Thursday, March 27, 2014

A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge

This is a Christian Fiction about a woman raised by a French family and her grandmother had a pastry store. After her grandmother’s death, she is finding her way of dealing with the loss and stumbles over a picture in a kitchen piece she inherits. There is mystery as she tries to find out who is in the picture, while she tries to determine if she will go into business with her brother. She is also trying to find her place in life after being the “single” woman for so long. She has to face a relative with a serious illness and tries her hand at love.
Each chapter starts with a quote about food or chocolate, which I find cute. At the end of every chapter is a recipe, of course they are French related and some are complex, but recipes are always something I like to look at – a little extra given after finishing a chapter. This isn’t a normal book that I would had picked up to read, but I am glad I did. It was a good little getaway story that was enjoyable. I would had liked to had seen a few extra chapters at the end of the story to continue the ending, but it has a good ending that leaves you able to put the ending details together and leaves you thinking about the characters. This isn’t one of those Christian fiction books that shares verses or leaves a little lesson, the characters basically go to church. But it is a book that I would recommend for anyone that likes a good story! I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this honest review.
http://www.christianbook.com/table-window-family-secrets-heirloom-recipes/hillary-lodge/9780307731753/pd/731753?item_code=WW&netp_id=1133702&event=ESRCG&view=details

Monday, March 24, 2014

Are your words & thoughts pleasing to the Lord?

At the end of each church service, the church recites Psalm 19:14. This past Sunday the Pastor spoke on this one verse and how well do we truely try to obey it.
<May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

He pointed out that we are also accountable for our thoughts, not only the words that come out of our mouths. This really hits home and should be something we all strive to control daily. Our words are one of the hardest areas to control until you think about controlling your thoughts....
your thoughts about your spouse...your kids....your family...your inlaws....your church...your friends... your co-workers... the list goes on and on....

Living Life Undaunted ~ 365 Readings & Reflections

After reading Christine Caine’s Living Life Undaunted, I was happy to see the devotional come out. I like how there is a certain reading for each day that has the date! That way you really don’t have to worry about a bookmark. It starts out with a verse, then there is a devotional, reflection, or some story that goes with the verse that challenges your daily life or is just simple thought to carry you through your day. At the end of each day is a Moment of Reflection on which she asks you a question. It is a great way to keep your mind on living that day with a great thought or challenge. I personally love in her Introduction when she says, “I believe one year of healthy daily thoughts can reap a great spiritual harvest in our lives.” Her writings are great for everyone but are really good for those that have lived with abuse and hurt. She has that past and shows how she has overcome. There are stories from her book, but she had added a little more for the daily readings. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Christine speak in person, you should! She is truly a great speaker and woman of God!
I have the paperback form of the book. I sort of wish it was sized like most books. It is a short thick book, but for a daily reading book some might like that. It keeps most of the one day per page. This will be one of those books that I keep in my daily readings. I received this book from the booklook blogger reading program and Zondervan in return for my honest review. Thank you!
http://booklookbloggers.com/art/_240_360_Book.1159.cover.jpg

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Heaven is for Real - The Movie Edition

Heaven is for Real
By Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
Special Movie Edition –
I had previously read the Heaven is for Real when it came out. This book is so touching, I believe everyone should read it every couple of years. It brought peace to me having my grandmother and father die recently. To know that they are in such an amazing place with such peace, it is a great thing to read about. I love how Colton then young would talk about something in Heaven and it would stop his parents in their tracks b/c it would really touch them! From the loss to his sister to his grandfather looking young. I now will stop and look at pictures of my relatives in their prime to picture how they would look in heaven. Of course you have to think about what age is my prime – I’ll take my late 20’s! My original book has been passed around through the family to bring them peace. This is a book that you want to keep a copy of handy to stop and read occasionally at any point to see the awesomeness of heaven! Then to know there is a movie coming out that has to be a must see for the entire family! I loved how the back of this Movie Edition is set up with the interviews of the actors, casting choices, to even a catch up with Colton who is now a teenager! The Q&A with Colton Burpo today was one of the best parts to have this Special Movie Edition. It was nice to read about how he is doing and his thoughts on the movie. It was good to hear he is still a kid with kid priorities, but how he still feels about heaven! I love this description of how you hide when you don’t want to leave someone’s house or somewhere fun and that is how heaven is! This book is sure to make you look differently at life.
This book was provided by the booklook bloggers program and Thomas Nelson publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe by Sharon Jaynes

A blessing to have in my reading library!
This was my first book to read about Sharon Jaynes, so I read her Author Bio to find out she’s been involved with Proverbs 31 and Family Life, 2 resources that I am familiar with. I started this year out by purposely having the question, “Have I prayed for my husband today?”, written to remind me to constantly pray for my husband. So when I saw this book available, I jumped at it. I am so glad that I did! The beginning of the book it is like she is having a talk with you on why we should pray for our husbands, reminding us it isn’t easy, and if we continue, God will soften our hearts! The second half of the book is split into 30 days, in which I am using on the calendar to show me which day to use. There are many areas for each day from His Mind, His eyes, ears, neck, shoulders, heart, arms, ring finger, knees,hands, etc. I love it. If I am running behind on time, I can just go for a few areas. Each area has a bible verse and then you have a short prayer for your husband based on that verse. At the very end of the book there are a few areas that all of us wives pray for fatherhood, healing, and salvation.
This is a great book for all wives and would be a great book for a new wife to get on the right path. Even if you are having a hard time in your marriage, I would say grab this book and pray!
It is very easy to read and will be a daily reading material in my stack of prayers/devotions.
She even has a site developed for people to check in about your journey. www.prayingforyourhusband.com
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this honest review.
Link to cover pic. http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9781601424716&width=125