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Reviews of Christian Resources Listed at CBD-Search
Submitting Site Reviews To This Blog
Sponsored by CBD-Search, we offer the facility for our users to submit reviews of other sites, which are then included on our Blog and also in our next newsletters. The only conditions are that the reviewer must not have any interest or link to the site/organisation reviewed. We of course reserve the right to decide which reviews we will accept. If you are an existing, email verified, CBD-Search user, you can simply login to CBD-Search, search for the resource listed at CBD-Search that you want to review, and then select the 'review resource' link. If you are not yet a CBD-Search user, then please subscribe today, submit any Christian resources under your control, and make use of our other services. Please remember to only review sites that you have no business interest in (or link with). We only want unbiased, consumer opinion reviews. If you want to tell everyone about your service, or your latest, greatest product or event, then please login to CBD-Search, click on 'User Articles' and submit a 'CBD-Search Resource News Article'. Your article may contain any information about any resource/business/website you have listed at CBD-Search. The article, once accepted, will then appear on our relevant Blog and will also be included in our upcoming newsletters.
DJ Eight 28
 OK, this is a cool looking website. It has Flash. It has sound. It has stylish, fresh, machine looking layout. But what is this site about? And why the non-informative, very empty introduction page? Upon first arriving at this site, I am almost turned away by the apparently pointless introduction page, which promises nothing and does not even hint at what the content of this site might be about. Clicking on "Enter Website Here", at last shows some content headed by a short but fun Flash intro, with fun and lively sound that makes you want to drop everything and dance. Unfortunately the music is short lived; I would like to have heard some more. Maybe the sound could continue on while I view the site with the option for me to mute the sound once I am bored with it. So, what is this site about? It takes a little while to work this out. The most prominent part of the main page advertises some albums and another website, so maybe this website is advertising artists of a particular kind of music. But no, after perusing the other pages on this site, it becomes clear that this is the site of a DJ advertising his services. It is just unfortunate that the main page fails to clearly mention this fact. I would also like to see some testimonies and some more details of the service offered. It would also be nice if the 'gallery' link worked so that I could gain some idea as to what this DJ does. Of course, you may gain a completely different impression of this site once you have visited it, and as with any other review, I encourage you to visit to decide for yourself. And if you are soon to have an event any where near London, UK and are looking for a Christian DJ, be sure to contact this Christian DJ.
Farley Gospel
As you already know, I am a great fan of simply layed out sites with simple, easy to understand messages or products. You may also remember that last month I wrote about ways in which you can allow your website to witness. Well, here is a website, seemingly with the sole purpose, to share a short testimony of the life of Caroll & Brenda Rose Farley. This is probably not a site that you will want to visit regularly, and possibly does not have anything of interest to you. But I pray that even just a few people who come across this simple site might be blessed and encouraged by it, or might be brought one step closer to finding God from this simple testimony. We have all visited Blogs and sites that we have been blessed or encouraged by, or have just been impressed by, yet how often do we leave a comment or send an encouraging message. So if you do choose to visit this site, be sure to send them an encouraging message - if for no other reason than they may just send you a free CD of their music.
Teen Missions International
Pioneers of the concept of providing short-term missions experience for teens with confidence that as young people see the mission field first-hand they will see the pressing needs of the world. ... We exist to launch youth into lifetime missions involvement by training, discipling and mobilizing them to impact eternity around the world now. The first thing that strikes me about this organisation is that rather than focussing on sending people out, they are instead focused on providing adequate training and enough experience so that youth can be sent out effectively. There are many mission-sending programs (even for teens) which provide a short course or briefing in preparation, but Teen Missions International appears to first focus on preparing youth of many ages at mission boot-camps in various home countries. Focussing on preparing youth of all ages, Teen Missions International provides training programs for children even as young as 4 years old to visit a Teen Missions International boot-camp for a few days to experience mission close to home and to learn more about serving God. What a great opportunity to teach your kids to look beyond themselves and their own world. Visit this site today and see what they have to offer and whether there is a boot-camp in your area.
Submitting Site Reviews To This Blog
Sponsored by CBD-Search, we offer the facility for our users to submit reviews of other sites,
which are then included on our Blog and also in our next newsletters.
The only conditions are that the reviewer must not have any interest or link to the site/organisation reviewed. We of course reserve the
right to decide which reviews we will accept.
If you are an existing, email verified, CBD-Search user, you can simply login to
CBD-Search, search for the resource listed at CBD-Search
that you want to review, and then select the 'review resource' link.
If you are not yet a CBD-Search user, then please subscribe today, submit any Christian resources
under your control, and make use of our other services.
Please remember to only review sites that you have no business interest in (or link with). We only want unbiased, consumer opinion reviews.
If you want to tell everyone about your service, or your latest, greatest product or event, then please login to
CBD-Search, click on 'User Articles' and submit a 'CBD-Search Resource News Article'. Your article
may contain any information about any resource/business/website you have listed at CBD-Search. The article, once accepted, will then appear
on our relevant Blog and will also be included in our upcoming newsletters.
The Truth About Everything
I searched CBD-Search for the title of this site, The truth about everything, and was surprised that it appeared half way down the first page rather than at the top. The truth about everything is only a personal blog, and only uses a simple layout, but that is where the 'onlys' stop! The site's self description reads: A place to discuss sexual purity, skepticism about science, the gospel of Jesus Christ, God's place in the World, how to parent, marriage success, great books by authors like Ted Dekker, Dr. James Dobson, Randy Alcorn, Bill Bright, and Tim LaHaye. Political discussions about role of politics in real life. Sound exciting? Or not? But it's not the content's description that matters as much as the content itself. Some of the articles relate to American events and politics, which may not interest me as a non-American, but there are certainly many articles that get (even) me thinking. Naturally, this site is built on personal views, as would be expected in a personal Blog, but, in this case, the views discussed are insightful, honest and intriguing, asking you to reconsider your own particular views. And best of all, the author welcomes disagreement, so you are welcome to state your own view too. Why not have a look and see if there are any articles that interest you. And please do leave a comment on the site. Bloggers need all the comments they can get to show that people are at least reading and thinking about their work, so please do take those extra few moments to write something to the author.
Credit Shack.org
Credit Shack is your guide to getting out of debt & managing your credit wisely. Are you looking for a simple site offering information on managing debt and credit with Biblical principles? Well, this may be the very site that you have been searching for, with a simple Blog-style layout, offering you articles on everything to do with personal debt and credit. You will find advice on everything from how to get out of debt to finding the best credit card to earn frequent flyer miles. And the best thing of all? .... Articles are written by consumers thinking of other consumers. The Credit Shack is not trying to sell any financial products, but is focused on providing objective, honest opinions on how to get out of debt, and how to manage your credit wisely. Although some information in the articles may be specifically written for Americans, people from other countries will certainly still find the content useful if they are looking for advice on financial help. The founder of The Credit Shack, Blake Cameron, has been running the site since 2003, having been born out of Blake's frustration while trying to learn about credit cards online; there being so many unhelpful and dangerous sites. If you have some spare time, or need financial advice, why not have a quick look at this site? I am sure that you will find something useful!
Warrior's Place
What sort of Spiritual warrior, prayer and devil bashing website is this going to be? First impressions... First thoughts... Nope! This is Warrior Richardson's personal website, showing his amazing art work. The description of his site, as listed at CBD-Search, says: I use art to serve the "God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Cor 5:18. Warrior has been involved in a huge number of art projects, including various projects at detention centers, artist residencies, book illustrations, magazines & newspaper illustrations, comic strips and some art mural projects & gallery exhibitions He began doing live caricatures in 1994, and is available for trade shows, conventions, parties and weddings. His other acheivements include being a jazz saxophonist, columnist for the Louisiana Weekly, professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Black Studies Department, an economist at the Agency for International Development and a math teacher. Enough about this man and his acheivements. You really have to visit his site to truly appreciate the skill of this man. Caricatures, illustrations and comics are wonderfully prsented on the pages of this website; you will definately want to contact this man for your own personal illustration needs, or to produce a caricature from a photo of a loved one.
A Day's Journey Christian Drama
Today, I would like to introduce you to this intriguing and fun looking website. The A Day's Journey website advertises the services of Aaron Glaze and Philip Love, two students from Georgia USA. They are available, within Georgia, to perform relevant, entertaining and uncompromising drama, presenting the Biblical message in a fun and entertaining way, without compromising Biblical Truth for the sake of comedy or entertainment. Although a small site, it is simply and effectively layed out, allowing you to obtain a good idea of what these two men can offer, and what their character is like. The site also includes a short video clip so that you can see an example of them in action. You may not be from Georgia, USA, so there is no point in visiting this site! Right? Wrong! This site is well worth the 5 minutes that it will take to explore what these guys are upto. You might not be able to make use of them, but you certainly will not regret spending time at their site. You may even be revitalised by their spirit and charisma which oozes from the site. But, Wait! There's more, as they say .... They have also prepared a page of Christian related scripts that you are welcome to take for free. All they ask is that you tell them what you did with their script and how it all went. Why? Because they're just curious ;)
Bible Story Cards
How many of us have tried to retell jokes and failed? How many have tried to retell Bible stories and not quite had the desired impact? But, on the other hand, how much easier is it to read a picture book to a child, spending time looking at and discussing what is happening in the pictures. Sometimes it is even possible to tell a whole new story, using pictures from a children's book. Today, I don't want to talk about site design or any of my usual topics. I am only interested in this site's product. My word for this site and it's product? "Brilliant"! Bible Story Cards is the place to go for picture cards of various bible stories. Use them at church, Sunday school, or even at home with your own kids. There are currently only a handful of stories available, but the pictures are beautiful, and are available for you to download and print, for free. That's right. You heard correctly. These Bible story, picture cards are available to you for free! And not only that, the owner of this site does not make any song and dance of you donating to his work. In fact, I can not find anything on this site mentioning money at all. My reccommendation? You have nothing to loose. Visit the site and download these valuable resources. I do wonder though, if this author is working for the love of it, at his own cost, for the glory of God, so if you find this resource to be valuable to you, why not see if there is a way that you can support the site financially? If you find out that he is not interested in financial support, then why not give your gift to your/his favourite Christian charity instead.
Higher Hope
Higher Hope Ministries - Moving beyond the past to an effective future. Like many others, I am not a great fan of site 'title' pages. Any page that is there for no real purpose, but just forces the user to make an additional click, is of little value to anyone. It just becomes a mandatory, although pretty, additional, empty page on the way to the real content. And that is where my negative, and personal, design comments end. This is a beautiful and refreshing looking site, which is so clear and easy to navigate. A lot of time and effort has been put into this simple design that surely draws the visitor to discover more of what this site is about. But this may not be so easy as, although this is a clear and informative site, it may take a little time and some reading to gain an understanding of what this site is about and what it is trying to offer. The sites slogan, "Moving beyond the past to an effective future", is the most obvious hint of what might be available, but it will take a little more reading and clicking to gain a complete understanding. The main heart of this site can be discovered by reading the page 'About HHM' (Higher Hope Ministries), where a paragraph states: Higher Hope Ministries was born out of an intense passion I (Beth Anderson) have to reach out to hurting people. Using my own experiences of how God delivered me out of extreme and deep depression, suicidal thoughts, and tremendous spiritual warfare, I knew with every fiber of my being that with God working in and through me, I could make a difference in this world. With God giving me the "e;green light,"e;, I pursued this kind of ministry and it has just been awesome to see Him bless it! The site then offers Beth's services as a speaker, and talks of the ministry's heart and desire. Apart from the 'Professional Speaker' service, I found it difficult to discover what else might be available to a visitor of this site. Until I discovered the 'Contact Us' page, where I found links for advice and prayer from the ministry. I am not really sure of my over-all impression of this site. It is very well designed and is a joy and interesting to read. I would certainly recommend going and having a look. As an advert for a non-Internet based service, I would say that this site is doing it's job well, but if they are trying to reach hurting people via the web, they may be loosing such visitors by not having a clear and available service. As I have spent time examining this site, this review has become a lot more negative than I originally intended. This is only because I considered my visit to the site from the perspective of someone looking for help and advice. My natural feeling and instinct towards this site and the ministry, however, is a lot more positive and even 'recommending'. There is only one answer: Go and visit this site yourself, and tell us what you think... Yours as ever,
Urgent Prayer
Most of us get hooked by extravagant, huge sites with dynamically changing pages, which give us something new each time we visit. But I am also a fan of simple, straight forward sites which exist to serve an obvious purpose. Of course, it always helps if I consider that purpose to be noble, inspired or just a simply brilliant idea. Urgent Prayer is one such site. It appears to have the sum total of 2 pages, both with static, unchanging content. One is an introduction to the service, and the other a contact form. The sole purpose of this site is to pray with (and for) people regarding any issue. And there, this review should end, as there is very little else that could be mentioned about this site. It would be nice to see a little more. A little more about the people behind the site. A little more education about prayer itself. A little more in the way of testimony or prayer requests for the rest of us to consider praying for. I guess it is actually a little disappointing. Here, a great service is being offered (I really believe in the power of prayer for all people), but there are very few details of what is included. I think that the potential of this site is massive, and so I suggest that you give this service a go. But don't forget to report back to me about how it all goes.
Spirit Truth Ministries
"Fix your eyes on Jesus and be spirit led as opposed to 'purpose driven'" This site declares it's hope very clearly, and then proceeds to lead the visitor through a story of scriptures explaining the importance of true worship, what 'truth' is, and that there will be many false teachers. The story we are led through finally comes to it's climax with a quote from A. W. Tozer regarding 'soft' Christians. The author then examines many 'styles', doctrines and methods popular in todays Christian churches, with very definite opinions and answers. You may or may not agree with everything this author says, but this site will certainly make you think, and as with anything else you hear or read, you can (must) test these 'truths' to see if they are indeed true. The site spends some time justifying our right to judge individuals if we feel that those individuals have said or done something wrong. I felt a little let down by this, as I too have spent much time thinking and praying about what God most wants when it comes to the whole judging/loving issue. I therefore, of course, have my own strong views, but one point in particular shows my opinion in this matter. I think that it is easy to judge (and find guilty) those who are in the spotlight for specific incidents, even though we are all human and sin. Also, I know of great Christians who became Christians or/and were discipled by some of these 'big' (since been found guilty) people. In my personal opinion, we need to encourage and disciple all people, even the big names in Christianity. We are told that we should pray for our leaders. In a way, these 'big' names are our leaders as they are in the public foreground, and therefore are very much in line for attack and deception from Satan. Apart from my obvious disappointment, mentioned above, I was impressed by this site and it's strong message. Many of you may find fault with specific points, or may disagree, but I was impressed by the spirit and the heart behind this ministry. Yours as ever,
JR Miller Archive
 CBD-Search has been using the JR Miller Archive site (with permission) for the last few months for our Thoughts Regarding God and Life blog, which gets included in our monthly newsletter.
There is such a wealth of Christian literature on this website, which is dedicated to publishing all of JR Miller's works, of which there are over 80 books, booklets and pamphlets. Please do visit this site and read more about the life of JR Miller. I know that as you peruse some of his books which have already being published online, you will be as impressed by the content as I was. I can certainly see why there is a group of people dedicated to keeping the works of this man alive even so long after his death. Someone once told me that a book can only be classed as being truly good, if even a hundred years after the author dies people are still reading the material, and that it is still topical and appropriate to the day. This is certainly so in this case.
dear mamma
Today I would like to introduce you to a simple web site dedicated to a simple topic. The site in question is called dear mamma and is dedicated to discussing issues on natural parenting for the first year of your child's life. It may seem a little silly that I, a male with no children, would be drawn to such a site. But in this age where we are convinced to do things the easy way and where the family unit is breaking down, so many of us are asking the questions that lead us back to doing things, like parenting, the more traditional, natural way. Here is an excerpt from the front page of this website: should I quit working to become a stay-at-home mom? What can I say to my father-in-law who is uncomfortable with breastfeeding? Is the "family bed" safe? These important questions and more are answered in dear mamma. the central theme of dear mamma is to encourage women to do what is natural, to listen to their intuitions and most of all - to have no regrets. dear mamma is a keepsake. Inside there is a journal for you to write your very own personal letters, notes, thoughts, and quotes. dear mamma also has a special chapter devoted to daddy and worksheets designed to help you with the most important decisions in your parenting.
You will notice that this site is mainly advertising a book that you can purchase, and I have not read the book and so can make no judgment on the content. But as a prospective future parent who is already considering the various options, and taking the possibility of having children very seriously, this site, by its very nature and content, has sold me on purchasing this book once my wife and I come closer to the stage of having children ourselves.
2 Wheel Treks
 If you're thinking that this site might only be for those who have a passion for cycling or are superfit, then you would be wrong. The people at '2 Wheel Treks' have really thought about how they can best offer a service to anyone at any level of fitness to just have an enjoyable time on cycle holiday.  There is such a diverse range of opportunities including locations such as various English counties and even other countries including Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. They offer a variety of holidays, ranging from gentle relaxing short breaks for those who rarely cycle, to more challenging rides for those wanting to stretch themselves a little. You might like a 'cruise and cycle' holiday, or a weak-end short break, or even a mountain biking trip. All of the trips are also graded, so you can tell what you are in for. These range from a gentle ride on mainly flat terrain where not much effort is required, to challenging routes with steep hills and long distances, which are for experienced cyclists with the good level of fitness. 
I cannot finish without discussing the website itself. I do like simple sites, and this one is no exception. It's simple but effective graphics and it's simple green based style allow for a fast loading, easy on the eye, information full website. I was really surprised how quickly this website came up, especially considering the number of graphics on the website showing various locations and people on cycle tours. I can only assume that someone has taken lots of care and time to make sure that this website does use minimal bandwidth so that anyone can easily access the information. Whether you are interested in cycling and cycling holidays, or not, this website is well worth a visit. Who knows, you may find a new passion or a different idea for your next family holiday.
OSCAR - UK Information Service for World Mission
 | If you're involved or interested in mission or Christian work overseas, OSCAR, the UK information service for world mission, is your gateway to useful UK related information, advice and resources. |
In OSCAR's own words, "If you're involved or interested in missionary or Christian work overseas, OSCAR, the UK information service for world mission, is your gateway to useful UK related information, advice and resources." OSCAR is seeking to provide a service that will further the mission of Jesus Christ throughout the entire world, and have specific aims to provide an information service that is useful for: - Missionaries and overseas Christian workers on the field.
- Prospective missionaries and overseas Christian workers.
- Missionaries and Christian workers recently returned from the field.
- Christians open to the possibility of working overseas/abroad.
- Supporters of missionaries, overseas Christian workers and world mission in general.
- Non-UK Christians coming to the UK as missionaries or Christian workers.
- Anyone responsible for `resourcing' any of the above.
This site is basically a specialised directory of services about mission and for missionaries. They have really thought hard to produce a useful and easy-to-use web site, that is minimal in graphics and other high bandwidth technologies, allowing for fast access to those with limited Internet connectivity. They also have their own forum for anything to do with missions which again is simple and easy to use. There are not too many posts in this forum but I can see there is promise here as people make use of this facility. OSCAR also have other ideas for interactive facilities which they have given the collective title "OSCAR active". Whatever your relation to mission and mission work, it will be well worth your while to have a look at this website.
The Final Countdown
What an engaging website! A quick loading, well presented, presentation greets you full of great graphics and engaging sound effects. Entering this website is no letdown, with great colour and graphics and yet a very simple structure. And we haven't even touched on the content of this website yet! The aim of this website is simple. Time is running out, we are now in the final countdown. There are only two choices, Jesus or not. This is basically a blog site dedicated to topics of end times. Categories include 'world news and prophecy', ' cults' and 'churches vs religion'. It seems that this blog is a little light on the articles but according to the comments posted for each article, it would appear that heaps of people visit the site daily and only have good things to say. Also, there seem to be more article track-backs than comments, showing that people are so interested in the content of these articles that they can't stop linking to and referencing this site. Don't take my word, or theirs, for it. Go visit the site and see what you think.
Free Minds, Inc.
 - people who care about other people who are in authoritarian religions.
- networking with others who care.
- warning the public of cults and their deceptive recruiting techniques, and efforts to create fear and isolation in new recruits.
Randall Watters is the founder of Free Minds, Inc. and has been working freeing people from the mind control bondage of cults for over twenty years. He was a Jehovah's Witness for eight years during the 70's, and worked at the Watchtower headquarters in Brooklyn. He became a Christian in 1980 and served as a pastor for a number of years before choosing to focus on cults and exit-counseling. Randall formed Free Minds, Inc. as a non-profit educational organization in 1992, with the goal of educating the public about mind control and the danger of cults. What I like about this site? I have always had an interest in other religions and cults, where they have come from, why people believe what they do, and how we, as Christians, should witness to them. I have often come across JW's and have always remained interested in how best to relate to people involved in this organisation.
I am always so disappointed when talking to other Christians about how they witness to people such as JW's as they often think that thet have done well when their discussion becomes an argument that the JW fails to win. Also, many Christians and Christian information sources seem to spend way too much time discrediting and attacking cults and other religions.
This website does the right job brilliantly! The website is full of relevant, un-biased, non-attacking, non-judging information. It mainly includes information on Jehovah's Witnesses and on the Watchtower Society, but is aimed at giving all of the facts, and good, Godly advice to members of cults, and to Christians seeking to wit ness to cult members. Whether you are interested in finding out more about the JW's, the Watchtower society, how to witness to JW's, or anything else, this site is certainly worth a visit!
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