Over the last couple of years, I have been on the lookout for a certain movie that I watched in my youth, and I wanted my kids to see it as well . The movie was called, “The Littlest Horse Thieves.” I could not find this movie at any of my local video stores nor at any of the popular online video services, however, I just recently found it in Sky Angel’s VOD Section!

“The Littlest Horse Thieves” is a wonderful adventure about two little boys whose stepfather works deep down in a coal mine. The boys grew up tending to the ponies that transported the coal through the network of underground caves. When the boys hear about a plan to get rid of all the ponies and replace them with machinery, they concocted risky plan to steal all the little horses by taking them through an abandoned old mine workings. It is a wonderful story with good morals and valuable lessons learned! This movie captivated my four kids(ages 3,5,7, and 9), and had me reminiscing as well!

After I learned that Sky Angel is now available on ROKU, I decided it was time for me to get a ROKU streaming device. It attaches to my front room TV via an HDMI cable and uses my high-speed Internet via Wi-fi just like the Sky Angel IPTV box does. I had checked out the ROKU device and programming in the past, but the addition of Sky Angel is what tipped the scales to help me decide to get it now.

I am a techie at heart, anyway, so I wanted to check out the ROKU technology. It was ridiculously easy to set it up–connect the HDMI cable, enter my network password in the ROKU setup, choose the Sky Angel channel from the ROKU channel store, and VOILA–Sky Angel on ROKU! (If you already have a Sky Angel IPTV box, you should call Sky Angel to get the Faith Everywhere package pricing. When you choose Sky Angel from the Roku channel store, you are actually subscribing to a new account with a 48-hour free trial.)

I switched from having two Sky Angel IPTV boxes (the second one at a discounted monthly subscription rate of $10) to having one IPTV box and now the ROKU in place of the second box (a SAVINGS of $5/mo.!). The ROKU offering is the same as the TV channels on Sky Angel WebTV; at this point in time, the ROKU offering does not include radio, but there is some OnDemand programming, including G-Movies. It also does not include FAVE family channels–you would need the FAVE IPTV service to get those. Since I already have a Faith Everywhere package, the ROKU add-on is priced the same way as adding WebTV and/or the iPad app–just 5.00/mo. for each added device. If I did not have the IPTV box, I think I would then be paying $14.99 for the ROKU Sky Angel channel, which I would still consider to be a good deal.

For me, this switch made sense because the faith channels are the reason I am a Sky Angel subscriber. The 48-hour playback feature is part of the ROKU programming, so that makes a whole lot of viewing options available at any point in time! ROKU offers a lot of other programming, most of it free, including radio, news, sports, special interest channels, games, etc. Hulu, Amazon Prime video, and Netflix are available on ROKU as well. There are many new channels coming on each month, so ROKU’s offering is constantly expanding.

You can simply “add” whatever channels you want, totally customizing your ROKU guide. It takes only seconds to add a channel, then if you decide you don’t want a channel after all, it takes only seconds to delete it. There are a few channels that carry a fee–I subscribed to Parables TV and Gaither TV, both well worth the small monthly charge, and I can also access those on my iPad with my subscription. And the free FFE channel (southern gospel videos) is also on ROKU. Some of the channels and ministry programs that are on Sky Angel also offer OnDemand programming on separate ROKU channels. I can even access my own church’s OnDemand library of church services and special events on the ROKU Vimeo channel.

I feel like I have a huge smorgasbord of choices! My Sky Angel IPTV box is the perfect fit for my computer room, where I spend most of my daytime hours working. The ROKU is a perfect fit for my leisure time in the evening. And my iPad allows me to carry Sky Angel WebTV with me wherever I go. Sounds like I have a lot of viewing options, doesn’t it? I do, with a Sky Angel Faith Everywhere package—my total monthly bill for all that is just $32.99. So…if you have Sky Angel IPTV on one box, you can now expand your viewing options for very little additional cost. And if you have a ROKU device, you are just a couple of minutes away from being able to have Sky Angel faith TV and the 48-hour playback feature on your ROKU. Check it out!

I’m not sure if I will ever get the chance to tour the Holy Land and walk where Jesus had walked, but I found an excellent glimpse in Sky Angels’, “Travel Israel” section! I first started watching,”The path of Jesus: From Bethlehem to Golgotha,” but I could not hack the cheesy reenactments and the manger scene looked more like a house to me! Then I watched, “Journeying with Jesus In the Holy Land” and I enjoyed this documentary much better! The host David Nunn takes you to the actual (or possible) places where Jesus spent His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.  The music for the narration is a little tacky but the locations are beautiful, and that definitely makes me want to visit there all the more!

Sports and religion have always been associated with each other. In the city of Houston, Texas, a local high school recently became embroiled in a heated court case. A team of cheerleaders fought for their right to express their faith.

The Kountze High School cheerleading team stood up for their right to use religious themed banners for their routines. The team prevailed and won the case, but the legal battle is far from over. One organization that opposes the court ruling is The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which believes that the court decision violates the first amendment Establishment Clause, which is intended to prevent government buildings and publically funded schools from endorsing religion.

What do you think? Should public schools reserve the right to restrict religion so students can study and not feel uncomfortable?

To read more about the court case, click here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/08/texas-judge-rules-for-cheerleaders-in-bible-banner-suit/

If you are a Roku owner you can now get SkyAngel programming for $14.95 a month with your current Roku box. Check the website below for more info!

http://www.skyangel.com/getroku/

If you are wondering what happened to GMC don’t worry, it’s still there. Have you noticed their motto for sometime has been “Uplifting Entertainment”? Well I guess they just felt they should be called that. So to keep it short they went with “Up”. It seems to be a sensible switch as the majority of their programming has not been gospel music for sometime. My hope is that it begins a trend of better and more gospel centered entertainment. I have been disappointed by some of their programming in the past. Lord willing the change will be a definite up!

PS - If we see “G Movies” disappear from the guide look for “Up Movies” as “G Movies”" is a service from GMC.

God bless!

On Memorial Day, my family watched a GMC premiere movie called, “Finding Normal” starring Candace Cameron Bure(Full House). I have to say that I really enjoyed this Pure Flix with a Disney “Cars”…ish plot!…A Snobby Doctor stuck in a small hick town called, “Normal” has to do community service for three days. She was sentenced by a judge(Lou Beatty Jr) who was also the Doctor, Mayor, and even the Pastor of this one horse town! This man(who has a striking resemblance to Morgan Freeman I might add!) had special plans that this stuck up City Doctor never could have imagined!

My family enjoyed this film, but there is one problem that seems to persist in a handful of GMC Flicks that I’ve seen… In the end, the couple gets together, and they are unequally yoked.  The Christian falls for the obvious uncommitted, and they live happily ever after?! When I saw this happen in “Finding Normal”, I stopped the film for a moment and explained to the kids what the Bible says about that situation, and I used this story as a tool to train children in the way they should go.  So when the storyline goes South, just turn it around and instruct your kids because it can make a lasting impression on their young, receptive hearts!

I try to take an “explorer’s” approach to Sky Angel by taking time every so often to search out new programming gems. Sometimes I do this by simply “parking” on a radio or TV channel for a day or two that I don’t ordinarily select very often. Most recently, I’ve done this with radio station KTLW.

I thought it would be interesting to ask everyone to list their favorite programs–you know, the ones you intentionally look for each week and don’t want to miss. There are so many choices available on Sky Angel–as we share our favorites, we can help each other and others who read this blog to discover new programs to enjoy.

MY LIST:
Joyce Meyer–my #1 favorite, on various channels every day
At Home with Arlene (home cooking) - Cornerstone
Point of View (KTLW radio, late night) - discussion of current events
Wretched with Todd Friel, NRB and FamilyNet
Weekend movies - Gospel Music Channel
New movie premieres - PixL, Hallmark, Hallmark Movie Channel
Praise the Lord monthly southern gospel concerts (Friday nights)
Gaither Homecoming Hour - various channels (I especially enjoy when a new release is featured)
Amateur figure skating competitions - Universal Sports, seasonal
Life Today with James Robison - interesting interviews, plus “Wednesdays with Beth Moore”
Pulpit Classics - Liberty Channel - a chance to hear well-known speakers from the past
Marriage Today - Jim and Karen Evans - Daystar and Word, various times
Joni Table Talk - Daystar
In Touch (Dr. Charles Stanley), Turning Point (Dr. David Jeremiah), Your Move (Andy Stanley) - favorite Sunday church services - on various channels

I also enjoyed “Joni’s Journey” this weekend on the Liberty Channel; it is a documentary about Joni Eareckson Tada’s faith journey through breast cancer treatment. She is a quadriplegic, so she faced some special challenges. I admire her faith and “spunk” — I myself am a 4-year breast cancer survivor, so I could identify with the details of her experience.

That’s enough for now…I’d love to read everyone else’s list!

Joshua and Deanna Price are on a mission: to travel and spread the message of Christ. What once began as a crazy idea has become a fulfilling and exciting adventure that has taken them all across the continental United States and to four different countries.

“For six months we stayed on futons and couches and shared the Gospel anywhere that would have us, including secular venues- a coffee shop, anywhere. We shared the Gospel through music and preaching,” Price said.

Joshua and Deanna never take for granted the opportunity they have to help share the message of Christ to anyone who will listen. As long as there is an audience to preach to, the Price’s will do what they can to share their faith to all.

What do you think about Joshua and Deanna’s mission?

To read more about their journey, click here: http://www.charismanews.com/culture/39360-walmart-sign-from-god-sends-worship-leader-packing

I really enjoyed the Glen Beck Show back when he was on Fox News, and I even blogged about his program. I appreciated his common sense and enjoyed his “stick to the constitution” approach. Then he switched to online subscription  programming, and I believe he lost a lot of people in doing so.

Now, I am surprised to see Glen back on Sky Angel but not on Fox News like he used to be; He has his own news channel called, “The Blaze!” I noticed that he is still the same freedom fighter that he used to be, and Glen brought along a whole team of other freedom fighters as well! There’s even an excellent program for kids called, “Liberty Treehouse” that’s definitely worth checking out!