Fun Fall Fiction!

I haven't been feeling all that well lately, whether it was just your old fashioned, ordinary common cold, a flu virus, or perhaps even the dreaded "swine flu." I'm not really sure, but I was thankful to have a couple of good books, Provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah, for my reviewal, to read while I was resting and trying to get better.

The first one I read, was Melody Carlson's "Limelight." I found this book a little hard to get into, to begin with, but once I did, it was quite entertaining. Claudette Fiore' grew up in a small northern California town, with her sister, but eventually, she moved to Hollywood, and married a movie director. Because of that, she has known nothing but the finer things in life for the past 60 years, and has always had servants to do all the mundane daily tasks of life, such as, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping etc. Until...for reasons I won't go into here, she finds herself living back in her childhood home, having to figure out things for herself. It's quite comical, in an "I Love Lucy" sort of way... Limelight is available from WaterbrookMultnomah.com.

Summary:
Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change.

The second one, was "Leaving Carolina" by Tamara Leigh. This was a surprisingly fun book to read. At first glance, I wasn't sure it was anything I'd be interested in, but I found the author's witty humor, exceptional. She was very good at conveying Piper's thoughts, and self-talk, that I'm pretty sure we all do, in the privacy of our own minds. It was a very entertaining read...but it also highlights a lot of biblical truths along the way. I'm looking forward to reading more about Piper "Wick" and her family. To check it out for yourself, click here.

Summary:
Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s. Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.

Shadow Government by Grant R. Jeffrey ~ Book Review

All I could say as I read this book was, WOW! This is incredible! If what the author is saying in it is actually true, then everyone in the U. S. should read it. According to this book, if you think you have any privacy left at ALL, you are sadly mistaken. It was a real eye-opener for me. It talks about two different types of "shadow government," one being the officials that are standing by even as you read this, to take over our country in the event that something catastrophic were to happen that would prevent the current government leaders from continuing in their positions of authority.

The author also, puts everything in perspective, as far as the biblical prophecies...the last days...the mark of the beast and so on. It really is a compelling, if somewhat scary book. If this is something you'd like to know more about, you can get your own copy at waterbookmultnomah.com.

Here is a summary of the book:

Security cameras, surveillance of private financial transactions, radio frequency spy chips hidden in consumer products, eavesdropping on e-mail correspondence and phone calls, and Internet tracking. No one is protected, and privacy is a thing of the past.
An ultra-secret global elite, functioning as a very real shadow government, controls technology, finance, international law, world trade, political power, and vast military capabilities. These unnamed, unrivaled leaders answer to no earthly authority, and they won’t stop until they control the world.
In Shadow Government, prophecy expert Grant Jeffrey removes the screen that, up to now, has hidden the work of these diabolical agents. Jeffrey reveals the biblical description of Satan’s global conquest and identifies the tools of technology that the Antichrist will use to rule the world.
Readers will have their eyes opened to the real power that is working behind the scenes to destroy America and merge it into the coming global government. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth.

About the Author:

Grant R. Jeffrey is the internationally known prophecy researcher, Mideast expert, and author of Countdown to the Apocalypse, The New Temple and the Second Coming, The Next World War, and twenty other best-selling books. He is also the editor of the Prophecy Study Bible. His popular television program, Bible Prophecy Revealed, airs weekly on TBN. Jeffrey earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Louisiana Baptist University. He and his wife, Kaye, live in Toronto.

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

Wisdom Huner by Randall Arthur ~ Book Review

If you're looking for an exciting read, this book is for you! It was originally released in 1991, and became a best seller at that time. It was not a book that I likely would have chosen myself, but I enjoyed it. The main character in this novel is Pastor Jason Faircloth. He's been a pastor of the North Metro Church of Atlanta for 11 years, and has a master's degree in theology. However, he is very much caught up in legalism, and because he is so hard on his teenage daughter, she decides to run away from home. Pastor Jason prays fervently for her for over a year and a half, asking God to protect his daughter and bring her home. Meanwhile, we learn what is really going on with her in another part of the country...

Through losing almost everything this man has, and going through some very harrowing experiences, he comes to the knowledge that Christianity is not all about "religion", but that it has much more to do with having a personal relationship with Christ. I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories of suspense, but it also has a great message.

You can purchase your own copy from Waterbrookmultnomah.com

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

Summary:

Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta. He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God's ways as he does. And it will cost him everything he has.

Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason determines to find the one person left who might provide healing: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. His search takes him on an international adventure --and deep into his tormented soul.

A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism and discover how grace can make the difference between life and death.

Author Bio:
Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe. Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Opening New Doors!

That's what we get to do every time we leave the house, or come back home now!

Our landlord bought 2 new doors for the house a couple of months ago. Ray was supposed to replace them, and deduct the installment cost from the rent. He replaced the side door shortly thereafter. However, he got busy with work after that, (PTL) and then we got nothing but rain...and even snow...for weather after that for quite some time. Finally, this past weekend, the weather cooperated, and Ray got a chance to replace the back door, which is the one we use most of the time.

This is what the inside of the old door looked like, after Ray removed the trim around it. It wasn't that bad looking...for an old door. However, there was so much cold air coming in around this thing last Winter that it was unbelievable! I'm not sure how much money went out that door, while the cold winds were entering in. We should stay much warmer (and richer) this year.
Here's what the new door looks like. He still needs to put the trim around it. I'm sure CJ will get after him about that. He told him last night, "Grandpa, you're NOT finished with your door project yet!!" That was after Ray had spent a couple of hours finishing the trim around the OUTSIDE! LOL!

As an added plus, the new door lets a lot more light in than the old door...which really helps, since there is no light in the entryway.

Here's the old door from the outside, Ray had to remove the canopy first, since it was attached to the old door frame. I was a little afraid those bricks were going to fall down on his head! I made sure he had his cell phone close, while CJ and I ran some errands...just in case!

Here's the brand new door with the new trim around it. Ray plans on adding another canopy sometime too...but that may not happen until we get some nice weather again for a few days. I think it looks great...except for the smudges that the dogs already put on it...stupid animals.

Happy 5th Birthday, CJ! (updated)

My grandson turned 5 today! Finally. At least in his eyes...he's been waiting for this birthday for a long, long time and counting down the days. I woke him up this morning, by singing Happy Birthday to him. He opened his eyes and said, "Is it REALLY my birthday?" Like it was too good to be true. And then he said to his dog, "Finn, can you believe it's my birthday?"

Unfortunately, his mother can't be with him today, because she's in Texas, doing some training for the Air Force Reserves. But she sent him a couple of presents. CJ really likes the "PS man" because he brings him stuff all the time! Anyway, we let him open one of them the day they came...he just couldn't STAND to wait to open both of them. It was a video game for his V-motion. He's waiting for Mama to call him right now, so she can watch him open the other one via webcam. Ahhh...the wonders of modern technology!

This afternoon, we have a party planned with his cousins at "Space Aliens." That should be fun...I'll have to post more pics later.

(update 10 days later)

Well, I'm finally getting around to adding the pictures from his actual birthday party. Unfortunately, in my rush to get to the party, I forgot to grab my SD card, so I was only able to take as many pictures as my camera's internal memory could hold.

It was the first time I'd been to Space Aliens, and it was not a bad deal. For $75, you get a party package for up to 6 kids. They have a party room, aptly called "Area 51" where they set up the party. Each child gets their own indivdual pizza, a small drink, a prize bag including 25 tokens for the game room, and ice cream. It's $10 extra for each additional child. I just wish I'd included Molly and her friend Liz as extra kids...I spent a lot more than $10 on each of them.

Tiegen, Elizabeth, Katie, Christian, Molly and Liz

Katie, Christian and Molly

Time to open presents!

First, was a GI Joe ninja sword and mask from Shelby and Tanner

Christian was thrilled with it--that's Shelby watching him open it.

Here's what he got from Tiegen & Grayson...Shelby looks like she's thinking, "Oh brother!"

Coincidentally, he got another K'nex semi truck from Katie and Liz! GMTA!

I think Katie decided to bump a balloon up in the air, just as I snapped this one.

Ray and I got him this walkie-talkie set with a base station.

Thanks to everyone who attended, and made Christian's 5th birthday a very special one!

"Extraordinary" by John Bevere ~ Book Review and Giveaway!

Wow! I just finished reading "Extraordinary: The Life You're Meant to Live" by John Bevere. There is a lot of great information in this book. In some ways it reminds me very much of the Beth Moore bible study that I participated in a few years ago, entitled "Believing God." Both Beth Moore and John Bevere, basically say that there is much more to "Grace" than most Christians even realize. Yes, it is our free gift of salvation...but it's so much more than that. We all need to understand that grace is "God's unmerited empowerment, which gives us the ability to do what truth demands of us." We have been made new, and need to start living that way. We have the power that raised Jesus from the dead, available to us. We just need to tap into it through faith. This is a book that every Christian needs to read...in order to live the full and God-pleasing life that was meant for us to live.

This incredible book is available for purchase from RandomHouse.com

Summary

There’s a question that troubles many believers: “Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life--didn’t Jesus promise that?”

He did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of “the ordinary.” They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals.

Nothing could be further from the truth! John Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments—the life God always intended for his children.

Here is a guide to understanding God’s incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the “extra” to “ordinary.”

Author Bio:
John Bevere is an internationally popular conference speaker, teacher, and author of bestsellers, including The Bait of Satan, Drawing Near, and Driven by Eternity. His award-winning curriculum and books have been translated in over sixty languages and his weekly television program, The Messenger, is broadcast around the world. John and his wife, Lisa—also a bestselling author and speaker—reside with their family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit his ministry website at http://www.messengerinternational.org/.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, and they also provided me with an extra copy to give away to one of my readers!

Win! Win! Win! Win Win!

All you need to do to enter, is to leave me a comment after this post. I will choose a winner by random drawing on November 1, 2009. This contest is open to residents of the continental U.S. only. Please make sure to include an email address, so I can contact you in the event that you win. Good luck!

And the winner is....Sarah H! Congratulations, Sarah! I'll get your book to you ASAP. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Global Warming?!?!

Yeah....riiiiiiiiight. I, for one refuse to believe it. We have had one of the coldest Summer's on record, and after a rather nice (but short) Fall...we got SNOW on October 9th this year. I suppose that's not unheard of here in MinneSNOWta, but the first snow of the year generally melts as it hits the bare ground, and even the white stuff sitting atop the grass, normally melts by days end.

We had our monthly "Ladies' Night Out" at church last night, and as someone was leaving around 1 am, they came back in to warn the rest of us that our vehicles were covered with snow. I think partially because the rest of us didn't want to go out and face the cold facts, we settled in and chit-chatted for another two hours. Finally, at about 3am, we wandered out into the parking lot...and found this:

Luckily, I did have a scraper in my vehicle...most of the others ended up using credit cards to scrape their windows...but none of us had gloves...and it was c-c-c-cold! A couple of the girls even had a little 3 am snowball fight...but i didn't participate. I took this picture of my van, thinking that the snow would be melted by the time we got up this morning, and no one would believe it was even there. I was wrong.

Of course, when CJ woke up this morning, he was pretty excited about going out to play, and wanted to put his new winter coat, hat and mittens on to try them out. Fortunately, last year's model of boots and snow pants still fit him. He was having a blast just running around in the white stuff, despite the bitterly cold wind...so I guess he stayed warm enough.

I think he was trying to do the hand signs that the big kids always do in the picture above...but it kinda loses something with his fingers inside the mittens!

Despite my dislike of the cold and the early snow, I was struck by the awesome beauty of the brightly colored leaves intermingled with the sparkling whiteness, and the still-green blades of grass peeking out between them.

CJ was running around being silly, and "posing" for me. I wanted to get his attention for a close-up, so I asked him how many days there were until his fifth birthday...

I'm guessing he's holding eight fingers up underneath those mittens!

Oh well, I just hope this snow has not quite moved in for the season...we've got things to do before then. Ray put in a new door on the side of the house about a month ago, but he's either been busy working elsewhere, or it's been raining out ever since that time. We NEED to get the new back door installed. I was reminded just how much cold air comes in around the old one today, while the frigid winds of winter were inviting themselves in.