"Christy"

Catherine Marshall

Set in the Smoky Mountain community of Gutter Gap Catherine Marshall shares with us the story of her mother Leonora Wood, who at the tender young age of 19, left home to teach the mountain children.  In doing so she forever changed her life and the lives of others.

Although based on a young woman's life, Christy is a work of fiction, with both fact and fiction woven in together.  

Mountain people are proud as well as superstitious and they don't trust outsiders, and they don't trust each other. A "blood feud"  is also involved and threatens to disrupt her classroom.  The novel takes place in the year 1912, but times in Cutter Gap have not caught up to the outside world, so Christy also has physical hardships as well. Can Miss Huddleston see beyond their poverty and fierce clan-like nature and break down the barriers so she can help the people she has come to love?  Also, two men are vying for her affections,  the Preacher, and the Doctor, who was born and raised in the mountains and endeavors to help Christy understand his people.  

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This is a beautiful 50th-anniversary copy of this delightful book.  It has a map of all the important places in Cutter Gap in the front.  Also a compiled list of the characters and a short relationship they have with each other.  I would like to find out how much of this story is not fiction. Don't expect the book to be like the television series.  There are some vast differences in places and at times it follows the book closely.

Read more about the book here. 

I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY BOOK FROM LITFUSE FOR REVIEW PURPOSES.

King James Bible

Gain a greater understanding of the Bible book by book, verse by verse, or topic by topic.

The study of God’s Word can be easy and rewarding if you break down the Bible into easy-to-understand segments. The KJV Know the Word Study Bible offers three easy ways to begin studying Scripture and helps individuals transition from being a casual reader of the Bible to becoming a regular student of the Bible. You can choose to study the Bible book-by-book, verse-by-verse, or topic-by-topic; each path offers powerful insights that will help you develop a daily routine of Bible study.

The book-by-book series of notes leads you through the main points of each book of the Bible. The verse-by-verse notes help you to dig deeper into God’s Word. The topic-by-topic articles, which cover 21 theological topics, guide you through a series of insightful notes and give you a thorough biblical understanding of each topic. With the beautiful and timeless text of the KJV translation, the KJV Know the Word Study Bible offers you choices of how to study Scripture and grow in your relationship with Christ.

Features include:

—King James Version Bible text
—Three easy approaches to study the Bible: 1. Book by Book; 2. Verse by Verse; 3. Topic by Topic
—Insightful introductions for each book of Scripture
—Words of Jesus in red
—Beautiful two-color interior page design
—Comprehensive list of theological notes
—Concordance
—Full-color maps
—8-point type size

Read more about the book here.

Review:

The King James Bible Know the Word Study Bible is a very helpful and insightful study Bible. The explanations are very informative without being overwhelming. Of course, the Holy Spirit will always help you understand if we just ask Him. By using this Bible, it will help you to actually study God's Word instead of just reading it. II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

I definitely recommend this study Bible. You can never go wrong with studying God's Word - King James Bible.

I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY BOOK FROM LITFUSE FOR REVIEW PURPOSES.

"Mercy Triumphs"

Jana Kelley

Three women. Three impossible circumstances. One merciful God.

Mia, an American Christian, has lived in Sudan so long that persecution, harassment, and danger have become commonplace for her. Her tough outer shell threatens to harden her heart while her newly Christian friends, Halimah and Rania, former Muslims, are forced to live in exile outside Sudan. All three quickly discover that escaping danger in one place only means facing even greater challenges elsewhere. As God’s mercy becomes evident in their lives, they must choose whether or not to offer mercy to those who don’t deserve it.

Third in a trilogy, Mercy Triumphs opens the reader’s eyes to modern-day persecution and the life of Muslims in Sudan. Based on real-life events, Mercy Triumphs reveals some of the struggles Christians face when living under Islamic law. The reader will be inspired to pray for new believers, those who are persecuted for their faith, and even for the salvation of the persecutors.

Read more about the book here. 

Review:

"Mercy Triumphs" is definitely a different read, but the story is still compelling. We can never be reminded enough of how God can do the impossible. Not only that, but we should also believe that He can do the impossible! This book may be fiction, but it still provides great truths that we can all learn from.

I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY BOOK FROM LITFUSE PUBLICITY FOR REVIEW PURPOSES.

"Ordinary Graces"

Lucinda Secrest McDowell

Everyone loves to receive a gift.

And God has given us many, such as his grace—the gift we don’t deserve and can never earn. Promises from the One who declares we are already loved, already accepted, already created in his image. The question becomes, will we truly receive that gift? Will the reality of it actually change the way we think and notice and reach out?

God’s Word will stand forever, in any season of life. These truths prompt us to respond with compassion and courage.

Through inspiring devotions, Lucinda Secrest McDowell reveals biblical blessings that remind us that: God’s promises give us strength, God’s grace can be most evident at our weakest points, a proper response to our abundance of blessings is simply gratitude, and the “more” we are all looking for is the same abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

Would you like to receive these gifts of ordinary grace? Join Lucinda in focusing on one word a day through devotional readings and short benedictions for any and every season to explore the many facets of Grace, Strength, Gratitude, and Life.

Read more about the book here. 

REVIEW:

This devotional is filled with nuggets of wisdom and encouragement. There are a variety of topics so the reader can pick and choose which to read, according to what pertains to them the most at the time. 

Each devotional is short but has a lot to offer. Perfect for those who are always on the go. It's the perfect size so you can carry it in your purse and take it with you. 

"Ordinary Graces" is a must read and would be a perfect gift too!

I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY BOOK FROM LITFUSE PUBLICITY FOR REVIEW PURPOSES. 

Life is filled with choices. We have a bazillion choices that we have to make every single day. What to wear. What to eat. What to drink. What to say. When to say it. What to think. What to do. The list goes on and on. Some decisions involve other people, most do not. But there is one choice we have that will not only affect us today but tomorrow and for the rest of our lives. This decision will not only affect us but those around us. We will actually face this decision multiple times a day. These God-given opportunities come when life is hard. They also come when life is easy. How we handle life's peaks and valley's is completely up to us.

In April of this year, the doctors discovered that my dad had colon cancer. Yep. The dreaded "C" word. Were we scared? You bet! Were we afraid? Absolutely! But we had two choices. We could either worry, or we could pray. We could worry ourselves sick over what was to become of our dad and his illness, or we could cast it on the One Who had the ability to remove his sickness. We could live in fear of tomorrow, or we could trust the One Who holds tomorrow. We could blame God, or we could cling to Him.

So what do you do when life is too much for you to handle? When you're overwhelmed with situations that are beyond your control. What do you do when the bank account glares back at you in an angry shade of red? How do you handle a broken heart, disappointment, shattered dreams? How do you take that next step?

You can either worry about it or you can pray about it.

You can pray to God Almighty, Who has your best interests at heart, or you can worry about it, which is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. Worry doesn't prevent disaster, it prevents prayer! It does nothing but steals your joy!

So why not let's take it to God in prayer? Take it to the One Who is trustworthy. Take it to the One Whom you need not doubt. Tell it to the One Who already has the answer and knows the outcome.

Share it with the One Who loves you unconditionally - for always and forever, no matter what! Jeremiah 31:3 "...Yea, have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with thy lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Cast it upon the One Who cares for you! I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." 

Cry out to the One Who is always ready and waiting to listen. Someone Who hears even the faintest of prayers, the ones you can't even put into words because your heart is so heavy. Isaiah 59:1 "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"

If we prayed about the things that concern us as much as we worried about them, we'd have a lot less to worry about. So let's turn our worry lists into prayer lists.

Don't stress about it. Pray about it.

GOD'S GOT THIS!

Tension, anger, fear, anxiety—it all begins with a heart that craves control.

Little fights with your husband and kids. Unhappiness when things don’t match your version of perfect. When your perspective of how life should go replaces God’s, you doom your quest for security, peace, and joy before it even starts.

Thankfully, there is a better way.

Join Shannon as she shares what she has discovered about her own control struggles and
about God from studying seven Control Girls in the Bible. Whether it was Eve’s desire to know instead of trust, Sarah’s inability to wait for God to move, or Rebekah’s controlling hand on her family’s future, each of these women’s stories contain warnings and lessons for us today.

Learn how you too can lay down this burden of trying to control everything and find rest in surrendering to the One who truly is in control.

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We all have issues with control in some area of our life or another.  This book helps you realize that, and also helps show how we can let go of our obsession to control things.  We must learn to surrender our need to control things to God and let Him have his way.

Read more about the book here.

I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY BOOK FROM LITFUSE FOR REVIEW PURPOSES.