Finding The Light of Jesus - Giveaway and Review

In today's world we are constantly battling against the effects of stress and work overload in our personal and professional lives. Often times finding that balance between family and work can be difficult to see at times.

In the newest book by Cindy Tuttle, Finding the Light of Jesus, she takes the reader through how to get past the day to day stresses that overwhelm us to the point of exhaustion and depression. In each chapter Cindy opens with a prayer outlining a particular situation we may find ourselves faced with. She discussed the details of what we may be experiencing and what our thoughts may sound like. She then takes the reader through an activity to cause some reflection on their own lives to see how they can implement some positive change. Finally in closing the chapters, she ends it with a wonderful prayer.

Some of the chapters deal with the business of life and stress; believing the false myths of our culture that would have us believe that we need to strive for more; examining our day to see how negative thinking can impact the beginnings of our day; asking ourselves, "What do you desire?"; and finally how do you feel about your life.

The book also contains a section on various prayers and daily reflections that deal with stress, forgiveness, fear, being overwhelmed, jealously, misunderstandings, and anger. There is even a 30-day prayer plan to help put your life back on its spiritual track.

I received this book compliments of Hamby Media for my honest review and can definitely see where this resource could be valuable to so many readers. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of the book, simply click on the title below:

Finding the Light of Jesus

Thanks to Hamby Media, they are offering a copy of the book to one lucky reader of this blog. Here are your guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. You must be a resident of the US and No P.O. Boxes please.

3. I need a way to contact you if you are the lucky winner, so please include your email address in the comment box. You can use the (at) and (dot) words instead of the symbols.

4. Leave me a comment and let me know why you'd love to win a copy. The giveaway will end on December 8th. I will notify the winner via email after that date.

Emily of Deep Valley

There are certain books that are defined as classics for a reason.

These are the books that you read more than once and often times read to your children as they grow to love and appreciate books.

Emily of Deep Valley by Mitali Perkins and Maud Hart Lovelace is one such timeless classic. This takes place in the early 1900's at a time where life was a whole lot different than it is today. I think that is what defines it to me as a classic. As I read this novel I was immediately reminded of Turner Classic Movies. This book fits the genre of such like

Emily Webster is an orphan living with her grandfather, who is 81. A former soldier of the war on Gettysburg, he often has lapses in his memory often asking Emily the same questions again after already asking them. She is the model of elegance, simply answering them as if it were the first time hearing them. She takes care of her grandfather ensuring that he has something to eat. If not for her, all he would eat is milk and bread.

Emily's best friend is Annette who is the belle of the ball so to speak. She has the best of everything from custom designed dresses, the boys are all fond of her, and she is the most popular of the girls. The interesting thing about Emily is she isn't jealous or envious of Annette. She merely sees it as a chance to see the other side of life.

She has an innocent view of life and desires better things for herself upon graduation from high school. She dreams of college and all the possibilities that it would offer her, but she lacks the financial means to make that happen. Even though her grandfather cares for her financial, Emily isn't about to ask. She is an honor student and dreams of changing the world. Just how she does that is contained within the beautiful written and illustrated pages of this book.

I received this book, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. I have to say I loved it. It takes you back to the time period of It's A Wonderful Life and the Baileys. Where faith and love are the foundations that make us what we are and define our character not the things that money can buy. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and it now has a permanent part in our home library and one I can't wait to read to my children and grandchildren as well.

For more information on this book, the author, and where to get a first chapter peek, please read on.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Emily of Deep Valley Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition (October 12, 2010) by Mitali Perkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A word from Mitali: Who In The World Is Mitali Perkins?

That's a good question. I've been trying to figure it out myself, spending most of my life crossing borders.

I was born Mitali Bose in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and always tried to live up to my name—which means “friendly” in the Bangla language. I had to! Because my family moved so much, it was the only way I could make new friends.

By the time I was 11, I'd lived in Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York and Mexico before settling in California just in time for middle school. Yep, I was the new kid again, in seventh grade, the year everybody barely makes it through.

My biggest lifeline during those early years was story. Books were my rock, my stability, my safe place as I navigated the border between California suburbia and the Bengali culture of my traditional home.

After studying political science at Stanford and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, I taught in middle school, high school and college. When I began to write fiction, my protagonists were often—not surprisingly—strong female characters trying to bridge different cultures.

Mitali Perkins is the author of several books for young people, including SECRET KEEPER (Random House), MONSOON SUMMER (Random House), RICKSHAW GIRL (Charlesbridge), and the FIRST DAUGHTER books (Dutton).

ABOUT THE BOOK

Often cited as Maud Hart Lovelace’s (of Betsy-Tacy fame) best novel, Emily of Deep Valley is now back in print, with a new foreword by acclaimed young adult author Mitali Perkins and new archival material about the characters’ real lives.

Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. The gulf between Emily and her classmates widens even more when they graduate from Deep Valley High School in 1912. Emily longs to go off to college with everyone else, but she can’t leave her grandfather. Emily resigns herself to facing a “lost winter,” but soon decides to stop feeling sorry for herself. And with a new program of study, a growing interest in the Syrian community, and a handsome new teacher at the high school to fill her days, Emily gains more than she ever dreamed...

In addition to her beloved Betsy-Tracy books, Maud Hart Lovelace wrote three more stories set in the fictional town of Deep Valley: Winona’s Pony Cart, Carney’s House Party and Emily of Deep Valley. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be delighted to find the Deep Valley books available again for the first time in many years.

If you would like to browse inside Emily of Deep Valley, go HERE.

Possession

We've all moved at some point in our lives. It becomes the experience we all dread. We hate the packing up of boxes and then trying to bribe friends and family members to help us load the rental truck. So many of us wish we could just hire a moving company to pack it all up, load it up, deliver it and unpack the boxes into our homes, yet few can afford to do it.

The one thing you need to remember is to read the contract including the fine print of every page. Otherwise you may just wind up like detective Vance Graegan, who decides its time to retire from the D.C. police force after a very difficult sniper case and follow his wife's dream to open a deli. She is after all been a successful caterer and Vance longs for a much simpler lifestyle. So what could be easier than to hire a moving company. They show up and pack everything up as required and make sure that Vance has signed his contract.

After that it's simply time to meet them in California at their new home, only when Vance arrives in California, he's about to discover that reading that fine print may just cost him more than the possessions in the moving truck after the driver begins to blackmail him. Mere coincidence? You'll have to read the book, Possession by Rene Gutteridge to find out.

I received this book compliments of Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review and beginning with the prologue, this one had me hooked until the very end. Now I am off to find other novels by Rene Gutteridge. She is a very talented author using our own personal experiences of the things we all deal with, to get us emotionally involved in the storyline and characters. Loved it and hands down rate this a 5 out of 5 stars. I may never opt to use a moving company again after reading this one.

For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of this amazing, Christian, suspense thriller, click on the link below:

Possession by Rene Gutteridge

The Life Book

In today’s divisive culture-war society, when news stories about separation of church and state thrive with controversy, one cutting-edge Christian ministry is having remarkable success spreading the Word of God. What makes it remarkable? They are doing it by distributing Bibles in public schools—legally.

Carl Blunt is the president and CEO of The Life Book Movement, a Christian mission centered on Blunt’s own contemporary, youth-oriented edition of a portion of the Bible called The Life Book, a unique presentation of Scripture designed to engage high school students with the truth of God’s Word. The Life Book presents a brief overview of the Old Testament and the Book of John using an interactive format with honest student comments and real-life questions in the margins. Readers are drawn into the only story that can change their lives forever.

Founded by The Gideons International as an innovative strategy to reach high school students with God’s Word, The Life Book Movement works in collaboration with churches throughout the country to provide the books for free to high school students. Blunt’s organization brilliantly threads a separation-of-church-and-state loophole by getting his publication into the hands of Christian high school students and having them pass the books out to classmates at school—a practice that is entirely legal, as long as the books are not distributed by school staff or other adults. Blunt says, “It’s like we’re helping students smuggle God’s Word into a closed country (public high schools) to reach an unreached people group because studies show that only 4% of today’s teenagers are Bible-believing Christians.” The goal is to ensure that every student in every high school in the United States has an opportunity to receive the gift of The Life Book. This approach presents a phenomenal opportunity to impact a generation with the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Life Book Movement is best described to students as a week-long mission trip to their local high school. Local churches work together in targeted areas to ensure The Life Book is offered to every student in each chosen high school. All churches involved receive the books at no cost from The Life Book Movement and provide the books, along with some evangelism training, to the students in their youth groups. The students then spend a week passing them out to their friends and classmates at school. One student who received the book said, “I got one today. I read it in almost every class today. I like it. It’s pretty neat and other people asked to look at it and then asked where to get one.”

Flying under the radar since its inception last fall, The Life Book Movement is rapidly closing in on distribution of more than 300,000 copies in public high schools across 21 states and even the British Virgin Islands. A quiet success, indeed, but extremely ambitious, The Life Book Movement has an ultimate goal of distributing The Life Book to nearly 18 million high school students when all is said and done. And, so far, the outlook is extremely promising.



My Review:

This is such an incredible tool for any high school student to use to encourage others to take a glance at the Bible. It's small enough to put in your pocket, looks innocent enough to spark interest and loves all the notes from the teens and adults throughout the book that encourage some very interesting conversations among students.

I had my daughter who is a senior in High School look at it and her favorite part is how convenient it is to carry with you and yet doesn't look like your ordinary Bible. I can see this as a great witnessing tool with Bible groups everywhere.

I received The Life Book by Carl Blunt compliments of B & B Media Group for my honest review and must say it rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. It's about 4 inches by 4 inches and paperback. For more information on this book, the author and where to get a copy for yourself, click on the link below:

The Life Book by Carl Blunt

You can also follow Carl Blunt on Facebook and Twitter by clicking on the links below:

Facebook

Twitter

Barely A Lady Giveaway and Review

He can't remember...

Olivia Grace has every reason to despise Jack Wyndham, Earl of Gracechurch, who scandalously married and then divorced her, ruining her completely. Yet when she finds an injured Jack on a battlefield wearing the enemy's uniform, she can't resist saving him. He might have broken her heart, but an he truly be a traitor?

What she'll never forget...

When Jack awakes he is shocked to discover that he lost Olivia's love - and much of his memory. Did he really destroy their marriage? And what do his dreams of blood-soaked French uniforms and revenge mean? As the noose of danger tightens around them, Jack and Olivia must determine which is most frightening: the threat of the hangman, their own tempestuous history, or the passion that flares between them once again. (excerpt from rear cover).

Barely A Lady by Eileen Dreyer, is a story of how true love can overcome any obstacle. How a matter of trust can mean so much and hurt even more when betrayed. A story of passions that run so deep they're sure to make your blood sizzle. Oh, and they say that Love is Blind, well in this case it's the Lovers are Blind to what is sitting right in front of their noses.

Olivia Grace has been on the run for five years hiding from her ex-husband and his family. Under a simple ruse right out in plain sight Olivia has found her salvation but for how long? You would think being in such a beautiful place as Belgium would be perfect under the circumstances. A beautiful city besieged with tourist's but also on the verge of war, you would think that there is much to much going on to be noticed.

Jack Wyndham, Earl of Gracechurch has had more than his share of action. Being a Golden Boy with an ego bigger than England itself, how could he not find his way into trouble. It's not until he is found by Olivia on Belgium soil half dead and with no memory that makes things get slicey and dicey for the Earl. Can he be saved from death's grim grip? Will he ever get back the memories that got him into this place in the first place and will Olivia ever be able to forgive all the wrongs that have been done to her by this cad?

This is a delightful story with twists and turns, secrets abound and more mysteries to be solved that will never let you put the book down until devoured. I can tell you this much, expect to get very angry with Jack and his family for what they have done to Olivia. Actually, it's quite easy to be angry just for the injustices that were placed on women in the time period let alone anything else.

I received this book compliments of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review and would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars. This is book one in the Drake Rakes series. If you would like more information on this book, the author and where to get a sneak peek at the first chapter, click on the link below:

Barely A Lady

The generous folks at Hachette Book Group are allowing me to host this book giveaway for three (3) copies!

• Winners are restricted to the US and Canada. No PO Box mailing address please. Be a follower of Reviews From The Heart.
  

• I must have a way of contacting you, so be sure to leave your email address in your comment.

• Some choose to omit the @ sign and the . dot by writing it in "code" like this: you (at) your email (dot)com.

• I'll close the comments December 4th and pick the three winners. I will contact the winners via email to get their mailing information. The winners will have 5 days to respond. If I do not hear from them within three days, I will select another winner(s).

Review - Glade's Winter Collection

Now that it's officially Black Friday and all of us are out there shopping, I found a great product I had to share with all of you compliments of being a BzzAgent as well as from Glade.

Being a lover of candles, I was so excited to try Glade's new Winter Collection in Apple Cinnamon, my favorite scents not just at the holidays but anytime. I got the candle to try and immediately had to light it. Not only was the glass jar decorated with cute white reindeer's but the size of the candle made placing it anywhere reasonable. Too often the bigger candles take up so much room, but these personal sized ones take up less space and still offer the same fragrance power of the larger ones.

My family commented on just how warm and cozy our home smelled after lighting it. It truly did offer a comforting feeling just watching the flicker of the flame and the dance of the reindeer stencils that appear on the area surrounding the candle. Because I thoroughly enjoyed it so much, it ran out after a few days of extended use, but off I went to purchase new ones.

I have used them in our kitchen, bathrooms during Thanksgiving and next to my bedroom for some fragrance while settling in for the night. Glades' Winter collection comes in three great fragrances guaranteed to please everyone's taste, from Apple Cinnamon, Bayberry Spice, French Vanilla, Sugar Plum, Chocolate Cherry, Baked Magic, and Peppermint Crush.

Not only do these come in candles but also in plug in oils, and room sprays to suit your every need. I would highly recommend this product and if you sign up for Glade's Right At Home, you receive some great coupons to try the product. I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!

Divine Appointments

Josie Brooks doesn't have the easiest job in the world. She spends it traveling from city to city, company to company streamlining companies and unfortunately that means lay offs of employees, no matter how valuable they may be. Her job means not getting personally involved with anyone she comes across and that makes her job all the more easier to do. However it also means that she doesn't have any friends anywhere.

Her only contact has been her family as she places her weekly calls to them telling them where she is living at now and to see how everyone is doing. Even that doesn't offer the satisfaction she has been hoping for.

Yet when she finds herself working in Chicago, she finds herself suddenly affected by those she has to let go. Barb, one of the longest working employees is also the most loved employee by those in the company and when word gets out that Barb is the next to go, Josie finds herself with a target on her back.

When she returns home she is immediately drawn to a mystical snow globe that offers a peaceful green meadow along with a flowing and refreshing river that magically seems to really move. Will this lead her to see things are more than what appears on the companies bottom line and sometimes down-sizing isn't the right thing to do?

To find out, you'll have to check out the latest novel by Charlene Baumbich, Divine Appointments. This book really draws you in emotionally with each character that interacts with Josie and lets you have a personal attachment with each of them in a unique way. I received this book, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about the book, the author and even a first chapter peek then read on:

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Divine Appointments WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (September 21, 2010) by Charlene Baumbich
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Charlene Ann Baumbich is the author of the previous three books in the Partonville series. A popular speaker, journalist, and author, for several years she has lectured to women’s groups and retreats. Baumbich is also an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Today’s Christian Woman, and numerous other publications. She is the author of six nonfiction books of humor and inspiration.

Charlene says: For over two decades of writing and speaking, my passionate pursuit to entertain and rejuvenate using humor (I love to laugh-especially at myself), uncommon wisdom, and passionate insights has been affirmed through countless calls, letters, and evaluation sheets. A reader recently e-mailed, "There is so much depression and sadness in this world. I applaud you for reminding all of us to treasure the moments in our lives, and for encouraging us to find joy in the little things. What you do helps so many to rise above the heaviness of life and live, and laugh, and face another day, so thanks!!!!" That is exactly why I keep doing what I do.

I am a firm believer in the power of story (short or book-length, funny or insightful, real or fiction, on stage or page) to accomplish my purpose, which is to remind you: Don't Miss Your Life! Whether you're tuning into me live or in print, fasten your seatbelt. I promise you a wild, fun, provocative, heart-warming ride.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Josie Brooks, at the age of 47, thought she was leading an enviable single life. A successful consultant, she calls her own shots, goes where the money is, and never needs to compromise. But her precisely managed world begins to falter during a Chicago contract when an economic downturn, a bleeding heart boss, and the loyalty and kindness between endangered employees ding her coat of armor.

Throw in hot flashes, a dose of loneliness, a peculiar longing for intimacy, an unquenchable thirst—not to mention a mysterious snow globe with a serene landscape, complete with a flowing river and lush greenery that seems to be beckoning her in—and Josie’s buttoned-up life is on the verge of coming completely undone.

Maybe her solitary existence isn’t as fulfilling as she has convinced herself to believe. It will take a few new friends, a mystical encounter, and an unexpected journey to set Josie on her own path to “right-sizing” and making the life changes that really matter. Filled with laugh-out loud moments and a gentle dash of inspiration, Divine Appointments is another heartwarming charmer from a master storyteller.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Divine Appointments, go HERE.