Review: The Red Letters Project

Title: The Red Letters Project
By: Velocity Entertainment (various artists)
Distributed by: Tyndale House
Contents: 3 Compact Discs and the book of Matthew in large pamphlet form

This is probably one of the most unique pieces of music I have ever listened to. The Red Letters Project is 3 CD's of music with all of the songs using the words of Jesus from the book of Matthew. The words are taken from the New Living Translation which I enjoy reading and should be easy for most people to understand.

Most of the songs have a Rock/Heavy Rock sound with a few sprinklings of light Rap/Spoken (reading to the beat) style. Several of the songs are set to a slower beat and sound as well.

The idea behind this CD is a great one. You can not get anymore Biblical and sold with music lyrics than ones that are from the spoken words of Jesus. For Christian music fans this is a great alternative to the Bible on CD when you are traveling. Another excellent way to memorize the Word of God!

I can only imagine how difficult this project must have been to complete. The words of Jesus don't usually rhyme so some of the songs are difficult to listen to in a tempo/rhythmic kind of way.

For the most part I enjoyed most of the songs on all three discs. One other note is that there are several different performing artists on this album, but most of the songs are sang by one person. I enjoyed the his sound, but for future projects I would like to see more variety in vocal talent.

Check this out!

4.5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: I was provided a review copy from Tyndale Publishing

Review: The Flowering Cross

Title: The Flowering Cross
Author: Beth Ryan
Illustrator: Renee Graef
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

From the back cover: "Mean Old Jack" was better known for his ill temper than the beautiful flowers he grew, but his grumpiness turns to kindness and love when his six-ear-old neighbor helps him see the real meaning of the Cross."

This children's book would be a great addition to any Christian family library. The story centers around Katie and her compassion toward her neighbor Jack and the tradition of the flowering cross.

I enjoyed the way the book put an emphasis on Katie's simple faith and love for her neighbor all in the light of Christ and the cross.

I read the book to my 5 year old daughter and 2 year old son. My son lost interest after the second page, but my daughter was enthralled through the whole story. Here are some of the comments from my daughter: "This is an important book", "The little girl was beautiful", "I liked the cross they made and the puppy Waggles."

Most of the pages also have a "Faith Imprint" sentence at the bottom (e.g. "Share how Katie did what her mother told her to do."). I didn't use these, but in subsequent readings I could see the effectiveness of them. Below the Faith Imprints are scripture references that pertain to that page of the book.

The last page of the book gives directions on how to make a Flowering Cross.

Highly Recommended!

4.5 / 5 Stars

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review.