I'm a full-time mummy

This is the 3rd book by Andy Andrews that I have the privilege of reviewing as part of the Book Sneeze Blogger Reviewer program. Since I can't wait for the hardcopy of the book to arrive (it normally takes about 1 month time to reach my country), I decided to read the book online when I found out that the e-book version is also available for reviewing.

Like the previous Andy Andrew's "The Boy Who Changed the World" book that I reviewed, the "The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters" is about how each decisions we made, be it big or small, is in some way contributing to the changes we see around us.

I would say that this book is the adult, more matured version of the "The Boy Who Changed the World" book.

One of the examples given in this book is how things are what it is now, all thanks to a 34 year old school teacher. As I'm not familiar with US history, I thought it was just a story or fictional character until I read the whole story about how this school teacher persevered on and fight for his beloved country. The other few examples are the same from the "The Boy Who Changed the World" book.

It is an amazing feeling to read that every little action and decisions we made can cause a ripple in the future. I also like the illustrations in this book, how it intertwined with the story. Overall, I'd give this book a 9 out of 10.

FYI, Andy Andrews has written over 20 books. This book was written because Andy wanted to inspire courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, as well as affect the way we treat others through our lifetime. You can read more about it and even view some of the preview pages at: http://www.andyandrews.com/ms/the-butterfly-effect/

You can get this book from Amazon, The Book Depository and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Book Sneeze in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

This is the 2nd book by Andy Andrews that I have the privilege of reviewing as part of the Book Sneeze Blogger Reviewer program.

The Boy Who Changed the World is about how each decisions we made, be it big or small, is in some way contributing to the changes we see around us.

We might not realised the so-called butterfly effect but as you read this book, the story unfolds deeper and I was amazed as I read the ending of the story of each individual as I thought 'Ok, so that was how it ends...' but nope.. I was surprised to read how the story goes on with the next individual and how at the end, came to realise that everything is interconnected.

Pictures above showing Ben checking out the book...

I really like the way the story unfolds and interconnect with each other. Even though this is a children book, in my humble opinion, I think us adults would learned a lot by reading this book too!

Now, what I don't really like is the illustrations. I'm not a fan of illustrations like this though I love the vibrant colors of it - as in, I prefer to see the images sharper and not blurred or dreamy like the one in this book.

Overall, I give this book an 8 out of 10.

FYI, Andy Andrews has written over 20 books and this is his first book for young children. This book was written because Andy wanted young people everywhere to understand that they are very special. He also wanted them to know that they really can make a difference in this world, just like all the people in the story!

You can also check out http://www.andyandrews.com/the-boy-who/ for more information!

You can get this book from Amazon, The Book Depository and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Book Sneeze in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

I would like to share my feedback and review on this awesome album that I have the chance to review for Centricity Music. The album by Andrew Peterson is called “Counting Stars” and is scheduled to be released on July 27th.

Excerpts taken from the album's bio page:

Framed in a largely acoustic context and underpinned by a sense of gentle but ancient and unyielding strength, Counting Stars aches and glows, finding infinite wonder in the stuff of hearth and home, family and friendship, struggle and storm. Perhaps it’s because the writing approach this time around involved a conscious departure from the string of concept albums Peterson has released in recent years. Opting for a more introspective, confessional approach seems to have opened a greater sense of vulnerability in the writing process. 

While at least a half dozen of Peterson’s new songs—like “Dancing In the Minefields”, “Planting Trees”, and “God of My Fathers”—joyously celebrate his connectedness to his creator, family, friends, fellow artists, and even to past and future generations, a secondary theme also clearly emerges on the record; one that speaks of the great battle between hope and despair. Songs like the sparsely melodic “In the Night My Hope Lives On”, the slow-building “You Came So Close”, and the weary but unwavering “The Last Frontier” each move from a place of pain or struggle to one of a hard-won eternal hope.

The title Counting Stars ties the themes of relationship and hope together in the hope of God’s promise to Abraham. We’re a part of the cloud of witnesses, passing the promises of God to our children.

One of the songs in the album which caught my attention (and led me to click to every other songs of his on Youtube and becoming a fan on his Facebook profile) is the "Dancing in the Minefield". You can click on the song title to view the official video on Youtube or click here to read about the making of the music video. Few lines in the "Dancing in the Minefield" song which I absolutely love is:

"So when I lose my way, find me
And when I loose love’s chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, to the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me"`

Lovely and meaningful lyrics! According to album's website, the story behind the "Dancing in the Minefield" song is as below:

"In December of 2009 my wife and I celebrated fifteen years of marriage. Three days later, we got in a silly argument and I wrote this song after she went to bed. Marriage, see, was God’s idea. It’s one of the most potent metaphors in all of Scripture for the way God loves us and the way we’re to let ourselves be loved by him. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. To the contrary, it’s fraught with peril. Any good marriage involves a thousand deaths to self—the good news is, a godly marriage involves at least as many resurrections. We lay our lives down and enter this perilous dance with another human being who has done the same. Why should we expect to emerge unscathed? No, the wounds bear testimony to the great power of grace. If I had had any idea what I was getting into fifteen years ago I wouldn’t have walked the aisle—I’d have run down it."

Wow! I just loved it when he said "Any good marriage involves a thousand deaths to self—the good news is, a godly marriage involves at least as many resurrections."

IMO, marriage is not an easy thing. To be able to find that special someone out of the gazillions people on this planet means something. To make marriage works takes lots and lots of love and understanding, tons of patience and an open heart and mind for both parties. And since we're still on the topic of marriage, do take some time to read the following scriptures that I found: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Ephesians 5:22-33 

You can get the Counting Stars album from Amazon to get your own copy now!

I would like to give a note of thanks to Centricity Music for this wonderful opportunity to review this amazing singer and album!

Andrew Peterson's songs are definitely going into my bookmarked pages for songs to listen to when I am doing my work (when Ben's asleep of course!) and even as I'm typing this, the "Dancing in the Minefield" song is playing at the background and Ben is sleeping peacefully as ever and I'm reminded of how blessed I am to be married to my hubby and having a beautiful and perfect child like Ben.

Also, I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a promo page with info on this album by Centricity Music in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.