Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir

Summary:

Ray Quinn is a tough, quick-witted homicide detective in love with his partner, Trisha Willis. She gives Ray something to live for—something to hope in. Until a barrage of bullets leaves Trisha murdered and Ray crippled.

Struggling with his new physical disability and severe depression, Quinn turns to whiskey, scorn, and a job as a night watchman to numb the pain. But when a pastor and dancer are found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, the pastor’s sister approaches Quinn for help.

Reluctantly, Quinn takes the case and is plunged into the perilous Orlando. Soon he discovers that, not only was the pastor murdered, but the case may be linked to his and Trisha’s ambush.

If you enjoy murder mysteries, this one will pull you in and keep you turning the pages. It is well written, with interesting characters and plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. You can find places to purchase the book by visiting http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781590529355&ref=externallink_mlt_thenightwatchman_sec_0414_01

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

This little book is small enough in size to slip into a purse, but filled with enough insight to ponder throughout the day. It is set up with a devotional thought for each day of the year. The passages are written as though Jesus is talking to you, encouraging you to trust Him and find peace through Him. Each passage is only a few paragraphs, so it can be the starting point for a more in-depth study or a quick thought to ponder throughout the day.

I tend to hit-and-miss with a daily book, so I ignored the dates and read the messages as time allowed, some days were missed, some days I read several. I found many treasure thoughts to highlight and ponder. None of the messages are "new" information, but reminders of promises Jesus has already made to His followers. There are also scripture references at the end of each day for further study.

I enjoyed leaving the book in my car to read while I was waiting for children. It is easy to pick up and enjoy when you only have a few minutes or to read for longer times while you wait. I also liked the small size, about 4 inches by 7 inches.

Hero and Giveaway

Hero: Becoming the Man She Desires is written by Fred and Jason Stoeker. It is directed at young men and talks about the importance of leaving the girls they date better, instead of worse, for having known them. It talks about many of our cultures' lies about intimate relationships and why physical relationships prior to marriage hurt both men and women, but especially women. It examines several different "myths" about physical relationships before marriage.

My boys are still young, so I don't know what age, if ever, I would just hand them this book to read. It is pretty straight-forward and open about the p*rn and garbage that the media portrays as normal. I do think it's a good book for parents or leaders of young men to read. There are many points in the book that I think are valuable for teaching, and that could be beneficial to a discussion. I liked how it teaches young men that women want a "knight in shining armor," a hero who will love, honor, respect, and protect her. There are several good analogies and personal stories/journal entries that make the book (after the first few chapters) read more like a story and less like a lecture. There is one section of about 3 paragraphs that I skipped. The authors warn you that a graphic list of garbage found in some current, popular PG-13 and R movies is coming. I would black that section out with a marker because we don't allow those in our home and I don't want the descriptions here either.

I think the message in this book is essential. We need more young men and women to take a stand for purity. Here is a link to the Random House website with options for purchasing the book online: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071098&ref=externallink_mlt_hero_kef_0403_01

I have two copies of this book available as give-aways, so if you are interested, please leave a comment or email me. I will do the drawing 2 weeks from today.

What Does the Bible Say about That?

The Bible is filled with advice about all aspects of our life, but finding which scriptures apply to a given situation can be a challenge, especially for kids who are new to studying the scriptures.


What Does the Bible Say about That? is a charming book by Carolyn Larsen, that covers over 300 topics like patience, kindness, jealousy, planning, and even homework. Each topic has a simple one page summary with scripture references, commentary, and a daily goal related to the topic. This book, published by Crossway Books, is written for 8-12 year olds, and deals with issues that are important in their lives as well as topics that apply to all ages.

By taking everyday topics and relating them to scriptures, this book is a gentle way to teach children how to study the scriptures and apply the teachings to their own lives. I have been using it with my 8 year old. Each morning we read a topic together, then look up the quoted scriptures in our KJV (the book uses the English Standard Version). This is helping my son learn WHERE to find the quoted scriptures. We then compare and talk about the versions. We are LDS and have also been looking for related scriptures in the Book of Mormon.

I would recommend this as a book for parents to use with their children. From an LDS perspective, I only noticed 3 topics that don't match up exactly with LDS doctrine, (Hell, Salvation, and the Trinity) and they were presented close enough that it was easy to explain and expand.

Some of the topics are very similar to another, like Honesty and Integrity, but the commentary is different even when the quoted scriptures are the same. Even with 300 topics, there are several important ones missing, like Baptism, Jesus, and Savior, but that is probably because different denominations would present those topics differently.

Overall, my son and I have enjoyed the book and will continue using it for our morning devotion time together. It has been a good way to show him how the Bible can answer his questions and that it has important information on almost every topic.

You can find more information about this book at www.crossway.org/blog

Famous Men of the Modern Ages

I received the "Famous Men of the Modern Ages" from Memoria Press. I have other versions of the "Famous Men" series (Greece and Rome) and love how they bring history to life by bringing the people of that time period to life. Memoria Press takes their text even further with beautiful illustrations to compliment the written stories.

Famous Men of the Modern Ages starts after the fall of Constantinople with Lorenzo the Magnificent. Here is a direct link to the table of contents. I love these books because I have many gaps in my own knowledge of history. It was really sad how many of these famous men-- from only the last 500 years-- I knew nothing about. Some I remember memorizing, probably along with a date that I have long since forgotten. This book has interesting details about each person that make history more interesting.

Memoria Press also has student and teacher guides to go along with the text. The guides turn an interesting book into a year long study of the given time period. There are 33 lessons and 6 review lessons. They include quotes, vocabulary, comprehension questions, and activities, like timelines and mapwork. The teacher guide is the same as the student guide, but with the answers filled in. The Famous Men of the Modern Ages text is $16.95 and each of guides are $17.95 or you can buy the set of all 3 books for $39.95. My son is in 3rd grade and dislikes writing, so we did many of the comprehension questions orally. His favorite way to use the book was for both of us to read the text silently, then "have a contest" to see if he knew the answers better than I did.

If you are a classical homeschooler or would like an enjoyable way to fill in the gaps in your own knowledge, The Famous Men books are a great starting point. I think anyone would benefit from the text. I would not consider it a complete history curriculum, but it is far more interesting than any of the history texts I had in school and I expect my son will retain more from this book and study guide than I did from the "complete" curriculums to which I was exposed.

Memoria Press Latin

Salvete, amici Latinae.

I can read that now! And I know what it says! Latin was always something I thought would be good to teach the kids, (because smart people know Latin, right?). However, since I had no background or experience, I was apprehensive and probably never would have gotten around to it. Latina Christiana I by Memoria Press has taken away the fear. I received not only the student and teacher guides, but the Instructional DVD's that go through each lesson in the books. The DVD's are directed to the student and my kids enjoyed watching them. All of the kids sat and watched and I was surprised how much even the little ones picked up. We have taken it slowly, repeating rules and lessons until it is understood.

It has been nice to just sit and learn along with the kids. I did have a little bit of Spanish in college which has helped with understanding the grammar and helped me pick up on some things faster, but I think you would be fine without any foreign language background. The teacher book seems well laid out, and could probably be used without the DVD's, but for me the DVD's have changed Latin from a fearful subject to an enjoyable one. I have used the teacher's guide more as a supplement than as the main resource.

Memoria Press has many other interesting items, and different members of the Crew reviewed different items, so check out what my fellow crewmates had to say here.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

This book is A MUST READ!!! It is one of the best books I've ever read, and I read a lot. This book is based on an amazing true story and has the potential to change your life!

The story follows an old man, Jones, not Mr. Jones, just Jones, who manages to show up in Orange Beach, Alabama just when someone's world is falling apart. He gently shares his wisdom and perspective and changes the struggle into a moment of growth. I kept thinking this is how the Three Nephites from the Book of Mormon or the Apostle John would minister while they waited for the Savior's return.

It has the qualities of a classic and I know I will read it over and over again, especially at those times when I'm discouraged or worn down by life's trials. I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't put it down. There are so many gems of truth and wisdom in the pages of this book. Andy Andrews makes you feel like you are living the story along with him. I have already recommended it to many friends and will be buying more copies as gifts.

Molly's Money-Saving Digest for May

Molly's digest is known for money saving hints and tips, but my favorite part of the May digest are the reflections on mothers. It's the little things that matter most and the examples we set for our children that will be remembered far longer than the academics we teach them. As Mother's Day approaches, it's easy to see the things we don't do "right" and to focus on the mom we wish we were instead of the mom we are. This reminded me that it's who I am that matters more than what I do.

Tapestry of Grace

Tapestry of Grace is one of those curriculum's that I have heard mentioned and raved about often. It is a literature-based history (and more) curriculum that cycles through a 4 year rotation with different assignments and books for children of various ages. The advantage, especially for a large family, is that all of your children can be studying the same time periods at the same time, but working at their own levels.

This program is overwhelming at first. There is just SO much there. I found it to be VERY mom-intensive, at least at first, but there are quite a few supporting resources and groups to help figure it out. I would recommend that you download and try one of the samples programs on the Tapestry of Grace website. You can try the first 3 weeks of Eygpt or Journey to the New World for free. I think in 3 weeks you will be able to get a feel of the program and if it will work for your family. Be prepared to spend some time figuring it out before you present it to your children.

My oldest child is 8, and the program didn't work very well for us at this time. He was the only one who could really do the curriculum. However, I will put this program on the back burner to reconsider down the road when I have several different ages to homeschool, I can see how beneficial it could be then. I would recommend this program for large families, especially those who homeschool using Classical methods. I would wait to start until your oldest child is 11 or 12.

I received the DE (digital edition) to review, and I would consider buying the print version as well unless you have an inexpensive printing option at home. I am a hands on person and had some trouble navigating to where I wanted to be in the DE. I also didn't like feeling chained to the computer and ended up printing out quite a bit on my own. I liked most of the recommended books and my son thought they were interesting, although some were hard to find through interlibrary loan. You can look over the recommended books for each level before buying the curriculum. Buying all of the books does increase the cost of the curriculum, but if you are using it with multiple children and repeating the cycle later with the younger ones, the cost is reduced.

The DE curriculum itself costs $45 per nine-week unit, or $170 for one year. You can buy printed versions as well for an additional printing charge. One big negative for me is that the curriculum cannot be resold. The policy stated on the website is as follows:

"When you buy Tapestry of Grace DE, you are not buying a copy of the curriculum. You are buying software which grants you the permanent right to use (and print) copies of the curriculum for your family's personal use. LockLizard is controlled by a computer-specific license that you purchase.

Thus, DE products are non-resalable and non-returnable, so it's important for you to read the EULA and play with our Samples before you buy. For no additional charge, network licenses are also available should you desire to have Tapestry DE running on several computers in your home."

I also recieved the lapbook for the Unit I reviewed and it seemed well put together and was easy to use. I see it as a way to better involve your younger children in what they are learning.

If you are LDS, I have written a separate post on Tapestry of Grace presents LDS doctrines here.

You can read reviews by other TOS Homeschool Crew members here.

Tapestry of Grace and LDS doctrine

I have previously considered Tapestry of Grace as an option for my family, but could not find any information about how it dealt with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), my religion. When I was given the option of choosing a unit to review, I deliberately chose Year 3, Unit 3, which covers 1825-1850, the time when the LDS church was restored. I went carefully through this unit and asked other reviewers to check theirs, and found nothing that prevent me from using this curriculum with my family. The LDS church is only covered in a 3 week study of the Mormons at the Rhetoric, or oldest, level of the curriculum. I would probably substitute LDS written church history books for one lesson is this unit and possibly expand it to cover LDS history more completely during this time period, although most LDS youth will probably already be quite familiar with those events by that age.

While the LDS church is presented fairly, Tapestry of Grace does include phrases like "Joseph Smith CLAIMED he saw" and discussions about polygomy with typical misconceptions. One activity has the student basically go through the Articles of Faith and evaluate each statement based on what the Bible says. I feel this would be a valuable activity for Rhetoric aged students to examine how other churches perceive our beliefs and to learn how to defend them.


My complete review of Tapestry of Grace as a curriculum can be found here.