Category: Book Review

Book: Surrender

On By Naty MatosIn Book Review1 Comment

By  Chris Baumball

Surrender” is a mesmerizing religious fairy-tale about an unyielding spirit determined to achieve three important things: faith, family and love.

Surrender can mean many things to many people, even animals. In this fictional story, a religious fairy-tale satire about a Sasquatch named PoBo, we learn what it can mean on many different levels. On one level, PoBo is displaced from his family at an early age amid a war initiated by humans. But with an unyielding spirit to be reunited with his kin—and with music being his best motivator, at least at first—the hairy bachelor decides to set off on a dangerous quest to find them.

PoBo knows the journey will be fraught with danger because he knows he and his family are on the endangered list—a constant struggle to survive. But like an adage he once read in a book, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” he is steadfast to not give up on his goal. Fortunately, and unexpectedly, he gets some assistance from two animals, one of whom is far bigger in his faith than his physical size. PoBo encounters many obstacles along the way, and his own faith is tested repeatedly as time runs out to fulfill his quest.

When we’re broken and realize we’re not in complete control, it’s time to surrender.

About the Author:

I am proud to admit that I’m a constant reader and writer because books don’t havechris redundant commercials. I was born on Independence Day, live in Ohio (US), and graduated from Kent State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. I am happily married to my best literary critic, Melannie. We have two sons, Michael and Alexander, both of whom continue to keep us active and young at heart. I draw a lot of my inspiration from some of the creative things I overhear my kids say throughout the day.

Book: A Well Memoir

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By Anita Wilson

WellbyAliasInTownDepression and addiction are often taboo topics in the church. However, Christians are just as susceptible to depression and addiction as any other social group. Christians who suffer from these afflictions often don’t seek help because of shame and fear of alienation. For a depressed Christian or a Christ follower with an addiction, seeking help feels like shining a spotlight into their spiritual life and highlighting a failure as a Christian.

There are many hurting Christians in desperate need of help, and it is common to feel like you have nowhere to turn. I am very passionate about this topic because I am one of those Christians. I live with depression, and I’m in recovery for addiction and attempted suicide. I also have a chronic illness, and made incredibly bad decisions in coping with her illness, desperately seeking relief.

Alias In Town’s memoir, Well, chronicles my journey toward healing in a unique way. When I came home from treatment, I started pouring over old journals and found entries where I sought forgiveness, healing and deliverance. I gathered them up into a scrapbook. I also added original artwork telling my story through the end of a paintbrush. I dug through my blog, and gathered essays into the scrapbook too. I realized this scrapbook had become something. It had become a vulnerable and raw memoir telling a story of hope.

http://www.aliasintown.com

About the Author:

Alias In Town is an anagram of the author’s name. In every town there are alias people anitaliving with chronic illness, chronic pain, addiction and depression. Alias In Town is one of those people. Learning to live well while ill is a necessary and difficult endeavor. She learned multiple coping and life strategies to be Well.

“I am more than my body. I am body, mind and spirit. My body is simply the weakest unit of the triad. Though chronic illness affects the entire triad, I have made considerable effort to strengthen my mind and spirit to find the balance of ‘Well’. – book excerpt

Her style of writing is to combine multi-media formats into stories. She utilizes short essays to tell her story in words. She creates original artwork to tell her story through the end of a brush. She includes personal journal and diary entries to remain open, honest and raw in her writing.

One of the most anxiety releasing activities she utilizes is art. She explores art through several mediums and included them in the book “Well.” She does not claim to be a proficient artist but utilizing art is cathartic to her. She has an art website https://anitamariewilson.wixsite.com/atw-art

She has been married for 35 years with 6 children and 7 grandchildren and lives in central Ohio. Her website is http://www.aliasintown.com

Book: The Humble Life Journal

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The Humble Life Journal cover large subtitle

Here’s the new book of my friend Cara Iris Miller. I hope you enjoy it! If you have already read it, please leave us some comments at the bottom or go the whole way and leave her a review on Amazon. To purchase the book, just click here.

Book Blurb:

Are you overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities? Have you ever yearned for a more purposeful, yet simplified life? Are you uncertain of where to begin? Author Cara Iris Miller has spent the past few years doing just what you may be contemplating at this moment. With her faith as a cornerstone, she has learned and fashioned a rhythm of living that is more simplified than complicated, as she and her family thrive in their yurt (small round home), as sustainably and simply as life will allow. Now, in her book, The Humble Life Journal: Reflections on Simplicity and Stewardship, she shows how you can achieve the same desire for a more peace filled life, with logic, and faith based guidance on: – Simple health – Money-saving tips – Simple marriage – Stewardship of the home – Simple parenting – And lots more… Living a simple life doesn’t necessarily mean going without, but tends to focus more on being a good steward with what you do have. Complete with Bible verses and journal sections at the end of each chapter, you have plenty of space for your personal thoughts, prayers, and ideas. Incorporate each chapter’s insights into your life as you feel inspired! So, if you’ve been searching for a more grounded, yet abundant life, perhaps you’ve been looking in all the wrong places. It is time to reassess your priorities, refresh your world, and revive your faith in God!

trainer353A Little Bit about the Author:

I am a Writer (and chronic list maker).
I am a Natural Health Consultant.
I am a Therapeutic Body Worker.
I am a Certified Fitness Trainer, Yoga Instructor, and Sport’s Injury Therapist.
I am passionate about wellness and writing! It is wellness (and all its fascinating facets) mixed with a longing to evolve in my faith that drives me to write. I am moved and molded by…the Word, good stewardship, life long learning & gleaning from my elders, healing of the human body & soul, our home of an humble yurt & our land, abiding peace, the strong love of my husband, my precious sister, God sent friendships (you know who you are), a glass of deep red wine by an evening fire, dark organic coffee in the morning, hiking and exploring God’s glorious nature with my man, journaling, and serving others!

Blessings!!

 

 

 

WF: Worship and Positive Attraction

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In its purest form, to worship is to offer reverence to God. The wonder that is worship is that this Cover 2 JPGexplosive offering is like a bomb that both gives off and attracts God’s positive emotional vibrations.
When you worship and praise God in any form you are releasing vibrations that are in tune with His broadcast. God’s presence is drawn in by these worship vibrations, for He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). This holy habitation means He literally lives and abides in His praises, and how could He not (?) for the vibrations of praise are the vibrations of His Spirit, touching God as a pleasing fragrance and kissing the very frequency of heaven itself.
Praise and worship are special and personal expressions of the heart that release adoration, gratitude, and favor; these expressions change and charge the atmosphere, ushering in a frequency that is in tune with a higher realm that is the abode of God.
In some church circles, the strong link between worship and positive emotion has upset some people as expressive worshiping is labelled as nothing more than ‘emotionalism’. As we understand the important role emotions play in daily attraction one should ask ‘what is wrong with emotionalism?’ God has given us our emotions for a reason and a genuine encounter with the Most High Source will touch ones emotions and see some form of emotional response. When one considers the fervour and passion seen in the stands of a football game how much more should expressive emotion be broadcast towards the Main Attraction, Creator God?!
A popular and particularly emotive expression of worship is through releasing vibration through song and music. When intent is placed behind the voice box and instrument a force of tremendous fortitude is enacted and released.
From the tribal war drum to a lullaby soothing a crying baby, worship through music is truly dynamic in authority that elevates vibrations into God’s presence and sees ones reverberations flow in harmonious synchrony with His Spirit.
Though this act is a pleasing sacrifice to God it also attracts pleasing things to us, for worship feels good, raising ones frequency and actualizing a positive emotional state. It seems a type of paradox that the more one gives the more one gets. The fact that by giving an offering of worship to God that He gives His presence, healing, and breakthrough is another aspect of grace. Though the heart motive of worship should be genuine adoration, appreciation, and glorification – getting is a by-product of giving that is His spiritual law. When it comes to worship we do not give to get but nevertheless we will get if we give.
One day my brother Leigh worshiped in song with the words to God “you are holy’ and distinctively felt Him singing back “You are whole – Leigh”. The reciprocal heart of God in the cycle of attraction reflects a love that is truly breathtaking.

bio2Author bio: An ever inquisitive mind, Craig has spent years carefully crafting a mosaic of rich philosophy through his study of the positive faith, mind-set and action connection and marrying these insights into practical living. With a message on his heart and an anointing to share rich and deep insights, Craig’s book ‘The God Attraction: A fresh revelation of the Law of Attraction’ can be found at: http://www.amzn.com/B01DFDLR8M

Book Review: Promises of the Heart

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PoH“Promises of the heart” is the first book of author’s Scarlett Rains Sister’s of the Heart Series. The book setting is in London England and it’s a historical fiction. I’m not a fan of historical fiction, but this book was able to capture my attention. To me it was ironic to have the main character to be a sweet precocious child, when in my own books I chose that name for an adult serial killer. So the first thing was that I was interested in seeing how this Amelia would react to her surroundings.

Amelia’s behaviors are way advanced for her age and the time in which she was living, which got her in trouble with the adults in charge of her. The loss of her parents creates a grand distress in her life as she now is not sure of who would take care of her. She ends up being assigned Rachel as a governess. As she grows she starts receiving unwanted attention from the opposite sex, which confuses her. She wonders about the real intentions of her cousins and her own feelings for them.

I don’t want to reveal more, but the end leaves you looking for the second book immediately. It’s a nice read cuddled up in the sofa in front of the fireplace.

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Book Review: Shadow Stalker

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Do you guys remember the movie Jerry McGuire, when Jerry declares his love for his wife and she tells him “you had me at hello” That’s the best way to describe this book.  As a crime mysteries lover, this book just sucked me in. I dare you to read the prologue and not read the rest of the book. A little spoiler if you allow me. In that prologue there’s a scene and the author says something like…and she saw her mother’s head explode in front of her eyes. I was sold. I know, it sounds morbid, but it is that good.

I sat patiently for hours at a doctor’s appointment without complaining because I was so into the book that I was in no rush to be called in. I think has been a long time since I have been upset that a book ended, but the good news is that it’s a series so I’m definitely going for book 2, because I need to know what happens. So I take this opportunity to tell the author to hurry up and write it…LOL!

In a nutshell, this is the story of a woman who watches her parent’s being killed as a child. She’s protected by family members who adopt her for a while. She grows to become a private investigator, which sometimes gets her in trouble. The people who killed her parents are after her and now she needs to use her skills to protect herself, but also to protect her current investigation and the investigation of her new partner.

I give this one five stars with no hesitation.  I’ll keep you posted when I read the next one.

Book Review: The Fine Art of Delusional Thinking

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I found this book quite hilarious. It is totally sarcastic which fits my style, ironically it can be quite eye opening.  The book is presented almost like a non-fiction, giving you the key to absolute happiness. The key, stay away from reality at all cost.

I loved it because I could identify with a lot of the narrative from Bonnie Trachtenberg. My friends and I tend to have these conversations that are quite far fetched but they are usually a relief in the middle of a stressful day. It is refreshing to know we are not the only delusional ones. For example:

I can say that after work, I plan to drive north until I run out of gas.

Instead of being received with disapproval one of my friends would say, “Are you planning to visit any particular landmarks? Then the conversation will continue.

Or I would walk into a conversation where one of them is saying that they have a new business venture and that the next day we are all moving to Paris. Depending on my mood I just may say, “I’ll meet you guys there in a few weeks, I still have not renewed my passport”

I can get a response like “We’ll sneak you in.”

This book reminded me a lot of those conversation, which made me laugh. But it also brought a more serious topic up for me, and that is how the media and our delusions can sometimes affect our expectations in life, making our goals less realistic and our life more frustrating.

It’s a fun book. It’s a quick read and I totally recommend it. You can get your copy of this book by clicking here

Talking about new books, remember to check out my new release A Brother’s Vow 🙂

A crazy promise made during a night out with his twin brother will change Randall’s life forever. Will he be able to keep the promise he made or will his past cause him to go against everything he’s worked hard to achieve?

“Randall Benson and his twin brother Brian think nothing will change in their happy, close-knit family. Their parents worked hard to establish a business and a heritage of godliness for their five sons. Randall does his part for the business, but doesn’t buy into that heritage thing. He just wants to have fun, until a series of events convinces him he has to change for the sake of the people he loves. His mother’s selfless love isn’t enough to change him. The protection and example of his brothers isn’t enough. The promises he’s desperate to keep aren’t enough. Are there really forces at work that Randall can’t control on his own?

This is a story about interconnected lives and the consequences of the actions of everybody in the family. It’s not just about one black sheep and his struggle to change. The spiritual lessons you can learn from each member of the Benson family surprise you as you make your way through this complex story and navigate their successes and failures. This isn’t women’s fiction. It’s complex adult fiction with a message for everyone who has promises to keep. By Mary C. Findley”

Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles and Smashwords.

Author Emma Right

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Today we have Guest Author Emma Right talking to us about her new book Keeper of Reign.

headshot under trees

Emma, tell us about you?

I’m a happy wife and homeschool mother of five living in the Pacific West Coast of the USA. Besides running a busy home, and looking after their five pets, which includes two cats, two bunnies and a Long-haired dachshund, I also writes stories for her children. I loves the Lord and His Word deeply, and when I doesn’t have her nose in a book, I am telling my kids to get theirs in one.

 Wow, you are quite busy. Have you always been in the writing industry?

I worked as a copywriter for two major advertising agencies and won several awards, including the prestigious Clio Award for my ads, before I settled down to have children.

Why did you write Keeper of Reign?

I wanted to write an allegorical fantasy about the fall of man and the redemption story set in a fantasy setting that’s filled with danger and adventure. Something young readers can enjoy but still have a Christian message.

What  do you hope Keeper of Reign will accomplish?

I hope my readers can see that with the power of the gospel, we can overcome our problems and difficulties. I want to empower young readers with this message, that if they seek the truth (the Ancient Books, in Keeper of Reign) they will find wisdom and answers to life’s problems. It doesn’t mean the answers are going to come easy, but persistence will pay off, and the Bible has the answers.

How readers can connect with you?

Please, do connect with me…

Please visit my webpage: http://www.emmaright.com, or my Facebook.com/ emma.right.author, and fanpage on http://www.facebook.com/keeperofreign and follow me on twitter. If you sign up for my newsletter on my http://www.emmaright.com page I will give you book and contests updates.

Thank you, it was a pleasure having you with us today.

Keeper of Reign

Books written in blood. Most are lost, their Keepers with them. A curse that befell a people. A Kingdom with no King. Life couldn’t getperf6.000x9.000.indd more harrowing for the Elfies, a blend of Elves and Fairies. Or for sixteen-year-old Jules Blaze. Or could it?

For Jules, the heir of a Keeper, no less, suspects his family hides a forgotten secret. It was bad enough that his people, the Elfies of Reign, triggered a curse which reduced the entire inhabitants to a mere inch centuries ago. All because of one Keeper who failed his purpose. Even the King’s Ancient Books, did not help ward off that anathema.

Now, Gehzurolle, the evil lord, and his armies of Scorpents, seem bent on destroying Jules and his family. Why? Gehzurolle’s agents hunt for Jules as he journeys into enemy land to find the truth. Truth that could save him and his family, and possibly even reverse the age-long curse. Provided Jules doesn’t get himself killed first.

God’s Love and Forgiveness As Seen in the Romance Novel Desires of the Heart

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By Steve Biddison

How far does God’s love and forgiveness extend? We all know the theological answer that tells us God forgives even our gravest sins and that there is nothing that can separate us from His love. And that is true. However, often times, in our own shame and guilt, we do not feel God’s love and we our subconscious does not allow us to accept His forgiveness. We either wallow in our own mire of disparity or we completely turn our back on God, believing that we do not deserve what He can give us.

That theme of God’s love and forgiveness is a big part of my recent fictional romance book, Desires of the Heart. Both the Eric and Lacey are in dire need of God’s forgiveness for things they had done in the past. Though the book is a romance between two people, at its core we see how God works in their hearts, through a variety of means, to show His love and forgiveness.

I want to share with you an excerpt from the book that not only started Lacey’s conviction of needing to return to the God of her childhood, but also has a message for anyone today who might feel they have gone too far for God to still want them.

Lacey again reached over to lay her hand on top of Eric’s. She needed the strength he gave her when she held his hand. The preacher’s words were stinging her. As hard as she tried, she could not ignore them. God can’t really use me, she told herself. I have blown it so many times, there is no chance that I could be of any use to God!!! I can’t be anything. God, don’t you understand the family I came from? Don’t you know what I have done? How could I amount to anything after having been such a loser?

“You might be thinking that your past is too bad for God to use you,” the preacher said. “But the reality is that God loves using people who are not supposed to succeed. In fact, sometimes the more of a loser the person is, the greater God uses him.” Lacey squeezed Eric’s hand tighter and leaned her head against his shoulder. She needed his strength to keep the tears from flowing freely.

“The book of Matthew opens the New Testament with the same type of genealogy as we read about in the Gospel of Luke.” The preacher continued. “Only this time we see the line from Abraham to Joseph, who was Jesus’ adoptive father on earth. We see several great people of God like King David and Abraham. But we also see people who were not so great in history. King Manasseh, one of the very wicked kings in Jewish history is in that line. We see Gentiles who were considered to be unclean by Jewish standards and we see women who unfortunately in that society were not usually deemed important enough to mention. Perhaps most interesting is that we even see a prostitute in the line of Jesus.” Lacey had never realized that before. God had used a prostitute to carry out His plan. Could God really still use her?

Lacey closed her eyes, trying to shut out the flood of guilt that had begun to flood over her. She opened them again when she heard keyboard and guitar music sounding in the background. The preacher was still speaking. “If you have had some trouble in your past that you think might be keeping you from fully experiencing God, then I invite you to come to the front and meet with God. We have prayer counselors waiting for you up here or you can pray alone.”

Within seconds, Lacey watched as scores of people flooded the isles heading to the front of the auditorium. Could so many people have such serious problems? Everyone stood to their feet as the music continued to play and the guy who had been introduced as the worship leader at the beginning of the service began to lead them all in another song.

****

But then the memories of college began to announce themselves firmly in her mind. That was the period in her life when her downward spiral intensified. No, she had been no worse than most other college students. In fact, probably better than most. But she knew that she had fully turned her back on God and admittedly refused to have anything to do with Him or a church. But now, as she watched the line of people marching forward, she wondered if she needed to join that group.

But what would Eric think of her? She tilted her head upwards to try to read his face. His eyes were lost in his own trance of thought. Maybe God was dealing with him too? She continued to watch his face, looking for any twitch or thought that might give him an inkling to step towards the isle and make his way to the front. If he goes up, I’ll go up, she promised herself. But Eric never moved.

Book Review:Unseen

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I have to admit that I was a little skeptical as I started reading this book. I had read John Michael Hileman’s book “Messages” some time ago and somehow at the beginning it seemed to follow the same pattern. So I told myself to just keep reading since I had already started. I’m so glad I did.

The book is very different than “Messages” and their only similarity is that it’s a book you will not be able to put down.

Trying as always not to spoil the book for you, I will try to describe the context. This is the story of a man whose nephew has been abducted by a serial killer. All of the sudden the man starts seeing what he thinks are ghosts of children. At the beginning he thought these ghosts were there to give him clues to find his nephew, but that was far from the truth.

Now to those who have read the book I do have a question. Was the flower to be kept a life Aiyana or the neighbor’s baby?

If you want to know what I’m talking about, get this wonderful book.

UNSEEN

Life for Jake Paris is stable and ordinary–until a mysterious old woman pays him a visit and he begins to have encounters with unruly children everywhere he goes-children only he can see. When Jake’s estranged sister, Holly, finds herself the target of a national serial killer who has chosen her son as his next victim, Jake begins to wonder if there is a connection. Could these children be the ghosts of the killer’s victims? As the kidnapper’s plan unfolds, Jake uncovers a startling secret about the unseen children that will change his life forever–and Holly discovers just how far she is willing to go to save her son. A riveting story of rescue, restoration, and romance that will leave you thinking long after the last page has been turned.