Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Here Burns My Candle
Monday, March 29, 2010
Songbird Under a German Moon
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The year is 1945. The war is over and 21-year-old Betty Lake has been invited to Europe to sing in a USO tour for American soldiers who now occupy Hitler's Germany. The first nights performance is a hit. Betty becomes enthralled with the applause, the former Nazi-held mansion they're housed in and the attention of Frank Witt, the US Army Signal Corp Photographer. Yet the next night this songbird is ready to fly the coop when Betty's dear friend, Kat, turns up missing. Betty soon realizes Franks photographs could be the key to finding Kat. Betty and Frank team up against post-war Nazi influences and the two lovebirds' hearts may find the answers...in each other.
But will they have a chance for their romance to sing? The truth will be revealed under a German moon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children's book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today's Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana (but are relocating to Little Rock soon!). Find out more about her and her books at www.TriciaGoyer.com
PATTIE'S REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this book. The opening scene captured my attention, and the novel really never let me go. Tricia Goyer is one of the most enjoyable historical writers in Christian fiction today, and this book proves why. She creates believable, multi-layered characters, and she shows their inner workings as well as their outer actions.
This book kept me hopping with all the suspense and interesting plot. The story takes place in post-war Germany, and I don't think I've ever read a book that took place in this time period.
I think my favorite scenes were when Betty first sings for the USO, and later as she realizes her mistakes and repents. She shows true growth as a person, which makes Betty the character dynamic and fun to read.
Overall, if you're looking for historical suspense, look no further.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
GOD Strong
MWAHW Find the Right Coach
Find the Right Coach
By Mary M. Byers
In my last post I talked about working with a coach. This time, we'll address how to find the right coach for you. I suggest the following:
Referrals. Ask friends and colleagues if they can recommend anyone to you. Listen to conversations. If you hear someone mention that they work with a coach, ask if they'd be willing to share the name and contact information. Referrals are by far the best way to find a coach.
Identify specifically what you need help with. Do you need help increasing your income? Decreasing your expenses? Someone to brainstorm marketing ideas with? Or, do you have plenty of ideas but lack the follow through to do them? In this latter case, you'll want someone who can use a little tough love to hold you accountable for getting things done. The more specific you are regarding where you need help, the more likely you'll be to find a coach that's a good fit for you.
Search online. Do a search for coaches online. You'll find plenty! Pick a few sites to go to, read about each coach and his or her philosophy, and watch the videos. You'll get a sense of who you might feel comfortable working with. Narrow the list to these possibilities.
Request a complimentary introductory session. This is THE most important step. I "met" by phone with several coaches before finding mine. One coach spent the whole conversation talking about herself. Another spent the entire time saying, "If you decide to work with me, then..." And a third was not at all focused during our conversation, which led me to believe our coaching sessions would be the same way--frustrating for me.
Make the decision. Know that your coaching relationship won't last forever. This makes it easier to decide who you will work with. Pick the coach you are most interested in. Then, ask if you can sign up for a limited number of sessions (a minimum of three). You'll have a good sense of how the relationship is working after several sessions.
Be willing to do the work. When you enter a coaching relationship, you're making a commitment to help your coach help you. And you're making a commitment to doing homework between sessions as well as to do the heavy thinking required to help take your business to the next level. Coaches see lots of people who are willing to pay for help, but fewer who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Your work with a coach only pays off if you're invested and willing to sweat along with your coach.
Good luck!
Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. You can learn more about making work at home work by subscribing to Mary’s free blog at www.makingworkathomework.com. Interested in more articles like this? Join the blog ring here.
MWAHW Working With a Coach
Working with a Coach
By Mary M. Byers
I took the plunge and hired a coach late last year. She’s been a fabulous addition to my team and is worth every penny. Here’s how I’m benefiting:
Accountability: At the end of each session, we identify 3-5 activities for me to complete by our next session. I don’t want to disappointment my coach or embarrass myself so I find I’m highly motivated to get my “homework” done each month.
Advice: I’m able to outline my thoughts and then ask for her advice. Though she doesn’t always say, “This is what I think you should do...” she is always able to ask pertinent questions to help me come to a decision I’m comfortable with.
Expertise: My coach has small business acumen and more importantly to me, is an expert in online marketing, something that intimidates me. I have a lot of questions about how to implement my online marketing ideas and she’s a great resource for getting the answers I need. When I’m stuck, she reminds me that I don’t have to know how to do everything and that between us, we can find the resources to implement even the craziest ideas.
Companionship: Let’s face it, being a solo-preneur can be a lonely endeavor. My coach gives me someone to bounce ideas off of as well as the comfort of having someone along on the journey with me. Knowing someone else is rooting for me encourages me to continue to strive for excellence.
If you’re looking to help your business reach new heights in 2010, consider hiring a coach. Doing so is a great way to stretch yourself and grow your business.
Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. You can learn more about making work at home work by subscribing to Mary’s free blog at www.makingworkathomework.com. Interested in more articles like this? Join the blog ring here.
Monday, March 22, 2010
working at home and from home
You might have noticed this nifty new button in my sidebar. Welcome to a whistle stop on the Making Work at Home Work blog ring.
I am currently not working for pay from my home, but I have in the past, and I may in the near future. So I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can from the gals in this blog ring.
Welcome to my blog!
It's Not About Him
Susie wakes up after a party knowing something isn't right. When she discovers she is pregnant but has no idea who the father is, she decides to place her baby for adoption with an infertile couple from church. Following through ends up being more challenging than she'd imagined. But she wants to do the right thing. If only Jeff would quit trying to marry her so she'll keep her baby! Why doesn't he understand? It's not about him; it's about what's best for her child. Meanwhile, a man shows up in her life that looks irritatingly familiar. Could he be the father?
This book is edgy like the first in the series, and once again I appreciate the edgy quality. I know it will speak to young women who are in this predicament, or who might be thinking about doing something that might lead to it. These books are meeting a need in the world, and I wish Michelle all the best as she continues the series.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Spring Reading Thing 2010
I know I said I was not joining any reading challenges, but I need to cross some of these books off my list. Some are for reviewing, some are for book club.
Friday, March 19, 2010
FF 03192010
Here Burns My Candle
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books, workbooks, and videos, Liz Curtis Higgs breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous—and intriguing—women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God's grace anew. Her best-selling historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, and Dinah to eighteenth-century Scotland, have also helped her readers view these familiar characters in a new light. And her nonfiction book, Embrace Grace, winner of a 2007 Retailers Choice Award, presents her message of hope in an engaging and personal way, speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.
A veteran speaker, Liz has presented more than 1,600 encouraging programs for audiences in all 50 states and 10 foreign countries: South Africa, Indonesia, Germany, France, England, Canada, Ecuador, Scotland, Portugal, and New Zealand. In 1995, she received the Council of Peers Award for Excellence from the National Speakers Association, becoming one of only 32 women in the world named to their CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame.
Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, as well as online with Salon.com, Beliefnet.com and Spirituality.com. She has also been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, TBN with Kirk Cameron, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Rhema Broadcasting New Zealand, Radio Pulpit South Africa, LifeToday with James Robison, Focus on the Family, Janet Parshall's America, 100 Huntley Street and Midday Connection.
Liz is the author of twenty-six books, with more than three million copies in print.
Her fiction includes two contemporary novels, one novella, and four historical novels. And she has written five books for young children.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.
Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.
Watch the book video:
If you would like to read the first chapter of Here Burns My Candle, go HERE.
Pattie's Thoughts:
I am completely engrossed in this book so far. I haven't had time to finish it by this morning, but I will finish and review it soon. Have a great weekend, and if you like historical fiction, run down to the bookstore and get this now, ye bonnie lass or laddie!
If you'd like to read my review, click here.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Random on Wednesday
- Flooding predictions and river crests are all that's in the news lately.
- I'm behind on being ahead on schoolwork--which means I'm right along where I should be.
- I have a blog for my class.
- I don't know if I'll keep it beyond the time of my class.
- My prof doesn't know I used to be an English teacher, but I bet she suspects.
- I read some review books out of order, and have a few I haven't finished yet; but I'll get them done.
- Found Art is a wonderful book.
- I'm tired a lot.
- Selling a house you're living in is hard, hard work.
- Especially in the spring, when it's muddy.
- At least there's mud and not all that icky ucky snow!
- Reading and writing, talking, encouraging, loving, arguing, crabbiness and contentment.
- Yep, that's March so far.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Found Art
Found Art is an amazing, deceptively small book—for inside its textured painted cover is a world: the world of a journey inside a woman’s soul. Leeana Tankersley tells about the first year of her marriage to her Navy SEAL husband, while they lived in
My desire is to make the most of our opportunities as a military family. As the Air Force moves us onward and southward in the coming months, I will carry Found Art with me, its own work of art that spurs me and prods me to allow God to make my own life into art.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hero's Tribute
From the Back Cover
Michael Gavin was a local hero, admired for his prowess in sports, his service in the military, and his work in the community. But there is more to Michael Gavin-including a past that has long been hidden.
Wes Watkins is a local newspaper reporter whose job it is to find a story, even if it means digging through court reports, interviewing the most unlikely people, and following leads that make him unpopular.
When Wes finds himself charged with writing Gavin's eulogy--though the two had never met--he sets out to find the truth. What happens next is something the little town of Talking Creek never expected. Secrets come to light, confidences are broken, and lives are redefined. But in the end, everyone will know what truly makes a man a legend.
"A powerful and moving book about what truly defines a hero. Garrison perfectly captures the notion of officership and why a man is called to accept the challenge of military leadership. This is a good read."--Colonel Kevin Benson, US Army, ret., former Director, School of Advanced Military Studies, analyst, McNeil Technologies
"Hero's Tribute has enough clever twists and hidden hooks that you'll find yourself totally engrossed, and thoroughly engaged. This is one you'll be telling your friends about."--Scott Kelby, the world's #1 bestselling computer and technology author
Press Release:
Pattie's Remarks:
Hero's Tribute is quite a bit different from what I have been reading lately. Graham Garrison's style is reminiscent of John Grisham. He reveals a little at a time, so that Wes finally gets the whole story about Michael Gavin. If you like mysteries and character studies, this will be the book for you.
Thanks to Kregel Publications and Danielle Douglas of Douglas Public Relations
for a review copy of this novel.
Three days
Monday, March 08, 2010
Throwing in the towel
I will not be finishing the entire Bible by the end of March.
The thing is, I got behind, then behinder, and I can NOT seem to catch up. I think taking on this challenge during this busy time of life (preparing for a cross-country move, selling a house, taking a class toward certification, and all of my other ministry commitments) was too ambitious.
On the plus side: I’ve read more of the Old Testament straight through than ever before in my entire life. Reading the Bible this way has shown me a lot about the whole picture of God’s love for us, and His plan for His people.
The B90 Days Blog