Friday, September 22, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Remember What is Important with All in by Matthew West (review and giveaway)
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this product, free of charge, from Propeller Consulting, LLC, for review purposes. Thanks also to them, for providing the prize for the giveaway as well. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
Track Listing
All In\
Broken Things
Something Greater
The Sound Of A Life Changing
Amen
I Song
The Beautiful Things We Miss
Dream Again
Jesus & You
Power Love Sound Mind
Mercy Is A Song
Becoming Me (ft. Lulu West)
Never Ever Give Up
You Are Known
Coming out tomorrow, is a new CD from one of our favorite Chirstian singers- Matthew West!
Matthew wrote his new album All In with the goal of encouraging himself and others to get up off the sidelines of their faith and really live it out – to go all in in your time with God, all in with your family, all in with your community, and all in battling your fears that may hold you back from becoming who God made you to be.
Along that same theme, Matthew will be launching a 6-week All in Challenge on his social media starting 9/18, and each week Matthew will be challenging his fans to go all in in a different part of their lives:
- What does it look like when a heart that knows Jesus takes a step and holds
nothing back?
- How can we go All In in the places that mean the most?
So head on over and check in and join the challenge today, use hashtag #AllIn!
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube
And be sure to check out the tour stops, and see when Matthew will be in your town!
So head on over and check in and join the challenge today, use hashtag #AllIn!
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube
And be sure to check out the tour stops, and see when Matthew will be in your town!
Need more inspiration?
Give a listen:
Check uot the story behind the song too!
Fro us this CD came at a great time- Miss Grace was in need of encouragement,about turning a corner with God's help, and taking a new path, but keeping her faith that God will see her through. jesus and You really struck a chord with her and I found her singing along before the song was half way through. Becoming Me and Never Ever Give Up also gave her a much needed encouragement boost. She's now declared this her favorite cd! For me Beautiful Things and Dream Again really touched me and made me want to share this CD with friends, who really need to see what they might be missing, by focusing on the bad, and not seeing the good to come. This is a wonderful CD with songs for everyone in the family, and we can't recommend it enough!
Want to win a copy?
One BTHM reader will win their own copy of All In!
How to Make Learning About Coding FUN! (giveaway)
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge,from Parragon Publishing, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own.
Today I have a book from the Discovery Kids line that introduces kids to coding, and a book that makes color coding fun too (even for Mom if she blogs too!!
We use computers every day, but how do they work and know what to do? With code, that's how. And now you can give it a go! Discover the fact-packed world of computers and complete activities, puzzles and mazes along the way. Then get programming with the building blocks of computer coding. Discovery Kids Factivity Coding and Computers has 300 stickers to make your own code and computer characters!
As you can see, the wording is made for the age 7-12 year old level, though older kids may roll their eyes at the stickers, they can't argue with how much they can learn from the book. It really does a great job in teach kids the hostory of coding and then onto the basics. It's a fun book that TEACHES when the kids aren't paying attention! If youre looking at adding coding to your hoem school curriculumn, you might want to use this book as a intro first! Parents can also use it as a fun "I'm Bored' attention grabber!
and speaking of ge=rabbing your attention- using the right COLORS when coding, can make a huge difference when you have a website or blog, and this other book, which I actually picked up in the clearance section of a popular national book store, is just the thing you need!
Coding and web-design skills are becoming more and more important in our technological world. These concept books will familiarize young ones with the kind of shapes and colors that make up web-based programming language and give them the head start they need. Help your little ones learn how to specify web-safe colors with this hexadecimal lift-the-flap book, and get them started on the visual patterns and symbols that make up the essential building blocks of the web.
This book might be the size of a kids board book, but it's a VER handy resource! The lift flaps are definitely more for the kids, but the EASY to learn color coding is perfect for any age learner. I had never understood the color coding for html, but now it all makes sense, after just 10 minutes with this book! But more than that, having a book with the codes already on the different color panels, allows me to grab the color I need quickly, and add just teh right touch to my html! If you, or your kids, are learning how to code, be sure to pick this book up (it's still on clearance, even online!)!
Now who wants to win the Discovery Kids Factivity Coding and Computers book?
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Book Review: The Dead of Night by Jean Rabe
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook free of charge,from RABT Book Tours for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own.
Thanks for stopping by on our stop for this great book that came out on the 1st!
Thanks for stopping by on our stop for this great book that came out on the 1st!
Synopsis:
As Sheriff Piper Blackwell rushes to a clandestine meeting with an aging, paranoid veteran who believes spies are trailing his every move, she is caught in a fierce thunderstorm. Pounding rain drums against the bluff, washing away the earth and revealing a grisly secret someone tried to bury a long time ago.
Putting a name to the skeleton on the bluff, and searching for the thief who robbed the old veteran of his life’s earnings, sends Piper delving into the sleepy towns that dot her rural county. Now she’s digging into pasts perhaps best left alone.
Accompanied by Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg, Piper seeks to expose a truth someone wants to remain forever hidden. The investigation may have started with a thunderstorm, but Piper aims to finish it and find justice. Uncovering fragments of Spencer County’s history could prove more dangerous—and deadlier—than she ever expected.
Book Excerpt:
It was a big red
Case tractor, double wheels on the back, hitch, with a raised disc harrow
attachment used for cultivating the ground prior to planting—all of it caked
with dried mud and in need of washing. Piper was stuck behind it on 66, on her
way to Hatfield, an unincorporated dinkburg where Mark the Shark lived.
Piper figured this ten-mile endeavor would take her an hour away from her cold case—fourteen minutes to Mark’s, fourteen minutes back, and a half hour at the bank or looking through his records to show him the bookkeeping error and ease his conspiracy fears.
But the tractor was fouling her time-frame.
It belched fumes; her windows rolled down, the stink wafted inside and made her eyes water. It was noisy, overwhelming the oldies station she’d had on and just now clicked off. It was slow, riding in the center of the road, impossible for her to pass on either side without risking the ditch. And it wasn’t traveling straight, sometimes in the proper lane, sometimes veering into the left lane. Usually it held to roughly the middle.
She honked.
The driver raised his left hand and flipped his middle finger.
“Really?” Piper stuck her head out the window and hollered, “Pick a lane!” Then thinking he might not be able to hear over the racket the tractor was making, she used the PA in her car. “Pull over. Spencer County Sheriff. Pull over.”
The tractor had no rearview mirrors that she could see, and the driver hadn’t turned around to notice who was honking at him.
She honked again, this time laying on the horn. Piper really didn’t want to further delay her visit to Mark Thresher’s and subsequent return to the alluring skeleton case by citing the farmer for a simple traffic violation, but— She honked a third time, the driver took both hands off the wheel and gave her the dancing double middle fingers. The tractor, which according to the speedometer in Piper’s Ford was going about twenty miles an hour, shimmied to the right. As she started to pass, and reached to turn on her flashing lights, it sped up, drifted back to the left, and nearly clipped her front fender. She pumped the brakes and eased behind it, matching its speed—twenty-five miles an hour now. A boxy station wagon pulled behind her, and another car was coming farther back. Fortunate no one was in the opposite lane at the moment.
The tractor wobbled farther right, then left, shuddered, and went faster still. Thirty miles an hour.
“What the hell?”
Then the driver tossed an empty whiskey bottle off to the side of the road.
“That’s it.”
She turned on the siren and called the dispatcher to report her impending traffic stop. No license plate on the tractor, so no identification to note. Fleeing to avoid arrest, failure to yield, she mentally started writing the charges. She couldn’t yet add DUI—that would have to be proven.
It looked like the driver—she guessed him to be young to middle-aged, as he had a flowing mane of ink-black hair—was finally going to acquiesce. He slowed to twenty, then ten, and pulled to the right, one of the big back tires drifting to the berm. A car and a motorcycle appeared in the opposite lane and zipped past. Piper continued to follow the tractor, the station wagon still behind her. Then she cursed when he sped up again. How fast could a farm tractor go? It jinked left, the sudden motion causing the tractor’s back right set of tires to come off the road. They dropped back down with a clatter and the disc harrow made an ominous clunking sound, came loose, and cut into the blacktop, leaving grooves like open wounds.
“This is just absolutely wonderful.” Piper’s lip curled as she tried to maneuver her Ford Explorer around it again. “Pull the hell over!” She pressed on the gas, was nearly even with it and could read the MX 240 model on the side, then it trundled left again and she slammed on the brakes to avoid being run off the road. “Sonofabitch!”
Wisely, the two cars behind her drifted back. The tractor surged forward, weaving and now straddling the center line. She matched its speed. Forty miles an hour.
“Really? Tractors go that fast?” She almost called for backup. Should call, she told herself. But Piper was proud and stubborn. How would it look if a decorated Army veteran couldn’t stop a drunk on a farm tractor? Her deputies would not respect a sheriff who could not manage a traffic stop. She used the PA again. “Pull over! Pull over now!”
A beer can sailed away into the ditch. The hand that threw it raised the middle finger again.
“I left the 101st for this,” she hissed. Piper was a skilled driver, able to operate armored personnel carriers, combat support vehicles, light armored vehicles, and an assortment of heavy trucks. This Ford was easy, and she could use it—if she absolutely had to—to force the tractor off the road. But there wasn’t much shoulder, and she worried the tractor would flip into the ditch and seriously injure, or possibly kill, the drunken driver. She slammed her hand against the steering wheel and looked at the speedometer. The tractor had slowed back to thirty. Then twenty.
“Now ten,” she encouraged. “Ten.”
You'll have to read the book to see what happens next, and be sure to check Jean's blog for more excerpts!
Piper figured this ten-mile endeavor would take her an hour away from her cold case—fourteen minutes to Mark’s, fourteen minutes back, and a half hour at the bank or looking through his records to show him the bookkeeping error and ease his conspiracy fears.
But the tractor was fouling her time-frame.
It belched fumes; her windows rolled down, the stink wafted inside and made her eyes water. It was noisy, overwhelming the oldies station she’d had on and just now clicked off. It was slow, riding in the center of the road, impossible for her to pass on either side without risking the ditch. And it wasn’t traveling straight, sometimes in the proper lane, sometimes veering into the left lane. Usually it held to roughly the middle.
She honked.
The driver raised his left hand and flipped his middle finger.
“Really?” Piper stuck her head out the window and hollered, “Pick a lane!” Then thinking he might not be able to hear over the racket the tractor was making, she used the PA in her car. “Pull over. Spencer County Sheriff. Pull over.”
The tractor had no rearview mirrors that she could see, and the driver hadn’t turned around to notice who was honking at him.
She honked again, this time laying on the horn. Piper really didn’t want to further delay her visit to Mark Thresher’s and subsequent return to the alluring skeleton case by citing the farmer for a simple traffic violation, but— She honked a third time, the driver took both hands off the wheel and gave her the dancing double middle fingers. The tractor, which according to the speedometer in Piper’s Ford was going about twenty miles an hour, shimmied to the right. As she started to pass, and reached to turn on her flashing lights, it sped up, drifted back to the left, and nearly clipped her front fender. She pumped the brakes and eased behind it, matching its speed—twenty-five miles an hour now. A boxy station wagon pulled behind her, and another car was coming farther back. Fortunate no one was in the opposite lane at the moment.
The tractor wobbled farther right, then left, shuddered, and went faster still. Thirty miles an hour.
“What the hell?”
Then the driver tossed an empty whiskey bottle off to the side of the road.
“That’s it.”
She turned on the siren and called the dispatcher to report her impending traffic stop. No license plate on the tractor, so no identification to note. Fleeing to avoid arrest, failure to yield, she mentally started writing the charges. She couldn’t yet add DUI—that would have to be proven.
It looked like the driver—she guessed him to be young to middle-aged, as he had a flowing mane of ink-black hair—was finally going to acquiesce. He slowed to twenty, then ten, and pulled to the right, one of the big back tires drifting to the berm. A car and a motorcycle appeared in the opposite lane and zipped past. Piper continued to follow the tractor, the station wagon still behind her. Then she cursed when he sped up again. How fast could a farm tractor go? It jinked left, the sudden motion causing the tractor’s back right set of tires to come off the road. They dropped back down with a clatter and the disc harrow made an ominous clunking sound, came loose, and cut into the blacktop, leaving grooves like open wounds.
“This is just absolutely wonderful.” Piper’s lip curled as she tried to maneuver her Ford Explorer around it again. “Pull the hell over!” She pressed on the gas, was nearly even with it and could read the MX 240 model on the side, then it trundled left again and she slammed on the brakes to avoid being run off the road. “Sonofabitch!”
Wisely, the two cars behind her drifted back. The tractor surged forward, weaving and now straddling the center line. She matched its speed. Forty miles an hour.
“Really? Tractors go that fast?” She almost called for backup. Should call, she told herself. But Piper was proud and stubborn. How would it look if a decorated Army veteran couldn’t stop a drunk on a farm tractor? Her deputies would not respect a sheriff who could not manage a traffic stop. She used the PA again. “Pull over! Pull over now!”
A beer can sailed away into the ditch. The hand that threw it raised the middle finger again.
“I left the 101st for this,” she hissed. Piper was a skilled driver, able to operate armored personnel carriers, combat support vehicles, light armored vehicles, and an assortment of heavy trucks. This Ford was easy, and she could use it—if she absolutely had to—to force the tractor off the road. But there wasn’t much shoulder, and she worried the tractor would flip into the ditch and seriously injure, or possibly kill, the drunken driver. She slammed her hand against the steering wheel and looked at the speedometer. The tractor had slowed back to thirty. Then twenty.
“Now ten,” she encouraged. “Ten.”
You'll have to read the book to see what happens next, and be sure to check Jean's blog for more excerpts!
Purchase the Book: Amazon
Review:
This is was such a fun book, I found myself laughing a whole lot through it, as Piper continues (this is book 2 in the series) to try to find her way though the job of a rural sheriff, where she is the second to youngest person in the department, and no prior civilian experience. To make matters worse, her dad was the previous Sheriff, so she has to deal with comparisons and his butting in, even when she doesn't want him to. Add in a mysterious theft, discovery of old bones, and a possible boyfriend, and Piper has more than enough on her plate. Rabe does a really good job in keeping the action going, so you might find yourself reading late into the night, and not wanting to stop reading until the end! The personality conflicts between her chief deputy, her father, and her staff, are all very honest and realistic, and that helps to really immerse the reader into the story. I can't wait for the next installment and I;ll be reading book 1 as soon as I get some free time! If you;re looking for a fresh voice in police procedurals, check out this series!
About the Author
Jean Rabe is the author of thirty-eight novels, more short stories than she cares to count, and has edited magazines and anthologies. She’s new the mystery field, as her earlier works were in fantasy and science fiction. The first book in the Piper Blackwell series, The Dead of Winter, was released in 2016. Jean attends game conventions, works as a mentor for graduate-level writing students, and tosses tennis balls for her dogs in her spare time. She makes sure she has spare time for three or four toss sessions a day. You can find her website at www.jeanrabe.com.
For more info on Jean and her books, check out her following pages: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Goodreads, Newsletter, and her
For more info on Jean and her books, check out her following pages: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Goodreads, Newsletter, and her
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