Katie's Forever Promise

This is book number 3 in the   Emma Raber's Daughter series. 

The story begins as Katie has been baptized into the Amish church, and recovering from a broken heart.  As the story moves along, her former boyfriend enters back into her life, turning her world upside down.  Katie now has decisions to make.     

The story was typical of most Amish fiction.

I enjoyed the story, but I feel the author could have done some better research.   The Amish culture does not do prayers spoke out loud at dinner, and the one segment where Katie and Carolyn go to the beach is far fetched.  One cannot get from Dover Delaware to the beaches by  horse and buggy.    

There's A Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse

There’s no uncertainty about it! Motherhood changes your life—mentally, emotionally, and physically. Find sensible insights and biblical wisdom to help you display humility, patience, and love in the book there’s a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse.

Written for mothers by a mother, there’s a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse is a Christian parenting book that calls for women “to be those patient, peaceful and content mothers our kids need.” It’s a book that aims to nurture, reprimand, and sometimes sympathize with, its readers. Each of the eleven chapters is centered on a specific trait that a mother might hope to exemplify (e.g., “I Want to Be a Selfless Mother,” “I Want to Be a Patient Mother,” “I Want to Be a Productive Mother,” etc.)

I like that there is not only honesty, but truth, humor and great information in THERE"S A GREEN PLASTIC MONKEY IN MY PURSE.  We, as mothers, want to be the best mother we can. Jessie Clemence talks about all that and more. She discusses topics such as wanting to be a selfless mother, a happy mother, fearless mother a pretty mother and so much more. There is inspiration sprinkled within too.

I value the spirit and sincerity of the book, and I do believe there is an audience for it out there, ready to be encouraged by its content.  

Included is a funny quiz, interesting interviews with moms, study questions, and more.  

Tending the Soul 90 Days of Spiritual Nourishment

This is a great little devotional . Many well known authors and artists contributed. I enjoyed reading the insights that these busy creative women gathered from their  time with the Lord. I liked the illustrations of their individual experiences as it gave me a peek into their lives and challenges.

Each devotional is two pages long. The author gives a scripture verse, a short devotional, a personal prayer, and ends with reflection questions to help you think about relate this scripture to your life.

Each one will encourage you and cause you to look within yourself. At the end of each one there is a suggestion to, Journal, sketch, compose a poem, write a letter to God, and think on a hymn or worship song that comes to mind.

This is a nice book to just pick up and read in a short time  to help focus your busy mind in the middle of the day. The stories are wide-ranging, some more emotional than others but geared to a wide range of women.

Tending the Soul is a nice addition to your daily devotions and Bible reading time.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

My So Called Life As A Submissive Wife

Submissive. Not the word every woman wants to hear; the word seems to raise the hair on the back of every woman's neck. Men seem uncomfortable with it, because they want their wives to be submissive  but it often comes across as intolerant and unjust, but to not want their wives to be submissive can make them seem as if they are not concerned with upholding a biblical directive of man as the head of the house with wife as the submissive helpmeet.

So where to find that balance? This book, "My So-Called Life as a Submissive Wife" by Sara Horn experiments in her own life, trying to follow what she believed the Bible says about being a submissive wife and struggling with it.  Sara gives a look into her numerous struggles as well as small victories and accomplishments along her journey..She simply shared her encouragement for attempting to walk in what she considers Godly submission, and the results.

What I liked about this book: I liked that Sara chose to be personal in it. That she not only shared the good times, the triumphs, the joy, the good information she gained, but that she also shared the times when she felt discouraged, annoyed, weighed down, opposed to, or not good enough.  It's a very "real" book.

  I felt it was relatively well written, very attractive overall and had some very important ideas to put out there.  

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Poison

Ms. Redwood has written a very action packed murder mystery, which is the second book in the Trilogy “Bloodline”.

Keelyn Blake thinks she's put her past behind her. Until she's approached by a man claiming to be Lucent which is the name of the hallucination that induced Keelyn's stepfather to kill most of her family. Now a string of murders strike people associated with that horrid day. Keelyn and the one man who refuses to give up on her trace a baffling trail of evidence toward the killer.

Intense and gripping. From the first swallow, Poison’s powerful brew of medical, police, and psychological thrills won’t leave your system. The only antidote is to finish the book—which you'll do in record time.

This book is a great read, for those who like a good suspense book.  I was a little disappointed because there was very little mention of God, the bible or anything about Christianity in it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Making the Most of the Cross

It's attractive to see the cross as the 'basic stuff' of Christianity. In order to become a Christian we need to hear the message of the cross, but once we've heard and trusted it, we often feel like we need to move on to practical living applications. That's true (we need to be growing, learning and maturing in our faith), but we must never lose sight of the cross. Making The Most of The Cross is a book that looks at both the death and resurrection of Jesus. These two events are at the heart of what Christians believe. Yet we can find them difficult to wrap our brains around

This little book does a great work in reminding Christians of the importance of Jesus' death and resurrection. In just 99 pages, it explores Jesus' death as:

bringing salvation
a substitute
a ransom
turning away God's anger
defeating Satan
the way God justifies sinners
the unifying force in the Christian community
bringing forgiveness and cleansing

Often the resurrection gets pushed into the background as the focus seems to be on Jesus' death. John Chapman doesn't neglect the importance of what Jesus achieved in triumphing over sin, death, and the devil when He rose from the dead. The resurrection means:

Jesus is God's King forever
Jesus is the judge of all people
Jesus' sacrifice was full, perfect and sufficient
Our fear of death is removed
We too will have resurrection bodies
Jesus alone can take us through death to life eternal


 Chapman’s book is an easy to read book that pulls apart Jesus’ death and resurrection and clearly explains why you should care. Each chapter looks at a different topic, such as “Jesus’ death turns away God’s anger” or “Jesus’ resurrection removes our fear of death”. To give you an idea of how easy this is to read, each chapter is about four pages long. No matter what you reading level is, this is a very readable book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
(http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/freeforbloggers)

Organic Outreach for Families

The Harneys’ book, Organic Outreach for Families, addresses some questions as a Christian parent: How do you reach in to disciple your children and help them develop their own personal and real relationship with Jesus Christ?  And then how do we as a family reach out to our community with the love and witness of Jesus? So often this is a difficult balance.  We want to protect our children from worldly influences and keep them safe, so we crumple inward.  Sometimes that means we associate only with Christians—church, private or home schooling, Christian clubs, Christian activities. 

On the other hand, we can engross ourselves so much in our community and neighborhoods, focusing on outreach neglecting  the discipleship and character formation of our own families.  We can raise our children up in a spiritual nothingness, neglecting to teach them God’s Word.   We  talk about God’s Word on a Sunday morning ride home from church, but our behavior  doen’t show what we are teaching. 

Each chapter ends  with a brief synopsis, highlighting the points and even giving some tips on how to apply this to your family.    Whether your focus currently is teaching your own children about God, reaching your extended family, or sharing Jesus with your community, this book will help you make that a way of life.   Organic Outreach for Families is an excellent missional book with a focus on assisting families in living out the Great Commission through  opportunities of daily life. This book is an inspirational how-to guide filled with attainable practical ideas of how to share the light and love of Jesus with your children, family and community.

The Harneys describe the beauty of homes that shine the light of Jesus:

"Every lighthouse home will look a bit different, but they will all have one thing in common. They will be places where Jesus is King, where his love is present, and where the Holy Spirit is at work. A lighthouse home is a place where the amazing grace of God is felt and the saving message of Jesus is heard. It's a place where the glow of God's light is strong and people are drawn to the Savior. Homes like this can change a community, a state, a nation, even the world."

Organic Outreach for Families is an outstanding book that will motivate your family to be the salt and light of Jesus to your own family and your community. If you wish for your family to live missionally, while sharing the gospel and impacting those around you for God's Kingdom, this book will drive you forward with Biblical encouragement and practical ideas. If you have interest in ministering with your family, to a broken world that desperately needs Jesus, you will enjoy reading this book!   This book is a great resource that will help you take your family to the next level, not only of knowing God, but of becoming a loving, caring family for all who come in contact with it!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lord I Give You This Day

This is another great book from Kay Arthur.  Anyone looking for a devotional will truly love this one.

Ms. Arthur brings you into a deeper relationship with God, helping you to discover what He has for you.  Each devotion has a prayer, lots of scripture,  and applicable readings to apply to your life.

The devotional is set up nicely, and would make a lovely gift for someone.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Forgive others, Forgiving Me

In her new book, "Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me", Renee shows readers how to: let go of the pain and unforgiveness of the past, to accept God's forgiveness and learn to forgive others in turn.

I like how she tells us to think about our hurts being in a box…do we store them up and keep them so we can be hurt again and again?  Or do we forgive, and let go?   The author shows us how to do this by exploring the truths of Scripture and sharing her own extraordinary story of healing and repentance.

 Renee Fisher shows others in her generation how they too can be set free.

The Amish Canning Cookbook

I love recipe books, and this one is no exception!  Coming from a "plain" background, where canning is a must, I really enjoyed this book.
Ms. Varozza, takes you from step one to getting down to the nitty gritty of recipes. She covers everything from getting started, to the safety of canning.  Tackling meat and stews requires a lot more thought and precautions which are all covered.

If your interested in canning I highly recommend this book.