I recently received a copy of the book Alone Yet Not Alone to review. The book Alone Yet Not Alone is a novelization of the new movie by the same name.
Alone Yet Not Alone – the Book
Alone Yet Not Alone – Book Review & Giveaway
On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin Review
I recently received a copy of the new book On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin to review.
Caught between the war raging around them and the battles within, two souls long for peace—and a love that remains true.
Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie’s cozy life gets more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson.
Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they’ve made?
With her signature attention to detail and her talent for bringing characters together, Sarah Sundin weaves an exciting tale of emotion, action, and romance that will leave you wanting more.
Discovering God’s Will for Your Life – Book Review
I recently received a copy of the book Discovering God’s Will for Your life: Your Journey with God by Mike Lutz to review.
From the back cover:
At one time or another most Christians ask, “How can I know God’s will for my life?: Discovering God’s Will for your Life helps answer that question. In his book, author Mike Lutz takes a deep biblical approach, although using the simplicity of the teaching style of Jesus, and he mixes character studies with biblical principles to help the reader make personal and practical applications.
Lutz address the questions that plague believers in seeking God’s will for their lives. How can you be sure yo’re hearing God? What do you do when you don’t understand the path God is leading you on? Why is it taking so long, and how do you grow your faith to be a able to see how God is working? What about the detours and obstacles along the way?
Author Bio:
Michael Lutz came face-to-face with the Bible for the first time in 1994 at the age of 24. He began reading the Bible and was overwhelmed with a sense of the deity of Jesus. It was then and there that he knew he had to make a choice:either Jesus was who He said He was or He wasn’t. His ministry began right away at a church in Connecticut. He began helping with the youth and later became their youth pastor. He and his wife moved to California in 2001, where he was asked to be a Pastor’s Assistant at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He has held a variety of pastoral positions, and in 2008, he became Senior Pastor of Revive Christian Fellowship in Ladera Ranch, CA. Mike is heard on a program called The Reviving Word in the US and Belize. He lives in California with his wife, Collette.
My Book Review:
Many times, it can be hard to determine if we are following God’s will or our own. Using Joseph and Moses as examples, the author guides us through their stories and how they followed God’s will for their lives. From their examples, we can see what it looks like to seek God’s will and follow it.
Knowing your spiritual gifts is very important for a Christian. So I was happy to see a chapter on spiritual gifts, with biblical references, and how to identify yours.
My favorite thing about this book was that the author put the Bible verses he was talking about right on the page. He uses many verses, almost on every page. There are a few places where he just lists references, but the majority are the full verse. A lot of reading takes place on the go, where it is hard to juggle a book and a Bible, having the verse right on the page is really convenient.
If you are seeking God’s will for your life, and a deeper relationship with Him, Discovering God’s Will for Your Life will be a great help to you.
Link to buy the book: (Affiliate Link) – Discovering God’s Will for Your Life: Your Journey with God
Thanks to the author, Michael Lutz, I get to giveaway a signed copy of Discovering God’s Will for Your Life Your Journey with God. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below!
*This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and
and buy something, I will receive a commission.
A Big Year For Lily – Book Review & Giveaway
I recently received the book A Big Year for Lily to review. A Big Year for Lily is book three in the Adventures of Lily Lapp series. The first two books in the series are titled Life with Lily and A New Home for Lily. The books are written by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher. Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish, and Suzanne Woods Fisher is a best selling author of Amish fiction.
A Big Year For Lily – Book Review & Giveaway
A Big Year for Lily continues to follow Lily as she leads her normal Amish life. For Lily, that means lots of family time, school, troubles with friends, and, of course, her church.
Lily turns 10 in this book. When she turns 10, she begins to wear adult clothing, instead of little girl dresses. That means instead of her loose comfortable dresses, she now wears dresses with a waistband, and an apron held on by straight pins. As Lily finds out, straight pins hurt when they poke you!
Written for children ages eight to twelve, A Big Year for Lily is a very entertaining book that shows kids what it is like to live in an Amish family and community. Lily gets into many of the same predicaments as other children her age. When she has done something wrong, Lily expresses that she feels guilt. And then does what she can to make the situation better. So different from many books written for this age group.
If you’re looking for a wholesome book for your children to read, or for you to read aloud to them, A Big Year for Lily is the perfect book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Big Year for Lily myself, even though it’s written for kids. 🙂
Suzanne Woods Fisher is celebrating the release of A Big Year for Lily, book three in the beloved Adventures of Lily Lapp series, with a giveaway extravaganza!
One winner will receive:
- An iPad Adventure Pack (includes a fun stand and an art kit)
Twelve winners will receive:
- Special prizes specially picked by Lily (something new each day)! Suzanne will announce the winners on July 29 on her blog!
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on July 27th. All winners will be announced July 29th at Suzanne’s blog.
Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Suzanne’s blog on the 29th to see if you won one of the fun prizes! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)
Pennsylvania Patchwork Review
I recently received a copy of the book Pennsylvania Patchwork by Kate Lloyd to review. Pennsylvania Patchwork is book Two in the Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy.
About PennsylvaniaPatchwork:
Seattle native Holly Fisher is smitten by Lancaster County, its simplicity and her long lost relatives. In the sequel to bestselling Leaving Lancaster, Holly embraces the Amish culture, learning to slow down to see what — and who — really matters.
Meeting the family that her mother had kept hidden from her, Holly comes face to face with her real life and blood legacy. She also falls for the charming Zach, a handsome Mennonite veterinarian who is everything she’s ever wanted in a husband: confident, kind, successful, and authentic. And Zach proposes marriage. Is this too soon? Is this the right choice? Mother and Amish grandmother think she’s rushing into too much of a lifestyle change. Holly is in love with Zach and that precludes everything. Until she meets an attractive Amish man. And an old suitor shows up.
Pennyslvania Patchwork is the moving, richly told story of one woman’s heart, her faith and trust, and the choices she makes. Never easy, but one choice can change your destiny.
Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/lG7GU (Not my affiliate link)
My Pennsylvania Patchwork Review
Pennsylvania Patchwork is different from most Amish fiction books today. Holly didn’t even know she had Amish family, now she’s living with her grandmother and her mother in Lancaster County. The story line of Holly adjusting to living Amish held my attention. She has a hard time giving up her cell phone and her computer, like most of us would. The relationship of Holly to her mother Esther and her grandmother Anna grows and changes over the course of the book, and there are very heart warming moments between them all. I like that the author shows Holly and Esther learning to turn everything over to God, including their choice for a husband.
When I signed up for this review, I thought I had read book one in the series. Turns out I haven’t. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pennsylvania Patchwork. You will be able to follow the story line and enjoy this book even if you haven’t read book one. Of course, now I want to read it, it’s now on my wishlist.
Meet Kate:
Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her novels. She is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society. Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. Kate studied painting and sculpture in college. She’s worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur.
Learn more about Kate at http://www.katelloyd.net
Kate Lloyd is celebrating the release of book two in her Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy, Pennsylvania Patchwork, by giving away an authentic Amish-made quilt!
One “grand” winner receive:
- An authentic Amish-made Quilt
- Pennsylvania Patchwork and Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 29th. Winner will be announced on July 1st at Kate’s blog.
Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.
Paperless Home Organization eBook Review
As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received the Paperless Home Organization ebook from Simplified Pantry to review. Paperless Home Organization is a how to guide that walks you through creating a digital homemaking binder. Once you have your homemaking binder in place, you can go paperless! I don’t know about you, but after 31 years of marriage, 6 kids, and 22 years of homeschooling (and still counting!), I’m ready to get rid of some paper!
Paperless Home Organization eBook Review
The author, Mystie Winckler, tells you which programs she uses and takes you step by step through signing up, setting up, and filling up your binder. She uses Google Mail, Google Calendar, Evernote and Remember the Milk to organize everything. I was already using Google Mail and Calendar, but she had several tips that I hadn’t heard of before that enable me to make better use of them. The bulk of the book is about setting up and using Evernote and Remember the Milk.
Remember the Milk is where you keep your current to do lists. These can be sorted out, and assigned due dates, or marked not due so it is always on your list. I love that I can have my list on my Gmail page, or on my calendar, over on the right had side, so I can see it no matter what I’m doing. As we all know, a to do list that is seen is more likely to get done. I also have Remember the Milk on my Kindle, so can carry my to do list with me where ever I go. Remember the Milk can also be accessed online, or on your phone. I love that I can set it up to work for me. Since I hadn’t used Remember the Milk before, the authors tutorial was a great help.
Your digital home binder will mostly be stored on Evernote. I had never heard of Evernote before, so I took full advantage of the authors how to’s in this ebook to help me. She not only tells you what to do, she shows you with many screenshots. Seeing what everything should look like, made it so much easier for to to set it up. You can tell that the author has been using this program, and knows what she’s talking about. It would have taken me a very long time to figure out some of the steps that she included in the ebook. Instead of having to figure it all out by myself, I quickly and easily followed her directions and had my binder up and running.
One of the things that the author mentioned was that you could get an Evernote Web Clipper extension for Chrome. Now when I’m online, and I see something I want to save, I can save it right to my notebook. All those great tips and recipes that come across my Facebook feed can be clipped and put into the correct notebook while I’m on Facebook. I don’t have to go open the Evernote program to copy and paste. I was also able to add the Evernote App to my Kindle. So I have access to my digital binder whenever I need it.
Here is a screenshot from my Evernote. You can see on the left, I’m working on my notebooks. I have my Recipe Notebook open, so the middle column shows those notes. And on the right, was the last note I had opened, a recipe I’m planning on making shortly.
You can read a sample of Paperless Home Organization.
Since I have many, many years to catch up on, this is going to take awhile. But I’m motivated, and this system is easy. Thanks to Paperless Home Organization I think I can go paperless!
I also received Simplified Dinners and Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free ebooks.
I read through the Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free ebook. If your just starting out cooking gluten free or dairy free, you’ll find lots of great recipes to get you started. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more recipes for baked goods. Overall, though, this is a great recipe ebook. I found a few recipes I want to try.
The Paperless Home Organization ebook sells for $3.99. A must at that price!
The Simplified Dinners and Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free sell for $12.99 each.
Here is a TOS Review Crew exclusive discount: when you enter TOS2013 at checkout, you will receive 30% off! That discount will work on any or all three of the eBooks through June 3rd.
The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer – Review
I recently received the new book The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer to review. The Promise Box is the second book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series. I reviewed book one, The Memory Jar, last year. It is not necessary to have read book one to enjoy book two, The Promise Box. The main characters in each book are different, while secondary characters, such as store and restaurant owners, are the same.
The Promise Box is set in West Kootenai, Montana, where young Amish men from other states come to live for 6 months so they can receive resident status for the hunting season in the fall. Lydia Wyse grew up in this small Amish community, but left her parents and her Amish faith to become an editor in Seattle. She is now returning to her parents home after the death of her mother. Lydia ends up staying with her father to help him. Her father gives her her mother’s Promise Box, that Lydia never knew her mother kept.
The promise box contains Bible verses, and letters that her mother wrote. As Lydia reads through all the letters in the promise box, she discovers a side of her mother that she never knew. Lydia also learns to accept God’s promises for herself. And to follow God’s plan for her life.
The Promise Box is a great read. The perfect book for a restful summer day.
Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her lastest novel, The Promise Box (Zondervan), by hosting an Amish Baking Box giveaway and connecting with readers during her June 12th Book Chat Party!
One “promising” winner will receive:
- Apron, hot mitts, and kitchen towels
- Amish baking items (rolling pin, pie plate, etc…)
- Sherry Gore’s Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
- The Memory Jar and The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 11th. Winner will be announced at the “The Promise Box” Facebook Author Chat Party on June 12th. Connect with Tricia for an evening of Amish fun – book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Tricia will also share an exclusive look at the next book book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.
So grab your copy of The Promise Box and join Tricia on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)
Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I received no other compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
