MUSIC REVIEW --- WHOLE HEART by Passion Music (PLUS A GIVEAWAY)

ABOUT THIS CD: 

Rooted out of the Passion movement, we are committed to leading people towards renewed intimacy with God and fresh encounters of worship.

From its start in 1995 Passion has been rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8 – Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts - existing to glorify God by uniting students in worship, prayer and justice for spiritual awakening in this generation. Passion has encountered millions of students and 18-25 year olds, young people whose lives have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One of the most impactful and stirring aspects of the movement, founded by Louie and Shelley Giglio, has been the sea of voices uniting together to lift up the name of Jesus, currently helmed by Kristian Stanfill, Brett Younker and Melodie Malone. The band has seen worship leaders such as Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Crowder, Christy Nockels and more uniting over the years, writing, recording and leading arenas in worship.

Transcending the conferences, songs from Passion have become some of the most recognizable and unforgettable worship anthems of this generation. With more than 1.8 million units sold and a multitude of chart-topping singles such as “How Great Is Our God,” “God Of This City,” “One Thing Remains,” “Even So Come,” and “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord),” listeners across the world continue to be impacted by the music of Passion. Delivering new projects annually, songs from records such as Here For You, White Flag, Let The Future Begin, Take It All, Even So Come and Salvation’s Tide Is Rising have become timeless staples in the Church. Their newest offering, Worthy Of Your Name, is now available. The four-time Dove Award winners have had seven albums debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Albums Chart with two hitting the Top 5 on the Billboard 200.

Through it all, Jesus continues to remain at the center.

MY THOUGHTS

I love listening to Worship Music. I love listening to it especially when I have a very rough day. My husband and I have both been working long hours, and we are very tired at the end of the day. It's those days that the enemy tries to sneak in and knock us down. Worship Music helps bring healing to the heart. 

This CD is POWERFUL. The songs were exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. God always has a way of making sure of that. Beautifully orchastrated, arranged and so soothing to my soul. 

 Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.


Buy: Here


Want to win a copy?

Tell me what your favorite Worship song is. 

Comment below for your chance to win. 

BONUS ENTRIES: 

Follow me on Twitter: Conniet1982
Follow me on Facebook: Here


Leave a separate comment for each action, they will be checked. When leaving your email - please leave it in this formant: YOURNAME at gmail dot com

GIVEAWAY ENDS TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27. 

US ENTRANTS ONLY 

A Sweetwater River Romance by Misty M. Beller

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Christian Historical Romance novel. 

Taking flight from their quiet Pennsylvania town seems like the only way for Tori Boyd to protect her dearest cousin’s virtue. And the success of their escape may now depend on the man she’s been writing letters to for over a year now in the vast wilds of the Wyoming Territory. 

Ezra Reid has finally stepped out from under the shadow of his older brother and sister, now having full responsibility to man the Rocky Ridge Stage Stop through the winter. The success or failure of the stage and telegraph contracts falls squarely on his shoulders, and he's entirely focused on the work - at least until his mysterious correspondence partner shows up on his doorstep.

As Ezra takes on the search for a proper situation for Tori and her cousin, there seem to be no good options for the ladies. Especially since Tori won't even discuss the one option that might succeed - marriage. When the danger chasing the women takes on a form none of them anticipated, how far will Ezra have to go to keep the Tori and her cousin safe? It’ll take a lot more than luck to ensure his heart is the sole casualty

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Taken from: https://mistymbeller.com

I write romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love. 

My husband and daughters are the loves of my life, keeping me both grounded and crazy, sane and out of my mind.

I was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so my Southern roots run deep. Growing up, my family was close, and we continue to keep that priority today.

God has placed a desire in my heart to combine my love for Christian fiction and the simpler farm life, writing historical novels that display His abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of my characters.

Writing is my passion, and my family - both immediate and extended - is the foundation that holds me secure in my dream.

MY THOUGHTS 

I really enjoy reading this author. Her storylines are intriguing, the characters are well written, and the settings you can picture when you close your eyes. I did not read the other books, and I had no issues following along. I love the research that goes into this story. I enjoyed learning as I was going along. Heartwarming story, page turning masterpiece. 

I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit, all thoughts are my own. 

Book Review and Giveaway Love by the Numbers By Laura V. Hilton --- On Tour with Celebrate Lit!

About the Book

Title: Love by the Numbers

Author: Laura V. Hilton

Genre: Christian Amish fiction

Release Date: February 6, 2018

After her fiancé dies in a buggy accident, Lydia Hershberger is invited to Jamesport to manage her Mennonite aunt’s gift store while her aunt and uncle are on a mission trip. While there, Lydia gets acquainted with her aentie’s best friend, Bethel Bontrager, and her grown son, Caleb. Lydia is surprised to find herself drawn to handsome clockmaker, Caleb Bontrager. But in spite of an instant flame of attraction between them, he doesn’t seem interested. In fact, pesky Caleb treats her like he doesn’t even like her.

Bright and sparkly. That’s Caleb’s first impression of Lydia. He’s always been attracted to sparkly things. In fact, his affinity for those things, and the trouble they can cause, are exactly why he’s determined to change his ways and settle down. With Lydia’s aentie gone, he is handling the books for the gift shop and is forced to spend too much time in her presence.

When God offers Lydia a second chance at love and family, will she take it? Or will the secret Caleb harbors cause her even more heartbreak?

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New.

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.

When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

Guest Post from Laura V. Hilton

Story Behind the Story – Love by the Numbers

Caleb was a minor character in couple of my Amish books – I think he first made a by name appearance in Amish Wanderer and Christmas Admirer. A minor character. Lydia was a very minor one-time appearance in those stories, too, a girl who happened to be in the room with Bethany and Susanna at a wedding. (This story is stand alone!) But I knew when Caleb first saw Lydia that they would end up together by the way he reacted to her presence. I wondered what their story was.

March and April is tornado season in Arkansas (and in many other states) and in 2011 we had a bad one. I was out and about that day, driving to the county seat with my five children, and there was something in the air. It was heavy, hard to breathe, and the sky was black off to the west. I’m sure I broke speed limits racing to Melbourne, and then home again so we wouldn’t be out in the storm.

Later that afternoon, tornado sirens went off. One went over our house – even from the basement we could hear the sound of a train roaring overhead. Scary. And still thanking God it didn’t touch down. Highland, Ash Flat, and Evening Shade, Arkansas were hit hard. Buildings completely gone. When we drove out that way later in the week there were pickup trucks in the tops of trees. Other things in odd and unusual places. I always wondered how they got the treetop pickups down. I would’ve stopped to watch if I’d been out there when it was done. I did hear that some of those trucks weren’t damaged at all. Unreal. My two sons and my husband both helped with clean up and my oldest son went with a crew to Joplin, Missouri, to help with clean up there.

There has been other occasions I’ve been out in tornados. Once I was in the Walmart parking lot when a tornado went through a town west of it. We could see the funnel touching down from where we stood. It did hail when we were on our way home, praying our house was still standing. It was.

On a different note, in 2016 my oldest son came home with a kitten. She was the sweetest thing ever, and he named her Rosie. Sadly, I was highly allergic to her. I couldn’t even be around the children after they played with her. They’d have to go change clothes and wash their hands, otherwise I couldn’t breathe. Rosie was full Siamese, blue eyes and all, and she was so adorable. I allowed my son to keep her in the shed. I was about four chapters into the story when Rosie found some poison (I think, not sure) and died. We all cried.

Also about the time I was writing this, a very dear friend of a lot of writers died. I told my street team I was going to name a character after her, and was told a lot of writers would be. I agreed. And a lot of their books were released already. But Aenti Judith in this story is named after Judy Burgi. I still miss her and pray for her family.

One of the verses my daughter had to memorize in Sunday School was 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. ‘We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.’ Perfect for the faith message in Love by the Numbers! I love how God always provides the perfect verse for my characters’ faith messages. I’m pretty sure this verse is one I never memorized, and I never would of thought of it on my own, but God put it in my daughter’s lessons for Sunday School, so she had to memorize it – and thus I did too since I help my daughters learn their verses every week.

I hope you’ll enjoy the story!

Because of Him,

Laura V. Hilton

MY THOUGHTS

If you have not read a book by Laura V. Hilton, you are missing out. Everything that I have read by her has gripped me from the beginning. Love by the Numbers is no different. Beautifully written, great character development, wonderful storyline and so much more. This is not the typical Amish Fiction story, the author brings her own flair to it. It also gives a powerful  message of God's grace. 

I received this book through the Celebrate Lit Blogging program, all thoughts are my own. 

Blog Stops

Pursuing Stacie, February 13

Quiet Quilter, February 13

Red Headed Book Lady, February 13

Babs Book Bistro, February 13

Blogging With Carol, February 14

Among the Reads, February 14

Reading Is My SuperPower, February 15

Blossoms and Blessings, February 15

SusanLovesBooks, February 16

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 16

Carpe Diem, February 16

A Baker’s Perspective, February 17

Splashes of Joy, February 17

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 17

Two Points of Interest, February 18

vickysluiter.com, February 18

A Reader’s Brain, February 19

Zerina Blossom’s Books, February 19

C Jane Read, February 20

Daysong Reflections, February 20

margaret kazmierczak, February 20

proud to be an autism mom, February 21

Bibliophile Reviews, February 21

A Greater Yes, February 22

Texas Book-aholic, February 22

Pause for Tales, February 23

Have A Wonderful Day, February 23

cherylbbookblog, February 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 24

Simple Harvest Reads, February 24

Christian Bookaholic, February 25

Janices book reviews, February 25

For The Love of Books, February 26

Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 26

Bigreadersite, February 26

Giveaway

In honor of the tour, Whitaker House is giving away

Grand Prize Package: Love By the Numbers, Healing Love (Amish of Webster County #1), and The Snow Globe (The Amish of Jamesport #1) by Laura Hilton; “The Angels Cry Holy” scented candle in tin with lid from Abba Jerusalem

1st Place Package: Love By the Numbers, The Snow Globe (The Amish of Jamesport #1) by Laura Hilton, and Whitaker House/Anchor Coloring Book with Colored Pencils

2nd Place Package: Love By the Number by Laura Hilton and Whitaker House/Anchor Coloring Book with Colored Pencils!!!

Click the link to enter! https://promosimple.com/ps/c6ca

That Grand Easter Day! By Jill Roman Lord

About the Book:
An engaging picture book about the first Easter Day, with a fun cumulative story structure

That Grand Easter Day!is a cumulative story that begins with the stone in front of the tomb and ends with a new beginning -- the Resurrection of Christ. The lively narrative builds as it progresses, adding people, objects, and animals that may have witnessed the events of that day long ago. Little ones will love the repetition, which adds a pleasing level of predictability and helps to make the story of the first Easter more memorable.

The upbeat, reverent story is accompanied by luminous illustrations which bring the story to life. This engaging picture book will be a read-aloud favorite at Eastertime and throughout the year. Ages 4-7.

My Thoughts

My 4 year old enjoyed this book. My 6 year old, who is reading chapter books was not as huge as a fan. However my 4 year old loves to hear messages about Jesus - and we have been really focusing on understanding what Jesus did for us. Colorful Pictures, easy storyline for younger children to follow, provoked a lot of questions. Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book through Worthy Publishing --- All thoughts are my own. 

BOOK REVIEW!!! 21 Days of Love --- Compiled by Kathy Ide On tour with Celebrate Lit

ABOUT THE BOOK

About the Book

Title: 21 Days of Love

Compiled by: Kathy Ide

Genre: Non-fiction, Devotional

Release Date: January 1, 2016

Love can be found in many treasured relationships: boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife, parent-child … with a special friend, teacher, or pet … in the kindness of a stranger. We even have a national holiday to celebrate love.

The greatest love ever known is God’s abundant love for us, His children. And He often demonstrates that perfect love through imperfect people.

These stories represent all kinds of love. Woven through each story is the sustaining hand of our loving heavenly Father. On Valentine’s Day—and every day—whether your life is chocolates and flowers or loneliness and pain … let these stories fill your heart with hope, peace, and most important, love.

Click here to purchase your copy.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author

Compiler and editor KATHY IDE has been a published author since 1989. She has written fiction and nonfiction books and is the author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors. She has ghostwritten ten nonfiction books and a series of five novels. She also writes columns of writing and editing tips for blogs and newsletters. Kathy makes her home in Orange County, California.

Guest Post from Kathy Ide

Kick off the new year with love!

21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships, book 3 in the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series, contains short fiction stories about all kinds of love. Boyfriend-girlfriend. Husband-wife. Parent-child. Teacher-student. Even love for pets and showing love to strangers. Since the greatest love ever known is God’s abundant love for us, His children, the sustaining hand of our loving heavenly Father is woven throughout. Each story is written by a different author and is followed by a brief Life Application in which the author shares how the fictional story relates to our day-to-day lives.

21 Days of Love has chapters written by well-known, best-selling novelists, including Susan May Warren, Sherry Kyle, Renae Brumbaugh, and New York Times best-selling author Cindy Woodsmall. There are also stories by writers you may not have heard of. At the end of each chapter is an author bio that gives some background information about the author. So if you really like a story you read, you can find out what else that author has written. You may just find some new names to add to your favorites list.

And if you haven’t read much Christian fiction, this devotional will give you a small taste of several different authors and genres, without having to commit to reading an entire novel. You might just discover that you actually love Christian fiction!

21 Days of Love, a finalist in the 2017 Selah awards, makes a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for friends and loved ones.

My Thoughts:

I really have been enjoying these 21 days books - I read 21 days of Grace -- and I really enjoyed it. This one was just as amazing. 21 different authors, all writing from God's Word. What is more powerful then the LOVE that was extended to us, when Jesus gave his life up on the cross. These stories I consider to be "Bible Snacks". I love to Snack on God's word throughout the day. I would find myself going back 12 hours later to re-read the story I read in the morning. 

I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit blogging program, all thoughts are my own. 

Blog Stops

Bibliophile Reviews, February 10

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 11

Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 12

A Greater Yes, February 12

Captive Dreams Window, February 13

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 13

Mary Hake, February 14

Blossoms and Blessings, February 14

Bigreadersite, February 15

margaret kazmierczak, February 15 (Interview)

Janices book reviews, February 16

Christian Bookaholic, February 17

Reading is my Super Power, February 17 (Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, February 18

Carpe Diem, February 19

A Baker’s Perspective, February 20

Simple Harvest Reads, February 21 (Guest post from Mindy)

Pursuing Stacie, February 22

proud to be an autism mom, February 23

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away a

2 Grand Prizes of a full set of the 21 Days Hardback books
3 first place prizes of a hardback copy of 21 Days of Love
4 second place prizes of an eBook copy of 21 Days of Love!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c8e3

Book Review - The Phantom of Oz By Cindy Brown --- On tour with Great Escapes .

The Phantom of Oz (An Ivy Meadows Mystery)
by Cindy Brown

Part cozy mystery, part behind the scenes, and 100% about friendship. . . There is so much here to devour and absorb. . . this is a wonderful mystery and action-packed adventure.
~Laura’s Interests

Ms. Brown incorporates the body positivity issue into The Phantom of OZ not too strong, not too weak, this one is ‘just right’. I was entertained and fired up all at the same time!
~Back Porchervations

This is a great addition to the world of cozies, and in my opinion is a cut above because the author deftly addresses some serious issues without ever losing her grip on the fun of the story.
~The Ninja Librarian

I started this series because I love live theater, and I still appreciate that about the books. But I’ve kept reading them because they are fantastic mysteries. The Phantom of Oz is another great entry that will leave fans with a ghost of a smile on their face.
~Carstairs Considers….

My favorite part is Ivy and her brother’s relationship. I totally get the guilt and overprotective mothering. I’m impressed with how his disability and group home are portrayed. It’s so rare! I honestly can’t think of another book with this included.
~The Layaway Dragon

About the Book

The Phantom of Oz (An Ivy Meadows Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Henery Press (January 30, 2018)
Paperback: 268 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1635112924
E-Book ASIN: B0772Z1CSP

Creepy munchkins. A mysterious phantom. And a real Wicked Witch. Are you ready for it?

Actress and part-time PI Ivy Meadows has been hired to uncover the cause of the creepy accidents that plague the roadshow The Wizard: A Space OZpera and find out who dropped a chandelier on the Wicked Witch of the East.

Was it the ghost who haunts the Grand Phoenician Theatre? A “wicked witch” in the cast? Or is it someone—or something—more sinister?

It’s Ivy’s most personal case so far.

Her best friend Candy, who’s touring with the show, is caught in a downward spiral of self-destruction, and is in more danger than she knows.

To save her friend and the show, Ivy must answer even tougher questions: Do spirits really exist? What is real beauty? What does friendship mean?

Ivy needs to learn the answers, and fast—before Candy reaches the point of no return.

Books in the Ivy Meadows Humorous Mystery Series:

MACDEATH (#1)
THE SOUND OF MURDER (#2)
OLIVER TWISTED (#3)
IVY GET YOUR GUN (#4)
The Phantom of Oz (#5)

About the Author

Cindy Brown has been a theater geek (musician, actor, director, producer, and playwright) since her first professional gig at age 14. Now a full-time writer, she’s lucky enough to have garnered several awards (including 3rd place in the 2013 international Words With Jam First Page Competition, judged by Sue Grafton!) and is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. Though Cindy and her husband now live in Portland, Oregon, she made her home in Phoenix, Arizona, for more than 25 years and knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in both cities.

Author Links

Website & Blog: www.cindybrownwriter.com

Twitter handle: @friendlybrown

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cindy-Brown-author/288210721356802?ref=hl

Purchase Links

AMAZON – B&N  kobo

 MY THOUGHTS

This is a new author to me. I wanted to read this after reading the description. The Wizard of Oz was my daughter's favorite movie growing up. While this is a cozy mystery, it is not set up as a traditional one. The characters are well written, the writing easy to follow. While I have not read the other books in the series, I had no problems following along. I enjoyed this book and would read another by the author. 

I received a copy of this book through the Great Escapes blogging program, all thoughts are my own. 

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!!!!

Enter to win an E-Copy of the book

 Enter Here