My spiritual word of the year

Last year as 2015 was slowly coming, I decided to seek God to see which word I could concentrate on for the new year.  My word was REST.

As I discovered Bible Art Journaling, one of the first drawing I made was the word REST.   Today, as I ponder on the word that keeps coming to me in the past week or so which I believe to be my word for 2016, I want to reflect on the past year and how I dealt with the word.

If there is one thing I know for sure after much reflection is that REST wasn't definitively not part of my summer time.   The main reason was that we were driving insanely too much.  Why?   Well, we had parked our RV near Peterborough this year because we had season passes to Canada's Wonderland.  We thought it would be a good idea.  But driving to the RV was about 3 hours and then there was another 1h30minutes to go to Canada's Wonderland.  Both needed to be drove back when we get back to the RV or home.   Added the numbers of times we did this, well.... By the end of the summer I was more drained than at the beginning g of the summer.

So our homeschool journey in September after picking up the boys in a camp in the US was not starting on a good foot.  But with naps,I think I am more rested now than back then.   

What I have learned through all this is that it is essential to make sure you rest in order to be refreshed. 

Okay so my experience probably wasn't super great but I want to seek God once again for a word for 2016.   So I started asking God about new word and one keeps coming daily.... PRAY.

So I am going to concentrate on PRAY for 2016 a reading more about prayers and developing a stronger prayer life in order to deepen my relationship with my Father in Heaven by speaking to him, praising him, thanking him and simply talking to him.  One of the books I will read at the beginning of the year will be the Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer.   

Zenspirations

With the popularity of bible art journaling pouring through the internet whether on Pinterest or facebook groups dedicated to the trend, I have seen numerous people highly recommending the books of Zenspirations from Joanne Fink.  I was somewhat curious about them and decided to approach the publisher to see what was the fuss all about.  I have received two of the Zenspirations books to review.

Zenspirations Dangle Designs – Expanded Edition

http://www.d-originals.com/zenspirations-dangle-designs-expanded-workbook-edition

Zenspirations dangles are unique patterns that add interest and texture to any design. Although they may look complicated, they are actually quite easy to create! All you need is a pen, a piece of paper and your imagination. Gifted calligrapher and designer Joanne Fink shares her fun and relaxing techniques for adding dangle patterns to your drawings. Whether you like to journal, draw or doodle, you'll find intriguing ideas here for crafting, designing and decorating with dangle patterns. This expanded edition includes a bonus workbook section that gives you a place to play, experiment, and create new, exciting dangle designs. This is where you can practice drawing all the dangle design components, experiment with new techniques, and develop your own unique dangle style.

 

 

Zenspirations Letters & Patterning

http://www.d-originals.com/zenspirations 

Patterning is fun, easy and relaxing - and it is a great way to add interest and texture to any design. Joanne Fink presents creative monogram and pattern techniques, offering intriguing ideas for filling borders, edges and spaces with creative flourishes. These decorative borders, frames, shapes, and alphabet will appeal to a spectrum of tastes and styles. Use Joanne's techniques to create details, depth and beauty reminiscent of classical architecture, medieval block printing and manuscript calligraphy. Whether you like to journal, draw, doodle, design, or craft, you'll find a world of inspiration here.

 

My Thoughts

To be honest I am a bit disappointed with the size of the books.  Both are quite thin with respectively 34 and 50 pages.    Though I must admit that they would be light if you decide to bring them with you to appointments or on a trip.   The Dangle Designs book was the expanded version which allow the person to practice within the pages of the book.  Both books offer advice on how to construct a dangle and offer numerous ideas on how to do one by yourself.  In the Letters & Patterning book, the author will also offers advice on the tools and materials, pen techniques as well as watercolors to embellish the dangles.

Needless to say if you enjoy doing craft and enjoy bible art journaling, these books offer numerous ideas on how to decorate and/or journal.    However, I would strongly suggest that you be wise with your money and look for sales for these titles because honestly I couldn’t justify the amount suggested for them in my head.

If you are still on the lookout for something special for someone in your life who enjoy journaling then these two books are great to expand their drawing skills.

Zenspirations Dangle Designs and Zenspirations Letters & Patterning are both available at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Design Originals for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

The Five Times I Met Myself

 The Five Times I Met Myself
Written by James L. Rubart
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the book
What if you met your twenty-three-year-old self in a dream? What would you say?

Brock Matthews’ once promising life is unraveling. His coffee company. His marriage.

So when he discovers his vivid dreams—where he encounters his younger self—might let him change his past mistakes, he jumps at the chance. The results are astonishing, but also disturbing.

Because getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn’t know how to let go . . . and his greatest fear is that it’s already too late.

My Thoughts
I almost passed this title off…. but the cover page was intriguing – not to mention the title as well.  Then my eyes stopped on the author’s name.  The name was known to me… that’s when I recalled reading some of his books earlier in the year.  So I double-checked for titles of this author on my Kindle account and there they were…. I had discovered this author out of the blue earlier this year and enjoyed his type of writing.  This book – The Five Times I Met Myself – was his latest title.   So I read the description of the book and I was hooked.  The idea of time travelling via dreams has grabbed my attention.

I zoomed through this title – in the midst of homeschooling and Christmas preparation.   It was my way of recharging my batteries in a way.   I enjoyed the plot and the story line.  I have found that the style of writing from James L. Rubart was different than most authors and I particularly like it.    It is intriguing to think that the main character could alter the timeline by meeting his past self and giving him guidance.    At the end of the book, the main character realized that…. wait a minute I won’t tell you what happened because the book is so good that I strongly suggest to get it to read it yourself. 

This book is definitively a book to discover in 2016.   Take the time to unwind and read it at your own time.   Besides, I think you will like the story and would love to discover the other titles he has as well.

The Five Times I Met Myself is available for purchase at your favorite bookstore even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.
 
The book is also available on Kindle and Kindle app.
 

NERF N-STRIKE MEGA SERIES ROTOFURY BLASTER

NERF N-STRIKE MEGA SERIES ROTOFURY BLASTER
From Hasbro Canada

About the product

Unleash the rapid-fire fury of the Mega RotoFury blaster! This long-range blaster launches darts up to 90 feet from its. Who will withstand your attack when you can fire up to 10 Mega Whistler Darts at your target without reloading? The Whistler Darts will scream through the air as you dominate the battlefield with the rapid-firing Mega RotoFury blaster!
Includes blaster, 10 Mega Whistler Darts and instructions.
• Mega RotoFury blaster fires Mega Whistler Darts up to 90 feet
• Includes 10 Mega Whistler Darts
• Rotating drum fires 10 darts at a time without reloading
• Slam-fire action
• Mega Whistler Darts scream through the air

My Thoughts

Geared for people ages 8 and up, this mega blaster will bring some joy for any child who is into Nerf blasters.   My junior high has Nerf nights throughout the year at the church (yes you have read correctly – at church!) we attend where the kids can be strategic and have a blast at the same time.  My son missed the first Nerf night a couple of months ago because he had a fresh stitch from a recent accident he had after the swimming lesson.  He was so disappointed that he couldn’t attend it.  Consequently, he is so looking forward to the Nerf Night on December 18th.  So I know without a doubt that he will enjoy having this jewel of a blaster in his hands.  

The blaster comes with 10 darts that are bigger than the regular darts from other Nerf blasters.   That is why it is part of the MEGA series.   The dart are huge in comparison of the ones we usually have.    The Rotofury has a rotating drum which will shoot the 10 darts rapidly directly in a slam-fire action to an unsuspecting target.   To make it more fun for the person controlling the blaster, the whistler darts will scream through the air as it try to reach the target.  The dart themselves could go as far as 24 to 28 meters .  A Mega dart performance chart can be found in the back of the box.

The Nerf N-Strike Mega Series Rotofury blaster is great for indoor and outdoor play.   Make sure you keep track of the darts so that you don’t loose them.   The Rotofury blaster apparently works better with Mega Darts only.  It is strongly recommended not to modify the darts or the blaster itself and to use only darts designed for this product. 

The NERF N-Strike Mega Series Rotofury Blaster is available for purchase at your favorite toy store, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

    

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Star Wars The Force Awakens RC BB-8

Star Wars The Force Awakens RC BB-8
From Hasbro

About the toy

Launch into action and adventure in the world of Star Wars! Discover the exciting stories of good versus evil in a galaxy of starships and vehicles. BB-8 is the spherical, loyal Astromech Droid of the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. Picture new moments of adventure! This RC BB-8 figure rolls in any direction and makes expressive droid sounds as you lead him into adventure. Collect and battle with this and other figures and vehicles from Star Wars. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)
Star Wars products are produced by Hasbro under license from Lucasfilm Ltd. Hasbro and all related terms are trademarks of Hasbro.
• Includes BB-8 body, BB-8 head, remote control, and instructions.
• Movie-accurate appearance
• Create adventures and scenes from the Star Wars Universe
• Makes expressive droid sounds
• Rolls in any direction

My Thoughts

I am so looking forward to the new Star Wars movie to come out in theaters on December 18th.   We are planning to bring all the kids to see it and let me tell you that they are looking forward to it as much as us the parents are.    As soon as the trailer was released, I immediately fell in love with the new Astromech droid BB-8.    And to be honest, I fear that R2-D2 has been replaced as the cutest droid of all time…  BB-8 is the spherical, loyal Astromech Droid of the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron.

Before receiving the Hasbro version of the BB-8, I had seen some reviews about it saying that the head would pop out and so forth.   I usually don’t care much about these kind of reviews and wanted to test it myself.   Apparently, the head stays on top while rolling, can roll in any direction, makes expressive droid sounds.   To allow this functionality, the body and the head contain magnets in order to hold them together.  

So this morning, I proceeded to product test the BB-8 I had received.   After inserting the batteries in the body part, the droid was making sounds already without having the body fully assembled.   Once I put all the parts of the BB-8 together, I followed the steps to make is roll.   At first, I didn’t wait enough to make sure that the head was aligned properly on it.  The consequences were disappointing because as soon as you make the robot move, the head would fall.   But I decided to wait a little bit more before repositioning the head on it and I was rewarded.   As soon as I made the droid more, the head would reposition itself immediately.  Gently droid noises were heard too.  Even my husband thought it was cool.   The control is limited on the directions you can do with it – one side will go forward and backward and the other side allows the head to change direction which in turn will move the droid in that direction next time you move it.   Bottom line, it was fun to control the BB-8 and I can see that this less expensive version of the BB-8 would make a great gift this Christmas for children.

The installation is quite easy.  All you have to do is open the body sphere in order to insert the section that will contain the batteries.   Insert the batteries and close the sphere.   Once this is done you can position the head over the sphere in order to complete BB-8.   Insert batteries as well in the remote control and voilà BB-8 is fully operational.   Note that you will need 6 batteries to operate this RC – 4  AA for the BB-8 and 2 AAA for the remote.  To turn BB-8 on, you have to gently shake the main sphere, set the body down and position the head on top of it.  The head should align automatically.    With the help of the remote control, you will be able to roll forward and backward, rotate the head left or right, as well as roll left or right.  To stop BB-8, all you have to do is hold it upside-down for 2 seconds.   Note that BB-8 will go to sleep mode when it is inactive for 5 minutes. Sometimes while you play with it, the head might fall do to impact.  To re-attach the BB-8 head, set the body down and allow it to settle.  Then you can place the head back on place and it will align automatically.  For best performance, the remote needs to be aim directly to BB-8.  Be aware that the remote control operates on infrared frequencies and that sunlight and or some indoor lighting may interfere with communication between the controller and BB-8.  This RC is recommended for indoor use only.  It is strongly recommended to keep it away from dirt and water.

The Star Wars The Force Awakens RC BB-8 from Hasbro is a fun gift for the young Star Wars fan in your life.  It will definitively provide hours of fun in the months to come.

The Star Wars The Force Awakens RC BB-8 from Hasbro is available for purchase at your favorite store, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.