Reclaiming Lily

Want to win a Kindle??  Details below my review:

Maybe it was because it came the same day as two other books I was looking forward to... Or maybe it was because I couldn't relate to what I read on the back cover of the book...  Whatever the reason, I can honestly say that this wasn't a book I was excited to read.  I opened the cover and began to half-heartedly work my way thru the first few pages...and then realized I was completely wrong.  Reclaiming Lily is a book that tears straight to the heart of anyone who is a mother...anyone who has had an unforeseen storm blow into their life...or anyone who has struggled to love outside their comfort zone.

The story opens on a couple who has traveled to China to adopt a baby only to find that the baby they so waited for isn't available...but a "substitute" child is offered and accepted by open hearts.  A joyous setting...until the viewpoint shifts and we see the process of a child meeting new parents thru the eyes of the blood sister, come moments too late to reclaim her sister from the orphanage.  From the opening to the end, I found myself captured by the thoughts, heartbreak and situations Patti paints in this book. 

Cover Information:

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Ft. Worth hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer--or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

Kindle Giveaway Information:

Patti Lacy is celebrating the release of her latest book, Reclaiming Lily,  with a KindleTouch Giveaway, blog tour and FB Book Chat Party!

Follow the blog tour and read the reviews!

Patti and her publisher, Bethany House, are giving away a Reclaiming Lily prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!!

Enter the Reclaiming Lily Giveaway and you could win:

• A brand new just released KindleTouch with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift cetificate to Amazon.com

But, wait there’s more!
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. Giveaway ends on 10/19! Patti will be announcing the winner of the Reclaiming Lily Giveaway at her Party on Facebook October 20th! She’ll be hosting a book club chat of Reclaiming Lily (it's okay if you haven't read it - you could win a copy!) and giving away other fun prizes! (signed copies of her books and gift certificates to Amazon.com, Starbucks, & iTunes!). Don’t miss the fun at Patti’s FB Author Page on 10/20/11 at 5pm PST ( 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, & 8 pm EST)! RSVP today!

**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

Shutterfly Love

There are so many things that I love about Shutterfly.com.
     ~ Service
     ~ Quality
     ~ Price
     ~ Ease
     ~ Fun of creating something special
I have used this website to create a couple of photobooks, Christmas cards and address labels. So, for me, when it came time for me to plan a little something special to take up with me to our church's woman's retreat, it was a no-brainer.  I love that I can log onto their site, pop in a few of my favorite pics, add our theme verse and click "order"...and be done within minutes.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I can't wait to use these in a few weeks...and I thank Shutterfly for an easy way to create something beautiful... something full of photos that I love... something I am very excited to share with my friends. 

**I was offered a $10 gift certificate towards future purchases from Shutterfly.com in exchange for my willingness to post the picture of what I created...however, they did not ask that I include my opinion about their site or their services.  All opinions expressed about this company are my own, true thoughts.**

Still Reading...

Bina

Sheila Walsh's Gabby! Come Meet Her!

Sheila Walsh is excited to announce her new series for little girls and she is celebrating Gabby’s arrival with a fun KINDLE Giveaway and an Angel FB party on October 4th!

Meet Gabby for yourself here. Help Sheila introduce Gabby - be sure to check out her video trailer promotion here!

In Gabby, God’s Little Angel, Gigi fans will fall in love with Gabby and learn about God’s love and provision and a little about His invisible creation, the angels.

Read what people are saying here.

Enter today - Sheila and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have put together an “Angel” prize package worth over $150.00!

One lucky winner will receive:

• A brand new KINDLE with Wi-Fi
• Gabby, God’s Little Angel 

But wait! There’s more …
On October 4th join Sheila at her Author Page on FB for the Gabby, God’s Little Angel Party! She will announce the winner of the KINDLE, host a chat and give away a ton of fun products from the Gigi and Gabby line! RSVP today and then be sure to stop by on October 4th at 5:00 PM PST (6 PM MST, 7 PM CST, & 8 PM EST).

Still Reading...
Bina

Meet Jessica Kirkland

Tomorrow Had Come by Jessica Kirkland In every season of life, the Enemy would whisper the lie that I would “never make it” to the next. I believed it. Time and time again, I thought his words held power. As a young child, I never thought I would live to see my school years. Once I entered school, I never thought I would live to see the next day, next grade, or milestone in life. I listened to a very real enemy, even though I didn’t want to. Even though I came from a strong, Christian family, I felt powerless to stop the lies. Fear gripped me, stole from me, and taunted every careful step I took. I gave my heart to Christ at six years old, yet fear still held me tight. Though I had renewed hope, the whispers and lies continued to flow and drown out truth through every season. When, I heard the words that burned a hole straight through, I was nose-to-nose with what appeared to be the sum of all my fears. “Mrs. Kirkland, you have congestive heart failure. If your babies are born now, they will probably not live or be severely impaired.” I was twenty-six weeks pregnant with triplets. In the beginning, I had been pregnant with quads, but had lost one child at 14 weeks. I never imagined we might all go meet Jesus on the same day. I mourned the thought of my husband walking through life alone. I grieved for the children that would either die, be disabled on this earth, or grow up motherless. And I burned with anger, not just because of the oxygen mask strapped to my face as I struggled for breath and life, but for twenty-five years of allowing Satan to tell me that I would never make it to tomorrow. Tomorrow had come. As nurses whirled around me, I prayed Acts 17:25 out loud, “…You give life and breath to everything, and satisfy every need.” I pleaded with the God I personally knew through a relationship with His Son, Jesus. I knew He had a plan for my life that was good according to Jeremiah 29:11. In my humanity, I struggled with the thought that death might be His plan for us on that day. Today, we are parents to three healthy five-year-olds. You would never know they were born nine weeks premature. The joy that Satan has stolen from me in 30 years, through a spirit of fear, is great. I imagine if you strung each lying sentence end-to-end, they might wrap the globe. Yet, I have promised to tell others of God’s miracles in my life and do my part in setting captives free. Tomorrow had come, but so had Jesus, and it is He who has defeated the grave. “For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 Author Bio

Jessica Kirkland Jessica Kirkland lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, Robb, and five-year-old triplets. She is an author and speaker whose greatest passion in life is to see young families grow deeper in their walk with God. Jessica's newest adventure includes launching Christian Apps 4 Kids, which seeks to draw kids closer to Christ one app at a time. A recent release is a book app that addresses fear and scary nighttime sounds called The Sounds of Night, designed for kids ages 2-8. It is currently available on iPad, iPhone and all Android devices. When Jessica isn't writing, you can find her cheering her boys on at the soccer field, or watching her little girl at the dance studio.

To find out more about her current writing projects, connect with her at: http://www.christianapps4kids.com or on her personal blog: http://www.jessicakirkland.com To purchase The Sounds of Night at iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-sounds-of-night/id456046823?mt=8 To purchase The Sounds of Night in the Android Market: https://market.android.com/details?id=pro.roar.thesoundsofnight&feature=search_result

The above article is loaded at docstoc.com. If for some reason you have difficulty copying or downloading the article, we will be glad to email the article in .pdf or .doc format. Russ@kathycarltonwillis.com This article content is provided free of charge by the author through Kathy Carlton Willis Communications. You are welcome to place this article on your site or in your publication as long as 1) it’s used in its entirety, 2) the full bio is also used, and 3) you notify KCWC at russ@kathycarltonwillis.com. All other standard copyrights apply.

Still Reading...
Bina

A Lancaster County Christmas (& Giveaway)

It’s Christmas in September!

To celebrate the release of her first Christmas book, Suzanne Woods Fisher has teamed up with her publisher, Revell, to bring you the "Christmas in September" iPad Giveaway! The winner will be announced on 9/27 at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party! Details below. Tell your friends and join in the fun (9/7-9/27).

Oh and be sure to follow the blog tour here - many of the bloggers have copies of the book to giveaway! 

Suzanne and Revell will be presenting one merry winner with a Christmas Prize Pack (valued at over $600):

• A Brand New iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift certificate to iTunes
• A copy of A Lancaster County Christmas

To enter, click one of the icons below. But, hurry the giveaway ends on 9/26.

But, wait! There's more! The winner will be announced at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party on 9/27 at Suzanne's author page. During the party she'll be revealing something *BIG* - you won't want to miss it. She'll also be hosting a book chat, trivia contest and giving away a few early Christmas presents! Hope to see you there.

Still Reading...
Bina

Fairer Than Morning (& A Kindle)

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Fairer Than Morning, Rosslyn Elliott is giving away two fabulous prize packages. The first is brand new KINDLE in her Fairer Than Morning Kindle Giveaway. Then on September 20th she's giving away a $200 gift certificate toward a Custom-Made Historical Reproduction Dress (from Recollections) during the Fairer Than Morning Book Club Chat Party on Facebook! Sigh...romantic.

Fairer Than Morning is receiving wonderful reviews - Library Journal said, "A well-written historical series debut…". Read more reviews here.

Be sure to join the fun and enter the Kindle contest - 

One winner will receive:

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Fairer Than Morning (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, giveaway ends on 9/19. Winner will be announced on 9/20 at Rosslyn's Book Club Facebook Party. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

Then be sure to RSVP for Rosslyn's Facebook Party! During the party Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, hosting a book chat about Fairer Than Morning (don't worry if you haven't read the book yet - you could win a copy!) & historical Fiction, testing your trivia skills. She'll also be giving away that $200 gift certificate toward a FABULOUS custom-made period dress from Recollections!

Super excited...and still reading!!

Bina

Wrapped In Rain

Fast paced, easy to get into and well written characters all add up to a great novel...  I hadn't heard of Charles Martin before I got this book, but now that I have...you can be sure I will be trying to find more of his stuff.  I loved the way he grabbed me from the first page and kept me up late as I kept saying "ok, just one more chapter". 

Cover Information:
"Life is a battle, but you can't fight it with your fists. You got to fight it with your heart."
An internationally famous photographer, Tucker has traveled the world and seen both the serious and the strange. But when his brother escapes from a mental hospital and an old girlfriend appears with her son and a black eye, he is forced to return home and face the agony of his own tragic past. Back in rural Alabama, Tucker comes to terms with the ghosts he left behind. Miss Ella Rain once loved Tuck and his brother like they were her very own. Hiring her to take care of Waverly Hall and to keep them out of sight was the only good thing their father ever did. And though Miss Ella has been gone for many years, Tuck can still hear her voice. And she keeps telling him, encouraging him, that by reaching out to this young boy he can redeem his father's tarnished legacy and pass on the good she brought into his life.

This is a story that makes you stop and examine your own heart as you follow along in someone else's shoes and is one I would recommend to anyone looking for a great fiction novel.

**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...
Bina