Friday, September 24, 2010

Daddy's Delight: Embracing Your Divine Design

Welcome to the blog tour for Daddy's Delight by Dr. Karia Bunting.


About the Author:

Meet the author of Daddy’s Delight, Karia Bunting.

Karia Bunting (Dallas Theological Seminary; Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary; University of Texas) is an expository Bible teacher and the founder of Focused Forward Ministries. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and teaches a weekly Bible study at her church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Karia and her husband, George, live in Dallas and have three children

Learn more about Karia at http://focusedforwardministries.org/.

About the Book:

In Daddy's Delight, Karia Bunting reminds women that they are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, His "poema". That God has intricately woven together every fiber of their being and created each one special and unique. That God, having completed His work of art, gave her to mankind as a gift.

Evident in this great care God took in fashioning woman is the importance and value of each one. So why do so many women struggle with God's design, wishing they could change just this or that one thing about themselves?

Bunting challenges each reader to accept and embrace the fact that, in whatever season of life, she is God's masterpiece-not her own work of art. When God sees her, He sees His beautiful creation. A creation that yes, has some wrinkles needing to be smoothed out and yet, is one in whom is His delight to love to perfection.


Pattie's Review:

Daddy's Delight is a straightforward, unapologetically Biblical book about the role of women. Bunting addresses each facet of womanhood: single, married, mothers, working/career women, and women in ministry.

Bunting discusses how we can prepare ourselves in service in each of these areas, teaching about the biblical instructions for each category. She includes a few examples from her life and the lives of other women, but the bulk of the book is her own teachings about the roles of women--their divine design, to borrow from the subtitle.

To be honest, I thought this book would be more about finding my divine design, not being told what my biblical role is. I was a little disappointed in that regard.

Nevertheless, the book is easy to understand, well-thought-out and written, and heavily researched with Scripture.

Links:

Daddy’s Delight on Amazon

Karia Bunting’s Website

Karia Bunting’s Blog

Karia Bunting’s Facebook Profile

Follow Karia Bunting on Twitter

List of all participating bloggers

Special thanks to Tina of Blog Tour Spot and the folks at Moody Publishers
for a review copy of this book.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fall Into Reading 2010

Learn more about the challenge here.

This is my fourth Fall into Reading reading challenge here at Fresh-Brewed Writer. Wow!

Here are the books I will be reading:

Monday, September 20, 2010

Devotionals for Wives of Faith

If you're interested in writing devotionals
for Wives of Faith's new blog feature:

We are looking for a 200-400-word devotional thought: a main Scripture verse, a paragraph or two, and a 2-3 line prayer. While the sample below is a generic one, we'd love for your devotional to be relevant in some way to the military wife life: something that God has shown you in your Bible reading, or a lesson you have learned that you'd love to share.

Email completed devotions to pattie@wivesoffaith.org and we’ll give you a byline. We ask that you follow our writing guidelines (except of course for the word length) as outlined on our site (http://www.wivesoffaith.org/next-steps/write-for-wives-of-faith/writing-guidelines).

Devotionals will be featured on the “In Focus” window on the front page of www.wivesoffaith.org

Thanks for your writing and your willingness to serve!


Generic Sample, 165 words; written by my husband and published in Open Windows:

Listen . . . and Build Trust

Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. Proverbs 22:17

People often say, “I wish I knew what God wants me to do.” If you have heard or thought those words, you aren’t alone. Sometimes I’ve longed to know which direction to go next. However, I’ve never audibly heard God speak, or tell me exactly the next step to take. Instead, discerning the path God has set requires an ongoing process to clarify God’s leading.

Solomon tells how to discern what God wants: pay attention, listen, and apply wise teachings. We are actively listening for what God has to say. We listen for God’s direction by reading Scripture, praying, attending worship, participating in Bible studies, and engaging in conversation with other believers.

As we listen for God to speak to us through our daily spiritual disciplines, we begin to build confidence and trust in God and value godly counsel.

Father, speak to us so we may be sure to follow Your will for us.
Help us to listen so we learn to confidently trust You.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

CFBA presents Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

There is a fountain, filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins...

My review is at the end. Enjoy!

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Immanuel's Veins
Thomas Nelson (September 7, 2010)


by
Ted Dekker


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.

Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.

Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.

After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.

In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.

He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.

Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This story is for everyone--but not everyone is for this story.

It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.

Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.

With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.

Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.

Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.

But remember, not everyone is for this story.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Immanuel's Veins, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:



Thomas Nelson asks:

What is sacrificial love?

My answer:

Sacrificial love is just as it says: love that sacrifices. Love that gives without expecting anything in return. Love given freely. Love like the love Jesus Christ exhibited for us on the cross.

I am probably as guilty as the next person of not always loving in a sacrificial way. So often we as human beings get caught up in "what's in it for me" kind of love. Sacrificial love is hard. It's sometimes painful. Often it's exhausting. But it's necessary. Oh, it's necessary to show Christ's love that way.

As part of this blog tour, I was gifted with a t-shirt that says "Share the Love." It's an outline drawing of a human heart, and it's a little startling (and not what I'd usually wear). But it's true. Sacrificial love can feel like it's giving our life's blood out of our own muscley, beating heart.

Read Ted Dekker's post on "Share the Love" here.


Pattie's Book Review:

I was immediately skeptical of this book because of the many pages of endorsements preceding the beginning. After awhile, it was like, "C'mon, how many people do you really need to tell me I should be reading the book I have in my hands right now?" (I think I've become a bit jaded on the endorsement thing at the beginning of novels!)

This is the first Ted Dekker novel I've read, although I've seen his name among discussions between authors online about Christian fiction. I guess that makes me a bit of a voyeur, because instead of reading his work, I was reading about what others said about him and his work.

The reason I chose this book to review was the love story and "not everyone is for this book" tag line. Otherwise I may have passed it up, as intense and/or scary suspense is not always my first choice in pleasure reading.

If I'd known it was a vampire-type book, I may have passed. As it was, by the time I figured out that it truly was (wanting to give the benefit of the doubt in spite of the chalice on the cover), I was engrossed enough in the story to want to finish and find out the end.

I did like how the story drew me in to the world of centuries ago, with the folklore that was not quite Bram Stoker but also not quite like anything else either. I was not really put off by the sensual imagery, although I can see how others might be (leading to the banning of this book in Holland). What I find intriguing is that Dekker said on Facebook, "The book is a passionate tale of God’s love for his bride, perhaps the most Christian book I’ve ever written." To be completely honest, I never thought of Jesus' love being seen in that way. It's certainly food for thought.

Contest:

To enter and win a t-shirt, all you need to do is comment on my blog here with your name and a way for me to get hold of you, be it through your own blog or your email address. If you are the winner, I'll contact you to get your name, mailing address, and t-shirt size. That's it! So leave a comment and "Share the Love" with me! :)

Friday, September 10, 2010

If you'd like a good cry

Please visit the Compassion blog tour stops of Ann Voskamp's visit with Xiomara and Amanda Moore Jones' description of worship.

I'm pretty sure I didn't know about this because I've been spending less time online lately. These blogs just tugged at my heartstrings.

For Time and Eternity

Welcome to the blog tour of Allison Pittman's latest novel For Time and Eternity.

I was recently given the opportunity to review Allison Pittman's latest novel and I'm so glad! It is excellent.

From the press release:

You've probably heard or been told - Mormons are just like Christians. You may even have formed an opinion on the topic or listened to a debate. But there's nothing like the power of a story to show Truth.

Allison Pittman is very familiar with the world of Mormonism. Her husband left it to become a Christian in high school and she grew up in Utah, the center of Mormonism in America. She now lives in San Antonio, the site of a new Mormon temple.

So when Allison writes an emotional story of a woman married to a member of the Mormon church--when she pens a story so gripping you don't even realize you're being shown the stark differences between Mormonism and Christianity, so deep are you within this woman's heart and mind--readers are about to lose a night of sleep.

Pattie's Review:

Well, I didn't have to lose any sleep -I was given the opportunity of a couple of hours at the dance studio one night, followed by a couple of hours at the dance studio the next afternoon, to finish the book.

I enjoyed this novel very much. I think it's the first fiction book I've ever read that really deals with the inherent theological differences between Mormons and evangelical Christians. Allison Pittman's writing style has the ease and readability of a contemporary novel in the framework of history. For Time and Eternity is easy to read, intriguing, and skillfully shows the subtle deceptions of the Mormon faith.

As I read this novel, my enjoyment was coupled with a sadness and heaviness in my spirit at how inadequately I have understood what Mormons (or as they call themselves, Latter-Day Saints) believe, and how I've never been able to adequately witness to my Mormon acquaintances through the years. Maybe, however, as Allison Pittman says in the interview concluding the book, all that we need to do is love them. And I have. And I pray that they will seek and find the true person of Jesus Christ as our Savior, not as our "brother."

(Slight spoiler alert!) Unfortunately for those who like a "happily-ever-after" ending, this book does have a sudden ending without a satisfying (to me, anyway) resolution, which leads smartly into the next book in the series (thank you, Tyndale House, for including Chapter 1 of the next novel, Forsaking All Others).

Another aside: I recently discovered I live in the next town over from Allison Pittman, and I visited the writing group she co-leads a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately due to the aforementioned dance studio time, I won't be able to be an active member of the group. I hope to *really* meet her someday.


Special thanks to Rebeca Seitz of Glass Road Public Relations
for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour,
and thanks also to Tyndale House Publishers
for a review copy of the novel.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Fall into Reading

Learn more here.

I believe this is my fourth Fall into Reading reading challenge, at least here at Fresh-Brewed Writer.

I'll be formulating my list and beginning on September 22!

Thursday, September 02, 2010