Thursday, December 29, 2011

Love Lifted Me by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck


Love Lifted Me is the third in the Songbird series by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck and is the best of the trio in my opinion. Return to the story of Jade and Max as they navigate the waters of forgiveness and try to rebuild their broken marriage. A job change throws life for this family into a whirlwind as they leave behind all they've known and head to Texas where Max is hired to be a high school football coach. A heartwarming tale that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page, Love Lifted Me is one not to miss.

About the book:

Jade never knew happily-ever-after would be this messy, loud . . . delicious.

Jade Benson embraces unexpected motherhood when her husband Max gains custody of his young son. As she and Max work out their newly formed family, an invitation to coach Texas high school football sends them on a journey.

Then a stranger reveals a painful secret, and Jade faces her hardest challenge yet. When she surrenders her heart to God and to her husband, Jade discovers the joy of love lifting her above her fears.

This book was provided for review by Booksneeze.

Learn more about Sara Evans here. Check out all of Rachel Hauck's books here.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Common English Bible


At Christmastime many people like to go back to the Bible and read about the birth of Christ. Here's how The Common English Bible recounts Luke 2:1-20

"In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. Since Joseph belonged to David's house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David's city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord's angel stood before them, the Lord's glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, "Don't be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you--wonderful joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David's city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: You will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great assembly of heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, "Glory to God in heaven, and on earth, peace among those whom He favors."

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go right now to Bethlehem and see what's happened. Let's confirm what the Lord revealed to us." They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told."

I love the language this version uses, it makes it come alive in my mind. My hope is that you share this story with those you love, and that they come to know the love of Jesus this holiday season.

For a chance to win a copy of The Common English Bible leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Christmas cookie is.

This Bible was provided for review by The B&B Media Group

Friday, December 2, 2011

Heaven is For Read Small Group DVD Kit & Conversation Guide

The Heaven is for Read DVD Conversation Kit & Guide by Todd Burpo is a nicely packaged tool for small group use. It comes with a book to guide you through discussions and a DVD to watch with interviews with the Burpo family. There are five segments to this so your group can move through it quickly.
The segments are:
  1. Why should we care about Heaven?
  2. What is Heaven like?
  3. When does a person go to Heaven?
  4. Where is Heaven?
  5. Who goes to Heaven?
Todd Burpo backs up everything with Scripture while he speaks.

The DVD is filmed in a very laid back setting. Almost too laid back. There are parts that could have been edited to make it a little more professional, but I suppose that's part of the appeal (showing that these are real people).

The sessions are short and are easy to follow and understand. The question guide makes for interesting conversation. This might even be something good for a group of people who aren's sure about "the whole God thing."

This was provided for review by BookSneeze & Thomas Nelson.