Update and Free Stuff

I haven't mentioned this yet, but my family is in the midst of moving. While we aren't technically moving until the end of the month, we are currently out of state pinning down some details. More to come on that soon. For now, I wanted to let you know about an opportunity to download our latest devotional book, for FREE along with 19 other Christian books. Here's the scoop:

For three days only, several best-selling Christian authors have joined together to offer their books for free to avid readers. October 17^th through the 19^th 2012, readers can download 20 Christian books worth over $60 for free and enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card to get even more free books here.

This sale is just one of many hosted by Body and Soul Publishing, who also posts free Christian books and giveaways on their blog daily. Here’s what one reader had to say: "I’m very grateful for this website. I’ve found many valuable books that have enriched my spiritual life immensely." - Diane Sidener 

During the 100% off sale this week readers will be able to download the following nonfiction Christian books for free on Kindle and Smashwords:

Psalms, The Sunrise of Hope by Bob Saffrin

Hola Happiness by Janet Eckles Perez

21 Prayers of Gratitude by Shelley Hitz

A Matter of Faith by Carol Round

Restore Your Marriage & Fall in Love Again by Krystal Kuehn

10 Keys to Happy & Loving Relationships by Krystal Kuehn

The Lighthouse of Asaph: Unforgettable Christian Reflections by Roberto Ornan Roche

Found Adrift:  40 Days of Recovering Grace by Pauline Creeden

Children of Dreams by Lorilyn Roberts

21 Teen Devotionals…for Girls! By Heather Hart and Shelley Hitz

Experiencing Joy by Patty Mason

My Scripture Journal: God's Promises by Heather Bixler

Amazing Grace as Christ Walks By, My Journey from Brokenness to Wholeness by Carol Cline

A Spiritual Renewal: A Journey to Medjugorje by Alberta Sequeira

A Love Story...How God Pursued Me and Found Me…an Impossibly True Story by Samantha Ryan Chandler

Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy by Shelley Hitz

Mission Possible by Deborah McCarragher 

Women of Strength – a devotional to improve spiritual and physical health by Kimberley Payne

Night Stories – 8 devotionals about dreams by Kimberley Payne

Growth Lessons by Naty Matos

   

Don’t miss out!  Download these 20 books plus enter to win the $25 Amazon gift certificate for 3 days only here: http://www.bodyandsoulpublishing.com/100-percent-off-christian-books/

So there you have it. Go, download to your hearts content, and please keep us in prayer as we pack up and move several states away. It will be a big adjustment, but it's totally a God thing. 

The Trouble with Cowboys - Review and Announcement

I'm thrilled that I had the opportunity to review Denise Hunter's new book, "The Trouble with Cowboys." This is the third in her "A Big Sky Romance" series and featured a skeptical dark haired horse trainer/author who needed help with her new column. Not sure where to turn, she strikes a deal with a local cowboy who needs help with his horse - training in exchange for help answering her letters. It sounds like a pretty good deal, but not everyone is so sure about the time they spend together or the content of her column. Will everything work out in the end, or will both of them end up worse off than before? You'll have to read the book to find out.

This is one of those books that is just plain hard to put down. From the first page I was hooked and read through it in one sitting (even if I did stay up until 3 in the morning). While this book fits in the classic pet peeve category of mine that the girl on the cover doesn't even have the same black hair as the girl in the story, the writing more than makes up for that flaw (which really is a giant pet peeve of mine... did I mention that?). My heart was touched by the characters. Whether they made me angry, happy, or brought on tears, I could totally relate to what they were going through. I totally enjoyed every moment of this book, and will forever remember some of the catchy comments made by the characters. 

I loved this book! It was the first of Denise Hunter's books that I had read and I can't wait to read more. The tidbits that she shared from the previous books in the series made me want to read them so I could hear the full story, and with her believable and well written story line, I imagine that every book she writes is well worth reading.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review. You can learn more about this book and read what other reviewers had to say at: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/the-trouble-with-cowboys-by-denise-hunter-facebook-party-and-blog-tour

Meet Denise: 

Denise lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

Find out more about Denise at http://www.denisehunterbooks.com/.

To celebrate the release of The Trouble with Cowboys Denise is hosting a fun Author Chat Party on Facebook. She'll connect with readers and give away some amazing prizes - including a Kindle Fire! 
Save the Date for October 11th!

Grab your copy of Denise Hunter's latest book and join her for an Author Chat Party on October 11th at 8:00 PM EST (that’s 7:00 Central, 6:00 MST, & 5:00 PST)! Haven't read The Trouble with Cowboys yet? That's okay, don't let that stop you from coming to the party! (You may win a copy!)

During the evening she’ll be sharing the story behind the book, posting discussion questions, testing your trivia skills, and of course, there will be plenty of chatting and fun giveaways – books, gift certificates and – a Kindle Fire! She’ll also be giving you a sneak peek of her next book too!

RSVP today and then come back on the 11th … and bring your friends!

Book Review: Bringing Up Girls

Peer pressure. Eating disorders. Decisions about love, romance, and sex. Academic demands. Life goals and how to achieve them. These are just some of the challenges that girls face today—and the age at which they encounter them is getting younger and younger. As a parent, how are you guiding your daughter on her journey to womanhood? Are you equipping her to make wise choices? Whether she’s still playing with dolls or in the midst of the often-turbulent teen years, is she truly secure in her identity as your valued and loved daughter? In the New York Times bestseller Bringing Up Girls, parenting authority and trusted family counselor Dr. James Dobson will help you face the challenges of raising your daughters to become strong, healthy, and confident women who excel in life.

That's that book description of Dr. Dobson's book "Bringing Up Girls." I requested a review copy of this book when it first came out from Tyndale. I had followed Dr. Dobson online and had his book, "Bringing Up Boys" recommended to me on a number of occasions, so I figured this would be a great one.

As the mother of two small girls, I was eager for godly parenting advice, but this book didn't quite reach the expectations I had for it. It was very informative, but not very helpful if that makes sense. It focused on the problems that our daughters would face growing up - the problems that encouraged me to want to read this book in the first place - but it didn't offer a whole lot of advice on how to address those issues and overcome them. After things calm down, I might read through it again and see if I maybe I just missed something.

Life is Good

The past week has been simply amazing for me. I've been recovering from a pretty nasty virus, but I just keep being blessed!

Last Friday I found out that I won a copy of Jody Hedlund's newest book, Unending Devotion (and I LOVE Jody's books), AND that afternoon I found out that I had won Christian Womens Voice Magazine's Christmas Moments essay contest (my essay "Keeping Christmas about Christ" will be featured in their next issue).

Shelley Hitz and I started a new book marketing community for the website Self-Publishing-Coach.com that really took off over the weekend.

Our latest devotional book, "21 Teen Devotionals... for Girls!" was published on Sunday, AND that very same day we received a 5 star review of our first devotional book from Readers Favorite.

I guess that all of those amazing things happening in a row, especially when I've been over stressed and under the weather lately, have just really been showing me how blessed I really am.

Guest Post, Free Book, and a Giveaway

Healing the Brokenhearted and Setting the Captives Free

by Shelley Hitz

Over the past 12 years, God has taken me on a journey.  It has been a journey of Christ healing my broken heart and setting this captive free.  And now He is asking me to help others do the same.  Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”  In Luke 4:21 Jesus takes out the scroll and reads Isaiah 61:1 in the synagogue saying, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Basically what Jesus is saying is that Isaiah 61:1 is his mission statement.  Jesus has come to heal the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives and release prisoners from darkness.

Freedom for the Captives

One of the main strongholds keeping our culture captive today is sexual sin.  Even in the church, many are getting caught up in struggles with lust, adulterous affairs and pornography.  As a married Christian woman, I struggled with internet pornography for two years.  It was a secret sin that no one knew about.  From the outside I looked like I was the good Christian wife.  But, I was living a double life.

However, the story doesn’t end there.  Although it took time and has been a process of healing, I have now been free for a decade.  God is using my story to help others find hope and healing in Christ.  As I’ve heard it so well said, "God can turn any mess into a message, any test into a testimony, any trial into a triumph, and any victim into a victor."

The Journey Continues…

My latest book, “A Christian Woman’s Guide to Breaking Free From Pornography:  It’s Not Just a Guy’s Problem” is one way God is using this dark season from my past for His good.  This book is not only for those struggling with sexual sin, but is also a resource for pastors, counselors and those in ministry.  According to statistics published by Education Database Online in 2011, of the 40 million Americans who regularly visit porn sites, 33% are women.  And in a survey we took of Christian women, of the 73% that admitted to being exposed to pornography, 25% said they were addicted.  

It is a growing issue that needs to be discussed and we aim to open the door to confession and conversation among women in the Body of Christ who feel as though they are alone in this struggle.   And our prayer is that God uses this book to heal many broken hearts and set many captives free.

Shelley Hitz has been ministering alongside her husband, CJ, since 1998. They currently travel and speak to teens and adults around the country. Shelley's main passion is to share God's truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites and speaking engagements.  Shelley's openness and vulnerability, as she shares her own story of hope and healing, will inspire and encourage you.

Shelley has been writing and publishing books since 2008 including the book she co-authored with S'ambrosia Curtis, "A Christian Woman's Guide to Breaking Free From Pornography:  It's Not Just a Guy's Problem."  During their book launch on 9/26/12-9/27/12, you can download a free Kindle copy and also enter to win over $400 worth of resources.  Find out more at www.ChristianWomenandPorn.com.  

Review: The Shorter Catechism Activity Book

I recently had the opportunity to review Marianne Ross's new activity book: The Shorter Catechism Activity Book. I was really interested in this book as a way to help teach my children about God's Word and the Christian faith. Here's the description of the book from Amazon:

This book uses the puzzle formats children are familiar with in school such as word searches; crossword puzzles and codes. It’s a fun way to work through the Westminster Shorter Catechism – one of the church’s statements of faith. Not only will they enjoy completing these work sheets; the truths that are presented here will be a strong foundation for their future life. The shorter catechism covers the following important doctrines: God; Sin; Christ; The Ten Commandments; Baptism; The Lord’s Supper and The Lord's prayer.

In my own words, this book is the Westminster Shorter Catechism laid out in puzzle form. In order to find out the first part of the catechism, you first have to solve the puzzle. Then it gives you a suggested Bible reading to accompany what you learned. There is no answer key, so unless you already have a copy of the catechism you just have to double check your work and make sure it makes sense. I think this is a fabulous tool for teaching kids about God's Word - especially if they are already into this stuff. If you were working on memorizing the catechism with your children, this would be a great way to introduce each reading.

Again, I did receive my copy free in exchange for an honest review from Cross Focused Reviews - however, I'm thinking about purchasing a second copy so that each of my boys have one - or, I might just keep it for myself as I love puzzles... You can get a copy for your child (or yourself) on Amazon.com.

Riddled Reflections

I have been really struggling lately. Really. It seems like I can't concentrate long enough to be productive at anything. I have been falling behind at work because I can't finish a complete thought. Between the constant "Mom. Mom. Mom," from my children, and the migraine that I have been battling for going on a month, I'm at a loss. It got so bad last week that I was almost ready to quit - just throw away everything that I have worked so hard for, and dreamed of. While any of you who have been reading my blog for a while know, most of my migraines are caused by chronic whiplash that I got several years ago, however, my chiropractor says that this one is probably caused by some stress going on in our family life. He says it is irritating my whiplash and the combination of the two is totally throwing me off my game. In other words, it's not a coincidence that the headaches started at the exact same time as every thing else... imagine that.

So I took the weekend off. I have two major projects due no later than Wednesday, and over a dozen smaller projects that I HAVE to finish up this month, and I took the weekend off... Was that a dumb move? Maybe, but my hope was that stepping away from part of the stress would help my head to stop throbbing - it didn't, but I am thinking just a bit clearer now. I'm confident (well, mostly) that will God's help I will meet all of my deadlines, and the stress in our family life will work itself out to the glory of God.

I guess that I should mention that part of my weekend off was helped along by a dear friend who volunteered to take the kids for a night - all four of them. She didn't get much sleep Saturday night and was ready for a nap when we picked them up on Sunday afternoon, but it was the first night I had had alone with Mr. Amazing since the twins were born (almost 5 years ago!). It was nice. We both had headaches, but it was still nice. Part of my (and him) felt guilty that I took the time off. With the kids gone there was great potential to get a ton done. But stepping back and just taking time to breath... well, that was worth it.

I was looking back, even just two years ago I was allowed lazy days. I didn't work from home back then... I did a lot of volunteer things, but when you volunteer you don't have as much to do, or deadlines with consequences. I spent a lot of time back then cleaning house and studying my Bible. Now I spend a lot of time working, a little time reading my Bible, and I clean a bit too. I thought my house was messy back then, I know it's messy now. But with all of the changes, I wouldn't change where I am for anything. Yes, I would gladly give up the headaches, and would love to have patient children, but despite all of that, I am blessed beyond measure. I have the opportunity to live my dream. No, it isn't easy, but it's worth it.

- I mentioned that with my headache I haven't been able to complete a thought... yeah, I just re-titled this post because I totally set out to write something else. Oops... At least you are a forgiving audience. :)