Cricket Places

Here's a great email to get you started for the weekend. Here's hoping for some of you it's a cooler day today. Ours here was 109 yesterday, not fun! Don't forget about the Biggest Giveaway ever on my Reviews From The Heart Blog, for a chance to win $25.00 American Express Giftcard and a Cheerios prize pack. Click here to enter.

Cricket Places
by Charles R. Swindoll

Psalm 148

There was once a cricket on the loose in my former church. When things were quiet and still, his wings sang at top volume . . . like at weddings. And funerals. And during long prayers. And very early on Sunday morning before the place started jumpin' with cars and microphones and organ preludes.

I looked all around for that critter. About the time I thought I'd found him, I was wrong. So, early one Sunday morning, I decided to let the cricket stay. Who knows? I thought. Maybe there are times crickets need to be in people places just as there are times people need to be in cricket places.

Like out of doors. Surrounded by the sights and sounds and smells of solitude. And rhythmic running streams. And skies so blue it hurts when you stare. And fragrant, wild blossoms that smell of violet. And awesome, jagged cliffs. And soaring hawks. And field mice playing hide 'n' seek. And funny little lightning bugs. And the shrill screams of whippoorwills on misty mornings. You know, cricket stuff . . . so familiar to them they hardly notice anymore.

I've got to hand it to my church-visiting insect friend: He knew the value of variety. The vast majority of his ilk are in a rut. They hang around the familiar, identify with millions of other Jiminys, run with the swarm, and never know what the rest of the world is like. Think of all the things "our" cricket heard and felt that most of the world's crickets won't experience in a lifetime! I tell you, the guy had spunk. He was willing to risk whatever to break with the predictable.

Are you? If you're like most, the answer, unfortunately, is no.

Unless you plan ahead, life will come and go without your making any break with boredom. Not even for a week. Entire seasons and years will pass without a single significant memory being added to your mental museum . . . unless you determine to split from the swarm.

Isn't it about time you made plans to add some variety to your life? To spend time in a completely different setting? Maybe sneak away for a week to the mountains or the desert or maybe near a lake or alongside the crashing surf . . . you know, cricket stuff!

Sometimes crickets need to be in people places, and sometimes people need to be in cricket places.

Giveaway ~ The Wife's Tale

On the eve of their Silver Anniversary, Mary Gooch is waiting for her husband Jimmy--still every inch the handsome star athlete he was in high school--to come home. As night turns to day, it becomes frighteningly clear to Mary that he is gone. Through the years, disappointment and worry have brought Mary's life to a standstill, and she has let her universe shrink to the well-worn path from the bedroom to the refrigerator. But her husband's disappearance startles her out of her inertia, and she begins a desperate search.

For the first time in her life, she boards a plane and flies across the country to find her lost husband. So used to hiding from the world, Mary finds that in the bright sun and broad vistas of California, she is forced to look up from the pavement. And what she finds fills her with inner strength she's never felt before. Through it all, Mary not only finds kindred spirits, but reunites with a more intimate stranger no longer sequestered by fear and habit: herself.

I had the wonderful opportunity to receive this book, The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens, compliments of Hachette Book Groups to review. I was hooked from the turning of the first page. You live you life with Mary as she struggles to understand the complexity of what she has done to her life and how she is going to move forward. Not knowing if her husband, who she refers to as the Gooch, is going to come home, Mary has some tough decisions that she must begin to make one step at a time.

If you would like to know more about the book and where to purchase a copy, please click on the link below.

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316069311.htm

I am going to host this amazing giveaway once more compliments of Hachette Book Group and if you want a copy of this book, I am going to give away 5 of them by simply leaving me a comment below. This giveaway is for residents of the US and Canada only and no P.O. Boxes please. I must have a way to reach you so please leave your email if it’s not linked to your blog.

The giveaway will end on April 9th.

Jewels By Jane Giveaway

Can you believe this two giveaways in one week? I can't take the credit on this one however. The best part of this is, that it's my birthday and I'm hosting this giveaway!

Jane from Jumpin in the Jungle has an Etsy store that sells these incredible hand made works of art, like the one pictured above that is my absolute favorite. She has so generously agreed to offer a 7 by 7 inch block done in your choice of colors or you could take a look here and see what she has already completed. They are so beautiful and the pictures seriously don't do them justice.

She was wonderful enough to send my daughter, Kailee one for her birthday and it's so beautiful and uniquely one of a kind art piece. She absolutely adores it.

Here's what you need to do to win this lovely art piece. If you leave me a comment you gain one ticket to the giveaway. If you become a follower of Jane's at Jumpin in the Jungle, you get another ticket, and if you list this giveaway on your blog, you get a third chance to win. Lastly if you jump on over to Jane's new creation art blog called My Art By Jane and follow it, come back, comment and let me know and you'll get an additional entry in the giveaway.

The giveaway will end on Tuesday, March 9th. The winner will be notified and you will need to provide me with the colors of your choice and a mailing address, so please make sure I have a way to reach you.

Hear No Evil Book Giveaway and Review!

Hear No Evil

By Matthew Paul Turner

Imagine living in a Christian upbringing so strict that music is the only thing that allows you to experience a bit of freedom in your life. In Matthew Turner’s book, Hear No Evil, we get to experience from his perspective, what his life was like growing up in a strict Baptist home. Where all types of music except what was played in the church was off limits. How do you think this may have affected your life?

Matthew takes us through his decision to allow music in all formats to influence him from a godly perspective where he truly believes that God wants him to be the next Christian Michael Jackson. We see the struggles on how his family deals with this decision and how even Christian artists such as Amy Grant we viewed as worldly and not from God by his community.

This book was fun to read to see just how each and every style of music was viewed from different religious groups and how Matthew finally sees what God’s purpose was in his life using music along the way.

Author Bio:
Matthew Paul Turner is a blogger, speaker, and author of Churched: One Kid’s Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess, The Christian Culture Survival Guide, and several other popular books. After a childhood in rural Maryland, Turner attended Nashville’s Belmont University, where he received a BBA in music business, and was the editor of CCM magazine before leaving to pursue writing as a career. Turner has written for Relevant, HomeLife, Christian Single, and other magazines. He and his wife, Jessica, have one son, and live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit his website: www.matthewpaulturner.com.

I was provided with complimentary copy of this book to review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves music, and wants to see how God can work through all your life’s difficulties and bring you full circle to where He has always wanted you to be.

I am offering to provide a copy of this book as a giveaway. Just leave your comments on this blog and you will be automatically entered to win.

If you’d like to learn more about how to order a copy of your own Hear No Evil, click on the link below.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400074723

UPDATE: Since I have received so many responses to this giveaway, I am going to give away two copies of this book, so we will have two winners. I will pick the winners on Friday, so good luck and you only need to enter once.

Giveaway and Book Review ~ WOO HOO!

The One Day Way
By Chantel Hobbs

I am sure you have all read one diet book at some point in your life, especially if you are a woman. The problem with most is that they all sound wonderful, promise great incentives and even provide the motivation to get you going. The downfall is usually not in the book, but in us, to keep the program going until we achieve the results we are seeking.

I was given the opportunity to review this book from Chantel Hobbs through Waterbrook Mulnomah Publishers and the concept sounded great. What better way to begin any challenge to lose weight, or to define our bodies that to tackle it differently than any diet book has ever suggested. You do it one day at a time. You set daily goals not weekly, monthly or even exact dress size or pounds lost. What better way to gain success than to do it for one day. How can anyone lose motivation to achieve some form of success on a daily basis? Anyone can do that. I love how Chantel has broken down this book in different parts to provide you with all the tools necessary to guarantee success where in past methods have only led to failure for me.

I know that just making a small change such as giving up fast food for one day for me is a huge accomplishment. Can I do that for one day? Of course, I can. If I can make changes in small steps, I will succeed in this endeavor once and for all. The best part of the One Day Way is that Chantel teaches you to not compare ourselves to anyone else. We are born to compete in anything in our daily lives whether it’s our bodies, our homes, our jobs, we are live in some degree to compete with our friends, neighbors or even perfect strangers. Yet it is that competition that will also lead to our failure because we can never measure up to someone else. We will always want more or something better. However if we simply change the mindset to compare ourselves with only ourselves, we will achieve the results for the right reasons. For example, I want to lose 40 pounds to not only be healthier from a overall weight statistics but I know from past experience, I look and feel great when I weighed 150, not comparing myself to anyone else that I know that has weighed 150.

It is a great must read for anyone that has tried to lose weight and can’t, or who has lost weight only to gain it back again or just those that lack the motivation to even begin with a win in mind. Trust me, I loved this book and would love to give a copy away to anyone who would love to win a copy. Simply leave me a comment on what your motivation is, and why you would think this book may be the final shinning light you’ve needed to make that life change once and for all. I will pick a winner by January 11th and email you to let you know you’ve one, so please make sure I have a way to reach you. Trust me, this is truly worth the money spent to purchase this book.

If you would like more information on where you can purchase a copy of this book from Random House, please click on this link.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Don't forget and leave a comment for a entry in the giveaway for January 11th!

A Note to Self

In keeping with a contest theme on Chocolate Covered Daydreams I am submitting this post as a letter to my younger self. I hope you enjoy it all.

A Note to Self:

I thought the title alone would be more than enough to generate the curiosity you always show when it comes to reading things you find. If you have found this letter, then I know you are off to a great start as you are about to learn some valuable life lessons that are bound to change your life for the better.

1. Find Salvation! If you haven't discovered the joy of turning your life over to God at this point in your life, trust me, DO IT! DO IT NOW! Don't think for one moment that it can wait for tomorrow. Turning control of your life over to a God that created this world and all that is in it will make for some major changes in your life. God will now become your pilot not your co-pilot as long as you leave the driving up to Him. He will never leave you alone, always weather the storms of life with you, and provide the eternal home you will long for once you've breathed your last breath here on Earth. If you have already found God, you're already smarter than I was at your age.

2. Get a degree of any kind at college. Oh if I had it to do over again, I would take that curiosity of yours and use it for the benefit of mankind and become a doctor or a lawyer. You always route for the underdog and in the future it's those changes we need to see in doctors and lawyers as well as for the people that can be helped when they can't afford those services. Think of the lives you will save, not only in your immediate family but in the lives of people you will meet only once.

3. Learn to forgive and let go, instead of carrying grudges around with you. It's OK to speak your mind and not let people take advantage of you. Being assertive is not a negative quality when it comes to being a lady. Forgiving doesn't mean you have to forget, but the sooner you can begin the forgiving process, the better person you will be in the end. Nothing comes from carrying all that excess baggage around.

4. Remember that life is not about you, but what you can do for others. This life lesson alone will create more lasting love, happiness and joy and will be worth more money than you can ever make in a lifetime. Life is about giving back, not taking, not about receiving what you think you deserve. Open your heart to serving others. What comes back to you when you do, will warm your heart on many a cold night.

If you can simply take away these life lessons from an older more experienced person, who has lugged this wisdom around for 45 years now and take something away from it all, doing it much sooner than I did, I think will not only enhance your life, but make the life you have left worth more than all the riches life has to offer.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat