Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

"A beautifully written glimpse into heaven that will encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe."

-Ron Hall, coauthor of Same Kind of Different as Me

"Do you remember the hospital, Colton?" Sonja said. "Yes, mommy, I remember," he said. "That's where the angels sang to me."

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival. What they weren't expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed-a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.

Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery-and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on. He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born. He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read.

With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton tells of meeting long-departed family members. He describes Jesus, the angels, how "really, really big" God is, and how much God loves us. Retold by his father, but using Colton's uniquely simple words, Heaven Is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, "Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses."

Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child.

My thoughts:
I listened to this audio book a couple months ago, but got so bogged down that I am just getting around to reviewing it now.  This book got so much press that I felt like I needed to read it.  I got a copy of it on Paperbackswap and it just sat on my shelf.  I picked it up to try to start it and didn't get anywhere, which is unusual for me.  Then I decided to check the audio book out of the library instead.  I was not a big fan of the narrator chosen for the audio book, I think I would have liked to have heard it read by the author instead as it is about real events, not a work of fiction.  Since Burpo is a pastor who is used to public speaking, I think this book would have been better with him reading it.

I believe in heaven, but I have to wonder if the experience will be the same for everyone.  I was hoping that reading this book would remove some of my skepticism about the book itself, and i feel like it should have, but some of that doubt about if this story is real or made up to help people believe more fully in times of need is still there.  Would a four year old really have remembered all those details?  Did his parents lead him on and embellish his memories without really meaning to?  I believe he was out of his body during the surgery and even that he may have been to heaven during that time, but all of the details provided in his descriptions over the course of time actually made me believe less rather than more?  The abundance of details made me less willing to believe rather than more. 

I think it is great that so many people have gotten a lot of hope out of this book and it has not lessened that I think heaven is for real, but some of the descriptions did not seem authentic to me for a child that young.  Maybe growing up in a religious family  had something to do with it or the rephrasing by his father changed things around.  I hope that Colton is right and that no one is old in heaven and no one needs glasses.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780849946158
• Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
• Publication date: 11/2/2010
• Pages: 163

About Todd Burpo

Todd Burpo is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska (Population: 1,762) where his sermons are broadcast locally every Sunday via the local radio station. He volunteers at Chase County Public Schools as wrestling coach for Junior high school students, as well as serving as a member of the school board. In emergencies Todd can be found working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department as a fire fighter. He is also the chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighter's Association.

Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides by Shirley Brosius, Janine Boyer and Kim Messinger

About Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides:

Women today are busy, stressed, and guilt-ridden, yet they long to develop their spiritual sides. Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides offers inspirational thoughts based on scripture--brief enough to be read during a television commercial, yet insightful enough to open your eyes to the grace of God on days you change diapers and/or lead corporate meetings. Each reading suggests a "Guilt Trip to Avoid" and ends with a way to "Take the Joy Ride." The book includes six months of daily readings so that you may establish a habit of connecting with God. Readings are listed under the letters G-R-A-C-E, representing God, Relationships, Acceptance, Challenges and Emotions.

The coauthors hope these meaningful readings will help you deal with guilt--both real and imagined. By applying the insights shared in Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides, you may develop a calmer, less guilt-ridden life-style and become better equipped to function as wives, mothers and friends. Younger women often develop patterns of thinking and experience feelings of guilt that carry over into their mature years, so women of all ages will find this book helpful.

Link to buy the book: bit.ly/HZSBdg 

About the authors:

Kim Messinger, Janine Boyer and Shirley Brosius had a common bond of Christian service when Christ drew them together for their first small group meeting in January, 1998. Since then they have drawn closer through life’s joys and struggles and found God to be sufficient for their every need. They call themselves “Friends of the Heart” because their passion is to help women open their hearts and find joy in Christ.

Kim and Janine supported Shirley in writing Sisterhood of Faith: 365 Life-Changing Stories About Women Who Made a Difference, which was released by Howard Publishing, a division of Simon & Schuster, in 2006. More recently the three women worked together to write another devotional book, Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides. They have spoken at women’s retreats and events in five states. All three women live in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. Visit their website for more info.

About the Giveaway:  

Guilt! She pokes you as you write about your quaint, eccentric aunt. She grabs you as you wander from e-mail to Facebook to laundry instead of focusing on your work. She kicks you as you complain about your husband to a friend.

Have you noticed? Women seem riddled with guilt. And it’s hard to know if guilt is legitimate or simply a product of our imaginations. After all, should we really feel guilty about things over which we have no control?

We are not perfect. We have no control over some things, so it's no use feeling guilty. We can't do it all.

To celebrate the release of Turning Guilt Trips into Joy Rides, Shirley, Janine and Kim are giving away some great prizes during the blog tour. Share your own "guilt trip" or "joy tip" and be entered to win a free life coaching consultation and a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate.

JUST CLICK THIS LINK (http://justforfun.friendsoftheheart.us) and share what trips you up, holds you back or any tips you may have for overcoming guilt and keeping your joy. Fill out the quick form at the link and you'll be entered to win a free life coaching consultation from one of us AND a gift certificate to Amazon.com to use to purchase whatever strikes your fancy!

Contest runs 4/23 - 5/12. Winner announced here on 5/14.

 Blog Tour Schedule:http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13480254/guilttrips)

My thoughts:

This title intrigued me because I feel guilt so often in my daily life.  For putting myself first or for not putting myself first.  For not remembering to check my children's homework or for not making a creative enough dinner.  I had a rough week at work last week and I felt like maybe it was me, so having a a daily reminder to read about how to break this guilt cycle was so nice.

I am reading a daily reading a day to help me find balance and acceptance over what I can't control in my own life and to see things in a bigger picture.  It also helps me to see how the bible can relate to my own every day life.  This was a fun Lifefuse Blog tour to take part in and I encourage you to check on what other readers thought using the link to the tour schedule above.

The Beautiful Wife: Focused on Christ, Fulfilled in Marriage by Sandy Ralya

Overview

The Beautiful Wife uses these inspiring stories along with biblical principles to guide and encourage any wife looking for God's best in her marriage. The Beautiful Wife answers serious questions women have about their roles as wives. Discussing everything from romance and money to beauty, communication, and sex, Sandy challenges women to open up and share their journeys so that together they can see God's plan for their marriages. "It is my passion to help women discover God's heart for their marriage, just as the other women helped me," writes Sandy. "When women share with each other the details of their journeys with God as wives, it's a beautiful thing indeed."

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780825442209
• Publisher: Kregel Publications
• Publication date: 2/10/2012
• Pages: 240
• Sales rank: 444,146
• Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Sandy Ralya is the founder and director of Beautiful Womanhood, a marriage mentoring ministry based near Grand Rapids, Mich. Her marriage testimony was the focus of a popular three-day interview on FamilyLife Today, TV's Walking by Faith, and Time Out for Women. Sandy is a sought-after speaker, presenting Beautiful Womanhood seminars to hundreds of women each year at MOPS groups, women's retreats, and church leadership conferences across the country and in Canada. Sandy and her husband Tom have been married since 1980, and have a growing number of grandchildren. www.beautifulwomanhood.com

 

Link to buy the book:  here.

Blog Tour Schedule:  here. 

Win a Kindle Touch and RSVP for FB party 3/8!

Enter Today and Save the Date-3/8!

 

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Celebrate with Sandy by entering her Kindle Touch Giveaway and coming to her "Beautiful Womanhood" Facebook Party {3/8}!

One beautiful winner will receive:

• A Brand new Kindle Touch with Wi-Fi
• The Beautiful Wife By Sandy Ralya
• The Beautiful Wife Prayer Journal and Mentor's Guide

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends 3/7/12. Winner will be announced at Sandy's "Beautiful Womanhood" Facebook Party on 3/8. Sandy will be hosting an evening of chat, laughter and encouragement - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, prayer journals and a live chat with Sandy for your Bible study or small group!

So grab your copy of The Beautiful Wife and join Sandy and friends on the evening of March 8th for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on March 8th!

My thoughts:

Reading this book made me wish that I did belong to a group of women so I could discuss and explore the topics and ideas more fully.  Sandy shares ideas on how to find a group or start a group which I will have to look into.  One thing that really resonated with me was allowing yourself as a wife and mother to have your own time for reflection and for taking care of yourself spiritually, physically and emotionally.  One thing that zaps much of my time is activities my children participate in.  I feel like I get so much guilt from the other parents for not volunteering more and for missing events, but she suggests that no child is going to miss being in only one or no outside activities.  I loved the months we had last year with no sports to go to.  I felt like I got to spend more time with my own children, not just hurrying them along to get done with homework and dinner so we could be out the door, but sitting down and talking and reading books and playing in the yard, we get so caught up with what we are supposed to be doing for them that we miss out on some important family time.  There is no need to do it all, and less can definitely be more!

Another area I want to work on is trusting God to answer my prayers when and how He sees fit.  I think I tend to ask for what I want to happen instead of praying for things to happen as they should.  I pray for how I want the outcome to be instead of believing that something different might, and most likely would, be even better for all. So in that extra time I can take by not being over scheduled I want to pray and trust and see what comes.

Sweeter than Birdsong by Rosslyn Elliot

Overview:
In this second in the award-winning Saddler's Legacy series, Rosslyn Elliott has written a stirring novel of hope and faith inspired by real historical people and events. With Ben Hanby, a genius composer, Kate Winter, one of the first female college graduates in America, and John Parker, an ex-slave who risked his life time and again to help fugitive slaves, Sweeter than Birdsong is full of real heroes to inspire us. "I hope readers will find a renewed sense of strength in their own lives," says Elliott, "knowing that change is possible, and our efforts matter. I want them to remember these unique, brave people in history who left us a shining example of what it means to live out one's beliefs with passion and commitment."




So to celebrate the music in all of us, Rosslyn and Thomas Nelson are hosting this "sweet giveaway".

One fortunate winner will receive:

• A Brand new iPod Nano (Winner's choice of color!)
• Fairer than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott
• Sweeter than Birdsong by Rosslyn Elliott

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on February 28th. Winner will be announced at Sweeter than Birdsong Author Chat Facebook Party on 2/28. Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, sharing a sneak peek of the next book in the series, hosting a trivia contest, and more! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, season 1 of DowntownAbbey, and a book club prize pack! (Ten copies of the book for your small group or book club AND a LIVE Author Chat for your group with Rosslyn.)



So grab your copy of Sweeter than Birdsong and join Rosslyn and friends on the evening of the 28th for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 28th!

My thoughts:
I was excited to take part in this Litfuse Blog Tour after reading Rosslyn Elliot's first book in the Saddler Legacy.  This time the focus is on the son of the couple from book one along with a young lady he attends college with.  I love how Elliot took names and facts from history to weave into her story.  It makes it come alive, breathing life into what could just be boring, dusty facts. 
 
I was struck by what it must have been like to be among the first women who were able to attend college, albeit with chaperones and all sorts of rules of conduct, but to be able to attend and take part.  At the same time what was it like to be alive during the time that slavery was a big part of how the south was run.  How did those in the north really see slavery?  How did they feel about it?  Was it was to process when you were in the middle of it?  How will we view events we are living through now when we have the vantage point of history on your side?
 
I was able to empathize with Kate and the trouble she had speaking in public and voicing her true feelings.  Not that I am paralyzed with shyness, but public speaking always makes me feel a bit sick to  my stomach and panicky.  It is hard to stand up for what you know is right and even harder when you feel shy and unsure of yourself.
 
This book makes human and real the time period before the civil war, as well as the underground railroad and the abolitionist movement.
 
Blog tour schedule: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13456229/birdsong


Read an excerpt here:here.



For more about Rosslyn, visit her website: http://rosslynelliott.com/

Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz

About the book:

Three lives are bound by a single book . . . and the cleansing waters of Molasses Creek.

Having traveled to the ends of the earth as a flight attendant, Ally Green has finally returned to the Lowcountry to bury her father as well as the past. But Vesey Washington is still living across the creek, and theirs is a complicated relationship—he was once her best friend . . . and also part of the reason she’s stayed away so long. When Ally discovers a message her father left behind asking her to quit running, it seems her past isn’t through with her yet.

As Ally’s wandering spirit wrestles with a deep longing to flee again, a young woman on the other side of the world escapes her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal. A mysterious sketchbook leads Sunila Kunari to believe there’s more to her story than she’s ever been told, and she’s determined to follow the truth wherever it leads her.

A deep current intertwines the lives of these three souls, and a destiny of freedom, faith, and friendship awaits them all on the banks of Molasses Creek.

My thoughts:
I love participating in blog tours, like this one for Litfuse, because they always bring books to me that I may not have discovered on my own.  I loved the mystery presented by the cover and spent quite a bit of time wondering how the three lives were going to come together.  As the pieces started to fall into place I really appreciated how faith, doubts, loss and love were woven together into this story about the past and the present and how they fit together.  How we can never truly run away from ourselves but need to learn to accept what is and what isn't and what can be changed and what cannot.

There were so many opportunities for each of the characters to feel resentment and hate and to rail against injustices, but they held fast and kept going and were even able to have empathy for those who were causing some of the pain and heartache.

When Ally becomes a flight attendant I pictured her as the actresses in the PanAm show I've seen ads for.  I don't know if the show is still on the air, but that is the type of uniform I thought of .  I also loved the rainbow umbrella that appeared in more than one place and with more than one character, almost like they were hanging onto their hope that there was going to be something worth waiting for at the end of the rainbow after the rain had cleared.


Link to buy the book:here.

About Nicole:

Nicole Seitz is the author of several critically acclaimed novels - The Inheritance of Beauty, Saving Cicadas, A Hundred Years of Happiness, Trouble the Water, and The Spirit of Sweetgrass. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism, and also has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her paintings are featured on the covers of her books. Visit her at @NicoleSeitz, Facebook and http://www.nicoleseitz.com/ for more information.


About the party:
Nicole is celebrating the release of Beyond Molasses Creek with a fabulous "Friendship" Facebook party! She'll be giving away a ton of great stuff (KINDLE TOUCH, some of her own beautiful artwork, a Book Club Prize Pack (10 copies of the book for your small group/book club and a Live Skype Chat with Nicole), and more!


CLICK the button (below) to RSVP for the party - then join us on February 16th for a book chat, story sharing and prizes! Hope to see you there!

Button Code:
Save the Date! 2/16!

Save the Date! 2/16!Blog Tour Schedule: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13454766

The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

About the book: The Shadow of Your Smile

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage.

After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember?

Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future? Read the story behind the story here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/books/the-shadow-of-your-smile.

My thoughts:
I received this book as part of a Litfuse Blog Tour.  I read it last month before the holidays and it was just the read I was looking for.  We did not have any snow last month, but it was easy to imagine how  treacherous roads can be and the stress of driving in bad weather.  When Noelle has her accident everything about her life as well as the lives of her family members changes.  But you are left to ponder if the memory loss is a curse or a blessing.  Thing of all the things we hold with us that are better left to fall away, what if you could let all that go in an instant.  No longer feel angry about petty life issues that can easily weigh us all down.  Whose turn it is to take out the trash, who is being taken for granted, who has let go of dreams or wishes.  To see all that gone and not even know it is gone might lift you up.

Noelle and Eli have to relearn each other and she has to relearn the life that she used to have and decide if that is the life she still wants to have.  Pieces of the puzzle of who she was in the twenty-five years that have been erased come back to her or to Eli and they don't always make sense until they are brought into focus and moved to the right place, getting a little bit of information from her friends, acquaintances and her children bring about a picture of the secrets she was keeping or that Eli stopped trying to share.  Eli has secrets as well that come to light.  The fragility of the marriage they had is opened up and decisions must be made.

I was drawn in by this couple and their struggle.  I wanted them to be honest with each other and to find their way.  So often when the going gets tough people head for divorce, but if there was something there worth believing in then one would hope it would still be there and just needs the chance to be nurtured and grown.  After reading this book I want to go back into Deep Haven and find out more about some of the other residents.  I haven't had the chance to look for those books yet, but they have been added to my TBR list!


About Susan: Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:http://www.susanmaywarren.com/.


Link to buy the book.

Blog tour schedule here.
 Come back to Deep Haven and Win!

Enter 1/9 - 1/28.

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Sometimes love requires a little forgetting ... Come back to Deep Haven and find out what's been happening in your favorite quaint hamlet. If you're new to the Deep Haven series - this is the perfect book to start with - each book in the series is a stand alone story.



Susan is celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

• The entire set of Deep Haven Books 

The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles! Just click one of the icons below to enter and tell your friends about Susan's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

House of Hope by Elisabeth Gifford

About The House of Hope:
One couple’s powerful ministry to some of China’s most vulnerable children

Robin and Joyce Hill lived in a gated community in Beijing. Their family’s life was marked by luxury and the security of Robin's job as an engineer. Then one day, as members of their church, they had a chance to tour a state-run orphanage. Haunted by the needs of the children they saw there, for the next four years they tried to help the institute in meaningful ways.

In 1998 the Hills planned to leave China, but instead felt a sudden call from God on their lives. They left their gated community--reserved for only non-Chinese residents--moved their family into a small apartment miles outside of Beijing and immediately began to take in foster children.

They took in any child, but especially those that needed extra care—terminally ill children that couldn't receive care elsewhere, and those that needed complicated and expensive surgeries that the Hills soon began to coordinate and sometimes pay for out of their own savings.

What began as Hope Foster Home is now New Hope Foundation. As they continue their work, the Hills enjoy support from major corporations and high-profile philanthropists as well as the trust of the Chinese authorities. The Hills' story is an inspiring example of God's care and provision for those whom society does not value. Learn more about Hope Foster Homes here: http://www.hopefosterhome.com/.

"I strongly support Robin and Joyce Hill's New Hope Foundation which is saving so many orphan lives in China. Read this amazing story of God's grace and accept the challenge to make a difference!"
--Steven Curtis Chapman

"I had the privilege of going to China and witnessing the work that God is doing through Robin and Joyce Hill. They are wonderful servants of God who lovingly care for the 'least of these.' I hope that many will read this book and consider their example."
--Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love

My thoughts:
I read this book as a participant in a Litfuse Blog Tour for the book.  One of the things that really motivated me to take part in this tour is that  100% of the proceed of this book for to fund the work at Hope Foster Home.  Their site is located  here.

One of the main things that kept coming back to me in reading this book was the faith that Robin and Joyce Hill placed in God to lead them down the right path and to make the right decisions.  Even when it seemed like they were going to run out of money or room to take in more at risk and in need babies they believed that what they needed would be provided, and it was.  It is a faith that so many of us lack or struggle with.  It is hard to trust that God will provide when so many signs are pointing in the opposite way, but people come into your life for a reason and you may be called to do things that are uncomfortable, but if you break free from the mold of safe and easy, the rewards can be even greater.

It was so insightful to see how Joyce and Robin came into the life that they now lead and the good that they are doing for so many children.  It is hard to see a child in need of medical help and to step up with a willingness to use their own money if necessary to get these babies the help they need.  It is equally hard to realize that not all of the babies in need of operations are going to be able to be saved, some may have conditions that cannot be cured and that will end in their early departure from this world.  But to have love and attention for the time they are able to be here is priceless.

I gained a new appreciation of adoption from reading this and the hoops and conditions that people must comply with in order to bring a forever child into their homes and their lives.


Link to buy the book: here. (100% of the proceeds go to fund work at Hope Foster Home)

About the Giveaway! The publisher is sponsoring a $50 "GET / GIVE" GIVEAWAY: One winner will receive a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate for themselves AND $50 will be given in the winner's name to Hope Foster Home.
To enter all you have to do is send a tweet (using #HFH) about The House of Hope or share about it on Facebook!

If you tweet we'll capture your entry when you use #HFH. If you share it on Facebook or your blog, just email us and let us know (ckrumm@litfusegroup.com). Easy.


About Elisabeth Gifford:
Elisabeth Gifford is a journalist who has written for the London Times and the Independent Newspapers. She lives in Kingston, England, and teaches children with dyslexia.


Blog Tour Schedule http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13438821

The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

I really enjoyed this book, the mystery element kept me reading and what made it even more compelling was God’s guiding hand in solving the mystery. Audrey is able to feel the weight of God’s arm on her shoulders guiding her to someone in her community who is in need in some way. She uses this gift to bring bread she and her husband have baked on his day off from being a pastor. She comforts and spends time with those who need that extra bit of attention, until an act occurs that costs her husband his job and her son his college acceptance. Then, they turn to running a bakery to earn their living. Baking bread and acting as a pastor turn out to have more parallels than one would think.


Baking bread involves taking the time to pay attention and having the patience to knead for long enough, allow it to rise for long enough, and bake for long enough. Too much or too little time in an area can ruin a loaf. So many times in life we are rushing around and not taking the time to appreciate the smaller moments, the things that seem inconsequential, but maybe all the steps involved are important for a reason and having patience would give us all a chance to see that. The lesson on bread baking comes from Estrella, a grandmother who has been working with bread for decades and has come to work with the couple because the place she worked for before wasn’t interested in the beauty of bread.

While being held hostage at the bakery, Audrey’s son Ed wonders if, “his own humiliation wasn’t divine at all, but merely a distraction from what he was supposed to be doing? What if all this, this insane ordeal, was not a consequence of his own sin but a chance for God to do something amazing, if only Ed would participate?” How much more would we all experience if we participated more? If we were less afraid to say what we think and step in when we see a situation where we could lend a hand?

While solving the mystery, I also thought about how some people would view Audrey as crazy. She believes fully that God is working through her and having her experience a part of the pain that a person is having so she knows who needs her help. She feels that it is God, but most of us would be looking for some other explanation as to why phantom pains were cropping up and looking for medical help for ourselves.

I read this book as part of a Litfuse Blog tour.

Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliot

Overview Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor, Eli-until Will Hanby shows her that nobility is more than fine words.


On a small farm in 19th-century Ohio, young Ann Miller is pursued by the gallant Eli Bowen, son of a prominent family. Eli is the suitor of Ann's dreams. Like her, he enjoys poetry and beautiful things and soon, he will move to the city to become a doctor.

Ann travels to Pittsburgh, accompanying her father on business. There she meets Will Hanby, a saddle-maker's apprentice. Will has spent years eking out an existence under a cruel master and his spirit is nearly broken. But Ann's compassion lights a long-dark part of his soul. Through his encounters with Ann's father, a master saddler, Will discovers new hope and courage in the midst of tremendous adversity.

When the Millers must return to Ohio and their ministry there, Will resolves to find them, at any cost. If Will can make it back to Ann, will she be waiting?

Read an excerpt here: http://www.rosslynelliott.com/books.php

My thoughts: 
I read this book as a participant in a Litfuse blog tour.  Lately I have not been requesting or participating in very many tours or solicited reviews, but this was one I really wanted to read.  I liked how Eliot used the names and history of real people and then fleshed them out with her own ideas and creations.  She really made history come alive on the pages of her novel and made each of the characters seem like they could really be living breathing people.

Things are so different now with what is and is not proper, that it was interesting watching and reading about how women and men had to act and how people coming from different social stations interacted.  This is the first time I really feel like I have had a glimpse inside a Poor House or at life as an apprentice.  Imagining how orphans or children whose parents were unable to care for them were forced to make their way without much help from government or society was eye opening.

Also very relevant and insightful were the glimpses of the underground railroad and how slaves found their way north and the very real dangers that they encountered in their quest to be free.  I was struck by the similarity of the runaway slaves and the apprentice, how someone who owned them or had their indenture could inflict whatever type of treatment he or she desired and the court and government would look the other way because of a piece of paper or because they were owned.

This book gave a very real feeling and once I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down.


About Rosslyn:

Rosslyn Elliott grew up in a military family and relocated so often that she attended nine schools before her high school graduation. With the help of excellent teachers, she qualified to attend Yale University, where she earned a BA in English and Theater. She worked in business and as a schoolteacher before returning to study at Emory University, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 2006. Her study of American literature and history inspired her to pursue her lifelong dream of writing fiction. She lives in the Southwest, where she homeschools her daughter and teaches in children's ministry.

For more about Rosslyn, visit her website: http://rosslynelliott.com

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Fairer-Morning-Saddlers-Legacy-Novel/dp/1595547851/ref=sprightly-20




Blog tour schedule:  http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13424909


Details
•Pub. Date: May 2011
•Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
•Format: Paperback , 400pp
•Series: A Saddler's Legacy Novel Series
•ISBN-13: 9781595547859
•ISBN: 1595547851

 

Too Blessed to Be Stressed by Debra Coty -Review

About the book:

Do your to do lists have footnotes? Has your fam suggested a rabies shot because your bite has surpassed Rover’s?

Maybe it’s time for a healthy dose of truth gift-wrapped in humor. With her own offbeat brand of wit and near-wisdom, inspirational humorist Debora Coty addresses the heart-needs of desperate women drowning in the churning everyday stress-pool of busyness.

In Too Blessed to Be Stressed, you’ll find simple, practical steps for attaining the peace that you crave as you struggle with the stresses of finances, health, career, relationships, self-image and family. You’ll discover healing, refreshment, and revitalization for your own spirit, body and mind through heart-changing real life stories, biblically based insights, and short chapters for on-the-run convenience.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Too Blessed to Be Stressed and I think I will be looking back at some of the chapters and questions in the future.  As I was reading this for a Litfuse Blog tour I felt like I needed to read it in its entirety to be able to give a review I would be pleased with.  I liked how it was broken down into four sections focusing on different areas we could all use help.  The book is broken down into time management, developing a sense of humor, relationships and faith.  Within each of those the topics are broken down into ten manageable chunks.  Each of the idea is sprinkled with humor and faith.  Funny quotes are interspersed throughout and each smaller section is ended with three reflection questions that go back to faith.

A lot of how we view life come from our own attitudes and the way we shape our reality.  If we are always bemoaning how hard things are and how they will never be better, then that is what we get, but if you turn the same situation around and look at it from a different perspective attitude can be changed and we can move forewords.  Children are a blessing from God, but they also try our patience in new and varied ways on a daily, hourly or even more often basis.  It is so hard to keep in perspective that they will only be little once.  One of the women Cory uses as an example is a mother of 11, with seven currently still living at home while the others have grown up and now reside on their own.  It takes so much more management to coordinate more people.  There are times when I admit that I envy friends who have only one or two children.  It is summer and I am blessed to be home with all four of my children until they return to school and I return to work in the fall, but when I have a chance to go somewhere with just one of two of them it is like a vacation.  Meanwhile I hear people with one or two complaining about how hard it is to go places and do things.  It is all perspective.  I'm sure the mom of eleven would think my four were a walk in the part compared to her outings with seven.

A quote that really stuck home with me was, "I'm not saying we should wallow in pigsties, but when we are shackled by perfectionism and controlled by pride, we become slaves to our homes.  They own us instead of us owning them.  Not good.  Not wise.  Not pleasing to God."  I struggle so much to keep my house in order, think four small kids and a lack of the organization gene, and it can feel like chaos.  It is hard to accept less than perfection, but if we waste too much time trying to attain it we are missing out on the purpose of life.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book that I really don't feel like I am doing it justice.  My plan is to put this on my nightstand and go back to the beginning and do one section at a time and really reflect and try to put some of it to work in my own life.  I can't remember where I read this phrase, I think in a book I reviewed somewhere in the past, but each day one of my aims is to start with an attitude of gratitude and look for why God put a certain situation there.  Maybe the disagreeable person is to teach you patience, or the four yer old who is dragging his feet is to show me to slow down and stop rushing and enjoy each minute of the day, if there is a purpose to the traffic jam and the rainbow, the opportunity and the disappointment, then we can continue to grow and change and find our faith.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Too-Blessed-Stressed-Inspiration-Stress-Pool/dp/1616263466?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969

Litfuse and Debora Coty are holding some giveaways that are listed in the post right after this one.

Blog tour schedule:  http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13418047

Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond

Booklist says, "Inspired by [folk] lyrics, Richmond arrives on the inspirational fiction scene with a moving debut novel. Readers will be filled with hope that Susannah will learn the true meaning of love. Highly recommended where inspiring, romantic historical fiction is in demand."

About the book:Hundreds of miles from home, Susannah faces an uncertain future as a mail-order bride on the untamed Dakota prairie.

When her parents die suddenly, and no suitors call, Susannah resigns herself to the only option available: becoming a mail-order bride. Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.

Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves. Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them. And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge. But Jesse's confidence in her-and his faith in God's perfect plan-slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.

When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter, Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble. Still, Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.

She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

My thoughts:
This review is part of the Litfuse Blog Tour for the book which started yesterday.  A link to the other blog stops is listed after my review.

This book is different than any that I have read lately.  When reading I enjoy breaking off in different areas to keep things fresh.  At the beginning of the book I wasn't sure if I liked Susannah or not.  She has agreed to come to the Dakota territory to meet a husband she married by proxy.  While this man is the brother of her pastor, she had never herself met him and has only exchanged a few letters with him.  Her mother had very strict ideas of what a lady does and does not do, so going to live in a sod house with a stranger was a big leap of faith for her.  Her parents have passed away and a banker has been hounding her for money he claims her father owed him.

Jesse ends up doing all the taking in the beginning, owing to the fact that Susannah believes that women should not be spending too much time talking about themselves along with her shyness and reticence about sharing details about her past.  Slowly they get to know each other and pieces of the real Susannah start to peek through.

The beginning of each chapter started with a prayer from Jesse to God, just a short sentence that then set the tone for the chapter that followed.  Susannah had lost her faith in God, feeling that he did not answer her prayers, but Jesse helps her to see that even though God hears us sometimes the answer is still "no" because of reasons unknown beyond our sphere.  Slowly Susannah not only finds herself and allows herself to be herself, but she also comes to have faith in God and to pray for guidance when she is feeling lost.

Something happens that tests them both in a very big way, and how they deal with the challenge they are dealt speaks volumes for their characters.  It made me wonder, how many of us today put our faith in a higher power when things get tough?  How many of us remember to pray or ask for guidance, not just what is is we think we want?  We can't know the plan and when things get tough is it a way for us to change and find a new path or is it a chance for us to show our true character and what we are really made of?  Do we have the faith that Susannah had in herself by the end of the novel and her faith that things are going to work out?
Blog tour schedule:  http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13347248

About Catherine: Catherine Richmond was focused on her career as an occupational therapist till a special song planted a story idea in her mind. That idea would ultimately become Spring for Susannah, her first novel. She is also a founder and moderator of Nebraska Novelist critique group and lives in Nebraska with her husband.


For more about Catherine, please visit http://www.catherinerichmond.com/.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Spring-Susannah-Catherine-Richmond/dp/1595549242?ie=UTF8&tag=sprightly-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969