Book Review & Giveaway!

Mornings with JESUS 2012 
by Judy Baer, Gwen Ford Faulkenberry, Tricia Goyner, Sharon Hinck, Keri Wyatt Kent, Erin Keeley Marshall, Camy Tang 

About the Book:

"Be still and know that I am God.” is one of the most beautiful verses from the Bible, but it’s not easy to practice in this busy world. Mornings with Jesus will help you do just that—“be still” in Jesus’ beautiful and powerful presence. For those who are seeking a deeper experience in their relationship with Christ, Mornings with Jesus offers a fresh perspective of who Jesus is (the Healer, the Son of God, the Comforter, the Good Shepherd) and what that means for day-to-day life. With a warm and friendly voice, 365 short devotional writings on the character and teachings of Jesus encourage readers to greet each day by drawing near to Him and inviting His presence into their day. Spend time with Jesus at the beginning of each day and experience His nearness and peace in a new way throughout the year. Each day’s selection includes: • a Bible verse • an entry based on Jesus: His words, miracles, and parables; His wisdom, compassion, and comfort; His mystery, power, divinity, and humanity • a “faith step” that will inspire and challenge readers to apply the day’s message to their lives

My Review:

I really like this devotional.  On each day, you will find a Scripture reference and a personal reflection from one of seven Christian women authors.  I really enjoyed these stories that they shared because I could relate to them in my own life.  At the end of the devotional, there is a "Faith Step" that helps us to stop and answer how the Lord is working in our life or how we are walking with the Lord.  I really liked doing this step as it helped me to clarify how I could do better in my walk and also showed me how the Lord has been blessing me in my life.  I really liked that I could relate to the stories and see where some of  my struggles are, so are they for other women.  However, I also loved that each devotion showed the way to overcome these struggles is through the Lord.  Now this devotional is not a deep devotional, however, I enjoyed this devotional, definitely got a lot out of it and would recommend it. 

If you would like to purchase this book, you can do so HERE.

You can find other reviews on this tour HERE.

Many thanks to LitFuse for providing a copy of Mornings with Jesus 2012 to me for my honest review.

The Giveaway:

I am so thrilled to have an additional copy of this wonderful book to give away!  Here's what you need to do to enter the giveaway.  

1.  You must be a follower of my blog & then leave me a comment on this entry telling me you'd like to win this book.

For additional entries:

2.  Share about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter and leave me a comment telling me you did so. Use @moreofhimblog on Twitter. 


3.  Share about this giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment, with the link, telling me you did so.

I will pick a winner by random number on Thursday, February 2, 2012.  Please make sure I can get in touch with you by email in case you win!  This giveaway is only open to US and Canada.  Thank you!

God bless you - Julie

Book Review - The Sound of Red Returning

The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy

About the book:

After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can’t shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she’s giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash. It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he’d been spying for Russia. She had seen that man--that eerie face--the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he’s back--and coming for her.

On the run and struggling to rely on the protection of CIA agent Ava Mullins and handsome newspaper reporter Cade O’Brien, Liesl learns she is the prey of an underground cell of Russian KGB agents determined to restore their country to its former Soviet might. But what she doesn’t know is that she is in possession of something--a piece of sheet music--that Russian intelligence is now frantic to find. Inside that music is a secret code, the hidden transcriptions of her deceased mentor, that clearly identify a Russian mole operating inside Israel’s Department of Defense, a mole with enough power and access to execute a daring assassination that no one would see coming.

Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace. Read an excerpt HERE.

 About the author:

Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody Magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001) and Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children.

My Review:  

I absolutely loved this book!  In fact, I finished reading it in two sittings! Word of caution:  Do not start reading this book just before wanting to go to sleep because you won't be able to put it down.  This story had me with the first page and I never lost interest.  The characters are believable, the storyline was intriguing, and I loved that faith and God were interwoven throughout the book.  I liked the intriguing storyline filled with Soviet and American spies and the fight between good and evil.  I'm old enough to remember the Cold War and the entire story was totally believable and I could relate to it.  Liesl, the heroine, is a pianist and, being a pianist myself, I enjoyed the musical storyline, too.  I love mysteries and intrigue stories and this is one of the best I've read in a long time.  This is book one in the series and I can't wait for the next book to come out! I loved this book and Sue Duffy has been added to my favorite author list.  I highly, highly recommend this book and I know you won't be able to put it down either!

Many thanks to LitFuse for providing a copy of The Sound of Red Returning to me for my honest review.

You can see other tour stops and reviews of this book HERE

Win a Kindle Fire from @SueDuffy2 and @KregelBooks in the "Red Returning" Giveaway!

Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

Enter the Sue Duffy’s Giveaway today and you could win:



* A brand new Kindle Fire with Wi-Fi

* The Sound of Red Returning (Book One in the Red Returning series) by Sue Duffy



To enter click one of the icons below. But, hurry! The giveway ends on 2/11. Sue will be announcing the winner of the “Red Returning” Giveaway on February 13th on the Litfuse website!

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. 

Blessings - Julie

This and That

I have a whole list of things I need to do today, but wanted to write a little on my blog first. 

It's been cold here again and we even got some snow during the night.  Thankfully, most of it has melted off and it's supposed to warm up tomorrow.  The older I get, the more I enjoy the warmer weather. 

Church this past weekend was really a blessing.  We had baptisms, the Lord's Supper, and a guest speaker from a Pastor who is starting a church plant in Los Angeles! His sermon was really inspiring and I know that the Lord will use him in a mighty way in LA. 

Yesterday, I did some errands and then went to the thrift stores.  I found some wonderful Christian books at one of the stores and some tea-cups at another store.  All were quite inexpensive and it was a fun time out and about.  I ended up coming home with sore knees and foot, though, and they are still aching.  There's nothing worse than walking on cement!!

Tonight I'm going to make BLT's for dinner.  That's always a favorite for my family. 

This post was kind of all over the place, but oh well.  That's kind of how my life is, too!

God bless you - Julie

Diamond Candles is looking for bloggers

Diamond Candles is looking for bloggers for their campaign, you can apply HERE.

Blessings - Julie

Show and Tell Friday

Yesterday I went to my prayer meeting (yay!) and it was such a precious time of praying before the Lord's throne!  Wonderful fellowship with my praying sisters, too.  So, so happy to be back at these wonderful ministries.  I am blessed!

After I got done, I called hubby and we decided to go to our favorite thrift store again in search for the recliners that we need.  I went home, we hopped in the truck (well...I didn't hop, but you know what I mean) and off we went.  They did have two recliners at the store, but one was in really, really sad shape and the foot rest didn't even go all the way up.  The other one wasn't too bad, but when I reclined in it, it was obvious that it was on it's last leg when we heard the grinding noise as the chair reclined.  Oh, well.  We will continue to search and we will find!

I did find these beauties! I am a collector of fine bone china (when I can find it) and I love anything with roses, so these were quite a find for me!

This pretty little bowl was made in England and I just love it! It's about 5" in width and, although the roses are a teeny bit faded, it still speaks to my heart.  Then I found these sweet little dishes.  I'm quite sure that these are for nuts or mints at the bridge table or on the side table in the living room.  They are about 4" in width with a little rim that comes up enough to hold said mints or nuts.  These little jewels were made in America! Don't see that much anymore so was very happy to find these little dishes!

 Such pretty little roses on these little dishes!

They will look gorgeous on my side tables in my living room where I have lots of roses in paintings, on lamps, on little china lamps, etc.  Such perfect little finds and were cheap as chips!

Next, I'm going to show you a project I'm working on.  I'm not going to tell you what it is yet as I want to reveal the whole thing when it's finished, but let me say, it will look amazing when I'm done.  Right now, it's hard to tell what it is and the colors are pretty crazy, but when it's all finished, I think you're gonna love it!

Here's some pictures

I'm going to give you a hint - the yarn is wool, except for the eyelash yarn you see in a couple stripes.  I am still needing to add some more parts to this project, weave in the ends and wash it....That's all the hints I'm going to give.  =D  I should finish this project up by next Friday and then I'll give you the big reveal for next weeks Show and Tell.

Remember, you can link up your own blog at the end of this post and show off your own show and tell! Show your latest craft project, a decorating project, something you found or whatever!  It's fun to see what everyone is doing!



God bless you - Julie

Back to Bible Study!

Today I went to my first Bible study in over a year! It was such a blessing to be there and I, of course, got all choked up when it was my time to introduce myself and share how God has been working in my life.  I wish I wouldn't do that, but it's how God made me, so that's how it is.  Going back to Bible study has been one of my goals for this year and it was so great to actually meet that goal today and be doubly blessed by being there with my Sisters in Christ.  I'm in an amazing group of sweet ladies and I know that the Lord put me in this precious group.  I'm looking forward to learning what God has to show me as we study 1 and 2 Peter and John.

We also had a special speaker today and his story was jaw dropping, scary and inspiring all at once! To hear how Jesus stepped in on their situation as Kenya missionaries was just amazing.  This couple has been serving the Lord in Africa and were brutally attacked by men with clubs and machetes and lived to tell about it! His whole message was about forgiveness and how it will set us free.  It was such a blessing to have this man share his story and I'm so glad I was there to hear it.

It was so wonderful to see some of my friends that I haven't seen for a long time and I was especially blessed to run into one of my dear friends that I've painted with and just shared my heart with so many times.  We have plans to get together soon and I'm so looking forward to it!

I had a back injection on Monday and, based on the amount of sedation I was given and the fact that I still felt the shot, I'm going to assume that this shot was pretty deep and intrusive.  I was sick to my stomach after the injection, which has never happened before.  I was also very sore that night and ended up sleeping on my new blue and white checked recliner/loveseat as I just couldn't get comfortable anywhere else.  I am even more thankful for this new, wonderful piece of furniture!!

I also found this






Let me tell you, this thing is wonderful!! The great thing about this heating pad is that it's soft and doesn't have that plastic insert that ends up sticking to itself.  I also love that I can set it to go off in 2 hours or if I'm having a lot of pain, it will stay on until I turn it off.  This is a great feature for night when I'm trying to sleep and need the heat for the pain relief.  I am so happy to have found this great heating pad! It has helped me so much already!

I'm really tired tonight as I only had 4 hours sleep last night.  I think I was so anxious about going back to the Bible study, my mind was just racing.  I was so tired as I was getting ready to go, but got so energized being there and my sleep deprivation didn't hit me until I got home.  I did get 2 loads of laundry done, though, and am pleased to tell you that I do not bend, twist or lift.  I use these




to sort, lift, and put the clothes into the washer from my baskets.  I also folded these into my rolling bag that my hubby bought me almost 2 years ago and took them with me to the Bible study today.  If I drop something, I don't have to ask someone to pick it up for me or hurt myself by bending over to retrieve it myself.  I did drop my back pillow and was so happy to have my handy-dandy tool and pick it up all by myself.  I'm learning to not worry about what others think but just do what I have to do!  I use this wonderful tool around the house for many things.  When the clothes are dry, my hubby carries the basket in by the couch where I fold and hang up the clothes.  I love that I can help out with the laundry!  Did I say that I used to despise doing the laundry?  Now I love it because I can do it! Amazing when you can't do something how much you appreciate doing it when you can again. 

I'm heading off to bed as I have my prayer meeting in the morning, which I'm looking forward to.  I wasn't able to go last week as I had a touch of that flu that's been going around.  It will be so great to be back again praying with my Sisters for the needs of the church family. 

God bless you - Julie

Book Review - Moments of Truth

I was very excited to review this book.  John MacArthur is a favorite teacher of mine because he always teaches the Bible literally and is a pastor/teacher that can be trusted to give us the truth.  This book did not disappoint.

This is a devotional that takes passages from different John MacArthur books and at the end of the daily devotional, it asks you a question to ponder in your own life.  The thing about this book that I like is it's not some sweet, simple devotional (not that there's anything wrong with those type of devotionals).  It's a meat and potatoes devotional that makes you think.  Many of the devotionals required me to re-read them several times to really get the truths out of them.  They are truths that are applicable to our lives and make you really think.  I really liked that.  It forced me to really get into the Scripture he was referring to and dig deep. 

This devotional is going to be something I use every day.  I think you can go through this year after year and still be pulling truths from it.  I can't say enough good about this devotional and I highly recommend it.

*This book was provided to me through the BookSneeze program of Thomas Nelson publishers. 

God bless you - Julie