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The God Puzzle

By Valerie Ackermann

About the book: The God Puzzle is a colorful, easy to use tool to help you communicate to your child the rich truths about God, His ways, His will and His love. The God Puzzle will help you address doctrinal themes of the Christian faith in a kid friendly way, present Bible lessons in an interactive way that will hold the child’s attention and deliver quality teaching with no preparation needed. 75% of children leave the church when they leave home. Something isn’t working. Sunday School isn’t doing it all. Kids need answers, good ones. And they need them from you, the parent. This book enables you to give them simple, clear answers.

What makes The God Puzzle unique?

– ready made discussion questions for parent to ask their child in each lesson

– can be done at any pace that works with your

family . . . every night, once a week, 10 minutes here, 30 minutes there . . . it fits into realistic family life

– puts the pieces together for a child to understand God, the Bible, and the Christian faith

– in each lesson the responds to the truth so they understand their relationship to God is personal and life transforming

– any parent, whether they know nothing, or a lot about God can start teaching their child today with no prep

– deep theology put into language a child can understand

– deeply Biblical, each lesson points to Christ

– put in an order that starts with creation, and teaches the Bible as one story that all points to Christ

– child stays engaged by filling in blanks, crosswords, drawing, matching and using their Bibles as they learn

ISLAND BREEZES

This puzzle book about God brings all the pieces together in a way that makes it easy for kids 7-12 to understand the Bible’s message of love and salvation.

The different sections of each chapter include get the facts, read it, talk about it and talk to God about it. This interactive book with puzzles throughout can bring a child to faith or strengthen the faith that he or she already has.

I’ll be sending this to my grandson to enjoy. I’m wondering if Ms Ackermann has any more puzzle books in the works. I would be happy to see them.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

  Valerie Ackermann has a BA in Theology and has been a full time Children’s Ministry Director at Parkwood Community Church in California for over 10 years. She is also a weekly Sunday school teacher, wife, and busy mom of two boys ages 9 and 11. She has hands-on experience as a children’s ministry professional, teaching and leading children of all ages. Growing up in a Christian family in the small town of Saskatchewan Canada, she has wonderful memories of knowing God from an early age. She has a passion for kids to know the deep truths of God.

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;

for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,

built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:17-20

Anita Higman is celebrating the release of her latest book, A Marriage in Middlebury, with a double Kindle Fire giveaway (one for you & one to give away!) and a “Tea for Two” Facebook Author Chat Party on December 12th.

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire for you AND a friend
• A Marriage in Middlebury by Anita Higman (one to keep and one to give away!)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 12th. Winner will be announced at the “Tea for Two” Facebook Author Chat Party on December 12th. Invite your friends and connect with Anita for an evening of book chat, prizes, and an exclusive look at Anita’s next book!

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN at the event page. Spread the word — tell your friends about the giveaway and party via FACEBOOK or TWITTER. Hope to see you on 12/12!

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!

Beth wrote her first novel in 2002 and a year later it was published. She was a caseworker before starting a family, grew up in Nebraska, and now lives in Texas.

She became interested in writing about the Amish when researching her family history and found she was related to the the Glick families in Europe. Beth also freelances for the local papers in her area, writes columns, devotionals, and novels in a variety of genres in both fiction and nonfiction. Beth followed her passion and now writes full time.

Beth has plenty of company when she writes, with her two cats and a beagle. She visits Amish communities in her area and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When not spending time with her family or friends she helps feed the homeless in South Dallas.
Visit the author’s website.

Can Abby overcome the pain caused by her father and find acceptance among the Amish? Abby finds more than love and safety when she meets Mose, as she struggles with the faith she left behind after the death of her mother. After time spent with Mose and his family she knows she has to make a choice. Will Abby stay with Mose or go back to her sick father who needs her.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99

Series: Touch of Grace (Book 3)

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Realms (October 1, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1621362973

ISBN-13: 978-1621362975

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

A Marriage in Middlebury

By Anita Higman

One decision changed both their lives . . . but will love win in the end? Charlotte Rose Hill enjoys a comfortable life serving up country delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky, devoted customers. The only thing lacking is someone to share it with. At eighteen she denied Sam Wilder’s marriage proposal after his family convinced her to walk away from their relationship. They both moved on . . . or so she thought. When Sam walks back into her life more than a decade later, Charlotte is surprised that her heart still quickens. But is it because of his presence? Or because of the presence of Sam’s new fiancée? A second chance at love doesn’t happen often, but their past may keep them apart. Is it too late for Sam and Charlotte?

ISLAND BREEZES

She moved on and has a good life. Why did this man have to come back into her life – and bring that fiancee’ with him? She walked away from his proposal when she was young. So, why did his return mess with her?

Eventually we find out why Charlotte turned down Sam’s marriage proposal.

It appears that there may be a marriage or two in Middlebury. Is it too late for Charlotte and Sam?

This was a touching story with some surprised along the way. Thank you, Ms Higman.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

  Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has over thirty books published (several coauthored) for adults and children. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends.

Dear Mr Knightley

By Katherine Reay

Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others-namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story-by giving that story to a complete stranger.

Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most.

But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself “Mr. Knightley”) offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

As Sam’s program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it’s pulled from her favorite books. But when secrets come to light, Sam is — once again — made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken.

ISLAND BREEZES

Samantha literally lives her books. She doesn’t know how to deal with real life or how to treat friends. But her life is about to turn into a story book as an anonymous benefactor puts her through journalism school. He even goes so far as to buy her clothes and rent an apartment for her. The catch – she has to write him letters to let him know how she is progressing.

I truly enjoyed watching Sam’s progress through her letters to Mr. Knightly. It was also good to see the way Alex brought her out of herself.

This was a wonderful debut novel. I’m looking forward to many more by Ms Reay.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

  Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in “Focus on the Family” and the “Upper Room.” Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. “Dear Mr. Knightley” is her first novel.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God –

not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Christmas at Harmony Hill

A Shaker Story

by: Ann H. Gabhart

She stared up at the Shaker buildings. They took in those in need. That was why she was riding into their village. But she couldn’t stay here. Not forever. They divided families. She’d heard her grandmother speak harshly of the way Shakers didn’t believe in marriage and had special houses where children were kept from their parents.

Heather put a hand over the swell of her baby inside her. Surely they wouldn’t take a newborn from his mother’s bosom. Heather’s mother couldn’t have imagined that happening or she’d have never told her to come . . .

A stirring story of healing, hope, and home at Christmas

It is 1864 and the nation is torn apart by civil war when Heather Worth discovers she is with child. With her husband at the front and nowhere else to turn, she seeks refuge in the Shaker village of Harmony Hill. Amid the tumult of the times, Heather yearns for the peace she sees in this strange community. But can this longing really be fulfilled amid these people with their peculiar beliefs about family?

As Christmas approaches, the joy of new life and the love that is born of forgiveness may hold the answer.

ISLAND BREEZES

Because she had nowhere else to turn, Heather went to the Shaker community for shelter for herself and her unborn babe. She knew she wouldn’t stay since they would separate her from her baby.

She had faith that her husband would return from the war and rescue her. But when?

Heather was separated from her father and siblings, but getting to know an aunt who was a Shaker helped ease that pain. Still, her heart ached from the coldness of her father.

Could the season of love and newness of life give her peace and happiness amid all the separations in her life?

As always, Ann H. Gabhart touches the heart.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

  Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several Shaker novels–The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The Blessed, and The Gifted–as well as other historical novels, including Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Words Spoken True. She lives with her husband a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Find out more at www.annhgabhart.com.

Available November 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Christa Parrish is celebrating her fourth novel, Stones for Bread, with a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway.

Easy steps to enter:

1. Follow Christa Parrish and TNZ Fiction on Pinterest.

2. Then Pin the Stones for Bread book cover (below), the contest graphic (above), or both, and link to this post (using this URL: #StonesforBread KitchenAid Mixer Contest #ChristaParrish http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/stones-for-bread-by-christa-parrish).

3. Then fill out THIS SHORT FORM to let us know. (There are also some additional ways to earn extra entries, as well as an option for non-Pinterest users. It’s true—people like that do exist!)

Questions? Email info @ litfusegroup dot com.

Winner will be announced on 12/9 on Christa’s Facebook Page.