Natural Calm : The Anti-Stress Drink - Great Gatorade Replacer!

I received a Natural Calm Anti-Stress Drink sample from Vitacost.com just for placing an online order. Vitacost.com is good that way in that with every online order you get to pick two samples from an assortment of samples they offer you. The sample drink powder flavor was rasperry lemon flavor.

I wanted to sample this product because I am honestly tired of Gatorade (with its preservatives, artificial sweetener and dyes). I swim Masters three mornings a week and so I did need a sports drink to replenish the magnesium lost during workouts. My water balance has been off awhile. If you have swollen fingers now and then even in the cooler months, that is a good sign that your water balance is off.

I poured the powder in a room temp bottle of purified water. It fizzed slightly and looked just like lemon Gatorade. This beverage tasted pleasant and had a slight lemon flavor. I did not detect raspberry flavor, however. A few gulps into it, I realized this was going to be my Gatorade replacer!!

Since I am into organic, whole foods (no chemicals) I was quite excited to realize this product would do two things: 1. Replace Gatorade during my swim workouts and after and 2. Offer another benefit which is to restore the magnesium levels in my body. After going back and doing a bit more research at Vitacost, I also realized this product in time would decrease calcium buildup to actually level out and balance the body's calcium to magnesium ratio.

I gave this one 5+ stars! The reviews on Vitacost are up there too so I know I am not the only one who is excited to purchase this product. Sampling products is so beneficial. Saves money. Allows you to be an educated consumer, and getting freebies is always a bonus. Get your freebie today. Place an order at Vitacost.com!

Bye bye Gatorade, artificial sweeteners and all....

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this sample free from Vitacost.com as part of their complimentary samples with you order 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.

Busy Mom's Guide to Nutrition

This helpful book by Paul C. Reisser, M.D. was not just for busy Moms, but also Dads, and for that matter anyone who is looking to become healthier.  Busy Mom's Guide to Family Nutrition is a great overview for someone who has become confused by the latest fad diets, best-selling way to lose weight, etc. etc. All of us have heard of Dr. Phil's diet book, the Hollywood diets, injection diets and so many more trends in nutrition. Just turn on Dr. Oz during the week and you will hear as many as five or more ways to lose weight in just one show!

While I do not consider myself a beginner in the area of nutrition and health, I did appreciate several aspects of this book. Chapter One "Nutritional Basics" addressed sugar and how sugar in its various forms affects our bodies. I learned much about what glucose is and how sugar can cause the whole body to become imbalanced. My husband and I quit eating and/or drinking sugar a year ago, and so I really appreciated the author explaining the alternatives to pure sugar. Having kicked the sugar habit, I no longer crave sweets and if I attempt to drink a sip of soda, I get a belly ache. So, I know getting healthier and losing weight can truly begin with cutting sugar out of your diet. For that reason, I applauded the inclusion of the sugar discussion in Chapter One.

While this book heeded the mandate to treat your body as a temple, ( this is the official book of The Focus on the Family Physician's Resource Council, USA) it was not a book only for the Christian market. No doubt, this book would easily be embraced by the secular market.

This book is a gentle approach to a healthier lifestyle. I appreciated the easy way the author summarized raw food diets, Biblical diets, and paleolithic diets. I do adopt many aspects of raw food diets and Biblical diets. I believe a healthy lifestyle begins with balance. God gives us a sound mind to make the best decisions for our health. I have experienced better health as a result of taking ideas from the different buffets of diets. I enjoyed this book because the author did not ditch any of the three but mentioned highlights and low lights of each, thus allowing the reader an intro into each and the opportunity to become a diet Berean.

I had a few criticisms of this book. I understood this book to be an intro to better health and a great place for someone seeking better nutrition. I felt it would be more beneficial if the book were more substantial in length as I feel having a dictionary of sorts or a manual to pull off a shelf as needed would make this book more necessary. Also, the cover led me to believe I may receive recipes as well, thus causing this book to earn a space in my kitchen bookshelf next to my cookbooks. An additional chapter could have included modern new kitchen gadgets with a sampling of easy recipes for these kitchen gadgets addressed to a Mom or Dad on the go.

This 186 page book may be a one time read just because the reader gleans everything in one read and then does not need to refer to it again. Possibly the author did intend this book to be passed along as opposed to shelved and referenced. I just felt the reader reading it and keeping it might cause the reader to be accountable. For me personally, my most important books become dog-eared and highlighted. I also write in notes, in pen for good measure. Those books worthy of my scribbles remain a long time in my library. They become necessary spokes on my good health wheel. I consider these books to be long-time friends. I had hoped that this book could be more of a nutritional primer that would be passed through the generations.

This book I will happily pass along to a friend who is a busy Mom and a person who needs to start at the ground floor to better health. A "been there and done that" dieter who needs a fresh approach - - my friend will no doubt glean much from Busy Mom's Guide to Family Nutrition.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.

Downfall by Terri Blackstock

This newly released Intervention Novel by New York Times bestselling author Terri Blackstock kept me glued within the pages of Downfall. I easily was pulled into the fictional lives of Emily Covington, her mother and brother and later Kent. Without being a spoiler, the storyline easily unfolds and I find myself relating to Emily's fleshly struggles, as well as her need for redemption and deliverance from her past.

I enjoyed the quick-paced action and the concise manner in which Ms. Blackstock structures her chapters. The chapters were short, however the short chapters allowed me closure quickly, and a new scene to enter.

There was nothing offensive to me as a Christian, and I appreciated the lessons and the relationships that resulted. I cheered for the underdog and I was sad that some chose sin over success.

One picayune detail I will mention (because I am a book reviewer who reads every chapter in every book I review) which was a bit skewed was on page 262. The scene basically was Emily and her mother running across the road. I quote, "He looked toward the MARTA station and saw her and Emily running across the highway." The problem with this scene was that Emily was on crutches, her leg in a cast and the scene prior was her awkwardly trying to get off the bed and hide under a bed. Possibly she was hobbling with her crutches with her mother helping her across the highway, but I cannot imagine someone on crutches making it alive across a busy highway (yikes.)

If you are like me, and like all the ends tied, and happy endings then this book is your perfect read for spring, summer, winter or fall.  Order your copy today. Visit Zondervan.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Shelton Interactive as part of their 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.

101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth! by Carolyn Larsen

Author Carolyn Larsen wrote an amazingly concise yet powerful book for children of all ages. This paperback gem of a book appealed to me firstly because of the organization of each chapter. I have read many children's devotional books in which the lessons taught are chock full of cuteness but lack depth and application.

Application is what I believe most lacking in our churches in general. And so, to witness a book for children that included application in each chapter was refreshing, to say the least. I first viewed the Table of Contents for an overall assessment of topics. Old and New Testament selections with the key verse and main Truth presented was listed.

Each chapter listed a What's Up section, the key verse, Scripture mentioned, the story in an easy to understand telling, a cartoon, and a Now What? section. This book featured the New Living Translation version of the Bible.
On a negative note, I would have liked to have seen more visuals in each chapter. The cartoon characters and their commentary was helpful, but for a younger child, I felt more pictures would have been beneficial. Since the cartoons were black and white, having a slightly larger picture for younger children to color would have been a nice touch.


I truly enjoyed reviewing 101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth! by Carolyn Larsen. This world needs more of this type of resource to help teach and guide our His children to not only discover the Truth of the Bible but to also be able to allow the Word to apply to their own lives, thus changing the next generation. To God be the glory!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com/.

Samaritan's Purse Presents Three Hearts

A joyfest from start to finish! Billy Graham's granddaughter Cissie Graham Lynch was co-host with another woman. Together they led the charge to bring two boys from Mongolia to America for heart surgery (and to share Jesus Christ.) However, both ladies in the spirit of "ask and you shall receive" asked for a third child to have the blessing of having her broken heart healed.

The third child was clearly my favorite! She was a little girl with a huge amount of energy. My favorite scene in the DVD was when she saw running water for the first time. She stood on a little child's stool and just kept splashing water on her face over and over. I will never forget seeing the joy on her face. Childlike innocence is something we all need more of and so to take that in was beyond words!

I was informed that these three mothers according to Buddhist culture, were generally an unemotional group. That was the case when the film first showed the family in Mongolia when they were picking up the children to bring them to America. However, when everyone returned to Mongolia, emotions flew off the screen and could have hit me smack in the face. What changed was not only the physically healed hearts, but the hearts and souls of the mothers and two sons. They accepted Jesus as a result of living with the host families and seeing the host families living their lives for Jesus. I truly did applaud as Jesus was shared not only in Word but in deed as well. That leading by examples speaks volumes and all five of the Mongolians got it. They were not forced into leaving their Buddhist idols and culture, but clearly the Holy Spirit pulled all of their heart strings. A lovefest!

Interesting scenes were Mongolian bowling, Buddhist idols (in what looked like a dollhouse.) Also all the mothers felt their children were "glowing"and happy just before going into surgery. I smiled because I wondered if they realized part of that happiness may have been the anesthesia. But God used a donkey, so we know the peace they had in their children being happy before surgery may have helped them to trust God and the people surrounding them. The Mongolians went to America because they had nowhere else to turn. In the end, their children were healed and they returned to their native land with a newfound faith.

Criticisms I had which were minor. I am not particularly fond of subtitles. I know there was a need for subtitles throughout this film, but I would have appreciated the scenes shot in Mongolia to be a bit slower. I say this because I was intriqued by the culture and the surroundings and I found myself a bit frustrated trying to read all the subtitles and see the people and the background. Being a perfectionist at heart, I could not help but notice there was a fly on the camera lense in the lawnmoving scene. I know that is really being picky, but I was watching the film on my back patio and I started to get up to swat my flat screen (smile.) God's humor is always unexpected!

I cannot speak highly enough about Three Hearts! I have so many friends I plan on lending this annointed surprise. The joy I experienced was inexplicable. Three Hearts is a treasure!

For more information visit http://www.threeheartsmovie.com/
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.