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.

Lovely and heart touching

I was thrilled with a chance to review a copy of Delvier Me and started reading it the day I got the book. I wasn't disappointed. Even though I was able to connect to a lot of the people sharing because I was a teen mom (unplanned) myself, I also found myself relating to the women helping these girls. I have had a desire to reach out myself and this book really fed that down the road dream.

The book is a compilation of true stories and I actually enjoyed reading them as they were submitted because it showed things in a real way. Sometimes, we can "fix" or "gloss" things up with editing and a sense of the way things were can be lost.
Deliver Me shared story after story (along with interesting statistics) of stories starting in desperation and ending in peace.

I do believe this book would be a valuable read for someone facing an unplanned pregnancy and for anyone working with women in such positions.

This review is also shared at www.amazon.com and might be shared on some other sites.

The book was sent to me at no charge for me to review in return. I was so glad to have been given this chance!

iShine Bible for Tweens

iShine Bible for Tweens Review

This was a real hit with my 10 year old niece. I know she was a bit young but she was going through a rough time and needed real hope. This Bible was a great gift!

It is filled with helpful highlights to draw the reader in and guide her through the Word in an easy to read in a really pretty format.

One of my favorite features was a VIP style of sharing truth for a girl's Value, Identity and Purpose. The few I read through sounded very appealing for girls from around 10 to 12 and maybe a year or two older. There were topics to look up on things of interest and of concern for a girl of these ages and much more. I was very impressed with this from the time I opened it and with every page and detail I flipped to before wrapping it up for my niece. She LOVED it!

I think it would be a lovely gift to give any girl of the intended age group!

This Bible was sent to me by Tyndale House publishing at no charge for a review and I am so glad they did! 

A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

I have been a fan of Lauraine Snellings since someone gave me a copy of Sophie's Dilemma some time ago. I ended up starting from the beginning and have now read a total of eight of the same author's books!
I read the Red River set and the above mentioned book and the latest is the present review.

This book did not disappoint and I found myself wanting to read more and I hope to eventually read every one I can.

A Measure of Mercy starts out on the growing community called Blessing set in North Dakota in 1903. The characters from past books are blended in but one can read this book easily even if it is a first read in any of the series.

Astrid Bjorklund is eighteen and studying to be a doctor and faces many life forming decisions. The book chronicles her thinking process as well as her medical practice and perspectives and plots from many other characters keeps the reader busy.

My favorite part is reading about the many meals prepared, work done each day and relationships lived out. The best part though is the biblical truths penned so smoothly in and not preached or lectured on.

Great book!

Bethany House publishers sent me this book at my request and at no charge and I agreed to review it after reading.

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul

I am learning to love books written around Christmas time. There is something so welcoming when one reads of snow drifts, crackling fires and warm receptions, I guess.

This book was a lovely gift from the first view. The cover invited me in from the start and I felt whisked away into the plot immediately.

It was like reading a happy Christmas movie instead of watching it and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. There is a sparkling ribbon of romance flowing through the pages. Glimpses of various characters offered a sense of community and sparked a desire to reach more closely into my own.
I might tie a pretty bow around it and offer as a present to someone needing to read through a place where not everything has to be commonplace.

I was given this book by WATER BROOK publishing company to review at no cost to me.

Somewhere to Belong

This is my first Judith Miller book and it reminded me (in a small way) to one of all time favorite authors, Lauraine Snelling.

The story focuses mainly on two teen girls around the same age who have led very different lives before they meet. Berta comes from a bigger city life of luxury to Johanna's world of hard work and secluded simplicity.
The first comes to a religious village thinking of it as a lovely vacation spot and the latter has lived her entire life there.

I enjoyed this book and liked reading of the hard work done on with a steady routine each and every day. It was delicious to read of the foods made in the big kitchen and served restaurant style for three scheduled meals a day.

It was nice to imagine being there and pretending to be among the characters ... seeing what they were seeing and processing their emotions. When I finished this book, I felt comforted and happy and that was just what I needed!

Bethany House Publishers sent this book free of charge with the request for an honest review posted of the book. I love this company!