Remembering You by Tricia Goyer - Book Review & Kindle Touch Giveaway!

About the book:

35-year-old Ava Andrews' dream job is interrupted by an unusual request--fulfill her 84-year-old grandfather's last wish by joining him on a battle site tour of Europe. Ava is sure her boss will refuse her request. But, instead, he gives her a directive of his own--to videotape the tour and send it back as mini-segments for the show she produces.

As if juggling these two things isn't hard enough, Ava is soon surprised again ... twice. First, Ava and Grandpa Jack arrive in Europe, only to discover the tour is cancelled. Unwilling to let down her grandfather or her boss, Ava and Grandpa Jack head out on their own. Then, while they're on their way, the pair soon meet up with Paul, her grandpa's best friend, and his grandson Dennis. The same Dennis who just happens to be Ava's first love.

Before she knows it, Ava and Dennis are swept down memory lane as they visit the sites that are discussed in the history books. And even though Ava's videotaping old soldiers, she can see their youth, their hopes and fears, and their pride in their eyes. Soon Ava learns the trip isn't just for them ... it's for her too--especially for her heart.

Read an excerpt, watch a video and find out more here. http://www.triciagoyer.com/contemporaryfiction.html#RememberingYou 

About Tricia:

Tricia Goyer is the author of thirty books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. On Tricia's weekly radio show, Living Inspired, she shares stories of inspiration and encouragement. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

For more about Tricia and her other books visitwww.triciagoyer.com 

MY REVIEW:
Remembering You is a very well-written and well-thought of book. The kind of book you know that the author spent a lot of time researching. I find that what Tricia says is true: we who live in the present time don't know much about the members of our families who lived through the war. Even if I am Filipino, I still hear my parents talk about the war that happened when they were children. I never really thought how important it was to listen to the stories they tell until I've read Remembering You. 


I appreciate Ava's character because she was very relatable. She was an independent woman but with weaknesses that she struggled to face. I loved reading about the lasting friendship of the two war heroes, Jack and Paul as they, too, faced some painful memories when they visited the scenes of their past. I like the light romance between Dennis and Ava. I really appreciate the most that all the characters were Christians and were at different states of knowing the Lord in their lives.

The war stories and the places they visited was one of the unforgettable parts of this book. Ava's struggles to reconcile the soldier her grandfather was to the gentle grandfather she now knew was very touching. All in all, a very good book to read.

Buy it here

Win a Kindle Touch for YOU and a Friend from Tricia Goyer!

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her novel, Remembering You, with a KINDLE Touch Giveaway for you ... and for the friend of your choice. Then on 11/29 she'll be wrapping up the release of Remembering You with a Book Chat Party!

During the first half of the party Tricia will be chatting, sharing a sneak peek of her next book, and giving away a ton of great stuff. Then she'll head over to her website for a Live Chat! Readers will be able to chat with Tricia via video or text.

Don't miss your chance to win a Kindle Touch for yourself ... and to "remember" a friend this holiday with a Kindle Touch for them!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Brand New Kindle Touch and a Kindle Touch for a Friend (winner's choice!) 
• A copy of Remembering You by Tricia Goyer for each

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on November 29th. Winner will be announced at Remembering You Facebook Party on 11/29. Tricia will be hosting an author chat (on Facebook and Live from her website) and giving away copies of her other WWII books and gift certificates to Starbucks and Amazon.com. So grab your copy of Remembering You and join Tricia on the evening of the 29th for an author chat, a trivia contest (How much do you know about WWII?) and lots of giveaways.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trad Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I’m Having A Baby!

Yup, you read that right. Baby number 5 is on its way! Our family is very excited and thankful to the good Lord for this blessing. I can only thank the Lord for entrusting me with another life to care for. Thank You, Lord! Online casino Ireland. ###

It all started with me feeling exhausted and sleepy all the time. After a week, I began to wonder what was happening to me. I wasn’t sick, but I was in bed all the time. It continued to the second week where I started feeling nauseous and dizzy. After the second week, I looked back and realized that I had missed my period. At the beginning of the third week, with more exhaustion, I finally asked hubby to get me a pregnancy test kit. The children were excitedly waiting for the results, and the two lines that appeared confirmed my suspicion – I am pregnant! My OB confirmed last week that I am in my 7th week of pregnancy.

But there is another baby on it’s way. And that baby is the new look of this blog. In the following months, expect a major change in this blog. I am in the process of studying and deciding what kind of changes I’d like to implement. I already have the hosting, now I am looking for a blog designer. Not to worry, the focus will not change – it is still about homeschooling and family and reviews. 

40 Days to Better Living: Depression by Scott Morris - Book Review

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! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

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

Today's Wild Card author is:

Dr. Scott Morris
and the
Church Health Center

and the book:

40 Days to Better Living: Depression

Barbour Books (November 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group – for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From the time Scott Morris was just a teenager, he knew he would do two things with his future—serve God and work with people. Growing up in Atlanta, he felt drawn to the Church and at the same time drawn to help others, even from a very young age. It was naturally intrinsic, then, that after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia he went on to receive his M.Div. from Yale University and finally his M.D. at Emory University in 1983.

After completing his residency in family practice, Morris arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1986 without knowing a soul, but determined to begin a health care ministry for the working poor. He promptly knocked on the doors of St. John’s Methodist Church and Methodist Hospital in Memphis inviting them to help, and then found an old house to refurbish and renovate. By the next year, the Church Health Center opened with one doctor—Dr. Scott Morris—and one nurse. They saw twelve patients the first day and Morris began living his mission to reclaim the Church’s biblical commitment to care for our bodies and spirits.

From the beginning, Morris saw each and every patient as a whole person, knowing that without giving careful attention to both the body and soul the person would not be truly well. So nine years after opening the Church Health Center, he opened its Hope & Healing Wellness Center. Today the Church Health Center has grown to become the largest faith-based clinic in the country of its type having cared for 60,000 patients of record without relying on government funding. The clinic handles more than 36,000 patient visits a year while the wellness center, which moved to its current 80,000-square-foot location on Union Avenue in 2000, serves more than 120,000 member visits each year. Fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income.


Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Depression is a serious condition—and 40 Days to Better Living: Depression provides clear, manageable steps for people to manage it, through life-changing attitudes and actions. Readers can select one or more elements of the 7-step Model for Healthy Living—Faith, Medical, Movement, Work, Emotional, Family and Friends, and Nutrition—and follow the 40-day plan to improve their lives, just a bit, day by day. With plenty of practical advice, biblical encouragement, and stories of real people who’ve taken the same journey, this book—from the Church Health Center in Memphis, the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the U.S.—may be one of the most important books your customers will read this year.

The 40 Days to Better Living series offers clear, manageable steps to life-changing attitudes and actions in a context of understanding and grace for all people at all points on the journey to optimal health. With plenty of practical advice, spiritual encouragement, and real stories of those who have found a better life, this simple and skillfully crafted book inspires readers to customize their own path to wellness by using the 7-Step Model for Healthy Living as a guide:

· Nutrition: pursuing smarter food choices and eating habits

· Friends and family: giving and receiving support through relationships

· Emotional life: understanding feelings and managing stress to better care for yourself

· Work: appreciating your skills, talents, and gifts

· Movement: discovering ways to enjoy physical activity

· Medical care: partnering with health care providers to optimize medical care

· Faith life: building a relationship with God, neighbors, and self


Along with tips from the Model for Healthy Living, the easy-to-read format features a Morning Reflection and an Evening Wrap-Up as well as a place for documenting plans, progress, and perspectives. Targeted scriptures and prayers that undergird the focus of each day’s message make this compact book an excellent choice for a daily devotional.

Subsequent titles in the Better Living series will be released bi-monthly and address key health topics including hypertension, diabetes, depression, weight management, stress management, aging, and addiction. All promise substantial support to those who are ready for a newer, better way of living—body and spirit.


Product Details:

List Price: $7.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books (November 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616262664
ISBN-13: 978-1616262662

AND NOW...THE FIRST FEW PAGES: Click on the images to see them larger:

MY REVIEW:
40 Days to Better Living: Depression by Scott Morris is a book geared for those who are experiencing depression. It is designed to be read daily and finished in 40 days. Each week begins with a person's testimony about their depression and journey to healing. The testimonies are all very encouraging and will motivate the reader to keep on reading. Everyday, the reader begins with Morning Reflection with a Bible verse. There are several tasks that the reader is asked to do. Depending on his needs, he can choose which area of his life he wants to focus on for the day. The day ends with Evening Wrap-Up which is filled with more encouragement for the reader to go on with this journey.  Weekly, there are different topics or areas which the reader is asked to consider such as letting go of things that they can't control, worries, taking a good rest and getting enough sleep.

The beauty of this book is that the reading is not too long but will make the reader do some serious thinking. It is broken up with beautiful images that can also encourage the reader. By the end of the book, the reader has been armed with several tools to help overcome depression. He is assured that while this is the end of the book, it is only the beginning of his own journey toward healing.

Teaching English As a Second Language – Another Work at Home Option

Just the other week, my hubby told me about his friend’s wife who teaches English online. She does this from the comfort of her own home through the use of the internet. She has students from all over Asia, works on her own schedule and earns a comfortable income from it. She is free to choose the hours she wants to work and can work as much as she wants to. What I don’t know is if she is certified in Teaching ESL or not.

Once upon a time in the past, I had investigated the possibilities of my obtaining a TESL certificate. I was already homeschooling then and was looking for ways to augment our income. I didn’t push through with this plan because it required me to take classes which meant I have to leave home for a time. My kids were still small so I didn’t consider that possibility.

Today, I looked at it again and saw the advantages of becoming TESL certified. While you will have to focus on the training for four weeks or more in other institutes, it will most likely be the best four weeks of learning you can have. After obtaining your certificate, then you can start looking for work either online, or for the more adventurous ones – to look for job postings for Teaching English Overseas.

If you should choose to find a job overseas, there are plenty of countries looking for TESL certified teachers. This will give you an even better experience as you get to go to another country and experience another culture. Furthermore, the TESL certified teacher can take in one-on-one tutorial students providing more income opportunities.

What I’d like to find out next is the possibility of obtaining the TESL certificate online. My reason for this is that I also would like to work online from home. My priority is still to homeschool my children and having to work outside the home is not a very attractive option for me.

The HAPI Swordfight! From Underdogs to Overall Champions

 Beautiful sword pens given away to participants

If you were unable to join the HAPI Swordfight! last October 22 , then you missed a lot! The first time I heard about the Swordfight, a Bible quiz for homeschool students and parents, I immediately felt intimidated by it. I thought it might be like one of those national tests that would test how much Bible we have been teaching our kids. And if our kids fail, oh no, what that will mean for me, their homeschool teacher! Gladly, the HAPI leader of Swordfight!, Mrs. Irma Chua, reassured us that it will all be just fun and games. A chance to come together with other homeschoolers, meet new families and enjoy each other’s company.

Giveaways at the entrance to Swordfight!

And she was indeed right! We went home from the Swordfight! all excited and glad that we joined. The games were not difficult and also not easy, just right for everyone who joined. Edric Mendoza, the gamemaster, made the time really, really exciting. In fact, when he was about to give the final question to judge the winning group, he admitted that he was probably the most nervous of us all!

Biggest Family Prize (yeah, that’s us!)

The parents were even more excited and noisier than the kids. While the children were trying to figure out the answer to the final question, the parents were excitedly screaming and trying to help out (we were allowed), which most likely did not help the kids. LOL!

 More giveaways

Our team were the underdogs at the end of the first part of the game, but made a marvelous comeback at the beginning of part two, which resulted in us being declared Overall Champions!

Guitar Babe won this Bible as part of the champion group.

Of course, one of the great parts of this event were the marvelous prizes in store for everybody. There were Bibles, books, novelty items and a load of pizza for the overall champs. The best prize of all were the two sets of the Mystery of History curriculum sponsored by the TMA Homeschool.

Our Certificate of Participation

For me, the best thing was that this event was a venue to meet up with other homeschoolers. Most of the homeschool groups were represented. If not for HAPI, where else can one meet up with other like-minded families? We left the event feeling good that there were many others like us homeschoolers. I felt very blessed to have taken part in it. I met new families and also met a few of this blog’s readers. If you haven’t been to a HAPI event yet, try it next time.