Freefall to Fly {A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning} by Rebekah Lyons

Book Description:  Women today are fading. In a female culture built on Photoshopped perfection and Pinterest fantasies, we’ve lost the ability to dream our own big dreams. So busy trying to do it all and have it all, we’ve missed the life we were really designed for. And we are paying the price. The rise of loneliness, depression, and anxiety among the female population in Western cultures is at an all-time high. Overall, women are two and a half times more likely to take antidepressants than men. What is it about our culture, the expectations, and our way of life that is breaking women down in unprecedented ways?

In this vulnerable memoir of transformation, Rebekah Lyons shares her journey from Atlanta, Georgia, to the heart of Manhattan, where she found herself blindsided by crippling depression and anxiety. Overwhelmed by the pressure to be domestically efficient, professionally astute, and physically attractive, Rebekah finally realized that freedom can come only by facing our greatest fears and fully surrendering to God’s call on our lives. This book is an invitation for all women to take that first step toward freedom. For it is only when we free-fall that we can truly fly.

My Thoughts:  I "so needed" this book!  To know that I'm not the only one going through these thoughts and emotions.

I found it interesting that Rebekah talks about our Pinterest fantasies.  The feelings of inadequacy that women get because their homes may not be as neat or as organized as those on Pinterest.  Or the fantasy that all women are exercising and thin.  When in reality we all struggle in some way.

We miss the fact that we live in a "fake" world.  Electronics can be a curse because we tend to forget about "real" people and only see the fake.  Yeah! That family Christmas card looks perfect after it's been photoshopped.  

This is a great book to help us women, especially, to see the reality of life.  

On page 157, Rebekah mentions what her friend Shannon tells her, "Perhaps your anxiety comes from fear of not knowing your purpose." 

Isn't that good for us all?  Do women overall fear because of face book, photoshopped pics and Pinterest that we're not quite up to snuff?  That one question by Shannon made me really think!  Also,  Rebekah  writes about trusting God when you're alone with three kids, your husband is miles away on a business trip and your oldest begins to gasp for breathe and you need to get to ER now.  God is with you no matter where you are in life. This is great read that will encourage you, as a woman of God, to seek Him and He will give you the courage to surrender to His will.

*This book was provided by Handlebar Publishing*

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Books (April 9, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414379366
• ISBN-13: 978-1414379364

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Walking Tacos

I love Walking Tacos!  

Not only are they delicious but they are great for groups. 
This recipe comes from Food.com 

Meat Mixture: 

1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix

Toppings: {It's nice to have all the toppings on a table in separate bowls, so people can walk around and get ingredients}
tomato, chopped
lettuce, shredded
onion, chopped 
black olives, sliced
shredded cheese 
sour cream
taco sauce or picante sauce
individual lunch-sized bags of corn chips (We use Fritos)

Directions:
1  Brown ground beef, drain, return to pan.
2  Add Taco seasoning mix according to directions on packet.
3  TO ASSEMBLE: Carefully open a bag of corn chips along the sealed direction being   careful not to"tear" the bag (because it is your bowl!!).
4  Add all the veggies and cheese your bag will hold.
5  Be careful not to fill bag to full as it will be hard to mix it up.

{Tyndale Blog Tour} Take A Chance On Me (Christiansen Family Series) by Susan May Warren

My Thoughts: Take A Chance on Me by Susan May Warren is another fabulous read that takes place in Deep Haven. 

Derek Christiansen seems to have it all but he can't seem to let go of his past.  Derek didn't want to lose his wife.  He wanted the perfect life and now he doesn't allow anyone to get close to him.  But when the charity auction comes and Ivy bids on the handsome bachelor, well, fireworks begin.

Ivy is clueless that Felicity, Derek's deceased wife, is the one who was killed by the man that she gained a plea bargain for.  

Ivy loves Derek's family and would like to get to know Derek better but Derek has one very cold shoulder when it comes to Ivy.

A lot of emotions and turmoil fill Derek. It seems that an unforgiving attitude is Derek's closest friend.  But will Derek allow unforgiveness to rule his heart?

When the wildfire threatens those he loves will Derek find peace? 

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a great big family like the Christiansen's? Who would all band together and be there in our times of trouble?!?

This fast paced read is filled with intrigue, romance, faith and forgiveness.  

This is a not to be missed read for all Susan May Warren's fans!

Question &  Answers with the Author:

1. This is the first installment in a brand new six-book series. Can you give us a bit of background on this series?

   I love stories about families – watching the members interact and grow together through challenges and victories – and I conceived this series as I watched my own children begin to grow up and deal with romance and career and futures. I love Deep Haven, and it’s the perfect setting for a resort, so I crafted a family, much like the families I know, who run a resort. They want to pass on their legacy to their children...but their children don’t know if they want it. It’s sort of a parallel theme to the legacy of faith we instill in our children. As they grow older, they need to decide whether it is their faith too. It’s a saga about family and faith and what happens when those collide with real life.

2. This Christiansen Family series is set in Deep Haven, Minnesota. Tell us about this setting.

   Deep Haven, Minnesota is based in a small vacation town in northern Minnesota where I spent my childhood. It’s located on Lake Superior, surrounded by pine and birch and the sense of small town and home. Populated by everyone from artists to lumberjacks, it’s Mitford, or perhaps Northern Exposure gone Minnesotan. Quaint, quirky and beautiful, it’s the perfect place to escape for a vacation.

3. What was your inspiration for this particular book and the main character Darek Christiansen?

   As I started to put together this series, I began to think about our culture and our children today. I started to take a look at the big questions we are faced with as parents – and as young people; the issues that affect us as a culture, as well as personally. I wanted these books to go beyond family drama, beyond a great romance to raise bigger questions and stir truths that we might pass along to others. This story is about our propensity in our culture to blame others for what goes wrong in our lives – and how this alienates us from each other, and ultimately, God. Darek is the oldest brother in the family; the leader and a real hero. He’s a wildland firefighter and a widower who’s had to give up his job to come home and run the resort and care for his young son. Darek doesn’t realize he has a problem – he lives with anger on his shoulder, hating the man who killed his wife (his best friend). His real problem is that he can’t forgive himself. In this first story, readers meet the family, hang out at the resort and discover that God can redeem even a heart of stone, if we take a chance on Him.

4. What lessons or truths will your readers find in the pages of this novel?

   This book is for the person who feels they just can’t get past the anger they have for someone else to live in joy again. It’s for parents who see their children making bad choices and don’t know where to turn. It’s for people who believe that no one will ever really love them because of who they are, or the things they’ve done. It’s for people who need the courage to take a second chance on love and faith and family. I’m hoping readers walk away with a sense of how much God loves them, and that yes, He can heal the angry and broken-hearted.

5. How do you expect this new series to resonate with your audience? How do you want your books to make them feel?

   Great question! I love a story that brings me on an emotional journey from anger to laughter to hope. But most of all, I want readers to be wrapped up in joy, that feeling we get when watch our football team win, or when we’re hands up in a convertible on a hot summer day, or digging our feet into a sandy beach, or hugging our loved one when they return home. Ah. The sense that, just for a moment, all is right in the world and everything tastes and feels delicious. I write romances, and in the end it’s worth the journey to the happily ever after.

6. As a writer, what did you particularly enjoy about crafting this story?

   I loved Darek’s transformation. His relationship with his son is so precious, but when he truly lets go of his anger, he becomes the hero I always knew he could be. I love writing about broken heroes who find healing.

7. What advice do you have for budding novelists?

   Read! Then write the book you’d like to read.  But, along the way, learn the craft. In fact, a good writer never stops learning.

8. What is the best advice or encouragement that you have received?

   Just keep writing. If you want to be a career novelist, you just have to keep writing.

9. In your writing career, what are you most proud of?

   After over forty novels, I’m always striving to keep the stories fresh and unique; so I guess I’m proud that every book is bathed in prayer, has a message singular to that story, and has unique characters and journeys. Every story is a new adventure for me, and the reader.

Go HERE  to READ the First Chapter!

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (March 22, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414378416
• ISBN-13: 978-1414378411

COTT {Clash of the Titles}

The Winner of our February New Release Clash is:

 Love's Journey Home, by Kelly Irvin

Huge congrats to Kelly!

And a special thank-you to the competing authors for taking part in this sparring match:

Traci Hilton, author of Good, Clean, Murder: A Plain Jane Mystery

Lena Nelson Dooley, author of Catherine's Pursuit

Anne Patrick, author of Wounded Heroes Book Three: Betrayal

and Matthew Horn, author of Nothing Good is Free   

Believe me when I say, it was a tight race! Everyone did great!

Comments from voters:

• I love reading Kelly Irvin's books.
• Keep up the good work. Love to read about the Amish.
• Love Amish reads and mysteries, but the Amish is my personal winner!!!
• Love the way Kelly Irvin makes her characters so real! No cookie cutter Amish here.
• Kelly is one of my favorite authors. She has an interesting, informative and entertaining style.

RT Reviews calls Kelly Irvin's new book
Love's Journey Home a delight!

"Irvin's warmth and authenticity shines through in her latest novel. She brings back her heartwarming characters that reside in the Amish community of Bliss Creek. She touches on values that bind family and community together and the conflicts that arise when individuals rebel against them. Irvin's knack for good storytelling makes this book a delight."

About Love's Journey Home :

It’s been seven years since her husband died, but Helen Crouch is doing just fine. She’s selling her jams and canned goods at the bakery and making a tidy living. But her whole world goes topsy-turvy when a new family moves to town. Gabriel Gless has brought his children to Bliss Creek to escape the worldly influences in Indiana. Helen and Gabriel have so much in common—the loss of their beloved spouses, the experience of raising their families alone, their rock-solid faith—so why can’t they seem to speak without arguing? 

And that’s not all that’s going on in Bliss Creek this summer. In the middle of a punishing drought, the community is faced with the decision to uproot their families and establish a new settlement. As families struggle to say goodbye, each one must find the faith to follow the Lord’s direction.

Join the families of Bliss Creek in the dramatic conclusion to their story, and discover with them the joy of finding home.

***

About the author:

Kelly Irvin is the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series, which includesTo Love and To Cherish, A Heart Made New, and Love’s Journey Home, published by Harvest House. Her new series, New Hope Amish, debuts with Love Still Stands, on September 1.

Kelly has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine, published by Five Star Gale in 2010 and 2011.

The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. She also serves as secretary of the ACFW San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers.

A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly has been writing nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso.

She has worked in public relations for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department for 19 years. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-five years, and they have two young adult children. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.

Stress Test by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

Book Description:  They may not have enough evidence to convict him, but they have enough to ruin his life.

Dr. Matt Newman thought he was leaving his life in private practice for a better one in academic medicine. But the kidnappers who attacked him as he left his last shift in the ER have no such plans—they just want him dead. Bound and in the trunk of his car, Matt's only thought is escape. He does so, but at a price: a head injury that lands him in the ICU . . . where he awakens to discover he's being charged with murder.

Sandra Murray is a fiery, redheaded lawyer who swore she was done with doctors. But when Matt calls, she knows she can't walk away from defending someone who is truly innocent.

Matt's career is going down the drain. His freedom and perhaps his life may be next. But with the police convinced he's a murderer and the kidnappers still trying to finish what they started, finding the truth—and the faith to keep going—will be the toughest stress test Matt has ever endured.

My Thoughts: Richard Mabry, M.D. is a brand new author for me.  So, I wasn't sure what to expect as I began reading this novel.  One word comes to mind  . . . Thrilling!  As I began this read I was captivated from page 1.  

So, much action takes place in the first few pages that I literally had to close the book and take a deep breath to "catch my thoughts."  The action, the mystery of.it.all and just in the first few pages!

Dr. Matt Newman is a great doctor who decides to leave drain of private practice and begin teaching medicine with the intent of marriage to the lady he is now dating. But on his last call at the hospital he is kidnapped.  But why is he kidnapped? He's being framed for murder!  Every time I thought I had the mystery solved another twist in the mystery.

Matt is kidnapped and can't think of anyway to get free from his captors but the one way he comes up with lands him in ER.  This is where Sandra enters.  

Sandra is a feisty lawyer who runs on the energy of always catching the "bad" guy.  At first, it seems that she and Matt are going to be at odds with each other but then understanding takes place.  Matt's girlfriend, the one he thinks he wants to marry is one of those girls who always looks out for number one.  Liking her is like wanting to cuddle up with a python.

The "why" of Matt's kidnapping is quite the suspenseful read.  All of the characters in this read are well developed and when the reader finds herself not liking one character and rooting for the other means that the author is one great writer!

This is one unusual stress test and one that not only keeps Matt and Sandra on their toes but will keep the reader quickly turning the pages of this fast paced read.

Loved this faith filled, thrilling read!  

*This book was provided for review by BookSneeze*

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 9, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401687083
• ISBN-13: 978-1401687083

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Strawberry-Kiwi Trifle

 

We're getting ready for summer and love this is the YUMMY dessert when it gets hot! 

1 lg. angel food cake, broken into chunks, (buy prepared cake or bake your own)

1 32-oz. strawberry yogurt, halved

1 16-oz. Cool Whip topping, halved

1 pt. fresh strawberries, cored and cut into slices

4-6 kiwis, peeled and cut into slices

In a trifle bowl layer: chunks of angel food cake, yogurt, whipped topping strawberry and kiwi slices. Repeat at least once, ending with strawberry and kiwi slices as garnish. Chill for about 2 hours before serving.

invisible by Ginny L. Yttrup

Book Description:  Ellyn DeMoss -- chef, café owner, and lover of butter -- is hiding behind her extra weight. But what is she hiding? While Ellyn sees the good in others, she has only condemnation for herself. So when a handsome widower claims he’s attracted to Ellyn, she’s certain there’s something wrong with him.

Sabina Jackson -- tall, slender, and exotic -- left her husband, young adult daughters, and a thriving counseling practice to spend a year in Northern California where she says she’s come to heal. But it seems to Ellyn that Sabina’s doing more hiding than healing. What’s she hiding from? Is it God?

Twila Boaz has come out of hiding and is working to gain back the pounds she lost when her only goal was to disappear. When her eating disorder is triggered again, though she longs to hide, she instead follows God and fights for her own survival. But will she succeed?

As these women’s lives intertwine, their eyes open to the glory within each of them as they begin to recognize themselves as being created in God’s image.

My Thoughts: Sometimes all women go through a feeling of being invisible or wishing that she was invisible.  Why?  Maybe she's feeling inadequate, having feelings of despair, or sometimes women feel too fat. 

In invisible by Ginny Yttrup three women whose lives become intertwined through life circumstances are going through some of the afore mentioned "feelings."

Ellyn DeMoss is a sweet, nice looking but overweight chef/cafe owner.  She feels that no man would look at her in the romantic way because of her weight.  But a true man looks beyond the woman's weight and sees her value.  She feels that being too fat makes her unacceptable.  I could really relate when Ellyn decides to lose seven pounds in a week by going on a juice cleanse.  Umm...not so good!  

Sabina Jackson is a beautiful tall and slender African/American woman who seems to have it all but she too has so many feelings of being inadequate because of her past . . . that she can't even accept her husband's love.  She suffers from depression and just longs to hide.

Then there's Twila Boaz who struggles with anorexia.  She can't eat because she always sees a fat, unworthy young lady in the mirror.

This is quite a read with each chapter being through one of the three women's point of view.  Ellyn's doctor is a great guy and brings out the true romance in this story.  Real romance where a man sees a woman's value...just as she is.

It seems that Twila can accept God's will and forgive herself more quickly than Ellyn.  Ellyn just can't seem to get over the "fat" concept.  Ellyn can't seem to accept herself even when others love her and tell her what a great person she is. 

Then it seems that Sabina is hiding.  Not just hiding from herself but trying to hide her feelings of low self worth from God.  

This interesting read brings out the true Word . . .  that God loves us for who we are...He has our best interest at heart.  And He brings others into our lives who can bring out the best in us and love us as we are.

*This book was provided by Handlebar Publishing for review*

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (April 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433671689
• ISBN-13: 978-1433671685