Breach of Promise by James Scott Bell

Breach of Promise was well-written and the characters were developed beautifully; however it was difficult for me to read because I related to it on a level as a child of divorce. The circumstances of my parents' divorce were different, yet still painful. Being separated from a parent is difficult and I so felt for the little girl in this novel. Currently someone I care about is going through a separation and possible divorce now and they have young children, so that sorrow for family loss is fresh in a new way now too.

Back of Book Says:

Mark Gillen has the storybook life other men dream of, complete with a beautiful wife and an adoring fiver-year old daughter.

The his wife announces she’s leaving him. And taking their daughter with her. The other man is a famous film director with unlimited funds and the keys to stardom and wealth for Paula. How can Mark begin to compete? But the most bitter blow comes when he is kept from seeing his daughter because of false charges… and a legal system ill-suited for finding the truth.

Forged in the darkest valley Mark has ever walked through his faith in God may ultimately cost him everything in the eyes of the family-law system. But it is the one thing that can keep him sane – and give him the strength to fight against all odds for what matters most.

James Scott Bell has a great talent for writing and I plan to read as much of his work as possible. I enjoy reading legal drama novels, since it takes the place of the crime dramas I used to watch on TV and reading is much better than television.

For more information on James Scott Bell and his novel check his website.

SAHM I AM by Meredith Efken

Someone at Shelfari recommended this author and when I checked my library I found SAHM I Am and decided to give it a read. It was a combination of fun and learning. The author pointed out some positive lessons with lots of humor. This book was especially fun for me because I've belonged to an email loop since my daughter was a baby and the ladies in the group have become like real friends even though I've only met one of them in the real world. Fortunately we don't have any "know it all" members in our group. We've had a freedom to be real and admit our struggles. For a fun read find of copy of this book.

Back of Book Says:

For the members of a stay-at-home-moms’ e-mail loop, lunch with friends is a sandwich in front of the computer, but where else can they discuss things like…

Success: Her workaholic husband is driving Dulcie Huckleberry around the bend. It’s hard to love someone in sickness and in health when he’s never home!

Art: Let the children express themselves, opines artistic Zelia Muzuwa, and then her son’s head gets stuck inside a kitty scratching post….

Health: Surely aches and pains are normal in an active little boy, yet those of soccer-mom Jocelyn Millard’s son don’t seem to be going away.

Motherhood: Teen-mom-turned-farmer’s-wife Brenna Lindberg can deal with the mud and the chickens, but what about her husband’s desire for a child of his own?

Indiscretions: However youthful, they can come back to haunt you, learns pastor’s wife Phyllis Lorimer.

AMends: These could stand to be made between officious list moderator Rosalyn Ebberly and her pampered sister Veronica. Perhaps the other SAHM I AMers can teach these two something about sisterhood.

Book 1 - SAHM I Am
Book 2 - @ Home for the Holidays
Book 3 - Play It Again. SAHM

Book Excerpt

Spoiler Alert - Discussion Questions

Author’s Webpage

Africa: Where the Decades Still Whisper by Robert Perry

Finally, I'm making the time to post about the book I shared a section from on Saturday from Ruthie's Bookworm tag. Ever since I was a young teen I’ve been challenged by the work of the Schmelzenbach family in Africa, so this book had special meaning to me. Recently in church we watched a DVD that shared more about this family and their work in Africa. They gave up so much for their love of God and their love of our brothers and sisters in Africa. What an inspiration!

Back of Book Says:

AFRICA. The word conjures up so many images. Tigers. Hot sunshine. Safaris. War. Drought.

Yet we mustn’t forget Africa is home to so much more – including thousands of people in desperate need of a Savior. Down through the decades, the Church of the Nazarene has valiantly taken the gospel to the far reaches of this vast continent. Weathering famine, death, persecution, and war, missionaries and national leaders alike have stayed true to God as He grew our church.

Read about the prayers of those desperate to bring the Church of the Nazarene to their home countries…the joy of a young witch doctor turning to Jesus… the triumph of knowing God’s leader for Africa’s first Nazarene university.

Africa. Over a center of Nazarene work has come and gone. Yet it’s still a place where the decades whisper the glory of God’s name.

If you are interested in reading this book or five others about other parts of the world where the Church of the Nazarene does mission work, contact NPH to purchase the book or a local Nazarene Church where the books can be borrowed free of church. The church also provides six books that are appropriate for children to read.

CALL TO ACTION - Page 89

After reading this book, consider doing one or more of the following:

1. Organize a Work and Witness (short-term missions) team to take on a project in Africa. There is always a need. Contact Nazarene Headquarters (Church of the Nazarene Global Ministry Center 17001 Prairie Star Parkway Lenexa KS, 66220 Phone: 913.577.0500) and ask for the director of Work and Witness. They will provide you with information regarding needs and requirements.

2. Provide books for our Bible college libraries in Africa. For further information, contact Dr. Perry by E-mail at MazSwiSA1@msn.com, or write him at 11807 12th Avenue East, Bradenton, FL, 34212.

3. Pray for the work of our church in creative access areas on the Africa Region. The pressure on Christians and church workers is very great in these countries.

4. Invite a missionary from Africa to speak in your church.

5. Help provide scholarship funds for students at our Bible colleges in Africa. Contact the Nazarene Missions International office in Lenexa, KS for further information.

Bookworm Award

Ruthie at Just Ruthie tagged me for this Bookworm Award. It looks like fun - and I love to read as you can tell by looking at this blog. Check out Ruthie’s blog if you get a chance. She has shared some incredible stories of growing up in China and some beautiful pictures of her travels in her RV. Thanks Ruthie for the tag.

Here's how it goes.

Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.

Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...

I decided that I would use the book that I’m going to post about soon – a missionary book that is published by our church – Africa: Where the Decades Still Whisper by Robert Perry. Ever since I was a young teen I’ve been challenged by the work of the Schmelzenbach family in Africa.

Page 56 – “Veteran missionaries Harmon and Beverly Schmelzenbach received the appointment to pioneer the work. They rented a house in Nairobi, Kenya, and soon were preaching in the open markets. Many people responded, and the Schmelzenbachs invited them to their home for coffee and fellowship. Several young men who felt a call to preach started house churches. At that time, however, there was no place to provide training for them. Harmon, the great improviser, took a page out of his grandfather’s book: he gathered the fledgling preachers together in quarterly meetings to discuss various aspects of preaching and pastoring."

I’m tagging some ladies who have book blogs that I enjoy reading:

Carol at Quotes and Notes
Cathy at WordVessel
Jennifer at A Booklover's Journal
Kay at Books and Starbucks
Melanie at Books and Starbucks

Have fun! If there is anyone else that would like to do this, please add it to your blog and let me know. Have a great day!

Win a Free Trip to Virginia

I received a comment from Laura on my post about the Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright regarding a contest for a free trip to the Shenandoah Valley of beautiful Virginia. Read her comment at the bottom of this post and follow her link for the additional details.

How to Enter:

Add Jason Wright's family to your Christmas card list and send them a Christmas card of any type between now and December 24th. (Must be received by December 24th.)

Mail your Christmas card to:


The Wrights
PO Box 669
Woodstock, VA 22664


Comment from Laura:

Speaking of The Wednesday Letters, I work with Jason and thought you’d like knowing he has a new contest on his web site where you can win a free trip-for-two to his hometown in VA, the Shenandoah Valley. All you have to do is mail him a Christmas card! All the details are here:

http://www.jasonfwright.com/triptosvalley.php

Merciless by Robin Parrish

This last book in the Dominion trilogy was my favorite (though the darkest) by far. I'm a fan of superheros and have always secretly wished I possessed a special power of some sort, (admit it so have you) so it was fun to read about ordinary people who became superheros. All three books deal with prophesy, but not Biblical prophesy. I enjoyed the conspiracy type plot and the fact that not everything was given to the reader on a silver platter. Robin kept me reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. There was a lot of violence in this book - it made me think about how so many people live in the middle east and throughout the world without the safety and security we enjoy in the United States.

My favorite part of the book is a wrestling match (never thought I would say that), but I can't tell you who was involved or why - don't want to spoil your fun. It made me look closer at my own motivations and why I do what I do in many areas of my life. This book can entertain and challenge.

Dominion Trilogy


Book 1 - Relentless


Book 2 - Fearless


Book 3 - Merciless



Inside Front Jacket says:

FROM THE EARTH’S DEPTHS
CRAWLS A FIGURE WITH SKIN LIKE
GRANITE, FLAMES FOR EYES,
AND THE FACE OF GRANT BORROWS.

OBLIVION HAS
ARRIVED.

Every clock around the world has stopped.
Time has frozen.

The Secretum have fulfilled the prophecy,
unleashing on earth the most powerful being
to walk the earth in thousands of years. His
name is Oblivion and his touch is death.

He can’t be slowed.

He can’t be stopped.

And he can’t be killed.

But as long as any live who trust in hope and
love and freedom, the fight is not over.

THEY HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE
BEFORE HE BRINGS FORTH THE
DARKWORLD.

OBLIVION IS:
MERCILESS

Chapters 1-3 Excerpt

I recently read that Robin Parrish is working on a stand-alone story currently titled OFFWORLD. After that book he is planning a supernatural thriller that he says, "might just be the best idea I’ve ever had." I am anxiously waiting for his new books.

Randy Alcorn Book Giveaway - The Treasure Principle

This month Randy Alcorn is giving away The Treasure Principle to three randomly drawn winners. I haven't read this book yet, but it's on my list of books to read. Randy's books, both fiction and non-fiction, teach so much about eternal, life-changing, principles. I highly recommend this book (even without having read it) and any other book Randy has written. I have taken the time to read from his website regarding this book and it makes sense both financially and spiritually.

Randy bases his motivational message on the words of the world's foremost financial consultant, Jesus Christ, who advised listeners to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20). "God owns everything," Randy writes. "I'm His money manager. What I call my money is really His. The question is, what does He want me to do with His money?" In contemporary, easy-to-understand language, Randy offers readers a six-step plan to finding the immediate pleasure and eternal rewards of the Treasure Principle. Once readers discover the liberating joy of giving, life will never look the same. And they won't want it to!

Learn more about The Treasure Principle at the Eternal Perspectives Ministries website, where you can read excerpts, find more related resources, and order books. To enter for your chance to win the giveaway, leave a comment on Randy's blog post by Friday, November 28. The winners will be announced in a post on Monday, December 1, at Randy's blog.

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

I’ve enjoyed reading other books by Sigmund Brouwer, so I decided to give this book a try. The title of this book intrigued me, but I wasn’t satisfied in the end. There was too much violence and too many scenarios left hanging. Maybe there will be a sequel? If so I would read it just to find out what happened. I did appreciate that the author didn't reveal everything early in the book. He spent time developing the characters and gave pertinent information slowly which kept me reading.

It’s frightening to consider that the events described in this book could become a way of life within our own country as is suggested in the front jacket, “Prepare to experience a chilling America of the very near future.” All I can say is pray it is not so.

See Amazon review by Michelle Sutton posted on May 21,2008 – Michelle's words sum up my thoughts about Broken Angel.

Back of Book Says:

HER BIRTH WAS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY AND TRAGEDY.

HER DESTINY IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION.

HER PURSUERS LONG TO SEE HER BROKEN.

SHE FIGHTS TO SOAR.

In the rough, shadowy hills of Appalachia, a nation carved from the United States following years of government infighting, Caitlyn and her companions are the prey in a terrifying hunt. They must outwit the relentless bounty hunters, skirt an oppressive, ever-watchful society, and find passage over the walls of Appalachia to renewal the dark secrets behind Caitlyn’s existence – and understand her father’s betrayal.

In this engrossing, lightening-paced story with a post-apocalyptic edge, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer weaves a heroic, harrowing journey through the path of a treacherous culture a few steps removed from our own.

Experience the song that completes Caitlyn's story, "Beautiful Bird" by Cindy Morgan.

For more information on Sigmund Brouwer, his works, and more go here.

Fearless by Robin Parrish

This fast paced book is one most of my friends wouldn't read, but I enjoy reading edgy Christian fiction that makes you think and work to find the underlying message. Robin Parrish has a writing style that reminds me of the more recent books written by Ted Dekker. If you want a book that forces you to dig deep then this book is for you. There is violence in the book, but nothing worse than you would see on prime-time TV. If you enjoy trying to figure things out and trying to solve the mystery or put the pieces together this book will not disappoint.


Dominion Trilogy

Book 1 - Relentless
Book 2 - Fearless
Book 3 - Merciless

Front Book Jacket Says:
THE WORLD CHANGED
AFTER THAT TERRIBLE DAY
WHEN THE SKY BURNED,
AND NOW EVERY HEART IS
GRIPPED BY FEAR
Earthquakes, fire, disease, and floods pummel the earth, and its citizens watch in horror.

But in the darkness there is hope – an anonymous but powerful hero whom the public dubs "Guardian" emerges from the wreckage. He is Grant Borrows, one of a chosen few who walk the earth with extraordinary powers. They travel the globe, helping those in deepest peril and determined to uncover the secret behind this world-shattering cataclysm.

But when signs of dangerous ancient prophecy begin coming true, dark questions arise about secrets Grant might still be harboring.

THE WORLD TEETERS
ON THE BRINK.
BUT SOME REFUSE
TO LET IT FALL.

THEY ARE

FEARLESS
Questions and Answers with Robin Parrish

A Promise to Remember by Kathryn Cushman

A Promise to Remember is the first book I read by Kathryn (Katie) Cushman. I really enjoyed this book because it seemed so real to life. The two main characters both had deep issues beyond the car accident and the death of a son that they had to deal with each in her own way. I really liked how the church stepped in to minister during a horrific time - a great example to us and how we should respond in times of crisis.

When fictional characters seem to have it all together and everything is resolved with little conflict in many Christian books I find it hard to relate. Katie gives her characters issues and conflict which makes them more likable and helps me relate to them.

Product Description

Spoiler Alert - Discussion Questions