Holly Lane Jewelry Review and Giveaway #hollylane #hollylanegiveaway

Holly Lane's sterling silver Christian jewelry is intentionally designed to create opportunities to share Christ with others and spark conversation about the verses in the Bible they are based on. When worn it is a personal reflection of faith. Each piece is lovingly designed by Tiffany Scott in Virginia. This jewelry helps bring comfort to the wearer of God's promises. Each piece of the Holly Lane line comes with a Story Card that features the verse reference on the front, and an explanation of the design's significance on the back. Tiffany uses many different semiprecious gemstones throughout the line. The customer can put together combinations of pendants, chains, and bead drops based on the promises that manifest more in their lives currently. Each piece of the Holly Lane line is packaged with the utmost care to make the unboxing experience special.

Holly Lane wrapped in decorative tissue paper and ribbon.

What We Thought:

I received the Esther Necklace from Holly Lane. When I opened the box it had arrived in I was in awe of the lovely way it was wrapped and presented. Inside the parcel was a magnificently gift-wrapped bundle. It was enclosed in decorative tissue paper with flecks of gold, a blue ribbon, and a gold embossed sticker with a crowned bird on it. Once I gently unwrapped that I first found a card with a bit about the company and a sheet with my order information.

The small jewelry box is uncovered.

Under that was a nest of shredded brown paper. In the center of the nest was a sticker with waves and the words, Be Still Psalm 46:10 and the Holly Lane logo in the lower corner. Under the sticker was a small box that opened with a ribbon tab like a drawer. The floral lined drawer held the Esther Story Card on top of a velvet pouch with the necklace inside.

The Story Card and jewelry pouch are revealed inside the drawer of the box.

After admiring and unraveling all of the intricate wrapping I finally beheld the Esther Necklace. The jewelry piece is so gorgeous! The pendant has a lovely geometric flower radiating from the center over a Star of David that represents Esther's beauty and influence as well as her heritage and faith. I love how it says, "You Make Me Brave" on the backside of the pendant too. Its two-tone sterling silver chain is adjustable up to 20" and is just as beautiful as the other details. Dangling from the chain are fine silver beads and iridescent freshwater pearls. The finishing touch is an 8mm genuine amethyst in a pretty bezel setting to represent Esther's royal position. I love the deep purple color of the amethyst! Amethysts are such pretty crystals. This necklace is a testament to that in which: if we have faith in God, He will help us be brave in the situations that we need to be brave the most.

The gorgeous Esther Necklace, back and front of the pendant.

Here you can see how the jewelry is crafted:

Me wearing my Esther Necklace from Holly Lane.

I would highly recommend Holly Lane Jewelry! Their level of craftsmanship and attention to detail in both their jewelry and packaging is outstanding. Christmas is coming soon and their unique jewelry would be an exceptional gift for your someone special.

BUY IT
Use discount code: 20FORYOU to receive 20% off your purchase at hollylane.com

WIN IT

• Prize: $100 e-gift card that will be emailed to the winner and can be used towards any purchase at hollylane.com
• Host: Holly Lane and FrontGate Media.
• Who Can Enter: Open to US Residents 18 years or older.
• Selection Process: Winner will be selected on 11/20/2019 and notified by email.
• Where to Enter: Go to this link https://www.blessedfreebies.com/holly-lane-jewelry-giveaway.html and fill out the form to enter.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this complimentary product to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Armed With Truth Temporary Scripture Tattoos Review & Giveaway #armedwithtruth

Armed With Truth Temporary Scripture Tattoos.

I received these products free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Armed With Truth is a wonderful company that gives you little reminders of God's Word, truth, and promises through temporary tattoos that you can wear. These have scriptures and words that are great for inspiration and memorization. The tattoos are safe & non-toxic, made in the USA, and made with soy based ink. Most of the scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Readers Version, NIRV. Typically these temporary tattoos last about 3 to 5 days. This gives you enough time to memorize the Scripture before you apply the next one.

There are different packs that you can choose from. The verse packs come in packs of 10 scripture verses that surround a theme, like: Fearless, Identity, Missions, Kids, Christ Like, Blessed (The Beatitudes), etc. The Designer series are made by letter artists that share a biblical truth. Greek tattoo packs are favorite words from the New Testament in original Greek. There is also a custom pack where you can pick a favorite verse and Armed With Truth will make you 50-100 temporary tattoos with that verse in about three weeks to hand out to family, friends, and colleagues.

How To Apply:

1. Clean and dry the area of skin.
2. Remove the clear plastic protective sheet.
3. Press tattoo firmly onto clean dry skin with text facing down
4. Hold wet cloth against back of tattoo, press down and make sure to wet it thoroughly.
5. Wait 30 seconds (don't rush). 
6. Peel off paper backing.

Armed With Truth Temporary Scripture Tattoo Packs.

What We Thought:
Armed With Truth water transfer tattoos are a gentle and beautiful reminder of our favorite scriptures, words, and thoughts that help us to reflect about The Word of God often. We loved how easily these temporary tattoos could be applied to the skin. They are a great way to keep The Lord in your heart and mind all throughout the day.

Not Grow Weary Designer Series Tattoo.

We received the Kids pack and the Designer series Not Grow Weary by Joseph Alessio. The Kids pack has 10 different Scriptures that are easy for kids and others to memorize. Verses include: Psalm 136:1, Proverbs 3:5, Psalm 56:3, Psalm 119:105, John 3:16, Hebrews 13:8, Hebrews 11:1, James 1:17, Philippians 2:3-4, Deuteronomy 6:5 all in NIRV. Not Grow Weary by Joseph Alessio pack comes with two tattoos of this design. I love the imagery of the spears and stars from Nehemiah 4 where the men building the wall are instructed to take night shifts, both building and guarding the builders, and held their spears "until the stars came out". The verse is Galatians 6:9 and I love what it says. It reminds me to do good and be happy and energized when doing so.

Me with the Not Grow Weary Ink on my arm.

I wore the Not Grow Weary tattoo on my arm and gave my daughters each a verse of scripture to wear on theirs as well. This was a wonderful experiment and my daughters enjoyed being able to participate. My daughter Zari even did some copywork all on her own with the verse she had and wrote it all down on a page for part of her homeschool.

Zari doing homeschool copywork from the Armed With Truth tattoo.

I am glad that these look authentic without being the real deal. I can't stand needles and so temporary tattoos are great for me. I can also change it up and wear a new one when I want to.

We received many compliments from people while we were wearing them and some of these became conversations about belief. I was glad to have had the opportunity to bear my testimony to these people about my faith and what I believe in. These are a great conversation starter and I recommend them highly.

BE SOCIAL
Facebook: http://facebook.com/armedwtruth
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE7KETUeUTRrKAeEO7VyTsA
Instagram: https://instagram.com/armedwithtruth

BUY IT
You can purchase these from their store online at a 20% discount with coupon code finamoon or from Amazon.com.

WIN IT HERE


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver Book Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer from Peggy Consolver - Author for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool Bible study curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Peggy Consolver is the author to Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer. She was wanting to write about the Gibeonites of Joshua 9 and 10 from the Bible. In 2010 she received the fantastic opportunity to go to the city of Khiret el-Maqatir, Israel on an 18 day archaeological excavation with a team of archeologists from Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) and people like herself who volunteered to become amateur archeologists. This city meets the most criteria for being the Biblical city Ai from the Old Testament. She learned a lot on her trip there and what she experienced there brought her story to life. Here is a little more about her trip in her words.

Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer is a story that takes place in Gibeon, a Canaanite city north of Jerusalem. This story is told through the eyes of a thirteen year old Canaanite shepherd boy named Keshub as he: braves predators that want to harm his flock, learns the skills of a warrior, deals with the persecution from bullying and sibling rivalry, and proves himself among his older brothers. A shepherd and a potter's son, he wishes he could travel and see the world full of adventure like the caravanners that stop and tell of things beyond his small valley. Keshub has to make some crucial decisions on what to do, who to help, and what he actually believes. These decisions shape his life and who he becomes. This book follows Joshua's biblical story of the Hebrew/Israelite invasion and conquest of Canaan from the totally new perspective and point of view of the Gibeonites who by deception and trickery survive the attack.

Book, scripture, and bookmark.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I am not as well versed in the Bible as I would like to be and this story, even though not new to me, was needing a refresher. So, I was grateful that the bookmark which came with my copy of the book and the back of the cover of the book gave reference to the particular scriptures and verses in the Bible that I needed to re-read for background. The parts I remembered of the story was Joshua leading the Israelite people to the Promised Land/Canaan while eating manna in the desert along the way and the Battle of Jericho where the wall came down with the sound of trumpets from the army. I didn't remember the story of the Gibeonites very well and so I am glad I read Joshua 9 and 10 before reading Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver.

There are some neat extras to go along with this book. At the end there is a letter from the author to readers about digging deeper and learning more and some discussion questions for small groups. There is also a Study Guide webpage of extras, including: links of things to read, videos to watch, and maps to look at. I loved learning about bow making and Israeli Mammals. The more in depth 48 page Study Guide, Digging Deeper into HIStory, is also available online to purchase separately. A small glimpse of it is available to download free from the webpage as well.

I enjoyed reading the book and it definitely opened my eyes to what it may have been like for the Gibeonites. The main character, Keshub, was very interesting to read about and learn of his way of life, family, friends, and things he learned along the way while growing in his faith and becoming a man.  I loved the imagery of the text. My mind's eye was flooded with what it might have looked like. This book has historical and scriptural fact, supported by archeological evidence & research integrated with artistic vision and ingenuity that breathes life into the text. It takes you on a great adventure back in time and builds your understanding of Bible history and geography. I highly recommend this book!

BUY IT
Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver Book is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Mardel’s Christian Bookstores, and “Wherever fine books are sold!” Amazon.com has it at $10.14 for the paperback and $2.99 for Kindle.
The Study Guide, Digging Deeper into HIStory, is available on Amazon.com for $12.99 for the paperback and $2.99 for Kindle.

Follow Her on Social Media:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/peggy.consolver
Hashtags: #hsreviews #siblingrivalry #geography #Bible #survival

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver...

Keith Korman's 'Eden: The Animals' Parable' Kindle Fire Giveaway and Blog Tour Book Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Return to the story of Jesus and read it from a new perspective in Keith Korman's Eden: The Animals' Parable. In this beautifully inspired retelling of the Gospels, we see Jesus and his disciples in the Holy Land through the eyes of the animals-especially his intrepid and loyal dog, Eden. Simple, clear, and spiritually profound, Eden is for readers of all ages, this artful retelling is captivating, moving, and alive with the joy you felt the first time you opened the Bible.

Settle in for some winter reading and enter to win a copy of Keith's book and a Kindle Fire!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Eden
• A Kindle Fire

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on January 24. The winner will be announced January 25 on Keith's blog.

Our Thoughts:
This book is a wonderfully woven story from a different perspective. This story follows a dog named Eden around and through his eyes we see the Gospels from the Bible emerge, but slightly different as the viewpoint is from animals. Keith writes with profoundness and truly captures the approach well. I loved the book, but it does have some Biblical inaccuracies, so just a warning. This unique outlook will open your mind to new aspects of things. I love the pictures in it by Lisa Paris! I have admired her work for a while.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

Chara Games Commissioned Review

My family had the privilege of trying Commissioned from Chara Games for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum and Bible study. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Patrick and Katherine Lysaght founded Chara Games in 2014 in hopes to bring Christian based tabletop games to the home that are fun for the family to play together. They named their company Chara which means unshakable joy in Biblical Greek. They created their first game, Commissioned, which was funded through a KickStarter campaign and a second game called 3 Seeds was also funded through KickStarter later on.

Commissioned is a board game that is for 2-6 players and is for ages 14 and up. This historically-based cooperative, strategic deck-building style game takes about an hour to play and is built upon how the Early Christian Church was spread. The game covers the first 150 years of church history. There is no need to know the history of Christianity to play.

To play you get to be one of the six Apostles: Paul, Peter, Barnabas, Andrew, Thomas or John. Each Apostle has specific characteristics, abilities, and ways they can help the game. Players in the game work together as a team with the other chosen Apostles to strengthen their individual decks of faith cards, grow the church, collect the books of the New Testament, all while overcoming trials, obstacles, and persecution. The game is played in three rounds: Arm (drawing faith cards), Live (taking action: trials, pray, share, move, and grow), and Mature (expanding faith decks). Commissioned has five separate scenarios you can choose to follow: Acts of the Apostles, Peter's Gentile Outreach, The First Missionary Journeys, Appeal to Caesar,  and To the Ends of the Earth. These scenarios make the game interesting every time it is played. The first scenario is the easiest and suggested for the first play of the game. Commissioned has two different difficulty levels of play and one adversary variant as well. Game ends when scenario victory conditions are met, 5 churches are extinguished, or the last Trial Card is drawn.

Chara Games Commissioned Contents

What Is Included In The Box:

• 1 Double-Sided Game Board: the board map you play on, has two sides for the two difficulty levels.
• 5 Double-Sided Scenario Cards: the first thing you choose in play to start the game. These tell important information, game board set up, victory conditions, and what failure means for each scenario.
• 6 Unique Player Boards: go with each Apostle player.
• 96 Faith Cards: six are drawn at first for each player, use these to acquire more faith cards after accomplishing 5 actions in the Live round the required amount of times. These have up to 5 components: Title, Faith, Point Value, Board Effect, New Testament Books (only on 2-Faith Cards), and Historical Reference.
• 27 Trial Cards: number of turns is limited by the number of these and when you run out it is the end of the game.
• 4 Wooden "Missionary Meeples": help populate the cities on the map with churches when there is less than 6 players.
• 75 Wooden Church Member Cubes: represent church members on the map.
• 1 Wooden Elder's Staff: is passed left along to each player on turn, Elder makes important decisions and rolls die.
• 6 Wooden Apostle Player Pawns: color coded to match the player boards.
• 30 Double-Sided "Stop" Tokens: stop things from happening, these are played during the Live round when indicated. One side is growth stop and other side is mission stop.
• 5 Double-Sided "Extinguished" Tokens: match the art of the board, these are placed when a city location containing a church becomes empty either by trial or choice. If 5 churches are extinguished, the game is lost.
• 1 "Converted City" Leader's Token: is played in the location with the Elder's Apostle pawn when this faith card is selected in the Share action. No trials except for Worldly Priorities and Mount Vesuvius Erupts can affect this area. If card is selected again, move token to specified city. Previous city looses protection. If played on a ship, move to city when the church leaves the ship.
• 1 Roman Legion Token: is played with the Adversary Variant.
• 1 8-Sided Die: rolled to know what to do next.
• 1 12-Page Full Color Rule Book: for teaching the set up, instructions, and rules of the game.
• 1 Theme Appendix: helps you learn about historical concepts encountered throughout the game.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

My family loves all types of games; whether it be board games, card games, video games, relay races, competitions, etc. We love testing our skill, wit, speed, and strategy. Games are great opportunities to get together with family and friends and have a great time. They help us learn how to: take turns, think ahead, make choices, have consequences for our actions, cooperate, work as a team, and be a good sport. We love family game night because it strengthens family ties & bonds, and builds memories. We also love educational and historical games for homeschool and we always like getting new games to add to our collection because it means a chance to try something different.

The artwork of the Commissioned box, game boards, cards, and tokens are superb and vibrantly colored. The game is beautifully made and constructed well. It is made of high quality materials and I could see this lasting a long time if properly cared for.

We found Commissioned to be a great board game of strategy and cooperation. Since it is a game for ages 14 plus I had my son Delbin who is 16 play the game with me. I would not recommend this game for really young children as it does go long and I would expect my 6 and 8 year old would get too fidgety and loose patience. This game is intense and I am so glad we watched the helpful "How-to-Play" video that is on the website because we would have been totally lost without it! I am so thankful that Chara Games made this, as it clarifies everything! We set up the game and played along using the demonstration video as our guide. The 12-page rule book is nice, but still a bit confusing and definitely made the game sound very complicated at first. I have never played a game this involved before although apparently it is similar to other strategy games of this type. It is definitely a game for the serious gamer.

We actually took longer to play and achieve the winning requirements than just the hour it says it should take, but we were also just learning how to play...so maybe this is why. Once we got the game down it flowed seamlessly. It has so many different ways of play with tons of neat pieces that I do not think we will ever get bored playing. We also loved how much we came to understand better what the Apostles actually went through to while growing the Christian church. What an eye opener.

Look for my upcoming review of 3 Seeds from Chara Games shortly after I receive it.

BUY IT
Purchase Commissioned for $28.92 + $5.99 shipping.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharaGames/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CharaGames/ @Charagames
Hashtags: #hsreviews #ChristianBoardGames #StrategyGames

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Chara Games Commissioned...