You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir

Melissa Ohden is founder of the Abortion Survivors Network and an advocate for women, men, and children impacted by abortion.  With a master's degree in social work, she has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, and child welfare.

Connect with Melissa and her work:
www.melissaohden.com
youcarriedmebook.com

What happens when an abortion survivor meets her birth mother?

Melissa Ohden is fourteen when she learns that she is the survivor of a botched abortion.  In this intimate memoir, she details her search for her biological parents and her own journey from anger and shame to faith and forgiveness.

This intensely personal story of love and redemption illumines the powerful bond between mother and child that can overcome all odds.






My Thoughts:
You will need a box of tissues right along with your bookmark while reading You Carried Me.  Melissa shares her story of surviving a saline abortion and then the journey to find her birth parents with such brave transparency.  She allows readers into private corners of her heart and life.  But this isn't a sad story of defeat!  This is a story of a brave woman who trusted the One Who holds the number of her days from birth forward.  Melissa allowed the sad and hard parts of her life to aid in molding her into the brave and beautiful woman she is today; a woman who fights for those who have been affected by abortion.  Ohden's story is a view of beauty rising from the ashes.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions are my own.

Blessings,
Jennifer

A Spectacle of Glory: God's Light Shining through Me Every Day

Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, and organization that accelerates Christian outreach in the disability community.  Joni and Friends provide practical and spiritual support to special needs families worldwide.  Joni is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Joni & Ken, Diamonds in the Dust, and the Gold Medallion Award-winning When God Weeps.  Joni and her husband, Ken, reside in Calabasas, California.
For more information, visit www.joniandfriends.org.

Why did God create you?

The Bible says it plainly:  God created you to showcase His glory - to enjoy Him, display Him, and demonstrate His presence every day.

Your life is not too ordinary, your world is not too small, and your work is not too insignificant.  You can be a stage set to glorify God.







My Thoughts:
There is a plethora of "devotionals" to be purchased at your local Christian bookstore.  And sadly, many are nothing more than nice little "feel good" stories with a Scripture of two thrown in for good measure. You will not find that to be the case with A Spectacle of Glory.  In each of the 365 devotional readings, you are given a portion of Scripture (more than one verse for context), devotional thoughts from Joni and a prayer prompt directly related to the portion of Scripture given.  The devotional thoughts aren't nice sounding platitudes, but thoughts toward a Holy God born out of an intimate relationship with Him through the good, bad and ugly of life on Earth.  Spend time with Him each day and experience a spectacle of glory!

*I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions are my own.

Blessings,
Jennifer

I Am: A 60 Day Journey To Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is

Michele Cushatt is a successful speaker and author who shares about the complicated intersections of real faith and real life, speaking for Women of Faith, Compassion International, Focus on the Family, and Hearts at Home.  She and her husband, Troy, have been married for sixteen years and share a stepfamily of three grown boys and three younger children.  They live in Denver, Colorado.

Visit Michelle at her website:  www.michelecushatt.com.

Sixty powerful stories revealing one ultimate truth:

YOU ARE ENOUGH

From the moment a woman wakes until she falls, exhausted, onto her pillow, one question plagues her at every turn:

Am I  enough?

The pressure to do more, be more has never been more intense.  Online marketing, Self-help books, movies, magazines and gym memberships.  Even church attendance and social media streams have become means of comparing ourselves with impossible standards.  Am I pretty enough?  Hip enough?  Spiritual enough?

We fear the answer is no.

When brutal bouts with cancer changed how she looked, talked, and lived, Michele Cushatt embarked on a soul-deep journey to rediscover herself.  The typical self-esteem strategies and positivity plans weren't enough.  Instead, she needed a new foundation, one that wouldn't prove flimsy when faced with the onslaught of day-to-day life.

My Thoughts:

We live in a world where the issue of "identity" is foremost in the minds of people and really, I believe, the foundational question at the center of most conflicts we have in life.  Who am I?  Where do I belong?  What is my purpose?  

Michele Cushatt has written a book with 60 exaltations of who we are in Christ.  Let me warn you...this is NOT another self-help book.  There are plenty of those offering empty platitudes and psycho mumbo jumbo.  Cushatt points readers to who they truly are because of the Great I AM.  

"Identity isn't grounded in who we are; it's grounded in who He is.  We've bought the notion that our worth has something to do with us.  That if we want to be smart and strong and beautiful and successful, we need to call ourselves our, speak into our own greatness.  But the calling is God's, not ours."

These 60 "I Am's" are rich, biblical callings on the lives of those found to be in Christ Jesus.  I've not read a more helpful and deeply joyful book in, well maybe ever!  Michele takes readers to the word of God and points out who He is and therein, we find who we are.  This message is needed in our world and it is needed now.
The book can be read straight through; however, it is written in 60 "sections" or days.  These words are ones to be savored and prayed through.  I have used it devotionally and found that approach to be the most helpful.  The book would be great for personal use or would be great used with a discipleship partner as well.  Grab a journal, your Bible and order I Am by Michele Cushatt.  You won't be sorry, but will be most blessed.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions stated here are my own.

Blessings,
Jennifer

NIV Journal the Word Bible

With all of the latest rave about Bible journaling, I jumped at the opportunity to see and evaluate one of the many options.  The NIV Journal the Word Bible has a beautiful cloth covered hard board cover. This Bible contains the 2011 NIV translation.  No concordance is included; just the text of the Bible.

There are a couple of things that keep me from really liking this as an option for Bible journaling.  The print size is really small.  And the pages are super thin.  I can't imagine that even some of the best suggested journaling pens/pencils will not bleed through.  In all transparency, I have not tried to be for sure about the bleed-through because I intend to give the copy I have away and did not want to mark it up.  There are lined margins making it useful for simple note taking and/or drawings.

*I received a complimentary copy of this resource.  All opinions are my own.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Fatal Frost

Nancy Mehl is the author of twenty-two books, including the Road To Kingdom and Finding Sanctuary series, and a 2015 finalist for RT Book Reviews' Reviewers' Choice Award.  Nancy writes from her home in Missouri, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their puggle, Watson.  Visit with Nancy at www.nancymehl.com to learn more.

Following in her absentee father's footsteps in a law enforcement career, U.S. Marshal Mercy Brennan has just recovered from being shot in the line of duty.  And, unbeknownst to her, her father's recent reappearance in her life has put her in the sights of St. Louis's most powerful gang.  Her boss assigns Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark St. Laurent - Mercy's ex-boyfriend - to get her out of town until her safety can be guaranteed.

Unaware of the extent her boss and Mark have been keeping her in the dark, it isn't until a freak ice storm strands them at a remote location and out of contact with the district office that the full severity of their situation becomes clear.  As the storm worsens, the forces of nature combine with a deadly enemy to put them in a great danger.  Can they survive long enough for help to arrive - if help is even coming at all?

My Thoughts:
Fatal Frost is the first book in Nancy Mehl's Defenders of Justice series.  I have known Nancy Mehl for and read her Mennonite-themed books.  I believe this is her first contemporary Romantic Suspense novel and she has skillfully written in this genre as well.  What struck me most about this novel was the depth of the characters.  I also appreciate that Nancy wrote a strong character (Mercy) and highlighted the way many struggle with their faith.  The story moved quickly with many twists and turns.  This was one of those books very hard to put down.  Nancy has started this new series off with one solid punch!  I can't wait to see what comes next.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions stated here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

Wild Montana Skies

Susan May Warren is the ECPA and CBA bestselling author of over fifty novels with more than one million books sold.  Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT and numerous Reader's Choice Awards, Susan has written contemporary and historical romances, romantic suspense, thrillers, romantic comedy, and novellas.  She can be found online at www. susanmaywarren.com, on Facebook at SusanMayWarrenFiction, and on Twitter @susanmaywarren.

The last thing Search and Rescue helicopter pilot Kacey Fairing needs upon returning home to Mercy Falls, Montana, is to run into her mistakes. After a devastating crash during her recent military tour in Afghanistan, she is emotionally broken but ready to start putting her life back together.  She just wants to reconnect with her teenage daughter and spend the summer working as the new lead pilot of PEAK Rescue in Glacier National Park.
But her mistakes aren't so easily forgotten.  Because Ben King is also back in town.
Country music star Ben King abandoned his past when he moved to Nashville thirteen years ago to start his career.  He hoped to heal his broken heart, caused by losing the woman he loved.  But when his father  is injured, Ben is called home to help manage PEAK Rescue during his recovery.  He doesn't realize his father has ulterior motives until his old flame, Kacey, walks into his house and back into his heart.
Now, with Mercy Falls in a state of emergency due to flash floods, Kacey and Ben will have to work together to save lives.  But when secrets are uncovered and old hurts rise to the surface, will they walk away again?  Or can they find a different ending to their country love song?

My Thoughts:
Wild Montana Skies is book one in Warren's new Montana Rescue series.  I always look forward to a new series by a favorite author because I'm always anxious to see if the newest one will be as good as previous books.  Warren never fails to deliver a riveting storyline with exceptional characters and emotion that grips you from the start and holds you captive until the last page.  Wild Montana Skies did not disappoint.
I love the adventuresome nature of Warren's books.  The transformation of Ben and Kacey is really nothing short of amazing and is a great picture of the gospel and how God's grace changes us.  Warren introduces other characters that I really hope we get to learn more about in future books in this series.  I also appreciate that Warren's characters don't have it all together and she doesn't clean them up perfectly but writes in such a way that readers will find it very easy to engage with them and their stories.  Rescue Me (book two in the series) will be out this Spring.

* I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

A Primary Decision

The road to power and position is fraught with perils, even for a Worthington.

But Sarah does not intend to lose.

Sarah Worthington never expected to become the US attorney general - at least not this early in her career.  Plunged into the vicious vetting process, with all sides digging for secrets in her family closet, she steels herself for the path forward.  Nothing will deter her from making her mark on the world in the biggest way possible - even if that means prosecuting the current president of the United States.

Yet powerful forces conspire behind the scenes to take the Worthington family down, and the president orders her to close the investigation.  Will she comply?  Or turn the tables to pursue her ultimate dream - the US presidency?

Meet the Authors:

Dr. Kevan Leman, the New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 books, including The Birth Order Book, has made thousands of house calls for Fox & Friends, The View, Today, Morning in America, CBS's The Early Show, The 700 Club, CNN, and Good Morning America.

Jeff Nesbit, a former senior communications official at the White House and former director of public affairs for two prominent federal science agencies, is a strategic communications advisor and the author of 25 novels, the executive director of Climate Nexus, he also writes At the Edge, a weekly column for U.S. News & World Report.

My Thoughts:
A Primary Decision is the third and final book in The Worthington Destiny series by Leman and Nesbitt.  The first two books were A Perfect Ambition and A Powerful Secret.  Each book has focused on one of the three Worthington siblings.  A Primary Decision is Sarah's story.
While each of the books' main focus has been one of the siblings, Leman and Nesbitt have done an excellent job of showing how each sibling's place in the family has played a part in the overall dynamics of the family.  Leman and Nesbitt are powerful storytellers.  Sarah's story, in particular, was timely to read during one of the most controversial presidential elections I've ever witnessed.  It was nice to see the bits and pieces of this family's story come together in this final book.  These books would be enjoyed on a deeper level if read together as a series beginning with A Perfect Ambition.

*I was given a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions stated here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

Tangled Webs

Irene Hannon is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty novels, including Buried Secrets, Thin Ice, and the Heroes of Quantico, Guardians of Justice, and Private Justice series.  In addition to many other honors, she is a seven-time finalist for and three-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award from Romance Writers of America.  She is also a member of that organization's elite Hall of Fame.

Don't miss connecting with Irene at www.irenehannon.com.

(Book 3--Men of Valor)
Revell, ©2016, ISBN 978-0800724542
After a disastrous Middle East mission ends his six-year Army Ranger career, Finn McGregor needs some downtime. A peaceful month in the woods sounds like the perfect way to decompress. But peace isn’t on the agenda once he crosses paths with publishing executive Dana Lewis, a neighbor who is nursing wounds of her own. Someone seems bent on disrupting her stay in the lakeside cabin she inherited from her grandfather. As Finn and Dana work together to discover who is behind the disquieting pranks, the incidents begin to take on a menacing tone. And when it becomes apparent Dana’s foe may have deadly intent, Finn finds himself back in the thick of the action—ready or not.

My Thoughts:
Irene Hannon never fails to deliver an action-packed novel with characters I love! Tangled Webs certainly does not disappoint.  We finally get Finn's (the third McGregor brother) story.  I've been wondering about him since I read the first book in the series, Buried Secrets.  Hannon writes suspense that is not quickly obvious and keeps you turning pages.  I'm sad to see the end of any Hannon series and I'll be watching for what she has coming next.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book.  All opinions here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer