One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp

It's a bright, cool, crisp Sunday in North Texas and the air has hints of the spring to come.

And although there have been stressful and trying times, I also find I have a lot to be thankful for - healthy children, wonderful husband, safe warm home - the list is endless.

Being thankful for the small things in life that make everything seem possible, achievable.  This is the premise of Ann Voskamp's book, "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are."

In this fascinating book, Ann tells of how a friend challenged her to make a list of 1,000 things she was thankful for, and how along the way of making this list she found a peace and harmony for her life that she was missing. She began to apply a practice of eucharisto (translated from Greek for "to give thanks") to her everyday life, keeping a journal of things that she was thankful for - the laughter of a child, the sun shining through soap bubbles making rainbows, for toast - things that made day-to-day living a little more special.

Ann shares her life in this small book, and although it was once filled with tragedy and strife, she shares with her readers her journey back to being thankful, and through her words and lessons, shows how the reader can also find a map to the way back to happiness.

Ann's website at http://www.onethousandgifts.com/ is one of the most beautiful websites I've run across in a long time. There you can find Ann's story, how her book is affecting readers all across the world, listing of things other people are thankful for, and much more!  Check it out and expect to spend a lot of time there!

Ann's daily journal, A Holy Experience, can be found here. (click button to go directly to the page.)

What are you thankful for in your life?  Find a blank book, even a simple spiral notebook, and start your list.  I think you'll be surprised at how fast you make it to 1,000 things you are thankful for!

I was sent this book by the publisher, Zondervon Books, in exchange for a fair review. I was not compensated for my opinion.

CHALLENGE FULFILLMENT: 100+ Books; Where Are You Reading?

Book Blog Tour Stop for "Nightingale" by Susan May Warren

Today, I am pleased to host the book blog tour stop for Susan May Warren's book, "Nightingale." 

This fascinating book, set during World War II, is a heart-touching story about impossible love. I was captivated by Warren's ability to draw her readers into the time period, and the depth and personalities of her characters which made them seem so real.  

About the Book:

Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé—she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion.

Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy. Or is he?  Peter Hess is not who he seems. Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life. A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart...a battle where only one will survive.

Don’t miss book 1 in this stand-alone collection, Sons of Thunder.

About The Author:

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of twenty-four novels with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Book of the Year.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota , where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!) A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/.

Link To Purchase the Book:  http://www.christianbook.com/nightingale-susan-warren/9781609360252/pd/360252?event=AFFp=&

The Letters From Home Giveaway!

Enter the Contest: Nightingale is about letters, the power of written correspondence to convey thoughts and emotions to those far away. And sometimes near. Letters are forever, they are something we savor and pull out to read again and again. They are often cherished and kept in a special place.

To celebrate the release of Nightingale, Susan would like you to write a letter. One grand prize winner will receive a Flip HD Camcorder. 5 runner's up winners will win a signed copy of Nightingale. There are two ways to enter the contest by writing letters.

1. Write a letter to a soldier. At the end of the contest we’ll print out and mail your letter for you.

2. Write a letter to a friend, loved one, family member, enemy. Tell them something you wished you’d told them before. Tell them you love them, or maybe how they touched your life. Perhaps an apology is in order or a thank you. Or perhaps you'd like to relate a funny tale or just share life. Whatever it is, submit it here along with your email address and we’ll send it for you. 

Enter here or at the SHARE page on the Brothers in Arms website. Or simply click on the button to the right.

To Check Out Other Blogs featuring "Nightingale," click on the link below:

http://www.litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/nightingale-by-susan-may-warren.html)

My thanks to Amy at Litfuse Group for including me in this book blog tour. I received a book from the publisher for this review and was not compensated for my opinion.

Blue Bells of Scotland by Laura Vosika - Book Blog Tour Stop!

I'm so very pleased today to host a book blog tour stop for the amazing book, "Blue Bells of Scotland" by Laura Vosika.

This fascinating book is filled with history, romance, mystery and humor as well as a bitof time traveling to boot! I literally could not put this book down and spent the entire night in Inverness, Scotland until the wee hours of the dawn with the fabulous cast of characters that author Laura Vosika has created.

I was especially impressed at the way Vosika wove into the story an underlying story of faith, and how important his relationship with God was to Naill, the Scottish Warrior who had been plunked down in the middle of today's world. It's not "in your face," but the message of hope is there, as comforting and warm as an inspirational message should be. Very well done.

"Blue Bells of Scotland" is the first book in Vosika's Blue Bells Trilogy, and I, for one, can't wait until the next installment!
Here is a little more about the book:

Shawn Kleiner has it all: money, fame, a skyrocketing career as an international musical phenomenon, his beautiful girlfriend Amy, and all the women he wants—until the night Amy has enough and leaves him stranded in a Scottish castle tower.

He wakes up to find himself mistaken for Niall Campbell, medieval Highland warrior. Soon after, he is sent shimmying down a wind-torn castle wall into a dangerous cross country trek with Niall’s tempting, but knife-wielding fiancee. They are pursued by English soldiers and a Scottish traitor who want Niall dead.

Thrown forward in time, Niall learns history’s horrifying account of his own death, and of the Scots’ slaughter at Bannockburn. Undaunted, he navigates the roiled waters of Shawn’s life—pregnant girlfriend, amorous fans, enemies, and gambling debts—seeking a way to leap back across time to save his people, especially his beloved Allene. His growing fondness for Shawn’s life brings him face to face with his own weakness and teaches him the true meaning of faith.

Blue Bells of Scotland is both a historical adventure and a tale of redemption that will be remembered long after the last page has been turned.

About the Author:

Laura Vosika grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America’s east coast. She earned a degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, music teacher, band director, and instructor in private music lessons on harp, piano, winds, and brass. Laura is the mother of 7 boys and 2 girls, and lives in Minnesota. Visit her website at http://www.bluebellstrilogy.com/

 Check out this book trailer!


My thanks to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotions for inviting me to participate in this tour, and to Laura Vosika for the review copy.

 I was not compensated for my opinions. I am an Amazon Associate and any sales of this book connected to this review will result in a nominal compensation.

The Last Christian by David Gregory

Imagine being isolated from the outside world for over thirty years and coming out for the first time to find that society has totally changed and everything you knew and believed in were no longer relevant.

This is the premise behind author David Gregory’s futuristic, yet inspirational novel, “The Last Christian.” Set in 2088, Gregory’s story explores what might happen if Christianity was made obsolete and spreading the Gospel was considered a hate crime.

Thirty-five year old Abigail Caldwell had lived among the New Guinea jungle natives with her missionary parents all her life. But when her village begins dying of a mysterious disease, it’s up to Abby to go into the “real” world to find help for them, a trip that is regretfully too late to save her “people.”

Abby has no choice but to go to America where her only known living relative, Congresswoman Lauren Caldwell, resides. Abby is shocked to find that people no longer believed in God, and that the newest scientific innovation, artificial brain transplants which enables people to potentially live forever, have become all the rage. And when a mysterious message from her grandfather, telling Abby that God has picked her to reintroduce Jesus to the world, Abby soon finds that she has become a target for a powerful group that will stop at nothing to silence her. But will her faith be strong enough to compel her to spread God’s word, not matter what?

“The Last Christian” is an interesting look at a world that is very possible for future generations, as is evident with the gradual secularization of Europe today. Gregory combines a sci-fi adventure story with a powerful message of faith and hope in this tale, and it makes a powerful impact on the reader.

I received this review copy from the publisher and was not obligated to give it a positive review, but I did!

Hold Up The Sky by Patricia Sprinkle

Billie Waits and Margaret Baxter are sisters who grew up on their father’s diary farm in Solace, Georgia. But as they became adults, their lives each took decidedly different turns. Margaret married well, moved to nearby Marietta and lived the upper middle class life she dreamed of. Billie stayed home, got married, had a child and never left Solace.

But one summer, the two women’s lives would once again converge, and the bonds of sisterhood would slowly begin to intertwine them back together again. It wouldn’t be easy, and it was surely bound to be painful, but when it’s family, love always softens the way back home.

In Patricia Sprinkle’s new novel, “Hold Up The Sky,” she tells the story of redemption and reconnection in a warm, heartfelt tale that will leave the reader smiling through their tears when they are not weeping with laughter.

When Margaret Baxter’s husband leaves her and her two sons, she packs up the car and heads home to Solace, the last place on earth she wants to be but the only place on earth where she needs to be. Moving in with her widowed father, Maggie would soon relearn the country ways of her childhood but not without a few hard lessons in the process.

Although she never left, Margaret’s sister Billie had more than a few trials of her own. Her husband left her right after the birth of their disabled daughter, and has come up missing lately. As Billie struggles to get by, Luke, a childhood friend returns to lend a helping hand and Billie soon learns to open her heart to new possibilities.

As the sisters learn to readjust to living near one another again, their much-loved elderly housekeeper Mamie does her best to teach them life skills that would see them through the rest of their days. The ladies would be joined by Emerita, a Mexican immigrant stranded near the farm, and the foursome began relationships forged by the heat of a summer kitchen and solidified in places of the heart that only women can know so well.

“Hold Up The Sky” is a novel filled with humor, inspiration, love and romance. Patricia Sprinkle reaches her readers through her timeless storytelling skills, securing her place as a favorite and beloved author among women fiction writers today.

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."

~Linda Sunshine