies, I’m a little bit more leerie.  Maybe it’s because I have limited time to spend at the computer and don’t want to spend the time weeding out the spammy type freebies, and the legitimate freebies that are worth the time and energy to fill out online, but I am definitely a bit skeptical when it comes to taking advantage of free online offers.

However, I know there are families who save a lot of money by taking advantage of online coupons and online free samples (even if it does seem a bit complicated to me.)

If this is your thing, then you might be interested in checking out these samples for free cleaning products, free jar openers, and other products that are handy around the house.

So, what do you think?  Have you taken advantage of online free sample offers?  Most of the free products I’ve received online are normally in exchange for an honest review of mine, and I’ve been very blessed by the opportunity to work with publicists, authors, musicians etc. in this way