Out Live Your Life

When I signed up for this book from booksneeze.com, I was excited for it to come because I am a huge Max Lucado fan...and he didn't fail to disappoint!  As I moved thru the pages of his newest title, I found myself moved in many ways. 

I realized that I tend to operate in what is most comfortable to me - change is a scary word to my heart.  Max weaved his words in a way that caused me to look inside without feeling judged...but also showed me that I was made to be more than I am allowing myself to be.  That I was created with a purpose and reason...and while I am living out a large part of that purpose in the raising of our kids, there is much in this world that God also would like me to open my eyes to.

I love how he writes...humor enough to make you smile, stories enough to engage your mind and Truth enough to make you stop and have a conversation with the One who most would like to hear from you.  Classic, Max!

Cover Information:
These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did. (Please note: International Bloggers will receive International Edition.)

Definate two thumbs up from me!

**Thomas Nelson provided me this book for review purposes & is allowing me to keep this title once finished. I get no other compensation...other than the chance to fill my heart and soul with an excellent read. :) **

Still Reading...
 

The Clouds Roll Away

When I got the chance to review this book by Sibella Giorello, I really wasn't sure what to expect because I wouldn't have been drawn to buy this book (anytime I see the word "detective", I tend to back off)...but as I began to take in just the first paragraph, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a book I could snuggle up into. 

Giorello's beautiful ability to paint pictures with her words pulled me in ("...drove past fields that glistened like crushed diamonds.") and her characters made me feel like I've known them at some point in my life.  I also greatly appreciated the fact that there was a lot of forensics "stuff" and yet it was written in a way that kept me from feeling lost in the details...and I felt myself constantly wondering "What in the world is really going on here??" as this town is being corrupted by hate crimes and negligence.

...yeah, it's a definite keeper...and may have started me on a new buying spree as I look forward to her next book (in the spring) and as I jump back to the get the one she released before this one! 

Also, as an added bonus, Giorello is celebrating the release of "The Clouds Roll Away" by giving away a Kindle prize pack worth over $150.00...!!  (Giveaway info is listed at the end of this post.)

Cover Information:
Forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon returns home for Christmas but discovers Richmond , Virginia running low on goodness and light.

Although her exemplary service in Seattle lifted her disciplinary transfer, Raleigh lands a hometown civil rights case riddled with problems that could get her sent away again. When she helps out a fellow cop, her life goes on the line, forcing her undercover in a sting operation. As Raleigh realizes the lines are crossing and double-crossing, her domestic life starts to unravel. Her mother's mental health cracks like ice, her closest friend grows cold, and her old boyfriend DeMott comes a-calling, hoping for more than chestnuts by an open fire.

While the city glows with Christmas lights and carols, Raleigh is forced to rely on her sharpest skills to stay alive, hoping for that one clear moment when everything makes sense and the clouds roll away.

You can jump over to Amazon.com to buy this book by clicking here or you can sign up to win:
One Grand Prize winner will be chosen to  receive the latest generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com.  To enter, you can simply click here to enter and then tell your friends to sign up too! Winner will be announced January 3, 2011 on Sibella's blog: http://sibellagiorello.blogspot.com/.

**Litfuse Publicity Group provided me this book for review purposes & is allowing me to keep this title once finished. I get no other compensation...other than the chance to fill my heart and soul with an excellent read. :) **

Still Reading...
Bina

Proclaim His Glory

Title: The Heavens Proclaim His Glory

My friends, I can honestly say that this is the first book that I am reviewing that I was actually aching to tell y'all about.  I got this copy in my mailbox just today and here I sit, just hours later...hoping to be able to put into words what I thought when I turned, page by page, thru this title.

I could tell you that the pictures of God's creation in space are breath-taking...because they are.  Blackholes...doomed stars... nebulas...hydrogen clouds  As one who used to think that I would be an astronomer (until I found out that math is necessary to be a scientist...imagine my horror), I find myself just sitting and staring at the raw beauty of blackened skies highlighted by gas, light and sheer genius.

I could focus on the words of scripture that are scattered among the photos...or the words of well-known authors like Max Lucado or Anne Graham Lotz.  I could tell you about how I think they fit each and every photo they are placed against as if God Himself painted them into His starry canvas...because they are amazing paintings woven by each and every word.  "Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches the clouds." Ps 108:4

I could focus on this book itself...but that wouldn't do it justice as I can tell with all my heart and mind that the soul purpose of this book is to reflect the glory of the One who cannot be contained within mere pages...who cannot be explained by simple words.  Rather this book serves to reflect His glory...as simply stated by Anne Graham Lotz:
 "In a fresh, astounding way, this book has caused my head to bow, my knees to bend, my will to yield, my hands to serve, my mind to worship, and my heart to fall in love over again with the One whose glory is revealed in the heavens!"

If you are looking for a great way to incorporate amazing photos with God's glorious written word that works to inspire your heart...this is the book for you.

Cover Information:
Our world displays the handiwork of God all around us—in the land and sea, the animals and the plants. But in respect to the sky, the heavens, the universe…there’s a realm of beauty and creation man has not been able to witness, until now. The Heavens Proclaim His Glory is a compilation of stunning photography taken by NASA’s Hubble® Telescope capturing striking images of stars, galaxies, cosmic events, planets, and more. Vivid up-close photographs are paired with a romantic Psalm or quote, as well as a short description of the image. The Heavens will open up a whole new world of worship and praise for our God.

**Thomas Nelson provided me this book for review purposes & is allowing me to keep this title once finished. I get no other compensation...other than the chance to fill my heart and soul with an excellent read. :) **

Looking up as always...
 

What's In A Word

Title: What's In A Word ~ Fascinating stories of more than 350 everyday words and phrases

I opted to review this book from Booksneeze.com as my children are always asking "what does that mean?" and "why do we say that?" and I thought they would love the information provided.

I was right...as usual :)

This has become our just-before-bed routine, reading a few background stories behind normal, everyday phrases to leave them with something to think about while drifting off.  Sometimes we all laugh and sometimes it is silent as we ponder the meanings of things like "hair raising" (actually came from the scalping of the early Indians) and "marshmallow" (orginally the makings of mushed "mallows" from the marshlands, used as medicine).

This is just an overall fun resource to have handy.

Cover Information:
Have you ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed? Did you make it to that early morning meeting by the skin of your teeth? Was your heart in the right place when you proposed that idea, even though you couldn’t hold a candle to the guy next to you who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth?

If you’ve ever wondered what that word or phrase you just heard means, What’s in a Word? is just the book for you. If you love words, this fascinating and humorous encyclopedia of more than three hundred fifty words and phrases and how they evolved will keep you entertained for hours.

**Thomas Nelson provided me this book for review purposes & is allowing me to keep this title once finished. I get no other compensation...other than the chance to fill my heart and soul with an excellent read. :) **

Looking up as always...

Just One Of David's Women: Michal

It was last in my stack of summer-must-reads...but that's ok cuz I'm a sucker for Christian historical fiction and this book helped to remind me why.

Her face glows from the cover as her eyes left me wondering exactly what she is thinking...until I began to read her story and then I knew exactly what was going thru this chickie-poo's mind.  (Well at least from the viewpoint of Jill Eileen Smith, anyway.)

Michal was the first wife of King David...the one who captured his heart and caused him to double the dowry price asked by her father, King Saul.  But, this sweet girlie is also the same one who is later on listed as "despising David in her heart" as she watched him dance in the streets in praise over the return of the Ark of the Covenant.  I'm sure you can understand when I say that I've read this Bible story many times and have always just thought Michal to be a "spoiled little rich girl"...but as I experienced her thru new eyes, I found myself feeling for her as her life is played out before me. 

This princess is traded to a handsome husband and then very soon abandoned as David flees from the murder-plotting Saul.  She then is forced to get married to yet another man at her father's whims only to be re-claimed (over 15 years later) by the now King David when he decides he wants her back.  What girl wouldn't throw a bit of attitude on the cover of her story after all that, I ask you?!?

I love the way Jill presented characters with such depth and emotion that you can't help but feel as though you know them..and since King David is one of my all time favorite Biblical characters, it was an added bonus to get to experience his rise to power in a book so well-written and researched.  If you like a great story that is wrapped around Biblical accuracy and characters you can learn to love (either again or for the first time)...this is a definate title to check out!   Can't wait to dig into Abigail...the second in the series.

Welp...it's been a long hard day...made up of staying in bed till 10 and in PJ's till almost 3.  I am off to snuggle with my hubby for a bit before bed as I feel I have deserved it today.  Woo hoo!!

Looking up as always...