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?

Max Lucado - Outlive Your Life - Blog Tour and Review

I have the pleasure today to host a blog tour stop for Max Lucado's new book, Outlive Your Life.

Synopsis:

These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did


My Review:

Max Lucado has always been a favorite author of mine. He writes in plain, easily-understand language that speaks to the very heart and soul of his readers. In his latest book, “Outlive Your Life,” Max presents a very intriguing, thought-provoking question – If we were given an opportunity to make a huge difference in this troubled world of ours, would we do it? If we had the chance to give hope and relief to millions of people simply following the example of Jesus and the early church leaders of Christianity – would we do it?


With the idea of making a difference at the forefront of this new book, Max Lucado asks the question, “Does He still do it? Does Jesus still use simple folks like us to change the world?” And in Lucado’s opinion, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” Using the first twelve chapters of Acts as examples, Lucado recites the old adage, “God doesn’t call the qualified, but qualifies the called.” And he follows the book of Acts closely—chapter after chapter using personal stories, tales about the early days of Pentecost when the disciples and their followers were witnessing miracles and their entire world change around them. Lucado also uses various Bible passages to make his points about this miraculous time in the Church. The result is an in-depth look at what happens when Christians respond to Jesus’ imploring call to follow Him.

Max Lucado has the God-given ability to bring Bible stories to life and I was especially thrilled to read his take on one of my favorite, and probably one of the most important, books of the Bible. As he retells the story of Peter’s healing of a crippled man at the Temple Gate called Beautiful, Stephen’s testimony before the Sanhedrin, and Philip’s baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, readers will find themselves transported back to Jerusalem to walk the Damascus road with a man name Saul. Through Lucado’s words, you can feel the excitement and emotions of the early Christian leaders, and through this, you can understand Lucado’s mission to bring back that excitement and dedication into the world today.

“Outlive Your Life” has the potential to be a life-changing call to all people that we can make a difference in this world, and with Max Lucado leading the charge, the world will be a better place for it.

About the Author:

Max Lucado loves words – written, spoken – it does not matter. He loves to craft sentences that are memorable, inspiring and hopefully life-changing. In almost 25 years of writing, more than 65 million books filled with his words have been sold.

Max is the only author to have won three Christian Book of the Year* awards—in 1999 for Just Like Jesus, in 1997 for In the Grip of Grace, and in 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name. In 2005, Reader’s Digest magazine dubbed him “America’s Best Preacher” and in 2004, Christianity Today magazine called him “America’s Pastor.” The product line for 3:16—The Numbers of Hope sold more than four million units worldwide, including one million units of the cornerstone trade book of the same title (released in September 2007), making it the fastest selling Lucado product in his career.

His works have appeared on every major national bestseller list including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and Christian Booksellers Association. He has been featured in countless media outlets and national broadcasts. Max’s writings have been published in a wide array of formats including adult books, gift books, children’s titles, Bibles, commentaries, calendars and devotionals. He is also the author/creator of “Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends” brand family, one of the most popular animated DVD series in the marketplace, with more than 5 million units sold to date. His words have also inspired a branded line of greeting cards and gift books for Hallmark/Dayspring that has sold more than 15 million copies since its 2001 debut.

Max Lucado is a Minister of Preaching at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, where he has served since 1988. He has been married to Denalyn Preston Lucado since 1981, and they have three grown daughters—Jenna, Andrea and Sara—and one son-in-law, Brett.

For more information on Max, check out his website at http://www.maxlucado.com/

I received this book from Booksneeze, as a part of the world-wide blogging blast to promote this book, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh

How do we learn to trust? Is it as a small child, when we trust our moms and dad to do what is best for us? Trust is a part of everyone's lives. Today's review is of a book that addresses how to learn to fully trust God to help us do what is best in our lives.

Trust is one of the most important elements in any relationship, but when that relationship is between you and God, trusting Him explicitly not only strengthens your spiritual life, but enables many miraculous things to happen. But there are times when letting go and fully trusting is a difficult choice.

In her new book, “Beautiful Things Happen: When A Woman Trusts God,” Sheila Walsh takes readers on a journey into her past, a past where depression and self-doubt threatened to crush her faith in herself and her faith in God. But along this journey, Walsh discovered that simply by trusting God and allowing Him to make decisions and provide guidance, that life could be all she could want it to be and more. And the more she trusted God, Walsh found that she became more trusting of everyone and everything else.

Scottish-born Walsh is best known as the co-anchor of Pat Robertson’s “700 Club” during the late 80s, early 90s, as well as for her powerful singing voice. In 1992, she left the “700 Club” to seek treatment for severe depression. After intense treatment and therapy, Walsh enrolled in Fullerton Theological Seminary in California, and began to renew her career with special interest in helping women understand their walk with God.

Now residing in Plano, Texas with her husband and son, Walsh is now a frequent guest at the popular “Women of Faith” conferences held around the country.

“Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God” is a deeply personal and moving testimony of one woman’s walk through the dark valleys to find that God had never left her side, but was with her through the trying times. Walsh is open, honest, and at time amusing about her experiences, and she lovingly shares the lessons she learned generously.

An in-depth Bible study is included which encourages readers to explore the subject of trust further with scripture references, and suggestions for how they apply to everyday life.

Walsh tells her readers in her introduction to the Bible study, “I believe that if we can learn to rest in His trust, so many of the things that plague us from day to day will dwindle from torrential storms to light drizzles.”

I reviewed this book as a part of the Thomas Nelson Book Bloggers Program, and received the review copy as a part of this program. I was not obligated to provide a favorable review.