YOU. (Ascension Press)

Talking to teenagers is a skill that many adults lack. Despite how well-meaning adults are, they forgot somewhere along the way what it was like to be a teenager. So instead of being authentic and "real" with them, adults put on a facade that they think will make their message more appealing to their teenage audience. Unfortunately, teenagers can see through something fake in a millisecond. Then, you have lost their trust and attention, possibly forever. Two adults who I would say are the best at authentically connecting to teenagers are Jason and Crystalina Evert. I believe they are because they not only believe what they say, but they care about their audience. Today, I would like to tell you about one of their latest projects called YOU. YOU. is a DVD program from Ascension Press that presents Theology of the Body to teens. In addition to learning what authentic love is; how to navigate through difficult topics like gender, pornography, and same sex unions; and will also learn what healthy relationships look like. The program is divided as follows:

1. Created for Love

2. Naked Without Shame

3. Love Defined

4. Hope and Redemption in Christ

5. Truth and Freedom

6. Free, Total, Faithful, Fruitful

7. Language of the Body

8. Marriage

9. Priesthood, Consecrated Life, and Celibacy

10. Friendship. Dating, and Family

Lessons are divided into several steps - 1. Welcome, Icebreaker, and Opening Prayer, 2. Dive In, 3. Bridging the Gap, 4. Video Presentation, Journaling, and Small-Group Discussion, 5. To the Core, 6. Digging Deeper, 7. Take it to Prayer, 8. Session Review, 9. Live it Out, 10. Work it Out, and 11. Closing Prayer. This makes each session approximately 90 to 120 minutes long, so it is a time commitment, but it is one that is worth making. The eleven steps in each lesson are a nice blend of prayer, reading, discussions, and videos, so your teen will not get bored from doing the same activity for two hours solid.

The best part of this program is the authenticity and candidness of the material presented. As I stated earlier, it is difficult talking to teenagers. When you have to talk to them about matters of love, relationships, and sex, it gets exponentially more difficult. You either deal with awkward silence, giggling, snide comments, inappropriate jokes, or some combination of all of these. This series, however, doesn't beat around the bushes with serious topics. It presents these tough topics in an honest manner and uses examples that are real to life, not far-fetched and hard to believe. It also treats teenagers as intelligent people, which they are, and that is why they are more open to the words of this series, because they are not talked down to. Their questions are answered in a way that relates to them and makes sense, not just with a simple brush-off or "Don't do this, because the Bible says so. End of story!"

The starter pack retails for $129 and comes with a 5 DVD set, 1 Leader's Guide, 1 Parent's Guide, and 1 Student Workbook. This is a steal of a price, but of course you will want to supplement it with more student workbooks and parent's guides. After watching through this program, I am convinced that every parish needs this program for their CYO/teenage groups. With the current trajectory of the culture going more secular and over-sexualized, our teenagers need the truth now more than ever. Wouldn't you rather they learned about these important matters from the Church than society? I know I would!

This program was provided to me for free by Ascension Press in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to check out their other programs both for adults, teens, and children's as they are truly the best in the business!

Onitama (Arcane Wonders)

Onitama is the second Dice Tower Essentials game released by Arcane Wonders. It is a two-player abstract strategy game with perfect information. The recommended age is 14+, but younger than that can pick up this game. The total playing time per game is 10 to 15 minutes, but it can vary depending on how long you or your opponent agonize over what moves to make. It retails for approximately $30. In this game, you are a martial arts master with four students traveling to the Shrine of Onitama. You will battle a rival master and his pupils in an attempt to defeat them. However, this tournament is like others. Within the Shrine of Onitama, you and your pupils will be imbued with animal spirits and gain their movement/abilities. Let's get to the setup.

Setup
1. Roll out the Game Mat and position it so that one player is on the red side and the other on the blue side.
2. Take the five pawns (one Master and four Students) that correspond with your color and place them on the row closest to you with the Master positioned in the middle (on the Temple Arch Square) flanked by two Students on each side.
3. Shuffle the sixteen Move Cards and deal two face up to each player.
4. Deal one more Move Card and examine the color of the icon in the bottom right corner. That color is the first player. Place this card on the right side of the board in relation to who the first player is.
5. Return the additional Move Cards to the box and set up is complete.

Game Play
1. Pick one of your two Move Cards and move one of your pawns according to the movement shown on the card. (Note: The black square on the card represents where your pawn is on the board, and the colored squares represent places on the board where your pawn can move.) Your movements are not blocked by other pawns, cannot land you off the board, and if you land on a square occupied by your opponent, you capture that piece.
2. Take the Move Card you just used and place it on the left side of the board. You then claim the Move Card located on the right of the board.
3. Play continues back and forth between players until you either capture your opponent's Master (aka The Way of the Stone) or you land on your Master lands on your opponent's Temple Arch Square (aka The Way of the Stream).

Review
The first things I noticed about this game was the packaging presentation and components. Unlike a typical rectangular or square game box, this box unfolds and opens like a scroll. The game mat is not made of cardboard, but instead neoprene, like a mouse pad and the pawns show nice detail as well. The next thing I noticed was the theme of the game. Martial arts with different animal moves is a perfect fit and just makes sense.

After taking in all the aesthetics, I focused on the way the game plays. For obvious reasons, Onitama will draw heavy comparisons to Chess. Like Chess, this game requires both short term and long term thinking. You have to figure out your move and plan for how your opponent can counter that move. Unlike, Chess, the pieces move based on a player's two Move Cards. You can see their cards, so nothing is hidden, but these cards are constantly rotating, so you have to be constantly vigilant that the card you use and then give to your opponent will not come back to haunt you. Other aspects of the game play that I liked were the quick set up, easy explanation of the rules, and the replay value. By choosing five of sixteen cards, each game, there are thousands of different combinations you can experience, and each one will provide a slightly different game than the last. Though, I would recommend you stick with the same five cards your first couple of games while you get used to the game.

The game is billed as taking ten minutes to play, but a lifetime to master and I find it hard to disagree with that statement. You can get lost in thought on this game, but if you approach it with equal parts strategy and having fun, it won't overstay its welcome. I find this game to be a nice date night game or one you can play while waiting for the rest of your game group to show up. When I put this game up next to The Duke, another abstract strategy game I recently reviewed, my wife will pick this game every time, because it's easy to pick back up if you haven't played it recently, and it feels like you have a bit more control over your moves as opposed to luck of the draw. I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

This game was provided to me for free by Arcane Wonders in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Tsuro of the Seas (Calliope Games)

 

Tsuro of the Seas, from Calliope Games, is a stand-alone sequel to the very popular game Tsuro. Tsuro of the Seas is a game for 2-8 players ages 8 and up. It takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to play, largely dependent on how many people are playing. It retails for $40, but as always, you can find it for less with retailers like Amazon. In this game, you are the captain of a ship, navigating turbulent seas inhabited by sea monsters (daikaiju). You move your ship around by placing wake tiles with different paths on them that you must follow. The object of this game is to avoid bothj the daikaiju and the other ships and be the last captain left on the board. Normally, I provide step-by-step instructions that show how to set up a game, but Rodney Smith of Watch It Played, graciously allowed me to share his set-up video which makes things clearer. See below for the video:



This game is a mixture of strategy, tile placement, and a fair bit of luck. The luck element in this game (from the dice rolled, which triggers movement of the daikaiju) is both a positive and a negative. On the one hand, it evens the playing field for ages and those of different levels of strategic thought. What this means is that an eight year old would not be outmatched against their parent or older sibling, because one roll of the dice, could wipe out the older player and leave the other played unharmed. On the other hand, it adds a very random element to the game, which can completely wipe out any strategy that you had plotted out early on. This is why many people prefer the original game of Tsuro, but to each their own. Another downside of the daikaiju is they can come off a little fiddly at times. Before you can place your wake tile and move your ship, you have to roll two dice to see if the daikaiju move. Then, you have to roll a dice to see how they move. Lastly, you have to move them in the proper order, which early on you're moving six of them (in a two-player game). You can combat this by doing a bit of a variant on the game and using less of the daikaiju at set-up or using the expansion tiles, which I will talk about momentarily.

When the game was originally funded on Kickstarter, there were four different tile types that were exclusive for Kickstarter backers as a thank you reward for helping the game get funded. To everyone's delight, these tiles were released to the general public in a mini-expansion called Veterans of the Seas. The tiles include a cannon (five in total, which can destroy daikaiju), a tsunami (2 in total, which move when the daikaiju do not move), a whirlpool (1 in total, which move when the daikaiju do not move), and a mystic portal (1 in total, which can help you survive being knocked out). Since these tiles are optional, you can use as many or as few as you want to. I feel this expansion is a must-have, as the cannons add a way to fight randomness, and the mystic portal allows you a one time way to prevent losing. You could also choose to just play with the tsunamis and whirlpool, removing the daikaiju from the game and create a game with a little bit less of the random element, but enough to balance out the gameplay between advanced and beginner strategists.

So what do I think of this game? For starters, the game components are top notch and the presentation when opening the box is artfully done. Both the board and tiles are nice and sturdy, and the ships are also intricate works of plastic art. I also like the overall theme of the game, as it feels appropriate and natural, unlike some games where it is all mechanics and the theme feels like it was just pasted on like sticker to dress up the game. I also like that this game can play anywhere from 2 to 8 players. There are so many games that have a limit of 4, and if you are part of a big family, that ends up leaving a lot of family members as spectators, which is never any fun. As for the gameplay itself, I am of two minds. The strategist and gamer in me doesn't like the fiddly and random nature of the daikaiju. However, the parent in me appreciates the random nature of the game, because it gives my son a fair shot at winning this game, without me feeling like I have to dumb down the way I play, or make such moves that it is obvious I am trying to keep him from losing. I also don't like that it feels like you need the expansion to fix the few negatives in the game. Perhaps, in the future, if this game is re-printed, the expansion tiles will just come as part of the base game itself. With all those things in mind, I would say if you are looking for a straight strategy game go for Tsuro. If you are looking for strategy, mixed with a bit of dice luck, go for Tsuro of the Seas.

This game was provided to me for free by Calliope Games in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Our Island Story (Naxos Audiobooks)

Our Island Story is the second audiobook I received for review from Naxos Audiobooks. While, Naxos Audiobooks has a good variety of audiobook genres, my personal favorite is their unabridged selection, which contains a great many works of classic literature including Dante, Homer, Shakespeare, etc. For those unfamiliar with the premise of Our Island Story, it is a sort of history book of England. However, it is more than boring dates and facts, it is a history book for kids, so it is more lively; playful; and at times, embellished. The author is Henrietta Elizabeth (H.E.) Lawrence. She shortened it to the two initials, so that she could conceal her gender. She also wrote other works, which dealt with other parts of the "Empire," such as Canada, India, and Australia. While these works are all in public domain now, I believe most are long out of print.

The beginning of Our Island Story immediately draws the reader, both young and old, further into the book, as it traces England's origin all the way back to Greek mythology. Neptune and his wife, Amphitrite, had several sons. As each son became old enough, they were given an island to rule over. Neptune and Amphitrite love their fourth son, Albion, the best, so they felt he had to have the BEST island. Therefore, all the mermen and mermaids had to scour the globe, until a suitable island was found. Eventually, an island was chosen and named Albion. Eventually, it was conquered and renamed Britannia. We know it today as England. Now, of course this is completely mythological and made up, but it is a fascinating and makes you want to keep reading.

After this tale, we dive into several chapters on the Romans and Britain. It seems that early on the Romans were always invading and conquering Britain. Yet, the Romans never stayed and set up rulers, so they kept returning, and according to the author Britain always survived. You start to notice early on that this is a very biased book toward Britain, which is to be expected, but can be a bit annoying at times to the non-British reader. Other biases that pop up are pro-Protestant/anti-Catholic bias. I won't walk you through the entire book, as that would take pages to accomplish. The main driver of the book was monarchs. There was occasional deviation from this theme, like when they talked about the Industrial Revolution, but it was a very royal-centric work. I appreciate there being some mention of King Arthur, but I have to admit that part of me wanted a little more. The book ends with the reign of Queen Victoria, Britain's longest reigning monarch and the last of House of Hanover.

As for the presentation of this audiobook, I was pleasantly surprised. There were two narrators in this audiobook - Anna Bentinck and Daniel Philpott. It's always weird to me when there are two different narrators in a book, but somehow they made it work. I had a personal preference for Mr. Philpott over Ms. Bentinck, but that's just me. They both were very lively in their reading, and despite the biases I mentioned earlier, they made me want to keep listening. As I listened to these in my car, I found myself disappointed whenever I arrived at my destination. My wife is an English history buff, so she absolutely raved about this book. I can't wait to share it with my children when they are older, as it is a very approachable way to teach a subject that many consider boring. So whether you are someone who likes history mixed with some mythology/legend, or are a homeschooling parent looking for a way to get your kids interested in history, you will enjoy this book. And it's also available on Audible, if you prefer your books on the cloud,

This book was provided to me for free by Naxos Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review.

Keep Holy the Sabbath (Lighthouse Catholic Media)

Keep Holy the Sabbath by Dr. Tim Gray is one of the latest talks from Lighthouse Catholic Media. I've been a big fan of Dr. Gray over the years, as he wrote one of my favorite Catholic books of all time called Walking with God. He has also led several Bible studies for Ascension Press, which I haven't had the pleasure of participating in yet. Maybe one day though.

In his talk, Keep Holy the Sabbath, Dr. Gray begins by talking about the New Evangelization and Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Deis Domini. In this Apostolic Letter, Pope John Paul II encourages us to reclaim the Lord's Day, and he truly believed that this would be a fundamental aspect of the New Evangelization. Dr. Gray then references Catholic philosopher, Josef Pieper's work Lesiure: The Basis of Culture. He believed this type of leisure/rest could form a right ordering for all the things that we do. This is an argument for reclaiming the Christian Sabbath.

Dr. Gray then discusses how overly-connected we are, and that is painfully obvious to anyone if you ever go to a restaurant. So few people sit at the table and talk anymore without a smartphone in their hand, which they are checking every few seconds. He argues that this over-connection has made us under-connected, as we don't make real connections anymore. He illustrates this hustle and bustle lifestyle with a story of world-famous violinist Joshua Bell, who played for free in the subway on a Stradivarius. In the video, no one has the time to slow down and hear the music, because they are all in a rush. Only one child stops momentarily to listen before being dragged away by his parent. How sad for those people, and how sad for all of us that we cannot stop and appreciate beauty in this world due to our "too busy" schedule.

We are then treated to a history lesson starting with General Pompey, who conquered the Jews. He noted that they had a Temple with no images, a sea in which no body would sink, and lastly that there was a day of the week in which no one worked. He then goes back further to talk about Moses and the Exodus, and the original request of rest from work, not to let the Israelites be set free. He paints this picture to show us the culture that God had to free the Israelites from, a culture of constant working and no rest. That is not something most of us can imagine, because we have weekends. Instead, we fill our weekends with other tasks to keep us busy.

I could go on and on about all the references that Dr. Gray makes to illustrate his point, but it's a talk you need to hear in its fullness, so you're going to have to buy the talk! If you are like me, you have a hard time resting on Sunday. It might not be paid work or your job, but you over-commit yourself when you should be resting. If you want to listen to an enlightening lecture that teaches us not only the history and theology of resting on Sundays, but also the practical value, I highly recommend this talk!

Be sure to keep listening after the lectures ends, because at the end of this talk is a brief sample lesson from Lighthouse Catholic Media's latest project Symbolon. I have only had the pleasure of viewing some sample videos from their website, but it looks pretty awesome! It has big names like Dr. Sri, Dr. Gray, and the Everts to name a few. They also have an intriguing and affordable subscription service for your local parish as well. For the price of $900 annually ($600 for the first year if ordering before June 30th), your ENTIRE parish gains access to the first 10 lessons on their computer, tablet, or smartphone. That's less than $2 a day in the church's budget. To see a sample, check out the video below!

Classic Nativity Stones Cross Review

As my regular readers know, I tend to focus my reviews on literary works, and only occasionally branch out to review a truly exceptional product.  I am pleased to tell you today that I was recently asked to review such a product.

Before I review the piece of jewelry I was given, I would like to give you a little bit of background. During a visit to the Manger Room in the Cave of the Nativity in 1963, Stanley Slotkin, a philanthropist and amateur archaeologist, noticed a portion of the cave’s inside wall being removed. Bethlehem’s mayor and Slotkin’s host Elias Bandak explained that this one-time excavation would allow another exit for the thousands of devoted visitors who came to the Cave of the Nativity each year.  Slotkin saw the significance of the stones that were being removed and knew that many people worldwide would cherish a relic from such a holy place. The Nativity Stones are the only stones ever authorized to be removed from this sacred site, excavated just a few feet from the star that marks the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

The jewelry piece I was given to review is called the Classic Nativity Stones Cross. The cross is a filigree pattern and made of alloy that is layered in 18K gold. It measures 2.25" in length and 1.375" in width, and it comes attached on a 22" rope chain. The focal point is, of course, the Nativity Stone which  is prominently displayed in the center and surrounded by the 14-pointed star. The significance of the 14-pointed star is tied to the Cave of the Nativity. In the Cave, there is also a 14-pointed star on the ground, which commemorates the actual place of Christ's birth.

Pros

• Each cross comes with a lovely gift box, an explanatory booklet, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.
• It comes with a chain. It seems that with so many jewelry today, the chain is sold separately, but this one already comes with one.
• The Classic Nativity Stones Cross is unisex and can be worn by male or female, young or old.
• There are multiple designs. If you're a guy and think this one still might be a little feminine, check out the Carpenter's Cross, which is an "unassuming" silver. I also like the pendant that is just a Nativity Star. If you already have a special crucifix you wear, you can pair the Nativity Star with it.
• The cross is not connected to the chain by a drift ring, but instead the hole that you slide the chain through is directly connected to the cross. If you've ever lost a piece of jewelry on a chain, because the drift ring sprung, you don't have to worry about that with the Nativity Stones jewelry. Our 1-year old son has tugged on the jewelry, and it has held up just fine. (Thanks to my wife for pointing out the perils of drift rings and being the eager test subject to wear the jewelry.)
• "In the year 2000 the Nativity Stones were honored with a plaque placed in the Vatican further validating their authenticity." If it's okay with the Vatican, it's okay by me! To read more about their authenticity and see scanned copies of the actual letters, click here.
• Last, and certainly not least, a portion of all sales go to charities. Some of the charities include Esther's Aid, World Vision - Haiti, and Catholic Charities, but to read about more of the charities, click here.

Con

• The metal isn't pure 14K or 18K gold. I know this would drive up the price, but for a jewel (the Nativity Stone) this valuable, it seems worth it to display it in pure gold.

As you can see from my long list of pros, this is truly a great product. So I would like my readers the chance to get one at a discount. If you go to their site and find one you like, use coupon code STUDY15 for 15% off your order.

GoBible Review and 20% Off Coupon

With Christmas a mere week away and New Year's right after that, people are starting to enter resolution mode. Many people consider giving up a vice like smoking or attempting to lose weight. Both are noble goals. Instead of giving up something this year, though, I'd like to issue a New Year's challenge -- start something this year instead. I challenge you to grow closer to God in the upcoming year by reading from His Word (the Bible) every day! Now, it wouldn't be a fair challenge if I wasn't willing to participate myself, so I promise to accept the challenge as well.  I will be using the GoBible to help accomplish this challenge! What's the GoBible you ask? Keep reading to find out.

The GoBible is a portable audio Bible that fits in the palm of your hand. I am reviewing the Original edition which, although a little pricier, comes with the following features:

• Contains entire Bible for Catholics
• Over 80 hours of audio, preloaded
• Searchable by verse
• Story index of 230 popular Bible stories
• Topic index
• Holiday/events index
• Bookmarks
• Narrated Rosary and common prayers
• Daily readings by year and cycle
• Voice menu for sight impaired

The first question you may be wondering is "What translation of the Bible does it use?" The GoBible does not use the NABRE (what you hear at Mass) or the RSV-CE (Ignatius Study Bible).  Instead, it features the NRSV-CE. I spoke with the people at GoBible, and they told me that the NABRE was not made available to them, but they also reassured me that the NRSV-CE has an imprimatur, which is a huge plus. For those unfamiliar with this version, it is a bit more literal than the NABRE and does include some gender-inclusive language. This means that in places where the word "men" is traditionally heard, this translation will instead say "people." Rest assured though, God is still referred to as He. There is no gender ambiguity when it comes to the Almighty!

The next question going through your head probably concerns the audio quality and how the Bible is read. In a word, it is AWESOME! GoBible tasked Emmy-Award winning narrator Stephen Johnson. He has what can be described as a smooth, deep voice. For those who don't know who he is (like myself before doing some research), "Stephen Johnston's work with all major Christian Publishers has provided a unique audio library of almost every major Bible version including, KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, Message, CEV and various Bible productions including Dramatized versions of the above. At 65, Stephen is deemed by his colleagues as a "master narrator", with worldwide sales of his many productions. No other person in history has narrated and produced the number of Bible products he has." I'd say he's definitely qualified, and they made a good selection.

So what are my favorite features? That's a tough call, as the more I use the product, the more I love about it. For starters, I love the daily Mass readings. Since my wife and I can't go to daily Mass at this point in our lives, we try to pray with daily Mass readings every night. This helps keep up focused on God, while staying within the rhythm of the Church calendar. Having these readings available in audio format, I can now listen to them several times throughout the day and reflect and meditate on them, or simply rest while listening to them. I also like the popular Bible stories feature. These stories are great for getting your children interested in reading the Bible. Lastly, I love the Rosary feature. I only wish there were more prayers on here, like maybe the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as well.

Lastly, I love that the GoBible also has accessories o expand how you listen to the Word of God. For example, if I want to listen to the Bible on my commute to and from work, it's not very safe to put earbuds in and drive. GoBible has a solution for that with the FM Audio Transmitter. Simply connect the transmitter to your GoBible, plug it into your car's power socket, and BAM Bible over your car's speakers! With Catholic Radio, Catholic CDs, and now the GoBible, my car can be a place of worship on wheels!

I cannot recommend this product enough! For a limited time (until January 3, 2014) GoBible and Carmel Communications have teamed up to offer my readers a 20% discount AND Free Shipping on all orders! Just enter the code SST20 at checkout. So if you are like me and love the Bible, you will want this product. If you are Catholic and wish you knew your Bible better, this is a product you need! So take me up on my New Year's challenge, pick up a GoBible, some rechargeable AAA batteries, and read your Bible everyday! You might love it so much that you read through the entire Bible in a year. What a feat that would be!

This product was provided to me for free by GoBible and Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Tiny Saints Product Review and GIVEAWAY

A little over one month ago, I was looking to buy a birthday present for a friend's four year old girl. As a little background, I like to give religious gifts. I refer to them as gifts for the soul. The practice isn't always popular, but this gift was going to a good Catholic family, so I knew it would be appreciated. I just had to find the perfect gift! So I racked my brain, and I scoured the Catholic stores on the Internet to no avail. About to give up, I decided to try to start Googling for gift ideas, and while I don't remember what I exactly typed in, my search led me to Tiny Saints!

You might be asking yourself, "what are Tiny Saints?" Tiny Saints are THE coolest charm/necklace/gift/invention ever! At the time that I placed my order, you paid $9.95 (no shipping and handling) and you received a charm of a saint, a cord on which to wear them, and an ID tag that told you all about the saint. I ordered Rose of Lima for my friend's daughter, and let Tiny Saint founder, Joe, know that I run a Catholic review blog and would post a review of Tiny Rose of Lima after the party. He was gracious enough to send me a few extra saints, but he asked me to hold my review  until he released the new line of Tiny Saints   I am not a patient person, and I have been biding my time since June to sing the praises of these products, but upon seeing the new line of products, I now know why he wanted me to wait!

Tiny Saints have recently added a slew of products to their collection. They now offer charms for the Virgin Mary, Sts. Joseph, Patrick, Jude, Christopher, Blesseds John Paul II and Teresa of Calcutta, and perhaps one of the coolest...Pope Francis! However, they also have products other than charms; you can get a Saint Bracelet (also comes in all girl variety) or a Rosary in black or full-color. In addition to adding these great new products, they have also managed to make their products more affordable! Now, you can buy the charm and cord separately; that way you don't end up with 50 cords if you're like me and plan on collecting them all. So what was originally a $9.95 product is now a $5 if you just buy the charm. This just went from being a bargain to a STEAL!

Besides the price and selection, another great thing about Tiny Saints  is the versatility they offer. Don't get me wrong, I love my Tiny Saint Paul necklace and have been faithfully wearing him since I received him, using him as both a conversation piece and witnessing tool. However, you can put the Tiny Saints around more than just your neck. With the wholesale option, the Principal or Director of Religious Education can order the school's Patron Saint, and distribute them to the children to hang on their backpacks. You could put Tiny Saint Francis around your pet's collar or hang Tiny Saint Christopher in your cars for safe travels. The possibilities are really endless. I even saw one lady replace her Monopoly tokens with Tiny Saints, and that got me to thinking...

When I was little, I played chess in tournaments, and you always had to bring your own chess board and chess pieces. How cool would it be for the men on your chess board to be Tiny Saints? Jesus would be the King, of course. Mary would be the Queen. For Bishops, you could have Pope Francis (the Bishop of Rome) and/or St. Nicholas (the bishop who slapped Arius!). For Knights, I was thinking two Tiny Saint Georges. I haven't figured out who to use for the Castles/Rooks yet, and Pawns could be any of the Tiny Saints really.

I really, really, REALLY LOVE this product.  The only disappointment I have is that I wasn't creative enough to come up with it first. :) Tiny Saints are high quality products, and the customer service is second-to-none. Two things impress me most about the company. 1. They pulled one of the Tiny Saints because its quality wasn't up to their standards, and they didn't want to ship an inferior product. 2. They are making it a goal to produce every suggested/requested saint by customers. I'm still holding out hope for St. Dismas. :) For a full line of products (coming in October), click here. To show my love for this product and to share some of the wealth, I am giving one of my readers a Tiny Saint Rosary (pictured to the left). Use the Rafflecopter entry form below, and you could be the winner. Winner must live in the United States and will be notified August 29th (The Feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist).

a Rafflecopter giveaway