Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Guest Blog post from Teasi Cannon.


Thankful for a Big Rear by Teasi Cannon
One day not long ago I was sweeping my kitchen floor in the near trance-like state of La La Land, when I was jolted to my senses by the precious voice of my 4-year-old nephew saying, “Aunt Teasi, you have a vahwee (very) big butt.”
I set my broom aside, smoothed my shirt, and calmly turned to face him. Bright-eyed and curly-haired, he stood – completely oblivious to the fact that he had said the words no woman ever wants to hear. And then I let him have it. I bent down, coming only inches away from his little round face, and said, “Why…thank you!” Then I smiled big, stood to grab my broom, and returned unscathed to the task at hand.
A few years ago those innocently spoken words would have completely obliterated me, and rather than a thank you, might have actually incited an immature come-back such as: “Oh, yeah? Well, you’re short and you talk funny.”
But now, to the glory of God, moments like that are reminders to me that the miraculous has happened: I no longer hate my body (especially my back side); in fact, it has become one of the biggest blessings in my life.
Like most women (really every woman I’ve ever met), I lived years literally disgusted with what I saw in the mirror. The territory between my ears felt like nothing short of a war zone, with battles being fought everywhere: the bathroom, the grocery store, the bedroom, even church. I could never silence the ambush-ready community of inner critics (those hurtful thoughts we all think) that called my head home. And I missed out on so much: parties I refused to attend because my pants were too tight, dates with my husband because of a few gained pounds, quality time with my kids. I know I’m not alone in this.
We women have been lied to for years. We’ve been told that our value – our very right to be seen and celebrated - is determined by our waist-to-hip ratio or the proportions of our facial features, and that’s just not true. Our value is determined by the only One who really knows it: our God.
After hitting my head hard on the floor of my personal pit of despair, I slowly began my journey toward believing that. One inch at a time of healing, truth, and righteous anger led me to a life-saving realization: All those years I was desperate to change how I looked, God was desperate to change how I see. And He did.
Truth is, if God can make a prostitute the great grandmother of the Messiah, turn water into wine, and make blind men see; don’t you think He can turn a big bottom – or a big nose - or bird-thin legs – or whatever it is you hate – into a blessing. He did it for me, and I’m so ridiculously happy about the journey that I wrote a book about it.


 About the Author                                      Picture

Teasi Cannon Teasi (pronounced Tee See) is married to her best friend, Bill Cannon, and
they have three awesome children: Carli, Ben, and Sam. Teasi has a master’s degree in
pastoral counseling from Liberty Theological Seminary, and is a sought-after speaker who
loves to help women remember who they are in Christ.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

My Big Bottom Blessing Book • Teasi Cannon Book • Worthy Publishing

Picture

An engaging story of coming from poor, low self esteem to healing and building a healthy self esteem.
Before you say I've heard that or I've read that before, take a sample read of one of my favorite "poems" in the beginning of Chapter one:

"There are enemies all around us
Seeking to destroy,
They come to tear our hearts apart 
And take away our joy.
Some are just plain bothersome,
Some invoke great fear.
But none are near as devastating, 
As the enemy in the mirror.  "


Don't worry I will be adding a free sample chapter of her book, so you can see for yourself.  Teasi Cannon has come up with a brilliant slant when it comes to talk about the negative records that plays in our heads.    She gave them names, personalities and dialogues.  It was quirky, unique, and built a platform of humor to bring the truth in on, so there can be real change. She also balanced it out by letting God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit have the final say. At the end of each chapter is a personal worksheet, with scriptures that relate to the main point. But that is only a portion of what the author addresses.   If you haven't guessed it yet, I loved the book.   


Please look for it at:   Amazon Book

http://www.amazon.com/My-Big-Bottom-Blessing-Hating/dp/1617950769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336612279&sr=8-1
AND ALSO:   Barnes & Noble Book

I received the book in this post compliments of Worthy Publishing via Handlebar Marketing for purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Why Jesus Appears to People Today: A Biblical UnderstandingWhy Jesus Appears to People Today: A Biblical Understanding by Mel Bond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a subject that will get people's attention and many already have an opinion of whether or not this is something that should even be discussed. It will cause much debate, and definite " No's" to some. BUT it has continual, strong, Biblical Basis that runs through out the whole book; that should reassure many. This is a subject that is not often talked about; at least not from the Bible view of things. There is a combination of scriptures, experiences, safe-guards and warnings, and testimonies that make this book a very interesting read.

I enjoyed it and found it to be a well-balanced book. Mel makes a very good point of what's not taught in church we generally don't flow in. For example, if your church doesn't believe in healing and teach on it, you probably won't see it much in that particular church. The intense love that Jesus has for us stands out and is expressed in a more personal way. It's also shown what is at stake when we refuse or ignore loving others. Imagine my surprise when I began to realize that I had seen Mel Bond on Sid Roth, "It's Supernatural" TV. I had thought to order one of his books and what a sweet surprise it was to receive the free eBook from Destiny Image just for reading and reviewing it. Why Jesus Appears to People Today: A Biblical Understanding

View all my reviews

Why Jesus Appears to People Today: A Biblical Understanding

Shelter Dog Turned Hero

Shelter Dog Turned Hero

A really heart warming story.  2 lives enriched!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Redemption A Rebellious Spirit, a Praying Mother, and the Unlikely Path to Olympic Gold



Unlikely, is a very good description of the life story of this young athlete.  In a story that pulls very few punches, we follow Bryan as he starts out with a fairly good family life until things begin to fall apart.  Suddenly its all taken away and that's where the rebellion begins to take over; that and a huge anger.  The one thing that begins to turn his life around is his introduction to track and field.  What kicks it up a notch higher is his commitment to Jesus, when it finally comes and is real.  His mother, keeps praying during all of this and telling him what God has told her about Bryan and the Olympics; which really irritated him & he didn't believe for many years. This is a very well written story with much inside information on the "world" of track and field"  and competing.  I really like the way that he begins to make a parallel between the discipline he HAD to learn and the way some of those helped him in the spiritual areas of his life and his relationships, with God and his family and the people that became a part of his life.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255   




Monday, May 7, 2012

Here's the free First Chapter of the Book "MOMumental" BY Jennifer Grant.  What a great way, to get the feel of a new book!
Picture

Click here to read the First Chapter: 

A Guest Post from Jennifer Grant "MOMumental"


Guest Post for Mommy Bloggers
(for their use as per Momumental marketing plan)
Jennifer Grant
March 26, 2012


The Funny, Broken, Love of Parenting

I click open a Facebook message. A friend has sent me a word search and tells me to let my eyes fall onto the image and take note of the first three words that I see. These are the words that best describe me, she promises.
I shrug, take a sip of coffee, and glance at it. “Funny,” “broken,” and “love” are my words.
When I close the message, I’m tempted for a moment to try again. What other words are hidden in that tangle of letters? Maybe on my second try, my eyes will land on a combination such as “smart,” “attractive,” and “successful.” (That would be nice.)
I don’t give it another try, though. The words I read the first time are just right considering how I’ve been spending my days for the past several months, thinking and writing about the family in which I am the wife and the mother and about my family of origin, where my story began.
Funny, broken, love - sounds like family.
MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family is about my own missteps and small victories as a mother. Over the years, after beginning my parenting journey – as so many of us do – staggering under the weight of the expectations I had for myself, I’ve loosened up. I’ve come to learn that none of us is perfect. We all fail, misunderstand our kids sometimes, and mess up in countless ways. In MOMumental, I share stories of some of my “epic fails” as a mom.

The dire messages that flash on the computer or television screen that warn what a mother absolutely must or must not do no longer hold me tightly in their grasp. I now look at myself – and at other mothers – with less judgment, knowing that we all work it out, there is no manual for motherhood, and that the most important thing in raising kids is to be authentically connected with them.
(And a person can do that whether she serves microwaved macaroni and cheese to her kids for lunch every day or gives them homemade bread and a sampling of organic greens from her vegetable garden. Whether or not she homeschools them, uses “the family bed,” or exposes them to Mozart by the time they are six days old.)

I hope in sharing my own personal – and often quite cringe-worthy – story in MOMumental, other parents will show themselves, and other parents, more grace as we raise our children.

To me, those three words – funny, broken, and love – are great ones to reflect on when I think about the gift of family. To be able to enjoy our kids, repair our relationships with them when needed, and most of to love our children like crazy covers a multitude of parental crimes and misdemeanors.

Wishing you all the best in your own messy family-making adventures!

PicturePicture  

MOMumental is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are
sold.



To check out on Amazon : MOMumental
    and
Amazon Kindle:  Amazon Kindle- MOMumental

      


  




Saturday, May 5, 2012

MOMumental-• Jennifer Grant Book• Worthy Publishing



What a charming, warm, human look at Parenthood.  If you are looking for the "Follow this Method and have Perfect Children System"- this isn't it.  But if you decide to skip over it because its not; what a shame, you will miss out on the real deal of raising families. Jennifer Grant lets you look into her life in a very personal way, beginning in her own life as child.   Coming from a family of divorce she decided early on what her perfect mother role would look like, using what she missed as things her children would not.  Then reality began to hit; that no matter how she tried to control it, things just weren't going to work out as planned.   Because like her sub -title tells you:  families are messy and they are an adventure.   This is my first reading of any of Jennifer Grant's material but I really love her wit, her openness and her  free style of writing.   She's honest in her failures, and  in her successes; not the least bit afraid to show where God has helped her and put very interesting people in her life to help too.  As a mother of 4 grown children, it would have been nice to have a "friend" like her close by to reassure me that one small mistake in child rearing hadn't "scarred" my children for life.  She could have saved me lots of agony and self-condemnation if I'd know that these things happen raising children and its normal.  From this side of motherhood I know it now but I really didn't them. How would I explain Jennifer's book in two words?   Entertaining Truth.

This book is available at:  http://worthypublishing.com/books/MOMumental/
Also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

*I received the book in this post compliments of Worthy Publishing via Handlebar Marketing for purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.


About the Author: 

Picture
Jennifer Grant is mother to four children and author of Love You More: The Divine
Surprise of Adopting My Daughter (2011). For more than a decade she wrote for papers in
the Sun-Times newsgroup. Currently she freelances for the Chicago Tribune and is a
regular contributor to hermeneutics, Christianity Today magazine's blog for women. Grant
is a Wheaton College graduate who received her master's in English and Creative Writing
from Southern Methodist University. She lives outside of Chicago, IL.










Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Heaven and HellHeaven and Hell by Kenneth Zeigler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED this book!! I found it Intense, Intriguing and Riveting! I read it as an eBook and thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters of Chris and Serena were well developed and you got caught up in their drama. The imagery of both settings were also well described and creative. It is vivid and graphic in these descriptions and the things that go on in Hell; it was still well worth the read. I don't want to give too much away and spoil the read for others. I just didn't want to put it down but of course I had to at times because of time restraints. For me, this book is going into my private library; its a keeper.

I received this eBook free from Destiny Image Books in exchange for a review. All comments are my own honest evaluation of this book.


http://ablessedday.blogspot.com/2012/...;

http://www.amazon.com/review/R31YW9ZZ...;


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews...;
Kenneth Zeigler
Heaven and Hell


View all my reviews