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“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”- Psalm 138:2

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Halo Found Hope ~ Helo Matzelle

Encouraging, inspirational, true story!  This is the true story of a lady whose life was changed within a visit to the doctors.  Helo (pronounced Halo) has a rare brain tumor and goes in to have surgery to release the pressure and ends up having to start over in life by learning to walk, talk, read, eat and anything that you do when you are a baby.  Her journey makes you realize that life is short and changes daily.  Everyone has a story to tell.  Helo keeps her faith in GOD and works very hard to get her life back.  With the support of her husband, 3 children, family, her faith and GOD, she will return to living life with love, joy and happiness. 

What an inspiration Helo is to everyone, you think your life is bad, but you never know what someone else has had to overcome.  This book is recommended for everyone to read.  It is a true story that can happen to anyone at anytime in life.  This is a great book to use in book clubs as it is real life and great conversations can start with every chapter read.

Buy this book for you, your friends and anyone else you see on the street!!  You will not be let down with this story!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Litfuse. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Why Easter? Why Christmas? ~ Barbara Reaoch

These books are great for many reasons and can be used in many ways.  Both Books are written in a form to be used the month during Easter and Christmas, but can also be used any time of the year.  they haves great illustrations and an easy to read format.  There are pages for each day and is set up to be used as a daily lesson.  It contains a bible verse to be memorized, details in story format the reason for Easter and Christmas, a song that goes with the daily lessons, questions to be discussed and much more. 

This can be used as a daily devotional, a nightly children's lesson, Sunday School, book groups, home schooling and many more, you can choose to use it any way you would like. 

I recommend this for any and all ages, is a great way to learn about the real reason we celebrate both these holidays.  Great Books!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Cross Focused Review. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Thursday, March 26, 2015

The Soup Club Cookbook ~

A group of 4 women get together and share homemade soup recipes that are cooked by themselves.  This book is about how you can start a soup club of your own and how 4 women got together and each took a week out of the month and made 8 quarts of soup to share with each other and their families.  Great idea!  This sounds to good to be true, but you can do it. 

The book is very detailed and has very easy directions to get your group started.  It has great recipes that you can tweak for those allergies or foods you don't like. It has wonderful color photos of the soups and side dish foods.  I really enjoyed this book and think it is a wonderful idea. 

I would recommend this book to women, men, cooks, moms that want to cook, those that are interested in making a difference to others and many more that just love soup.  This would be a great book for mom's groups and any ladies lunch groups.  Good gift idea book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Blogging for books. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Friday, March 20, 2015

The Bible in Pop Culture ~ Kevin Harvey

I was excited to get this book and what a disappointment.  I did not understand what this book was trying to say.  The back cover explains how Kevin is going to tell us how GOD shows up in movies, TV shows and the media today.  I did not read this cover to cover as the book has no flow, it is confusing and not an easy understanding read.  The font through out the book is big, little, fuzzy, outlined, highlighted, different types of font, very hard on your eyes and very distracting.  I wish I could have gotten through the book, but I did skim it to try to find a subject I could understand and what he was trying to get through to the readers.  I did not like that he puts only a few words from a bible verse and then give the reference i.e.....(v.2) (v. 3-4).  At the end of the book, it has crossword puzzles, mazes, word search and quizzes, that you would find in a child's Sunday school class bulletin.  Needless to say I was heartbroken as I was looking forward to this book. 

I would not recommend this book to anyone as I couldn't understand what the message was in this book.  Sorry to say, don't buy this unless you are at a bookstore and can skim it and see if you understand the flow.  I do hope that someone does understand the format of this book, as I can tell Kevin did try and he put effort into writing this.  This is just not my style of book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through booksneeze. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Monday, March 16, 2015

Salad Love ~ David Bez

Not a cookbook, this is a book all about salads!  David tells of how he started a project on making a salad at work for each day and made one on his lunch hour for a whole year.  The book is very well done.  It has colorful photos of each salad he ate each day.  The pages are nice coated, detailed and uses heavy paper.  The salads are sectioned out for what is in season, winter, spring, summer, fall.  Of course you can mix and match and it all looks tasty.  Each salad only contains 5-6 ingredients, very easy and fast to make.  David gives a few pages in the beginning of different salad dressings, explains spices, gives an explanation of why he did the book and why salads became important to him.

I loved this book and can't wait to try out these salads. You can even use the suggestions to make them bigger for the whole family to enjoy.  I loved the variety and that each salad had ingredients that you can purchase at any store or have right in your refrigerator. David also does substitutions for vegans, which is a great plus.  This is a new way to get people to eat salads... I can't wait to start!  I recommend that anyone that wants new, fresh and a healthy way to eat... BUY THIS BOOK!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Blogging for books. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Easter Stories ~ many different authors

Great collection of stories about Easter.  These are classical and short stories all put in one book.  This book covers many different types of stories from childhood and many famous authors that we have all grown up with.  I like that it had 27 different short stories that could be read at anytime of the day and in any order.  This is a book that you can sit down pick up, spend sometime reading and then realize just what Easter is all about and how each story has a moral and meaning.  You can also use it as a family tradition of sitting around in the evening and reading a story out loud and then talking about the meaning of what you just read.  I like the flexibility and the memories that this book will create.  I have not seen a book like this that covers Easter in such a classic way.

I would recommend this as a great read for the whole family.  You can also use it for any Sunday School lesson or reading clubs.  In today's world,  the younger generation would call this book old and vintage... we call it "The Beginning".  


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Handlebar/ Plough Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Life Unstuck ~ Patrica Layton

Excellent book to get your life on track!  So many things clutter your life, stress you out, make you feel unworthy, make you feel that you are not getting your to do list done... does it really matter??  Take a look at Psalms 31 and reading each chapter of this book will make you realize what really counts and how you can de clutter and de stress your life.  This is the first book I have seen in a long time that is real.  It has many exercises that make you not only realize life's needs, it makes you look at how you see yourself.

This is the type of book that you can pick up and read cover to cover or pick up and just read the subject you want to read.  I would recommend this to all women, any age.  This is a great book for a lady's group study, small study with a few friends or just to read by yourself.  In addition, Patricia has a great website with lots of additional back ups and printable material.  Loved this book!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Thursday, March 12, 2015

You're loved no matter what ~ Holley Gerth

This is a great book for those that struggle with having to be perfect.  It is a book that explains many different types of emotions that we have when we want and strive to have the perfect life like Jesus.  Only GOD can be perfect.  This book teaches us to change and realize that we are missing out on what GOD wants us to enjoy.  When we have emotional feelings and anxiety, we are really missing out the blessings and grace that GOD gives us.  I like how each chapter has questions and helpful exercises to help you get through the struggles of everyday life.

I would recommend this book to all women that have the need to be perfect.  This is a great book to use as a ladies study, small group study or just an individual study.  Great self help book, that really makes you think in a biblical positive way.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Wrestling for my life ~ Shawn Michaels

The story of Shawn Michaels, retired WWE wrestler tells the story of his career and faith in GOD.  This is for those that love wrestling and want to know about his faith background.  I am not a wrestling fan, but was intrigued to read about his faith and how he used GOD to help him through his daily walk in life. I found this book to be short and felt I needed to read his first book in order to really get the feeling of how GOD had changed his life.

If you are a wrestling fan you will appreciate this story.  However, I am not and couldn't quite relate to some of the chapters of the people he was talking about.  I could relate to his descriptions of how his faith and GOD works in your life.  This is a book for the men in your life, I don't think my female friends would enjoy it that much.  I give Shawn credit for being honest, open and pray that his effort will reach those that do not have a relationship with JESUS.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through booklook bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Betting on Hope ~ Debra Copton

Very entertaining romance story.... This is a story of a writer filling in at the last minute to interview a cowboy, that soon turns into a reality show.  Maggie is a city girl forced to move to the farm and learn how to ride a horse.  Being taught by a very handsome cowboy, Tru, that just doesn't get the whole picture of love and being loved.  This story not only has romance it has a few other side stories that keep you turning the pages.  From a homeless pregnant teenager, to a dad having Alzheimer's.  It is a very good read that tugs at your heart, makes you laugh and just plain entertains in today's time.

I would recommend this to anyone that wants to read a good, fun story. This could be a hallmark movie.  I really liked this book, it is book 1 of a series, can't wait for the next one.  It is a good gift for any of your friends.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Litfuse. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

The Unveiled Wife ~ Jennifer Smith


This is a very different kind of story that I have ever read.  It is the true story of Jennifer Smith and how she was determined to save her marriage.   Jennifer tells her story in each chapter covering her struggles and trials, at the end of the chapter, she has very helpful questions for you to think about and help you make the right choices for your own marriage.  This story covers the subject of intimacy and your faith in GOD.

I would recommend this book to women and especially anyone that is a wife.  It is a light read, with a very heavy subject that you can't take lightly.  It is a special book that talks about a subject matter that I have not seen talked in this type of manner, with grace and class.  It has GOD and faith in every chapter of this book.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Tyndale. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Loved Back to Life: How I Found the Courage to Live Free ~ Shelia Walsh

Shelia tells the truth about her journey with depression and walking with GOD as she returns to an everyday life schedule.  She tells in great details and depth of how she felt she had it all, until one day she walks off the set of her Christian talk show and checks into a hospital to figure out why she is having thoughts of suicide and going through depression.  It is a very dark time in her life and she does a great job of explaining why and how it is ok by GOD to get help. 

In today's society many people, Christians included, do not understand what depression really is.  It is a chemical imbalance and it is ok to take medication to feel better.  Shelia does a great job to explain and make people understand this condition. 

I would recommend this book to anyone that suffers with depression. If you have a family member, friend or co-worker that also lives with this everyday, read this book and buy a copy for them.  It is a great read and she really hits home for those that can relate and understand what she is going through.  If you enjoy reading biographies, then you will enjoy this, not her whole life story, but does cover parts of her life that explains why she feels the way she does.  Great Job and easy read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through booklook bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. 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

Twisted Innocence ~ Terri Blackstock

Another great murder, mystery, drama book from Terri Blackstock.  I love her books and was not disappointed with this one.  This is a story of a family torn by a drug lord wanting to destroy their family.  In the book you have the main character, Holly trying to change her life from drugs to be a respectable mother, only to have her involved with a crime that she is not aware of how she is being targeted from the drug king and being used to frame others of his crimes.  As usual this story has many twists and turns and a big twist at the end that you don't see coming.  I love how the story covers the forgiveness of GOD no matter what your sin is.

I recommend this book for all ages and especially those that like crime/drama and mystery with lots of twists.  The book keeps you reading as you want to know what is going to happen.  I couldn't put this book down, once I started, I didn't stop reading until I was done.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Litfuse. I was not required to write a positive review. 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