4 the LOVE of BOOKS

Love Blooms in Winter by Lori Copeland

2012-01-26T00:00:00.004-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Love Blooms in Winter Harvest House Publishers (January 1, 2012) by Lori Copeland

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lori lives in the beautiful Ozarks with her husband Lance. Lance and Lori have three sons, three daughter-in-laws, and six wonderful grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters. Lance and Lori are very involved in their church, and active in supporting mission work in Mali, West Africa.

Lori began her writing career in 1982, writing for the secular book market. In 1995, after many years of writing, Lori sensed that God was calling her to use her gift of writing to honor Him. It was at that time that Lori began writing for the Christian book market. To date, she has had over 100 books published.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A romantic new book from bestselling author Lori Copeland that portrays God’s miraculous provision even when none seems possible.

1892—Mae Wilkey’s sweet next-door neighbor, Pauline, is suffering from old age and dementia and desperately needs family to come help her. But Pauline can’t recall having kin remaining. Mae searches through her desk and finds a name—Tom Curtis, who may just be the answer to their prayers.

Tom can’t remember an old aunt named Pauline, but if she thinks he’s a long-lost nephew, he very well may be. After two desperate letters from Mae, he decides to pay a visit. An engagement, a runaway train, and a town of quirky, loveable people make for more of an adventure than Tom is expecting. But it is amazing what can bloom in winter when God is in charge of things.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Blooms in Winter, go HERE.

Mornings with Jesus in 2012 by various authors

2012-01-25T00:00:00.108-06:00

Read to end of post to find out how you can win a copy of this book.

Are you in need of a jump start in the morning? Well, here's your chance to do it right. A book to help you get the day going with Jesus. The good part is it will take you a whole year to read through the book by then you will be in such a habit starting the day with Jesus that you'll continue it on for the remainder of your life. What a lifestyle change!

7 authors have come together to compile this book of daily encouragement for your SOUL

Tricia Goyer
Judy K Baer
Gwen Ford Faulkenberry
Sharon Hinck
Keri Wyatt Kent
Camy Tang
Erin Keeley Marshall

About Mornings with Jesus 2012

"Be still and know that I am God" is one of the most beautiful verses from the Bible, but it's not easy to practice in this busy world. Mornings with Jesus will help you do just that "be still" in Jesus' beautiful and powerful presence.

For those who are seeking a deeper experience in their relationship with Christ, Mornings with Jesus offers a fresh perspective of who Jesus is (the Healer, the Son of God, the Comforter, the Good Shepherd) and what that means for day-to-day life.

With a warm and friendly voice, 365 short devotional writings on the character and teachings of Jesus encourage readers to greet each day by drawing near to Him and inviting His presence into their day.

Spend time with Jesus at the beginning of each day and experience His nearness and peace in a new way throughout the year. Read an excerpt.

Each day’s selection includes:

a Bible verse
an entry based on Jesus: His words, miracles, and parables; His wisdom, compassion, and comfort; His mystery, power, divinity, and humanity
a “faith step” that will inspire and challenge readers to apply the day’s message to their lives

Read what others are saying about the book here

Now for the giveaway:

Tell me in a comment why you would like to win this book. Maybe it's an author you like or something else about the book. Be sure to leave a way of contact. Please US residents only. I will leave this giveaway open as long as the blog tour runs. I will draw a winner for this book on Feb. 21st. Want a bonus entry? blog, tweet or FB or leave this giveaway on a linky and then tell me in a separate comment.

Visit others in the blog tour to enter for more chances to win.

Blog tour schedule:

1/23

Charlene at Quintessentially Quilly http://quilldancer.com

Julie at The Surrendered Scribe http://juliearduini.com

Pamela at In His Graces http://inhisgraces.blogspot.com

Mocha with Linda at http://mochawithlinda.blogspot.com

Sarah at Growing For Christ http://homeschoolblogger.com/ohiosarah

1/24

Becky at In the pages Http://inthepages.blogspot.com

Melissa at The High Altitude Tea Duchess http://duchessofcoloradosprings.blogspot.com/

Dana at Because I Said So http://becauseisaidsothathswhy.blogspot.com/

Jessica's Musings http://jmusings.wordpress.com

Amy at A Nest in the Rocks http://www.anestintherocks.blogspot.com

1/25

Debra at Footprints in the Butter http://debrakb.blogspot.com/

Shondra at Give Me Today http://www.givemetoday.blogspot.com

Kd Quilts http://www.KdQuilts.com

Abi at 4 the LOVE of BOOKS http://myheartbelongs2books.blogspot.com/

Beckie @ By The Book http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com

1/26

Denise at Under the Boardwalk http://nisefunpages.blogspot.com

Brenda at WV Stitcher http://www.kittycrochettwo.blogspot.com

Margaret at Creative Madness Mama http://creativemadnessmama.com

Vida at Sunflower Faith http://sunflowerfaith.com

Amy at the ramblings of miss aimymichelle http://aimymichelle.blogspot.com

1/27

Valerie at let's just give it away http://www.letsjustgiveitawayagain.com

Janelle at Cole clan adventures http://www.usmajcole.blogspot.com

Jeanie at Cup of Joe with Jeanie http://www.cupofjoewithjeanie.com

Julie at More Of Him http://www.moreofhim.net

Megan at Hardcover Feedback http://hardcoverfeedback.blogspot.com/

1/28

Susan at In This Together http://susandelano.wordpress.com

Mindy at A Room without Books is Empty http://detweilermom.blogspot.com

Julia at Thou Art Jules http://thouartjules.com

Trish at In So Many Words http://trishdoerrler.com

Tracye at A Heart Poured Out http://tracyedukes.com

1/30

Theresa at Just One More Paragraph http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com

Vicky at Walking in Grace http://www.graceleadstopeace.blogspot.com/

Judy at Lost and Found http://judy-the-tealady.blogspot.com/

Christine at The IE Mommy http://www.theiemommy.com

Miralee's Desk http://www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com

1/31

Amber at Snidbits http://amberfrench.blogspot.com

Crystal at My Reading Room http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com

Books, Etc by Bina at http://www.booksbybina.blogspot.com

Mollie at The Gandy's Home Base http://thegandyshomebase.blogspot.com

Vic's Media Room http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com

2/1

Michele at My Blessings From Above http://koreamom.blogspot.com

LETICIA at My Daily Trek http://leticiasworld.blogspot.com

Shari at The Knit Wit by Shair http://www.theknitwitbyshair.com

Caroline at Happy Four http://happyfour.blogspot.com

Splashes Of Joy http://splashesofjoy.wordpress.com/

2/2

Christie at Blessed Life Ministries http://blessedlifeministries.com/blog/

Laura at Lighthouse Academy http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com

Janet at Along the Way http://a-long-the-way.blogspot.com

Stephanie at Coupon Clippin' Mommy Http://www.couponclippinmommy.com

Patricia at The Academy of cybertoria http:www.pjtheemt.blogspot.com/

2/3

Briana at I can't decide at http://briana-icantdecide.blogspot.com/

Patricia at (Live and) Dream a little dream http://liveanddreamalittledream.blogspot.com/

Theresa at Frugal Experiments http://www.frugalexperiments.com

Jill at I am Believing God http://iambelievinggod.wordpress.com

Lisa Jordan http://www.lisajordanbooks.com

2/4

Christina at Kennedy Reviews http://www.christinajonaskennedy.com/

JENNIFER at A PEACE OF MIND http://WWW.MOMMYBUGG.LIVEJOURNAL.COM

Jasmine at the bookish mama http://iam-bookish.blogspot.com

Hayley at Hanging Off The Wire http://hangingoffthewire.blogspot.com/

Christy at A Living Homeschool http://www.alivinghomeschool.com

2/6

Jenn's RAQ http://www.jennsraq.com

Charity at Hosanna's Journey http://hosannasjourney.blogspot.com

Krystal at Live To Read ~Krystal http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/

Scott @ LaVigne's Blog http://lavignesblog.com

Sharon A at I dream of writing for God http://www.sharonalavy.com

2/7

Urailak at Living for God http://bornagainandblessed.blogspot.com/

Jamie at Little Blurbs Http://littleblurbs.wordpress.com

Erin at Connected 2 Christ http://connected2christ.com/theblog/

Prerna at The Mom Writes http://www.themomwrites.com

Freda's Voice http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com

2/8

Mel's World w/Melissa Mashburn http://www.MelissaMashburn.com

Jennifer at life happens with kids http://www.lifehappenswithkids.com

Melissa at Bibliophile's Retreat http://www.bibliophilesretreat.com

Courtney's Chitter Chatter http://courtney-courtneyschitterchatter.blogspot.com/

Brooke at i blog 4 books Http://iblog4books.blogspot.com

2/9

Annette In Wonder http://continuedwonder.blogspot.com/

Doretta at Life on the edge http://lifeontheedge-doretta.blogspot.com

Dani at Elle in Organic Shoes http://organicshoes.tumblr.com/

Jennifer at Crazy for Books http://www.crazy-for-books.com

Kendra at Happily Managing a Household of Boys http://familymgrkendra.blogspot.com/

2/10

Joan at Book Reviews from an Avid Reader htt://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com

Michelle at Beyond The Silver and The Gold http://beyondsilverandgold.blogspot.com/

Jill at Frugal Plus http://www.frugalplus.com/

Sara at Embracing Destiny http://embracingdestiny.blogspot.com

Linda's Lunacy http://lindaslunacy.com

2/11

Deena at A Peek At My Bookshelf http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com

Paula at The Phantom Paragrapher http://thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com

Stephen at Manifest Blog http://www.manifestblog.com

Tami at This Mom's Delight http://thismomsdelight.com

Heather at Faith, Family and Fun http://faithfamilyandfun.com

2/13

Tammy Is Blessed http://tammyisblessed.blogspot.com

Kristinia at Loving Heart Mommy http://www.livingheartmommy.com

Becky at Christian Chick's Thoughts http://christianchicksthoughts.blogspot.com

Sheila at Showcase Sisters http://showcasesisters.blogspot.com

Lauralee at Mommy's Memorandum http://mommysmemorandum.com

2/14

Donna at Books and such http://bookworm56.blogspot.com/

Mike at Travels with Cars and Books http://travelswithcarsandbooks.blogspot.com/

Melanie @ So Many Books.. So Little Time http://melanieski.blogspot.com

Ponderings by Andrea at http://andrealschultz.blogspot.com

Shannon at Faith Filled Reading http://faithfilledreading.blogspot.com

2/15

Heather Scoomer http://scoomerblog.blogspot.com

Carrie at Farming On Faith http://farmingonfaith.blogspot.com/

Sara at Shoopette's Book Reviews http://shoopettesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Jennifer at For such a time as this Http://www.jennifersikora.com

Kelli at The Zen of Motherhood http://www.thezenofmotherhood.blogspot.com

2/16

Renee at Doorkeeper http://reneeannsmith.com/

Andrew's Blog http://runningtowardschrist.blogspot.com

Kat @ Reviews From The Heart http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com

Jacque at Good Family Reads http://familyreads.blogspot.com

Nora at Finding Hope Through Fiction www.psalm516.blogspot.com

2/17

Heidi's Head http://heidi-strawser.com

Laurel at Let's Go on a Picnic! http://headant.com

Maureen's Musings http://musingsbymaureen.blogspot.com/

Megan at Inspired by Fiction http://inspiredbyfiction.blogspot.com

Robin at Scribbles of the Heart http//www.scribblesoftheheart.com

2/18

Andi @ Radiant Light http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com

Lori at Frog's Lilypad http://lori1971.blogspot.com

Loni at Writing Canvas http://writingcanvas.wordpress.com/

Michelle at Life in Review http://lifeinreviewblog.com/

2/20

Clint at Friar Tuck's Fleeting Thoughts http://friartucksfleetingthoughts.blogspot.com

Tammy at blog...blog…blog http://tammy-thisisme.blogspot.com

Ariel at The Librarian's Bookshelf http://thelibrariansbookshelf.blogspot.com/

Dawn at Guiding Light Homeschool http://guidinglighths.com

Jodie at Digging For Pearls at http://diggingforpearls.blogspot.com

Link to buy the book

A copy of this book was provided for this tour by...

The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy

2012-01-24T12:38:00.002-06:00

After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can’t shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she’s giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash. It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he’d been spying for Russia. She had seen that man--that eerie face--the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he’s back--and coming for her.

On the run and struggling to rely on the protection of CIA agent Ava Mullins and handsome newspaper reporter Cade O’Brien, Liesl learns she is the prey of an underground cell of Russian KGB agents determined to restore their country to its former Soviet might. But what she doesn’t know is that she is in possession of something--a piece of sheet music--that Russian intelligence is now frantic to find. Inside that music is a secret code, the hidden transcriptions of her deceased mentor, that clearly identify a Russian mole operating inside Israel’s Department of Defense, a mole with enough power and access to execute a daring assassination that no one would see coming.

Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace. Read an excerpt here: http://www.sueduffybooks.com/#!vstc1=books

If you want a WOW Book with suspense each turn of the page as the plot thickens then this is the book for you. It is definitely a page turn, can't put it down type of book. The Sound of Red Returning is a book with espionage, the US FBI/CIA is looking for moles in the Russian KGB. America, Russia, Israel they all are involved. It's a high security operation that innocent citizens get pulled into. Citizens must make a decision to betray blood or government.

My favorite character was not the main one he was more pulled into the scene because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but her sure makes for a nice fun-filled character. Pop Ian is light-hearted, quick and witty always ready with an answer; somewhat of a prankster.

Would she ever be free from the guilt, ever find peace and forgiveness? Would the music ever come back to her heart, life and the stage? Or would she always be running, looking over her shoulder? Would there ever be closure for Liesl bower? I guess I can't give you all the answers or that would spoil the book, but I can say it is a book well worth reading.

I don't recall ever reading any of Sue Duffy's books; however, I will be looking for more of them in the future. I have told my teen daughter she needs to read this one. She loves suspense books.

Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody Magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001) and Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children.

Find out more at www.sueduffybooks.com.

Follow this blog tour here.

Win a Kindle Fire from @SueDuffy2 and @KregelBooks in the "Red Returning" Giveaway!

Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

Enter the Sue Duffy’s Giveaway today and you could win:

* A brand new Kindle Fire with Wi-Fi

* The Sound of Red Returning (Book One in the Red Returning series) by Sue Duffy

To enter click one of the icons below. But, hurry! The giveway ends on 2/11. Sue will be announcing the winner of the “Red Returning” Giveaway on February 13th on the Litfuse website!

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Link to buy the book

A copy of this book was provided for this tour by...

Teaser Tuesday ~ The Secret of the Sacred Scarab

2012-01-24T07:49:00.000-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Suddenly he heard a faint scratching at the window. Looking up, he saw a thin black rod easing through a tiny gap between the sliding glass and the outer window frame. The sliding glass window could only be opened from the inside, which meant that someone must have been in their cabin and deliberately unlatched it from there. The faint scrabbling noise continued. The intruder was trying to work the window open by jiggling the rod inside the gap to make it wider. Soon the gap was be wide enough for someone's fingers to slide through.

~taken from p. 99 of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram

Mailbox Monday ~ Jan. 23, 2012

2012-01-23T00:00:00.026-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

January's host is:
at Home with Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

Adult Fiction

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate

Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings

In Too Deep by Mary Connealy

Adult nonfiction

Uplifters by Debbie Hoffman Nutile

the missional mom by Helen Lee

One Year Alone with God by Ava Pennington

cookbook

Pillsbury Appetizers & Desserts

book giveaway

2012-01-21T00:00:00.009-06:00

Head over to The Knowlton Nest and check out this giveaway.

Click here for details.

Deadline Jan. 29th.

Kaleidoscope collection by Hameray Publishing

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-06:00

I was so excited when Bill from Hameray Publishing contacted me to do some product reviews of their books on my site. The first collection I chose to review was the Kaleidoscope collection. The Kaleidoscope Collection is a series of 150 books at various reading levels written by a team of experienced reading teachers, leaders, literacy coaches and reading specialist. The authors come from many different states and teaching backgrounds. There are fiction as well as non-fiction titles in the series. These readers may be used in small groups, individually or put into a classroom library. Currently there are 40 book available with 50 additional titles to be added here in January of 2012 and 60 more added in January 2013.

Book Features include:

a large range of interesting topics that reflect the diverse world of young readers
high-quality illustrations/photographs
encounter characters that are familiar to their own lives as well as meet new folks in different jobs and settings
prose, poetry and effective use of vocabulary to engage and challenge readers to expand their horizons
like a kaleidoscope the books add color and interest and new experiences to the reader

as a teacher I was very impressed with these readers that were sent me to review. The illustrations were wonderful the print easy to read. On the average one readers is about 8 pages as to not overwhelm the new budding or the reluctant reader.
Here is a sample of a book using photos...

Here is a sample page of a book using illustrations....

Needless to say my pictures of the pictures doesn't do them justice.
Here is the sample of books I was sent for this review...

Halloween Night by Gaynell R. Jamison

We Recycle by Susan G. Weaver Jones

Crash Cars by Lisa Burnett Killebrew

Zip the Squirrel by Kimberly Ziemann

No Rules by Sandy Veach

So if you need some reinforcement at home you may want to check out this great collection and others that are put out by Hameray Publishing.

review copies have been provided in exchange for my honest review by....

The Mulligans of Mt. Jefferson by Don Reid

2012-01-19T00:00:00.008-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Mulligans of Mt Jefferson David C. Cook (January 1, 2012) by Don Reid

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Don is one of the original members of the STATLER BROTHERS, the most award-winning act in the history of country music. He and his brother and two friends began singing in their hometown of Staunton, Virginia when Don was only fourteen years old. Working all over their home and neighboring states as a part time group, they were discovered in 1964 by Johnny Cash and given their first record contract. By the time Don was 20 years old, the STATLERS had their first major, world-wide hit record with FLOWERS ON THE WALL, which started a string of hits that generated a career in the music industry that lasted for four decades. The STATLERS have been recipients of multiple industry awards:

It wasn’t until the STATLER BROTHERS decided to retire from traveling in 2002 that Don pursued his writing career to another level. Having songwriting and scriptwriting under his belt, the next obvious step was to write a book. And that book was the scripture based HEROES AND OUTLAWS OF THE BIBLE published in June of 2002 by New Leaf Press. He has since wrote two other non-fiction books and in 2008 saw another dream come true for Don when he released his first novel, O LITTLE TOWN. Novel number two came in the form of ONE LANE BRIDGE, and THE MULLIGANS OF MT. JEFFERSON, is a sequel to O LITTLE TOWN.

Don is the father of two sons. Debo and his wife, Julie, and daughters Sela Mae and Adra, live within a stone’s throw. You may have seen Debo’s name on many songs written with Don on albums over the years.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Cal, Harlan, and Buddy grow up together in a small Virginia town in the years before the second World War. United by age, proximity, and temperament, they get into—and out of—all the trouble that boys manage to find. They even earn a nickname from a local restaurateur who gives the boys their first jobs and plenty of friendly advice. “Uncle” Vic calls them the Mulligans, because they always seem to find a way through a thicket of trouble—family problems, girls, college, war—to success. Cal and Harlan and Buddy have been blessed with second chances.

Now it’s 1959, and police lieutenant Buddy receives an early-morning phone call: his friend Harlan, a store owner, has been shot in a break-in. Cal, now a preacher, meets Buddy at the hospital, and together, as professionals and as friends, they begin to unravel what might have happened to Harlan.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Mulligans of Mt Jefferson, go HERE.

America: The Last Best Hope Vol. III by William J. Bennett

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

William Bennett has done it again; he has put together information to inform his readers. I have many of Bennett's books both adult and children's and like them this book was not a disappointment. This is this third book in America series it enlightens the reader to the last 20 years of American history: From the collapse of Communism to the Rise of radical Islam. It covers presidents from George H. Bush to beginning of Obama's presidency. This book was very interesting for the history buff and informative for the political/history wannabes. The author presents the information in a very easy to read format that is easy to read and follow, Bennett keeps the readers interest sparked. The author adds his own personal notes, views, and perspectives throughout the book. Many schools use Bennett's books in their curriculum. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be informed. You will walk away more informed after reading Bennett's book.


Buy		Read

for more information about this book visit here

a copy of this book was provided by Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review

WWW ~ Jan. 18, 2012

2012-01-18T00:00:00.004-06:00

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

Recently Finished:

Read my Review here

Next Read:

NEWS BREAK!!!

2012-01-17T15:56:00.000-06:00

We interrupt the regularly schedule programming to bring to you this new and latest and BREAKING NEWS

Teaser Tuesday ~ TJ and the Time Stumblers: Oops!

2012-01-17T00:00:00.021-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I don't want it there." She raised her perfectly tanned arm and pointed her perfectly manicured finger. "I want it moved over there."

~ taken from p. 122 of Bill Myers' book TJ and the Time Stumblers #3: Oops!

Mailbox Monday ~ jan 16, 2012

2012-01-16T00:00:00.030-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

January's host is:
at Home with Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

Non-fiction

Mornings with Jesus 2012 various authors

Children's books

Ann's Amazing Adventure by Jeanetta Brancaccio

various titles from Hamerary Publishing's Kaleidoscope collection

His Steadfast Love by Golden Keyes Parsons

2012-01-11T07:32:00.000-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing His Steadfast Love Thomas Nelson (November 1, 2011) by Golden Keyes Parsons
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Golden Keyes Parsons writes historical fiction for Thomas Nelson Publishing, and is also a popular retreat/conference speaker. Her highly acclaimed Darkness to Light Series chronicled the journey of her French Huguenot ancestors in 17th century France. Her newest novel, His Steadfast Love, a Civil War novel set in Texas, just released November 2011. Golden lives in Waco, TX, with her husband, Blaine, where they enjoy their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and are avid sports fan of their alma mater, Baylor University.

ABOUT THE BOOK

It isn't until the Civil War comes to her doorstep that Amanda Bell must choose between love and family.

It's the spring of 1861 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Amanda never thought she would marry because of a promise she made to her dying mother, but her attraction to Captain Kent Littlefield is undeniable.

When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother Daniel aligns with the Confederate States, while Kent remains with the Union troops.

Her heart is torn between the two men she is closest to and the two sides of the conflict. Amanda prays to God for direction and support, but hears only silence. Where is God in the atrocities of war-and whose side is He on?

Amanda senses her life is at a turning point. She must trust God to deliver her family through the chaos of war with her heart and her faith intact.

If you would like to read the first chapter of His Steadfast Love, go HERE.

The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer

2012-01-10T00:01:00.005-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Captive Heart Bethany House (January 1, 2012) by Dale Cramer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dale Cramer spent his formative years traveling the world as an Army brat, then settled in Georgia at the age of fifteen when his father retired.

After high school he became an electrician, a job that took him to places as diverse as power plants, stadia, airports, high-rise office buildings and a hard-rock mining operation.

Twenty-five years of experiences in the trades provided him with the wealth of characters, stories and insights that populate his novels.

When he married his childhood friend, Pam, in 1975 he had no way of knowing they would not have children until fifteen years later.

In his early forties, when Dale left his job to become a stay-at-home dad, he suddenly found himself with time on his hands, so he pursued a lifelong dream and taught himself to write.

Using an online writer’s forum as a training ground, he wrote his first short stories in 1996. As his writing skills improved he turned to novels, publishing his first book, Sutter’s Cross, in 2003.

Since then, Dale has published four more novels and garnered a measure of critical acclaim with two Christy Awards, a listing among Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2004 and numerous other Best lists. Dale and his wife Pam live in Georgia with their two sons.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bandit troubles intensify as Caleb Bender's family tries to settle into their new life in 1920s Paradise Valley. When El Pantera kidnaps Rachel and leaves her brother, Aaron, for dead, Jake Weaver and the Mexican native Domingo pursue the bandit leader to his mountain stronghold in a hopeless rescue attempt. Jake and Domingo manage to escape with Rachel, with the bandits hot on their trail. In a desperate attempt to avoid recapture, Domingo puts himself squarely in harm's way, giving Jake and Rachel time to get away. This is not the quiet life Caleb Bender envisioned when he led his family out of Ohio. What is a father to make of his daughter's obvious affection for a man outside the fold? And how will a pacifist Amishman like Caleb respond to the events that threaten his family and their way of life?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Captive Heart, go HERE

Teaser Tuesday ~ The Sound of Red Returning

2012-01-10T00:00:00.028-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"...The Americans cannot possibly know what we found at the cabin, but they are tracking us this moment, I am afraid. Without the letter, they stumble in darkness. But not for long." He bent toward Kozlov, who tensed even more. "You must be quick," Andreyev ordered. "And this time, Evgeny, you cannot fail."

~ taken from p. 24 of Sue Duffy's book The Sound of Red Returning

Lucky by Craig Inglis

2012-01-09T00:01:00.076-06:00

This book is about a dog that might not be as lucky as he thinks. He has an accident and ends up living the remainder of his life with three legs. However, he does overcome this obstacle in his life and does everything that he did with four legs. Good book to help young ones learn that even though others are different they can still live with their disabilities. Very cute story for ages 3-7 You may visit Lucky's web site here. You can will more about the author, book and the illustrator on the web site; there is even an ask "Lucky" page if you have a question you'd like an answer to.

Lucky, a special illustrated children's book by Craig S. Inglis
"Is a positive book with a "can-do" attitude that helps children understand that they can overcome obstacles in life and even make a better life than before," Inglis says. "I was inspired to write the book by those who faced and overcome physical disabilities."

Intended to entertain and educate young readers, the book aims to share a serious message through a playful, uncomplicated narrative. The book features original illustrations that are really art by Richard Kinsey that depict Lucky, his owner and his courageous recovery.

There is also an "ask Lucky" section on the book's website at www.luckythechildrensbook.com. This makes the book interactive. Children can ask Lucky a question about his disability, attitude, recovery, whatever, and get a thoughtful answer that is informative.

Craig S. Inglis is a writer and retired entrepreneur. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Inglis was raised in Illinois and California before graduating from California State University at Fullerton. He founded a small business soon after graduation and remained self-employed throughout his 30-year career. A father of two, Inglis resides in Anaheim, California with his wife Mary. He has always felt a connection to those who have physical disabilities and explains that their courage and determination in overcoming obstacles in order to lead a happy life is what inspired him to write "Lucky." This is his first novel.

for more information about this book visit here.

A copy of this book was provided by the author and Bostick Communications for the purpose of this review.

Mailbox Monday ~ Jan. 9, 2012

2012-01-09T00:00:00.011-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

January's host is:
at Home with Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

ONLY 1 BOOK THIS WEEK:

Casey and Kyle: I'm saving up for a Big Brother by Will Robertson

We are in again.....

2012-01-07T09:01:00.001-06:00

My teen daughter and I plan on participating in this challenge. Last year we started watching the Road to Avonlea dvd series. We are still prodding along we are now in season #6 so we will finish season #6 and try to get season #7 done too; however, with her work schedule and school our time is limited. Our library now has the Emily of New Moon series so if time permits we may start that too. Love Anne girl.

The Barber Who wanted to Pray by R. C. Sproul

2012-01-06T00:00:00.048-06:00

This book is an excellent book if you want to teach your child how to pray. They learn how easy it is to pray according to the Bible from author, R. C. Sproul, and Martin Luther. This book is based on a true tale. The author uses the Lord's Prayer, 10 commandments and the Apostles' Creed as the model to praying. This book is just a wonderful tool to have and will be referred to often I'm sure. The illustrations will delight both adults and children. They are just as beautiful as the story itself. They are painting by accomplished artist, T. Lively Fluharty. You may visit here to preview the book and its illustrations.

for more information about this book visit here.

A copy of this book was provided for this review by...

The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden

2012-01-05T00:00:00.002-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Rose of Winslow Street Bethany House (January 1, 2012)
by Elizabeth Camden
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A research librarian and associate professor, Elizabeth Camden has a master’s in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s in library science from Indiana University. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband in central Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The last thing Libby Sawyer and her father expected upon their return from their summer home was to find strangers inhabiting a house that had been in their family for decades. Widower Michael Dobrescu brought his family from Romania to the town of Colden, Massachusetts with a singular purpose: to claim the house willed to him long ago. Since neither party has any intention of giving up their claim, a fierce legal battle ensues between the two families.

When important documents go missing from the house, Libby suspects Michael is the culprit. Determined to discover the truth behind the stolen papers, Libby investigates, only to find more layers of mystery surrounding Michael and his family. Despite their rivalry, Libby finds herself developing feelings for this man with the mysterious past.

As a decision about the house looms in the courts, Libby must weigh the risks of choosing to remain loyal to her family or give her heart to a man whose intentions and affections are less than certain.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Rose of Winslow Street, go HERE.

The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher

2012-01-04T00:00:00.058-06:00

Be sure to read to end of this post there are two giveaways involved here.

1 for an ipad2 and right here on this blog I'm giving away a copy of this book

Susanne Woods Fisher has done it again. She's made a honey of story. This is one that will keep you buzzing the pages. You don't want to miss what is happening at Stoney Ridge. Julia Lapp is a spit-fire character.

About the book:

Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding--again--she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.

Roamin' Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul's cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.

Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

About Suzanne:

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.

Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don't have to "go Amish" to incorporate many of their principles--simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily-- into your life.

When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Link to buy the book:

Blog Tour Schedule:

It’s a “Honey of a Giveaway” from Suzanne Woods Fisher!

Suzanne is hosting a "honey of a giveaway"during the blog tour for The Keeper! During 1/3-1/17 you can enter to win an iPad2 from Suzanne and connect with her on January 17th at The Keeper Facebook Party!

During the giveaway one Grand Prize winner will receive a Prize Pack valued at $600:

A brand new 16 KB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
A $25 gift certificate to iTunes
A copy of The Keeper

But wait there's more! Just click one of the icons below to enter, then on 1/17 join Suzanne for The Keeper Facebook Party! During the party Suzanne will announce the winner of the "Honey" of an iPad Giveaway and host a fun book chat and give away some fun "honey" inspired prizes - It'll be 'sweet"!

RSVP early and tell your friends!

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 17th!

How would you like a chance to win a copy of The Keeper by Suzanne. Thanks to Litfuse I have a copy of this book for giveaway. there is a mandatory entry with some extra bonus entries. be sure to leave a way of contact. I will draw winner on Jan. 18th. Be sure to visit other blogs in the tour for more chances to win a copy of this book. another reminder. There is a mandatory entry. Please do it first. So far no one as done the mandatory entry......

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A copy of this book was provided for this tour by...

Meteor show tonight

2012-01-03T20:06:00.000-06:00

for those that are into sky watching suppose to be a cool meteor shower late tonight early morning hours tomorrow. check out the details here..

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Maid of Fairbourne Hall Bethany House (January 1, 2012) by Julie Klassen

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years (first in advertising, then as a fiction editor) and now writes full time. Two of her books, The Girl in the Gatehouse and The Silent Governess won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Girl in the Gatehouse also won a Midwest Book Award and The Silent Governess was a finalist in Romance Writers of America's RITA awards.

She graduated from the University of Illinois and enjoys travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with friends. Julie and her husband have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother. Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt--and sweet independence. But can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall?

Observing both brothers as an "invisible" servant, Margaret learns she may have misjudged Nathaniel. Is it too late to rekindle his admiration? And when one of the family is nearly killed, Margaret alone discovers who was responsible. Should she come forward, even at the risk of her reputation and perhaps her life? And can she avoid an obvious trap meant to force her from hiding?

On her journey from wellborn lady to servant to uncertain future, Margaret must learn to look past appearances and find the true meaning of "serve one another in love."

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, go HERE

Mailbox Monday ~ Jan. 2, 2012

2012-01-02T00:00:00.059-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

January's host is:
at Home with Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

Adult fiction

Lakeside Reunion by Lisa Jordan

Season of Danger by Hannah Alexandar & Jill Elizabeth Nelson

Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks

Falling to Pieces by Vannetta Chapman
The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy

Cookbook

Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookie Collection

Freebies from the Library

2-in-1 by Janet Tronstad

A Baby for Dry Creek & A Dry Creek Christmas

Sweet Annie by Cheryl St. John

Children's books

Kusikiy: A Child from Taquile, Peru by Mercedes Cecilia

The Family Storybook Treasury: Tales of Laughter, Curiosity and Fun

wishing U a....

2012-01-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

up date on winners

2011-12-31T00:00:00.001-06:00

“GrandMaCarolB”

was the winner of the

Benny’s Angel Blog Tour Giveaway!

The Winner of The Sounds of Night Grand Prize Giveaway is Doreen
who left a comment at joyeverafter.blogspot.com

I love you more than Chocolate by Melanie Milburn

2011-12-30T18:13:00.003-06:00

Written originally as a song now in book form. This rhyming book is just adorable. If you have a child that needs that extra touch knowing you love them no matter what this is the book. Also comes with a CD of the author singing the song.

Be sure to check out the web site here

I Love You More Than Chocolate by Melanie Milburn uses the theme of chocolate to acquaint children with the meaning of love.

Milburn, a self-avowed chocoholic, has whipped up a book about a mom's love for her daughter and her love for chocolate that will melt readers' hearts. It's a rhyming book with beautiful illustrations on scrapbooking paper by Cindy Coleman.

A CD of Melanie singing I Love You More Than Chocolate is included in the book. This easy-to-memorize song is sweet and allows children to follow along with the text, giving them the impression that they are reading the book themselves.

A nightly rhyming game after bedtime reading with her young daughter led Melanie to first produce the song. A year later she had the idea to make it into a fully illustrated children's book. Their "I Love You More" game had only two rules. It had to be something that rhymed and it had to be about something they both loved. One verse included in the book goes like this:

I love you more than the color blue.

I love you more than a day at the zoo.

I love you more . no matter what you do.

I love you more than chocolate!

Melanie has learned much about life and love from her many years working with preschoolers, where she is truly in her element. Kids gravitate toward her big heart, sense of fun, and her music. Many of her songs are inspired by her real life experiences with children in the classroom. No wonder her husband calls her a "kid magnet!"

About the author:

Melanie Milburn is Director of New Horizons Preschool in Durango, Colorado, where she has been teaching for 18 years. She has been writing songs for over 20 years and has produced two CDs for children. She was a top five finalist in the international "Song of the Year, Song and Lyric Writing Competition." Milburn enjoys sharing her songs at family concerts, fundraisers and benefits, as well as participating in story time for preschoolers at local libraries.

A copy of this book was provided by the author and Bostick Communications for the purpose of this review.

Close Encounters of the Moose Kind by Linda Rondeau

2011-12-29T00:00:00.012-06:00

Close Encounters of the Moose Kind

By Linda Rondeau

I gasped as the gigantic mound stepped from the woods into our path, heads taller than our compact car. My husband swerved and we missed the animal by inches. “Was that a moose?” my husband asked.

I laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“My heroine’s life is changed when she runs into a moose.”

We both giggled over God’s sense of humor.

That we found ourselves on the back roads of Franklin County at four in the morning was in and of itself God’s doing. I hadn’t planned on attending the ACFW Writers Conference in Minneapolis. “If I final in the contest then I’ll go,” I told my husband.

I did final, and my words haunted me. And so once again God changed my plans to fit into His. In rural upstate New York, flight connections often require a pre-dawn departure, and we had taken the country road to save time.

I shared my moose tale with a writer friend who laughed her prophecy. “That moose was a smile from God. He has plans for this manuscript.”

As time went on, God continued to smile affirmation after affirmation even through a dramatic relocation to Florida. Then, eleven years from the day that I felt God’s call to write professionally, my agent called with the news—a publisher had offered a contract. “It’s for Dawn’s Hope, but the editor wants to change the title to The Other Side of Darkness,” she said.

I did agree the alternate title sounded better and trusted the editor’s choice.

Yet, it wasn’t until later that God revealed His hand had been in the making of the book long before the first words were typed, long before I imagined my character’s accident, long before He sent a moose to confirm He would soon fulfill a promise made to me over a decade ago.

During a speaking engagement at a local women’s meeting, I shared my journey from call to call, reading a poem I wrote that very day God pulled me from one life to set me on another, one undefined and uncertain. I had obeyed His leading and He immediately gave me a poem, “The Song of Peace.” As I shared the poem with the women’s group, my eyes misted when I read the line, “Praise the Lord when Hope seems foolish…There is light on the other side of darkness.”

Could it be that even then, God was smiling on a book not yet imagined? I believe He did.

Author Bio

Linda Rondeau

Award-winning author, LINDA RONDEAU, writes for the reader who enjoys a little bit of everything. Her stories of redemption and God’s mercies include romance, suspense, the ethereal, and a little bit of history into the mix, always served with a slice of humor. Walk with her unforgettable characters as they journey paths not unlike our own. After a long career in human services, mother of three and wife of one very patient man, Linda now resides in Florida where she is active in her church and community. Readers may visit her web site at www.lindarondeau.com.

The Other Side of Darkness

by Linda Rondeau

PUBLISHER: Harbourlight Books

ISBN-10: 161116138X
ISBN-13: 978-1611161380

PRICE: Paperback: $16.99, Kindle: $5.99

Available at:

Pelican Book Group

Amazon

This article content is provided free of charge by the author through Kathy Carlton Willis Communications.

Simple Gifts by Sharen Pearson

2011-12-28T08:56:00.001-06:00

SIMPLE GIFTS

By Sharen Pearson

As a mother of five and now grandmother of seven, I’ve planned my share of birthday events. I am a creative person, so my problem is “going over the top.” My expectations supersede those of the birthday child. So, I have to step back and say, “Whose birthday is it anyway?” And, therein lies the key to a successful birthday party.

I recently assisted with my grandson, Waylon’s party. He was reaching that big-boy age of 5 years. He knew what theme he wanted: Herbie the Love Bug. He wanted a backyard campfire and a cake with Herbie on it. Simple—Herbie, campfire, cake. Got it! My daughter complied. She invited a few families from church that Waylon knew well and was comfortable around. Since entire families were represented, parents were there to help with crowd control. Bowls of chips and dip provided a place to gather around as people arrived. Children scattered to play in the back yard, parents grouped to watch and chat. Easy, huh? Daddy lit a small fire in the campfire ring in the yard. More talk, more easy playing. The cake was a simple giant chocolate chip cookie with a frosting “Herbie.” Waylon thought it was wonderful.

Mommy announced that it was gift-opening time and everyone pulled up lawn chairs and sat in family groups. Waylon sat in the middle of the circle on the grass and guests watched as he opened each gift and thanked the giver. He received many nice gifts, but to everyone’s delight, a small, inexpensive VW bug toy car was his favorite. He opened it, raised it above his head as if it were a trophy and yelled in delight. Waylon slept with his “Herbie;” woke up and greeted it; placed it on the edge of the tub so he could see it. He had the birthday he wanted. Simple party, simple gift, simple fun!

Some suggestions to consider when planning your party:

If your child is old enough to have input, allow it.
For ages 1-5 years, simple is best. Simple decorations, simple food, simple games.
Invite only one party guest per age of the child. Young children are very intimidated by many children of the same age. Remember, “Whose birthday is it?”
If guests include family/friends with older children, add activities especially for them.
Home is the best place for children ages 5 and under. Big party venues are confusing, scary and do not position the “birthday child” as the center of attention as he should be.

Some traps that parents fall into:

Making the party so complicated that you, as the parent, no longer enjoy it. (Been there, done that.)
Allowing young party guests to get close to and grab for gifts as the birthday child is opening them. (Admit it, you’ve seen this haven’t you?)
Spending too much money. (Guilty as charged.)
Preparing food for adults and not age-appropriate to the guests. (The only thing to show off today is your wonderful child)
Engaging in sleepover parties before the age of 9 years. (Children younger than 9 or 10 years often find sleeping at someone else’s home frightening and uncomfortable.)

Sharen Pearson’s Goof & Giggle classes and materials continue to provide a quality Mom/Tot interaction. Widely popular, Goof & Giggle’s child-focused play plans are offered in various Arizona communities. She’s also created a variety of Goof Juice DVDs and filmed episodes of Baby D.I.Y. and written workbooks for BabyFirstTV. Arizona Midday (NBC) tapes monthly segments with Sharen to provide their audience with a variety of original and creative “easy to do” activities for babies and preschoolers. Sharen’s creativity reaches a combined audience over 200 million viewers worldwide. Goof & Giggle classes and products encourage green living, repurposing materials from around the house into affordable objects for play and learning. Learn more at: http://sharenpearson.com/

Kathryn the Grape's Colorful Adventure by Kathryn Cloward & Ginny Hornby

2011-12-27T00:01:00.030-06:00

If you like color then you'll love this colorful adventure with Kathryn the Grape. This is a delightful adventure through the rainbow of colors; it is like Magic, Poof and you're on your way to the land of color with Kathryn and you don't even have to leave Kathryn's bedroom to enjoy your adventure. This was such a magical book and I loved reading it. Confidence and self-esteem are the bases of this colorful adventure as you read through each color dimension with Kathryn. I love color so this was just the book for me. Be sure to visit Kathryn the Grape's web site to download coloring and activity pages and more fun things.

Learn more about this book here

A copy of this book was provided by the author and Bostick Communications for the purpose of this review.

Teaser Tuesday ~ The Keeper

2011-12-27T00:00:00.018-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

If asked, folks would say that Sadie Lapp was solid and practical, on the quiet side, and that she was a fine example of today's youth. Or if they were felling less generous, they said that Sadie was a girl no one ever had to worry about.

What they didn't know about Sadie was that she had a deeply romantic side that she tried to keep well hidden.

~taken from p. 19 of The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Life Lessons from the Help by Poppy Smith

2011-12-26T00:01:00.001-06:00

Life Lessons from The Help

Pain Happens in a Broken World

By Poppy Smith

Have you read or seen the movie, THE HELP? If you have, you know it is a story about racism and the treatment of black maids who worked for white people in the South. People’s reactions range from outrage at the humiliation blacks have often received, to charges that it was biased and untrue.

I came out of the movie grieving. I not only felt wretched at the pain racism causes, but also at the hurt and suffering that comes when people mistreat others. Pain Happens in a Broken World. Being cruel to others, whether by actions or words, happens in every culture for many reasons: because individuals think they are superior for some reason due to their skin color, gender, position in society, wealth, or education. Whatever the reasons, they all flow from a sinful heart.

Have you been hurt?

Have you known what it is like to be looked down on, dismissed as unimportant, or made to feel unwanted? Have you experienced cruelty of some kind? How did it make you feel?
Have you wrestled with anger, wanting to get revenge, or feeling crushed and of no worth? In The Help, one of the poorly treated maids gets her revenge in a startling way. But revenge is God’s prerogative, and not ours to take (Romans 12:19).
Your pain might have come from someone you work with, live next to, or go to school with. Its source could be a relative or close family. Even fellow believers hurt others when operating in the flesh and not the Spirit. But no matter where your pain originated, it is something God wants to heal.
God Cares About You. Why should He care? Why does He call you to forgive those who have harmed you? Because He loves you and wants the appalling power of bitterness, hatred, and inner rage to stop poisoning your heart and your life.
God’s Path to Healing. How can you and I, followers of the Lord Jesus, indwelt by His Mighty and All-powerful Spirit, find freedom from pain? Only by forgiving the one, or many, who caused our pain.

Three necessary principles for dealing with pain:

Reject blame and bitterness. It doesn’t move you forward. It chains you to the past.
Pray for willingness to forgive. It is a process that often requires time to work through.
Forgive the offender. Be willing to release that person from your desire for revenge, or even for an apology. Realize they most likely have moved on and forgotten the incident. Remembering is only hurting you. Let it go.

Remember something else: the Lord is our Healer. He wants you to experience joy, no matter how much pain you have experienced. He wants you to THRIVE in every aspect of your life. And He has provided a way for this to happen! Will you walk in it?

With her fun personality and passion for communicating life-changing truths, Poppy Smith inspires believers to thrive spiritually and personally. Poppy’s practical how-to messages (in print or in person) uses colorful examples from her own struggles to be more like Jesus. She encourages women (and men, at times) to grow in every kind of situation—whether joyful or painful! Poppy is British, married to an American, and has lived in many countries. She brings an international flair seasoned with humorous honesty as she illustrates Bible truths. A former Bible Study Fellowship Lecturer, Poppy’s teaching challenges women to look at their choices, attitudes and self-talk. As a result, God’s speaks, changing hearts, changing minds, and changing lives.

Mailbox Monday ~ Dec. 26, 2011

2011-12-26T00:00:00.021-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

December's host is:
Let them Read Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

The Mulligans of Mt. Jefferson by Don Reid
The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer
The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden
The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen
The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Flona Ingram

Wishes 4 U

2011-12-25T00:01:00.003-06:00

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 12

2011-12-25T00:00:00.009-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoyed these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you missed a few posts, I hope you'll be able go back through and read them on this blog over the next few days. If you'd like to keep up with Pearl Girls and our new book project, Mother of Pearl, coming this spring, just click this link and sign up for our newsletter (lower left sidebar).

Also, just a reminder that today is the last day for the pearl necklace and earrings giveaway! Enter now by filling out this {form}. The winner will on 1/1 at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Jesus -- The Reason For the Season

By: Rachel Hauck

Through the narrow scope of 2000 years, Mary, the mother of Jesus, appears to be one lucky woman. Chosen by God to give birth to His son, the Savior of the world? All right, Mary, way to go.

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you,” Gabriel said.

How many of us would like a declaration like that? Highly favored. The Lord is with you. But Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

The angel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Mary’s seems confident and resolved when she responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

She’d just been told the Holy Spirit will come upon her, that God’s power will overshadow her, that she’d become with child even though she wasn’t married, and she said, “I’m the Lord’s servant. Let your words be true.”

I find this amazing! A young woman. Ancient Bethlehem. Unwed mother. They stoned women for such things in her day. But Mary believed in God. And submitted to His will. He gave her the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit given to us. If He gave her confidence, He will give us confidence. Even though, like Mary, our situation seems impossible.

Listen to Mary’s song later on in the first chapter of Luke.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me Holy is his name…”

Conceiving a child out of wedlock, by Divine intervention. Not a girl’s every day existence. Yet she had a Yes in her heart to God. She rejoiced. She boldly said, “Generations will remember me!”

How we struggle to trust God with our children. Our finances. Our emotional well-being. We worry. We fret. And wonder why we have no peace.

Christmas is the season where words like joy, peace and love are bantered around like Christmas candy. Let’s not take them as just words, but as truth. Let’s be like Mary and embrace God’s favor on our lives. Boldly declare "He’s done great things for me!”

Out of the grit of our own souls, we can reach His heart, and feel Him reaching for ours. No matter the pain of our past, present or future, God is there for us. He is able. Best of all, He is willing. “My soul glorifies the Lord this Christmas!”

***

Rachel Hauck is an award winning, best selling author who believes God has done great things for her. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and ornery pets. Her next release is Love Lifted Me with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, January 2012. Then in April, look for The Wedding Dress. www.rachelhauck.com.

Something to think about

2011-12-24T10:10:00.001-06:00

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 11

2011-12-24T00:00:00.010-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

The Panhandler's Breath
By Robin Dance

He slipped in sideways between the closing elevator doors, as if he were late to a meeting; he pressed the "5" without looking. Instead of suit and tie, though, baggy pants and faded navy hung on his tall, slim frame...and his stealth entry stiffened the hairs on the back of my neck.

I had noticed him a few seconds earlier, just after we had parted a sea of clamorous teens. He was smiling, grandfatherly, standing maybe 30 feet away where the electric shuttle picks up.

I had no idea he had been watching us, studying us, predator patiently awaiting his next prey.

The four of us were sealed in a four- by six-foot metal tomb. Tomb--that thought really scampered across my mind. I wondered if he had a knife in his pocket. I wanted to protect my son. Fight or flight pumped adrenaline but there was no where to run.

Extreme and ridiculous, these thoughts - and more - flashed through my mind. The Stranger began speaking.

"Yessir, I see you're a family man with your wife and your son here..." and he nodded in my and my son’s direction.

"...you see I'm homeless and all I've got..." and on queue, he reached into his left pocket and pulled out two old pennies blackened with age. Two cents to his name?! It was all too contrived, too practiced, and I didn't believe a word he was saying.

It was then I smelled it ~ the small space lent itself to that ~ and I doubted my doubt.

His breath.

It wasn't the scent of alcohol. His eyes weren't red, his voice didn't waver; his wizened face matched his graying hair.

His breath was morning's, zoo breath, the pet name I'd given to the scent inhaled when kissing my children awake when they were little.

He needed to brush his teeth. I wondered how long it had been since he brushed his teeth.

The elevator door opened and I handed him my leftover pizza as my son and I brushed past him. My husband handed him a bill and the Stranger thanked and God blessed him.

The elevator door closed behind us. Conflicted, I was relieved.

We got in the car and blurted first reaction--

"I didn't believe a word he said."

"That made me nervous."

"I wonder if he'll really eat the pizza."

In the quiet, we were left to our own thoughts, contemplating the right thing to do. At the end of the day, this is what I decided: It doesn't matter whether or not his story is true; for an old man to resort to begging, he has to be desperate. The money my husband gave him will never be missed. It was a reminder we've been entrusted with much and given much. Materially, yes, but more so spiritually. Loved, chosen, forgiven, redeemed, graced, lavished--every spiritual blessing. E v e r y.

There's a part of me that wishes I would have been brave enough to ask the man his story, made sure he knew he was loved...and bought him a tooth brush.

Later, it occurred to me he could have been an angel. Doesn’t that mean generosity, kindness and hospitality is always the right response? Then it's not about you or the stranger or the circumstance, it's about a simple, God-glorifying response.

Had we entertained an angel unaware? We'll never know.

But it wouldn't be the first time the Breath of Heaven smelled like a zoo.

***

In a decades-old, scandalous affair with her husband, Robin also confesses mad crushes on her three teens. As Southern as sugar-shocked tea, she’s a recovering people pleaser who advocates talking to strangers. A memoirist, Compassion International Blogger, and Maker-upper of words, Robin writes for her own site, PENSIEVE, and also for (in)courage by DaySpring (a subsidiary of Hallmark) and Simple Mom. She loves to get to know readers through their blog comments and on Twitter and Pinterest. www.pensieve.me

He Sees You When You're Sleepin' by Dr. Charles W. Page

2011-12-23T00:01:00.002-06:00

He Sees You When You’re Sleepin’...
By Dr. Charles W. Page

Do you recall trying to sleep on Christmas Eve while waiting for Santa to come to town? The anticipation of Saint Nicolas and all his goodies was just too much—who could sleep? The lyrics of Santa Claus is Coming to Town taunted me. “He sees you when you’re sleeping—he knows when you’re awake…” I tossed and turned trying to fall asleep, fearful I’d miss out on Santa’s visit if he caught me awake. I never doubted Santa’s ability to be aware of my wakefulness.

Unfortunately, as adults, the issues that keep us awake during the Christmas season are more complicated than those we experienced as kids. Financial burdens, strained relationships, difficult decisions, brooding regrets and fretful thoughts race through our minds and hinder our rest.

There is someone who “sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake.” It’s not Santa Claus. The Bible reminds us, God’s eyes never close. Perhaps this truth can tuck us in for the night.

“He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:3-4)

We erroneously think that as we “turn in” that God somehow “turns off” or moves on to do more important things. But God doesn’t wait for us to wake up before He returns to work. God is just as active during our sleep—or sleeplessness. Believers can rest assured knowing God is awake guarding our lives.

What does God do as we slumber? Psalm 127:1-2 reminds us that God gives to those that He loves as they sleep. What does God give? Understanding God’s generous nature, one rendering would be that God gives to the believer whatever is needed at the time. God can give you wisdom and direction with decisions as you “sleep on it” overnight (Psalm 16:7, James 1:5). Maybe there is a financial need. The scriptures are filled with examples of how God provided for the physical needs of those He loved as they rested (I Kings 19:1-8; Exodus 16:1-8).

God’s gifts are good, perfect (James 1:17), eternal (Ephesians 1:3) and purposeful (Galatians 5:22-25). They do not require batteries, warranties and cannot be purchased in stores. But they are available 24/7/365—not limited to one night each year. God’s greatest gift did not arrive under a tree but on a tree (John 3:16). “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

It’s plain to see, God has our back as we sleep. Try this Christmas recipe for rest.

Repent—in areas where we are aware of our transgressions. “A clean conscience
makes a soft pillow.”
Release—control of problems you’re facing and give them over to God.
Relate—connect with God through prayer and meditation while in bed.
Rest—allow God to do what you cannot do for yourself as you sleep.
Receive—God’s unmerited forgiveness, grace and blessings while you sleep.

An English proverb reminds us, “As you make your bed so you must lie in it.” The truth of God’s Word helps us face our situations. Although we cannot change the failures of our past, we can rest with a clean conscience based on God’s gift of forgiveness. Our current circumstances may appear overwhelming, but God gives His presence and His guidance in our hour of need. Our future is secure and hopeful when God’s greatest gift—His Son—is kept in view. A life supported by a vibrant, healthy relationship with the Shepherd of Sleep makes the most comfortable mattress. In childlike faith learn to trust Him as you lie down to sleep and remember: “He sees you when you’re sleeping.”

Author Bio

Charles W. Page, M.D.

Dr. Charles W. Page is a sleep-deprived surgeon who completed medical school and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Page is currently a rural surgeon and has taken numerous medical mission trips to South America and the Middle East. He and his wife Joanna live in Texas with their five children. He is the author of Surrendered Sleep: A Biblical Perspective. You can find more information at surrenderedsleep.com.

Surrendered Sleep

A Biblical Perspective

by Dr. Charles W. Page

PUBLISHER: Camino Real Publishers

ISBN-10: 0983138109
ISBN-13: 978-0983138105

PRICE: Paperback: $14.95; Ebook: $10.95

Available at:

Amazon

Surrendered Sleep

This article content is provided free of charge by the author through Kathy Carlton Willis Communications.

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 10

2011-12-23T00:00:00.012-06:00

***

Inside Out Christmas
by Debora M. Coty

My veterinarian friend, Dr. Katie, tells the story about the December when a woman brought a very sick black lab into her clinic. The dog was only ten months old, so she was really just a big puppy, but she’d been vomiting incessantly and her worried owner didn’t know what was wrong.

“Why don’t you go on home?” Dr. Katie told the owner. “I’ll need to run tests for about four hours. We’ll give you a call when we’re finished.”

Dr. Katie’s assistant took x-rays and hung them on the light panel for Dr. Katie to examine. Hmm. Something looked a little peculiar. Dr. Katie called her assistant over.

“Is it just me, or does that look like a … a camel to you?” she asked incredulously.

“Matter of fact, it does,” replied the astute assistant. “And look, there’s an angel here, a shepherd there, and down there in the colon, it’s Baby Jesus!”

At that moment the phone rang. It was the dog’s distraught owner. “I can’t believe this! I just got home and glanced at the coffee table where I put my manger scene yesterday. There’s nothing there but an empty stable!”

As I thought about this quite literal technique for internalizing the true meaning of Christmas, it occurred to me that sometimes I have the opposite problem. With all the bustling busyness, my inner joy in celebration of my savior’s birth never really makes it to the outside.

Oh, I have plenty of glittery, festive evidences of the holiday in decorations, baking galore, and gifts under my tree. But those things are for show. They’re merely the pretty wrappings, not the gift itself.

Can people really see the core-deep joy that radiates within me when I think of the true gift that Papa God sent the world in his son, Jesus? Is my immeasurable gratitude for eternal life evident as I dash through this hectic season?

I’m afraid all too often, the answer is no.

I’m just too preoccupied to allow my outside to reflect my inside so that nonbelievers recognize that I rejoice because of the hope that is within me. My joy is obscured by the mounds of clutter. Gratefulness is sucked out of my soul by the vacuum called urgency.

“But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy” (Psalm 68:3, NLT).

This verse has become my prayer this Christmas season – that I would make the time to give priority to rejoicing, being glad in God’s presence, and letting my inner joy show for those who may be silently desperate to know the giver of true joy.

Yep, there’s a better way to internalize the gift of Christmas than the black lab technique. We can lodge the Little Lord Jesus in our hearts rather than our colons.

***

Debora M. Coty is a humorist, inspirational speaker, and award-winning author of twelve books, including Too Blessed to be Stressed, and coming in March, More Beauty, Less Beast: Transforming Your Inner Ogre. Debora would love to swap Christmas hugs with you at www.DeboraCoty.com.

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 9

2011-12-22T00:00:00.009-06:00

***

Simple or Sparkle?
by Tracey Eyster

It’s a simple ornament made of thin cheap metal and it looks quite out of place on our CHRISTmas tree. But each year I lovingly and safely nestle it amongst its expensive and sparkly peers, without a care as to how unglamorous it appears.

Many of our CHRISTmas ornaments have a story and an uncanny way of welling up emotion in me, but this certain one causes an intense stir.

You see the ornament is engraved with the name of my grandmother, Sara, and was given to me by my mother, who ordered it from Hospice, after Grandmama’s death. Yes, the months leading up to her death carry memories of a frail and failing grandmama, but that ornament carries my thoughts to sweet CHRISTmas memories of the past.

CHRISTmas Eve dinners in her home, laughing, singing, gathering and celebrating a year filled with blessings as we remembered the birth of our Savior. CHRISTmas mornings, she was always there participating with glee, in our raucous CHRISTmas happiness. Her gifts were always bank envelopes gently tucked into the pine needles of our CHRISTmas tree, fresh cut from the property she grew up on.

All memories of my Grandmama make my heart swell. You see she was my Jesus with skin on. She lived her life full of joy, serving others and approached life selflessly with an attitude of, “What can I do for you?”

Just months before she left us, even as the Alzheimer’s was robbing her mind she shared her love of Jesus with a sweet little old lady friend, who came to know the Lord – a divine appointment. The very next day that little old lady silently slipped away to meet in person the One Sara introduced her to just the day before.

At the time I wept, realizing that regardless of our own frailties and failings, God can still use those of us who are willing to do His work and are well practiced at hearing His voice...no matter our lack of sparkle in comparison to others.

A simple life lived for Him, a simple ornament in memory of Sara...a simple truth for you to ponder.

***

Tracey Eyster wife, mom, relationship gatherer and Creator/Editor of FamilyLife’s MomLife Today is a media savvy mom making a difference where moms are, on-line. Through speaking, writing and video interviews Tracey is passionate about encouraging, equipping and advising moms on every facet of momlife. Her first book, Be The Mom will be released August 2012. You can connect with Tracey at www.momlifetoday.com, her personal site www.traceyster.com or www.twitter/momblog.com.

8 Ways to beat the Blues at Christmas by Poppy Smith

2011-12-21T06:51:00.003-06:00

Eight Ways to Beat the Blues at Christmas

By Poppy Smith

Instead of a houseful of kids and their little ones running around laughing, crying, playing with toys and sneaking treats, this year my husband, Jim, and I will be home alone for Christmas. My automatic reaction is to feel sad—but I am glad that all of them will be celebrating the coming of Jesus with their in-laws. After all, we are usually the ones who get that privilege!

But—it’s easy to be sucked down into a “poor me” mindset and play the blues, unless we decide to change our perspective. So here are eight simple ways to help you enjoy the holidays whether you’re physically or emotionally alone. Why not join me and let’s beat those blues which aren’t where God wants us at this special time of the year—or at any time!

Sing. Play music. Listen to the words and join in praising God. Singing is a guaranteed mood lifter and perspective changer. “Sing for joy to God our strength” Ps.81:1.
Smile. Smile at little children. Their harried moms. The older shoppers who are trying to find just the right present. Make smiling your chosen expression (not through gritted teeth, however!). It will make you feel so much better and maybe lift up another lonely soul.
Invite. Is there someone you haven’t had time for this past year? Could you suggest meeting for coffee, lunch, or even over to your home? Perfection isn’t needed—only a loving heart that looks beyond it’s own world.
Rest. Remember all those too early mornings when you longed to just stay in bed? Now’s your chance. Take time to read a book of the Bible or several psalms. Choose a special book, magazine, or television program. Make or buy some once in a year yummy treats and ENJOY this gift of time!
Give gifts to others. Go online and look for simple Christmas recipes. Make peppermint candy or a cranberry loaf and go drop it off at a homeless shelter or place that serves those without a home. Change your perspective from looking inward to looking outward—as God our Savior did when He gave us the most amazing gift of love any one can receive.
Write a list of your blessings. Think back over this past year. Even if it has been one of the most difficult you’ve experienced, ask God’s Spirit to show you where He was present, loving and supporting and guiding you through. He will show you something and lift your heart.
Go to a Christmas Eve Service. Even if you’re by yourself, don’t miss the presence of God amidst the beauty of this celebration. Let your senses feast on the beauty, your ears delight in the music, your heart be moved to new heights of gratitude and love.
Pray about your dreams for 2012. What do you want to see happen in the coming year? Have you thought about changes you want to make? New paths to walk? Write out what comes to mind when you think of taking better care of yourself physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. (See my video: Take Care of Yourself, …….. or check my website on the media clips page).

May your “Home Alone” Christmas fill you with joy and a fresh awareness that Christ is with you, whether you’re surrounded by people or peacefully alone.

Author Bio

http://www.poppysmith.com/newsletters.htm

This article content is provided free of charge by the author through Kathy Carlton Willis Communications.

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 8

2011-12-21T00:00:00.011-06:00

***

Enjoy the Ride!
Susan May Warren

We sit poised on the top of a cliff, a near drop off before us, that falls to a rushing river. In the middle, a bridge of snow and ice hints at our destination. My husband guns the snowmobile engine. “Ready?”

Ready? For a face plant into a tree, maybe reconstructive surgery? To feel my stomach ripped from my body as we plummet down the mountain? Let’s do it!

We live on five acres of woods in northern Minnesota that butts up to a national forest. Hence, our backyard is about a hundred thousand acres. Aside from harboring deer, lynx, fox, cougar and bear, it also makes excellent snowmobile terrain. And not long ago, Mrs. Claus gave her Santa a snowmobile for two.

I love snowmobiling. Flying over the snow, catching air over drifts. I love to drive, to be at the helm of the beast as I weave around trees and over hill and dale, my husband sitting behind me. I also love riding behind my husband as he drives, feeling those powerful arms as he’s muscling the snowmobile into the wilds. We follow unknown trails, driven by a Magellan spirit, hoping that we have enough gas to get us back to civilization. I love hanging on, simply trusting him, knowing that wherever he’s taking me, he’s going first.

But there are times, when I see where he’s taking me, and I just have to bury my head in his back. Like straight down a cliff.

However, my heart cheers, despite the terror as we gun it down the hill, over the river, up the opposite side. And, if we hadn’t let ourselves go, we would have never discovered the beauty of a winter river, a hidden jewel buried deep in the forest. Nor the exhilaration of facing the challenge together.

Further on, we find an enchanted forest of towering white pine. Catch a view of Lake Superior, discover an old cabin in the woods.

It occurs to me that snowmobiling is much like my spiritual life. Occasionally, I drive, and it’s me setting our course, weaving through the trees, getting us hopelessly lost. But when God takes the “wheel” and I hang on, trusting Him for the speed and destination, I see the scenery. I trust him to keep me safe. I trust him to bring me home, where there is an eternal supply of hot chocolate.

As Christmas season becomes more hectic, what if I let God drive? Maybe everything doesn’t have to be perfect, and maybe I don’t have to control every tradition, every holiday nuance. What if I just held on for the ride?

I’ll bet I’ll still get there, and I might even enjoy the scenery along the way.

How have you let go, and “enjoyed” the scenery of this hectic, exhilarating Christmas season?

Merry Christmas!

***

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of thirty novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill and Summerside Press. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award. A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Teaser Tuesday ~ A Christmas Journey Home

2011-12-20T08:28:00.000-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The work he and the others had found was backbreaking at times and had few comforts or perks, but he was grateful for any labor that would pay him and enable him to provide for his family.

~taken from p. 145 of A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 7

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Family Traditions: A Glimpse into Christmas Future
by Tricia Goyer

Have you ever thought about family traditions? As I helped my 1-year-old place ornaments on the Christmas tree this year I imagined her doing the same thing with her children—and maybe even grandchildren—one day. Traditions are beliefs and customs handed down through generations. By sharing meaningful moments with your kids you're sending yourself into the future. How amazing is that?

Sharing family traditions cause us to slow down from the busy, adult world for a while. We ignore the laundry to set out the nativity set with our kids. We set aside time in our schedules to drive around and look at Christmas lights.

Holiday traditions aren't only fun, they also help strength family bonds. Through traditions kids trust in the security of family unit. They think, “This is our family and this is what I do.” Of course, the most important thing to share isn't just what we do ... but why. Why do we put out a nativity? To remind us the real meaning of the season—Jesus coming to earth. What do the Christmas lights represent displayed on homes and on trees? They represent the Light of the World, Jesus.

Using traditions to bond our families and share our faith isn't new. I love these two Scriptures that talk about that very thing.

Exodus 12:25 says, “When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.”

Psalm 78:4 says, “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.”

What are you're traditions? Here are a few of ours:

Baking a Birthday cake for Jesus

Buying a new ornament every year for each child

Acting out the Christmas story (with props!)

Praying together before opening presents

What are your traditions? Write a list and appreciate them in a new way this year. Then ask, “If I could add one new tradition this holiday season, what would it be?” I'd love to hear what you choose! It also makes me smile to think of your children's grandchildren doing the same.

***

Tricia Goyer is a CBA best-selling author and the winner of two American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Awards (Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights). She co-wrote 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and contributed to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Also a noted marriage and parenting writer, she lives with her husband and children in Arkansas. www.triciagoyer.com

Mailbox Monday ~ Dec. 19, 2011

2011-12-19T00:06:00.000-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

December's host is:
Let them Read Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

Adult Fiction/Non fiction

His Holiday Family by Margaret Daley
Branded by Tim Sinclair
The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Love Blooms in Winter by Lori Copeland

Children's fiction

I love you more than Chocolate by Melanie Milburn

The Barber who wanted to Pray by R. C. Sproul

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 6

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Let The Baby Grow Up This Christmas
By Shellie Tomlinson

When I was a little girl, Christmas seemed to take forever to make its way back to our little house on the end of a dirt road called Bull Run in northeast Louisiana. We kids started counting down the days before the leaves ever began turning. Sure, the adults said it came once a year but I wasn't so sure. Once Santa Claus left our humble abode it seemed like light years before he found his way back to the Delta.

That was a child's perspective. I imagine it hasn't changed all that much for today's kids. On the other hand, I'm operating under a completely different time frame these days. It seems like it was just yesterday when I pulled the boxes down from the attic and began pulling out the nativity scene, the miniature lights, and the keepsake ornaments. And now, just that fast-- Christmas Day is right around the corner. Soon the tree will be striped naked and the piled up presents will all be distributed. After a few more day it'll be hard to remember who got what from whom, and once again, I'll start packing all the decorations away for another year.

I was thinking about how bare and cold the house always looks after the holidays when I realized that, sadly, this scene would play itself out in many hearts as well. A lot of people will have had expectations that weren't filled and many of those same souls will be left with hurts that don't seem to heal. Unless this year is remarkably different from past seasons, my bet is, the New Year will bring magazines full of articles on combating depression and the talk shows will have experts on offering ways to fill the long days ahead and cure the winter blues.

I'm no expert, dear readers, but I'd like to offer you a suggestion that will go far beyond the creature comforts of a nice warm bath or a delicious bowl of hot soup. Your heart doesn't have to be bare and naked after the holidays. Do you want to know the real secret? It's simple, really. Don't pack up Christ with Christmas! As beautiful and special as the Christmas story is, it's only a part of heaven's miracle. The Christ child grew into a man and the man became a Savior.

This year, may we be determined to let the babe from Bethlehem live on in our hearts. If we'll allow Him to become the Messiah He was born to be, the joy of Christmas can be ours all year long.

***

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson is an author, speaker, and radio host from Louisiana. Her latest release Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy was endorsed by Jeff Foxworthy as "laugh out loud funny!" You can find Shellie's weekly southern features, podcasts, video chats and more at http://www.allthingssouthern.com/ Make sure to get by the blog and read about the Super Christmas Giveaway Shellie is hosting for her readers and secure your chance to win a Mort Kunstler print valued between $700 and $1400. www.allthingssouthern.com

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 5

2011-12-18T00:00:00.014-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

The Snowflake Party
By Deborah Raney

The first snow of winter hasn’t fallen yet, but in our kitchen tonight we’re doing a pretty good imitation. The whole family is circled around the huge old oak table. The snip, snip, snip of scissors is background music as tiny scraps of white paper float down, making our floor look like a giant brownie sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Tonight has turned out to be the night for our annual Snowflake Party, a tradition that began when our children were toddlers. There has never been a date blocked out in red on our calendar, but one day we wake up and the brisk autumn air has turned bitter cold. Naked tree branches trace their stark calligraphy on a dull grey sky and we need a taste of the joyful promises of Christmas and snow. It’s the perfect time for a party.

On such a day, one of the kids will fly in the back door, fresh home from school, and declare “Hey, Mom! Tonight would be a good night for the Snowflake Party!” First we round up every pair of scissors in the house. This is one time when sharing is not a virtue. While the kids search for scissors, I cut white paper into squares and fold them caddy-corner multiple times. The resulting triangles are artfully arranged in a basket, awaiting the beginning of the party.

Later, while the supper dishes dry on the counter, I recruit a volunteer to help me stir up a big pot of hot cocoa. For the next hour it will warm on the back burner, tantalizing us with its aroma.

Now the fun begins with careful cutting and snipping, shaping plain white paper into intricate works of art. Each snowflake we create seems as unique and spectacular as the genuine variety created by God himself. As each masterpiece is unfolded, collective oohs and aahs go up.

When the last dregs of our creative juices are drained, Dad oversees the vacuum patrol while I pour cocoa into generous mugs. We spread our handiwork on the floor around us and sit, quietly admiring our work while we dunk marshmallows and sip rich chocolate.

With empty mugs piled up in the sink, it’s time for the judging to begin. There will be awards for ‘prettiest’, ‘most unusual’, and as many other categories as we need for everyone to be a winner. Dad is the judge because he studied art in college. He also usually wins one of the top prizes––because he studied art in college.

Snowflakes deemed runners-up might be pasted in scrapbooks or hung on the refrigerator. A few even “melt” into the trash that very night. But the winners are taped proudly to the picture windows in the living room for passersby to enjoy while they long for the day when genuine snowflakes will color the world clean and white.

Our oldest daughter went away to college last September. She called just after Thanksgiving to tell me that her dorm window was covered with snowflakes. No, not the real thing, but the ones she remembers from her childhood––paper ones that she spent an entire evening cutting and snipping while sipping hot cocoa.

That’s the neat thing about traditions: They go with us no matter how far from home we travel.

***

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Her books have since won the RITA Award, ACFW Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers' Choice Award, Silver Angel, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. After All, third in her Hanover Falls Novels series will release next spring from Howard/Simon & Schuster. Deb and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy small-town life in Kansas. Their four children are grown now and having snowflake parties with their own children––and they all live much too far away. Visit Deb on the web at www.deborahraney.com.

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 4

2011-12-17T00:00:00.008-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Why I Decorate for Christmas
By Elizabeth Goldsmith Musser

An old cassette tape of Christmas carols—received in a package twenty years ago when we had first arrived in France as missionaries—fills our den with delightful piano music as I place one more ornament on the already over-laden Christmas tree. This one is a little white wooden rabbit with pink ears that move back and forth. It actually doesn’t look much like a Christmas ornament, but I bought it for our baby Andrew when my husband Paul was in seminary, and I was working for less than minimum wage in the library. This ornament was literally all I could afford.

As I hang it on the tree today, I get goose bumps and then a rush of warmth. And that’s why I decorate for Christmas. Not to impress but to remember. I remember those lean, lean years, and God’s faithful provision for us.

There are the cross-stitched ornaments I made our first year in Montpellier—for the boys (for by now we had two sons) and Paul and me. How I ever had time to do that, I don’t know. I remember our puny little tree—the kind they sold in France back then—in a pot so that it could be replanted later. We perched that tiny tree on a small table out of baby Christopher’s reach. I guess I watered it too much, because about halfway through December, it started smelling and then stinking, and it rotted there on Christmas Day!

I smile with these memories.

I look at the other ornaments on the tree. Many were purchased—one for each boy—when we attended conferences around Europe, and that makes me smile too. Getting to travel on a missionary’s budget to exotic places! There are the waxed red bear and red baby carriage from Wales, the brightly painted clay sun and moon from Portugal, the blue and white porcelain windmill and wooden shoes from Holland, the hand-blown glass Snoopys sitting on gondolas from Venice, and the delicately decorated eggs from Prague.

Other ornaments include the little pinkish shiny ball ornament with Paul’s name written in glitter—I think he made it when he was about six , and the little red velvet bows, bought at Michael’s after Christmas one year for a dollar. They bring a unifying theme to the tree. I say this, smiling, because our tree is, and has always been throughout the years, a hodge-podge of our life. And I like it that way. I don’t think I could ever have a ‘theme’ tree. Mine is a ‘memory’ tree.

The music plays softly in the background and I smile through tears, remembering God’s incredible faithfulness to call and keep us here in France for so many years. Heart-breakingly hard years, overwhelmingly joyful years—the same years, the same amazing God, our keeper.

Before we left for the mission field, I memorized Psalm 121 in English and in French, and over the years I have held on tight to those last beautiful words of the psalm: The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. (NASB)

Of course He will. He is God with us.

We decorate to remember Christmases past, our lives, our legacy, and mostly, for those of us who have embraced Christ, we decorate to honor and praise Him for coming to us—Emmanuel! We make our homes ready to receive the Christ Child, with soft music and candles burning and the sweet flickering of angel wings on an over-laden evergreen.

***

ELIZABETH GOLDSMITH MUSSER, an Atlanta native and the bestselling author of The Swan House, is a novelist who writes what she calls ‘entertainment with a soul.’ For over twenty years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions work with International Teams. They presently live near Lyon, France. The Mussers have two sons and a daughter-in-law. The Sweetest Thing (Bethany House, 2011) is Elizabeth’s eighth novel. To learn more about Elizabeth and her books, and to find discussion questions as well as photos of sites mentioned in the stories, please visit www.elizabethmusser.com and her Facebook Fan Page. www.elizabethmusser.com

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 3

2011-12-16T00:00:00.005-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Babbie Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Where is Comfort and Joy Found?
By Sandy Ralya

The year 2006 ushered unwelcome emotions into my life. My husband was unhappy in his job, two of my grown children were making poor choices, my mother-in-law was showing signs of Alzheimer’s, extended-family issues were surfacing, and I was writing a book. Things only got worse. Much worse.

Early in 2007, I was asked to represent the mentoring ministry for wives I founded, Beautiful Womanhood, and lead a women’s conference in Uganda, Africa. My husband wasn’t sure if traveling to Africa was a good idea, so we committed it to prayer. While we were listening for an answer, I sensed God asking me to fast from spending, except for groceries, for thirty days. Sometimes you know that you’ve heard God’s voice because you’d never have come up with those words on your own. This was one of those times. I’d never heard of a fast from spending. Tom needed no convincing that a fast from spending came directly from the mouth of God. He still gets excited just thinking about it!

During the fast, it became clear I had used spending as a way to gain a comfort fix. When I was spending money, I felt carefree and lighthearted. Instead of dwelling on the unpleasantness in my life, I was thinking of my purchases and how they would bring me pleasure. Not until I stopped spending did I realize how short-lived the fix really was. During the fast, when I felt the urge to spend—to anesthetize my pain—I pictured myself running into the arms of Jesus, the Great Comforter. Oh, what comfort I received!

One night, I told good friends my experience of gaining comfort through the power of the Holy Spirit rather than money. I exclaimed that I had never felt so comforted. One friend then told us about a dream he’d had shortly after hearing about the invitation from Uganda. After the dream, he had awoken and recorded the following thoughts:

“. . . this is for Sandy. Christ’s redemption of women is beautiful. Beautiful Womanhood is a result of redemptive wholeness. The visuals the ministry uses on the books, etc., are like a piece of beautifully veneered furniture. There is something going on with the ministry to the brokenness of abused women. In Uganda, there are hurting, abused women, and something is connecting their need and Beautiful Womanhood. Though there is nothing wrong with veneer, it is only the topping—the covering, and without good structure it is shallow and will not hold up. It is time to add a new depth to the ministry.”

Then these verses came to my friend’s mind:

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NL

When my friend was finished sharing, everyone in the room broke down in tears, praising God for His work in my life. I’d learned to listen and God had spoken. I’d obeyed, and He’d acted. When He acted, I was changed.

Needless to say, I packed my bags and experienced some of the best days of my life in Uganda—offering God’s comfort to His troubled women.

***

Sandy and her husband Tom have been married since 1980 and live near Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren. When not writing and speaking, Sandy enjoys shopping at yard sales for vintage clothing, cooking, travelling, and drinking really good coffee (black is best) with her husband. For more information, contact Sandy at sandy@beautifulwomanhood.com. Subscribe to Sandy’s blog at www.beautifulwomanhood.com/blog. Find Sandy on Facebook at Beautiful Womanhood. Follow Sandy on Twitter @MentoringWives.

Sea Turtle Summer by Nancy Stewart

2011-12-15T07:58:00.000-06:00

This is an other wonderful book by Nancy Stewart. It is the second book in her series on teaching of animals and their habitat and life in general. The first was One Pelican at a time. This second one the girls save Sea Turtle's babies. It is a wonderful teaching tool. I can't wait for her third book to be out. Fun part about it is your kids are learning what they can do and you don't even have to tell them. Best kept secret.

Bella and Britt think living by the beach is the coolest thing ever. When they discover a Loggerhead Sea Turtle laying her eggs in broad daylight, the girls go into action to help.

No one, though, seems to care about the nest. The beach is a busy place and is getting busier by the minute on such a beautiful summer day. What can they do? Who will help, and what do they learn about themselves?

As a bonus, Sea Turtle Summer contains kid appealing facts about sea turtles.

Next morning, the girls looked carefully at the nest, making sure not to touch it.
“Our stick’s still here, and everything seems okay,” observed Britt.
Bella sighed. “But there’s no sign of the ranger.”
“And here comes the sand cleaner!” cried Britt. “We have to do something fast.”
“Quick! Hold hands across the nest. Maybe he’ll stop in time!” Bella yelled.
The sand cleaning machine came to a squealing stop right in front of the girls. “What do you two think you’re doing?” bellowed the startled driver.   “You could have been hurt!”
“We’re saving sea turtles!” they both shouted over the noisy vehicle.
“Sorry, girls, but volleyball nets are going up right here in a few minutes,” said the driver.   “There’s an all city play-off this morning.”
“Oh, no,” Bella sighed. “What about the nest?”

After having been both an elementary school teacher, a university professor of education and a consultant for New Options, Inc. in New York City, Nancy Stewart writes children’s books full time. She, her husband and three sons, lived in London for eight years, where she was a consultant to several universities, including Cambridge.

Her travels take her extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. Nancy is US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education.

Nancy is the author of the Bella and Britt picture book series, One Pelican at a Time, Sea Turtle Summer, Bella Saves the Beach and Mystery at Manatee Key. All are published by Guardian Angel Publishing. Pelican was nominated for a Global eBook Award.

She was featured in the PBS Tampa (WEDU) series, Gulfwatch. It concerned the writing of One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill.

She and her family live in St. Louis and Tampa.

Nancy’s web and blog sites are:

http://www.nancystewartbooks.com

http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

A copy of this book was provided for this review by Pump up your Book tours

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 2

2011-12-15T00:00:00.009-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Advent
By Sibella Giorello

Consider the bride's walk down the aisle. We all know where that woman in the white is going but somehow waiting for her to arrive at the altar is an essential part of the ceremony. In fact, the waiting is so essential that even cheapskate Vegas chapels include wedding marches.

Why?

Because the wait adds meaning to the moment.

At Christmas time, we tend to forget this essential truth about anticipation. We're lost to shopping malls and checklists, rushing toward December 25th so quickly that we forget the quiet joy of the month's other 24 days -- and then we wonder why we feel so empty on the 26th, amid ribbons and wrapping paper and our best intentions.

Because the wait adds meaning to the moment.

And that is why Advent is so important to Christmas.

I'm as guilty as the next harried person. This Advent was particularly tricky because just six hours before it started, I was still trying to finish a 110,000-word novel that was written over the course of the year -- written while homeschooling my kids, keeping my hubby happy, and generally making sure the house didn't fall down around us.

It's an understatement to say my free time is limited. But waiting adds meaning, and Advent is crucial to Christmas, so I've devised several Advent traditions that are simple, powerful and easy to keep even amid the seasonal rush.

When my kids outgrew the simple Advent calendars around age 7, I stole an idea from my writer friend Shelly Ngo (as T.S. Eliot said, "Mediocre writers borrow. Great writers steal." Indulge me.)

Here's how it goes: Find 24 great Christmas books, wrap them individually and place then under the tree. On the first day of Advent, take turns picking which book to open. When we did this, we would cuddle under a blanket and read aloud -- oh, the wonder, the magic! We savored "The Polar Express," howled with "How Murray Saved Christmas," and fell silent at the end of "The Tale of The Three Trees" (note: some of the picture books I chose were not explicitly about Christmas but they always echoed the message that Jesus came to earth to save us from ourselves and to love us beyond our wildest imagination. In that category, Angela Hunt's retelling of The Three Trees definitely hits the Yuletide bull's eye).

This Advent tradition lasted for about five years. It gave us rich daily discussions about the season's real meaning, without being religious or legalistic, and it increased family couch time. But like the lift-the-flap calendars, my kids outgrew the picture books.

Because the wait adds meaning, and Advent is crucial, I prayed for another way to celebrate anticipation of Christmas. By the grace of God, last year I found an enormous Advent calendar on clearance at Pottery Barn. Made of burlap, it has large pockets big enough to hold some serious bounty.

But my husband and I didn't want the kids focusing only on the materialist stuff for Advent -- we already fight that on Christmas day. We decided to fill the daily pockets with simple necessities and small gift cards. We also printed out the nativity story from Luke 2:1-21 in a large-sized font and cut each verse out. From Day 1 to Day 21, there is one verse to read aloud. The kids memorize it, then get to open their present (again, on alternating days for each person). Then we tape the verse to the wall in order. By Day 22, all the verses are on the wall, in order, and the kids now try to recite the entire nativity story from memory. That's not as difficult as it sounds because they've been memorizing one verse each day. Still, the entire recitation -- verbatim -- usually requires Day 23 and Day 24. Whoever does memorize the entire thing -- without mistakes -- earns a bonus gift of $25.

Does that sounds extravagant?

It is.

Because we want our kids to understand that God came down and humbled himself and taught us about love right before He suffered and died on behalf of the undeserving -- which is every one of us.

"That's" extravagant.

And in the waiting, we find even more meaning.

***

Sibella Giorello writes the Raleigh Harmon mystery series which won the Christy Award with its first book "The Stones Cry Out." She lives in Washington state with her husband and children, and often wishes there were 36 hours in a day.

The Amusings of a Missionary by Ken Board

2011-12-14T08:22:00.001-06:00

In his book The Amusings of a Missionary, author Ken Board takes eveyday life happenings and turns them into spiritual learning experience. He takes the humorous parts of life as well as the more serious parts and gives food for thought. Board uses scripture to each application also. Most of the stories are just over one page so they are quick to read and think on. I loved the way he uses humor and his application to each every day situation. Board draws from his own experiences in mission work in Japan. Couldn't ask for a better life application book than The Amusings of a Missionary.

Get more information about this book here

A copy of this book was provided by BIO communications and DeepRiver Books for this review

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Day 1

2011-12-14T00:01:00.007-06:00

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

A Christmas of Kindness

By Suzanne Woods Fisher

"You can give without loving, but you can¹t love without giving." Amish proverb

I do it every year.

I plan for a simpler, less stressful Christmas season and, every year, by Christmas Eve I'm exhausted! After our delicious and very-time-consuming-to-make traditional Swedish meal to honor my husband¹s relatives (think: Vikings), it's time to head to church. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the last few Christmas Eve's, I have sent my husband and kids head off without me. The pull to spend an hour of quiet in the house feels as strong as a magnet.

It's odd. My children are young adults now. Wouldn't you think that Christmas would be simpler? Instead, it's just the opposite. Jugging schedules to share the grandbaby with the in-laws, trying to include our elderly parents at the best time of day for them, dancing carefully around recently divorced family members whose children are impacted by the shards of broken relationships.

The thing is: you can simplify your to-do list, but you can't really simplify people. We are just a complicated bunch.

Here's where I borrow a lesson about simplicity from the Amish. It's easy to get distracted with the buggies and the bonnets and the beards, but there's so much more to learn from these gentle people if you're willing to look a little deeper.

Yes, they live with less "stuff" and that does make for a simpler, less cluttered life. But it's the reason behind it that is so compelling to me: they seek to create margin in their life. Not just empty space but space that is available to nourish family, community, and faith. Their Christmas is far less elaborate than yours or mine, but what they do fill it with is oh so right.

Christmas comes quietly on an Amish farmhouse. There is no outward sign of the holiday as we know it: no bright decorations, no big tree in the living room corner. A few modest gifts are waiting for children at their breakfast place settings, covered by a dishtowel. Waiting first for Dad to read the story of Christ's birth from the book of Luke. Waiting until after a special breakfast has been enjoyed. Waiting until Mom and Dad give the signal that the time has come for gifts.

Later, if Christmas doesn't fall on a Sunday, extended family and friends will gather for another big meal. If time and weather permits, the late afternoon will be filled with ice skating or sledding. And more food! Always, always an abundance of good food. Faith, family, and community. That is the focus of an Amish Christmas.

And it's also how the story begins for A Lancaster County Christmas, as a young family prepares for Christmas. A winter storm blows a non-Amish couple, Jaime and C.J. Fitzpatrick, off-course and into the Riehl farmhouse. An unlikely and tentative friendship develops, until the one thing Mattie and Sol hold most dear disappears and then. Ah, but you¹ll just have to read the story to find out what happens next. Without giving anything away, I will say that I want to create a Mattie-inspired margin this Christmas season. Mattie knew inconveniences and interruptions that come in the form of people (big ones and little ones!) are ordained by God. And blessed by God.

Creating margin probably means that I won't get Christmas cards out until the end of January, and my house won't be uber-decorated. After all, something has to give. But it will mean I make time for a leisurely visit with my dad at his Alzheimer's facility. And time to volunteer in the church nursery for a holiday-crowded event. And time to invite a new neighbor over for coffee. Hopefully, it will mean that my energy won't get diverted by a frantic, self-imposed agenda. Only by God's agenda the essence of true simplicity.

And that includes taking time to worship Christ's coming at the Christmas Eve service. You can hold me accountable! This year, I will be there.

***

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, and The Keeper, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Christy Award nominee and is the host of an internet radio show called Amish Wisdom and her work has appeared in many magazines. She lives in California. www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Humbug, A Christmas Carol by Lee Baker

2011-12-13T00:02:00.028-06:00

Winterton is a frozen town with frozen hearts and frozen people. A magical humbug that attracts the magical reindeer of Santa is brought to the town of Winterton by a little orphan girl. The warmth of the little girl and the magical music of the humbug bring Santa, the reindeer and Christmas back to Winterton.

This is a cute story on how an icy city was changed into a nice warm loving town after an orphan girl and a humbug moved in. I totally love this children's picture book. The author is wonderful at expressing and describing the cold town of Winterton, very descriptive lots of adjectives. The illustrations are on a graphic type. My teenager made comment that maybe even scary to a smaller child. The theme how an frozen cold unbelieving town becomes a friendly warm believing town is very well developed.

Lee Baker is the president of Sandman Studios, a visual effects and animation company and has taught courses at UCLA Extension, Loyola Marymount University and the University of Utah. He is the author of the illustrated books “Humbug, A Christmas Carol” and “Beau and the Beanstalk,” and now his latest thriller “Speed of Light.” Lee lives in Utah with his wife and five children.

A copy of this book was provided for this review by...

12 Pearls of Christmas ~ Bonus

2011-12-13T00:01:00.031-06:00

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Pearl Girls™

12 Pearls of Christmas blogging series!

We've gathered several of today's most beloved authors to share their Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom"! Please follow along beginning tomorrow (Wednesday the 14th) through Christmas day as Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Rachel Hauck, Sandy Ralya, Sibella Giorello, Susan May Warren and more, share their heartfelt stories of how God has touched their life during this most wonderful time of the year.

If you'd like to share the 12 Pearls of Christmas with your blog readers too, just email Christen and she'll send you the series.

AND of course there is a giveaway! Beginning tomorrow you and all your friends can enter to win a PEARL NECKLACE and EARRINGS valued at $450! The winner will be announced on New Year's Day! Pearls - a tangible reminder of God's grace to us all.

***

Just a quick note before the series begins on the 14th ...

As I write this, I imagine that we are sitting at my kitchen table and chatting over a cup of coffee while familiar Christmas carols celebrate the Season. My twelve year old Chihuahua, Pongo, barks for a pinch of pound cake while my Shih Tzu, Lilly, patiently sits by the chair and waits for a crumb to fall.

My name is not Martha Stewart, and I will never receive a neighborhood beautification award. Just look at my front stoop. Yes, my never-had-time-to-carve-the-pumpkin-that-now-suffers-from-frostbite slouches next to the front door which is decorated with a Christmas wreath. I plan to roll this large orange ornament to the garbage pile tomorrow. For now, however, I will pretend that my front stoop is a contemplative modern art exhibit capturing the essence of contrast.

Actually, I love the concept of juxtaposition – placing things together that don’t seem to belong together, yet somehow ultimately make sense being paired. A personal example for me this season is the phrase: “comfort and joy.” Having just completed my manuscript for New Hope Publishers about the aftermath of grief, I fully understand the contrast of those two words. How can comfort bring joy? How can one find joy in loss?

Perhaps, dear reader, you have experienced loss this year – loss of a loved one, loss of friendship, loss of health, loss of financial security, loss of trust, loss of love, or loss of direction. Even with the best intent, words of encouragement shared by others can somehow seem insufficient to address an inconsolable loss. A spoken word cannot fully restore joy to a broken heart; however the Word can. And that’s the bottom line message of Christmas! God gave us the most amazing gift: His Son - the Word of God, the Holy Comforter.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

You are not alone this Christmas, dear friend. Juxtaposed to the unexpected grit in life is the gift of God’s grace wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This year I purposely placed a pearl in the Nativity scene as a metaphoric reminder. When we place our grit into the hands of the Lord, His grace transforms our pain into a pearl.

“Joy to the world!”

Thank you so very much for sharing the JOY of the Season with us this year.

God Bless,

Margaret

@mcsweeny

***

Margaret McSweeney lives with her husband, David and two teenage daughters in the Chicago suburbs. She is the founder and director of Pearl Girls. For more information please visit www.pearlgirls.info. Margaret is fast at work on several fiction manuscripts. Her book Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace was written to help fund the Pearl Girl Charities. She is also the host of weekly radio show, Kitchen Chat. Connect with Margaret on Facebook or Twitter.

Teaser Tuesday ~ Mystery of the Puzzle Bones

2011-12-13T00:00:00.019-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

We saw some really old bones placed in odd patterns on the ground out neat that undeveloped subdivision area," Caleb explained without hesitation.

~ taken from p. 56 of Mystery of the Puzzle Bones by T. A. Smith

Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz

2011-12-12T00:01:00.004-06:00

Nate Rocks: Part Super-Hero, Part All-Star Athlete, Part Rock-Star… Part Fourth-Grader? Nate Rocks the World cover

Ten-year-old Nathan Rockledge cannot catch a break. After all, life as a fourth-grader can be hazardous – what with science projects to deal with and recess football games to avoid. Everyone, including his best friend Tommy, seems to have bad luck when hanging around Nathan. Throw in an older sister who is a royal pain, a dad who is stuck in the past, and a mom who keeps trying to poison him with her awful cooking, and poor Nathan’s life as a fourth-grader appears to be completely doomed.

Armed only with his sketchpad, his imagination, and his wits, Nathan Rockledge navigates the perils of the fourth grade in style, to emerge heroic, as Nate Rocks, proving that even a ten-year-old can accomplish great things.

Follow the adventures of ten-year-old Nathan Rockledge as his cartoons and adventures come to life.

This book was so cool. I loved how Nate would be transported into his pictures that he drew and the scene would come to life. Nate Rocks is Toz's first book and I can't wait to see what else she has in her head to put on paper for kids to read. I believe that 3-5 graders would love this book. You just got to give Nate's mom an "A" for trying to be a Jane Cleaver type of woman. She tries so hard to please her family and make everything but nothing seems to turn out for her. This book definitely "ROCKS" and so does Nate.

Visit a chat with the Author here.

“The score is three to two in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. The Philadelphia Phillies have a man on first, but honestly folks, I think this game is over. The Phillies have just not been able to pull it together this World Series, and now with all of these injuries, who could the Phillies possibly put in to bat? It looks like this hometown team is running out of options. I hate to say this, but I think the dream of winning this year’s World Series is now over for this team. Wait a minute… is that Nate Rocks approaching the plate? He hasn’t been off the bench all season. Surely, the Phillies have someone more experienced they can use. Even Nate looks confused, as he steps up to the plate. I don’t know about this. Here comes the first pitch … swing … and a miss. Second pitch … ooh, a 95 mph fastball … and that’s strike two. The Philadelphia crowd of 45,000 is silent, as we wait for the third pitch … the pitch that determines this year’s world champions. The pitcher looks around, winds up, and … CRACK – that ball is OUT OF HERE! I don’t believe it, folks! Nate Rocks has hit a home run, and the Philadelphia Phillies have won the World Series!!!”
The Phillies rush out of the dugout, running toward me, as I cross home plate. They pile on top of me. Thunderous cheers of enthusiastic fans echo through the stadium. I can barely breathe. I feel a hand reach out to me.
“You did it, Nate! You did it!” The Phillies’ first baseman yells. He pulls me to my feet.
Two other players help hoist me up over their shoulders. I wave to the crowd in victory. The players parade me around the bases, and the crowd begins chanting:
“Nate!”
“Nate!”
“Nate!”
“Nathan! For the fourth time – dinner is ready!”
“Huh?” I ask.
Mom is standing in my bedroom doorway, hands on her hips, staring at me, as I sit on my floor among a sea of colored pencils.
“I said dinner is ready. And for goodness sake Nathan Michael Rockledge, clean up this mess!”
“Okay, Mom,” I say. Mom turns around and heads down the steps.
I look back at my drawing. “Not too shabby,” I note, staring at the cartoon. I pick up a pencil and finish drawing myself holding the World Series trophy. Okay, so maybe I made my red hair not quite so bright, took out the freckles and added a few muscles to my scrawny body, but I still think it looks like me. I gather all of my colored pencils and scraps of paper off my carpet and throw them into my desk drawer.
“Nathan, Mom told me to tell you to stop picking your nose and get your butt down to dinner.”
I turn around see my older sister, Abby, standing in the hallway outside my bedroom. Abby is thirteen and is always complaining about something. Plus, she thinks she knows everything. Really, the only thing she knows is how to be annoying.
“Stop it, Abby, she didn’t say that!” I close up my sketchpad and follow her down the stairs.
“What were you drawing anyway?” she asks, as we head into the kitchen.
“None of your business.” I take my seat at the table, where Dad has already started eating.
“Some stupid comic probably,” Abby comments. She sits down across the table from me.
“All right, that’s enough,” Mom says. She puts a plate filled with spaghetti and meatballs in front of me. “Now eat your dinner, Nathan.”
“Yeah, eat your dinner,” Abby says. She swiftly kicks me from under the table.
I stick my tongue out at Abby and take a bite of my dinner. I wonder if meatballs are supposed to be crunchy? I take a big gulp of my milk to help wash down the crispy meat, as I prepare myself for a forkful of gummy pasta.
“How was school today, Nathan?” Dad asks cheerfully. One thing about my dad, he is always in a good mood. Sometimes I question if Abby was adopted – or maybe there was a mix-up at the hospital or something.
“Okay, I guess.” I look back down to my plate.
To be honest, today wasn’t one of my better days. Oh, it started out okay, I suppose, nothing spectacular. I woke up, threw on some random clothes, and went downstairs for breakfast. As usual, I met my best friend Tommy Jensen at the bus stop, just as it started to drizzle. My first thought, after being annoyed that we were standing out in the rain, was excitement over the fact that we would most likely have indoor recess. Believe me, I like recess just as much as the next kid does. I mean, who wouldn’t love being thrown outside for forty minutes of pure torture? Ten minutes of Tommy trying to talk me into playing kickball with the rest of the fourth graders, one minute to realize I am the last kid picked to be on a team, followed by twenty-nine minutes of praying the ball doesn’t come anywhere near me. When we have indoor recess, I don’t have to worry about any of that. I can just sit at my desk for forty minutes and draw cartoons. The rain had stopped by the time the bus reached school.
The good news was nobody wanted to play kickball during recess. The bad news was they chose football instead. Let’s just say things did not go so well and leave it at that.
After recess, we went right to lunch, where I discovered that Mom had packed me the remainder of last night’s dinner: Chicken Surprise. The surprise, it seemed, was that the meal tasted even worse the next day than it did the night before. Mom refuses to allow me to buy hot lunch. She says why waste money when she is able to pack me perfectly good lunches? I can’t wait until I am older like Abby. At least she gets to save up her babysitting money to buy her own lunches at school.
After lunch, Mrs. Dempsey announced that we would be starting a new science unit on energy and light. We would be working with partners. Each team would pick a project to work on, both in class and at home. Mrs. Dempsey usually lets us pick our own partners for science, but this time she stated she had assigned partners that we would be working with for the next two weeks. As soon as Mrs. Dempsey said the words, I closed my eyes and started silently concentrating as hard as I could:
“Please don’t let it be Lisa Crane, please don’t let it be Lisa Crane, please don’t let it be …”
“Nathan,” Mrs. Dempsey said, “you and Lisa will be working together.”
I could hear Tommy snickering under his breath. I looked over at him and shook my head. I turned back around to see Lisa standing right over my desk.
“Hi Nathan,” she said in her over-bubbly voice.
“Oh, hi.”
Lisa Crane and I have been in the same class since kindergarten. There is nothing wrong with Lisa, exactly – well except for the fact that she reports every second of every day back to her mother. Lisa’s mother, Marge, and my mother have been best friends for the last five years. Ever since Lisa reported to her mother that I got in trouble at school last year for falling asleep during math, I have spent a good portion of my life trying to stay away from Lisa Crane.
“So Nathan, I hear you and Lisa are science partners now,” Mom says. She sits down at the table.
“Uh, yeah.” Why am I not surprised that Mom already knows?
“Well, Marge says Lisa is really excited. She hasn’t stopped talking about it since she got home from school today.”
“I’ll bet,” I mumble under my breath.
“Science, huh?” Dad begins, “I loved science as a kid. Hey Nathan, did I ever tell you the story of the volcano your uncle Robert made for the school science fair?”
“Yeah, Dad, he put in two cups of baking soda instead of two tablespoons.”
“Uncle Robert poured in the vinegar and before we knew it, the judges were all covered in lava.” Dad bursts into laughter, as if this were the first time he was telling this story about his older brother, instead of the twentieth.
“Anyway, Lisa wants to get started on your project right away, so I invited her and Marge over on Saturday,” Mom informs me.
“But Mom, you know Tommy and I have plans to go see the new Captain Asteroid movie on Saturday!”
“So, see it on Sunday instead. Besides, you know schoolwork comes first. I think it will be fun to work with Lisa!”
“Yeah, Nathan,” Abby pipes in smirking, “think of how much fun you’ll have on your play date.”
I glare at Abby and continue to twirl my pasta on my fork, thinking of something I can say to convince Mom to cancel. I suppose she wouldn’t believe I have a rare and highly contagious disease that can only be cured by going to the movies on Saturday.
“Bill, how did your meeting go today?” Mom asks Dad, letting me know the conversation about my Saturday plans, is now over.

Karen Pokras Toz is a writer, wife, and mom. Karen grew up in the small town of Orange, Connecticut and graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Finance. She also attended the University of Richmond, where she studied law and business, receiving both a JD and an MBA. Karen has spent the last several years working as a tax accountant, writing in numbers. She recently discovered a passion for writing with words. Nate Rocks the World is her first book.

Karen is a member of the Association of Independent Authors, Independent Author Network, and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is the 2011 Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run Honoree for the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter. Karen enjoys gardening, cooking, and spending time with her husband and three children.

For more information, please visit www.karentoz.com.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

In celebration of Karen Pokras Toz’s Nate Rocks the World, she will be appearing at Pump Up Your Book’s 1st Annual Holiday Extravaganza Facebook Party on December 16. More than 50 books, gifts and cash awards will be given away including a printed copy of Nate Rocks the World! Visit the official party page here!

A copy of this book was provided for this review by Pump up your Book tours

Mailbox Monday ~ Dec. 12, 2011

2011-12-12T00:00:00.004-06:00

Join Mailbox Monday meme

@ The Printed Page

December's host is:
Let them Read Books

(I will be hosting sometime in 2013 she is that far booked ahead)

Adult fiction

Code Triage by Candace Calvert

home front by Kristine Hannah

I Corinthians 13: The Christmas Version

2011-12-11T00:00:00.009-06:00

First Corinthians 13:
The Christmas Version
(author unknown)

"If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family , I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child; Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse; Love is kind, even when harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy anther's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of LOVE will endure."

May the joy of Advent bring God’s love into your life in a special way this Christmas!

two winners...many ways to enter

2011-12-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

Check out this cool Giveaway by Author Roseanna White

She is giving away two of these

Dec. 15th & Feb. 15

many ways to enter

Check out the details here.

Real by Shelley Malcom

2011-12-09T00:00:00.182-06:00

First-time author Shelley Malcolm announces the Second Edition of her non-fiction book, “Real,” now available in hardcover. Malcolm delivers a remarkable work of inspiration with 60 biographical stories, each illustrated by a captivating photo by professional photographer Terilee Dawn Ouimette. The stories are deeply revealing, while the photos are anonymous, focusing only on each subject’s hands. Research for the coffee table-style book was accomplished through a series of interviews and photo shoots, with subjects ranging from adolescent to elderly, from former gangster to humble homeless, international refugee to hero-housewife, from pro athlete to Hollywood celebrity.

Focusing on her subjects’ hands instead of their faces allows Malcolm’s subjects to share more freely about their lives, tragedies, hopes, dreams, loves, and toils. Ouimette displays an uncanny ability to capture each character’s essence on film by depicting one of more sets of hands at work, at play, giving or receiving help. The result shows the genius of the project, the use of anonymity displaying a greater level of intimacy and vulnerability than might have been possible by any other means.

Malcolm states that her inspiration for the book came from a dream with similar images, revealing the beauty in imperfections in a person’s hands. “The hand image is made beautiful by the life behind it,” she explains. “More anonymous than a face or even eyes which show identity and emotion, our hands portray our work, our affection, scars…even our mistakes.”

According to photographer Ouimette, “People can feel even more connected to photographs of hands than faces. There is a little bit of mystery to each one – allowing the reader to visually connect with the inspiring story.” Confronting the importance of status and beauty in our society, “Real” honestly unveils the life stories of remarkable individuals through moving images and stories that range from tragic to
hopeful to triumphant.

Originally published in March 2011, the book has been popular among widely diverse groups including youth and teens, women, parents and grandparents, men between the ages of 35 –65, craftsmen, surgeons, hand, massage and physical therapists and many others.

Each story in this book is a REAL inspiration. When the book came in the mail my art enthusiastic teenage daughter made comment of it being so uck! But then she opened the book and started reading the short one page stories and she was hooked so don't judge a book by its cover. The stories are beautiful and the pictures make them become REAL when you know the story behind the hands. Hands aren't always attractive but the stories they can tell speak volumes if they could. This is a good book to lay out on the coffee table and pick it up and read it when you just have 2-3 minutes of inspirational time.

You may want to check out the notecards that are available for purchase here

proceeds from Real go to various charities click here for more information concerning this

Link to buy the book

While “Real” is her first published book, Malcolm is no stranger to creative projects, as coowner and restorer of an historic chapel, La Perla del Mar in Shell Beach, CA, and a set designer for theater and film. Shelley Malcolm was named Pismo Beach’s Citizen of the Year in 2011 for her extensive contributions and involvement in the community. Proceeds from the book benefit the author’s favorite charities. Shelley Malcolm graduated from University of Southern California with a degree in dental hygiene. Shelley Malcolm resides in Shell Beach, California with her husband, Doug. Shelley has four adult children. Her interests include painting, drawing, sculpting, building, playing piano and other musical instruments, outdoor activities including hiking, ocean kayaking, running, water and snow-skiing, international travel, sewing, reading, writing and others. For more information, please visit http://marthamartha.net/ or http://realthebook.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for stopping by my site today, Shelley. Your book Real is gorgeous. What prompted you to start this project?

Inspiration from a dream of similar images, that revealed the beauty in imperfections... the hand image is made beautiful by the life behind it, and it is a body part that is impossible to enhance or fake.

Is that why you chose the hands to symbolize a life lived?

The hand is more anonymous than a face or even eyes which show identity and emotion. Also, they portray our work, our affection, our worry, scars, and even our mistakes...

What is unique about Real?

I believe the concept is unique, the layout is different, and it feels like reading a yearbook or

journal. It can easily serve as a devotional and it appeals to a widespread audience.

What do you hope the reader takes away after reading Real?

The simple pleasure of reading it, and more so, an appreciation of the beauty of authenticity of others or their own, and the "perfect plan of diversity". You can read more about this in my article on diversity located here. Pg. 35

With Christmas coming up, why would Real make a great gift for anyone on your gift list?

Real is artistically beautiful, gentle and inspiring, and can be enjoyed by men or women of all ages. It is easy for all to relate to and feel comfortable with. The subject matter feels familiar, even though it’s new, and readers always relate and have something to say about their hands or their story. Real stimulates memories and discussion and has even been used in several ways: a memorial, a devotional, as a hostess gift, and other gifts of course.

About the photographer:

Terilee Dawn Ouimette specializes in photographing weddings, families and newborns through her business, Terilee Dawn Photography. Ouimette’s love of photography began with a gift of her first camera at the age of eight. Her collaboration on the book “Real” with author Shelley Malcolm represents the first published book for both women. Terilee Dawn resides in Shell Beach, California with her husband and the couple’s newborn son, Grayson. Ouimette’s hobbies include art, photography, crafting, reading, and travel. For more information about her work please visit http://terileedawn.com.

Blog Tour Schedule

A copy of this book was provided for this tour by...

Martyr Mom or Servant Model? by Carla Anne Coroy

2011-12-08T15:36:00.001-06:00

Martyr Mom or Servant Model?

by Carla Anne Coroy

Do you know a martyr mom? She does her teens’ laundry and makes their lunches. She cleans the house from top to bottom—all by herself. She stays up late, day in and day out, doing all of the unfinished work.

She’s the mom who ‘sacrificially’ gives up a family outing—even though they were her kids' chores she stayed home to do. She recites her arm-length to-do list after telling you about how she agreed to help her kids with their various projects.

You likely know a martyr mom. But have you ever wondered if you might be one?
We started serving our families out of love. We loved them as we did their laundry. We served them as we packed lunches, cleaned bathrooms, drove carpools, and fixed bicycles . . . And then somewhere along the line, our serving morphed into martyrdom.

Is doing everything for everyone really loving? How can we protect ourselves from becoming martyr moms?

What would Jesus advise you to do? He taught his disciples to do what he was doing. He took them along wherever he went. He let them do some work. He sent them out to preach, heal, and cast out demons. Sometimes they did well, other times they came back wondering what went wrong. Jesus knew they needed plenty of room to try, and sometimes to fail. He didn’t hover to make sure they did things perfectly and neither did he rush to fix things when their attempts went awry.

To be servant models, we need to imitate Jesus. We need to give our children the tools to work hard and develop responsibility. Let your children watch you work, then work with you, and eventually you can watch them work and succeed without you. Give them household chores and tasks so they can develop skills, recognize what they are capable of, and discover their contribution is valuable.

We need to teach our children to set boundaries. Let your children see you turn down requests to serve sometimes. Do you really need to volunteer on every committee? Healthy boundaries encourage your kids to experience the joy of serving and to choose best over good.

Serving our families requires us to teach our kids to do their best. If we expect their best and then accept what they do, we are setting them up to succeed and persevere. If your children do their best but it isn’t as good as you would do it, leave it alone. Don’t redo the job! If Jesus only accepted perfect work from his people, he wouldn’t have chosen the rag-tag team of men he did. He expects our best, and then accepts it, even when our efforts fall short.

Love sometimes says no. When we are exhausted and we do for our kids what they could do for themselves, we are teaching them they don’t need to care about how they affect others. We are also saying that our poorest effort is better than their best. Occasionally saying no to our children also gives them permission to say no when a request butts up against their limits.
Serving also means looking around to see how you might bless someone. It means bringing a meal to a sick family, or clothes to the family who needs some, or giving Daddy a backrub. Teach your children to ask, “How could I serve someone today?” Give them the joy of serving others at home, and by volunteering at church or in the community.

Let’s leave the Martyr Mom complex behind and be like Jesus—Servant Models.

Check out Book tour here

Carla Anne Coroy runs the Married Single Mom blog at www.carlaannecoroy.blogspot.com. She speaks regularly and serves as a staff writer for an online Christian women’s magazine Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. Carla Anne lives in Canada with her husband and four homeschooled children. For more information, visit www.carlaanne.com.