Book Review: Captivating

Well it took me awhile to get here.

I love to read... love, love, love it. But somewhere between running a business, being a wife and mommy and all the other day to day stuff,... reading was more of a wish than a reality in the last year or so.

Having a baby always changes that for me. In the quiet of the night or around the time of afternoon naps, I can always find time for a good book.

Matt knows this of course, so he got me a Kindle for Christmas and I take that thing with me everywhere!! But even better, I hooked up with a great site for bloggers & readers alike, called BookSneeze. Free books for writing honest reviews - nothing wrong with that!

I recently had the opportunity to read Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John Eldredge & Stasi Eldredge and today I am posting my thoughts on this book.

After hearing many wonderful reviews about this book, Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John Eldredge & Stasi Eldredge, I was excited to get my hands on a copy! My excitement was short lived as I was quickly disappointed that it did not live up to all of the hype. The general goal of this book is to encourage and teach women how to set their heart free. Through the demands of life, women seem to lose sight of their childhood desires to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty and the authors of this book try to encourage women back to a place of accepting that they were created in the image of God.

In the first few chapters, I thought that maybe this book could go somewhere, but sadly after that I felt as though the authors, John Eldredge & Stasi Eldredge, became a little repetitive and in between the main points was a lot of fluff. My other issue with this book was that I had expected it to be much more biblical in nature and that it would use scripture to support its ideas, but the use of scripture paled in comparison to the use of movie references and when scripture was used, it was not always used in its proper context.

Overall, this book took a long time to get through and in the end, I felt like I had gotten very little out of it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Dyson Review

A few weeks ago my fourth vacuum bit the dust. Why I have so much trouble with vacuums, I'll never know. The day the vacuum started spitting out random bits of stuff at me, I began researching for a new one, because I knew it's days were numbered.

I was right - they were.

Even better - all of my research pointed to Dyson. I had been saving my pretty pennies for one, but the old vacuum died a little early and I was sure I was going to have to settle for another less then good brand... but to my surprise, Best Buy had their Dyson's on sale that very week. Yay for me!!!! How was I so lucky?!?!

I was a bit skeptical to spend $350 on a vacuum of all things, but the salesman at Best Buy had a pretty easy sale.

#1. Best Buy gives 100% money back on vacuums if you return them within 30 days of purchase if you aren't satisfied.
#2. Dyson has an 8 YEAR warranty on their vacuums - yep, 8 years. If something goes wrong with it, they will either send someone to fix it, have you come to one of their service centers, or send you a box with postage to send it to them. And the warranty covers everything for 8 years!
#3. It was on SALE! hehe... need I say more?

Well, I made a deal with my husband that we were going to test this thing for the full 30 days and return it if we weren't 100% in love with it. I'm telling you - we have made some big messes - some accidental and some not so accidental - and I couldn't be happier with my Dyson! So far it has stood up against everything my kids have thrown at it.

Here are a few things I love about my Dyson:

#1. The suction power of this vacuum far exceeds every Dirt Devil, Hoover & Bissell we have ever owned.
#2. It is fairly light weight to carry and while vacuuming, it glides very easily along both carpeted and wood floors.
#3. It has handles in all the right places - making carrying this vacuum up and down the stairs much easier then most vacuums.
#4. The power cord on this vacuum is VERY long. In fact, I can can vacuum the whole floor of my house without moving the cord to a different outlet. With other vacuums, I have always had to plug the vacuum in the room I was working in.
#5. The hose on this vacuum has an extra long reach, (I believe it is 17 feet) I live in a house with high ceilings, so this feature is wonderful for me!
#6. It really vacuums on bare floors. Every other vacuum we have ever owned, spits stuff back out on bare floors but this vacuum gets everything!
#7. It is quieter then other vacuums we have owned - in fact - it is quieter then my kids... no really - I can still hear my kids talking - even when it's running.

I'm not going to lie - I was pretty sure this Dyson was going to find it's way back to the store before I tried it, but I am in love with it! I honestly cannot say enough good about this product!!! If you are in the market for a new vacuum, I would highly recommend spending the extra money and getting yourself a Dyson. Mine has been thoroughly kid tested and mother approved!

As Long As It Takes

Maybe it's just me, but isn't it funny how some people get so crazy, excited, even a little protective, when it comes to their alma mater? Of course, I'm not referring to myself at all... Ok, so maybe a little.

I'm a very proud graduate from Liberty University and I feel so very blessed to have been able to spend 4 years of my life as a student there. In fact, if I could have my own way, I would live so much closer to Lynchburg, VA then I do right now! I get a little excited when I hear news about the growth of the school and all the changes that are taking place there. I get protective when I hear people talk about Liberty in a negative way - especially in regards to Dr. Falwell. And I'll admit, I do get a little crazy (In a good way of course!) when I know that I am going to be able to go back for a visit - even if it's only for a day or two... and I get very emotional when it's time to leave.

Liberty University represents so much more to me then just a university built on the side of a mountain - It is the place where I learned more about myself in 4 years then I had in 18 years of my life to that point... it is the place where God found me and picked up the pieces of my very broken heart following the sudden death of my dad just months before... it is the place where he knocked on the door of my heart - and where I would answer. Yes - I do love my alma mater.

I am now 481 miles away from Lynchburg, VA, and I always find it rather exciting when I am out and see someone in my area that went to LU. It happens much more often then you would expect. It always catches me off guard - like the night I was in Wegmans and some guy stopped me and asked me if I actually went to LU... and we chatted for a few minutes about what years we graduated, majors, etc. Or the 3 separate times I have been stopped in Walmart by 2 different graduates and a guy who has a daughter in school there right now.

When we started looking for a church in our area, one of the first one's that we looked at was one that my father-in-law had worked at many years ago as a youth leader. To our surprise, as we were checking out the church we found out that our Senior Pastor went to Liberty as well. I know, I know - there are lots of pastors out there who went to LU, but I still think it's cool. (I guess I'm just proving my point about alma mater's,... hehe).

So anyway, getting to the real point of this blog, I remember it was either my sophomore or junior year in college that I took a FACS class and one of my classmates names was Meredith Andrews. Yep - recording artist - Meredith Andrews... Now, I'm in no way claiming that I was best friends with her or anything like that at all. If I recall correctly, we had two or three classes together and that was about it. But I do remember her singing at convocation and church from time to time and that I loved her voice. So, when she came out with her first CD a few years ago, I was super excited to get my copy - and listened to it ALL the time! If you listen to Christian radio at all, you've heard several of the songs on that album titled The Invitation - You Invite Me In, You're Not Alone, just to name a few.

Well, on March 2, 2010, Meredith released her sophomore album titled "As Long As It Takes." Of course I bought it when it came out and have listened to it everyday since and well - here's what I have to say about it: If there is any CD that you decide to buy in the near future - this is the CD!! I love a lot of Christian music, but if I had to compare it to another artist, my first thought when I listened to it was Natalie Grant, (another artist I love). Meredith has an amazing voice and a heart for Jesus that shines through every song on this album. Every song will both encourage you and challenge you to live for Jesus.

Here is a video link from Meredith Andrews about this newest album:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid35374378001?bctid=69545340001

If you would like to get your copy of Meredith Andrews, As Long As It Takes, you can visit her website - http://www.meredithandrews.com/. Even better - if you purchase your CD by tomorrow, 3/14/10 you can get a second CD free. Keep one in the house and one in the car OR you can pass that second CD along to someone you know in need of a little encouragement!