Archive for category Book & Product Reviews

Billy Graham in Quotes, by Franklin Graham

Posted by jlsgrant in Book & Product Reviews on September 26, 2011

If you’re like me, you grew up watching the Billy Graham Crusades on television, where he preached the pure, un-altered gospel of Jesus Christ….no fluff needed, just the straight truth from God’s Word.  As we watched the crusades, hundreds of attendees would go forward to commit their lives to Christ.   Time after time, we witnessed the true and amazing “power of the gospel” to turn hearts to Christ.

When I saw this new book, Billy Graham in Quotes, compiled by his son, Franklin Graham, I was drawn by the promise of wisdom that it may hold.  The book is a collection of quotes that spans the life of the man for over seven decades.  They are taken directly from the man who spoke to the hearts of all who heard, from simple ordinary folk to Presidents and world leaders.

With over 387 pages of quotes, broken neatly into alphabetized categories, there is sure to be something for everyone within its pages.  The book is arranged topically, and covers everything from Addiction and Anger to and Thankfulness and Worship.  Each section begins with a scripture reference which beautifully supports the quotes contained within.

While this book is not a “page turner” like a best-selling novel, it could easily be used as reference book for daily devotions, during times of personal crisis, or when just a little word of encouragement is needed.  The Introduction, written by Billy Graham, aptly begins with Psalm 19:14, ”Let the words of my mouth…be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord.”  He encourages the reader to “refer often to the anchor verse of each subject and let God’s Word challenge you, convict you, encourage you, and help you discover His abiding love to all who faithfully follow Him.”  That’s really what this book is all about.

This is definitely a book that will grace our library shelves as a family reference book for the years ahead.
I review for BookSneeze®

Disclaimer:  I received this book free via BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review.  No other compensation of any kind has been received.

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WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press

Posted by jlsgrant in Book & Product Reviews on May 16, 2011

For the last month or so, we’ve had the opportunity to use a new product by Bright Ideas Press.  (Bright Ideas is home to The Mystery of History, All American History and Illuminations, just to name a few of their popular products.)   Their newest product, WonderMaps, is an amazing new product designed to fulfill all your needs for maps!  Whether you are studying History or Geography, this versatile, easy to use product may be just what you’ve been looking for.

Here’s what the fine folks at Bright Ideas have to say about WonderMaps:

“Geography and map skills add richness to any lesson. Whether it’s history, literature, science, current events or Bible, maps play an integral role in thoroughly understanding the topic at hand. With WonderMaps’ made-to-order geography materials at your fingertips, there’s no more skipping map studies due to a lack of preparation time and resources!  What is WonderMaps?  It’s a customizable collection of over 350 different maps. With nearly endless possibilities, WonderMaps makes it easy to regularly integrate map study into a variety of lessons and make the most of every learning opportunity.” 

This incredible resource is easy to use and couldn’t be more versatile!  You can create maps for whatever you’re studying with as much or as little information as you’d like, with just the click of your mouse! 

Please take a few minutes to watch this video tutorial and you’ll see what I mean:

So here’s a quick example to show you the simplicity of it….Say you’re studying Australia, you just navigate to the World Continents section, click the continent Oceania, then click Australia. 

Here’s what you’ll see…

Now, let’s say you want to produce a blank map for your students to fill in and label for themselves.  All you need to do is click the layers, that’s the list on the left, to remove what you don’t want on their map.  In this example, I decided to remove just about everything except for the country and state boarders and rivers.  I also left the city locations, so the major cities would be simpler to label.  Here is what you’ll get:

All that’s left to do is print!  That’s kind of amazing, right?

But that’s not everything!  There is also a collection of 125 historical maps, and thematic maps for such things as Explorers, Native Americans, 20th Century Treaties and more!

Simply put, I think my mapping needs have been met for the next several years!  So here’s my opinion:

We love it! 🙂

 

Available at:

Price:  $49.95, (Subscribers of TOS watch for coupon code for 20% Off)

Product Type:  CD or PDF Download

Age:  Middle School +, and/or Teacher Resource

Other Products:

Illuminations,  Mystery of History, All American History, and many others

Disclaimer:  Members of the TOS Homeschool Crew were given copies of this product in exchange for their honest opinions.  No other compensation of anykind has been received.

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