Joyful Surrender: 7 Disciplines for the Believer's Life

Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) was one of the most perceptive and popular Christian writers of the last century.  The author of more than twenty books, including Passion and Purity and The Journals of Jim Elliot, Elliot offered guidance and encouragement to millions of readers worldwide.

Finding freedom and happiness in divine surrender.

In our age of instant gratification and if-it-feels-good-do-it attitudes, self-discipline is often overlooked.  Yet it may be one of the most important lost virtues of our time.  In Joyful Surrender, former missionary and beloved author Elisabeth Elliot offers her understanding of discipline and its value for people of all times.  She shows you how to...

• discipline your mind, body, possessions, time, and feelings
• overcome anxiety
• change poor habits and attitudes
• trust God in times of trial and hardship
• let Him have control in all areas of life

Elliot masterfully and gently takes you through Scripture, personal stories, and incisive observations to help you discover the understanding that your fulfillment as a human being depends on your answer to God's call to obedience.

My Thoughts:

"There had to be evidence of faith.  The first baby step of faith is followed by a daily walk of obedience, and it is as we continue with Him in His word that we are assured that we were, in fact, called and have nothing to fear."

 "The conditions for discipleship begin with dying."

There are challenge and comfort in Elliot's words.  And, they can be trusted because they come from a life well-lived.  Elliot's exhortations are genuine and come from a long life lived close to God and His Word in faith.  The chapters are short digestible portions making this a book perfect for devotional reading.  I highly recommend this small but mighty book.

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

Happy Blessed Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

The Memory House and Giveaway

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Reviews. She is a double RITA finalist and a Christy and Carol Award Winner.

Her book, Once Upon A Prince, first in the Royal Wedding Series, was filmed for an Original Hallmark movie.

Rachel has been awarded the prestigious Career Achievement Award for her body of original work by Romantic Times Book Reviews.

A member of the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers, she teaches workshops and leads worship at the annual conference. She is a past Mentor of The Year.

At home, she’s a wife, writer, worship leader and works out at the gym semi-enthusiastically.

A graduate of Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) with a degree in Journalism, she’s a former sorority girl and a devoted Ohio State football fan. Her bucket list is to stand on the sidelines with Ryan Day.

She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.

For more information, visit www.rachelhauck.com, Facebook (@rachelhauck), Twitter (@RachelHauck) and Instagram (@rachelhauck).

When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile, a mysterious letter arrives informing her she’s inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent who fondly recalls the connection they shared as teenagers. But Beck doesn’t remember that, either.

Decades earlier, widow Everleigh Applegate lives a steady, uneventful life with her widowed mother after a tornado ripped through Waco, Texas, and destroyed her new, young married life. When she runs into old high school friend Don Callahan, she begins to yearn for change. Yet no matter how much she longs to love again, she is hindered by a secret she can never share.

Fifty years separate the women but through the power of love and miracle of faith, they each find healing in a beautiful Victorian known affectionately as The Memory House.

Click here to read an excerpt!

My Thoughts:

Hauck's latest book, The Memory House, is an emotional journey of love, heartache, faith, and restoration.   With richly developed characters and a blending of past and present, Hauck offers readers much more than just another story.  Hauck takes readers on a journey that draws one in with the very first lines...

"She was never afraid of the dark.  But the light?  Now that terrified her."

The characters in The Memory House all find that the key to embracing their futures is found in remembering their pasts. Hauck gives readers the perspective of each character.  This coupled with genuine dialogue added a depth that kept me engaged from the first page to the last.  This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.  The emotion was palpable at times and I found myself engrossed with the characters as if I was in the middle of the story.  This was a book very hard to put down that now has a prominent place on my keeper shelf.
*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer

The Edge of Mercy

Heidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner, and grace-clinger who loves exploring places that whisper of historical secrets.  She is an ACFW Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist.  Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

You can connect with her at www.heidichiavaroli.com.

Two women, three hundred years apart, must face the devastation of all they hold dear...

Suspecting her husband is having an affair, Sarah Rodrigues fights to appear unbroken while attempting to salvage her family.  Though distracted by her own troubles, Sarah is summoned to an elderly friend's deathbed for an unusual request...find a long-lost daughter and relay a centuries-old family story.

Determined not to fail her friend, Sarah pieces together the story of her neighbor's ancestor.  Elizabeth Baker, a young colonist forced into an unwanted betrothal but drawn to a man forbidden y society.

While Sarah's family teeters on the edge of collapse, her world is further shaken by the interest of a caring doctor and a terrible accident that threatens a life more precious than her own.

Inspired by the unconditional love she uncovers in Elizabeth's story, Sarah strives to forgive those who've wounded her soul.  But when light shines on the dark secrets of her neighbor's past and the full extent of her husband's sins, will looking to a power greater than herself rekindle lost hope?

My Thoughts:
Chiavaroli is a master at weaving the past and present in her stories.  While her previous books, The Hidden Side and Freedom's Ring, are exceptional, her recent release, The Edge of Mercy, may be her best yet.  

"The young woman smiled and opened the case that housed Elizabeth's journal.  'Hang in there.' She turned to me, 'I think sometimes we might not recongnize hope until we've been in the darkness.'"

Chiavaroli draws you in from the start with well-developed characters and rich dialogue infused with emotion and authenticity.  

"After my fingers turned raw and numb from sewing the shirts, I was given rest and read from the unstained pages of the Bible. I have read them before, but this time I clung to them.  I am drawn to the suffering of Christ. For the first time I feel a kinsip with this God of the weak.  I think of Caleb's sacrifice for me, of his love.  I am filled with shame.  Over and over I read, and yet one verse I have found my heart clings to, 'And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My power is made perfect through weakness.'  I read this and shed warm tears, for I cannot deny that the words are like sweet balm to my wretched heart. 'Tis nothing but this. 'Tis nothing but His grace and promise and finished work to see me through. 'Tis all I have left to cling to."

The portions of the story told through Elizabeth's journal entries and how they parallel the present day story of Sarah are nothing but pure genius and a writing gift.  Readers will be blessed by Chiavaroli's gift.

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

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

 

Glory Road

Lauren Denton is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling novels The Hideaway and Hurricane Season.  She was born and raised in Mobile, AL, and now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham.  Though her husband tries valiantly to turn her into a mountain girl, she'd still rather be at the beach.
Connect with Lauren at www.LaurenKDenton.com as well as on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The only thing certain is change -
Even in a pace as steady as Perry, Alabama.  On a street as old as Glory Road.

Nearly a decade after her husband's affair drove her back home to South Alabama, Jessie McBride has the stable life she wants - operating her garden shop, Twig, next door to her house on Glory Road, and keeping up with her teenage daughter and spunky mother.  Bur the unexpected arrival of two men makes Jessie question whether she's really happy with the status quo.
When handsome, wealthy businessman Summer Tate asks her to arrange flowers for his daughter's lavish wedding, Jessie finds herself drawn to his continued attention.  Then Ben Bradley, her lingering what-could-have-been from high school, moves back to the red dirt road, and she feels her heart pulled in directions she never expected.
Meanwhile, Jessie's fourteen-year-old daughter, Evan, is approaching the start of high school and navigating a new world of emotions - particularly as they relate to the cute new guy who's moved in just down the road.  At the same time, Jessie's mother, Gus, is suffering increasingly frequent memory lapses and faces a frightening, uncertain future.
In one summer, everything will change.  But for these three strong Southern women, the roots they've planted on Glory Road will give life to the adventures waiting just around the curve.
Glory Road tells the story of three generations of women navigating the uncertain pathways of their hearts during a summer that promises to bring change - whether they're ready for it or not.

My Thoughts:
Glory Road is the first book written by Denton that I have read.  As an avid reader, one of my greatest joys is discovering new to me authors.  In Glory Road, Denton captures small-town Southern life through the relationship of Gus, Jessie, and Evan...three generations of Southern women each at different stages of life.  Denton seamlessly gives us the backstory of each of these women over the course of the story.  I really appreciated getting the story through the eyes of all three women.  Glory Road is a story of love, family, hope, and second chances.  Denton is an author I will be following and catching up on all that she's written while waiting for her next book.
*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions stated here are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer