Maizy Grace Stewart’s job at the Middle Tennessee Review hasn’t become the full-time position she expected. After her last gig as an investigative reporter blew up on her in Seattle (along with her last relationship), she’s stuck in the “Lifestyle” section writing quirky pieces about “Mule Day” and whatever other community events land on her desk. Struggling to pay her bills on a part-time salary, her search for a second job lands her at Steeple Side Christian Resources – a publisher who employs only dedicated Christians and requires them to abide by normative Christian behaviour both on and off the job.

As a nominal Christian who was ‘saved’ at a Christian camp in her teens, Maizy hasn’t had, well, anything to do with Jesus in the 10 years since. As a result she finds herself Faking Grace, trying to live a Christian life that looks good on the outside but is hollow inside. Going by her middle name Grace, dressing conservatively, and decking her vehicle with what she considers the requisite ‘Jesus junk’, with her handy Dumb Blonde’s Guide to Christianity by her side she might just be able to hang onto working as a lowly editorial assistant until she goes full time at the Review.

She can’t fool everyone though, and when the good-looking Brit Jack Prentiss challenges her faith, she knows she could be in over her head. When the opportunity to go full-time at the Review comes along with the provision that she get the dirt on her colleagues at Steeple Side, her deceptions clash with her burgeoning faith as she draws closer to God and the Christians around her, each with their own challenges and failings.

Tamara Leigh excels at writing Christian chick-lit. She had me laughing by the third page, and kept me on tenterhooks during the gut-swirling miscommunications and conflict at the story’s apex that lovers of the genre are familiar with. Maizy, Jack, Jem, and the many co-workers who Maizy comes to know during her time at Steeple Side are portrayed as real Christians – those who love Jesus but still struggle with the sin present in our fallen nature.

Maizy herself is confusing to me. As much as I want to see everything turn out right for her, I’m still not sure if we’re expected to believe that she really did come to faith 10 years ago. With hardly any evidence of a transformed life and passionate love for God, that’s hard for me to swallow. If Leigh is implying that the true beginning of her faith was borne of the desperate conundrum she finds herself in, it certainly isn’t clearly pointed out in the novel.

Maizy’s sketchy conversion aside, Faking Grace is thoroughly enjoyable, and has all of the requisite ingredients for a successful chick-lit novel: humour, caring friendships, conflict, entanglements, and a fledgling romance with a foreign bloke – what more do you need? Against this supporting structure Leigh tells a compassionate story of God’s mercy, grace and goodness, and the struggles that Christians face in their daily lives as they grow in Godliness. Her writing style is charmingly breezy, fun-filled, and easy to digest. I gobbled it all up, and while satisfying, I’m looking forward to more from Leigh’s pen.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Joyce Meyer is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than seventy inspirational books, including The Confident Woman, I Dare You, the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, her first venture into fiction with The Penny, and many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings as well as a complete video library. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday Life® radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.

Deborah Bedford is a career fiction writer who began her professional life as a journalist in a Colorado mountain town.

A Rose By The Door, Deborah’s first with Warner Book (name changed to FaithWords in 2006), hit bookstores in November 2001. A Morning Like This was released by Warner Books in 2002. Deborah’s short story, “Connor Sapp’s Baseball Summer,” is included in Multnomah Publisher’s The Storytellers’ Collection, Tales From Home, alongside stories by Chuck Colson, Terri Blackstock, Randy Alcorn and Karen Kingsbury.

Deborah and Jack have two children, Jeff and Avery. When she isn’t writing, Deborah spends her time fly-fishing, cheering at American Legion baseball games, shopping with her daughter, singing praise songs while she walks along the banks of Flat Creek, and taking her dachshund Annie for hikes in the Tetons where they live.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sarah Harper is driven to achieve success no matter what the cost. She wants to do good and not hurt the people she loves–especially children and her husband, Joe–but her desire to succeed in her career too often leaves little time for family.

One cold, autumn afternoon, all of that changes when Sarah’s car plunges off a bridge and into a river. She is presumed dead by those on the “outside,” but Sarah’s spirit is still very much alive. What she discovers on the other side transforms everything about Sarah’s view of life–past, present, and future.

When Sarah is revived, she is a changed woman. And the unsuspecting world around her will never be the same again.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Any Minute, go here!

When I was growing up, you had to look hard to find a little girl who didn’t harbor dreams of becoming a ballerina one day. While mine may have been more low-key than that of most girls, I did have pretty wallpaper with chubby ballerinas on it in multi-coloured costumes in a plethora of positions. When a belief that I was clumsy put the binders on my ballerina dreams, my love for dance went undercover. I devoured any movie prominently featuring dance and lived vicariously through Ballet Shoes. It’s no wonder I couldn’t resist reading Elizabeth White’s Christian ballerina romance Tour de Force.

White drops her Christian ballerina smack-dab in the center of a profession well known for it’s cut-throat competitiveness, sexual immorality and the fanatical dedication of its dancers (even to the point of self-harm). Gillian Kincade (Gilly) is a talented young dancer who has just made soloist with Ballet New York. When Jacob Ferrar, the artistic director of the Birmingham Ballet Theatre sees her dance, the seed of an entirely new Christian ballet is formed in his mind.

As Gilly and Jacob brainstorm the new project at a distance, a tender romance begins to bloom between them. When a disastrous first performance of a scene from the new ballet for Jacob’s board of directors casts everything into doubt, both Gilly’s career and the growing feelings between the pair reach an impasse.

Tour de Force is a fairly straightforward, sweet romance that remains rather straight-laced despite the risqué profession it portrays. The moral pitfalls of the ballet world are clearly presented while never becoming explicit. Jacob’s own sin-filled past as an unbeliever are present in guardedness and caution in his character and Gilly’s interactions with her unbelieving fellow dancers are both gentle and grace-filled while standing uncompromisingly for God’s standards.

Readers familiar with White’s previous novels will recognize members of Gilly’s family from Off the Record. Tour de Force is without question a stand-alone title, but meeting familiar characters in new places is always fun. The frequent play on southern manners, customs, and hospitality in White’s novels provides a humorous edge to the story as well.

While there was some vital action taking place off-page, and some confusing jumps in time at the beginning of the novel, the story is generally well developed and engaging. I stayed up far too late reading it into the night. White pleasantly weaves the threads of family togetherness, faith, and appreciation for the arts together along with the achingly sweet characters she’s developed. While it’s true that both Gilly and Jacob have their flaws; fierce independence and a marred past respectively, they both come across rather idyllically, both too good to be true. While both spiritually struggle through the difficulties and valleys placed in their lives, this is the sort of novel where you just feel like everything will be fine from early on.

Gilly and Jacob’s story is ultimately one of hope, both for their future, and for the salvation of those around them as they live out Christian lives in the midst of the world. While it’s not profound or extraordinarily thought -provoking, it does provide a comfy read if you need a shot of romance, or if, like me, you couldn’t resist the ballerinas.

Don’t forget to visit Elizabeth White’s website, and visit the other participants in this tour!

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

Welcome to the 106th Homesteading Carnival! I’m excited to have you all joining me here today!

IN THE KITCHEN

Abi presents Happy Dance!!! posted at lighter side – .

Lara DeHaven presents Wild Grape Jelly posted at Texas Homesteader.

Annette Berlin presents Grandma’s Fried Tomatoes posted at Craft Stew.

Make it from Scratch presents Ice Cream Sandwich Cake posted at Make It From Scratch.

Caren presents Sprouting Basics – Mung Beans posted at The Prudent Pantry.

jim presents 5 Ways To Green Your Coffee Beans posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

IN THE HOME

Aparna presents Dustmites and cockroaches can worsen eczema posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

Emma Evans presents Toys That Last – Baby’s First Blocks posted at Baby-Log.

IN THE GARDEN

Cindy presents The Bunny Wars posted at Small Homestead.

Stephanie presents Finding Beauty in the Practical posted at Stop the Ride!.

Alex presents Mulch Types posted at Home Life Weekly.

Jennifer (that’s me!) presents Whew, It’s Hot posted at Quiverfull Family.

FRUGALITY

Silicon Valley Blogger presents True Frugal Living: Homesteading In The Wilderness posted at The Digerati Life.

HEALTH

The Smarter Wallet presents Stay Healthy This Cold And Flu Season With Our Flu Prevention Tips posted at The Smarter Wallet.

LEARNING

Patricia Turner presents 100 Things You Can Learn or Do in 30 Days or Less posted at Pharmacy Technician Certification.

Don’t forget to visit Oak Hill Homestead next Monday for the 107th Homesteading Carnival! And remember to submit your blog article to the next edition of the homesteading carnival thc using the carnival submission form.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Parrish had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to not only that first book, Relentless — but two sequels including Fearless and Merciless. A trilogy that unfolded in the consecutive summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Robin Parrish is a journalist who’s written about pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture. He and his wife, Karen and son live in North Carolina.

ABOUT THE BOOK

“Every Person on This Planet Has Disappeared.”

Commander Christopher Burke and his crew are humanity’s greatest explorers. They’ve finished their mission on the red dirt of Mars and now they just want to get back to Earth. To see friends, family, and loved ones. To be home. But even with communication to ground control cut and a perilous landing, nothing could prepare the crew for what they discover when they step foot back on planet Earth.

Everyone…everywhere…is gone.

It’s not a dream. It’s not a trick. Now Burke and his team have one mission:find out who or what is behind the disappearance of all mankind.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Offworld, go HERE

Watch the book trailer:

My Thoughts: My husband stole this one right from underneath my nose, so I haven’t yet had a chance to read it for myself. He devoured it however – absolutely addicted while he was reading it, and I can see why after getting the first chapter in before he nabbed it .

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between!

My Initial Thoughts: I’ve only just started this title, but one thing I’ve noticed is that it isn’t written from an entirely Christian perspective. Instead it includes the Bible, midrash, and writings from the Jewish and Islamic traditions (myths and conjecture surrounding Abraham’s life). In any case, I haven’t read enough yet to make a judgement call, but I just wanted to share that this isn’t a strictly Christian title, it treats the Bible as myth and on the same footing as the other works it draws from.

Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

and the book:

The Woman Who Named God: Abraham’s Dilemma and the Birth of Three Faiths

Little, Brown and Company (July 28, 2009)

Charlotte Gordon graduated from Harvard College and received a Master’s in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in History and Literature from Boston University. She has published two books of poetry and, most recently, the biography Mistress Bradstreet, which was a Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book. From 1999-2001, she taught at Boston University’s School of Theology. Currently, she is an assistant professor of English at Endicott College.

Visit the author’s website.

Product Details:

List Price: $27.99
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (July 28, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031611474X
ISBN-13: 978-0316114745

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

Year after year, Tyler makes the trip to his Uncle Roy’s ranch to move 400 head of cattle to their summer pasture. This year however, he has a pair of real cowboy boots, bought on sale, “soft as a pony’s nose”, and smelling sweetly of new leather. This year the only city kid on the cattle drive will be considered a real cowboy by the cattle hands who call him “Tiger”, and especially by his cousin Jessica.

Much to Tyler’s chagrin, it’s not long before Tiger’s New Cowboy Boots take a beating. Starting with spilled coffee on the way to the ranch, branch lashings, manure, mustard, water, and a host of other encounters that are all part of driving cattle. As young readers follow Tyler through his first cattle drive with real boots, it soon becomes clear that all of the challenges, failures, and victories that he experiences combine to create an informal ranch-style rite of passage that finds him transformed at last into a real cowboy.

Irene Morck’s prose is vivacious and nothing less than infectious. She builds Tyler’s excitement at helping on the Albertan ranch into the text, and draws our entire family into her story each time. As the characters shout out, “Ee-YAAW! Ee-YAAAW! Ee-YAAAW!” our family is transformed into a pack of orphaned calf wranglers as we gallop throughout the house. Sometimes I forget and pick up Tiger’s New Cowboy Boots as a pre-nap read because my children love it so much. On those days not much napping gets done.

Albertan artist Georgia Graham captures the landscape and cattle of her native province in muted, realistic chalk pastel illustrations. The skill with which she portrays the familiar environs of the Alberta foothills is evident in my grandmother’s exclamation as she glanced through the book, “This looks like it could be Alberta!” Indeed, Graham’s in-laws and their Misty Valley Ranch served as the inspiration for this work; in addition one of her ranch-dwelling relatives served as the model for Tyler.

The action on each page spills out of each main illustration and into the surrounding white spaces. A spill of cowboy boots across the bottom of one page, the hind leg of an orphaned calf disappearing off the page in another; the escape of characters from the formal bounds of each work of art adds to the sense of excitement throughout. At first glance the naturalistic palette utilized in this work belies the wholesome exuberance of hard-work and animal husbandry throughout. I was surprised by how much my children and I have come to love this story.

Tiger’s New Cowboy Boots is now officially a new family favourite. Not only does it explore a way of life that is becoming increasingly rare, but it never fails to capture the imaginations of my children. In all fairness, I must warn you – it won’t be long before the young ones in your home start keeping their eyes peeled for cowboy boot sales so that they too can have a pair of boots, just like Tiger’s.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT AMAZON.COM OR AMAZON.CA!

Held Hostage opens with a riveting scene. Ken Cooper – a serial bank robber – is robbing a bank. Juiced up on ‘joy juice’ (the natural flood of adrenaline into his system), Cooper feels invincible. Little does he know that this will be his last armed robbery. Segueing from being shot in his last hoist, he flashes back into childhood, where Cooper recounts the rebellion and sin in his life that escalated from childhood thievery to teenaged joy-rides to full-blown bank robberies as an adult.

Cooper’s memoirs recount his journey into the depths of adrenaline addiction and crime, followed by being sentenced to 99 years in prison for repeated armed robberies and hostage takings. While living an externally acceptable life – wife, children, and a career in publicity for a Christian college – Cooper’s addiction to danger fueled a dark, hidden lie of crime. It is only after a life-changing encounter with God in prison that Cooper’s life is deeply transformed, and his release effected with only three short years of his sentence being served.

The promises hinted at in the first-person action filled introductory scene go largely unfulfilled in the remainder of his memoirs. Like the authors of many autobiographical efforts, Cooper’s writing isn’t his strong suit. He effectively conveys the horrors of the prison system, the Christian support, friendships, and ministry opportunities he found while imprisoned, and the challenges to his new faith believably. Cooper’s descriptions of prison life are intense enough to convey the dangers and challenges inherent in the situation, while shielding readers from the foul language and explicit vileness that he no doubt encountered there.

However, the sharing of his relationship with his first wife (who died of cancer), his second wife (divorced), third wife (post-conversion), and his children ring hollow on the written page. He fails to convey the more tender emotions of the heart when it comes to relating to his family, though he does have some success in describing the Christian brotherhood he finds amongst prison ministry workers, volunteers and fellow inmates.
In addition Cooper leaves many loose threads. Whatever happened to his partner in crime, Jonathan? Did he turn Cooper in, did he get away, or was he also convicted? Also, whatever became of Cooper’s daughter Becky, and his stepson Lee? What is his relationship like with them? They seem to disappear following the first third of the book.

The areas where Cooper succeeds are in sharing God’s wonderfully transforming power, His provision, and His protection. Cooper doesn’t pull any punches when describing the dangers encountered in the prison system as he narrowly avoids rape and abuse while serving as a sanctifying and transforming presence in his cellblock. Witnessing God’s miraculous power made manifest in ways both small and large during Cooper’s time in prison sent chills down my spine on more than one occasion.

As a result of God’s grace Ken Cooper is now serving inmates affected by addiction through The Ken Cooper Prison Ministry, proving that God does indeed work all things together for the good of those who trust in Him.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

Christians everywhere are surrounded by an ever increasing level of sexual permissiveness in our post-modern society. With pluralism, moral relativism, and subjective truth as the philosophical crown jewels in the modern Western worldview, even mainstream churches are being swept away by the floods of sexual tolerance. With homosexual pastors preaching from the pulpit, same-sex marriages gaining ground, and pornography running rife throughout the church, R. Albert Mohler Jr. takes a solid stand on the word of God as the standard for all relationships and behaviour.

Presenting an overview of the infiltration of sexual tolerance throughout society, Mohler is a trustworthy guide through the treacherous landscape of false doctrine, cultural implications, effects on manhood and the family, etc. in Desire and Deceit. Mohler fills the pages of this brief, yet vitally relevant volume with lucid, thought-provoking prose that pulls no punches. In a world filled with compromise, Mohler is anything but, clinging to God’s word as the only standard for human sexuality

Mohler contrasts the modern, secular viewpoints of lust and homosexuality with the orthodox Christian response to ungodly arguments. As a fairly new believer I was always confused by the growing acceptance of homosexuality within the church when the Bible seems so clear on the topic. Mohler’s examination of the growth of the modern homosexual movement, and the flawed theology this movement is based upon are laid out in order that Christians may be equipped to deal with these questions as they walk in the world daily.

Though Mohler cuts to the chase and isn’t afraid to step on toes, these rebuttals of today’s free-for-all stance on sexuality are far from being condemning. He continually points readers towards Christ, and makes clear the fact that we are all of us sinners — the sins of the heart no less damning than those of the loins. With this clearly in mind, it becomes clear that Mohler’s perspective is balanced, free from legalistic overtones, and filled with grace. He seeks not to vilify those leading sexual lifestyles in contrast to God’s design, but rather to inform Christians of the dangers, and cultural ramifications inherent in accepting the all too common moral stance, “Do whatever you like, as long as no one gets hurt.” All of us are desperately in need of Jesus; one sin isn’t more hell-worthy than another; and, with this in mind, Mohler’s readers are lead into a compassionate desire to pray for those suffering in bondage.

Statements such as the following reveal Mohler’s balanced and theologically accurate view on the subject of homosexuality (to which he devotes much of his treatise.)

“Salvation and repentance must be preached to homosexuals –- and to heterosexuals as well. East of Eden, not one of us has come before God as sexually pure and whole, even if we have never committed an illicit sexual act. Our ministry to homosexuals is not as the sinless ministering to sinners, but as fellow sinners who bear testimony to the reality of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Presented as a compact hardcover, I read through Desire and Deceit rapidly. It provides a concise exploration of modern sexual mores and their Christian rebuttal while remaining charmingly readable. Mohler has been accused of writing in a scholarly voice, but I found his thoughtful reasoning charming. I won’t be adding ‘polymorphous perversity’ to my daily vocabulary anytime soon, but I found his work forthright and delightful to read.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

What a strange year we’ve been having weather wise. Today it’s 32 C, tomorrow it’s going to be 33 C (so they say). Yet, on the 10th of the month we had a hard frost – in July! And one in June, and every other month this year. No wonder we northerly-living Canadians have a hard time in the heat! I’ve been hiding in the house the past few days. With all the dry, hot weather the grasshoppers are having a breeding/feeding spree – we’re trying to find away to keep them from eating our potatoes, any suggestions? We sprayed them with soap/sugar mix, but I don’t know if that will be enough to stop such big, vicious bugs!

So tell me – what’s the weather like a the moment where you live?