The Nook

So for my birthday my Mom and Dad went overboard and bought me a Nook. I have wanted one for a long time and now I have it. Its awesome. I haven't learned how to use the whole thing but thats the fun is the figuring it out. We have it connected to the internet and I bought my first book for $1.59. YAY. I have regular books here that I am going to read but I can't wait to use the Nook. I can't imagine that I will stop buying paperbacks and such since there are certain ones I will want in book form. So as I learn more about my Nook I will be posting my journey with the Nook. I can't wait for my Mom to get herself one so we can lend books and such but I was givng her visitation with my Nook today....she got to touch and play with it as far as I learned today...YAY

Father's day

As father's day is coming to a close, I am pondering many thoughts. I know that I am very very blessed to have a wonderful father who is still here with me. He is 66 yrs old and a cancer survivor.  My sister and I were young when he had it. It was a long road but thankfully he has stayed cancer free since.  I don't think I truly appreciated the fact of still having my Dad until I married Dean and we had kids. Both my Dad and my husband grew up without fathers. They had no idea what it was to celebrate father's day for them......they saw others celebrate their father's but never got to do it with their own fathers. That really makes you think about what the day means.  Dean doesn't know what to do on Father's day because of this....he almost doesn't want to celebrate it.  Now for my Dad my Mom always made sure it was a big deal and still does. She always gets him a nice gift and makes it about him and his day. We joke and tell him how spoiled he is but really thinking about the fact he had never celebrated father's day with HIS dad......he had a wonderful step dad in his early teens but again not the same.  I personally can't imagine not having my dad to celebrate with but it definitely puts things into perspective.  It also really is a testimony to the types of Dad they both are despite the fact they didn't have Dad's to be that example of what a Man is and what a man is supposed to do.  Please don't get me wrong I am not saying that they didn't have mom's who raised them or making light of the sacrifices made by single mothers. Just looking at some of the places where only a man can teach certain things.  I know as a girl my Dad taught me many things and showed me what unconditional love was and showed me what it meant to be a husband and how a wife should be treated.....there are things that all children need from their dads.

Now for me Fathers day was always interesting because for me my birthday falls on Father's day every so many years or its the day before or after......so I fall right into the mix. When my Grandpa was alive we spent our Father's day morning with Dad doing breakfast, giving our homemade gifts, and just being together and then we would head over to Grandpa's for food and fun with Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. We would get together to spend the day with Grandpa, even if it was my birthday. It was a great time.....and Grandpa loved having all of us there and Grandma Joyce would make so much food and everything. We truly had a good time and my parents and my Uncles always put money together to get one big gift....I can remember him getting a lawn mower, an electric garage door opener, and many cool gadgets right up his alley. I miss him so much on these holidays. But I am glad to have my memories.  We didn't make it to the cemetery this Father's Day but I know Grandpa knows we thought of him all day.

Tomorrow I turn 36, always makes me really step back and look at my life....not where I thought I would be and not where we need to be but life has taken some turns. But I am very blessed to have my loving God given Husband and my 3 miracles: Ally, Catey, and Bobby. I don't know what I would do without any of them I am so thankful for my parents and that I am lucky enough to still have both of them. My Mom who helps us out when ever we need it and is there for us went out and bought me a Nook for my birthday. I have really wanted one but I know how expensive they are. I am loving it. I have my 2 free books I got in the mail last week that I have to read and then I can start reading off the nook but in the mean time I am learning so much about it and how to use it. So tomorrow it will be me and the kids until dinner. Dean made me my fave cake Strawberry with Cream Cheese frosting.So we will have some cake and hopefully just have a good day! I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's day!!!

Who Do I Lean On? House of Hope Book by Neta Jackson

So before I review Who do I lean on I have to start out about the Series, Yada Yada Prayer Group. This series was beyond awesome. I started reading the first one in a book club and was HOOKED. These books look at relationships with God, women's relationships with each other, and how a group of unlikely characters truly become sisters. The story is told from Jodi's perspective....her father was a pastor so she grew up in the church but wasn't having a relationship with God....she went through the motions. She attends a prayer conference and gets grouped with an interesting set of characters.......these books are just awesome.......I can't say enough about them except in order to really understand it you have to read them.

After the Yada Yada Series closed Neta Jackson started started a spin off series called House of Hope. These books are about Manna House a women's homeless shelter that our Yada sisters helped rebuild after a fire. In these books the perspective is from Gabby's perspective a new character who moves from Virginia to Chicago with her husband. Gabby and her husband live in a penthouse on the lake.  She meets a homeless woman named Lucy and everything rolls from there. Gaby gets a job at Manna House....her mother gets ill and has to move in with her and her husband.....her husband throws her out and sends their children to live with their grandparents back in Virginia. So Gabby and Grandma Shep are homeless and now are residents at Manna House.  These books adress so many aspects of faith and finding that dependence on Christ in all times of life.

In Who do I lean on, Gabby has moved into her own apartment, her boys are living with her thanks to her father in law, and she has inherited money from her Mom. She feels she is being led to purchase the building she is living in to make 2nd step housing for Manna House residents. She is going through court with her husband to make sure she can keep custody of her boys.  This book shows how if we lean on Christ things will work out in his time and how powerful prayer really is. These books I would recommend to anyone looking for a wonderful series of books about women and faith.

Neta Jackson's husband Dave has a spin off series he is writing from House of Hope  which the first book is Harry Bentley's second chance.  Harry is introduced in House of Hope as a true friend to Gabby and this book runs parallel to House of Hope. I have not read it yet but can't wait to read it.

Disaster Status By Candance Calvert

First I would like to say:Tyndale House Publishers have provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. This review is my opinion.

Disaster Status is the the second book in this series. This book follows ER Charge Nurse Erin Quinn to Pacific Mercy Hospital. Erin is living with her Grandma Iris, helping support her.  The books starts out with hazardous materials being spilled and causing panic. Not only were civilians brought in with exposure, a nurse in the ER was also exposed by a patient and falls very ill.  Erin meets Fire Captian Scott McKenna and sparks fly.

Disaster Status is a medical drama/romance story. Candance Calvert doesn't use a lot of medical terms that aren't understood. The characters are very deep. They develop right along with the story. You learn about each of them as the story goes. There is more than one storyline but they all tie together. Candace Calvert does a wonderful job weaving everyone together. This book shows strong faith of Erin and Iris. Also people struggling with faith like Scott and Leigh. Candance Calvert's story shows how faith and forgiveness bring everyone together. This book was a wonderful book that balanced drama and romance.  The focus was always on praying, faith, struggles with faith, and coming full circle.  I highly recommend this book.

Never Let You Go By Erin Healy

Never Let You Go by Erin Healy is the first book she wrote on her own. She had co written 2 other books. I received this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review. This review is of my own opinion.  Seven years ago Lexi Solomon's life fell apart. Her sister was killed at a shopping mall, her drug dealer husband left her, her father had a breakdown and her mother left to travel. This left Lexi and her daughter Molly. Molly was her motivation for everything she did. After work one night, Warden Pavo, showed up to inform her that the man who killer her sister was up for parole and she was going to have to testify on his behalf or her daughter would pay for it. She soon finds out that her ex husband is back in town. This book was slow to start but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. Lexi was a newer Christian, still learning about forgiveness and love. This story had evil forces working against Lexi, which because of her hatred for her husband and the man who killed her sister, evil found a foothold. Lexi had to figure out about forgiveness and how grace works for everyone. I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to see what else Erin Healy has in store for us!! This book truly shows good and evil and how good can triumph over evil

Seasons of Grace Series

I recently finished the series by Beverly Lewis called Seasons of Grace. It is a story of an Amish woman who one morning leaves her family in search of a child she gave up for adoption many years ago. No one but her and her parents know about this child. Lettie Byler is married and has 4 other children. Her family is turned upside down by her leaving and not knowing what was happening. In the mean time an Englisher has come to Lancaster county in search of Natural treatments for Cancer.  There are 3 books in this series and where one ends the next one picks up. The series is wonderful and well written.....I couldn't put the books down......the books are well researched as far as Amish ways and religion. Beverly Lewis truly portrays the Amish life and also shows how everyone is human and fall short.

The Hand of Fate- A Triple Threat Novel

I received the book, Hand of Fate; a Triple Threat Novel, free from booksneeze.com to review. This is my opinions of this book. This is the 2nd book by Lis Wiehl with April Henry. Hand of Fate is an awesome book. I couldn't put it down. We again see our 3 friends: Allison, a DA, Nicole, FBI Agent, and Cassidy, a TV reporter.  We meet Jim Fate in this book. He has a radio show called "hand of fate". He is a friend of Cassidy's and had contacted Allison and Nicole about threats he was receiving on his life. He receives a package and opens it. When it is opened a "gas" of some kind is released. This starts a whole chain of events....chaos......unsure of what was released it begins investigations. So begins a case to figure out who wanted Jim Fate dead and the list is HUGE. Could be his co host, his Nuts of the Day, or even a Politician. Intertwined in these events we see our 3 friends going through their own personal crisis. A miscarriage, a drug addiction, and also admission of rape that happened 10 yrs ago. We see the friends relying on their faith to get through these trials.  Just as Face of Betrayal, this book kept you on the edge of your seat and in the end the suspect is NOT who you would think it was. I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to read this book and now have another favorite author! Can't wait for another Triple Threat book to come out!! Lis Weihl is a very talented writer and knows how to keep her readers wanting more.