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Day 1 of 12 Pearls of Christmas Series and a Contest

Posted by html404 on December 13, 2010
in Blog Stuff, Books, Contests

What a blessing it was to find the offer of 12 free posts in our inbox the other day. There are perks to being a part of blog teams that are really, really nice! So I want to give a huge shout out to Litefuse, Pearl Girls and the authors who penned these posts to help us get through an already busy Christmas season…..Thank you so very much ladies! Hope all of you enjoy them and we will try to keep up with our regular posts, but perhaps in shortened versions.

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Hello – I’m thrilled to announce the 2nd Annual 12 Pearls of Christmas! We’ve lined up several authors to share their Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along beginning today (Monday the 13th) through Christmas day as Melody Carlson, Lauraine Snelling, Rachel Hauck, Tricia Goyer, Maureen Lang, and more share their heartfelt stories of how God has touched their life during this most wonderful time of the year.

We are also providing this series as free content for your own blogs (as 12 html posts) – if you’d like to share the 12 Pearls of Christmas with your blog readers email (amy@litfusegroup.com) and she’ll send you the content.

AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post or any of the following 12 Pearls of Christmas posts (on any of the participating posts) to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! You may enter once a day. The winner will be announced on New Year’s Day! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.

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Pearls of Patience
by Margaret Mcsweeney

As I write by the light of my Christmas tree on a late winter’s night, I reflect upon the poignancy and purpose of this season. The tiny white lights look like strands of pearls draped gracefully (perhaps haphazardly is a more honest description) across the evergreen boughs. Tomorrow I will hang the ornaments and at last place the angel atop the tree

Angels carry a special meaning this Christmas. My brother, Randy passed away on December 2nd from a heart attack at age 53. He was feeding a stray cat on his side porch. Randy was always like St. Francis of Asissi – animals would find him, sensing a kind soul. And my brother was a gentle and patient soul. He loved to fish. He tried to teach me, but I immediately lost interest when I realized worms were involved. And I could never sit still on the banks of a river and just wait. However, Randy could do that. He could wait, and waiting is a true gift. He put into practice the Scriptures. “Wait upon the Lord.” “Be still and know that He is God.” Patience doesn’t have to be passive. Wait is still an action verb. Part of the waiting process for fishing is seeking. Elaine (Randy’s wife of 31 years) told me that Randy said he could see the fish deep beneath the waters. He actively waited for the right time to catch them.

During Randy’s last fishing trip on earth – just a week before his death, he felt an urgency to take a picture of the clouds with his cell phone. When he returned home, he showed the picture to Elaine. They realized that a face of an angel was looking at Randy from the sky – perhaps waiting for God’s timing to bring Randy home to heaven. In my heart I like to think that this “angel in the sky” was part of the heavenly host that appeared to the shepherds over two thousand years ago. A Christmas Angel.

The Christmas Angels brought tidings of great joy that Jesus, our Lord and Savior was born. And because of that incredible gift from God that these angels announced, we all have the promise of eternity. Let us actively wait for His return by sharing our faith, offering hope and acting with love in everything we do.

May each of you be blessed this Christmas as you celebrate the purposeful promises of the Season: Faith, hope and love. And may the 12 Pearls of Christmas be a blessing to you, too.

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About Margaret: Margaret McSweeney lives with her husband, David and two teenage daughters in the Chicago suburbs. After earning a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina, Margaret moved to New York City to work at a large bank where she met David. Charity and community involvement are very important to Margaret. She is the founder and director of Pearl Girls. For more information please visit www.pearlgirls.info. Margaret is fast at work on several fiction manuscripts and her book Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace was written to help fund the Pearl Girl Charities. Connect with Margaret on Facebook or Twitter.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

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First Things First by Kurt & Brenda Warner

Posted by html404 on December 1, 2010
in Books

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

You know, it’s sad to admit but I don’t think I have ever heard of Kurt Warner (if you don’t know either, he’s a quarterback for the Phoenix Cardinals) until I was browsing through the Tyndale House website. Then again, I am not much of a football fan so how would I know him? What attracted my eye about this book was the fact that he and his wife, Brenda, have seven children. I am always interested in large families, especially Christian families. I enjoy learning about their family, how they do things and look forward to what I can glean from them.

The Warners appear to be a pretty normal family, considering Kurt is a celebrity and all. As a couple, they know what it is like to struggle financially and do their best not to take their current income for granted. They are all about their faith, their marriage, their family and others – in that order.

I love how their oldest son has been such a source of inspiration for so many of their ministry opportunities. I enjoyed how frank and openly they shared their lives with those of us who would read their book.

Kurt and Brenda really seem to have some great ideas about parenting. It is evident how much they love each other and their kids. Something they do that we do, but we didn’t even think to take it as far as they have is when their children are fighting they have to hold hands. We do that too, but we require our children to sing Barney’s “I love you” song (You all remember Barney the dinosaur and his opening song, don’t you? Thought so. ;-)). However, the Warners require them to hold hands and if they still don’t get along to go cheek to cheek, and if they still don’t get along lips to lips! 🙂 Loved that! The thing is our children are usually playing by the time they are done the “I love you” song because they have to give each other the hug and a kiss the song talks about, “with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won’t you say you love me too!” So I guess in a way we are requiring a pretty similar thing to the Warners. It’s nice to hear of others implementing similar things that we do. Gives us hope for some reason.

And that is one of the Warners desires in sharing their thoughts in First Things First, that we might be encouraged and perhaps take something about their family and be able to implement it or change it to suit our own family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Warners life. They do get pretty candid, but nothing that offended me and I’ll let our older girls read it too.

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Christmas at Harrington’s – Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on November 20, 2010
in Books

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

Once again, Revell surprised me. I wasn’t expecting such an endearing Christmas story from the description they sent to me. I loved this little novel, which was less than 200 pages long. It was a story of love, hope and forgiveness.

I loved the emphasis on new beginnings and second chances for the main character, Lena Markham. Her circumstances such as they were – penniless, friendless – reminded me of what some homeless or hard hit individuals must go through.

This past week my husband and oldest daughter volunteered at a food pantry passing out food for a couple of hours. The needs are great not only in the lives of the people going to the mission for food, but also for the food pantry itself. Did you know that families only receive one roll of toilet paper per week? Could your family be so frugal to only use a roll of TP in one week?

Lena Markham was a needy character who had lost her faith in people and in God. When she started her new job, as Mrs. Santa at Harrington’s department store, she met new people who loved her for who she was; she slowly regained ground in the trust department and her heart began to soften as she chose to help others and be the person she was meant to be. I wonder how many lives we could touch for good if we just chose to look beyond a person’s circumstance, appearance or even first impressions? After all, we can’t get to know a person if they are holding back their true self out of the desire to protect themselves.

Lena finds the change she’s looking for and even reveals her true character, yet would that be enough to sustain her new life? When I discovered the answer to this question, I turned the page to realize I had just finished Christmas at Harrington’s. Melody Carlson left me wanting more. I wanted to know the rest of the story – how all the different circumstances played out and what was next for Lena and the rest of the characters. I was left wanting to know if Melody is planning to write a sequel to this book! Please Melody write a sequel. 😉

Christmas at Harrington’s is an inspiring story that not only focuses on the true meaning of Christmas, which is the greatest gift of all, but also what it means to truly give a person a second chance.

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Emily’s Chance – Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on October 30, 2010
in Books

Emily’s Chance was an easy read and fairly decent story. In my opinion though, it is a typical romance novel in that boy meets girl and boy and girl get married, with a sprinkling of hope and healing in between. Pretty predicatable.

What I liked about this book was the female lead was not too big for her britches. Even though she was wealthy, she chose to live beneath her means so as not to stand out but be a so-called normal person. She had learned that certain social circles, like the one her wealthy parents frequented, were quite often more about appearances than about what mattered most in life.

I enjoyed how Emily learned that a loving family can exist after growing up in a family who did not love one another and was somewhat “disfunctional”. I loved the protrayal of good relationships with the grandparents, the community the town enjoyed and that Chance and Emily were willing to give up their dreams because of their love for one another.

I didn’t really learn any new spiritual lessons. The spiritual lessons shared with the pages of this book were reminders of what is important in life – family, good relationships, community.

“Available October 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Win a Kindle Contest!

Posted by html404 on October 13, 2010
in Books, Contests

Suzanne Woods Fisher is thrilled to announce the release of The Waiting, book two in The Lancaster Secrets Collection. In The Waiting Jorie finds herself caught be two loves and two lives in this compelling page turner about complex people living the simple life.

A must read!

Visit the blog tour and find out what the reviewers are saying!

Learn more about Suzanne and her books at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com!

The Waiting is the next stand alone story in The Lancaster Secrets Collection and follows in the footsteps of the best-selling, The Choice. The Waiting is in stores now and to celebrate Suzanne is hosting The Waiting KINDLE Giveaway.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a Kindle preloaded with Suzanne Woods Fisher titles and a Amazon.com gift certificate! The Prize Pack (valued at over $185.00) includes:

* A brand new KINDLE, Free 3G, 6″, Latest Generation

* The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

* The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

* A $15 dollar Amazon.com Gift Certificate

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on October 28th at Suzanne’s Lancaster Secrets Book Club Party.

Join Suzanne for the Lancaster Secrets Book Club Party on October 28th! She’ll be announcing the winner of the The Waiting KINDLE Giveaway, hosting a book club discussion of The Waiting and The Choice, and giving away copies of both books and HEAPs of readerly prizes! Be sure to join us on Thursday, October 28th at 5:00 PM PST (6:00 MST, 7:00 CST & 8 EST) at Suzanne’s Author Page.

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Code Triage

Posted by html404 on October 13, 2010
in Books

Dr. Leigh Stathos is an ER doctor who loves her work – “Treat ’em and street ’em” – without any emotional attachments. The hard knocks of life had taught her that nothing lasts forever, including her marriage to San Francisco police officer, Nick Stathos. Time is running out for the young couple’s marriage when an act of violence forces Golden Gate Mercy Hospital into a lockdown. As the Stathos manuever their way through the maze of events that rock their world, will their marriage survive Leigh’s confrontation with “the other woman”?

Code Triage is another one of those books that make you take a good look at your marriage and cause you to wonder just what it can survive. This book not only me made go through all the emotions Dr. Leigh Stathos went through, but also those of her husband, sister and patients. The whole gammit and the whole range of emotions of a broken heart.

Candance Calvert kept me on the edge of my seat as I read her book waiting for the whole story to unfold. I loved the faith Nick Stathos exhibited and empathized with him as he struggled to hang onto his marriage. I hurt with Leigh as she struggled through a wounded heart. It was really difficult for me to embrace “the other woman” who seemed bent on being a destructive force in more than just two lives.

If you like hospital drama and police action intertwined with romance then you’ll like Code Triage.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

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The Waiting – Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on October 12, 2010
in Books

Jorie King has been waiting for her beau, Benjamin Zook, to return home to Lancaster County so they can marry. But when news arrives that Ben has been killed, Jorie finds comfort in the friendship of his brother Caleb. That friendship ripens into love, and it seems that they are meant to be together. But when the unexpected happens, their worlds are turned upside down once more.

I bawled my eyes out while reading this book and I cannot even blame it on pregnancy hormones! There were humorous moments too, as both humor and tears is what makes a great book in my humble opinion. This story was filled with many of life’s complexities and reveals that the Amish are not immune to suffering and hardships. What it does reveal is their fortitude in life’s trials.

I love reading about the Amish. Their lifestyle, community and family life intrigue me.

The Waiting is one of those books that makes the Amish people’s faith, community and willingness to forgive stand out above what I am use to experiencing. Because the Amish possess these traits they are better able to withstand life’s troubles when they come their way. Grant it, this book is a work of fiction, but it is based on who the Amish are in real life.

Personally, I long for what the Amish have – a close knit community on which to depend through thick and thin. The ability to forgive and be forgiven freely and to love completely without brick walls of emotional barriers being in the way of trusting, godly friendships is a rare gift. A gift The Waiting shows is possible with endurance, more forgiveness and love we are capable of in and of ourselves. It is our relationship with God that makes or breaks our relationships with others.

This was a wonderful story that I recommend as a good read. Thanks, Suzanne!

“Available October 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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The House on Malcolm Street – Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on October 9, 2010
in Books

The House on Malcolm Street is a novel. It isn’t so much a romance novel, although there is a little of that included, just not with the main character so much. Leisha Kelly has written an endearing story of a woman, Leah Breckenridge, her losses, her relationships and her healing.

Leah learns the value of relationships through a godly aunt who takes her invites Leah to visit. Not only that but she heals as she faces her “demons” and starts trusting again.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a great story. So often life’s tragedies are exactly what teaches us the value of relationships. It is easy to go through life with severed relationships, sometimes that is the healthiest and safest in certain cases, but the majority of the time relationships can and should be mended. Carrying bitterness or anger around is very unhealthy for all involved – spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. With God’s help, we heal ourselves when we heal a broken relationship with a family member, friend or with God Himself.

“Available September 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Under A Maui Moon

Posted by html404 on October 6, 2010
in Books

Under A Maui Moon is a book about a woman who has strayed from her relationship with God, facing marital difficulties amidst other life struggles. Robin Jones Gunn deals with some tough situations that many women face.

I wasn’t sure what the book would be like, but had read a couple of Robin’s first books years ago so thought I’d read this one. Even my daughter said, “What kind of book is this?” when she read the back of it.

Sometimes we don’t like to admit when we hit a valley in our marriage, but that is a pride thing. All of us at one point or another will face marital challenges, the important thing is what we do about them. Will we give hang in there, keeping our vows and our commitment to the one we’ve pledged to love, honor and cherish for the rest of our lives? Will we give in to the temptation to flee or maybe even “play around” and possibly even leave our spouse? It is harder to hang in there because it hurts and it’s hard, but face it, the best thing and the biblical way of dealing with the challenges is to stick it out (unless of course physical or substance abuse calls for a time of separation or even divorce if these issues cannot be worked out). Divorce hurts and doesn’t solve the problems. The problems just get carried into the next relationship. What a vicious cycle.

My husband and I are blessed to have a legacy of in tack marriages in our families for the past three generations that we know of, it could be more, and we desire to be the same example our children that our parents, grandparents and great grandparents were to us – All of whom faced their own kind of troubles and difficulties but remained married to the one they committed their lives to. What a testimony of God’s faithfulness to us!

Ultimately I enjoyed the story and was rooting for the main character as she manuevered her way through the difficulties thrown in her path. This isn’t really the typical Christian Romance that I am use to, but I think it made me think about how’d I’d respond to what Carissa faced in her marriage. I think it helps to see things in a different light and try to prepare for how we will respond should we find ourselves facing life’s tough questions like Carissa did as she visited the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Review Copy Provided by Wynn Wynn Media

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The Movies and Memories Giveaway from Sarah Sundin!

Posted by html404 on October 2, 2010
in Books, Contests, Giveaways

Sarah Sundin presents The Movies and Memories Giveaway in honor of book 2 in the Wings of Glory series. A Memory Between Us is available for purchase wherever fine books are sold. From the English countryside to the perilous skies over France, A Memory Between Us takes you on a journey through love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

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