Bend Your Brain: 151 Puzzles, Tips, and Tricks to Blow (and Grow) Your Mind Paperback by Marbles: The Brain Store

Book Description:  Want to get your frontal cortex breaking a sweat? Make your blood pump to your cerebellum? Stretch your occipital lobe to its limits?

Then you need to bend your brain! This first book from the team behind Marbles: The Brain Store, a chain devoted to building better brains, offers puzzles and brain teasers to help enhance memory, build problem-solving skills, and reduce stress.

Since Marbles started helping people play their way to a healthier brain, they've sold, solved, and been stumped by more than their fair share of puzzles. Along the way, they've learned which puzzles tie people in knots (not in a good way) and which ones make the neurons downright giddy. With the help of their in-house team of BrainCoaches and access to cutting-edge neuroscience, they've designed these puzzles to keep your mind flexible and fit.

        Arranged in five key brain categories—visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory—Bend Your Brain offers a variety of puzzles ranging from mind-warming (easy) to mind-blowing (hard!):

·  Connecting the dots? More like working your spatial-orientation skills.

·  Identifying famous smiles? Flexing your visual memory.

·  Taking a closer look at your keyboard? Coding, storing, and retrieving.

·  Word-doku? Summoning cognitive abilities like appraisal, inference, impulse control, and evaluation.

·  Word scrambles? Tapping your brain’s association areas.

Your brain is your most important muscle, so let the brain-building begin!

My Thoughts:  We are a family who enjoys "stretching our minds."  So the brain benders in this book were right up our alley!

This book has five sections: visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination and memory...our favorite section was critical thinking.  We enjoyed doing the exercises in the other areas but critical thinking really got us to thinking. {smile}

There are 151 puzzles, some can be cut out but most are done in the mind or on paper.

This is not a book for youngsters, well, unless they are a genius.  We found that most of these mind bender puzzles are for this about 12 years and older.  A very smart ten or eleven might understand the puzzles.

We found this a fun book to do after homework and before our bedtime rituals.  We also found it a hard book to put down...just one more puzzle, please!

This book would make a wonderful gift for the puzzle lover in your family or for someone who may be housebound and enjoys learning.

*This book was provided for review by Waterbrook/Multnomah*

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (August 19, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080414009X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804140096

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

Oh!YES!  It's that time of the year again!  Apples! 

Love this recipe: Microwave Baked Apples

Ingredients:
*2 apples
*2 tablespoons of brown sugar
*1 teaspoon of nutmeg
*1 teaspoon of cinnamon
*2 teaspoons of butter

Directions

1. Core the apples, leaving the bottom intact.
2. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon the sugar mixture into the apples and set a teaspoon (or more to your taste) of butter on top of each apple. Place the apples in a deep casserole dish and cover.
3. Microwave for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes or until tender. Let the apples sit for a couple minutes before serving.

Makes two apples.

David Wilkerson: The Cross, the Switchblade, and the Man Who Believed by Gary Wilkerson & R. S. B. Sawyer

Book Description:  This is the story of David Wilkerson, the man who believed against the odds that God could do great things in the rejected and ignored of New York City, who refused to give up on those on the streets even when they had given up on themselves, and who saw in the eyes of the drug addicts and gang members what others failed to see—the love of Jesus Christ.

But who was David Wilkerson? Many Christians don’t really know. More often than not, we saw the fruit of his faith in God rather than the man himself.

When Wilkerson moved to New York from rural Pennsylvania in 1958 to confront the gangs who ran the streets, he was a skinny, 120-pound man. After the initial publicity that brought him face to face with some of the most dangerous young men of the city, he largely flew under the radar of the media, using the Word of God and a bit of tough love to help men and women of the street escape the destructive spiral of drugs and violence. Wilkerson was always the real deal, full of passion and conviction, not interested in what others said was the “right” or political thing to do.

Wilkerson later founded the Times Square Church, now a non-denominational mega-church of 8,000 members, to this day a crossroads for those battling sin, drugs, and pornography, and a place where the message of Christ is discussed. He created the faith-based program Teen Challenge to wean addicts off drugs, and then World Challenge, dedicated since its beginning to promoting and spreading the Gospel throughout the world. Both now have branches worldwide, continuing the work that God began in the life of one man who believed

David Wilkerson was a man of faith who trusted God would give him what he needed to enter a world of crime and killing. He was a man of conviction who took the dream God gave him and marched forward without ever looking back. And he was a man of vision who could not be shaken from his beliefs—sometimes even when counseled otherwise. David Wilkerson was the preacher of New York City.

My Thoughts:  Many of you readers may have read The Cross and The Switchblade years ago.  I read The Cross and The Switchblade when I was 12 and then when I was about 18 I saw the movie....it was life changing for me.  This is not a book about The Cross and the Switchblade ...it's about the man behind the book and the movie. A small town preacher with a big vision for God. And how he, through the eyes of his son, became a hero of faith.

David Wilkerson is a hero of faith for us. About five years ago David Wilkerson walked into our small Texas church ... you would have thought that one of the apostles were visiting!  We were all so excited! But in true humble character David Wilkerson requested of my husband that he not be mentioned in the church nor introduced ... just go along with the service as usual...as if he weren't there.  He said that he came to church to just worship the Lord.

David Wilkerson's life was a lived for Jesus!  He was such a man of faith and prayer!

David Wilkerson had a purpose and a plan to go to New York City and reach the lives of young gangsters for Jesus.  Many a trial and many a triumph but God worked through Bro. Wilkerson.  So many lives were changed and so many people came to know Jesus because one man chose to listen and obey God.

His son, Gary, a man who also loves Jesus and is carrying on his dad's work, has written this wonderful book as an honor to his father.  I love that Gary is doing this as a honor to his dad but, greater still, that even though his dad was a great man of God, Gary kindly reminds us that his dad was human too.

This book does reiterate about David's earlier work with the gangs in New York. But Gary (and R.S.B.Sawyer) also tell many interesting life facts and stories/memories about this godly man.

Besides Billy Graham I don't know of another human in America who has touched so many lives and spread the Word of God to so many needy peoples.

I loved this book!  What a pleasure to read about a great man of God!

*This book was provided for review by BookLook*

• Age Range: 18 and up 
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 2, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310326273
• ISBN-13: 978-0310326274

COTT {Clash of the Titles} July New Releases Clash

Here at Clash of the Titles, the end of another month calls for the beginning of another Clash.
We present to you five brand new novels for your perusing pleasure. Which would you pick up first? 

Big secrets never stay hidden, and it’s the darkest ones that threaten us the most. Michael and May Lynn will try to continue helping slaves on the underground railroad while bounty hunters track them for a murder they didn't commit. 

Purchase A Time to Overcome

***

The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. 

Purchase Annie's Stories

***

A 17-year-old stage performer (elocutionist and singer) runs away from her abusive uncle, but she is caught in a perilous web. Could the peddler who constantly appears be a venomous spider in her life, or the one to help her untangle her problems? 

Purchase The Lady Fugitive

***

Not all prisons have bars; Charlotte Davis should know—she’s lived in one for years. Trying to free her daughter from their prison of abuse, Charlotte runs to the stranger her dying mother believed would help her and finds a family she longs to call her own, but if the truth of Charlotte’s past catches up with her, will the protection of a gentle man and a Father’s love be enough to set her free? 

Purchase The Redeemer

***

With a will that reads like a piece of far-fetched fiction, the return of an estranged brother, and a long-kept family secret, Micah Cooper's life is thrown into a tailspin. Throw in an in-name-only marriage, and an ex girlfriend who wants him back, and crashing and burning doesn't appear to be far behind.

Purchase The Rose Ring

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

We love cookies and this is a GREAT recipe for the fall!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Double Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ½ cup white chocolate chip
• 2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
• ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1 TB vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
2. Next beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until well creamed together.
3. Now add in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Beat until combine well.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.
5. Next, stir in your oats. Mix well.
6. Stir in both the white and dark chocolate chips.
7. Drop cookie dough by the rounded tablespoon on to the prepared baking. sheet.
8. Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. DO NOT OVER COOK. They will seem a little soft, but will firm up as they cool. You want to keep the nice, soft texture!

NIV Streams in the Desert Bible: 365 Thirst-Quenching Devotions

Book Description: At some point in our lives, we encounter the trials and deep mysteries of the Christian faith. And when we do become like a thirsty traveler, what we most desire is for hope, comfort, and encouragement to burst forth like a sparkling, clear river.

The hopeful daily readings in this Bible promise to revive and refresh you—one of today’s generation of faithful sojourners—by providing daily devotions in modern, easy-to-understand language that beautifully captures the timeless essence of the original. These devotionals are presented alongside Scripture using the popular New International Version of the Bible.

While the devotions in this Bible were originally written by L. B. Cowman—a pioneer missionary in Japan and China from 1901 to 1917—this devotional Bible has been edited by James Reimann. It maintains the beauty of the original Cowman writings while making the devotionals more accessible for the readers of today.

My Thoughts:  I love Bibles!  So, when I had the opportunity to read this Bible, Streams in the Desert:  365 Thirst-Quenching Devotions, I knew I had found the perfect combinations for me! A great Bible with devotions (daily readings) ...two in one!  I love it! And there's more:  • 365 daily readings of strength and encouragement from L. B. Cowman and a pretty ribbon marker so the reader won't lose her place.

I've always loved reading the Streams in the Desert devotionals but having the devotionals and the Bible together is a sweet plus for me.

This is one Bible that would make a great gift for that college student.  It's easy to understand, there aren't two books to carry around and it's just plain wonderful!

I love the description on the back: "Are you in a desert experience? Let your thirsty soul be restored and refreshed through the daily devotions in the NIV Streams in the Desert Bible."  Well said!

*This book was provided for review by BookLook*

• Paperback: 1536 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; Box Lea edition (March 5, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310441854
• ISBN-13: 978-0310441854

To All Those Who Labor . . .