How Great Thou Art

"Secrets" and "Faithful Heart" Reviews

I recently received two more books to review. This time they were both Christian fiction, my favorite kind of books, so I was really excited to get these. First, I read Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn. It is about a girl names Jessica who is running away from some secrets in her life. She runs to a small town in Oregon, where she finds some new friends and a small-town lifestyle that she loves. She also finds romance and a relationship with Jesus, her Savior. Her secrets, however, threaten her new life and she finds that she can't keep running from them, but must face them. I really liked this book and am going to find more of Robin's books to read in the future.

I also received Faithful Heart by Al Lacy. I am only about half way through this book, so I can't give a full review of this one, but I can say that I have read many of Al and his wife Johanna's books and have loved all of them. Faithful Heart is the second book in the Angel of Mercy series, so I had a little bit of a difficult time picking up the story in the beginning. It would have been nice to have read the first book first so I didn't feel like I was jumping in in the middle of the story, but so far I have enjoyed it and it seems to be as good as all the other books the Lacys have written.

Here is a complete list of the Spring Break Value Fiction books from Waterbrook Multnomah:

Value Fiction For Your Spring Break

Colorado Springs, CO— Fiction lovers don’t need to budget to travel this spring break with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s six full-length novels by beloved Christian authors (WaterBrook, February 16, 2010). At the low cost of only $5.99, these well-read “get-aways” provide quality entertainment at a price that any reader can afford.

Full-length novels offered include:

Secrets
by Robin Jones Gunn - Jessica has moved to a new town to start a new life. But a friendly fire-fighter and a suspicious boss both want to know what she’s hiding.

Beneath a Southern Sky
by Deborah Raney – Daria Camfield is expecting her first child when her husband Nate is reported dead on the mission field. Devastated, she returns to the States and soon marries again. But two years later Nate is found alive in the jungle. How can Daria possibly choose between he two men who love her?

The Golden Cross
by Angela Elwell Hunt – Aidan O’Connor may be a poor barmaid but she’s also a gifted artists. When a famous cartographer takes her on as a student, Aidan is swept into an adventure that will bring her back to her heavenly Father, and into marriage with the love of her life.

Deep Harbor
by Lisa Tawn Bergren – Tora, Elsa, Kaatje, and Karl face trouble, tragedy, and treachery across the Wast, Hawaii, Japan, and the high seas. These four immigrants from Bergen, Norway, each grow closer to God and learn afresh the value of faith, family, and coming alongside each other in times of need.

Faithful Heart
by Al and Joanna Lacy – The adventures of certified medical nurse and dedicated Christian Breanna Baylor continue as she travels by wagon train to visit her sister, Dottie, in California. Little does she know that her most dangerous encounter might be with Jerrod, her brother-in-law, who’s suffering from dementia caused by combat fatigue.

Yesterday’s Promise
by Linda Lee Chaikin – Rogan Chantry faces danger from tribesmen, ruthless politicians, and his own family as he searches for gold in South Africa. In England, his beloved Evy is injured by a mysterious assailant. The greed and intrigue surrounding the diamond mines could very well drive them irrevocably apart.

My two books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Early Spring!

This week has been so warm! The kids have spent so much time outside and only need a sweatshirt if anything! It's been so nice for us, but probably not as much for the Olympics going on just across the border. I think they managed to pick the worst year to hold the winter ones here. Our daffodils are even getting close to blooming already! We got the trampoline out and the kids have been loving it and getting a lot of energy out, which is nice for us since they go right to sleep at night.

While they have been out bouncing away, I have been getting a ton of spring cleaning done. I just have the kitchen left this week (and it might take all week, it's been getting pretty bad!) It'll be nice to get it done though and have a really clean house for a little while, I just wish it would stay that way longer!

Don't forget to go enter my book giveaway here, it ends on Thursday! So far no one wants it, so your chances are really good! It is a pretty funny book and it's really easy to enter, just leave me a comment!

Hear No Evil Review

I recently recieved the book Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner for review. It is a story about his own life and how music played a large part in it. It is filled with funny stories from his childhood growing up in a Independent Fundamental Baptist church, through his college years, and into adulthood as he grew in his faith and learned through his experiences and encounters with music. He tells about how he wanted to be the Michael Jackson of Christian music, moving to Nashville, some of his jobs in the music industry, and the people he met along the way. I really liked all the humor in this book and thought it was interesting to see the perpective of someone growing up in a fundamentalist church. I also enjoyed getting a peek in the Christian music industry. There were a few sections of the book I didn't care for as much. In Matthew's college and adult years, some of the language and discussions were a bit crude and I thought he could have left most of that out and still had a good book. Overall I thought it was a good book, and Matthew is a good writer and storyteller.

From the publisher:
If you’ve ever had the opening bars of a song transport you back in time or remind you of a pivotal spiritual moment, Matthew Paul Turner’s honest—and frequently hilarious—musings will strike a chord. Straightforward and amusing, Hear No Evil is Turner’s “life soundtrack,” a compilation of engaging personal stories about how music—and music’s ability to transform—has played a key role in his spiritual life.
Groove along on his journey as young evangelical Turner attends forbidden contemporary Christian concerts, moves to “Music City” Nashville, and dreams of becoming the Michael Jackson of Christian music.
Cosmic and compelling, keen and funny, every page is a new encounter with the people, places, and experiences that have taught the music-editor-turned-author some new things about God, forced him out of his comfort zone, and introduced him to a fresh view of grace along the way.

If you are interested in learning more about or purchasing this book, you can do that here.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Love and War - Review

Recently I signed up to be a part of WaterBrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program. How it works is that they will send me books that I get to keep for free as long as I post a review of them on my blog when I am finished reading them. Occassionally I will also receive an extra copy that I can giveaway to one of my readers, so you can also get in on some free books once in a while! A couple weeks ago I received my first book and it is a a great one to review for Valentine's week, John and Stasi Eldredge's book called Love and War. John and Stasi use many examples from their own life to show how hard marriage can be, especially since the devil is constantly waging war against it. They do a great job of telling how the devil is the enemy and not our spouses and that marriages are always worth fighting for and can withstand anything with God's help. They each tell parts of the book from their perspective which is a nice way for me to understand things better from my hubby's perspective and vice versus. I thought this was a good book and, even though hubby and I haven't had any huge hurdles in our marriage, it was a good reminder that even small bumps in the road of marriage can lead to trouble if we don't keep God at the center.

From the publisher:

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.

With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic. They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement: Marriage is fabulously hard. They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we'll find our way through.

LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

If you are interested in purchasing this book for yourself or someone you know, head over to WaterBrook Multnomah here.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

If you are interested in reviewing books for WaterBrook Multnomah head here.

What is it about mud...

...that kids are so attracted to?

At least it kept them occupied for over 2 hours!

Tasty Tuesday - Bing Candy Bars

Clearly I have been lacking in my Tasty Tuesday recipes! Since we have been having such great weather, I've been outside a lot with the kids and also am trying to stick to my new year's resolution to lose the rest of my pregnancy weight, so I haven't been doing too much baking. Last week I gave in, however, and made this recipe that I loved as a kid and have finally found some cherry chips to make it again. Probably not the best thing to make if you really want to stick to your diet though. After eating half the pan mostly by myself, I finally had to pack up the rest and give them away so I would eat the whole thing! They are so good! I haven't been able to find cherry chips in our local grocery stores, so I ordered some from Amazon.com, they are worth it!

Bing Candy Bars

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
12 large marshmallows
1/2 cup butter
Dash of salt
1 (6 oz) pkg. of cherry chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 (12 oz) pkg chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 large pkg. salted peanuts, crushed

Mix the sugar, milk, marshmallows, butter, and salt. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the cherry chips, vanilla, and pour into 9x13 pan and cool.
Melt in double boiler the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and peanuts. Spread over chilled cherry mix and chill several hours.

Do you have any good recipes to share? Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite or a link to one on your blog so I can try it out!

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