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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!

and the Advent idea:

TruthTats: The Christmas Story

B&H Publishing Group

***Special thanks to Susan Otis of Creative Resources, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

Truth Tats: The Christmas Story
Celebrating the Season of Advent with Truth Tats

Designed just for the season, Christmas Truth Tats present a new way of telling the story of Christ’s birth. Truth Tats are temporarily on your skin, permanently on your heart.

This is a five week program leading up to Christmas day, each packet of Truth Tats includes a family devotional booklet that kicks off each memory scripture of the week. The twenty accompanying Scripture tattoos are a visual way to continually applying and memorize God’s word. Each week opens with a set of four identical Scripture tattoo designs so that each family member can have his or her own tattoo! Week two, there is a new Scripture for memorization and four new tattoo designs, again identical designs so each person is memorizing the same Scripture.

For over 1,000 years Christians worldwide have been celebrating Advent, a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ. The word “advent” comes from the Latin adventus meaning “coming toward”. So it is entirely appropriate that the four weeks prior to Christmas we will be preparing our hearts for His Advent.

Truth Tats are a unique way to celebrate the season as well as to “show and tell” God’s word to others. This is ideal for the classroom, family devotion time, and in personal Scripture memorization

Product Details:

List Price: $3.99
Unbound
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Language: English
ASIN: B005LDDJ1S

ISLAND BREEZES

Truth Tats?  I was wondering just what these were going to be.  When I received them, I had a difficult time restraining myself.  My grandchildren are going to love these.  They will also be appreciated by parents and grandparents.

I really had to work to restrain myself.  I wanted to put one on.  Oh, well.  They are supposed to be for the kids, but don’t you know, many of us are kids at heart?

This is really a novel idea for the Advent season.  Each week there’s a short devotion to read at the beginning of the week and four temporary tattoos (all alike) to wear on your hand for the week to assist in memorizing the verse of the week.  There are four sets with one for each week, one for Christmas and a bonus.

I have two grandchildren, so there are enough that they can each become tattooed.  And peace of mind for the parents, because 1) the kids will be learning Bible verses and 2) the tattoos are temporary.

AND NOW…WEEK ONE OF ADVENT (Click on pictures to enlarge):

Can A Successful Executive See More Than A Single Mom Struggling To Provide Christmas For Her Daughter?

Award-winning author Dan Walsh creates a nostalgic, Christmas story that takes readers back in time in Remembering Christmas(ISBN: 978-0-8007-1979-1, 272 pages, September 2011.) A time not so long ago in 1980 when IBM had not yet launched the personal computer; the Boombox was hot; Reality TV was unheard of; MTV was just launching; Ronald Reagan was president; the Winter Olympics witnessed the USA team defeat the favored Soviet team and win the gold; and Rick Denton was in pursuit of his career goals and climbing the corporate ladder.

During this time, the holiday season only slowed Rick from his frenetic normal pace. For Rick, holiday downtime for everyone else meant extra time to get ahead on goals and returning calls. His goal in life was to work hard, play hard, live life on his terms, and answer to no one.

Then the phone call came from his mother during Thanksgiving weekend informing him about his stepfather’s stroke. His mom needed Rick’s help at the little run-down bookstore they owned. He has never liked Art, his stepfather and resents the man’s presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. Reluctantly Rick agrees to help and when he arrives at the store, he soon discovers that a few days of managing the store turn into a few weeks.

While there Rick meets the patrons of the Book Nook – some quirky, some homeless, some chatty, some hip and cool – and one a lovely young woman who trains him on the job. He tends to judge them all– until a moment of truth and discovery: the true meaning of Christmas.

With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story that will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.

ISLAND BREEZES

In the beginning of this book we meet a man whose life was changed by a bookstore.

I thought it was JD. Then I thought it might be Rick. Then I realized it might be Charlie. Do you see where I’m going? It might be any number of men.

You just need to keep reading. You have to if you want to know what happens to Art, Leanne, Andrea and Amy.

Also, you’re going to need that box of tissues for this one. I can’t realy say anything more, because I’m afraid I might give away too much of the story. What I can say is that Dan Walsh writes wonderful books.

Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, and The Deepest Waters. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he’s busy researching and writing his next novel.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.? They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

###

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

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!

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.***

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.

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

ISLAND BREEZES

I really like these “40 Days” books.  As a nurse I appreciate their holistic approach to health care.

While this book is geared towards depression, I can see the value here for all of us.  Most of us have too many stresses in our lives, and this book can help us deal with them.

You can choose only one of the elements in this book on which to focus, or you can choose a combination of them.  Either way, you will end up in a better place than where you started.

I wish I lived closer to the Church Health Center to better explore the work they do there.  They certainly know how to pull together complimentary therapeutics.
AND NOW…THE FIRST FEW PAGES: Click on the images to see them larger:

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!

and the book:

A Sound Among the Trees

WaterBrook Press (October 4, 2011)

***Special thanks to Laura Tucker of WaterBrook Press for sending me a review copy.***

Award-winning writer Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker and workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2008. She is a pastor’s wife and a mother of four. When she’s not writing, Susan directs the Small Groups and Connection Ministries program at her San Diego church.

Visit the author’s website.

A house shrouded in time. A line of women with a heritage of loss. As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307458857
ISBN-13: 978-0307458858

ISLAND BREEZES

When Marielle marries a widower with two small children, she agrees to live in the house her husband lived in with his first wife.

Now if that isn’t weird enough for you, the house is a fine old Southern house that is said to be cursed and inhabited by a ghost.

Even more, the house is also inhabited by the grandmother who raised the first wife.  Does this set your teeth a little on edge yet?

Isn’t this just a mess waiting to happen?  This new bride has to adjust to being uprooted from the desert West to the hot and humid South, as well as to having a ready made family in a house with loads of history.

Feel sorry for Marielle yet?  Don’t.  She’s strong enough to struggle with finding the truth.

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

The bride stood in a circle of Virginia sunlight, her narrow heels clicking on Holly Oak’s patio stones as she greeted strangers in the receiving line. Her wedding dress was a simple A-line, strapless, with a gauzy skirt of white that breezed about her knees like lacy curtains at an open window. She had pulled her unveiled brunette curls into a loose arrangement dotted with tiny flowers that she’d kept alive on her flight from Phoenix. Her only jewelry was a white topaz pendant at her throat and the band of platinum on her left ring finger. Tall, slender, and tanned from the famed and relentless Arizona sun, hers was a girl-nextdoor look: pretty but not quite beautiful. Adelaide thought it odd that Marielle held no bouquet.

From the parlor window Adelaide watched as her grandson-in-law, resplendent in a black tuxedo next to his bride, bent toward the guests and greeted them by name, saying, “This is Marielle.” An explanation seemed ready to spring from his lips each time he shook the hand of someone who had known Sara, her deceased granddaughter. His first wife. Carson stood inches from Marielle, touching her elbow every so often, perhaps to assure himself that after four years a widower he had indeed patently and finally moved on from grief.

Smatterings of conversations wafted about on the May breeze and into the parlor as received guests strolled toward trays of sweet tea and champagne. Adelaide heard snippets from her place at the window. Hudson and Brette, her great-grandchildren, had moved away from the snaking line of gray suits and pastel dresses within minutes of the first guests’ arrival and were now studying the flower-festooned gift table under the window ledge, touching the bows, fingering the silvery white wrappings. Above the children, an old oak’s youngest branches shimmied to the tunes a string quartet produced from the gazebo beyond the receiving line.

Adelaide raised a teacup to her lips and sipped the last of its contents, allowing the lemony warmth to linger at the back of her throat. She had spent the better part of the morning readying the garden for Carson and Marielle’s wedding reception, plucking spent geranium blossoms, ordering the catering staff about, and straightening the rented linen tablecloths. She needed to join the party now that it had begun. The Blue-Haired Old Ladies would be wondering where she was.

Her friends had been the first to arrive, coming through the garden gate on the south side of the house at five minutes before the hour. She’d watched as Carson introduced them to Marielle, witnessed how they cocked their necks in blue-headed unison to sweetly scrutinize her grandson-in-law’s new wife, and heard their welcoming remarks through the open window.

Deloris gushed about how lovely Marielle’s wedding dress was and what, pray tell, was the name of that divine purple flower she had in her hair?

Pearl invited Marielle to her bridge club next Tuesday afternoon and asked her if she believed in ghosts.

Maxine asked her how Carson and she had met—though Adelaide had told her weeks ago that Carson met Marielle on the Internet—and why on earth Arizona didn’t like daylight-saving time.

Marielle had smiled, sweet and knowing—like the kindergarten teacher who finds the bluntness of five-year-olds endearing—and answered the many questions.

Mojave asters. She didn’t know how to play bridge. She’d never encountered a ghost so she couldn’t really say but most likely not. She and Carson met online. There’s no need to save what one has an abundance of. Carson had cupped her elbow in his hand, and his thumb caressed the inside of her arm while she spoke.

Adelaide swiftly set the cup down on the table by the window, whisking away the remembered tenderness of that same caress on Sara’s arm.

Carson had every right to remarry.

Sara had been dead for four years.

She turned from the bridal tableau outside and inhaled deeply the gardenia-scented air in the parlor. Unbidden thoughts of her granddaughter sitting with her in that very room gently nudged her. Sara at six cutting out paper dolls. Memorizing multiplication tables at age eight. Sewing brass buttons onto gray wool coats at eleven. Sara reciting a poem for English Lit at sixteen, comparing college acceptance letters at eighteen, sharing a chance letter from her estranged mother at nineteen, showing Adelaide her engagement ring at twenty-four. Coming back home to Holly Oak with Carson when Hudson was born. Nursing Brette in that armchair by the fireplace. Leaning against the door frame and telling Adelaide that she was expecting her third child.

Right there Sara had done those things while Adelaide sat at the long table in the center of the room, empty now but usually awash in yards of stiff Confederate gray, glistening gold braid, and tiny piles of brass buttons—the shining elements of officer reenactment uniforms before they see war.

Adelaide ran her fingers along the table’s polished surface, the warm wood as old as the house itself. Carson had come to her just a few months ago while she sat at that table piecing together a sharpshooter’s forest green jacket. He had taken a chair across from her as Adelaide pinned a collar, and he’d said he needed to tell her something.

He’d met someone.

When she’d said nothing, he added, “It’s been four years, Adelaide.”

“I know how long it’s been.” The pins made a tiny plucking sound as their pointed ends pricked the fabric.

“She lives in Phoenix.”

“You’ve never been to Phoenix.”

“Mimi.” He said the name Sara had given her gently, as a father might. A tender reprimand. He waited until she looked up at him. “I don’t think Sara would want me to live the rest of my life alone. I really don’t. And I don’t think she would want Hudson and Brette not to have a mother.”

“Those children have a mother.”

“You know what I mean. They need to be mothered. I’m gone all day at work. I only have the weekends with them. And you won’t always be here. You’re a wonderful great-grandmother, but they need someone to mother them, Mimi.”

She pulled the pin cushion closer to her and swallowed. “I know they do.”

He leaned forward in his chair. “And I…I miss having someone to share my life with. I miss the companionship. I miss being in love. I miss having someone love me.”

Adelaide smoothed the pieces of the collar. “So. You are in love?”

He had taken a moment to answer. “Yes. I think I am.”

Carson hadn’t brought anyone home to the house, and he hadn’t been on any dates. But he had lately spent many nights after the children were in bed in his study—the old drawing room—with the door closed. When she’d pass by, Adelaide would hear the low bass notes of his voice as he spoke softly into his phone. She knew that gentle sound. She had heard it before, years ago when Sara and Carson would sit in the study and talk about their day. His voice, deep and resonant. Hers, soft and melodic.

“Are you going to marry her?”

Carson had laughed. “Don’t you even want to know her name?”

She had not cared at that moment about a name. The specter of being alone in Holly Oak shoved itself forward in her mind. If he remarried, he’d likely move out and take the children with him. “Are you taking the children? Are you leaving Holly Oak?”

“Adelaide—”

“Will you be leaving?”

Several seconds of silence had hung suspended between them. Carson and Sara had moved into Holly Oak ten years earlier to care for Adelaide after heart surgery and had simply stayed. Ownership of Holly Oak had been Sara’s birthright and was now Hudson and Brette’s future inheritance. Carson stayed on after Sara died because, in her grief, Adelaide asked him to, and in his grief, Carson said yes.

“Will you be leaving?” she asked again.

“Would you want me to leave?” He sounded unsure.

“You would stay?”

Carson had sat back in his chair. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to take Hudson and Brette out of the only home they’ve known. They’ve already had to deal with more than any kid should.”

“So you would marry this woman and bring her here. To this house.”

Carson had hesitated only a moment. “Yes.”

She knew without asking that they were not talking solely about the effects moving would have on a ten-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. They were talking about the strange biology of their grief. Sara had been taken from them both, and Holly Oak nurtured their common sorrow in the most kind and savage of ways. Happy memories were one way of keeping someone attached to a house and its people. Grief was the other. Surely Carson knew this. An inner nudging prompted her to consider asking him what his new bride would want.

“What is her name?” she asked instead.

And he answered, “Marielle…”

Excerpted from A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner Copyright © 2011 by Susan Meissner. Excerpted by permission of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;

but store up for yourselves treasures in heave, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

Can a Christmas Store and a Stranger Bring Change to Small Town?

Much-Anticipated Christmas Novella From Award-Winning Author Melody Carlson

In sleepy little Parrish Springs, everyone seems to know everyone else’s business practically before they do. The empty Barton Building has finally sold– but not to the right person, according to Councilman Snider. He is successful in stirring up the townspeople and turning them against the new owner, Matilda Honeycutt. This older woman with scraggly gray hair and a different fashion sense doesn’t fit into the Parrish Springs tradition. The town is curious and yet afraid of her at the same time. But nothing convinces Matilda to give up her plans for The Christmas Shoppe (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1926-5, $15.99, 176 pages, September 2011) by best-selling author Melody Carlson.

The neighboring shop owners respond in horror when The Christmas Shoppe doesn’t look and feel like all the other charming stores on the town’s quaint main street. After all Christmas is approaching, and the last thing the town needs is a junky shop run by someone who looks and acts like a gypsy. But as townsfolk venture into the strange store, they discover that old memories can bring new life, healing, and love.

The Christmas Shoppe, by best-selling author Melody Carlson, offers a touch of Christmas with a mixture of nostalgia, joy, and hope.

ISLAND BREEZES

I’m so glad that Melody Carlson writes Christmas books. This one is especially good.

An eccentric old woman snaps up a prime piece of property in downtown Parrish Springs, but no one really knows why or what is hidden in that building.

Finally she opens a most unusual shop and turns the inhabitants of the town upside down and sideways.

People want Matilda and her shop gone, but Matilda has an agenda.

Be sure to have some of those tissues handy.

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books with sales of more than five million. She is the author of several Christmas books from Revell, including the bestselling The Christmas Bus, The Christmas Dog, and Christmas at Harrington’s, which is being considered for a TV movie. She is also the author of many teen books, including Just Another Girl, Anything but Normal, Double Take, and the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books in 2010 and 2011. She and her husband live in central Oregon. For more information about Melody visit her website at www.melodycarlson.com.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

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!

and the book:

Supernatural Provision

Whitaker House (November 2011)

***Special thanks to Cathy Hickling of Whitaker House for sending me a review copy.***

For over 30 years Joan Hunter, President and Founder of Joan Hunter Ministries, has ministered tirelessly, preaching and teaching God’s Word worldwide and serving as a conduit for His healing power. She is the author of four books: Healing the Whole Man Handbook, Healing the Heart, Power to Heal, and her most recent, Supernatural Provision. Joan has been featured on many television and radio broadcasts in the U. S. and around the world. She lives with her husband, Kelley Murrell, in Pinehurst, Texas. A mother and grandmother, Joan has four grown daughters and Kelly, four sons. To learn more about her or attend one of Joan’s conferences or speaking events, go to her website.

In these uncertain economic times, many are struggling to make ends meet, allowing credit card bills to pile up with no plan on how to pay off their debts. Others may not be suffering financially, but fear the future and are unable to find peace. In her latest book, healing expert Joan Hunter has plumbed the pages of the Bible for wisdom on securing financial freedom and managing it according to God’s instructions that results in peace that surpasses all human understanding. Maintaining that God wants to bless His children in every area, Joan shares fresh revelations that will ignite readers’ faith to: overcome debt and loss, remove roadblocks to God’s blessings, discover the blessings of faithful stewardship, and unlock the windows of heaven. An audio teaching CD is included with each book.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Whitaker House (November 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1603744355
ISBN-13: 978-1603744355

ISLAND BREEZES

I’m still working my way through this book.  I don’t want to rush it, as I want to really absorb what Joan Hunter has to say.  I definitely need to put this to practice in my life. 

She certainly hit home when she said we turn to the Bible for our problems, but manage to not include our finances. I want to be able to claim my inheritance.

The CD included with this book really helps cement the teachings in the book.  I have discovered that any time I use more than one sense, the easier it is to retain information.

This book can be a real blessing.  This is exciting.

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

—Jeremiah 17:7–8

When you hear the word economics, you probably think of the largely secular discipline that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. You may think of the stock market, which rises and plummets in an alarming pattern. You may think of taxes and tariffs and currency exchanges. The realm of money may seem incompatible with faith, having little or nothing to do with the supernatural.

Yet the Christian life is not a dichotomy of material and spiritual, natural and supernatural. Those of us who call God our Savior and Lord know that every aspect of life has a natural and a supernatural component—economics included. Our financial wellness matters as much to God as our physical health, and we should not look at our finances from a standpoint that’s informed solely by secular investment analysts and stockbrokers. No part of your life can be understood without revelation from the Holy Spirit.

Understanding divine financial provision and the supernatural flow of money requires a personal revelation from God, just like every other area of Christian experience. Men cannot understand God’s methods using the world’s logic, which tells us to save x dollars each year, invest in certain funds, and otherwise make our own way. Most Christians have subscribed to worldly financial thinking: only 10 to 20 percent of all churchgoers tithe faithfully, which indicates that many do not believe that God will enable them to do more with the 90 percent they keep after tithing than with the money they save by refusing to tithe. Others are ignorant of the Bible’s teachings on tithing. They have not discovered that God keeps covenant with His children and provides for their needs from His inexhaustible riches in glory, not their limited incomes.

Christians must know the difference between world economics and “Word” economics—the divine ways in which God provides for His children as they advance His kingdom on earth. His Word—the Holy Bible—is the answer book for questions about the realm of personal finances, especially as it concerns the call of God on your life. In these end times, the economy of God is not the same depressing picture that the world paints, with its buzz about deflation, inflation, recession, depression, unemployment, et cetera. His economy is thriving, with enough provision for you to do everything He has planned for you. He knows what works all the time.

A Steady Constant amid an Economy in Flux

In the world’s economy, it’s a “buyer’s market” one day, a “seller’s market” the next. The stock exchange is unpredictable, with investment brokers changing their tune every day. The threat of market crashes haunts investors everywhere, so that an atmosphere of panic and confusion permeates Wall Street and financial analysts.

Who is the author of confusion? Who is the author of scare tactics and lies? We all know that it’s God’s opponent, Satan. Because he is God’s enemy, he is also our enemy, and he will do anything and everything to discourage Christians. If he can get us to doubt God’s provision and live in paranoia about unemployment, bankruptcy, and the like, he has the upper hand.

The great thing about God’s economy is, it never changes. While the world’s economy is in constant flux, the principles by which God’s economy operates are eternal; they do not shift according to the latest trends on Wall Street. The current economic conditions do not limit God. He doesn’t have more money when stocks are soaring and less when the market tanks. “The earth is the Lord’s” (Exodus 9:29); He owns it all, all the time. He could turn stones into loaves of bread if He chose to. (See Matthew 4:3–4.) He used ravens to feed the prophet Elijah. (See 1 Kings 17:6.) He supplied sustenance for Noah and the other inhabitants of the ark during the great flood. (See Genesis 6:13–9:1.) He can provide for those who trust Him in any situation.

When the enemy tries to tell you something negative, laugh out loud! If he whispers fear and paranoia into your mind, call him a liar and quote God’s Word to him, just as Jesus did when Satan was tempting Him in the wilderness. (See Matthew 4:1–11.)

Heed the True Anchor, Not the News Anchor

Most Christians read the Bible and pray when they are at a crossroads and need wisdom on what to do. Yet many of them make the mistake of seeking the Bible’s wisdom for every area of life except their finances! They consult the Word of God for answers to questions about health, emotions, relationships, and the like, but neglect to search the ultimate source of wisdom for financial advice—with tragic results.

I know a woman whose husband could not stay away from the news. He listened to, watched, or read the news all day and long into the night. Panic invaded his mind on a daily basis and also permeated his marriage and family, and his wife was at a loss for how to deal with the spirit of fear that had taken over her home.

Sadly, many people devote much of their attention to the news, whether by watching TV, listening to the radio, surfing the Internet, or checking Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites for updates. The news from these sources is almost always from man’s perspective, not God’s. Granted, being informed about world events is useful—how else can we know when to pray for change or when to rejoice over the fulfillment of God’s promises? But the fact remains that most news broadcasts emphasize the negative and end up inciting panic and undermining our confidence.

Watch What You Lean On

How many people do you know who trust the news without question? They are totally consumed with the opinions of man as their ultimate source of knowledge; they “lean on” worldly news and then wonder why they do not have peace and joy!

Does the Bible say, “Trust in the news with all your heart, and it shall direct your path”? No! God’s Word tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6). In the midst of a seesawing stock market and high unemployment, trusting in God’s provision can be a challenge. The key is to be more focused on His promises—His economy, as revealed in His Word—than on the world economy.

Guard Your Ears

You may be familiar with Romans 10:17: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” What you may not realize is that, like faith, fear also comes by hearing—listening to the news, to the world around you.

If we try to keep up with the world’s financial reports and heed messages of economic doom and gloom, we are bound to become anxious and prey to fear. Fear, as you know, is the opposite of faith, and it is not from God: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Again, if the news is what you focus on, a spirit of fear will pervade your thoughts. Your spirit will be dominated by whatever you feed your mind.

As I wrote earlier, the “news” that bombards us 24/7 should not be our primary source of information, especially when it comes to our finances. Instead of depending on the newscasters, we should turn to the Word of God. The more we depend on the Word, the more content and confident we will be. Where do you go for answers? God’s Word or the news broadcasts?

Guard Your Mind

When you spend hours surfing the Internet, reading the newspaper, and watching TV news anchors broadcast their negative messages, what will enter your mind? Negativity. Junk. Trash. Fear. Poverty.

Be careful about the thoughts you entertain. Instead of dwelling on negativity, use your God-given discernment. When the financial forecast is dire, you will be free from anxiety and fear, because the truths about God’s economy—the promise of His supernatural provision and inexhaustible resources—will keep your soul at peace.

In addition, when you renew your mind (see Romans 12:2), you will have the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). And, when you think with the mind of Christ, you end up making wise decisions based on your faith in God and your obedience to His Word.

Guard Your Tongue

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. (Proverbs 18:21 kjv)

It may come as a revelation to you, but your words can affect the level of your material wealth. You can bring in money by the words you use. You speak by faith and you act in obedience to the Word of God. No matter how you feel at the time or how much money you have, when you speak in faith and obey God’s Word, He blesses you and your offspring.

Consider the words you speak. Are they words of peace and faith, or are they expressions of fear and panic? When you choose to fill your mind with God’s truth and speak words of faith alone, you withstand the spirit of fear and dwell in the prosperity of God. If anything is blocking your income, you must pray positive words over your finances. Declare good things. Speak increase and prosperity. The words of your mouth will determine your success, not the naysaying of the newscasters.

We have this assurance in the Psalms:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1–3 kjv)

When we set our minds in agreement with the promises in the Word of God, we can expect incredible blessings from our Father, for He supernaturally blesses His people!

Faith for Finances in Tumultuous Times

In the midst of the housing bust and economic downturn of 2008–2009, our ministry had to relocate. On top of that, my husband, Kelley, and I moved. The logistics of such an undertaking are usually overwhelming, not to mention the added difficulty of my having to help direct the process from a distance due to my extensive travel schedule. Yes, I continued to travel wherever God sent me during this time and usually found myself out of town.

Despite the circumstances that surrounded us, our needs were met supernaturally. Our ministry has more workspace than ever before, and our new home is beautiful. We are grateful for God’s blessings, and we excitedly anticipate the blessings to come as we faithfully follow His leading.

True prosperity is found in the Word of God. If we feed ourselves continually on the things of God, our souls will prosper. As our souls prosper, our bodies and minds also prosper. The effects of these blessings overflow into every corner of our lives.

Is everything in our lives perfect 24/7? No! We still live on earth and daily face challenges to overcome. However, we are so blessed that we just hop over each challenge to catch the next blessing. We listen to God’s Word, speak His Word, and believe His Word.

When you turn to the Word of God, you receive only good news—the promises He has in store for you. As we have discussed, a steady diet of world news produces nothing but fear, worry, and anxiety. What will you listen to? Whose report will you believe? (See Romans 10:16–17.) Will you continue to rely on the world’s economy, or will you walk into and stay within the economic principles designed by our Creator? Every day, you will make such a choice. Choose carefully.

Man may fail you, but God never will. And He is the greatest “personal financial adviser” you could hope for, because He always has your best interests in mind.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 niv)

Which will you trust? The words of man with doom and gloom, which plant seeds of doubt and disbelief, or the wonderful Word of God with its promises of abundant life? If you answered “God’s news,” read on. In this book, I will reveal financial principles from the Word of God and show you the joy of putting your faith not in a paycheck or another source of income but in your ultimate Provider, the Lord God Almighty.

God has only good things for you, but you have to turn to Him and open your mind and heart to hear, discern, understand, and follow His plans for you. When you deposit faith for your finances in the bank of heaven, you will receive the greatest possible return, and His peace and prosperity will permeate your life. May it be so for you today!

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!

and the book:

Mercy Come Morning

WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (August 16, 2011)

***Special thanks to Laura Tucker of WaterBrook Press for sending me a review copy.***

LISA BERGREN is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty books, with more than two million copies sold. A former publishing executive, she now splits her time working as a freelance editor and writer while parenting three children with her husband, Tim, and dreaming of the family’s next visit to Taos.

Visit the author’s website.

There are no second chances. Or are there?

Krista Mueller is in a good place. She’s got a successful career as a professor of history; she’s respected and well-liked; and she lives hundreds of miles from her hometown and the distant mother she could never please. It’s been more than a decade since Alzheimer’s disease first claimed Charlotte Mueller’s mind, but Krista has dutifully kept her mother in a first-class nursing home.

Now Charlotte is dying of heart failure and, surprised by her own emotions, Krista rushes to Taos, New Mexico, to sit at her estranged mother’s side as she slips away. Battling feelings of loss, abandonment, and relief, Krista is also unsettled by her proximity to Dane McConnell, director of the nursing home—and, once upon a time, her first love. Dane’s kind and gentle spirit—and a surprising discovery about her mother—make Krista wonder if she can at last close the distance between her and her mother … and open the part of her heart she thought was lost forever.

“A timeless tale, to be kept every day in the heart as a reminder
that forgiveness is a gift to self.”
—PATRICIA HICKMAN, author of The Pirate Queen

Product Details:

List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (August 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307730107
ISBN-13: 978-0307730107

ISLAND BREEZES

I don’t know if you all get emotional when you read, but I do.  If you’re like me, you are really going to need that box of tissues.  When the surprises start coming, so do the tears.

This is a book that calls to your heart, both while reading it and after you reach the end.

It is the story of a woman who has struggled for years with her relationships with her mother and with the man she loves.  You need to read this for yourself.  Then you will understand why my tears just keep coming.

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

I took a long, slow breath. “She died a long time ago, Dane.”

He paused, and I could picture him formulating his next words, something that would move me. Why was my relationship with my mother so important to him? I mean, other than the fact that she was a patient in his care. “There’s still time, Kristabelle.”

I sighed. Dane knew that his old nickname for me always got to me. “For what? For long, deep conversations?” I winced at the harsh slice of sarcasm in my tone.

“You never know,” he said quietly. “An aide found something you should see.”

“What?”

“Come. I’ll keep it here in my office until you arrive. Consider it a Christmas present.”

“It’s December ninth.”

“Okay, consider it an early present.”

It was typical of him to hold out a mysterious hook like that. “I don’t know, Dane. The school term isn’t over yet. It’s a hard time to get someone to cover for me.” It wasn’t the whole truth. I had an assistant professor who could handle things on her own. And I could get back for finals. Maybe. Unless Dane wasn’t overstating the facts.

“Krista. She’s dying. Her doctor tells me she has a few weeks, tops. Tell your department chair. He’ll let you go. This is the end.” I stared out my cottage window to the old pines that covered my yard in shadows. The end. The end had always seemed so far away. Too far away. In some ways I wanted an end to my relationship with my mother, the mother who had never loved me as I longed to be loved. When she started disappearing, with her went so many
of my hopes for what could have been. The road to this place had been long and lonely. Except for Dane. He had always been there, had always waited. I owed it to him to show. “I’ll be there on Saturday.”

“I’ll be here. Come and find me.”

“Okay. I teach a Saturday morning class. I can get out of here after lunch and down there by five or six.”

“I’ll make you dinner.”

“Dane, I—”

“Dinner. At seven.”

I slowly let my mouth close and paused. I was in no mood to argue with him now. “I’ll meet you at Cimarron,” I said.
“Great. It will be good to see you, Kristabelle.” I closed my eyes, imagining him in his office at Cimarron Care Center. Brushing his too-long hair out of his eyes as he looked through his own window.

“It will be good to see you, too, Dane. Good-bye.”

He hung up then without another word, and it left me feeling slightly bereft. I hung on to the telephone receiver as if I could catch one more word, one more breath, one more connection with the man who had stolen my heart at sixteen.

Dane McConnell remained on my mind as I wrapped up things at the college, prepped my assistant, Alissa, to handle my history classes for the following week, and then drove the scenic route down to Taos from Colorado Springs, about a five-hour trip. My old Honda Prelude hugged the roads along the magnificent San Luis Valley. The valley’s shoulders were still covered in late spring snow, her belly carpeted in a rich, verdant green. It was here that in 1862 Maggie O’Neil single-handedly led a wagon train to settle a town in western Colorado, and nearby Cecilia Gaines went so
crazy one winter they named a waterway in her honor—“Woman Hollering Creek.”

I drove too fast but liked the way the speed made my scalp tingle when I rounded a corner and dipped, sending my stomach flying. Dane had never driven too fast. He was methodical in everything he did, quietly moving ever forward. He had done much in his years since grad school, establishing Cimarron and making it a national think tank for those involved in gerontology. After high school we had essentially ceased communication for years before Cimarron came about. Then when Mother finally got to the point in her descent into Alzheimer’s that she needed fulltime institutionalized care, I gave him a call. I hadn’t been able to find a facility that I was satisfied with for more than a year, when a college friend had shown me the magazine article on the opening of Cimarron and its patron saint, Dane McConnell.

“Good looking and nice to old people,” she had moaned. “Why can’t I meet a guy like that?”

“I know him,” I said, staring at the black-and-white photograph.

“Get out.”

“I do. Or did. We used to be…together.”

“What happened?” she asked, her eyes dripping disbelief.

“I’m not sure.”

I still wasn’t sure. Things between us had simply faded over the years. But when I saw him again, it all seemed to come back. Or at least a part of what we had once had. There always seemed to be a submerged wall between us, something we couldn’t quite bridge or blast through. So we had simply gone swimming toward different shores.

Mother’s care had brought us back together over the last five years. With the congestive heart failure that was taking her body, I supposed the link between us would finally be severed. I would retreat to Colorado, and he would remain in our beloved Taos, the place of our youth, of our beginnings, of our hearts. And any lingering dream of living happily ever after with Dane McConnell could be buried forever with my unhappy memories of Mother.

I loosened my hands on the wheel, realizing that I was gripping

it so hard my knuckles were white. I glanced in the rearview mirror, knowing that my reverie was distracting me from paying attention to the road. It was just that Dane was a hard man to get over. His unique ancestry had gifted him with the looks of a Scottish Highlander and the sultry, earthy ways of the Taos Indians. A curious, inspiring mix that left him with both a leader’s stance and a wise man’s knowing eyes. Grounded but visionary. A driving force, yet empathetic at the same time. His employees loved working for him. Women routinely fell in love with him.

I didn’t know why I could never get my act together so we could finally fall in love and stay in love. He’d certainly done his part. For some reason I’d always sensed that Dane was waiting for me, of all people. Why messed-up, confused me? Yet there he was. I’d found my reluctance easy to blame on my mother. She didn’t love me as a mother should, yada-yada, but I’d had enough time with my counselor to know that there are reasons beyond her. Reasons that circle back to myself.

I’d always felt as if I was chasing after parental love, but the longer I chased it, the further it receded from my reach. It left a hole in my heart that I was hard-pressed to fill. God had come close to doing the job. Close. But there was still something there, another blockade I had yet to blast away. I would probably be working on my “issues” my whole life. But as my friend Michaela says, “Everyone’s got issues.” Supposedly I need to embrace them. I just want them to go away.

“Yeah,” I muttered. Dane McConnell was better off without me. Who needed a woman still foundering in her past?

I had to focus on Mother. If this was indeed the end, I needed to wrap things up with her. Find closure. Some measure of peace. Even if she couldn’t say the words I longed to hear.

I love you, Krista.

Why was it that she had never been able to force those four words from her lips?

Excerpted from Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Tawn Bergren. Excerpted by permission of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ 

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;

for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? 
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Matthew 5:43-46