Our Blessed Chaos

 
Obviously if you have read any of my book reviews you know that this book is so completely different than books I normally read.  I knew that I would have to be open minded and basically immerse myself in whatever the story had to offer.  How about a one word review...WOW

I have now decided I need to read more like this - all the cliches work - page turner, edge of your seat,  action-packed, spell binding.   Fantastic that it is the first book in a trilogy.        

 

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here 

Book 1 in the Resurrect Trilogy.
Preventing his burning fighter from crashing into a neighborhood, Navy Commander Josh Logan ejects … too late.
Critically injured, he’s offered a new life and mission exploit highly classified military technology to stop a global cataclysm. The price? He’ll be dead to everyone he knows.
He wakes in a city hospital with a genetically enhanced body and no identity. With the help of his brilliant, Neuro ICU nurse, and guided by nothing but a voice, he must infiltrate the military-industrial complex to develop the world’s most powerful weapon … to protect humanity?

• A Kindle Fire
• No Safe Harbor by Elizabeth Ludwig

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Right from the first few paragraphs in the prologue this book had me hooked.  Compassion flows for the main character and the despair he is faced with.  The story begins with sadness and flows into new beginnings with another main character who is starting out in a new town.  The two meet and the romance story begins - but the backgrounds of the characters place walls in the way of this romance.  However, there are cracks in those walls seen with a slight smile or a nervous conversation between two people who are surprised at how they feel. The author develops this so skillfully that it is easy to cheer for this relationship.

Then with one phone call, in one paragraph, and without warning - suspense is introduced.  Already drawn in to the story and the characters, the pages are now turning furiously following the drama and wondering where this all will end. Simply wonderful! 


 

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here 

• A Kindle Paperwhite
• The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

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On Ben & Carlee's birthday I posted about the 6 years of chaos.  Now a few weeks later it is nearly Sam's birthday and we will have a 7 year old!  That is hard to believe...but here is the proof....

Sam, you stole my heart long before these first smiles.

Walking before 10 months old!

You weren't even 11 months old when you became a big brother to twins.  You were still a baby yourself.

But then you were 1

You were so sweet already...helping your sister

and bringing your brother a drink

You would even help hold a bottle- when you weren't trying to drink from it.  Remember that you are still barely a toddler!

And then you were 2 and even the puppies got loves.

Flowers for Mama.  How sweet!

You are a boy and seem to find plenty of mischief, but it is hard to be upset with a face that lights up like that.

And then you were 3 - and still so sweet!

Your wonder and excitement for Christmas grows every year

You were even a joy to potty train

But we can't forget that you are a boy and you do get into some big messes.

Your excitement for simple pleasures thrills all who are around you.

You even love the snow...you didn't get that from your Mama

And then you were 4...even when you are learning gun safety from Daddy, you are still sweet in wanting to help your Mama blow up the diaper pail.  WooHoo no more diapers!

You have a sweet tooth...that, you did get from your Mama

Even with a mouthful of food you are cute

And then you were 5

and you say you will be a police when you grow up

Your face says it all...your life is full of joy

Someday these brothers are going to break some hearts!

You were beyond excited to start Kindergarten!

And then you were 6

You are so much fun

Growing up means losing your teeth

Wow First Grade!

And that is how you got to be 7!  You can stop growing up anytime now

Souls' Gate
by James L. Rubart

Get ready to expand your mind.  This book will get you thinking about concepts that are foreign and even far-fetched to our every day way of thinking(including time travel and stepping into the spiritual realm to fight battles with evil).

But are they really that far-fetched?  The Bible tell us that with God all things are possible, so why not!  We believe that God can perform miracles here on earth, why shouldn't we believe that He would use men to physically battle the enemy.  

This book gets you thinking about what might be possible, about how God might use you to glorify him.  It is a true "What if" book based in the freedom we can all find in Jesus and has kept me deep in thought for days.  

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here 

ABOUT THE BOOK


Book 1 in the Well Spring series.
“Every now and then we get a break from reality. A glimpse into the other world that is more real than the reality we live in 99 percent of our days. The Bible is about a world of demons and angels and great evil and even greater glory.”
What if you could travel inside another person’s soul? To battle for them. To be part of Jesus healing their deepest wounds. To help set them free to step boldly into their divinely designed future.
Thirty years ago that’s exactly what Reece Roth did. Until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his future.
Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a prophecy spoken over him three decades ago. A prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world . . . if Reece will face his deepest regret and teach them what he has learned.
They gather at a secluded and mysterious ranch deep in the mountains of Colorado, where they will learn to see the spiritual world around them with stunning clarity—and how to step into the supernatural.
Their training is only the beginning. The four have a destiny to pursue a freedom even Reece doesn’t fully fathom. But they have an enemy hell-bent on destroying them and he’ll stop at nothing to keep them from their quest for true freedom and the coming battle of souls.

Joanna Weaver's 
At the Feet of Jesus

I am sure that if you have a selection of Christian books you probably have at least one or two devotionals on your bookshelf.  I know I have several of them, most of them collecting dust.

This devotional has several interesting additions to the daily devotional.  The daily verse and daily Bible Read and Reflect sections are great. The "Going Deeper" sections are inspiring for a deeper, more meaningful quiet time.  And of course it is wonderful to have a Bible Reading Plan.  This is a devotional that will enrich your daily time with God.

But what really makes this devotional different?  Why am I continuing to keep this one beside me rather than adding it to the dusty shelf?   Simply that there is an honesty to the writing that is refreshing.  Through this honesty there is a deep connection to the struggles I face each day...

To prove this to you, I randomly chose May 25 and read this line..."Yet my most intimate moments with Christ have come during times I felt as though my life were coming apart at the seams."  After a mommy monster moment earlier in the day I really needed to hear the message of that day!

Or how about the message from today..."I'm learning to simply confess my faults, my weaknesses, and even my willful sin, accept God's forgiveness, and move on with my life."  hmmm something about "willful sin" and the amount of candy that invaded my house today.  Yep sure needed to hear that message today!

Those are just two examples of how this devotional has spoken to me - or rather it seems that God has picked up this book and is trying to pound me over the head with it hoping I will get it one of the days.


Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here 


About the Book:

• An iPad
• The Year in Bethany Trilogy (Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Having a Mary Spirit and Lazarus Awakening 
• At the Feet of Jesus for YOU and Five of your friends.

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Susan May Warren's  
You Don't Know Me

The story is intriguing, there is drama, there are tears, and there is love.  The love of God finds this family drowning in secrets and pulls them together with His unfailing love and showers them with grace.  I was deeply touched by the idea of the supposedly perfect couple dealing with traumatic life changing events and although they briefly wavered, they decide to stand strong in their vows. I was deeply touched by a mother's love for her child and how deep the desire is to protect them.

However, with all that being said, I did have some trouble getting into and getting through this book. The drama of the story was introduced very early, but the storyline was slow moving until the drama finally unfolded near the end. 

Still a good read and I would still recommend it.


Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here 


About the Book: 

A Deep Haven Novel

Sometimes the secrets we keep to protect ourselves can be our undoing.

To all who know her, Annalise Decker is a model wife and mother. She’s a permanent member of the PTA, never misses a sporting event, and is constantly campaigning for her husband’s mayoral race.

No one knows that Annalise was once Deidre O’Reilly, a troubled young woman whose testimony put a dangerous criminal behind bars. Relocated through the Witness Security Program to the quaint harbor town of Deep Haven, Deidre received a new identity and a fresh start, which began when she fell in love with local real estate agent Nathan Decker.

Twenty years later, Annalise couldn’t be more unprepared for her past to catch up with her. When Agent Frank Harrison arrives with news that the man she testified against is out on parole and out for revenge, Annalise is forced to face the consequences of her secrets. Will she run again, or will she finally find the courage to trust those she loves most with both her past and her future?

Life with Lily 
Suzanne Woods Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger's 

If you loved Little House on the Prairie, you will fall in love with the Adventures of Lily Lapp!  Life with Lily is the first book in this series and I can hardly sit still in anticipation of more books in this series.

This is a book filled with the delight of a child's imagination and the mischief that inevitably follows.  If you have children you will want to read this book aloud to your family.  It is one of the best sources of entertainment we have had.  Although you should be prepared to stop often to answer all kinds of questions.  Not only is this a source of entertainment, but it is oozing with lessons and learning opportunities - a parenting handbook in disguise that your kids will never recognize!  We can learn so much from the Amish, and here is a way to step right into it through the life of a six year old. 



Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here and also check out the book trailer


About the Book: 

Book 1 in the ‘Adventures of Lily Lapp’ series.

Lily is six in this story, just starting first grade in a one-room schoolhouse in upstate New York. Her parents are busy building a farm, and soon animals join the family—Jenny the cow and Chubby the miniature horse. A baby brother arrives, too, which Lily has mixed feelings about. (She wanted a sister!) Aside from a mischievous friend like Mandy Mast, Lily is happy at school and even happier at home. 

Summerside's American Tapestries



Queen of the Waves - Janice Thompson

Of course we all know what happened to the Titanic, but how much do we really know about the individual passengers?  In this book the author uses the setting of the the Titanic voyage to give us a possible story of just a few of Titanic's passengers.  

The imagery woven into this story is simply beautiful.  Through the eyes of the characters, we are taken back to those first breath taking views of the magestic Titanic in all her splendour.  The first days onboard are delightful, love blossoms and at moments it is so enjoyable to read that you almost forget what is about to happen.  

But it is a story set on the Titanic afterall, we know what happens.  The intense drama unfolds and we are swept along wondering how fate will intervene in the lives of these characters we have grown to love.  Will they survive the horrible disaster? 



Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. Buy the book here and read other reviews here

About the Book: 

When pampered Jacqueline Abington secretly elopes with the family gardener, she asks another woman to take her place on the much anticipated maiden voyage of the Titanic. Tessa Bowen hails from a poor corner of London but has been granted the opportunity of a lifetime—a ticket to sail to America aboard a famed vessel. 

But there’s a catch: she must assume Jacqueline’s identity. For the first time in her life, Tessa stays in luxurious quarters, dresses in elegant gowns, and dines with prestigious people. Then a wealthy American man takes an interest in her, and Tessa struggles to keep up the ruse as she begins falling for him. When tragedy strikes, the game is up, and two women’s lives are forever changed.
 
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• A Kindle Fire
• Where the Trail Ends by Melanie Dobson
• Queen of the Waves by Janice Thompson

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