The Witness By Josh McDowell

Book Info: From Monte Carlo to Morocco to Egypt and into Petra, Marwan Accad is pursued by authorities for murders he did not commit. Tracked by advanced intelligence-surveillance technology, his every location is eventually found out, thrusting those he loves into danger. Nurtured by a bitter past that equipped him with what he needed for his company to thrive, Marwan Accad never looks back. Yet the way forward promises only uncertainty, and living each day is a lie in which corruption and greed play in the lives of man. For whose lie is he going through all of this? Even as Marwan races against time to find his pursuers and their motives, he must grapple with what is beyond his life, with what is eternal.

I received this book from Tyndale Publishing for free, in return they ask for my opinion of the book.  This is the first time I have read anything by Josh Mcdowell and I cannot wait to read more from him. The Witness grabs your attention right from the start and makes it nearly impossible to put the book down. The book moves at a good pace and takes you to places like  Casablanca, Morocco, North Africa. While going through all of these places a love story is happening with it. On top of that there is a real transformation of the main character. He is a non believer but his best friend is a believer and a bible smuggler in Casablanca.  The book was accurate with the different places and languages. Gave in depth descriptions of places and events that really happened in history.

Marwan Accad, the main character, really came to life for me and I felt sympathy for his situation....he gets framed for murder, chased by police and asassins.He and his brother own a private security company together. Their parents were killed years before and so its always just been the 2 of them. Marwan finds out information about a man's wife and within seconds of giving him the information the man is gunned down and they try to kill Marwan.  He goes to his best friend and his family for help and they help me but everyone he comes in contact with he puts at risk in this cat and mouse game. Things are not what they seem and people are not who they seem.  Marwan meets a wonderful woman along the way and begins to fall in love. Also Marwan starts to question his lack of faith and feels the tugging to have a relationship with Jesus. Marwan evolves through the whole book. This book kept you guessing until the end, definitely could not predict where things were going.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller books and or conspiracy books. I cannot wait to see what Josh McDowell has coming out next!

Love on a Dime: A Ladies of Summerhill Novel

book description: 

Newport, Rhode Island, 1899, is a place of shimmering waves, sleek yachts, and ladies of leisure. Of opulent mansions that serve as summer cottages for the rich and famous. Home of railroad magnates and banking tycoons--dashing young men and the women who aspire to marry them.

But it's not the place for lady novelists. Especially not those who pen disreputable dime novels. This poses a problem for Lilly Westbrook, because that's exactly what she does.No one in Lilly's social set knows she pens fiction under the nom de plume Fannie Cole. Not her family or the wealthy young man about to propose to her. And especially not Jackson Grail, the long-lost beau who just bought her publishing company...and who stirs her heart more than she cares to admit.

My Review: I received this novel from Thomas Nelson Publishers through Booksneeze.com, my review of this book is my own opinion.   Love on a Dime is the first novel by Cara Lynn James. This is a new author on my list of authors to read.  The story was a very sweet, engaging  tale of life in elite society in Newport during 1899.  James painted a very vivid picture of the period and of the atmosphere of Newport.  Our characters showed a center around God and depending on God for all of our needs. This book talked about using gifts to glorify God.  Love on a Dime kept my interest from beginning to end.  The story kept moving and really kept a good focus on the central themes. I would recommend this book to all.

In a time when ladies of society would never dream of working for pay--much less stoop to writing novels!--Lilly has found her calling as a writer of uplifting Christian romances while donating her earnings to a worthy charitable organization for young women. Years before she had been in love with Jackson Grail and he proposed. Her family did not feel he was a proper suitor so he left and vowed he would come back when he became a proper suitor. Six years later he comes back and Lilly is being courted by Harlan- an elitest in society whose family is very influential. Lilly knows they don't love each other but knows her parents approve of him. Jackson comes back looking for forgiveness and throws a wrench into all the plans. Lilly is our author Fannie Mae. Jackson has bought the publishing house that publishes her dime novels.  A gossip columnist has found out Fannie Mae is Lilly and he begins to blackmail her.  Lilly finds herself relaying on God for help in her situations.  Lilly follows Gods leading in all her situations and finds that things work out for the best.

The Nook

So for my birthday my Mom and Dad went overboard and bought me a Nook. I have wanted one for a long time and now I have it. Its awesome. I haven't learned how to use the whole thing but thats the fun is the figuring it out. We have it connected to the internet and I bought my first book for $1.59. YAY. I have regular books here that I am going to read but I can't wait to use the Nook. I can't imagine that I will stop buying paperbacks and such since there are certain ones I will want in book form. So as I learn more about my Nook I will be posting my journey with the Nook. I can't wait for my Mom to get herself one so we can lend books and such but I was givng her visitation with my Nook today....she got to touch and play with it as far as I learned today...YAY

Father's day

As father's day is coming to a close, I am pondering many thoughts. I know that I am very very blessed to have a wonderful father who is still here with me. He is 66 yrs old and a cancer survivor.  My sister and I were young when he had it. It was a long road but thankfully he has stayed cancer free since.  I don't think I truly appreciated the fact of still having my Dad until I married Dean and we had kids. Both my Dad and my husband grew up without fathers. They had no idea what it was to celebrate father's day for them......they saw others celebrate their father's but never got to do it with their own fathers. That really makes you think about what the day means.  Dean doesn't know what to do on Father's day because of this....he almost doesn't want to celebrate it.  Now for my Dad my Mom always made sure it was a big deal and still does. She always gets him a nice gift and makes it about him and his day. We joke and tell him how spoiled he is but really thinking about the fact he had never celebrated father's day with HIS dad......he had a wonderful step dad in his early teens but again not the same.  I personally can't imagine not having my dad to celebrate with but it definitely puts things into perspective.  It also really is a testimony to the types of Dad they both are despite the fact they didn't have Dad's to be that example of what a Man is and what a man is supposed to do.  Please don't get me wrong I am not saying that they didn't have mom's who raised them or making light of the sacrifices made by single mothers. Just looking at some of the places where only a man can teach certain things.  I know as a girl my Dad taught me many things and showed me what unconditional love was and showed me what it meant to be a husband and how a wife should be treated.....there are things that all children need from their dads.

Now for me Fathers day was always interesting because for me my birthday falls on Father's day every so many years or its the day before or after......so I fall right into the mix. When my Grandpa was alive we spent our Father's day morning with Dad doing breakfast, giving our homemade gifts, and just being together and then we would head over to Grandpa's for food and fun with Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. We would get together to spend the day with Grandpa, even if it was my birthday. It was a great time.....and Grandpa loved having all of us there and Grandma Joyce would make so much food and everything. We truly had a good time and my parents and my Uncles always put money together to get one big gift....I can remember him getting a lawn mower, an electric garage door opener, and many cool gadgets right up his alley. I miss him so much on these holidays. But I am glad to have my memories.  We didn't make it to the cemetery this Father's Day but I know Grandpa knows we thought of him all day.

Tomorrow I turn 36, always makes me really step back and look at my life....not where I thought I would be and not where we need to be but life has taken some turns. But I am very blessed to have my loving God given Husband and my 3 miracles: Ally, Catey, and Bobby. I don't know what I would do without any of them I am so thankful for my parents and that I am lucky enough to still have both of them. My Mom who helps us out when ever we need it and is there for us went out and bought me a Nook for my birthday. I have really wanted one but I know how expensive they are. I am loving it. I have my 2 free books I got in the mail last week that I have to read and then I can start reading off the nook but in the mean time I am learning so much about it and how to use it. So tomorrow it will be me and the kids until dinner. Dean made me my fave cake Strawberry with Cream Cheese frosting.So we will have some cake and hopefully just have a good day! I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's day!!!

Who Do I Lean On? House of Hope Book by Neta Jackson

So before I review Who do I lean on I have to start out about the Series, Yada Yada Prayer Group. This series was beyond awesome. I started reading the first one in a book club and was HOOKED. These books look at relationships with God, women's relationships with each other, and how a group of unlikely characters truly become sisters. The story is told from Jodi's perspective....her father was a pastor so she grew up in the church but wasn't having a relationship with God....she went through the motions. She attends a prayer conference and gets grouped with an interesting set of characters.......these books are just awesome.......I can't say enough about them except in order to really understand it you have to read them.

After the Yada Yada Series closed Neta Jackson started started a spin off series called House of Hope. These books are about Manna House a women's homeless shelter that our Yada sisters helped rebuild after a fire. In these books the perspective is from Gabby's perspective a new character who moves from Virginia to Chicago with her husband. Gabby and her husband live in a penthouse on the lake.  She meets a homeless woman named Lucy and everything rolls from there. Gaby gets a job at Manna House....her mother gets ill and has to move in with her and her husband.....her husband throws her out and sends their children to live with their grandparents back in Virginia. So Gabby and Grandma Shep are homeless and now are residents at Manna House.  These books adress so many aspects of faith and finding that dependence on Christ in all times of life.

In Who do I lean on, Gabby has moved into her own apartment, her boys are living with her thanks to her father in law, and she has inherited money from her Mom. She feels she is being led to purchase the building she is living in to make 2nd step housing for Manna House residents. She is going through court with her husband to make sure she can keep custody of her boys.  This book shows how if we lean on Christ things will work out in his time and how powerful prayer really is. These books I would recommend to anyone looking for a wonderful series of books about women and faith.

Neta Jackson's husband Dave has a spin off series he is writing from House of Hope  which the first book is Harry Bentley's second chance.  Harry is introduced in House of Hope as a true friend to Gabby and this book runs parallel to House of Hope. I have not read it yet but can't wait to read it.