Glade Expressions Collection

I don't know about you, but I love it when my home smells amazing! You can always find me browsing the latest in home fragrance to find a way to keep my home smelling wonderful not only instantly but throughout the month with very little work. That's why I am super excited to share the news about Glade Expressions Collections.

Here's how I came to find out about it. My friend Jacquie and I are always looking for great ways to keep our home smelling great and often compete to see who can not only find the best new scents but great deals as well. Well little did she know about the new Glad Expressions Collection.  When she stopped by my house for coffee the other day, her first comment was the apple scent of my home. I showed her my Glade Expression Oil Diffuser and also the Glade Expression Spray Mist in the Fuji Apple Cardamon Spice. I explained to her that not only can you get something that smells great everyday automatically but also keep your home safe. Not more of those messy electric diffusers that can be hazardous to your home, but something as simple as a snap of a cardboard insert into an oil tray, and the scent diffuses by itself for over 30 days. Not only that but you have a four new fragrances to choose from, Fuji Apple Cardamom Spice, Lavender Juniper Berry, Pineapple Mangosteen, Cotton & Italian Madarin. My favorite is the Fuji Apple Cardamom Spice and my kids love Pineapple Mangosteen for its tropical fruity fragrance and they've been telling their friends as well how amazing the product is. Since I am a BzzAgent I told her about this great new product and shared some of my coupons with her as well. The next time we spoke on the phone I asked her if she picked up any of the Glade Expressions Collection and she told me she also bought the Pineapple Mangosteen as well as the Fuji Apple Cardamom Spice when she went to the store next.

The best thing I love about the Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist is how is it is to use. It fits perfectly in your hand and works great for those that need an ergonomic design in their fragrance sprays. It's long lasting and smells amazing!!! The best part of this is when we were picking out our fragrances I happen to have my coupons with me, and while browsing I talked to several women who were also in the fragrance aisle and I told them about this product and just how well it works. The best part is I handed them the coupons and watched as they picked up not only the spray but the diffuser as well. I call that a win-win! 

The best part about these products is they can be found at your local grocery store or mass retailer in the home fragrance aisle. Once you purchase the Glade Expression Oil Diffuser, the holder comes in white or bamboo to coordinate with your personal decor, you simply need to purchase the oil refill to keep the fragrance going!!! It's a lot more convenient to use and prevents all those electric diffusers from running out without you being aware of it.

I received Glade Expressions Collection Oil Diffuser and Fragrance Spray compliments of Glade Products and BzzAgent for my honest review and I have to tell you, I LOVE them and will be using these all year round. To view more product details, visit Glade's website by clicking here. 

Saving Gideon

"The rain turned slowly into snow. The change happened so gradually that Avery Ann Hampton hardly noticed the slushy drops had built up on the blades of her windshield wipers.

Great. Just great.

As if being in this backwoods part of Oklahoma weren't enough. First the rain...and now she had to deal with snow.

And slick roads.

And...heartbreak.

She should have stayed in Dallas, but no. Instead, she had wanted to surprise her fiance' by showing up in the Sooner State where he was scoping out land for on-location shoots. She would surprise him and tell him that he had won. She'd caved. He begged her to elope to Vegas with him, but she had been holding out for the big wedding: long, white dress; horse-drawn carriage; and doves released at sunset.

She parked next to her Mercedes - loaned to Jack for this trip - sitting off to one side. She stepped up to the unlocked motel room door, pulled it open, and saw...

Enough.

Enough to know that Jack had used her. Enough to know that he had never really loved her, and enough to know that he - like everyone else - had used her for her father's money.

As she continued to drive listening to the turn by turn directions from her GPS, she noticed the weather was getting worse and it was becoming more difficult to see. As she jumped at the sound of the GPS voice, and pulled the wheel to the left, she found herself hydroplaning in the mud and slush and flipping over and over again until she passed out while her car horn blared through the snowy night.

Gideon Fisher bolted upright. He body trembled. Sweat poured off him. He'd had the dream again. How many times in the last eleven months had he had that dream? More than he could count. More than he wanted to count. Even with his eyes open, he saw them still, his family, Jaime and Miriam. Every night he dreamed he could save them. Every night he failed.

As he shuffled into the kitchen and stoked the fire, a far-off wail captured his attention. It sounded like...well, it sounded like a car horn. He shook his head. His nearest Englisch neighbor was a two-mile walk through the pasture. They were good neighbors. They never gave him strange looks or tried to take his picture. And they never blew their car horn at this time of night.

Someone was in trouble. No one made a racket like that in the middle of the night without there being something wrong. He headed off down the road. Probably some irresponsible Englisch teenager with more money than sense. Most likely took the corner too fast for the weather and veered off the road. Gideon shook those thoughts aside as he drew nearer to the car. The clear light from the lantern flashed off the shiny silver paint - and even shinier chrome of a crumpled-up fender. He was no expert on Englisch automobiles, but he could tell this one was very costly and very damaged.

He wasn't sure what he would find, but it surely wasn't this wisp of a woman slumped over the steering wheel, her forehead pressed against the horn. As Gideon gently removed her from the car, and totted her small dog in his bag, he carried them both back to his house before they both froze to death in this weather. He could only hope she wasn't hurt internally, and that by moving her he hadn't sealed her death. He couldn't stand another life on his conscience." (pg 2-7).

In the debut novel from Amy Lillard, Saving Gideon, takes the reader into the lives of Avery Hampton, a wealthy Dallas socialite whose been struggling with finding a man who can truly love her despite her father's wealth, and that of Gideon Fisher, an Oklahoma Amish farmer whose been looking to find a way to restore his faith in people once again and begin to live a life without the loneliness that has been plaguing him. As feelings between the two grow, can they overcome their sheer differences, or will those differences pull them apart.

I received Saving Gideon by Amy Lillard compliments of B & H Publishing Group and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance book tours for my honest review. I simply love it when an author combines some of my favorite genres together to make a perfect blend of something new, in this case, Amish romance and contemporary romance. In fact, I often wondered what might happen if an English woman were to fall in love with an Amish man. How would they work through their differences? Would they be able to find common ground and still keep part of their former lives, or would it require a complete sacrifice on the behalf of one or the other? To find out what happens, you'll have to pick up a copy of Saving Gideon for yourself. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Saving Gideon, Amy Lillard or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Saving Gideon by Amy Lillard

You can also find Amy Lillard on Facebook and stay up on the very latest from her.

To read more reviews on Saving Gideon from the Christian Fiction Alliance Blog Tour, click here. 

Change Your Words, Change Your Life

I know you've heard the saying before, "you are what you say!" Yet how often do we take the time really to consider just what we are saying most of the time. It reminds me of another saying when dealing with others, I used to hear from my mom, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all!" How true those sayings really are.

Just the other day a great friend of mine got some incredible news that would mean the world to her family that was facing huge financial difficulties as well as some health issues for her husband. When God came through for them in a very powerful way, I was the first person she called. I was super excited for her because I knew what a burden had been lifted off their shoulders. Then she told me something interesting. She said she was also having doubts that perhaps the reason these things were happening was because the health issue facing her husband was going to turn out well and that's God's way of preparing her for the worst. How funny the enemy is when in the midst of God's glory he is still trying to plant seeds of doubt when we should be celebrating the joys. I reminded her to simply trust God and take it one day at a time. I also reminded her that the words that we speak because the water for the seeds we plant in ourselves. So what you want to grow will become the words you speak, we in fact are watering those seeds of doubt instead of the seeds of joy in this particular situation.

These are just a handful of the insights you will glean from Joyce Meyer's new book, Change Your Words, Change Your Life. There is actually an entire chapter devoted to just what my friend was encountering and so the advice and words of wisdom I shared with her, really hit home. It changed her perspective and really made her think about what she was saying. Joyce reminds you that what you think becomes what we often say. Instead of speaking those negative thoughts which we know don't come from God, we are breathing life into the lies the enemy is planting. This book will really help change your life. It always begins in our minds, our thoughts which eventually become our words, so which seeds will you begin planting today? What kind of fruit are you looking to harvest for God's kingdom and glory?

I received Change Your Words, Change Your Life by Joyce Meyer, compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review. There is so much to help you on the path that will literally change your life in this wonderful hardcover book. Some of the chapters deal with "How to Be Happy," "When to Talk and When Not to Talk," "Speaking Faith and Not Fear," "Do you Really Have to Give Your Opinion?" The Corrosion of Complaints," and so much much more. We all know how hard it is sometimes to hold our tongue when someone offends us or we get upset in fact the Bible is clear we are instructed to do just that. With this book as your guide, and Joyce's straight to the point message, you are bound to find improvement with reading this and applying it to your daily life. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and will be referring to this one A LOT!!!

For more information on Change Your Words, Change Your Life, Joyce Meyer or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Change Your Words, Change Your Life by Joyce Meyer

You can find Joyce Meyer on Facebook by clicking here or through her website by clicking here. 

Viper Pilot ~ Giveaway and Review

First of all I wanted to say that having men like Dan Hampton in the Air Force and military for the United States of America is what makes our country the greatest nation in the world! I could not believe the stories that Dan has told throughout the book about all of the missions he has been on, along with all of the other fighters in his unit and in Iraq! From the moment you read this book, you get a thrill ride that puts you in the back seat (if there was one) of the F-16 “Fighting Falcon” or Viper as the fighters call it! Thank you Dan and all of the other fighters, front line and support groups for all that you do to take it to our enemies and keep the fighting away from our homeland! You all deserve the highest honors our country has to offer and I for one am honored to call you a fellow American!

From 1986 to 2006 Lt. Col. Dan Hampton performed 151 combat missions as a Wild Weasel fighter pilot, flew over 600 combat hours around the world and has logged over 3000 flight hours while in the USAF from 1986-2006. He has 21 hard kills on surface-to-air-missile sites. 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, 1 Purple Heart, and more medals and accommodations than I can list. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, USN Top Gun School (TOGS), and USAF Special Operations School. Dan spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the boarder and deep into Iraq and Baghdad and also has several awards for tactical innovation.

Now retired, he has time to write about all of his experiences within the USAF and all of his missions while in Iraq and other places around the world. This book, if not to tell you how dangerous his combat missions really are, will make you realize that men like Dan risk their lives on a daily basis for our freedoms we hold so dear in this country. So sit down, buckle up, and hold on for a kick ass ride so to speak! I could not put the book down when I started to read the real life story of this amazing man who not only lived through every mission and ordeal, but wrote about each mission as if he can recall every detail that happened at every moment within that mission. I am sure that each time he went up it was like tattooing a mental image of all of his surroundings when his life was on the line. Each mission he describes puts you in the cockpit with him and brings you into the life and times of Dan’s life while in Iraq!

From actually flying an F-16 that goes into battle to not only be used as a target for surface-to-air-missiles (SAMS), and all other types of rockets, and gunfire being aimed at him to hunting, targeting and destroying these sites. Their acronym of “YGBSM” (You Gotta be Shittin Me!) is perfect for the type of Wild Weasel fights these fighters incurred on a daily basis. Who else but the Wild Weasels would go into a heavily defended area, have missiles and all other types of gunfire target them and try to destroy them while they seek out each missile site and destroy them! Dan I had respect for you and all of the other fighters like you, but this book gives me a new found respect for all of our military.

I received Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat by Dan Hampton compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and would give an additional 5 stars if I could! Thank you Dan for such a well written, action packed and authentic in every detail memoire of your life as a fighter pilot! READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

For more information on Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat, Dan Hampton or where you can purchase a copy of this book today, please click on the links below: 

Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat by Dan Hampton

You can also find Dan Hampton on Facebook by clicking here. 

Now for the exciting part, thanks to William Morrow they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here's all you have to do to enter: 

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. 

2. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. No P.O. Boxes please. 

3. Leave a comment about why you'd like to win a copy of Viper Pilot below. Don't forget to include your email address as well. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols. 

I will notify the winner of the giveaway by email once it ends on October 22nd!

The Road to Mercy ~ Review and Giveaway

I find in life that sometimes despite our abilities to leave our pasts behind, sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes that past comes calling again, but we have a choice as to whether to open the door and deal with it or keep the door close and hope it stops knocking. In the debut novel, The Road to Mercy, by Kathy Harris, the readers are in for a journey that will outline what it really means to trust in God and learn to walk by faith, faith defined as believing in things we don't see. In each circumstance that the main characters are challenged with, Josh and Bethany Harrison, are tested in a wide variety of ways. The faith will come into question and will at times be doubted in some areas, and whole-heartily accepted in other ways.

The book begs the reader to ask their own question of where their life of faith stands. When hard times or unexpected circumstances come upon us, will we fall apart or fall on our knees. This book is perfect for these hard times we have all fallen upon lately, with job losses, health issues, financial strains, marriage problems, and more, I find if we don't have faith as our foundation, we will fall apart. We will look to fix things ourselves and at times will come up far too short. We must in fact, put our trust in God,  because storms will come in each of our lives, our faith will be tested to points of breaking us sometimes, but it's how we weather our storms that makes us stronger and better prepared to deal with what happens next.

In The Road to Mercy, the reader gets to also know what true mercy is. Mercy is when we completely deserve punishment for something we have done wrong, but are instead given a clean slate, a new start, we get what we did not expect in return. I found myself wondering as I read along with Beth's health issue of being on the brink of death and learning she is pregnant, what decision I would make if I were in the same situation. While the well-meaning Dr. Ben Abrams tries to convince Beth and Josh that terminating her pregnancy is the best option, Beth and Josh choose to trust that God can handle the issue and will accept whatever consequences happen by their decision. Sounds like stuff that happens in real life all the time. Josh and Beth also find that dealing with the health issues and the pregnancy that it places them under tremendous personal stress of their own, each wondering if they are doing the right thing, which at times places them at odds with one another. Yet deep within the past are some secrets that may undermine their faith and completely destroy them. You'll have to read the book to see how this all plays out but trust me, it's well worth the search!

I received this book compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours and Abingdon Press for my honest opinion and love that Kathy Harris chose this as a debut novel to write. In this tough times, we need books like this one to remind us of the cost of maintaining our faith. It may not be an easy road to walk but it will be one that pays off unexpectedly in ways we never imagined for our good in the end. For that reason I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information on The Road to Mercy, Kathy Harris or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Road to Mercy by Kathy Harris

You can also find Kathy Harris on Facebook by clicking here. 

To read more reviews from the Pump Up Your Book Tour, please click here. 

Now for the fun part, thanks to Pump Up Your Book Tours and Abingdon Press, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky reader of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here's all you need to do to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart

2. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

3. Leave a comment below telling me about a time your faith was tested and how you can through your own storm. Don't forget to include your email address along with your comment. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will notify the winner via email when the giveaway ends on October 20th!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Pump Up Your Book and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Pump Up Your Book no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Blue Monday

Some people think that winning the lottery might just be the answer to all their problems. It might if all your problems had to do with simply having enough money. Yet few, think about the real issues of winning and what consequences it might bring in the long run. That is just where, Blue Monday by M. Thomas Long takes the readers by the heart.

Pastor Matt McAllister runs the fifth largest church in the state and seems he is always being held to a higher standard than most people. All his actions are constantly under the scrutiny of the people in his church and Monday's are usually the day they let him know just what they thought of his Sunday services through emails, phone calls, letters and often times personal visits. He has begun to dread Mondays and refers to them simply as Blue Monday.

Emails would appear in Matt's inbox and the inboxes of various board members, deacons, and staff members. Sometimes a few would trickle in; at other times, by mid-afternoon, messages would jam each inbox, to be following by a ringing phone. Receiving messages was a certainity, but the subject matter and length was anybody's guess.

"The sermon was your best ever..."

"The sermon was way off base..."

"The sermon was way too short..."

"The sermon was way too long..."

"You should have said..."

"How dare you say..."

"Pray for my mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, neighbor, son, daughter, wife, grandmother, grandfather, boss, co-worker, etc..."

"Cancer, heart attack, surgery, pregnancy, depression, loneliness, overachievement, underachievement, divorce, unemployment, alcoholism, drugs..."

It was hard enough to endure all the criticism that came from his congregation when one of the members, Garrett James, one  of the richest men in the state, had gifted him with a new Mercedes SL-550 for getting his two oldest children through DUI's, jail time, pregnancy, shoplifting, and divorce. Now they were both settled down, married with children and examples of Godly stability. Garrett even made it a point to stand before the entire church and tell them exactly why he gave the car to Matt. Still it didn't make the whispers die down from his church members. They still wondered how a pastor could afford to drive that car.

Now they he was running late for his weekly staff meeting at the church, he didn't realize in his haste while paying for gas and a newspaper that he also paid for a lottery ticket. Just how was he going to explain this to his church members. Well he wouldn't have to explain it to them at all, unless he won. I mean what are the odds he would actually win?

I received Blue Monday by M. Thomas Long, compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours for my honest review and have to say the premise behind this book is what peaked my interest. It does provide a different insight into the lives of what it must be like for a pastor and just how much they are looking at under the microscope by everything they do and say as well as their family members. It is interesting to see just what happens to Matt and his family when they learn not only do  they have the winning ticket but that it's worth over $186 million dollars and they are the sole winner. To find out just what happens, you have to pick up a copy of this amazing book. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars!!!

For more information on Blue Monday, M. Thomas Long, and where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Blue Monday by M. Thomas Long

To see more reviews from the Pump Up Your Book Tour, please click here. 

• Paperback: 422 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 147832774X
• ISBN-13: 978-1478327745

Guest Post with Author M Thomas Long of Blue Monday

Neil Diamond, Bob and Writing

According to Bill Murray in the movie “What About Bob?”, ‘there are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him.’ 

It was just a few minutes before Neil took the stage at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum in Birmingham, Alabama a few years back when the power of artistic creation hit me in a way that I had never realized before. There was an aura of excitement and anticipation in the air that surrounded you, even soaked into you…whether you were a fan or not. 

As I sat in the upper deck, I looked around the arena and thought about exactly what I was experiencing. The audience of over 18,000 ranged from young teens to men and women in their 70’s, all wearing similar Neil Diamond merchandise. Some had signs. Women in the first few rows down on the floor had bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals and other gifts that they planned present to Neil once the show started and they could get his attention for a few seconds.

Suspended above the stage was over 100,000 pounds of lighting and sound gear worth at least half a million dollars.

Then the most fascinating, incredible aspect of the entire scenario occurred to me. Everything I was seeing and would soon experience was the product of one man’s imagination. More specifically, his art. A seed had been planted in his soul and he had exercised the courage to water it, face the vulnerability to expose it to the light, care for it, prune it and allow it to grow and mature.

Whether you side with Bob or his ex-wife concerning Neil Diamond, you owe it to yourself to experience his classic song ‘I Am…I Said’ in a live setting. The power, the emptiness, the longing and the painful struggle of self-assertion move you in a way that you just don’t experience very often in this life. It moves you. The force and range of emotion you experience is not what you could have imagined just a few minutes earlier looking at inanimate instruments on a dark stage.

That’s why we read fiction; more importantly, it’s why authors write it. The very same experience is what we both are looking for, and it comes from the same place that a Neil Diamond show originates.

It’s where all art comes from that reaches us. Painting, music, film, sculpture, photography, writing and many others all originate in the imagination of an eternal soul inhabiting a body on a journey through this life. Asking questions, finding answers, seeking solutions, sharing, laughing, hurting and healing. 

A single person with an idea, a belief, a story, an experience, and a blank canvass. The brush can take many forms; chalk, oils, a chisel, or words...in the hands of an artist, anything can become a brush.

When a person decides to face the vulnerability and pick up his or her personal brush and make that first stroke, indescribable beauty and power can be unleashed. For a writer, it is often a story that reveals us to ourselves.

For the reader, it’s that feeling you get when you hit page 20 and realize that this one is speaking to you…yes, this one is special. By page 50, you’re a part of a situation, a town, a life, a challenge that calls you back every time you leave to take care of necessities like work, relationships or buying groceries. It’s not just some character in a book who falls in love, wins the lottery, loses a loved one, meets someone special…it’s you doing those things and it’s hard to distinguish where the character ends and you begin.

All the emotion, the introspection, the sheer glee of breaking through, solving the problem, reaching the goal…it all takes place in a most unique, incredible medium.

No words have been spoken. There was no music or special effects to guide the senses. Often, the characters and towns never existed in our world in a physical sense. The writer silently writes or types and the reader silently reads. Only silence and intimacy, and the world changes.

That’s why we write; it’s why we read. ~ M. Thomas Long

Please don't forget to check back tomorrow for my review of M. Thomas Long's latest novel Blue Monday sponsored through Pump Up Your Book Tours. You will definitely LOVE this one!