I'm on the Surprised by the Healer Launch Team!! #surprisedbythehealer

I am privileged and immensely blessed to be on the Surprised by the Healer Book Launch Team!! This is my second time on a launch team for Authentic Intimacy a ministry all about having true, authentic intimacy with our husbands and with our God.

As it states on surprisedbythehealer.com, 

"The Healer is inviting you…

God’s word declares that there is healing for your deepest pains, hope for your biggest disappointments, and victory over your addictions, past hurts, and past failures. His name is Jehovah Rapha, the God Who Heals, and He can redeem your broken story.

In these pages, you will meet nine courageous women who have agreed to tell their stories, to share with you how they moved from hopelessness and brokenness to hope and healing. Whether from sexual abuse, betrayal in marriage, or other harrowing experiences, the Healer invited them on a unique journey of redemption in the midst of deep pain. He is inviting you, too.

Linda Dillow and Dr. Juli Slattery, cofounders of Authentic Intimacy, have been writing and ministering to women in the church and clinical context for several decades. Their wisdom and experience overflow in this work to give you a trusted resource in journeying toward healing."

I am almost finished reading the book and will post a review and possibly a giveaway when I finish.

There will also be a FREE Surprised by the Healer Webinar on Monday January 25. Click on the picture above to register today!

My Brother's Crown Review

Goodreads description says,"From Christy award-winning authors Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould comes a brand-new sweeping family saga. Close-knit cousins are individually led on a redemptive journey as they follow the threads of their family's mysterious past and discover how it impacts the future.

Renee Talbot, a director in her family's 350-year-old paper company, is facing a huge problem: how to stay afloat in an increasingly paperless world. When her grandmother asks for her help in finding answers to some unsettling family-related questions, Renee's search for truth takes her to Europe, where she learns the story of Catherine Gillette, an ancestor who lived in seventeenth-century France. Headstrong and independent, young Catherine's brave actions saved the original paper company--and various members of the family--during a time when the French Huguenots were being persecuted by Louis XIV.

As Renee tries to save the company and her family's legacy, she draws courage and wisdom from an ancestor who stood strong and faithful when life was at its most perilous and God seemed to expect more from her than she ever thought she could deliver. "

I enjoyed this book from the start. The authors take us back and forth between Catherine Gilette in 17th century France and Renee Talbot in present day Virginia.  The characters are relatives as Renee is an descendant of Catherine. I enjoyed the use of historical facts interwoven throughout this book. Louis XIV's France was very interesting to read about, as well as the plight of the Huguenots. I hadn't heard of them before reading this book actually.

I felt Renee was a very real, strong character, a mature, modern and intelligent woman which greatly contrasted to the young, immature Catherine. Sometimes I found myself rolling my eyes at Catherine's impulsiveness. I had to remind myself that she was a very sheltered and, in a sense, spoiled young woman of her day. But that didn't deter me from enjoying the book and being eager to read the next installment of the series.

BELOW CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS

My only real criticism was the fact that the major traumatic incident that surrounded Renee wasn't completely concluded in my opinion. She finally faced her fears and went back to look for evidence and you never found out what actually happened. I guess you could say that they kind of concluded it because they went back and everyone finally believed them and the police had a plan to investigate, but it still felt like a loose end to me. There is always the possibility that they will continue that in other books in the series since this is the first book in the series.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more about them in the following books.

I was given an advanced copy of My Brother's Crown by NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin is a work of historical fiction about Truman Capote and his New York society lady friends that he dubbed his "Swans." It spans several decades starting in the 1950s and incorporates many of his well-known works such as, "In Cold Blood" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." His relationship with "swan" Babe Paley makes up the bulk of the story as well as her relationship with her husband.

I found this a fascinating and wonderful read. As I am usually a nonfiction reader, this book kept me reading until well into the late-night/early-morning hours. The point of view changes from each person in the story seamlessly and makes the story that much richer and full of detail. The timeline strays back and forth around Capote's "social death" after his publishing a thinly-veiled story about New York socialites.

The author was able to use real life events intertwined with her own fiction to make up a very interesting story of two people and those around them who are always seeking love and attention in a world based mainly on outward appearance. The characters are deep and complex and well written. I was very very pleasantly surprised by this book. I highly recommend reading it when it comes out later this month.

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of The Swans of Fifth Avenue given to me by NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

Centralia Book Review

From the back cover of the book:
"Peter Ryan wakes up on a typical morning only to find his house empty, his wife and daughter nowhere to be found. His world is shattered after a phone call to a friend confirms the impossible: his wife and daughter died in a car accident he does not remember.
Haunted by faint memories and flashes of details, Peter becomes convinced that something isn't right and begins to question reality. When he discovers a note in his daughter's handwriting, strange memories surface that cause him to second guess nearly everything he once believed. Suddenly armed men show up at Peter's home, turning the mysterious puzzle of his past into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
On the run and unsure whom to trust, Peter has to discover what's read and what isn't....before he loses everything."

I wasn't sure what to expect when this book arrived. Then I read the back of the book and my interest was piqued. As I began reading, I was quickly drawn into the mystery of who Peter Ryan really is. Are his wife and daughter really dead? The author has done a fantastic job of keeping you guessing while slowly and subtly moving the plot along. There is never a dull moment and I found myself nodding off while reading the book because I just didn't want to stop reading it!! I highly recommend reading this book!!!

I was given a free copy of this book from the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

Strong and Kind Book Review

What Legacy Will You Pass Down To The Next Generation?

“After being a parent for twenty years, I have come to believe that the most important thing for parents to decide—more important than bottle or breastfeeding, more important than co-sleeping or sleep training, and even more important than whether to put your child in day care or become a stay-at-home parent—is what values are important to your family and how you will go about instilling those values in your children.”

In Strong and Kind Korie Robertson—with the help of her mom, Chrys Howard, and with insights and stories from her husband, Willie—introduces nine character traits that children need in order to lead a successful life. And though there are no perfect parents or perfect children, Korie shares principles—based on biblical wisdom and time-tested practices—that will help you parent your own one-of-a-kind child.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this book. What a wonderfully written and lovely book to read. Korie takes us through the different character qualities or traits that your child needs to succeed. She suggests starting with the two that are most important to you. Strong and Kind are the two she feels are most important for her children.

She had lots of insightful advice for parenting and shared stories of her own childhood and parenting experiences to go along with the qualities. She takes the reader through each of the qualities and how they apply to us then she details how you can start implementing them in our own lives and teaching them to our children. Along the way, Willie tells his point of view of the character qualities as well as stories from his children and parenting experiences.

In conclusion, it was a wonderful read and I really enjoyed reading it. I highly recommend reading this for any parent, especially if you are a Duck Dynasty fan but not only if you are a fan. Korie is quite personable and real towards her own experiences and journey as a parent. If you're a parent or soon to be, go get this book!

I was given a free copy of Strong and Kind in exchange for my honest review.

7 Women and the secret of their greatness

"In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to the enormously successful Seven Men, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas gives us seven captivating portraits of some of history's greatest women, each of whom changed the course of history by following God's call upon their lives-as women.
Each of the world-changing figures who stride across these pages-Joan of Arc, Susanna Wesley, Hannah More, Maria Skobtsova, Corrie ten Boom, Mother Teresa, and Rosa Parks-is an exemplary model of true womanhood. Teenaged Joan of Arc followed God's call and liberated her country, dying a heroic martyr's death. Susanna Wesley had nineteen children and gave the world its most significant evangelist and its greatest hymn-writer, her sons John and Charles. Corrie ten Boom, arrested for hiding Dutch Jews from the Nazis, survived the horrors of a concentration camp to astonish the world by forgiving her tormentors. And Rosa Parks' deep sense of justice and unshakeable dignity and faith helped launch the twentieth-century's greatest social movement.
Writing in his trademark conversational and engaging style, Eric Metaxas reveals how the other extraordinary women in this book achieved their greatness, inspiring readers to lives shaped by the truth of the gospel."

I began reading this book and the introduction alone sucked me in. I quote from Eric Metaxas as to how he came about choosing the women to highlight in this book after getting a lot of suggestions as to whom to include: "What struck me as wrong about these suggestions was that they presumed women should somehow be compared to men. But it seemed wrong to view great women in that way. The great men in Seven Men were not measured against women, so why should the women in Seven Women be measured against men? I wondered what was behind this way of seeing things, that women should be defined against men? Or that men and women should even be compared to each other?"

The seven great women highlighted in this book were full of life and wisdom and femininity. They don't need to be compared to men nor do men need to be compared to them. They all individually had great stories that were shared and show how God used them to further His Kingdom. I recommend reading this book.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from BookLookBloggers.com

25 Questions Book Giveaway!!

It is time for the GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am giving away TWO, count 'em TWO copies of 25 Questions you're Afraid to Ask about LOVE, SEX and INTIMACY!!

I am beyond thrilled to be on the launch team for this book and I can't wait for all of you to get a chance to read it! Enter below for your chance to win!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information on this book go to:  http://tinyurl.com/buy25bk