Limelight by Melody Carlson

 

Book: Limelight

Author:  Melody Carlson

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.

Click here for more info:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070824

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

What Matters Most by Melody Carlson

Book: What Matters Most

Author:  Melody Carlson

Summary:

Maya’s Green Tip for the Day: Recycled fashion is one of the most fun ways to go green. A pair of jeans could be transformed into a denim skirt. A sweater into a vest. A bunch of old ties into a dress. A blanket into a poncho. Accessorize it in new way–with beads, buttons, appliqués, buckles, stencils, or ribbons…your imagination is only the limit. (65 words)

Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

My comments:

I don’t read much teen fiction, but I liked this one. The character lives out what a lot of teens want–an American Idol like chance to sing on stage.

What else will you find in the book:

Mean girls

Moments of Jealousy

Tough Decisions

I think this will definitely speak to girls who don’t have the “ideal family”.

Click here for more info:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421197

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

 

Dead Body? What Dead Body?

Dead body? What dead body?

I remember that line from a  The Wild Wild West episode with James West and Aretemus Gordon(not the Will Smith movie–anyone care to guess my age).  Right now, if you stepped into my house you would definitely think there was a dead body hidden somewhere within.

It turns out, our chest deep freeze has not been working. For how long we’re not sure.

We’ve removed all the rotten food, but the stench still remains. I have a strong gag reflex so my husband had to do all the work by himself. He’s a saint. Even though the freezer is in the basement, the smell permeates the whole house. I hope we don’t have visitors in the next day or so.

My husband threatened to use my car to haul off the trash bags. I told him he was out of his mind, considering he has a nice big truck bed.

I’m behind on my reading and plan to start posting my reviews in the next week.

Leaving Carolina by Tamara Leigh

Leaving Carolina by Tamara Leigh

I’m thoroughly enjoying this book. Unfortunately, the day job has me working so much that I’ve had very little time to read. I love the author’s voice.

What you’ll find in the book:

A woman who carries a go-anywhere Bible and a gun in her purse

Family Secrets

Great cover art

Romance

 

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.

 

Click Here for more:

 

Leaving Carolina: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421661

 

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

 

My Boy

A Letter

A friend posted this to facebook.  I must confess that I am guilty of not telling. I say I’m waiting for the right moment.

Evidence

What’s the big deal? Jesus claimed to be God, but anyone can claim that, right?

C. S. Lewis(Narnia) said “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg– or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”

Josh McDowell says in his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, “The Old Testament, written over a 1,000-year period, contains several hundred references to the coming Messiah. All of these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and they establish a solid confirmation of His credentials as the Messiah.”

Some Prophecies:

Born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14  — Fulfilled: Matthew 1:18, 24, 25

Son of God: Psalm 2:7 –Fulfilled: Matthew 3:17

Tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10–Fulfilled: Luke 3: 23, 33

Born at Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 –Fulfilled: Matthew 2:1

Enter Jerusalem on a donkey: Zechariah9:9–Fulfilled: Luke 19: 35, 36,37a

Resurrection: Psalm 16:10–”Fulfilled:Acts 2:31

Silent before his accusers: Isaiah 53:7–Fulfilled: Matthew 27:12

Wounded and bruised: Isaiah 53:5–Fulfilled: Matthew 27:26

Hands and feet pierced: Psalms 22:16–Fulfilled:  Luke 23:33

Rejected by his own people: Isaiah 53:3–Fulfilled: John 7:5, 48

Garments Parted and Lots cast: Psalms 22:18–Fulfilled: John 19: 23,24

Darkness over the land: Amos 8:9–Fulfilled: Matthew 27:45

Buried in Rich Man’s Tomb: Isaiah 53:9–Fulfilled: Matthew 27:57-60

There are 61 major prophecies all fulfilled by Jesus. Could they just be  coincidental?

Peter Stoner says that the chance of 48 prophecies  to be fulfilled coincidentally by one man is 1 in 10 to the 157th power.

Did you know that not one archaeological find has ever contradicted what is found in the Bible?

So to the atheist, I ask you, please give me evidence that God does NOT exist.

**All my references I found in Josh McDowell’s book, “Evidence that Demands a Verdict-Volume 1″. Buy it here for 4.99

Interesting

Kiss Me Again by Barbara Wilson

He (or she) is my soul mate.

Have you heard those words from  someone?

I have. I didn’t believe them. It seems when I’ve heard those words, the relationship that seems so perfect and so right, isn’t. And it ends.

Did God create us to find a soul mate?

I didn’t think so(a true one where there is only one man for one woman), until I read Kiss Me Again–Restoring Lost Intimacy in Marriage by Barbara Wilson. I didn’t realize that there is a chemical in our bodies that bonds us to someone. Very fascinating.

This book is addressed to married women who have lost desire in their marriage.

I had a give-a-way copy, so I chose to have a drawing at a church meeting. I only allowed the married women to enter. So, after explaining the purpose of the book, I drew a name.  And the man whose wife won, jumped up and said, “I won. I won.”

At the time of the drawing, I had not read the book and didn’t understand how absolutely valuable this book is. And it is not just for married women. I feel so strongly that young single women should also read Kiss Me Again.

The back cover:

Do you ever wonder why marriage can seem like the end of intimacy and sexual desire instead of the beginning?

Ever wonder why it was so hard to resist sex before marriage—and so easy to resist it now? If so, you’re not alone! Many married women genuinely want to feel more desire toward their husbands…and can’t figure out what went wrong. But there’s good news. In Kiss Me Again, Barbara Wilson shows how powerful “invisible bonds” from past relationships can cause heartache, disappointment, and distance for couples in the present. Then—with sensitivity, honesty, and hope—Barbara walks you step by step toward healing…and a rekindling of the closeness and passion with your husband that you really want.

You don’t have to live any longer with confusion, disappointment, resentment, or shame. You can rediscover desire. You can say Wow! again.

Visit Multnomah for more information.

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

Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

I’ll probably get bunches of negative comments on this one, but so be it.