Ideal reference to keep on hand

Liz Duckworth's, A Perfect Word for Every Occasion caught my interest as soon as I saw the title. I was raised by a woman who took correspondence and the proper way of it quite seriously! I was taught from the youngest age to go a step beyond a verbal thank you to someone and was shown how to send a card with a hand written note of thanks. I was taught to be sincere and send notes with heart and thought to sympathize with, let one know they were cared about and so much more. Even though I knew and followed my mother's beautiful example in hand writing and mailing various greetings and so on... the world started changing as I was raising a family. Somehow... along the way, saving time became more important than making time to show I cared. Things went even more down the slope when home computers and smartphones became a part of daily life. This book shook the dust off of my earlier intentions and habits and inspired me to be above average as a book (How to be above average by Florence Littauer)It Takes So Little to Be Above Average motivated me to do years ago. Even though typing an email or sending a text can instantly reach one person or a hundred in the same amount of time... it isn't always the way to correspond. There are occasions when we need to step up and find time to not "lean on cliches or pat answers to send" messages. Sometimes, we need to "be personal. Be real. Be specific." Page 52 A Perfect Word for Every Occasion isn't one of those books you pick up and can't put down until it is finished (not that type but I did read it from beginning to end!) but it is an amazing resource to keep in easy reach. Each section offers tips on writing for the need at the moment, quality quotes and relevant Scriptures. This will cut the work out for someone who has an easy time communicating in writing and will be a treasure trove for those who say they cannot think of anything to write! Bethany House Publishers sent this book to me free of charge for an honest review.

Your Beautiful Purpose

Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson is a book I chose to review with a decent level of interest in seeing what was written about what God can do through us. Even in the midst of a huge move, I kept up with reading this book almost every day until I finished it! The lay out was wonderful ... each chapter started with a relevant verse and quote. I noticed right away - the writing backed by Scripture so I jotted down each Scripture reference shared to look up more in depth as I went. I ended up with a few pages worth! Very nice to have all the points better understood through God's Word. The book starts out with encouragement for the reader to push past unbelief and "trust Jesus to move forward in faith" and the whole book supports this to the end. I personally was inspired to make God's call a higher priority in my life and to follow His lead and not the zillions of distractions swamping every day. I considered having a Woman's Bible study in my home or at church using this book! Bethany House Publishers sent me this book at no charge for an honest review.