Fred Hammond - I Will Trust

A Family Christian CD Review

Fred Hammond

 I Will Trust
RCA Inspiration

Release date Nov. 17, 2014

 

 

 

Wow!

 

This CD is amazing! From start to finish you will find yourself ushered into the presence of God. You can't help but worship God as listen. It is packed to the brim with impacting lyrics, inventive arrangements, rich singing and amazing musicianship.

 

The opening song, Festival of Praise, kicks this CD off with a bang! The energy is electric and that same honest electricity continues through the CD to the end!

 

The title track, I Will Trust, features vocals from BreeAnn Hammond, Fred Hammond's daughter. This song is easy for any of us to relate to. It talks about struggles of life that we face everyday, and emphasizes the need to trust in the Name of the Lord and place everything in God's hands! I love that his daughter was singing with him. She too has a beautiful voice and they sound wonderful together. I can see why this is the title song!

 

The songs range in style from reggae & electro-pop, to Brazillian & ballad, and left me basking in an atmosphere of praise and worship. Regardless of the song's style, Hammond masterfully relays his message, which is how much he loves Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. This is a worship service in CD form, and will only add to your personal time with God.

Take this CD in the car on a road trip and it will be an instant hit! It had my daughters and I dancing around the kitchen as we listened. If you love God, you will love this CD!

Follow this link to Lifeway Christian Stores and you can sample the tracks and see for yourself how great this collection of songs is. You will be blown away as you enjoy this collection of songs put together by Fred Hammond.

Bottom Line:

I was not ready for the CD to be over. I could have listened all day!
This would make a wonderful gift for someone. Everyone in my family loved it, and we found ourselves singing along even though we were hearing the songs for the first time.


Fred Hammond - I Will Trust CD is on sale now for $9.97, regularly $13.99 at Family Christian Stores. Pick up your copy today! You will be so glad you did!

 

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Many thanks to Family Christian Stores. These opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this honest review and post.

 



10 Things for Teen Girls

 

[A Family Christian Book Review]

 

 

I have to be honest and say that when I saw this book, 10 Things for Teen Girls, by Kate Conner I was so excited to get a chance to review it! You see, I am the mother of three girls who are 20, 16, and 13, and mothers of teen girls will tell you that they deal with a special set of issues. Girls are unique and beautiful, and quirky and bold and scared all at the same time, all the while .....dare I say it????....sometimes overly sensitive.

Although this book is not what I expected, it is full of wit and wisdom for girls.

"Modesty is about choosing clothes that intentionally communicate

what you want the world to know about you."
 

"Modesty allows people to see the rest of you -

the best of you."
 

"Drama is an idle preoccupation, a cheap version of that which you really want,

which is to live passionately on purpose."
 

"If you are starving for validation and simulation, you are a drama-risk." 





She talks about topics like, modesty, self-worth, self-image, social media pitfalls, drama, and much more! Although all these topics would be great for teen girls and should be discussed, I feel the voice of the book is written with a point of view that I wouldn't want my thirteen or even my sixteen year old daughter to read.  I feel that this book's target audience should be High School graduates and college students.

Chapter 1: Neon Purple Leggings (Page 4)
"Boys like breasts. As it turns out, they also like other various girl body parts including, but not limited to: stomachs, lips, hair, necks, thighs, calves, feet, hips, backs, shoulders, elbows, ear lobes, and pinky toes.
Boys aren't weird or obsessive, they're just smart. Girl's bodies are beautiful."
(Page 6)
"A man's desire to look at your body does not make him disrespectful; it makes him a man. It is just as unfair to say "Every man who gapes at women is a creep," as it is to say "Every woman who has big breasts is easy," or "Every woman who wears makeup is vain." It is categorically untrue."
(Page 19)
She goes on to say: "All attention is not equal...You thing you want attention, but you don't. You want respect."

In reading the book I understand the heart of the book. The desire is for teen girls to be content and happy in their own skin. To understand that God made them unique and special and wonderful and different from anyone else in their peer group......and that is OKAY! This book is written "over the head" of young teens with the voice of intentional alarmism. I say that to say, Kate Conner, seems to write in a manner to try to capture your attention by going against the grain and riding the line on acceptability. Although I don't feel this book suits younger teens, I do believe this book  would make a perfect gift for a girl on her way to college!

Special Features:

This book has a section at the end of each chapter entitled: Think It Through, Talk It Out.
There are questions here to talk about with your teen. I believe these are critical if you have gotten this book for your teen. I believe that the topics in this book are essential for your child to discuss with you as a parent and hear you as a parent speak Godly truth on. This book can be a starting point for you to discuss some otherwise hard topics to discuss.

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10 Things for Teen Girls can be purchased at Family Christian Stores for $14.99 and if you hurry, it will still make it for Christmas.

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Many thanks to Family Christian Stores. These opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this honest review and post.

Morning Devotions

Morning devotions are critical to my life, and I have to say that they have been a struggle for me from time to time. Maybe some of you can relate to me when I say that there are times that as soon as you open your eyes, things draw your attention away from quiet and into the chaos of the day that seemed to be waiting for you while you slept. It is important to fight through those rough patches and be faithful in your time with God. He is faithful to never leave us and never forsake us, and He always has something to say to us if we take the time to listen.

This morning I was reading in my "The Power of a Praying Woman Bible" in Amos and the devotion was to pray for Godly friends. Amos 3:3 says "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"

It is important to have people in your life that help you walk through life. The author (Stormie Omartian) does a great job of showing the different areas of friendship, with scripture references to back it up. I wanted to share my devotion with you today.

A desirable friend tells you the truth in love. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6
A desirable friend gives you sound advice. "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel." Proverbs 27:9
A desirable friend helps you grow in wisdom. "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20
A desirable friend stays close to you. "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
A desirable friend loves you and stands by you. "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17
A desirable friend helps in time of trouble. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up!" Ecclesiastics 4:9-10

These are some great verses to remember and put in to practice in our lives. Are we a desirable friend to those around us? It is important for us to look inside ourselves and make sure that we have the fruit in us of being a Godly friend. Are we growing in God and able to speak with wisdom when one of our friends is having a hard time?
Also, have we added friends to our lives that can help us grow in grace and wisdom as we pursue God? This too is important. The people that we seek out when we are going through something hard should be people that will tell us the truth in love.

Here are some signs of undesirable friends.

An undesirable friend is immoral and has no regard for others. "But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral, or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat." I Corinthians 5:11
An undesirable friend is changeable and unstable. "Do not join with the rebellious, for those two [the Lord and the king] will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?" Proverbs 24:21-22
An undesirable friend in frequently angry. "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared." Proverbs 22:24-25
An undesirable friend gives ungodly counsel. "Blessed is he man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." Psalm 1:1
An undesirable friend is irreverent toward God and His laws. "I am a friend to all who fear you , to all who follow your precepts." Psalm 119:63

Pray for Godly friends in your life that can help you grow and become who God needs you to be.
Thank you Stormie Omartian for this wonderful reminder.

The Disrespectful Shoe

Being the mother of three girls I can tell you that there are times that my house has been a little emotional to say the least and at most I could liken some moments to a nuclear power plant in those critical moments right before it explodes leaving a fallout of catastrophic proportions. How many of you understand what I'm talking about?

I only mention it because we had one of those unstable moments that can lead to all out melt down today. One of my daughters left her shoes downstairs in the middle of the living room. Then without a word another one of my daughters picks up the shoes and throws them upstairs right at her sister's door.

I know what you might be thinking..... On one hand you want to give her credit and say "Way to go! Thank you for picking up after your sister. You got the job done!" There could be worse things than tossing a shoe to her sister, right?! On the other hand there was so much attitude in the shoe toss that it snatched my thoughts immediately from what I was working on and focused me on the moment at hand.

I would say that in our house the biggest key to keeping things peaceful and mostly harmonious is respect. As I witnessed my daughter muttering things under her breath while hurling a shoe (at a high rate of speed might I add) in the direction of her sister's location while making a snarly face does not qualify as respect.

 

I'm sure parents everywhere would agree with me that they wish that their kids were always behaving like this picture represents. My girls are intelligent, funny and hard working. We have laughed together, cried together, played together, and worked together. They are by far the biggest blessing my guy and I have in our lives. I think I can speak for all you moms and dads out there when I say, It is not always like this!

 

I have been witness to a lesser act of "sister on sister violence" turn into an all out frenzy, but not today! My guy and I have spent everyday for almost 21 years saying the same thing.....I know all you parents out there feel the same way. I am not saying this to give us credit for this moment of victory, I do give all the glory to God for this one. He gave us His Word which has been our source of wisdom when we felt we were lacking.

 

Our go to verse in these moments is: Luke 6:31(NIV)  Do to others as you would have them do to you. I grew up with three brothers and we heard this verse A LOT!  Come on......we all heard some version of this verse. "Treat people the way you want to be treated," that is probably the most common version. I have heard it a lot, and I have said it a lot!

 

What a simple verse!! In all it's simplicity, what makes it so difficult to actually walk out? What is it that causes us to react however we want to situations, or to seek our own vengeance? What is it that makes us feel like we have the right to throw a couple of shoes like a heat seeking missile directly toward one of our loved ones?

 

Kids aren't the only ones that don't always treat others the way they want to be treated....right? You don't have to look too hard to see that our society has a problem with respect. We can make a difference though. It is up to us to speak up for what is right and to love with the love of Jesus. We should be quick to love and quick to forgive. We should shine the light of Jesus wherever we go.

 

Today, right on the heels of this "Hulk-Smash" moment, my daughter went and apologized. I am thankful for that. Thankful that 21 years of speaking the truth of God's Word makes a difference.

 

God's Word will always make a difference!!

 



My Favorite Day of the Year

Think about your favorite day......For me, there is not much competition. I don't even have to think about which day I label as "Number 1." I have one day that tops all the rest. It is the day I think about all year long, and start planning for months in advance. Sometimes, I love the prep time for it almost as much as the day itself!! I said sometimes, because who really likes to dust all the places that you forgot collect dust?  There may be several of you out there that enjoy that, but me.....not so much.  This year I got new curtains for my kitchen during this prep period because when I put them in the washer to clean them up a bit, they sort of disintegrated. All I was left with was blue fuzz......but since those had hung there for over 10 years, I believe I was due some new curtains!  *smirk*

I happen to be the only girl in a family of brothers and I love that!  Some of you may understand what I am talking about. I have one older brother and two younger brothers. So basically, growing up, I had a protector/cohort and two live baby dolls. My older brother and I got into all sorts of trouble together. WAIT!!  Did I really say that. No, we were perfect angels and we didn't cause our parents to wonder why they had ever decided to procreate at all!!!  Ha ha ha!  I jest!! 

My two younger brothers were a blast. Each one so different from each other, yet in need of a big sister to hug, love and hold them!   I was six and then thirteen when they were born and I loved the role of big sister, and still do. I remember reading for hours to them, or taking them on long bike rides to help them get to sleep, or wrestling! (Face it....There is nothing like a sibling wrestling match!!) We grew up pretty close knit and one of the hardest things for me is that all of us live in different areas of the country and we don't get to see each other very often.

Which brings me to the best day of the whole year, Thanksgiving! It has been my honor for several years now, to host our family Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration (Thanksmas....as we call it). It is the one day that we all come together in one place and catch up face to face. I feel so content when my entire family is in one place. My house becomes full of chatter, children, food, laughter and the best thing of all.....FAMILY!

Through the entire day, every year,  I feel like I can't stop smiling! The realization of this long-awaited day has arrived and I have learned to breath in those moments. You see, when I first started hosting this celebration I was concerned about the place settings, the decorations, the food being perfect, the clean up. I loved my family being there, but I probably didn't take the time to let them know just how much it meant to me.

This year was a little different. We ate buffet style on paper plates, and I believe that this was the best celebration yet. Our focus was on each other and making every moment count. When you think about the news headlines that have been bombarding our TV screens, I find myself thankful for the love of a family.
Ephesians 5:16 says - "These are evil times, so make every minute count."

Every day, not just during this holiday season, make every minute count! Take time to share the love of Jesus in everything that you do, and not just with your family....with everyone around you! That will make this a Christmas to remember!


The 3 Girls, My Guy, and I  (and the 3 pups)
hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and
wish you a very Merry Christmas!