Book Blog Tour Stop - Lazarus Awakening: Getting God's Love From Our Heads To Our Hearts by Joanna Weaver

I'm pleased to be hosting a book blog tour stop today for Joanna Weaver, author of "Lazarus Awakening: Getting God's Love From Our Heads To Our Hearts."

About The Book:

Lazarus Awakening

Getting God’s Love from Our Heads to Our Hearts

You believe that God loves the world…but sometimes you wonder if He truly loves you.

For many of us, moving the truth of God’s love from our heads to our hearts is a lifelong process. As we consider our inadequacies or grieve our shattered dreams, we find it difficult to believe that God cares for us personally.

In this life-giving book, Joanna Weaver shows you how to embrace the truth that Jesus loves you apart from anything you accomplish, apart from anything you bring. Just as He called Lazarus forth to new life, Jesus wants to free you to live fully in the light of His love, unbound from the graveclothes of fear, regret, and self-condemnation.

Love is calling your name.

Combining unforgettable real-life illustrations with unexpected biblical insights, Joanna Weaver invites you to experience a spiritual resurrection that will forever change your understanding of what it means to be the one Jesus loves.

In Lazarus Awakening Joanna writes about getting God’s love from our heads to our hearts. We all know Jesus loved Mary – look how she worshiped. And we can understand why He loved Martha – after all, look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God? Lazarus Awakening explores the tale of the third follower – Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus. We never hear him speak, we never see him serve. The only thing of any significance that Lazarus did was to die. And yet, the Bible is clear. Jesus loved Lazarus. And He loves you and me as well. Lazarus Awakening looks at different aspects of the story we find in John 11. We learn what it means to be a friend of God and begin recognizing the tombs we spend far too much time in.

 Bible study and Leader’s Guide available here. http://www.joannaweaverbooks.com/books/lazarus-awakening/

My Thoughts: 

This beautifully written book touches the heart and soul of the question - Does God really love me? Joanna Weaver writes about the importance of realizing the importance of knowing that you have a special place in God's heart in a heartwarming and encouraging style - the reader will feel as if they are sitting on the front porch have a heart-to-heart discussion. Weaver includes real-life stories of people struggling to accept God's all-encompassing love, as well as reflections of the story of Lazarus, the one Jesus loved so much that he brought him back to the living to fully experience faith and hope in God's affections.  I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking answers - you are sure to find them here in Weaver's wise words.

 

About The Author:

Joanna Weaver is known the world over for her transparent and life-changing books, Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World and Having a Mary Spirit. These two books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into several languages including Spanish, French, Dutch, Chinese, German, Korean and more. Joanna has appeared on a wide variety of nationally syndicated radio and television broadcasts. Past appearances include: The Harvest Show, At Home Live With Chuck & Jenni, Midday Connection, HomeWord, and Janet Parschall’s America.

She is also a highly sought after speaker and shares her message at intimate gatherings and several high profile events each year. But Joanna's greatest joy is found in being a wife and mother and her role as a pastor’s wife. For more information about Joanna, please visit her website. www.joannaweaverbooks.com.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Awakening-Finding-Place-Heart/dp/0307444961/ref=sprightly-20


Joanna is celebrating the release of Lazarus Awakening with the Heart of God KINDLE Giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:     * A Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi     * Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World     * Having A Mary Spirit     * Lazarus Awakening Joanna will also select two additional contest entrants to receive copies of her trilogy. Enter soon by clicking the icons below and then tell your friends. Hurry the contest ends April 16th. The winner will be announced on Joanna's blog on April 18th.

Other blogs participating in this tour can be found here: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13184491)

My thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for the review copy of this book and for including me on this book tour.  I was not compensated for my opinion.

Book Blog Tour Stop - Kathy Cano-Murillo, author of "Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing" - Q&A and GIVEAWAY!!!

Today, I'm thrilled to be hosting a book blog tour stop for Kathy Cano-Murillo, author of "Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing."

Kathy was gracious enough to take some time to answer a few questions!

Sharon: At what age did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Kathy: It was in grade school! I used to love Erma Bombeck’s newspaper columns and tried to emulate them in my own way for my 5^th grade Language Arts class. Sometimes my teacher thought they were so funny, she would let me read them out loud to the entire class.

 Sharon: Who are some of your favorite authors? Who inspires you?

Kathy:  Maria Amparo Escandon and her book, Esperanza’s Box of Saints. I remember reading it because I fell in love with the cover. I didn’t have time to read back then because I was working full-time as a reporter, plus going to school full-time at night, running my art business and being a mom and wife. But I squeezed in that book every free second I had, it was that good. It was silly, quirky, yet meaningful and simply lovely. I remember thinking, “I want to write a book like this someday!”

These days, I love Sophie Kinsella. My favorite book of hers is Twenties Girl, I also loved The Undomestic Goddess. She has such a gift for storytelling. I also love Debbie Macomber, Reyna Grande and Margo Candela, I’ve loved all their recent works!

Sharon:  What do you have coming up in the future?

Kathy: I’m currently outlining my third and fourth novels. I can hardly wait to start writing them!

Sharon:  What advice would you have for anyone wanting to break into the writing biz today?

Kathy: Not to focus on agents or advances, just on the writing and telling a good story. If you focus on the latter two, the first two will come. No one in the business will take you serious unless you have a full manuscript written and ready!

About The Book:

Sometimes to find your life's true path, you have to stray outside the lines . . .
 
Scarlet Santana is never happier than when creating fabulous fashions for women of all shapes and sizes. Now, after years of hard work, she finally has the chance to live her dream and study under the hottest designer in New York. To raise money for her move, Scarlet opens an after-hours sewing school in a local record shop, teaching a type-A working mom whose rigid parenting style is causing her family to unravel and an enigmatic seamstress with a mysterious past.

But as stitches give way to secrets and classmates become friends, the women realize an important truth: There is no single pattern for a good life. Happiness is always a custom fit.

About The Author:

KATHY CANO-MURILLO is an artist of all trades. The designer of the Crafty Chica product line, the author of several craft books and a forthcoming novel, a nationally syndicated columnist, and a jewelry designer featured in Target, she has conquered nearly all imaginable creative pursuits. Her work has graced the airwaves of NPR’s Weekend Edition, HGTV, the DIY network, and LifeTimeTV.com.To find out more, visit her award-winning website http://www.craftychica.com/.



GIVEAWAY:

Hachette Book Group has generously provided a copy of Kathy's new book for a giveaway!  To enter, please leave a comment here with your name and email address!  The book will be sent directly from Hachette to the lucky winner!  The winner's name will be drawn at midnight, March 9th!

Good Luck!


My thanks to Hachette Book Group/Grand Central Publishing for including me on this book blog tour and for providing a review copy of this book. I was not compensated for my opinions.