Break Out! 5 Ways to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life - by Joel Osteen

When I pick up a book written by Pastor Joel Osteen, I always know what I am going to get.  The book is always uplifting, encouraging and inspiring.  When I finish the book I am really revved up and ready to fight the enemy and live my life to its fullest according to God's plans.

Some of the stories within this book sounded a little familiar and I am sure I have heard them or read them before, but this is not a bad thing.  In fact, as I hear or read some of the stories that he shares the principle is built up more within me.

Pastor Osteen is Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houstan, Texas. He is a powerful speaker and motivator and his books are only an extension of who he is. When reading any of his books, I feel like he is sitting across the room from me simply talking to me. His writing is simple to understand and if the reader is ready to absorb the information Pastor Osteen offers, they will walk away after finishing Break Out! with new excitement about their life in Christ. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Break Out! and have already bought copies as Christmas presents. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get motivated and encouraged in their walk with Christ.

On a 5-Star Scale - Five Stars!!!!

I would like to thank Sarah Reck and Faithwords, a division of Hachette Book Group for my copy of  Break Out!. I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,

NIV Ragamuffin Bible - with Reflections by Brennan Manning

When given the opportunity to receive and review the NIV Ragamuffin Bible I jumped at the chance.  I love having different translations of the Bible and if they come with devotionals included within the pages all the better.

The Ragamuffin Bible has reflections by Brennan Manning scattered throughout as devotionals.  This particular Bible has the devotionals, or meditations, geared toward the bedraggled, beat-up and brokenhearted. I must admit, some of the devotionals were really quite sad. The one found in James, entitled The Good We Ought to Do, was about a person who witnessed a man being so totally cruel and inhumane to a young pregnant woman by pouring beer over her head and down her blouse while being very graphic with his talk of what he had done to her and was going to do to her later.  I did not find this type of 'devotional' pleasing within the covers of a Bible. I know the point was about what the person who was observing did to try to rescue the woman and to back up James 4:17, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them", but I found it a little offensive inside the covers of a Bible.  I believe it would serve a better person in a Bible study.

I really don't find that I can recommend this Bible except to the bedraggled, beat-up and brokenhearted.

On a 5 Star scale - NIV Bible - 5 Stars; The devoitionals - 3 Stars.

I would like to thank Rick Roberson of B & B Media Group for my review copy. I received my copy for free to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,

The Reason for My Hope Salvation by Reverend Billy Graham

In the late sixties I was given the opportunity to attend the Billy Graham Crusade held at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. You see my best friend was a strong Christian and she knew I was lost and needed Jesus in my life. She and her family took me to the crusade every night for a week. Was it life-changing? You bet it was. A couple nights into the Crusade I made a giant leap toward my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When I had the opportunity to read and review Reverend Graham's newest book I leaped again.

If I were to tell you everything that is in the book, you might not go out and buy it. That would be sad as this book is powerful. It is as powerful as the man who wrote it. You must get this book, read it, share it and read it again.

 At the end of each chapter, Reverend Graham's final statement is written in all caps. These caught my eye and left me to ponder the truths shared in just a few powerful words.

To put it in simple words, this book, The Reason for My Hope Salvation is a book that Reverend Graham uses to tell the reader the truth. The truth about God, Jesus, Heaven and Hell. Nothing is sugar coated. He simply states what Christians know to be the truth. You must be born again and take up your cross daily to follow Jesus.

If anyone has ever had the opportunity to attend a Billy Graham Crusade then I am positive they will want to read Reverend Graham's newest book The Reason for My Hope Salvation.  I can honestly say that I plan on reading it again and again. The truths presented in this book are important for the Saved to remember and the Unsaved to learn.

Several times while reading this book I actually could hear Reverend Graham's distinct voice and there were several times I shed a few tears. Especially when he describes the crucifixion. We need to remember daily the price Jesus Christ paid for all of us sinners. It was powerful.

Also, in the Afterward, Reverend Graham gives an invitation for Salvation to the reader. Once again, this was a powerful book.

I would highly recommend The Reason for My Hope Salvation.  With Christmas just a few short weeks away you might consider picking up a few copies to give away as gifts. If you know someone who is searching and needs the Lord this is a perfect gift.

On a 5-Star scale = 5 HUGE STARS!!!!!

I would like to thank BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson Publishers for my copy of The Reason for My Hope Salvation. I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance - Merry Humbug Christmas

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Merry Humbug Christmas

B&H Books (October 15, 2013)

by

Sandra D. Bricker


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

The author says that it was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer. "I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost," she says. "So it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch the Love Finds You line."

Sandie's real-life role as cancer survivor has parlayed into her steadfast commitment to raising awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research. Spearheading a series of devotionals for Summerside Press (such as the popular His Grace is Sufficient...Decaf is Not), the author has stipulated that a portion of each contributor's proceeds will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

"Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with raising funds for my pet projects ... and still pursue my writing dream," says Bricker, "well, that's the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"

And one of the author's pet projects is animal rescue, evidenced by the special bond she has created with one particular formerly-abandoned puppy -- a red-haired collie with "killer brown eyes and the heart of the class clown."

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Merry Humbug Christmas features two holiday romance novellas from hilarious and heartwarming author Sandra D. Bricker. -- the perfect gift to yourself or someone else at this most wonderfully stressful time of year.

 In "Once Upon a Jingle Bell," A Bah! Humbug cruise to the Mexican Riviera is Joss Snow’s answer to this year’s quest to avoid the holidays completely; at least until she’s rebooked on a different kind of cruise altogether. Candy canes, holly wreaths, reindeer and ornaments seem to be stalking her on the 12 Days of Christmas holiday cruise extravaganza. An escape back to land is her only goal . . . until she meets a kindred spirit in rugged Irishman Patrick Brenneman, and then the game is on! Avoid Christmas festivities at all costs . . . except maybe for that one stop under the mistletoe.

In "It Came Upon a Midnight Deer," Reese’s guilt over abandoning best friend Joss on their holiday tradition of avoiding all things Christmas is trumped by the joy of her recent engagement. Meeting Damian’s family for the first time on idyllic Sugarloaf Mountain is about as far from that Bah! Humbug cruise as she can get, and Reese can hardly wait to get there. But from the moment they hit that deer in the road just two miles from the cabin, everything seems to go wrong. There are no drummers drumming or pipers piping this particular year! And once she sets her future in-laws’ family cabin ablaze, she’s pretty sure there won’t be even ONE golden ring in her future.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Merry Humbug Christmas, go HERE.

My Thoughts:

How can a person turn down reading a Christmas story, let alone two? I love Christmas and could easily read Christmas stories and listen to Christmas music all year through. So when I was given the chance to read and review Merry Humbug Christmas I jumped at the chance.

Sandra D. Bricker has a gift of writing humor into her stories and with the two stories within the covers of Merry Humbug Christmas I was happily entertained with her gift. I guarantee you will find both stories, Once Upon a Jingle Bell and I Came Upon a Midnight Deer enchanting and humorous. The same main characters live within the pages of both novellas.

I would highly recommend Merry Humbug Christmas to anyone who likes to read something light and funny set during the Christmas season. 

On a 5-Star Scale = 4 Stars.

I would like to thank Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and B & H Books for my review copy.  I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,