Imitating Jesus (Bill Winston)

As an ambassador of Jesus Christ,
    you have the same anointing
 to remove burdens and destroy yokes,
 by God's power.

~Bill WInston Ministries~

Drama/Adventure

"Life has a whole lot of drama.

 It is up to you whether you will turn that drama into a God adventure…

something divine." - Beth Moore

Book Review: Afloat by Erin Healy

Vance Nolan is this in the middle of completing his vision, his dream of building unique floating apartments.
Not only are the buildings beautiful in their construction but they float in a peaceful cove of a peaceful river.
That peace begins to  to be shaken when the unthinkable begins to happen.  A sinkhole gives way and flooding begins to overtake the cove because of torrential rains.  There is a group of people on site; all with different ideas on how to survive.   Vance insists they stay and wait it out for rescue; and the man with the money, Tony Dean wants to lead them out.   Then an epic battle to be the leader starts; with the rest of the people trying to decide which is the best way to go.   And which man has the best wisdom and motives  for the job.   But there is also something that no one can seem to explain; a few of the people have seen shining lights underwater.     What is that all about?

Great, great book; it kept my interest from start to finish. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next, or what the people were going to do or reveal.  Every disaster you could think of happened in their struggle to stay alive; loved the twists and turns and the personalities of the people.    There was also a murder exposed and self serving motives too that were exposed.   Was God mentioned? Yes.  Was scriptures mentioned? Yes.  Will other people who are non-Christian enjoy the book?  I would hope so, it was so skillfully written and so enjoyable, I'd hate to see them miss out on it!
My rating is 5 Stars if that is the highest rating for liking a book.  I will be looking at more books from this author!  Man, can she write!


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

Book Review: Swept Away

Trouble in Texas- Book 1
Ruthy McNeil is separated from her abusive "adoptive" family during a dangerous river crossing by wagon train.  She's a hard worker and  tougher than she looks and determined to escape from her " family" and their plans for her.
She's found half drowned in the riverbed by Luke Stone who is on a mission of his own.  His mission? To avenge the murder of his father and get back the ranch that was stolen from his family.   Since Luke can't just leave Ruthy where he found her; she is now a part of this whole dangerous adventure.

I liked this book, even though at times I found the plot tends to bog down, part way through. This seems to be this authors pattern.  It bogs down and then finally things start to move and then they speed up. Once they speed up again,they usually are good  to the end.   I say this after reading several of her books; I think I am getting used to it.  I find that I am getting interested in the next book, that follows 2 people who where introduced in this story.

Included is a short excerpt at the back of the book for the next book, "Fired Up".


I received a FREE copy of this novel from Bethany House through Baker Publishing Group as part of their book review program and I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

Book Review: North of Hope

A woman's story of grief and discovery after her father and step-mother are killed in a horrific bear attack in Alaska.  This is her journey as she grieves for them and tries to find any meaning in what has happened.

I really struggled to get through this book.  I always hate it when I have to give an honest review and the book isn't one that I like.  I'm always looking for something positive to pass along but the truth is, it just didn't hold my interest; maybe its partly because of some of its poetic nature.  I guess the one positive is that, not everyone will feel the same way that I did;  there will be people who really like this book, sorry to say I wasn't one of them.

I received this ARC book FREE from Zondervan through Handlebar Marketing in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Bread & Wine

The subtitle describes this book best.  "A Love Letter to Life around the Table with recipes".  Shauna shares her life and friendships along with all kinds of different recipes.

I'm so glad the author describes this book, because I was totally at a loss to do so.  Other than to say, its unique in its approach.  I can honestly say that a book of this kind is a first for me.  Its also clear to me that she has the gift of hospitality; which I do not, but she shares it with us in a way that is not superior in any way.  She's still practicing it so she's not saying she's arrived; but she does love it so its like sitting down with a friend and just enjoying it with her.  At times, I would get to a point and think, "hmm, I'm not sure I'm enjoying this book so much" and wham, she'd reel me back in with a touching personal story.  She offers pearl of wisdom here and there which I enjoyed.  It was fun to hear her explain the different people in her life and how they were touched & moved closer to God through either, nature, music, water and for her the table.  I found that the deeper I went into this book, the more I liked it and the author.  She understands about friendships forged through the tough times, the good times and misunderstandings and isn't afraid to share it.  Its something that we can all learn from; we didn't pop out of the womb knowing how to be a friend.
There is also a nice addition of  the, ''Four week book club/ cooking club discussion guide" at the back of the book.

I received a FREE ARC book from Zondervan via Handlebar Marketing in exchange for giving an honest review.

Book Review: JaKobe's Assignment/ eBook

One church, many members but with the main focus on the Pastor and his family and the angel, JaKobe who is on assignment to attend to the discouraged pastor. Its a fantasy look into how it could possible look in the supernatural realm from the different angels perspective and includes the struggles of the people they are assigned to protect.
For me it was a bit of a mixed bag.
What did I like ?
I found the characters interesting.
The angel and demon encounters were thought provoking.
I liked the growth you could see in some of the people by the end of the book.
The different types of angels shown.
That the story showed that some angels had followed a family for generations because of one person who grabbed a hold of a promise in the Bible.




What I didn't like:
Most of the people's stories were kind of left hanging at the end of the book; with the exception of a few.
I lost my place a couple of times, with the sheer number of people who were in the story.  At least once or twice I had to go back and re-quaint myself about the character.
For me, there was almost too much description of an area.
I kept thinking that angel intervention would be recognized; it wasn't and in fact it all felt kind of incomplete.

God's voice vs. satan's

JUST TO MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR:




If your on Facebook, and you liked this; go check out  Preparing the Way.

Book Review: Satan's Dirty Little Secret

Steve Foss writes about  the 2 main things that Satan has used for years to bind, oppress,and keep the Body of Christ deceived. A prophetic revelation of how the enemy operates through 2 main strategies: Insecurity and Inferiority.  This is a book about the torment, and struggles that these demonic spirits bring. Its about Spiritual Warfare.
Sorry to say, that I found the material somewhat dry even though there were truths about people believing Lies because of comparison, false discernment and judgement because they were looking at everything from the view of insecurity and inferiority!  Its caused hurt, division and a lack of deliverance because of not going to the root when it came to deliverance.  I'm sure there will be those that this  material will be helpful to, but also those who don't even want to hear the words, spiritual warfare, demons, deliverance or the like.  I guess its going to be a choice that goes along with whatever your belief system is.  Its one of those books, that your either going to like or hate.

Book Review: Freefall to Fly

The story of a woman and her family as they go from her "comfort zone" of Atlanta Georgia to the glitz of New York City.   Instead of it  being the great adventure that she had felt drawn to, it instead triggers all the ugly things of failure, depression, anxiety and panic attacks.  It covers the struggles that she went through,  being in a place where the questions that had always been there finally had to be faced.  She's fighting for her freedom which will only be found by surrender.

I really wanted to like this book, because she was open, because she faced demons that all women have had to face at some time or other.  It was like reading a woman's personal journal but with that said, I didn't enjoy the book.   Is she called to be a writer like she said?  Yes, she probably is but this book didn't do it for me.  Would I be open to reading any other books that she will write in the future? Yes, because of  her courage and honesty of sharing this  book.


I received this Book FREE from Tyndale House Publishers through Handlebar Marketing for purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.