Travelers Rest

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Traveler’s Rest
Bethany House Publishers; Original edition (May 1, 2012)
by Ann Tatlock 

 A YOUNG WOMAN determined to honor her commitment...

AN INJURED SOLDIER convinced life is no longer worth living...

A RETIRED DOCTOR certain it's too late to be forgiven...

Jane Morrow has a dilemma. She's engaged to Seth Ballantine, a member of the National Guard's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and he's returned from Iraq severely wounded. Jane hasn't seen him for nearly a year, and with trepidation, she heads to the VA hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is being treated.

Seth isn't happy to see her. He'd asked her not to come. He wants to end the relationship. But Jane loves him, and despite his injury, she's determined to convince him that they can have a life together. Her faith has never been strong, yet she hopes God will answer her prayers and tell her what to do.

Beautifully written, Travelers Rest takes readers on a journey through pain and tragedy to a place of hope and redemption.

You can read the first chapter by going HERE.

 Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel All the Way Home. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association "Book of the Year" in fiction for both All the Way Home and I'll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her "one of Christian fiction's better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories." Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina. 

You can visit Ann at her website,which can be found HERE.  At Ann's website, you'll find more info about Travelers Rest as well as the link to order the book from Amazon.com and discussion questions for use with the book.
Ms Tatlock has written a rich story with layers of emotional realities - the reality of racial tension still evident in our country, the heartbreak of war and our military families, as well as the search by some for faith in a God they can not see. 
This book would be an excellent choice for your next book club.  Be sure and bring your box of tissues with you!  The story is so timely with many of our military men and women coming home with injuries.  As I read the book, I couldn't help but think it was probably all too real for many of our military families.  It has given me a new appreciation for what many are going through even now.

Happy Reading,

Jennifer

Covenant Child

Amanda's heart broke as she watched them drive her beloved twins away.  She resolved to hope and to fight for them to her last breath.

This is a story of promises kept.

Kara and Lizzie are heiresses to one of the largest fortunes in the country.  But when their father dies suddenly, the toddlers are taken from the arms of Amanda, their loving stepmother, and given to relatives who only want the children's fortune for themselves.
Kara and Lizzie grow up questioning their worth, until the day when they learn the truth. 

Terri hasn't always written Christian fiction.  According to the website A Thousand Little Things, "just over a decade ago she was an award-winning secular novelist writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Silhouette."  She shares about her transition into Christian fiction writing in her testimony on her website, which can be found HERE.  


You can connect with Terri on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  Her author website can be found at www.terriblackstock.com.  




Covenant Child is one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a long time.  The story contained within the pages of this book is the clearest picture of the gospel I've ever found in a work of fiction.  Really it is a modern day parable of God's covenant of grace - to redeem a people for Himself and His promises of an inheritance that will neither spoil or fade.  


The book was originally published in 2002, but was re-introduced recently with the new cover, a new chapter, author interview and reading group guide.  This book could really be used and incorporated into a bible study on God's covenant of salvation.  I wouldn't be able to say that about many books, but the message is so clear and biblical in this one, I can solidly recommend it for use in that way.


Thank you Thomas Nelson Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review as part of the BookSneeze program for bloggers.


Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Bentley's First Camping Trip

Well, it has been quite a crazy few weeks around our home!  It started a couple of weeks ago with JennaBeth having Bronchitis.  Then on Thursday of that same week, Mike began to feel really bad.  He ended up in the doctor's office the following Tuesday and was diagnosed with "double walking pneumonia".  That Monday night prior, I was up all night with diarrhea and woke up the next morning vomiting.  Next came Bentley with the stomach bug and then Cecily had it this past weekend.  In the midst of all this, I was experiencing some painful kidney issues - I fear another kidney stone.

Thankfully, Mike is somewhat better.  He ran fever for about 10 days straight with a terrible cough and congestion.  He is still very weak, but is getting better every day.  He was unable to attend the Father/Son Camping trip with the men and boys from our church this past weekend.  A man who attends our church offered to "adopt" Bentley for the weekend and took him on the trip along with his son.  What a blessing this was, because I know one little boy who would have been very disappointed if he had not been able to go!

The guys camped along the Caloosahatchee River.

(Brad - adopted Bentley for the weekend and Dennis - who took the pics for me!  Thanks guys!)

 

 

Isn't that the cutest little camper you've ever seen?????

Sorry the pictures were all out of order, but the photo uploader on Blogger was going crazy on me today.  I'm so thankful for how our church family served and loved on us this past week!  We had meals brought to us and then Bentley was blessed with being able to go camping and this mama had pictures taken for her! 

Thank you Northside Baptist family!  We love you and appreciate you so very much!

Blessings,

Jennifer

 

Disgusted!

Have you ever been at a point in your life where you were just plain ole disgusted with your sin?

I have discovered, over the 31 years I have walked with the Lord, that this is a pretty good place in which to be.  You see, when you are conscience enough of the sin in your life to be sickened by it, then God has pliable clay to work with.  I'm so thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is in times such as these that we can pray with the Psalmist

"I confess my sins.  I am deeply sorry for what I've done...Do not abandon me, O Lord.  Do not stand at a distance, My God...Come quickly to help me, O Lord, My Savior."  Psalm 38:18, 21-22 NLT

And we are reminded of God's character as stated in Psalm 36:

• His unfailing love is as vast as the heavens.
• His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
• His righteousness is like the mighty mountains.
• His justice like the ocean depths.
• His unfailing love is precious.
• Because of His unfailing love, we can find shelter in the shadow of His wings.
• He is the fountain of life!
• He is the Light by which we see!

And we find a reminder of God's abundant grace and ever-present help in Psalm 37:

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly, He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand...The Lord rescues the godly, He is their fortress in times of trouble."  Psalm 37:23-24, 39  NLT

Oh how He loves us!


Blessings,
Jennifer

Family Vocation: God's Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood

Our home has been consumed with sickness for the past several weeks.  It started back in March, when our oldest went through two rounds of Strep Throat.  We have since discovered that she is a Strep B carrier and will be more susceptible to this infection.  Then our 6 year old went through about 4 days of running fever and not feeling well.  Then my husband and I spent a week running fever and feeling like the grim reaper was hanging on our coat tails.  Now the littlest one has Acute Bronchitis.

There is nothing like being racked with sickness, which inevitably breads extreme irritability among the members of a family to know that this is so very true:

"God is present and active in families, bringing His gifts and working His purposes.  He and His works may be hidden in the mundane - seeming details of ordinary life, but it is useful - both in times of family difficulties and when everything is going right - to catch a glimpse of Him."

That's a quote from the introduction of Family Vocation: God's Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood by Gene Edward Veith Jr. and his daughter, Mary J. Moerbe published by Crossway.

 From the preface:
"This book will seem quite a bit different from other Christian books on the family.  It applies Martin Luther's doctrine of vocation to the different callings within the family.  This cannot be done without pulling along other aspects of Luther's theology.  Readers will note here that the 'gospel' does not simply have reference to conversion, what a person responds to in first becoming a Christian.  Rather, the gospel - that is, the message of Christ crucified for sinners - relates to every moment of the believer's life."


Many of us may think of vocation as just another word for our jobs - those things we do for which we are paid a wage.  However, Luther would have us understand vocation more as our calling.  Using 1 Corinthians 7:17 ("Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him."), the authors explain vocation this way:  "The idea is that the Lord 'assigns' us to different kinds of lives, and that He 'calls' us to them."  Furthermore, the doctrine of vocation "has to do, above all, with the way God works through human beings...and emphasizes what God is doing through my life" rather that "what God is doing in my life".  The purpose of every vocation is to love and serve one's neighbor.

Do you view your mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, son or daughter as you neighbor whom you are to love as you love yourself?

What does it mean to be called as a husband, a wife, a parent, a child?

How does the grace of the gospel impact how we carry out these particular callings?

How does God's presence address the struggles that our own family faces?

Do you realize that God not only established the institution of the family in general, but that He established your actual, personal family as well?

What would you define as "spiritual activities"? 

"The good works we need to do as Christians - the arena of our sanctification - are not elaborate spiritual exercises or spectacular feats of accomplishment.  Rather, they are to be found in our ordinary interactions with the actual human beings whom God brings into our lives every day...Though God doesn't need our good works, our neighbor does.  Our neighbor is in need.  God commands us to love and serve that neighbor...God is hidden in vocation, and Christ is hidden in our neighbors.  Thus, we love and serve God precisely by loving and serving our neighbors.  We live out our faith in concrete ways face to face with the people God has provided for us in our daily lives."

 Family Vocation explores these thoughts by way of an in depth look at the following areas:

• Marriage
• The Office of Husband
• The Office of Wife
• Sex and Vocation
• The Crosses of Marriage
• Parenthood
• The Office of Mother
• The Office of Father
• Raising Children
• The Crosses of Parenthood
• Childhood
• Growing 
• The Crosses of Childhood
• The Rest of the Family
• Restoring the Family

If you are looking for a sound biblical parenting book or book on family life or marriage and you only have the resources to purchase one book, I highly recommend Family Vocation.  When the sink is full of dishes, the laundry room is full of dirty clothes, the bills need to be paid, you and your husband are at odds, the children are driving you nuts and you've cleaned the 100th dirty little bottom of the day or you face needs much deeper than these in your family, you don't need pious platitudes or to "think positive thoughts".  You need the gospel.  Mr. Veith and his daughter have provided a wonderful resource to aid us in preaching the gospel to ourselves every day in all the callings God has placed on our lives.

You can order the book from Crossway by going HERE.  Or you can check it out on Amazon.com by going HERE.

Blessings on you and all God has called you to,
Jennifer

The Widow of Saunders Creek

I always enjoy discovering new authors, so it was a pleasure to be able to read Tracey Bateman's The Widow of Saunders Creek.  

 Corrie Saunders grew up in a life of privilege. But she gave it all up for Jarrod, her Army husband, a man she knew was a hero when she vowed to spend her life with him. She just didn’t expect her hero to sacrifice his life taking on an Iraqi suicide bomber.
Six months after Jarrod’s death, Corrie retreats to the family home her husband inherited deep in the Missouri Ozarks. She doesn’t know how to live without Jarrod—she doesn’t want to. By moving to Saunders Creek and living in a house beloved by him, she hopes that somehow her Jarrod will come back to her.
Something about the house suggests maybe he has. Corrie begins to wonder if she can feel Jarrod’s presence.
Jarrod’s cousin Eli is helping Corrie with the house’s restoration and he knows his dead cousin is not what Corrie senses. Eli, as a believing man and at odds with his mystically-oriented family members, thinks friendly visits from beyond are hogwash. But he takes spirits with dark intentions seriously. Can he convince Corrie that letting go of Jarrod will lead to finding her footing again— and to the One she can truly put her faith into?

Tracey Bateman lives in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks which provide much of her inspiration for the books she writes.  She has approximately one million books in print and also publishes novels under the name Tracy Cross.
You can find Tracey on Facebook and on her website found at www.traceybateman.com. 




My Thoughts About The Book:
Waterbrook Multnomah sent me an Advanced Reader Copy (unedited) of The Widow of Saunders Creek  for the purpose of review as part of their Blogging For Books program.  With that disclosure, I regretfully have to give this novel a negative review.  I always try to look for something positive even in a work that I haven't particularly enjoyed.  But, I have to say that it was hard for me to even finish this book.  Understanding that I was reading an Advanced Reader Copy, it was still difficult to read because the editing was atrocious.  It was distracting.
I appreciate Ms Bateman's premise for this novel...the story of an army wife grieving the loss of her husband.  It is one that is very timely considering the situation our country has been in with Iraq and Afghanistan.  I was looking forward to reading the novel for that reason.  The story had some sweet and enduring elements to it; however, the whole conversing with the dead part was just not very believable.  The characters lacked depth and the story was just a bit simple and very predictable.

You can go HERE to Amazon.com to check out ordering information as well as read chapter one of the book.  The book releases on May 8, 2012

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Bibles

I am excited to let you know about two pretty neat Bible resources today designed especially for your "tween-aged" boys and girls.

Getting into a routine of reading the Bible can be challenging for anyone, but trying to keep the attention of pre-teen boys is especially difficult.  So now there is a Bible especially developed for them.  The NIV Boys Bible is designed with boys ages 9 to 12 in mind.  Fun in-text features help boys dig deep into the Word and learn about amazing people, facts and stories of the Bible.
Features:

• Introductions to each book of the Bible
• Hundreds of highlighted verses for memorizing
• What's the Big Deal? - Need to know biblical stories and people
• Check it Out - Interesting and fun facts about Bible times and characters
• Grossology - Gross and gory stuff they never knew was in the Bible 
• Makin' It Real - Help for applying Bible stories to their everyday lives
• Through the Bible in a year reading plan.

This Bible includes the full text of the New International Version and 12 color tip-in pages introducing content that shows boys how they can grow to be like Jesus.  The graphics are eye catching as well as the colors used:  text type is blue with orange accents.  Because boys are different that girls and are attracted by different types of questions and facts, this bible is specifically designed with these differences in mind.  The NIV Boys Bible offers unique and meaningful content that speaks straight to the heart of tween boys, drawing them into a relationship with their Creator.  

Every girl wants to know she's totally unique and special, and contributor Nancy Rue helps them do just that in the revised edition of the NIV Faithgirlz! Bible.  As  a leading tween specialist, Rue teaches girls that the Bible is real and relevant and best of all , that the story of God and His people is also their story.  Girls can now grow closer to god as they discover the journey of a lifetime, in their language, for their world.
The new Faithgirlz! Bible was developed especially for girls ages 9 to 12.  Everything in it is written with a tween girl's experience in mind.  The features explain hard to understand things in teh Bible and guide girls to put the Scripture to work in their own lives.  This Bible focus on sharing faith with friends and gives real ways for girls to do that.
Features:

• Book introductions - Girls will read the who, when, where and what of each book of the Bible.
• Dream Girl - Girls will use their imaginations to put themselves in the story.
• Is There a Little (Eve, Ruth) in You? - Girls will see for themselves what they have in common with women of the Bible.
• Words To Live By - Girls will discover great Bible verses for memorizing.
• Oh, I Get It - Girls will find answers to Bible questions they've wondered about.
• Biblical text is in purple with magenta floral accents.
• Through the Bible in a year reading plan.

I highly recommend both of these resources!  I am hanging on to my review copies to give to my now 6 year old son and three year old daughter when they get to the appropriate ages for these Bibles.  I don't know what greater gift to share with our boys and girls than God's Word.

Both the NIV Boys Bible and the Faithgirlz! Bible can be ordered at Amazon.com by going HERE and HERE. 

Thank you B&B Media Group Inc. for sending me the complimentary copies of both Bibles for the purpose of review.

Blessings,
Jennifer