Refuge on Crescent Hill

My Review:

In today's economic downturn it's easy to find yourself working one day and the next you're not. Camden Bristow returns home from Indonesia after the floods only to find her current office of employment vacant. No one is there. Her phone calls to her boss only return with a disconnected recording. With her credit cards maxed out, and her landlord threatening to toss her out by 5pm tonight, Camden has no choice but to head back to her grandmother's home on Crescent Hill in hopes she provide her a place to stay until she can get back on her feet again.

What she finds at her grandmother's is her worst nightmare. Her grandmother has passed away 5 days before she arrives and the once beautiful and magnificent mansion on Crescent Hill is about to be condemned by the city for being to unsafe to live in. If she only had the money to fix it, she would have a home to stay in. When Camden learns her grandmother, Rosalie has left the home to her, she now has to decide what is best for her and her families history. Can she bear to sell her families home that was once a station for the Underground Railroad some 150 years ago?

I received The House on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and can honestly rate this book 10 out of 10. It's a definite must read and the characters are true to life and completely believable. I can definitely see this book as having a sequel and hope that Melanie Dobson decides to continue the story. For more information on the book including a first chapter preview, the wonderful and talented author, and more see the links below:

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Refuge on Crescent Hill

Kregel Publications (March 11, 2010)

by

Melanie Dobson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good.



Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.



Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.



Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.







ABOUT THE BOOK

THE HOMECOMING WASN’T WHAT SHE EXPECTED…

Jobless, homeless, and broke, Camden Bristow decides to visit the grandmother she hasn’t seen in years. But when Camden arrives in Etherton, Ohio, she discovers that her grandmother has passed away, leaving her the 150-year-old mansion on Crescent Hill. The site of her happiest summers as a child, the run-down mansion is now her only refuge.



When Camden finds evidence that she may not be the mansion’s only occupant, memories of Grandma Rosalie’s bedtime stories about secret passageways and runaway slaves fuel her imagination. What really happened at Crescent Hill? Who can she turn to for answers in this town full of strangers? And what motivates the handsome local Alex Yates to offer his help? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camdem uncovers deep family secrets within the mansion’s walls that could change her life─and the entire town─forever.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Refuge on Crescent Hill, go HERE.

Missing Max

When baby Max is kidnapped during Mardi Gras, Jane and Kyle Madison's life falls apart.

What their daughter Melanie, does next is unthinkable.

Max vanished into thin air while in the care of his teenage sister, Melanie. Six months later, the family is a shadow of its former self: Melanie blames herself and is acting out and rebellious; Jane is obsessed with finding Max; and Kyle, a lawyer, struggles to cope with his own grief - and a persistent suspicion that one of his cases is connected to Max's disappearance.

With her family in turmoil and her marriage on the rocks, Jane thinks things can't get any worse. Then when an affair and an unexpected pregnancy threaten to tear the Madison's lives apart, an anonymous caller leads to a break in the case. Can a second kidnapping bring their family back together? (excerpt from back cover).

My Review:

Being a mom, I thought I would find reading this book, Missing Max by Karen Young, to be a challenge based on the content of a child being kidnapped. However upon reading this story I gained insight I had never realized before. You get to see what happens in the lives of this family that is forced to move forward with each day and what the results are in their marriage.

Melanie was supposed to be watching Max while he slept in his stroller and when a Mardi Gras float stops in front of her and her friends, she realizes she knows the people on the float. She is only distracted for a few minutes but it's enough time to realize that her baby brother has been taken.

She frantically calls her mom who has left to get them something to eat and can't believe it when Melanie tells her what has happened. How on earth will they find Max in the middle of a Mardi Gras parade?

Jane feels responsible for leaving Max while she went to get them all something to eat. Melanie feels she is responsible for not keeping her attention on her brother, and Jane's husband Kyle, is upset with them both.

All they find after searching for an hour is a tennis shoe left behind in Max's stroller by the river's edge.

Trust me when I tell you this, the book is amazing. I love how the faith of God is revealed in the families crisis when they at first blame God for taking their son. Yet it's through that same faith that will slowly over time bring the family back to Him. See what amazing details God does throughout this book. I would highly recommend it and give it a 10 out of 10!

I received this book compliments from Glass Road Public Relations for my honest review. If you would like more information about this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of Missing Max, by Karen Young, please click on the link below:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Missing-Max/Karen-Young/e/9781416587491/?itm=2&USRI=missing+max

Simple Secrets

My Review

At first I wasn't sure how I would like this book about a Mennonite town set in the town of Harmony, Kansas, but after reading this book, I would love to move anywhere like this small town describes. Just the love of the people for one another within a small town is something I've been searching for my whole life. A simple town much like Mayberry from the old Andy Griffith show. Grace Temple finds herself the lone heir of her old Uncle Benjamin's home when he dies. Since he hasn’t spoken to anyone in his family since Gracie's parents left the town of Harmony, Gracie was the only family left he wasn't angry with.

Gracie's plans are to head to Harmony and collect what family heirlooms remain, sell the house and be back in Wichita in two weeks. What she discovers in the town of Harmony is that it isn't as harmonious as the name implies. Someone has a secret to hide. One that has been buried by the town's inhabitants and one that may very well put Gracie's life in danger after she arrives.

I received Simple Secrets by Nancy Mehl, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and absolutely fell in love with the story from page one to the very end. It has also opened my eyes to the old ways of the Mennonite people and the strong faith that ties families and friends together with the grace of God. I would highly recommend this book as the perfect story to lose yourself in. All the characters are believable and lovable from the harsh, old neighbor, Sweetie to the new pastor of the church Abel and his wife Emily. I would rate this book a perfect 10 out of 10. Trust me, this is one to keep in a permanent home in your library or to give as a gift for someone who questions their faith in God.


For more information about the book, the author and where to purchase you own copy, please read below:

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Simple Secrets Barbour Books (June 1, 2010)

by

Nancy Mehl





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband Norman and her son, Danny. She’s authored nine books and is currently at work on her newest series for Barbour Publishing.



All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”



CREATING FICTION FULL OF FAITH, HOPE AND HEART…



Nancy Mehl is a mystery writer who loves to set her novels in her home state of Kansas. Her three-in-one book, COZY IN KANSAS, contains the first three Ivy Towers’s mysteries: IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, BYE BYE BERTIE, and FOR WHOM THE WEDDING BELL TOLLS which was nominated for the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award in mystery.



She and her husband attend Believer’s Tabernacle in Wichita.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Graphic designer Gracie Temple wants it all: the big city lifestyle and a successful job in advertising. And it looks like her life is on the right track when she takes a job at a struggling, midsize firm in Wichita.



But Gracie Temple's uncle left her a house in a rural Mennonite community. She soon learns he secluded himself for years to protect a secret about her own father. Now it's up to Gracie to decide if she'll keep the secret or if she can afford to expose it.



Sam Goodrich loves his fruit farm in Harmony, Kansas. But when he meets city-girl Gracie, he begins to wonder if he could leave it behind for a woman who makes him feel things he's never felt before.



When someone tries to keep Gracie from discovering the truth behind the town's collection of secrets, will Sam and Gracie cling to their faith to help them decide what's most important...before it's too late?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Simple Secrets, go HERE.

Heart of Lies

Meet Leo Hoffman, a dashing young Hungarian, born with a gift for languages. After his dreams for the future are destroyed by WWI, he attempts to use his talent to rebuild his life, only to find himself inadvertently embroiled in an international counterfeiting scheme.

When he discovers he's wanted across the European continent for a host of crimes including murder, he escapes with his lover to Shanghai, taking with him a stolen treasure that will prove to be his salvation or his death warrant.

But he soon learns that the gangsters who control the decadent city do not intend to let him outrun his past, and when the Japanese invade, one wrong move costs him everything he holds dear. (excerpt from back cover).

My Review:

This book is a blend of Bourne Supremacy meets Mission Impossible. The book starts off with his Leo Hoffman as he learns that his foster mother and her husband have been murdered due to their communist dealings. Leo had not involved himself in their plans and thus finds himself being warned by the Countess, who he shared a brief affair with that his life is in danger if he remains here.

Since Leo is a man gifted in the ability to quickly learn new languages just by being around those that speak it, he is hired by a man named Bacso who finds a way to make Leo a rich man to use those languages to eavesdrop on a arms deal with several wealthy businessmen. Since Leo has lost everything, he agrees. Yet before the day of the meeting, he is asked by the Chief of Police in Budapest to purchase a diamond and emerald necklace for a wife of someone he is having an affair with.

The Chief doesn't want his integrity and position compromised, and he tells Leo that he will make it difficult for him to leave the country if he doesn't help him out. Forced into this situation, he agrees and purchases the necklace.

While Leo is out making the purchase he falls instantly in love with a lady in Paris named Martha Levy. She too, has the mutual feelings of love for Leo, the suave, handsome looking, charasmatic man she meets in a cafe. They spend the night in a Paris hotel and Leo proposes not being able to spend one more day without her. She agrees!

The next day, he reads in the newspaper that a man has been arrested for using counterfeit money trying to cash a franc note. This is when Leo realizes that the money he has used will now indite him with the purchase of the necklace, the chief gave him. It was a set up. Now Leo leaves a note for Martha telling her he has to leave the country to go to Shanghai, but will be contacting her shortly and that his feelings for her have not changed.

This is where the story begins its face pace adventure that lasts non stop til the last page. This book does have minor profanity, sexual content with several characters having illicit affairs but overall the book does a great job at keeping the story intact while meandering through the toughest of historical times leading up to WWII.

I received the book, Heart of Lies, by M.L. Malcolm, compliments of TLC Book Tours and have been delighted to offer a lucky follower of mine a copy. Simply head over to my book review blog, Reviews From The Heart, be a follower of mine there and leave me a comment. The giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes please! The giveaway ends on July 5th.

For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase your copy, please click on the link below:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/04/m-l-malcolm-author-of-heart-of-lies-on-tour-june-2010/

Mirages

Everyday we are so often wake up and wonder what the day will bring us. Will this be a good day or a bad one?

Will we be blessed by God this morning in the sermon we hear at church? Is that God speaking directly to us?

Or will it be a life altering event that comes out of nowhere and completely blindsides us when we aren't expecting it?

What will our response be? What will yours be?

Will you be bitter all day because those things aren't what you expected today? Or will you be better because we know where our faith lies today, in the One who sees everything that happens and has a plan for us?

Sometimes we never see the good when it is right in front of us. Do you ever notice that? We always want more when we already have enough. Yet we aren't content with that.

We have a place to live, food to eat, clothes that will last for awhile, a job to keep us living day to day, but we want just a little bit more. A better job, more money, nicer home, better clothes, a new phone with the latest gadgets, a longer or better vacation. Why? Why are we happy with what we have if its simply enough to get us through the days?

We have the enemy to thank for that. The enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us. To break us from our faith and trust in God.

He creates that mirage and we are the thirsty people living in the desert, searching desperately for water, while the hot, blazing, never ending sun, continues to beat down relentlessly upon on bodies. Hill after hill of hot, gritty sand makes each step harder than the one before it.

Until we see that oasis filled with lush, green palms offering shade from the heat, surrounded by a turquoise blue lagoon. We pick up what energy we have and run full speed ahead gaining ground until we realize that the more we run, the further the oasis continues to appear. Finally when we rub our eyes and refocus, we realize it wasn't really there after all.

That's where the stuff of life has a tendency to trap us. See when life is going along great, and you are getting things your way, a perfect job, a perfect family, great house, loads of friends, financial stability, you forget God. This is the very reason that God had the Israelites running around the desert for 40 years. If they weren't going to obey God then, why would they obey God when He brought them into the promised land?

We forget, that our time here on Earth is supposed to be spent finding ways to use our lives to glorify God. Here's the perfect example and see if this doesn't hurt as much as it did me.

We always think that if we had a million dollars or won the lottery that we would do so much for the church right? We'd help starving children in third world countries, sponsor more missionaries to go forth preaching the gospel? We donate to homeless and battered womens shelters right?

So why aren't you doing that right now with what you do have?

Ouch! Did that one sting a bit? I know for me it did, because I am always saying that. We are so focused on what we don't have and wanting more, we are missing out on what is really going on inside us. These wants, do they glorify God or is it just about us or ourselves?
Remember that the stuff we desire in life, those extra things outside our daily provisions from God will NEVER satisfy us. Only God can.

When God blesses you and your life in abundance, remember one thing, don't forget about God.

Nahum 1:7 ~ "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble."

Remember God in all things and let everything we do glorify Him and HIM alone!

Babushka's Beauty Secrets

Esthetician to the stars Raisa Ruder learned her time-tested beauty techniques from her Ukrainian grandmother or babushka, as they say in the old country. Now everyone can discover the all-natural, better-than-Botox secrets the Hollywood stars use to shine on the red carpet!

Ruder reveals her sought-after beauty recipes that can fight wrinkles, plump lips, and eliminate crow's feet and acne, using inexpensive, everyday grocery items like eggs, honey, vegetable oil, and strawberries (and a splash of vodka for freshness!). At last, by popular demand, Raisa Ruder open her babushka's secret pantry and share her most amazing and effective beauty advice:

• Skin-saving souffles - whipped-up wonders that shrink pores, brighten the complexion, and diminish lines.

• Must-have mustard wrap - an invigorating treatment that smoothes the thighs and reduces the appearance of cellulite.

• Hot hair - a cayenne pepper blend that leaves locks silky soft and full.

• Pedi pure - a soothing, smoothing foot scrub made with vitamin E and lavender oil.

• Lustrous lashes - a simple castor oil serum that thickens and lengthens.

• Perfect pucker - a moisturizing mask to light up your lips.

• And much more. (excerpt from back cover).

My Review:

It's taken me awhile to post this review, not because the book has so many great and simple recipes to use, but because my oldest teenage daughter and her friends have been experimenting with this book and they absolutely love the ideas contained within the pages.

The recipes are simple, inexpensive and enable most of us to jump right in with most of the ingredients right from our own pantries and kitchens. There are tips for making a sun burn balm that takes the heat and sting out of the burn, ingrown hairs, brown spots, age spots, self tanners, dry hair, calluses, oily skin, eye make up remover, and the list goes on and on.

One such example for dark circles and bag under the eyes. Here is what Raisa had to say:

Potatoes were my grandmothers thing. She loved to eat them and use them to remove dark circles and puffiness. The skin around and under the eyes is the thinnest and most sensitive on the entire body. Puffiness under (or above) the eyes is quite common. Sliced potatoes work wonders for puffiness and dark circles. To banish bags, simply put on a potato and poof...the puffiness is gone.

Ingredients
1 Potato
1 Tablespoon Vitamin E

Here is the brilliant part of this recipe - there is no cooking involved (but don't get used to it!). Wash the potato well. Cut two 1/8-inch slices from the middle (save the rest for the next several nights). Apply one on top of each eye for 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes and apply vitamin E in a circular motion around and under the eyes. Total time 2 minutes.

Not only that but the book gives tips on creating your own day spa at home right down to candles and music and food ideas. What a great way to celebrate a baby shower or bridal shower for the girls or even for your own family as well.

I received the book, Babushka's Beauty Secrets, Old World Tips For A Glamorous New You by Raisa Ruder and Susan Campos compliments of Hachette Book Groups. It's a definite must have. Just think of all the money you will save making your own remedies versus buying store brand name products filled with chemicals. These are all natural and organic! This book is available in hardcover and eBook formats!

For more information on this book, the author and where you can pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift, click on the link below:

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780446555869.htm

I am giving away three copies of this book, courtesy of Hachette Book Groups by clicking here to enter my giveaway, simply tell me what are hoping to learn more about. Remember click here to enter.

The Influenza Bomb

Masses of people are dying from a mysterious flu. While the TSI team searches for a cure, a notorious eco-terrorist group, Return to Earth, uses an influenza bomb to poison the water. It's a race against time - with the outcome impacting the entire world.

By the time the team discovers that the terrorists are using the water supply to infect people, the sickness is spreading worldwide and no one has a cure. When Return to Earth makes off with a mysterious device called the influenza bomb with the intent to destroy all mankind, Dr. Hutchinson must stop the contamination from being spread before it's too late. (excerpt back cover).

My Review:

WOW! just about sums up this very real possibility that this very scenario is possible anywhere in the world. The book takes a look back at the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic that killed more people than any previous viral outbreak or war combined. With such a threat looming that it could possibly happen again, with all the talks about the Avian Flu, The Swine Flu and last years H1N1 flu, this book borders on just how realistic and possible something like this could actually happen in the hands of the wrong people with malicious and greed driven intents.

The book takes history and modern day and blends the doomsday scenario perfectly. It even goes back to Hitler's time in Germany where it's believed he tested his chemical weapons on the prisoners in the concentration camps. The new Influenza bomb is more lethal than the Spanish Influenza in 1918 and kills its victims within a matter of hours in a chilling and very painful death.

I received the book, The Influenza Bomb, by Walter L. Larimore, MD and Paul McCusker, compliments of Glass Road Public Relations and rate this a perfect 10 out of 10. For those of you that love a bit of historical fact tossed in with the possibility that this could become a very real scenario, then this is the book for you. I absolutely loved in and read the whole 431 pages in a matter of hours. I had to see how it ended, and it definitely did not disappoint.

For more information on this book, the authors and where to get a copy of the book for yourself, please click on the link below:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Influenza-Bomb/Paul-McCusker/e/9781416569756/?itm=2&USRI=the+influenza+bomb+tsi+series

This book is available in paperback and eBook formats for digital books.

Toll Roads

My oldest daughter now has a summer internship job which fortunately for her allows her to make some money while working part time during her summer vacation. However this summer job requires us a bit of a commute twice a week taking us between an hour and a half to two hours to get her there.

She stays with my sister and mom because my sister works at the company she is interning with so it makes it simple for her to stay the three days and we pick her up when her shift ends during the week.

The one thing we have to do to avoid a longer commute is to take a toll road here. It's not required but reduces our driving time by at least 30 to 45 minutes depending on the day and time. The toll can be a bit costly but the aggravation it saves from sitting in rush hour traffic is well worth it.

The added benefit is that it takes you to some of the most beautiful remote hillside landscapes in the county. There are rolling green hills that seem to stretch on to infinity adding more rolling hills beyond what you can see.

There are red tail hawks that circle overhead looking for a snack or a place to land and observe the comings and goings of the world.



There are hillsides covered in mustard yellow flowers that splash along their color in varies patches. My youngest said while driving that God must have spilled mustard while taking a stroll one day. Hmm, looks like He could have. Never thought of it like that.

There are hidden lakes nestled in the valleys that remain a remote haven for the wildlife that can access them.

And across the final hilltop we can finally see the stretch of vast blue Pacific ocean.

There are quite a few things that most people don't notice while they make their daily commutes through this toll road each and every single day. Most have transponders which don't even require them to stop and visit the toll booth attendant to pay their fares. They simply speed on by while the electronic sensor calculates the toll and debits it from their bank accounts.

Yet the one thing I've noticed is the things you miss zipping on by. The things that go un-noticed unless you really look besides the things I have mentioned.

There is a fun looking rock formation that looks like a tea pot. You can only see it going northbound but it looks amazing.

There are the countless cactus that sprout up out of nowhere, nestled in the tall grasses on the hillside. They are gone in the blink of an eye and before you can tell the passengers in the car what you just saw.

There are the bushes of beautiful white flowers that gather in the valleys that can't be accessible from the road side yet add just a touch of beauty to the lush green trees and hills.

Beauty is all around us in the everyday yet so often we find ourselves in the biggest hurry to get somewhere and miss the signs God is showing you everyday to let you know He still loves you and cares enough about you, to show you His love and beauty in the every day sights we pass by every day.

Those brilliant blue skies with puffy white clouds that look like puppies or turtles, or the most beautiful rainbow hues that come with the evening sunsets. Did you hear God whisper in the gentle breeze, "I love you"?

Just what is all that worth to stop and notice it every day? A few dollars at the toll road? Or worth the very soul inside of you that this world wasn't created by a random happening or big bang 6 billion years ago.

No it was designed and created by the God of this world who even now is working on creating an eternal home for us to spend the remainder of our lives with for those who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior of their lives. That to me is priceless.

So what will you notice today? I've made it a point to list 7 things that I am thankful to God for. It helps me to keep a better perspective on my day and starts it off on a blessed note. Here are mine:

1. Blueberry muffins
2. Smell of freshly cut Christmas trees
3. Puppies breath
4. Down comforters
5. Yellow finches
6. Ocean waves
7. Hearing "I love you" from my hubby.

What are your 7? I'd love to hear them. Please leave them in my comments!

Denial

Alone in an unlocked house in a safe neighborhood in the suburban town of Concord, Massachusetts, two obedient, good girls, Jessica Stern, fifteen, and her sister, fourteen, were raped on the night of October 1 1973. When they reported the crime, the police were skeptical.

Following the example of her family, Stern - who lost her mother at the age of three - denied her pain and kept striving to achieve. But while her career took off, her success hinged on her symptoms. After her ordeal, she could not feel fear in normally frightening situations. Stern thought she disassociated from the trauma altogether, until a request took her back to that night more than thirty years earlier.

The world-class expert on terrorism and posttraumatic stress disorder began her own investigation, with the help of a devoted police lieutenant, to find the truth about her rapist, the town of Concord, her own family, and her own mind. The result is Denial, a candid and deeply intimate look at a life, a trauma, and its aftermath. (excerpt from back cover).

My Review:

This is a difficult book to read without getting emotionally involved with Jessica's story of the traumatic rape her and her sister experienced in 1973. The details are real and vivid as she uncovers the hidden triggers in her own life that take her back to a time she disconnected from herself in hopes of putting all the pieces back together. Jessica is working with Paul, a police lieutenant that reopens this case based on evidence he discovers that leads to 44 more rapes that occurred in the same area by what they now believe was a serial rapist.

The story takes a turn when Jessica herself learns the story of from her father when questioning him for the book why he didn't come home from Norway after learning of their rape like he should have. She never questions her families role in learning of her rape, whether its to push it under the table and move forward in life or why the police even doubt that the rape occurs after reading the full account of the crime. We learn that her father grew up in Germany at the time of the Nazi regime and even then was threatened and beaten as a child for being a Jew, so you think that alone would make him sensitive to the needs of both of his daughters during the rape. Yet we have to remember that he doubts whether it really happens even after he reads the full report.

This is a really powerful memoir and shows how some people can deal with a traumatic event and still lead seemingly normal lives on the outside while turmoils boils under the surface. It also details for you what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is really like for someone living with it while appearing normal on the outside to the rest of the world around them.

I received Denial, A Memoir of Terror by Jessica Stern, compliments of TLC Book Tours and once again am amazed at the courage it took her to investigate her own rape and subsequent stories surrounding the people involved in her life at the time.

If you would like more information about this book, the author and where to purchase a copy, click on the link below:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/03/jessica-stern-author-of-denial-a-memoir-of-terror-on-tour-junejuly-2010/

Chasing Lilacs

It's the summer of 1958 and here we find ourselves immersed in the life of 12 year old Sammie Tucker whose ambition in life is to have a local newspaper. Here she will tell about the people that live in the town of Graham Camp.

Her BFF, Tuwana, wants nothing more than to spend the summer practicing to be a cheerleader as they prepare to enter Junior High next year. Her hopes are to make the squad and be one of the football players girlfriends. Isn't that what all cheerleaders do?

Sammie's life isn't the easiest for any 12 year old, who lost her sister Sylvia in a blizzard when she was an infant. Since then her mother hasn't been the same and Sammie finds herself wondering if her mother really loves her at all anymore. Her mother spends the days in her old bathrobe, popping pill after pill, hoping to rejoin the family once more. Sammie finds it her responsibility to care for her mom, while her dad rotates from day shifts to graveyards shifts at his job at the oil refinery.

What Sammie really wants is to have her old mom back again. The mom who used to bake cookies and brownies with her. Stay up late talking about everything. Yet the story is about to take a tragic turn and Sammie suddenly will question everyone who has been a part of her life and wonder if her life is really worth it after all.

I received this heartwarming book, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and found it tearful and mesmerizing at times. It's easy to put yourself in Sammie's shoes and see life from her perspective. You see her struggle with trying to be a 12 year old enjoying her summer and the adult trying to take care of her mom. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a wonderful and fantastic summer read.

For more information about the book, the author and where to purchase a copy, please click on the links below. You can even get a sneak peek at the first chapter which will hook you from page one.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Chasing Lilacs FaithWords (June 17, 2010) by

Carla Stewart





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carla Stewart’s writing reflects her passion for times gone by. She believed in Jesus, the power of the written word, and a good cup of coffee. She's a country girl living now in a mid-sized city with her engineering husband who just happens to be her best friend and biggest fan.She and her husband have four adult sons and delight in the adventures of their six grandchildren.



FROM CARLA:



I grew up in the Texas Panhandle with two younger sisters and loving parents. Small town school. Great neighbors. Today, those small-town, fundamental things resonate within me -- the twang in people's voices, the art of being neighborly and just being a decent human being.



Growing up, I preferred the company of books over TV and playing outdoors. I imagined myself in many different careers, but given my down-to-earth raising, I settled on nursing. I didn't faint at the sight of blood and did well in science, so it seemed a natural choice.



I worked as a registered nurse off and on through the years, but primarily I stayed home with my four rambunctious boys and dreamed of the day when I could write the novels I loved to read. When our youngest son was in high school, I quit my job as a nursing instructor and settled in to pen my first novel. It's been quite a journey. One I wouldn't trade for anything.



I'm committed to writing the stories of my heart and am truly thankful to Jesus, my Savior, for allowing me this freedom. May all the glory be His.



Chasing Lilacs is her first book!





ABOUT THE BOOK

It is the summer of 1958, and life in the small Texas community of Graham Camp should be simple and carefree. But not for twelve-year-old Sammie Tucker. Sammie has plenty of questions about her mother's "nerve" problems. About shock treatments. About whether her mother loves her.



When her mother commits suicide and a not-so-favorite aunt arrives, Sammie has to choose who to trust with her deepest fears: Her best friend who has an opinion about everything, the mysterious kid from California whose own troubles plague him, or her round-faced neighbor with gentle advice and strong shoulders to cry on. Then there's the elderly widower who seems nice but has his own dark past.



Trusting is one thing, but accepting the truth may be the hardest thing Sammie has ever done.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Chasing Lilacs, go HERE.

Forgetting God's Promises

In reading the Bible, I've come across a few passages that struck me as odd and I wondered how so many could be so foolish. In the same moment, God revealed to me what He wanted me to share with you in explaining things so wonderfully today.

The parts of the Bible I was questioning were the Israelites and the disciples of Jesus. Both sets of people had witnessed God's amazing power in ways we can only imagine these days. Although God is still in the miracle business.

The Israelites spent 40 years wandering around in the desert when it could have taken them 11 days. Did you ever realize that? What a complete waste of 39 years plus a few months and days tossed in. So why were they so foolish and what took them so long?

They complained about everything from the food they were missing and that they were hungry so God rained down enough manna for their daily needs. Remember it was only enough for the day, not weeks and months worth. Despite this wonderful miracle, then they complained about a lack of water, which God sprang forth water from a rock.

Then it was back to the same old manna day after day, so God brought them quail. Then they complained about more water. Again God provided for them. He rescued them time after time, yet they seemed to forget what He had done for them previously. How could you forget all that?
Yet they did, and pretty soon God grew tired of their disbelief and thus the reason for the 40 years of waste in the desert when they could have been living the good life.

We have a similar story about the disciples of Jesus constantly doubting His provision when He walked among them. When they witnessed the feeding of the 5000 with a few loaves of bread and fish, they questioned him some weeks later at the feeding of the 3000. How could they question whether Jesus could feed them? Or for that matter raise the dead or heal the sick, blind or deaf?

Yet how often do we still continue to question God after He has answered previous prayers for us? Has God failed you in your previous prayers? What about healing for someone that has been answered?

Or a request for financial provisions, or bringing about the salvation of a lost soul? Or restoring a family from the brink of a complete loss?

Why do we forget how God has blessed us in the past and thus when we find ourselves in similar storms we forget how to swim? How to navigate through this storm?

Aren't we just the same as the Israelites and disciples?

In my case, the answer is a definite YES!

So how can I make sure to weather the next storm more successfully? How can I grow spiritually in my character with God?

Sure we can make sure our first response is always prayer but in order to reduce our stress levels it's important to remember our prayer histories.

I would recommend following God's promise and response to this from Deut 4:9 - "Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live."

WOW! It's instruction from God with a valid point. I believe we need to write them down and remember it all. The before's, durings and afters of our storms, trials and sufferings. It allows us in our own words to remember where we were at, how we dealt with it during the storm and how God came through in unexpected ways.

Without those recorded pieces of our own spiritual histories we are likely to repeat those same mistakes time and time again and thus find ourselves wandering around in the desert for 40 years when we could be blessed with an 11 day journey instead and growing in our character instead of wallowing in our stress.

I, myself, am creating a storm journal not just a prayer one, because it's through our storms that develop our faith and character. The most important thing I can do is to be honest through the entire storm so I can look back and find my low moments and see just how I got through them. Hopefully it will help me to look back and see just how God has never failed me in my deepest moments of my life but brought me to the mountain tops to see the valley I just walked through.

Please let me know how this impacted you or your thoughts on this post. I am hoping that it blesses you in the many ways it blessed me today.

Based On Availability

From the very first page of this stunning novel, readers are drawn into the lives of eight seemingly ordinary women who pass through Manhattan's swanky Four Seasons Hotel. While offering sanctuary to some, solace to others, the hotel captures their darkest moments as they grapple with family, sex, power, love and death.

Trish obsesses over her best friend's wedding and dramatic weight loss. Robin wants revenge after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her older sister. Anne is single, lonely and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drug -addicted rock star Louise needs to dry out. Southerner turned wannabe Manhattanite Franny is envious of her neighbor's lives. Shelia wants to punish her boyfriend for returning to his wife. Ellen so desperately wants children that she insists she is pregnant to her disbelieving husband. And Morgan, the hotel manager - haunted by the memory of her dead sister - is the thread that weaves these women's lives together. (excerpt back cover).

I found this book amusing, sad, and somewhat haunting at times as you immerse yourself in the life stories each of these women find themselves in. Their lives are all woven together by their brief encounters at the Four Seasons Hotel along with the hotel manager Morgan whom you meet in the first chapter. Morgan is obsessed with the hotel and the lives of the people she happens across while rummaging through their rooms while the guests are out. She finds their prescriptions medicines which she is more than happy to take a few while looking at the contents of their room. I found this disturbing due to the position of hotel manager that Morgan is in.

The book has some profanity scattered throughout the pages and sexual encounters with married men and hotel staff, but other than that, the book is creatively told how each of their lives are connected in some way with another's.

I received Based On Availability from Alix Strauss, compliments of TLC Book Tours and would rate this a 6 out of 10. It's available in paperback and eBook formats. For more information on this book, the author and how to purchase a copy, please click on the link below:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/04/alix-strauss-author-of-based-upon-availability-on-tour-june-2010/

I am offering one lucky winner the chance to win a copy of this book simply by clicking on my link to my book giveaway blog. Click here to enter.

Unexpected Surprises

Don't you just love surprises?

It could be an unexpected win on someone's blog giveaway, a random "just because" gift from your spouse, or kids, or even a handwritten card or letter?

How does that make you feel when they come unexpectedly?

I know for me, it instantly brings a smile because I know that someone went out of their way to consider me. They really thought about making me happy with their gift of a surprise!

Well when was the last time you were surprised with something like this? A recent holiday? Mother's Day? Valentines' Day, Christmas, your birthday?

Now let me pose another kind of question. How did it make you feel when you discovered the surprise before it was given to you?

Maybe someone let the "cat out of the bag"? Or you happened upon it hiding in the closet, the trunk of the car, or even found the receipt?

Sure you were excited in your alone moment of self discovery but now you had to fake it in front of the person who would give you the gift later.

I remember discovering this hard fact of life when I was a child at Christmas. Of all the things on my Christmas list that year, my parents did a great job of trying to convince me I may not get what I wanted.

Yet one afternoon while they were both at work, I was looking for something in my parents closet, and happened to come across a bag filled with all the items on my Christmas list that year buried at the far end of their closet. Oh the joy I was filled with at that moment, knowing without a doubt I was going to get what I asked for.

Yet that morning I discovered the tell-tale handwriting on those presents from Santa were actually my parents when I unwrapped the presents I found in the closet. Sure I was happy because now I got to play with those gifts that were at one time hidden in the closet, but I also discovered the truth to the lie that Santa wasn't real any longer. The magic of Christmas was now gone.

I was sitting at home last night thinking about how difficult its been for me to reconnect with God over the last couple of days. Perhaps it was the allergies that kept me from visiting my blogging friends and missing out on comments that just aren't coming any longer, or perhaps I came to the conclusion that no matter how hard you try, people just don't understand what your expectations are of them. So you get discouraged.

Take for example our current situation. Here is is 3 weeks out and still no sign of a job in site for Steve. Yes, we are collecting unemployment but the first 7 days of your job loss you get no money and the state pays for 2 weeks only , three week later. So our first check arrived last week for one week. We won't see our next one until the first week of July.

It's hard sometimes to see what the future holds in store for us. So yesterday I became a bit discouraged of seeing all our money going out and really nothing coming back in. Steve isn't sleeping much and it's hard to keep a sunshine outlook on life when nothing seems to change.

So last night, I prayed to God after he showed me this post I am typing right now. That all prayer is answered.

Sure we know the answers, "Yes!", "No!" and the one we all hate is "Wait!"

Yet the wait will eventually become a Yes or a No.

Then God revealed the Christmas present idea and told me that if He allowed me to glimpse that job that is waiting for Steve, I would be so happy for it now but would soon lose the luster it would have to get a much awaited phone call saying the job is offered, or an interview scheduled.

God is waiting for the perfect time to surprise us both.

And you know what, God's presents are truly worth waiting for. SO wait patiently on God.

Don't give up hope, because the best kind of prize is a Surprise, from our heavenly Father!

Maid to Match

My Review:

Set in the late 1800's we find ourselves at the Biltmore estate owned by the very prestigious and wealthy Vanderbilt's family. Here we met Tillie Reese who has worked at the Biltmore estate as a housemaid for quite some time, and now at 18 finds herself at just the right moment for a possible promotion when the current lady's maid is leaving back to France.

It's been Tillie's dream to become a lady's maid for someone like Mrs. Vanderbilt because she herself would be privileged to find herself in beautiful dresses and traveling all over the world, taking care of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Not only that she would make enough money to support her family at home. This is the job she has been waiting for and one her mother has been helping her strive for her whole life. Something better in this hard world.

Mack Danver is a rugged mountain man whose encounter in the city while shopping with Mrs. Vanderbilt is about to change life for both Tillie and the Vanderbilt family forever. Will their lives ever be the same again? Check out the details below including a chance to win a trip to the Biltmore estate yourself.

I received this must read book, Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and found myself completely immersed in the lives of Tillie and the staff at the Vanderbilt estate. There are parlor games that are played during the staffs days off at the Sunday barn dances that I found amusing and whimsical and completely adored how women were treated at these events. I highly recommend this book giving it a 10 out of 10 rating.

For more information about the author, the book and where you can enter for the contest to visit the Biltmore, check out the following information below:

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Maid to Match Bethany House (June 1, 2010)

by Deeanne Gist





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.



Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.



After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.



Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.



Her 2010 books, Beguiled and Maid To Match are now available for order.



Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-seven years and their two border collies. They have four grown children. Visit her blog to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Falling in love could cost her everything.



From the day she arrived at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled, by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid, After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.



But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangles in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations...their hearts.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Maid to Match, go HERE.





Join this SPECIAL GETAWAY (Click on the Button):

The Dopple Ganger Chronicles 2 - The Secret of Indigo Moon

I received this amazing and delightful book, The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, The Secret of Indigo Moon by G.P. Taylor, compliments of Tyndale House Publishers and found the book fascinating. The book trailer you've just seen came on a DVD for us to view before I even had the chance to read one page...To read even more about this amazing book click here.

The Devil Hates Women!

Did you know just how much the enemy hates women? Did you ever think to wonder just exactly why that is?

Have you ever thought about how much persecution women have to endure in some countries?

But have you really thought about the reasons why?

Let's go back in History to the beginning, back in the cool, refreshing garden of Eden. The time when things were perfect, back to before the snake in the garden was going to tempt Eve. Actually if we really want to, we need to go back even further than that. Back to the time of the creations of angels.

There really isn't much in the Bible about when they were created but we know, that they must have been before the creation of the earth and man, because it is Satan that tempts Eve in the garden.

So we need to look at Satan's former self, Lucifer or in the passage of Isaiah 14:12-15, he is referred to as the morning star.

¹²How have you fallen from heaven, O ^a]">[a]light-bringer and daystar, son of the morning! How you have been cut down to the ground, you who weakened and laid low the nations [O blasphemous, satanic king of Babylon!]

¹³And you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the uttermost north.

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.

¹⁵Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol (Hades), to the innermost recesses of the pit (the region of the dead).

The Hebrew for this expression--"light-bringer" or "shining one"--is translated "Lucifer" in The Latin Vulgate, and is thus translated in the King James Version. But because of the association of that name with Satan, it is not now used in this and other translations.

From what I've read and learned is that Lucifer was one of the most high angels in all of heaven before his pride got in the way. However, like all of God's creatures he was given a choice whom to serve, and subsequently thought he could do a better job on earth than in heaven and thus was removed from heaven by God and 1/3 of all the angels went with him. Revelation 12:4 ~ "His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth."

So from the very beginning of creation, Lucifer has always been in competition with God and the things He has created.

So when God began with the creation of the world, you notice that each day adds something better than what was there before. On the 6th day, God created man and once he was finished He stated, "It's not good for man to be alone, so I will make a helper suitable for him."

So God created woman and said, "It's is good!" With woman being the final product of beauty and creation of God. Now here is where it gets interesting.

Lucifer now sees something that is more beautiful than him and sets out to destroy it. This is why the serpent set its heart on trapping Eve and not Adam. He only speaks to the Eve even though Adam is clearly with her in the garden. " She also gave some of it to her husband, who was with her and he ate it." ~ Genesis 3:6

Lucifer has always been jealous of God and His creations so now he will begin his steal, kill and destroy mission with woman first.

It is also interesting that even though the fall of man into sin became with a mistake made by a woman, God also uses a woman, named Mary to bring about the restoration of man once more in bearing a son that will be the new Adam and thus the Savior of the world.

So the next time you wonder why you, as a woman, are under such spiritual attack, remember these very reasons why, and stand firm. God has given us the gift of intuition to know when something isn't right in our homes. It's that God-given gift we must all use more and continue to watch out and pray for our homes, marriages and families.

Pray Big - The Power of Pinpoint Prayers

I've been reading quite a few books on prayer lately in an effort to truly learn about the different types of communication we have with our heavenly Father. I am amazed at the things I am learning in the process.

I was provided with an opportunity to review the book, Pray Big, The Power of Pinpoint Prayers by Will Davis Jr, compliments of B & B Media Group, and here are just a few of the things I have discovered from the pages.

The Lord's Prayer that is found in Matthew 6:9-13 is an example of a pinpoint prayer. Jesus obviously was giving us a model outline for how our prayers might flow. There's no fluff, no fat, no extra words or theologically heavy terms. There's just simple, spot-on, pinpoint accuracy from Jesus. With a mere fifty-eight Greek words, Jesus acknowledged the character and sovereignty of God, surrendered to the Father's will, and sought provision, protection, and guidance from God. That's pinpoint praying.

You've heard these types of prayers before, "Lord, Please be with Tom and Jill. Please bless Joe and Sally and Be with Sue..." yet when you are praying these prayers what have you actually accomplished? It's like Christians have developed their own prayer language, and I don't mean the ecstatic kind.

Lord, please bless Bill. - What exactly do we mean by that? Do we want God to make Bill more holy or more disciplined? Are we hoping his business will prosper or that he'll be a better husband?

God, please be with Joan. - God's already with Joan. His Spirit lives in her, and he promised to never leave or forsake her. What do we really want God to do for Joan?

God, we ask that you give Sue an extra helping of your grace. - What is that? Does God dole out grace in measured proportions? That prayer makes God seem as if he has a big serving spoon - that he can be either generous or stingy with the helping of grace he dispenses.

So what do you really need? What walls need tearing down, and what strongholds need obliterating? What captives need freeing, and what lost people need saving? What Christian led business in your city do you want to prosper and adult bookstore do you want to see shut down? What terminally ill person do you want to see healed? What poor or unethical leaders need to either change their ways or be removed from leadership and what godly leaders need to be given more of a platform? What do you really want and need God to do? Whatever it is, if you're serious about receiving it from God, then you need to pray with the same focus Jesus did. (pg.13-14)

If you interested in more about this book, the author or where to pick up this amazing book for a small group study or home Bible study, click on the links below:

Praying with Boldness and Confidence

Author Will Davis Jr. helps readers pinpoint their needs and pray with passionate faith

Have you ever encountered a “Big Hairy Audacious Prayer”? Author Will Davis Jr. is a man who not only knows about asking big things from God, but he believes that all Christ-followers are equipped with the faith to make “Big Asks” from God! Beginning with the Lord’s Prayer as a biblical example, Davis teaches believers that God honors requests of His children that are specifically and biblically asked. Once believers learn to view God’s word as a prayer guide, the entire Bible becomes a treasure chest of promises and foundational prayers that enable Christ-followers to storm heaven’s gates with pinpoint accuracy!

Prayers should be so God-sized, so humanly impossible, and yet so utterly appealing that they totally consume you and drive you to your knees. Davis is not talking about a genie-in-a-lamp approach to prayer, but a prayer life that is founded upon God’s Word and one that gives new meaning to the biblical exhortation to come boldly before God’s throne. Davis, pastor of Austin Christian Fellowship in Austin, Texas, has written four books that offer a biblical foundation for making “Big Asks” of God and expecting miraculous results.

Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers introduces the concept of Big Hairy Audacious Prayers (or BHAP’s) and reveals how vital our prayer lives are in the process of learning to submit to God and trusting Him with every detail of our lives. Whether you are begging for the salvation of a spouse, the removal of a cancerous tumor, or the resolution of a difficult financial situation, it is exciting to bring your requests before God when you are standing on biblical ground. Davis encourages believers to use Scripture intermingled with prayer so that requests can be made specifically and accurately. The practice of searching the Bible for God’s promises and direction will establish a solid foundation for making requests from your Heavenly Father. Examples of these requests might sound like this:

• “Father, help my children delight in your law and meditate on your word day and night.” (Psalm 3:3)
• “Mighty God, be a shield about me. Shine your glory on me and be a lifter of my head.” (Psalm 6:9)
• “Father, I pray you will hear [my loved one’s] cry for mercy and accept his prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)

Every believer is equipped with the mustard-seed of faith that makes prayer possible. So quit holding your breath, believer, and start breathing your heart to God in prayer! You will live differently, love differently, and begin to learn what it means to pray without ceasing.

Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers by Will Davis Jr.

Revell/ISBN: 978-0-8007-3204-2/201 pages/softcover/$12.99

www.willdavisjr.com

Become a fan of Will Davis on Facebook ~ Follow Will on Twitter ~ Watch Will on You Tube

Love Finds You In Golden New Mexico

My Review:

It's 1890 in the small mining town of Golden, New Mexico which is where gold was first discovered long before those in California. Here men were making a fortune, enough for some to be quite well off and give up mining when it became too dangerous.

One such man, Philip Smith, now in his golden age, had missed out on the opportunities to find himself a wife, settle down and start a family. Yet, being a man of God, he knew God had a plan in mind for him. One that involved finding the right woman he could take care of financially and in turn, she could care for him in the remaining years he had left. Philip decides to post an ad in the local paper in Boston, of all places, for a mail order bride.

Madeline Mercer of the Boston Mercers finds herself grieving the recent death of her father, a successful business man in Boston. Madeline is still waiting for the will to be read to find out just how much money she has left and until she does, she reduces the staff in her home to just two, a married couple Frank and Sarah, who have cared for her since she was a child. One evening her father's business partner, Horace Johnstone, invites himself for dinner unexpectedly to tell Madeline, that she is penniless and has been asked by her father prior to his demise that he had promised Mr. Johnstone that Madeline would marry him.

Due to the grieving Madeline is still enduring, Mr. Johnstone tells her she will have one month and then she'd better be prepared to marry him or be on the streets living in a shanty. What chose does Madeline have?

To find out....you've got to read the book, Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico by Lena Nelson Dooley. Another great book that teaches how God can use the most difficult of circumstances to bring about good when people intend it for evil. This is a must read and one you can completely lose yourself in with the characters of Philip and Madeline. Even the household staff couple of Sarah and Frank are ones you can identify with because you see how they are part of Madelines life and will do whatever it takes to make things right for her.

For more information on this book, the author and where you can pick up a copy of this book, simply scroll down and follow the links. I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book to review from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico Summerside Press (May 1, 2010)

by

Lena Nelson Dooley





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For several years, Lena worked on the support staff of a church, but in November of 2002, God changed things so that she could stay home and write full-time. It has been the desire of her heart for a long time. In Proverbs 37:4, it says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” She believes that this blessing is a result of her delighting herself in Him, and she praises Him for the opportunity.



She have been a professional writer with a free-lance writing and editing business since 1984. In that time, she has written curriculum for public schools, private schools, and three different denominations. For one company, I managed a writing team that produced a two-year American History course for at-risk students. One of her clients was a Christian comedian for whom she wrote several routines. An airline training company had her edit and design International business reports for them.



Her first novel was published by Heartsong Presents in 1992. Since then Lena Nelson Dooley has written more than 25 works of fiction and nonfiction.



Lena has been married to her husband James since 1964. Theirs was one of those love-at-first-sight relationships. They were married three months and three days after they met. He truly was God’s gift to her. They are absolute opposites, but that means that his strengths are her weaknesses, and her strengths are his weaknesses. Together they make a more perfect whole. She believe that is what God intends for all of us.



They have two daughters. Marilyn Van Zant is married to Roger, and they have a son named Timothy. Tim is now in Tennessee at Ft. Campbell. His son Sebastian is almost 2 years old. Jennifer Waldron is married to Eric, and they have three children—Austin, Marissa, and Amanda. James and Lena love to spend time with their family, and they are blessed that both families live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, so they see them often.



ABOUT THE BOOK

All that glitters is not gold. It’s 1890, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when an old wealthy miner named Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he places an ad for a mail-order bride—despite the protests of his friend Jeremiah.



Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, young Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over Philip—and Jeremiah himself—the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden...and tarnish her character beyond redemption.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico, go HERE.

"Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico is a well-researched novel brimming With emotive conflict. Lena Nelson Dooley has crafted a historical romance that demonstrates that courage comes in many forms, but the courage to love is the most difficult of all.”



─DiAnn Mills, author of Sworn to Protect and A Woman Called Sage

“Two strangers are presented with a ‘golden’ opportunity for love in this quintessential East meets West tale by well-loved author Lena Nelson Dooley. I found myself swept away by the beautiful writing and enmeshed in the lives of the players, who face many twists and turns in their journey toward the ultimate happily-ever-after. Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico is truly one of the loveliest historical romances I’ve read in ages. Highly recommended.”



─Janice Hanna Thompson, author of Love Me Tender and Swinging on a Star

Kat Requests Pray Today!

My amazing and faithful prayer warriors:

I am requesting your prayers today. For those that may not know the whole story, I haven't spoken to my father in 15 years. In fact, my dad has not met my youngest daughter that turns 12 in January.

We are attending my nephew's graduation from High School today, one that we are so proud to be a part of. In the process, Josh has invited his grandparents, my father and step mom, so as you can see what the enemy has planned for evil, God is going to use for good today.

Please pray for protection against the enemy who will try in all his attempts to destroy the day and the purpose God has specifically put into place today, and allow such grace and mercy to be seen by all we come into contact with that, God's love will just pour forth into their lives. They are not believers at all. We are hoping for a special blessing on everyone including my brother that could use this time to witness God's never-ending love and grace under fire.

We will be at the ceremonies with a dinner following from 1:30pm to 7:30pm. Please pray for safe travels and for laughter and joy to be overflowing in abundance that anyone in 500 feet of us, will be splashed on with love and happiness.

I will update you on with pictures and details in tomorrow's post!