All In - Matthew West cd

Matthew West wrote his new album All In with the goal of encouraging himself and others to get up off the sidelines of their faith and really live it out – to go all in in your time with God, all in with your family, all in with your community, and all in battling your fears that may hold you back from becoming who God made you to be. Along that same theme, Matthew launched a 6-week All in Challenge on his social media starting 9/18. Each week Matthew will be challenging his fans to go all in in a different part of their lives. What does it look like when a heart that knows Jesus takes a step and holds nothing back? How can we go All In in the places that mean the most?

My Review: Overall, I really liked the CD. I do believe the title song will become a fan favorite; Not a style I am as fond of, but that's okay. "Broken Things" was really good, but I fell in love with the CD over "Mercy is a Song." "Amen" was another upbeat song that I found my toes tapping to, and enjoyed hearing a bit of Matthew's story in "A Life Worth Changing." "Something Greater" really was great...and "Jesus and You" was amazing; I could have hit replay several times. But then it would have delayed, "The Beautiful Things We Miss" and that's definitely a song I am happy I didn't miss. "1 Song" was good and I loved "Power of a Sound Mind." "Never Give Up" is likely to become a 'power anthem' for many...as in "Dream Again." I really liked "Becoming Me" and "You Are Known" was a perfect, encouraging end. There is also a Bonus track that made me laugh out loud---literally.

I confess, I was having a frustrating day, and reviewing a CD was just one more task to check off my to-do list. But, the more I listened, I could feel my tension easing. I was drawn away from my problems into a less self-focused attitude into a reminder that my life is about so much more than little frustrations. I give All In a solid A.

SOCIAL CORNER:

• Matthew West on Facebook

• Follow @matthew_west on Twitter

• Broken Things Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwKuz8a8Jnk

• Broken Things (story behind the song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BipPAfDq9ns

• All In Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RwDpnKIvUI

• All In (Story Behind The Song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmjVt4zkkRo

• Buy Link: http://capcmg.me/Allin?IQid=flyby

GIVEAWAY!! Enter with a comment on blog (or contact via Facebook) to be entered to win a Matthew West All In CD. Winner will be announced Sept 30th at Noon CDT.

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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Hurricane Irma Evacuees to Alabama

Evacuating to Alabama?

If you are Evacuating to Alabama, please know our state agencies are ready and here to serve you during this difficult time. From the office of Governor Kay Ivey:

Alabama Tourism Department's Listing of Emergency Accommodations

Listing of Alabama State Parks with Available Accommodations

Alabama EMA's Listing of Available Shelters and Campgrounds

Alabama Department of Agriculture Livestock Shelters

Alabama Department of Transportation Current Road Conditions

Governor of Alabama/Hurricane Irma info

James Spann - Weather

Alabama Weather Website

My prayers are will all being impacted. May God bless, protect, and provide for your needs.

Call For Prayer This September

Today, September 3, 2017, has been declared Day of Prayer for Texas, following the tremendous impact felt by Hurricane Harvey as it swept across SE Texas, leaving a path of devastation as record flooding went across the land. I know I joined a multitude of others in praying for those who lost so much more than I can imagine, including loved ones, and mourned with them. So many others have had their lives changed as well. Property is replaceable, sometimes repairable, but it's not as though we should treat these losses as trivial. This is a time to reach out to others to give them hope and help in rebuilding. This is who we are as Americans.

To hear the news reports and read social media posts, we are a country divided. To be sure, there is an anger and bitterness among many just as there are the gloaters on the "winning" side. There should not be winners and losers when it comes to our country. Shouldn't we have the same goal? Of course, there are issues that will always separate and divide us, but our words should not always belittle others. Compromise is not always possible when people completely disagree, but hatred and acrimony resolves nothing.

Hurricane Harvey did demonstrate again that we can come together as a nation when disaster strikes. Many people who were unaffected by Harvey still pulled together whether it was physically going to the distressed areas or sending money and other donations via charitable organizations. And...we prayed. 

Do you remember the days and weeks following September 11, 2001? Just as vivid as the tragic images are the ones of my fellow Americans coming together as one people in love of country and each other. And...we prayed.

Marlene Salcher

Marlene Salcher, the author of “God Speaks to Me? Tuning into the Living God” and leader of prayer groups for over 20 years, calls on Christians across the nation to follow the scriptural mandate to repent of their sins and call on God in remembrance of 911. Many Christian leaders have issued similar challenges in previous years, including Anne Graham Lotz and Michael Youssef. “I ask that September 11, 2017, be a new beginning for Christians to pray every day for our nation until we see revival and a return to our Christian heritage,” challenges Salcher.

Just as we pray today for the Texans who underwent damages by a weather event that was unprecedented with record rainfall, America is under an internal assault like any I have ever witnessed. Today I encourage all Christians to accept Salcher's challenge to let September 11, 2017 be a new beginning of prayer for our nation. America needs Revival and Restoration and a Return to our basic values and heritage. Through God, this is possible.

To read more about prayer advocate Marlene Salcher's Prayer Challenge: September 11, 2017 Prayer Challenge

Altar Egos

Desperate to see their church grow, Pastor John (Robert Amaya, MOM’S NIGHT OUT, COURAGEOUS) and wife Betsy (Erin Bethea, FIREPROOF) do the unthinkable and change their church Christmas pageant. Flabbergasted, elderly choir director Mary Margaret (Sallie Wanchisn) leads the choir to boycott. Facing termination, Pastor John resorts to disguising himself as an old man to bridge the generation gap, win over Mary, and lead the choir back to the church. When he discovers that the wounds run deeper than he first suspected, Pastor John must learn to love the unlovable or risk the ruin of his church and family. Also stars Victoria Jackson (SNL). Written and directed by Sean Morgan, the film uses the themes of loving the "unloveable," reconciliation, conflict resolution, and change vs tradition. 

Altar Egos is a good "popcorn" movie to enjoy with family or friends. It's not one of the funniest films I have ever seen, but it is amusing. The themes of the film can be told in a very heavy-handed way, so it is refreshing to see points made in a more humorous way. To quote Mary Poppins, a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. Some of the scenes were a bit too silly for me, and some left me puzzled, but it was overall entertaining. There were also a couple of editing issues that I wish had been fixed, but that is not uncommon in any movie. 

Good acting throughout the film. Robert Amaya and Victoria Jackson are excellent any time they do comedy. But, I have to mention 2 of the younger cast members. Lindsley Register lit up the screen each time she appeared. I loved her portrayal of Holly. But, the standout performance for me was Max Morgan! He was good as the teen-aged Jack, but when he would transform into the elderly Frank, I could not take my eyes off of him as he tried to fit into the senior crowd and made attempts to get them to loosen up a bit.

Conflict and resolution are the major staple of most films, and I thought Altar Egos did a good job in the "and they all lived happily ever after..." style while still making their points. Sometimes we need to see things from a different point of view to gain a greater understanding.
 ALTAR EGO LINKS:

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  Dove Review

Praying For Girls - Teri Lynne Underwood

Praying for Girls: Asking God for the Things They Need Most by Teri Lynne Underwood are Scripture-based prayers for the girls in your life. Raising a daughter can cause a lot of worry and concern, especially when we think of the danger, trials, and temptations that will face her. Yet you can feel the peace that comes when you pray specific Scriptures over her and turn your prayers into hope and promises rather than times of fear over what may happen.

There are five vital areas of a girl's life--her identity, heart, mind, relationships, and purpose-- and you will find guidance and assurance that you may pray with confidence over your child to cover each of these areas. I love the personalized Scripture prayers. Not only does it use God's Word to pray for your daughter, but has the added benefit of making Scripture more personal for yourself. Sometimes we forget this is not simply history or words meant for someone else.

There are also conversation starters and activities to help you raise your child into a confident woman of God. One of the things I enjoyed most is that it incorporates ideas for various stages in life. Each chapter has " Girl Talk" suggestions for a young child, a tween, and for a young woman. I have a daughter, a granddaughter, and 2 great-granddaughters, so I found age-appropriate ideas for each...or ideas that I can personalize. There are also ideas I can use just as easily with sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. Definitely a multi-generalization book that can be passed on to the next generation.

I received a copy of this book from Cross Focused Reviews (Cross Focused Media). I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Follow Teri Lynne Underwood on social media:

• Facebook - facebook.com/terilynneublog
• Twitter - twitter.com/TeriLynneU
• Instagram - instagram.com/terilynneu