Thank You, God, for Mommy

Thank You, God, for Mommy

Two adorable pandas take you on a journey into thankfulness in the delightful board book by Amy Parker entitled, “ Thank You, God, for Mommy.”

Little Panda tells you and your child why he is thankful for his mommy in this sweet story for the infant and toddler crowd. He speaks of his mommy and her caring nature, patience with messes, and boo-boo kisses with deep love and affection. The beautiful illustrations help the children see the characteristics spoken by Little Panda. The author points the reader to the expressions of faith shown by Mommy Panda in her words and actions and shows these actions vividly in the illustrations.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for all parents of infants and toddlers who want to reinforce Christian principals when they share stories with their children. The last illustration in the book tells it all when it shows Little Panda covering up Mommy as she lay sleeping. By doing so, he is showing his love for her even as she showed her love for him.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes.

Mine is the Night

Mine is the Night

Step off the coach and enter the world of the Kerr women in the gripping conclusion to the story of Ruth as told by Liz Curtis Higgs in 2 consecutive books. Elizabeth and her mother in law were introduced to the reader in Here Burns My Candle. The author now continues their story, based on the book of Ruth from the Old Testament, as they arrive title less and penniless to live with a poor relative in Marjory’s small Scottish home town. Elizabeth returns to sewing for a tailor in town to keep food on the table. Marjory, her mother in law, cooks and keeps the small one room house while Cousin Ann teaches lace making to wealthy young ladies. Their unfailing trust in the Lord sees them through rough times until they meet Captain Jack who has a profound influence on all their lives.

I could not put this book down once I started reading it. The author again creates real people with such skill that you immediately are drawn into their stories and can not wait to follow their lives to the conclusion. Her attention to detail is again obvious and her descriptive skill exceptional as she creates the world that existed in 17th century Scotland. I encourage everyone to take the time to read this wonderful novel. You will not be disappointed if you do.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes.

The book can be purchased at Waterbookmultnomah.com,Amazon.com and CBD.com

Here Burns My Candle

Liz Curtis Higgs is a best selling Christian author who writes historical novels. She sets her novels in Scotland and uses detailed descriptive language to draw the reader into the time period with which she is dealing.

Here Burns my Candle is the story of the Kerr family and is based on the Book of Ruth from the Old Testament. Lady Elizabeth Kerr is a Highlander and a keeper of secrets. She is married to Lord Donald who has secrets of his own. Lady Marjory is Donald’s widowed mother who loves her position in society and dotes on her 2 sons. As Prince Charlie and his rebels try to over throw King George, the Kerr family secrets begin to unravel one by one. The consequences for the Kerr family are harsh and the loss of position and title lead to big changes for them all.

I was immediately drawn into the story told by this author because of her fine descriptive skills and beautiful use of language. The parallels to the Book of Ruth are subtle at first but become more and more obvious as the story progresses. I highly recommend this author and this story. You will not be sorry that you took the time to read about the Kerr family in Here Burns My Candle.

Blogs

My daughter just posted a new entry on her blog. It was well written as usual, and about our family so it was personal which I tend to enjoy reading. She has a real gift for writing and I am convinced that it is a gift from the Lord and that she will always make good use of this special gift. She brought me to tears with her words because they were about me. I miss my family each and every day and hold them up before Jesus so that He will continue to guard and keep them. They are my best blessings and the greatest gifts that the Lord ever gave me so they are all precious to me.

Her blog entry dovetailed with the 2 books that I have read and am ready to review for Waterbrook Multnomah. These books of Christian historical fiction are by Liz Curtis Higgs and are based on the book of Ruth. They follow a Scottish family living in the 1700's and the working of the Lord in their lives.

I hope to get these reviews written and posted by Monday so please check back. Both of these books touched me deeply and I am eager to share them with all of you.

News from Greetinggirl66

I am waiting to return from a mini vacation in the Dells to see if my next book has arrived. This book is Historical fiction from Liz Curtis Higgs. I am reading the book that precedes the one that I am to review so that I can get a better picture of the characters that fill both novels. This author writes about Scotland in the 1700's and I have found her writing style really easy to read. I am almost finished with this book and will post a review as soon as I can. I will then read the new book and review it too so keep on checking the blogg.

I love sharing these books with you and hope that you can read some of them too. I have found all the books from Waterbrook Multnomah to be first rate and am really glad that I stumbled into Blogging for Books. It has been a fun ride.:)

The Bridge of Peace

Brew yourself a cup of tea and find a comfortable chair then pick up a copy of The Bridge of Peace and let it transport you to the world of the Amish.

Lena Kauffman is a young Old Order Amish schoolteacher with a facial birthmark on her cheek. She has learned to deal with this birthmark by asserting herself and pouring her love for teaching into her Amish students. She is independent and tries unorthodox methods that bring her into conflict with parents and school board alike.

Grey Graber is a member of the school board and a life long friend of Lena. He and his wife are experiencing difficulties in their marriage due to his wife’s fear that she carries defective genes. They are in the process of resolving their problems when tragedy strikes their family.

The author uses this tragedy to bring Lena and Grey together but rumors and secrets threaten to destroy their friendship and their future.

This is a well written and gripping story. From page one the author draws you into the lives of the characters and their struggles. She also gives a modern portrayal of the life of the Amish and the challenges it holds for those who follow this faith and life style. I highly recommend this book and this author. I look forward to reading more books that she has written.

You can find this book at Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com.and Waterbrookmultnomah.com

Same Life, New Story by Jan Silvious

Same Life, New Story is a 10 week Bible study for women written by a Christian author, speaker and professional life coach. Using the lives of 10 women from Scripture, the author helps us understand how a small change can have life long effects.

Each chapter of the book is based on the life of a woman from Scripture. The author uses the lives of Naomi, Leah, Rahab, Hannah, Abigail, Elizabeth, Jehosheba, Anna, Deborah and Naaman’s servant girl to guide women in their search for a new direction in life. We may have the same life but with God’s help, we can write a new story for all to read.

Because I am an older woman, I especially identified with her use of Elizabeth as a woman who in her old age wrote a new story. God used her as the mother of John the Baptizer and thereby changed her story and her life. The author pointed out that until we die there is always more of our story to write. In living our lives, we leave a legacy for those who will follow after us and how we live determines that legacy. Elizabeth lived a life of hope and passed that hope down to those who followed her.

I really enjoyed each of these Bible studies and would highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to expand their understanding of Scripture and how it is applied to our everyday lives. There is much to be learned from Same Life, New Story.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes.

Monday Musings

My next Blogging for Books book is not released until March so I have borrowed a library book by Cindy Woodsmall to read and review in the meantime. Cindy is an author that I have not yet read. She writes about the Amish so I want to read this book called " The Bridge of Peace " to see how she tells their story. Blogging for Books allows you to review any book published by Waterbrook Multnomah and to post the review on their site as well as your blog. I hope to read the book this week and publish the review shortly after I have finished reading it.

I am really enjoying this whole blogging and reviewing books experience. I am able to read a wide variety of books and keep them for free. I am able to practice my writing skills and widen my horizons by choosing different authors and books each time. It is a pretty good deal all the way around.:)

I am reviewing books for other publishers as well. I have a Bible Study book from Thomas Nelson that I am in the process of reading right now. It is a bible study for women that uses 10 women of the Bible as a focus for 10 studies. I am about 1/2 way through it and hope to post a review very soon.

I am also signed up to review books for Tyndale Publishers but have yet to get a book from them. They only offer one or two books at a time and so far I have not found any that interest me. I will just wait until one becomes available that I find interesting, request it , read it and post the review for all of you to read.

If you have not yet read my newest review, " God Gave us the World ", please do so and rate it right here on my blog. My first 2 reviews are also on this blog so feel free to read and rate them as well.

That is all the "musing" that I wanted to share with you today. Check back often. You never know when I might be moved to "muse" again.:)

God Gave Us the World by Lisa Bergren

Mama bear is taking Little Cub to a museum exhibit about bears. Little Cub has many questions about bears and about how other bears are different from polar bears. Mama Bear takes this opportunity to teach her cub about God the Creator and the wonderful world He created. She leads Little Cub to see the diversity of God’s Creation and the responsibility we all share to care for it.

I really liked this picture book and the characters that the author created. I think that small children will relate well to Little Cub and the curiosity that she exhibits in her questioning. The Mama Bear character is so kind and gentle in her approach to her daughter and explains things directly in language that her daughter can understand.

The illustrator of this book, Laura J. Bryant, does a beautiful job of showing the words of the author in her illustrations of the characters. I love her use of vibrant colors that capture the attention of small children and keep them focused on the story. Her drawings are detailed and accurate as seen in the claws of the various bears and the way they move and eat.

Both parents and children will enjoy this book and the fine illustrations that bring the words to life.

This book was provided to me free of charge for review purposes by Waterbrook
Multnomah Publishing Company.

The Children's Picture Book has Arrived!

The picture book is here and I am eager to read and review it. It arrived while we were visiting our son and family in South Dakota. Our grand son arrived on his due date so we journeyed out to meet him and spend time helping his sister and parents as they welcomed him into their lives. I had forgotten how small a new born is but so enjoyed holding him and getting to know him. It was hard to say good bye since we probably will not see him again until he is 4 months old.

The book that I am to review deals with creation and I am curious to see how the author and illustrator handled this subject. Come back in a day or two and I should have the review posted. I will alert you on Facebook when it is ready.

South Dakota

We are spending some time in South Dakota getting to know our new grandson, Gabriel. I hope that my childrens picture book from Waterbrookmultnomah will be there waiting for me when I return.

While this post has nothing to do with books, I really wanted to share how great it is to be a grandparent. I had forgotten how small newborns are even at 8lbs.5oz. They are easy to hold and so much fun to cuddle. I love watching the faces he makes while he is sleeping in my arms. He startles very easily and seems uncomfortable with the big world in which he finds himself. When he is swaddled, he is so much more comfortable and drifts off to sleep quickly. I love how he smells with the baby smell of lotion and soap just after his bath. Even his cry is appealing as it is just a request for food or pants changing. As I hold him, I wonder what kind of a boy he will be and how he will get along with his big sister, Grace. His grandpa will baptize him on Sunday and through Water and the Word, Gabriel Joseph will become a redeemed child of God. Thank you, Jesus for this wonderful gift you have given to our family.

Snow and Cold

We just survived our first real winter storm and it was a doozy. We had 16 inches of snow and below zero cold and strong winds for about 24 hours. The winds died down yesterday so we blew out our drifted driveway and brushed off the frozen car. The sun is shining today and we are to get up to 14 degrees so it is improving little by little.

My book from Waterbrook Multnomah has been shipped and should arrive next week. This time it is a childrens picture book and I am really excited to read and review it. I will post on Facebook when the review is ready and I hope that you will all check it out. Blogging for Books is fun and I am enjoying being a part of the program.

Book Number 2 Lady in waiting by Susan Meissner

I just wrote and posted my second review for Blogging for Books. It is LADY IN WAITING by Susan Meissner. You will be able to find it at waterbookmultnomah.com/blogging for books. Look it up under the name of the book or the date it was posted which was Jan.30th. Please read my review and rate it. Soon I hope to have a way for you to rate my review right here on Greetinggirl. I need to get my computer son on board so that he can help me learn how to do this each time I write a review. Until then, please visit Waterbrookmultnomah.com/blogging for books. Thanks for your help

I have ordered my next book which is a childrens picture book. I can't wait to share it with you.

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Choices. We all make choices everyday. This book, which I really enjoyed, is about 2 women named Jane who made choices about love.

Jane Lindsey lives in modern day New York and manages her great aunt's antique shop  Her husband of 22 years has just left her and  has asked her to give him space to sort out his life. She is totally unprepared for this happening and struggles to make sense of his decision.

Lady Jane Grey lives in 16th century England and at age 14, is waiting for her parents to make a suitable wedding match for her. She is royalty being descended from the Tudor line so her future is really not her own. She favors the young Edward Seymour who has secretly given her a betrothal ring. Centuries later, Jane Lindsey finds a ring in the spine of an old Reformed prayer book that came from a jumble sale in England. The author skillfully weaves the stories of these 2 women around this ring.

I enjoyed reading this book because the author made the characters so real. You can feel Jane Lindseys  confusion and hurt when her husband leaves. You feel her frustration when her parents try to "help" her make the right decision. You are just as intrigued as she is when she finds the ring and searches for its story since the name "Jane" is engraved in the band. You feel the bewilderment of young Lady Jane as she tries to make sense of her parent's choice for her husband. You feel her agony when she realizes that she may never see Edward Seymour again. You rejoice with her when she lets her love of God and country guide her final decision in life. This author is a master of her craft and the book reflects this mastery in every way.

This book can be purchased at both Amazon.com and CBD.com. You can read Chapter one by clicking on the left hand button on the Blogging for Books site.

Waterbrook Multnomah provided this book free of charge for review purposes.

Thursday, January 27th Re Greetinggirl66 Reviews

If you have tried to find my review on the Blogging for Books site, you know it has been a frustrating experience. My son suggested that I post exactly where you can find my review so that more of you will take the time to read and rate it. Here is the link that you need to find it: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/index/blogr:2757. If you follow this link, it should be easy to read my review and rate it. Thanks for taking the time to read and rate. :)

My New Book Arrived!

It took 2 weeks but my next book has finally arrived. It is called LADY IN WAITING and is novel about a lady named Jane. I am about 1/2 way through the book and am eager to share it with you all. This is an historical novel and it is about a time in history about which I know very little. It actually follows the lives of 2 women named Jane, one who lives today and one who lived in the past. Needless to say, I am eager to read the whole book and share what I have learned with you.

I recently found another site that offers free Christian books for a review so I joined that site also. The site is sponsored by Thomas Nelson publishers and is called BOOKSNEEZE. I got my first book to review for them on the same day as the novel arrived so I am actually reading 2 books for review purposes. This book is a Bible study book  so I am going through each study and will report what my impressions are very soon.

If you have not read my review of  TANDEM, please do so and then rate my review on the Waterbrookmultnomah website. The Internet address is www.waterbrookmultnomah.com. You can find my review either under the title of the book or my name.

Stay tuned for my next review and thanks for visiting my blog.

Adventures in Blogging

Well, I read my first book for review, wrote my review and then tried to post it on the Blogging for Books site. This turned out to be a challenging endeavor. They wanted the address for my blog but they wanted just the page on which my review appeared. Being a bit challenged in the arts of the computer, I had no idea how to give the Blogging for Books web site what it requested. I tried various things until I stumbled on the address that they needed and was finally able to publish my review. I felt great relief and was pretty proud of myself since I did not have to ask my computer savvy kids to help me. Now I am waiting for my second book to arrive and am eager to post another review. This book will be historical fiction so it will be a different genre than the first book I read and reviewed. Watch my blog for the next review which I hope to have up in a week or two depending on when the book arrives. If you have not yet rated my review on Blogging for Books, please do so. The more people that rate it, the better my score and chance of winning prizes. Talk to you again soon.:)

Tandem

When I chose the book TANDEM to review, I did not realize that the story line dealt with paranormal issues. As I got into the book and was caught up in the story line and plot, I was somewhat surprised by the direction that the story took.

The main character, Lauryn McBride, has worked for her father in the auction business for some years. Having lost her mom in a car accident, she is very close to her father who is in the final stages of Alzheimer's . The author does a great job describing the effects of the disease on Lauryn and her dad.

The second main character is Amede Dastillion who is searching for her long lost sister, Eden. Amede is brought together with Lauryn when Lauryn sends her a packet of letters found in the estate of Markus Chisom and addressed to the Dastillion family. Amede travels to the small town in Missouri convinced that her sister is there. The author skillfully weaves together the paranormal with the realities found in this small Missouri town and adds many surprises along the way.

I am not a big fan of the paranormal but this author did such a good job in developing the plot and characters  that I was kept interested in the outcome of the story until the very end.

I would recommend this book especially for those readers who enjoy the paranormal. The fact that this book is written from a Christian perspective adds new aspects to the paranormal content.

This book was provided to me for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers for review purposes.