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Sunday, January 11, 2026
My Thoughts - ILLUSION OF TRUTH by James L'Etoile
Thursday, January 1, 2026
BOOK TOUR: UNEXPECTED ALTARS: MEETING GOD IN EVERYDAY MOMENTS by Oakland Community Church
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Book Details:
Book Title: UNEXPECTED ALTARS: MEETING GOD IN EVERYDAY MOMENTS by Oakland Community Church
Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 242 pages
Genre: Christian Devotional, Inspirational Personal Testimonies
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: November 15, 2025
Formats Available for Review: print-softback (USA only), ebook (EPUB, MOBI for Kindle), PDF)
Tour dates: Nov 24, 2025, to Jan 9, 2026
Content Rating: G. It has no inappropriate material in it.
Book Description:
Everyday moments become sacred altars where God meets you.
Do you sometimes wish you could hear from God? Do you feel like you are too insignificant for Him to care about your daily battles with loneliness, grief, change, and doubts?
God talks to each of us – from the young husband and father who accidentally torched his home, to the claustrophobic pastor making her way through a historic tunnel in Israel, to the mystery author having a close call with a stink bug.
God can speak to us through that soft voice inside your head; or the perfect words for your circumstance uttered on Sunday morning; or He can come to you in a powerful revelation.
UNEXPECTED ALTARS is a collection of stories of faith from real people, just like you, who have experienced God’s grace and presence in their lives. This heartfelt Christian devotional brings together authentic testimonies from everyday people who have encountered God’s presence in unexpected places.
Meet the authors sharing their journeys of faith, hope, and transformation:
Each story is a powerful reminder that God meets us right where we are—building altars of worship in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Perfect for daily devotion, small group discussion, or personal encouragement.
Turn your doubts into divine encounters. Discover how God is speaking to you today through these 101 inspirational faith stories. These stories will transform your doubts into powerful encounters with God’s grace, guiding you to find Him in unexpected places.
Start your journey to find God in the unexpected! Order UNEXPECTED ALTARS today!
Everyday moments become sacred altars where God meets you.
Do you sometimes wish you could hear from God? Do you feel like you are too insignificant for Him to care about your daily battles with loneliness, grief, change, and doubts?
God talks to each of us – from the young husband and father who accidentally torched his home, to the claustrophobic pastor making her way through a historic tunnel in Israel, to the mystery author having a close call with a stink bug.
God can speak to us through that soft voice inside your head; or the perfect words for your circumstance uttered on Sunday morning; or He can come to you in a powerful revelation.
UNEXPECTED ALTARS is a collection of stories of faith from real people, just like you, who have experienced God’s grace and presence in their lives. This heartfelt Christian devotional brings together authentic testimonies from everyday people who have encountered God’s presence in unexpected places.
Meet the authors sharing their journeys of faith, hope, and transformation:
- JoAnne Alexander
- Joshua Alexander
- Rachael Alexander
- Sheerah Allison
- Tom Arnold
- Lauren Carr
- Jeff Cunningham
- Kelly Curtis
- Bob Finnie
- Bill Fisher
- RoseAnna (Rosie) Fisher
- Bruce Funk
- Brian Greenfield
- Dan Kovac
- Dennis Magaha
- Frances Magaha
- Kristen Marshall
- Debby McCoy
- Troy Miller
- Laura Morris
- Kris Rata
- Cathy Stewart
- Dale Stewart
- Kent Tice
- Jason Weller
- Jack Zaleski
Each story is a powerful reminder that God meets us right where we are—building altars of worship in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Perfect for daily devotion, small group discussion, or personal encouragement.
Turn your doubts into divine encounters. Discover how God is speaking to you today through these 101 inspirational faith stories. These stories will transform your doubts into powerful encounters with God’s grace, guiding you to find Him in unexpected places.
Start your journey to find God in the unexpected! Order UNEXPECTED ALTARS today!
Meet the Authors:
UNEXPECTED ALTARS: MEETING GOD IN EVERYDAY MOMENTS is an anthology written by multiple authors, edited by JoAnne Alexander, and published by Lauren Carr for Oakland Community Church, a non-denominational church located in Charles Town, West Virginia.
All royalties from this devotional book will be donated to the building fund for Oakland Community Church's new building. Oakland's goal is to design a biophilic building that takes advantage of the beauty of our Jefferson County location.
connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ X
UNEXPECTED ALTARS: MEETING GOD IN EVERYDAY MOMENTS is an anthology written by multiple authors, edited by JoAnne Alexander, and published by Lauren Carr for Oakland Community Church, a non-denominational church located in Charles Town, West Virginia.
All royalties from this devotional book will be donated to the building fund for Oakland Community Church's new building. Oakland's goal is to design a biophilic building that takes advantage of the beauty of our Jefferson County location.
connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ X
MY THOUGHTS
Unexpected Altars: Meeting God in Everyday Moments was one of my last reads of 2025. It's written by Oakwood Community Church and is perfect for those looking for a devotion that is packed full of personal stories, some pretty emotional, about how God showed up in the middle of chaos and mundane situations.
One of the best things that I took away from this book, is how to look to how God is speaking to us. Sometimes we get caught up in our chaos and don't hear his calming voice or feel his presence.
This is perfect for those looking for a devotion. I will be keeping this at my bedside to refer back to when I feel God pulling me back to this book. This book is extremely well written and flows nicely.
Thank you to the author, publisher and IRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for the purposes of this review, all thoughts are my own.
Sunday, December 21, 2025
My Thoughts - Underestimated Author: Sherri Wilson Johnson
About the Book
Book: Underestimated
Author: Sherri Wilson Johnson
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Mystery
Release Date: December 9, 2025
Liam Holcomb is a no-nonsense forensic accountant, not a farmer—but when his grandfather dies under suspicious circumstances, Liam returns to the Anything Goats farm near Nashville to investigate. What he finds buried in old records suggests the death wasn’t an accident—and someone wanted the land badly enough to kill for it.
Wren Meadows, a free-spirited goat yoga instructor and single mom, is busy planning the church’s Christmas celebration at the farm when her daughters witness something they shouldn’t have. Now, threats are closing in, and Liam may be the only one who can protect them.
He’s serious, guarded, and sworn off relationships. She’s sunshine, spontaneity, and a walking invitation to chaos. But as danger deepens and sparks fly, Liam and Wren may discover that opposites don’t just attract—they just might save each other.
A cozy but gripping Christian romantic suspense full of heart, humor, and holiday hope.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Sherri Wilson Johnsonwrites romantic suspense from her home in Georgia where she lives with her husband, their two dogs and spoiled Bombay cat. Sherri loves spending time with family, vacationing at the beach, reading or working on her current work-in-progress. She dreams of a second home on some beach somewhere some day, where she can plot romantically suspenseful novels around the clock.
More from Sherri
In Underestimated, Liam Holcomb cooks his grandmother’s Beef Hash recipe. This is actually one of my mom’s recipes that I cook quite often. She passed away in 1993, and cooking her Beef Hash always brings fond memories to my mind. So I’ll share the recipe with you now. Keep in mind that just like Liam’s grandmother, I use lots of garlic salt. I sample along the way until I get just the right amount of seasoning. You may want to use more or less, depending on your preference.
But here are the basics:
Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground beef
6-8 yellow potatoes (or 4 large Idaho potatoes) cut into cubes
½ cup finely chopped onions or dried minced onions
2-3 large cut carrots (or a ½ to ¾ bag of frozen cut carrots)
Black pepper to taste
Garlic powder and onion powder to taste
Lawry’s Coarse Ground with Parsley Garlic Salt (This is the secret sauce—use as much as you want to get that good savory flavor to your liking.) (I probably use ¼ cup for a large batch, but I’m not 100% sure, honestly. I always eyeball it and then taste it once it’s done.)
Instructions:
Season the ground beef with the garlic salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Brown, drain and rinse.
Cut the potatoes into cubes and slice the carrots into circles about ½ inch thick. Boil until tender (you can use an Instantpot or pressure cooker). You can add salt to the water, but I usually don’t because I don’t want to overdo the salt. I save the saltiness for the garlic salt.
After the potatoes and carrots are tender, scoop them into a pot with the ground beef and add the potato water as the broth. You can add as much as you like depending on how much broth you like.
Bring everything to a boil, smashing some of the potatoes until the broth thickens.
Toast hamburger buns until crispy then pour the Beef Hash on top and gobble it up.
Serve with a side salad.
MY THOUGHTS
Underestimated is a Christian Romantic Suspemse that is written by Sherri Wilson Johnson. I love this author for her stories contain authentic real feelings characters. Theresa setting of this book is a goat farm in Nashville, Tennessee.
We meet Liam Holcomb. He has returned back to his family goat farm, Anything Goats after his grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances. Liam knows something is off and starts to dig. However in doing so it becomes clear someone wanted the land that the farm is on.
Wren Meadows is a single mom. She’s the completely opposite of Liam. She’s a goat yoga instructor and while she’s preparing for a Christmas program, her daughter witnesses something that she shouldn’t.
Suddenly she’s the target and Liam and Wren have to work together to figure it out.
I love that these characters are complete opposites. Liam has a hard time trusting and Wren is learning to stand strong even when she’s scared.
The book is well written. The storyline is engaging. Thank you to the author, publisher and Celebrate Lit for allowing me to read a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 9
The Sacred Line, December 10
Stories By Gina, December 11 (Author Interview)
EmpowerMoms, December 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 12
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 13
Simple Harvest Reads, December 14 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 15
Texas Book-aholic, December 16
Artistic Nobody, December 17 (Author Interview)
An Author’s Take, December 17
For Him and My Family, December 18
Betti Mace, December 19
Bizwings Blog, December 20
Because I said so, December 21
Guild Master, December 22
Giveaway
To celebrate her tourk, Sherri is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/3edbd/underestimated-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thursday, December 18, 2025
MY THOUGHTS - THE CHRISTMAS CAROL WRITTEN BY AIDA JUODIS
THE CHRISTMAS CARDINAL
by Aïda Jodi's
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GENRE: Children’s Picture Book
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BLURB:
The Christmas Cardinal, written by Aïda Juodis, is a soft and whimsical tale that was gently crafted to help provide children who have lost a loved one with comfort and warmth during the holiday season.
Excerpt
If you wonder where your loved one goes when they pass away, remember that they’re always with you in your heart to stay.
But they go somewhere else that’s special too and continue watching over you.
Look up above at the sky to the North Star way up high.
Just beyond that big bright star is the North Pole not too far.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Aïda Darija Juodis is a storyteller who blends comfort, wonder, and gentle magic in her writing. The Christmas Cardinal reflects her belief that love endures, guiding us from near and far.
https://amazon.com/dp/1834185319
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61688402.A_da_Juodis
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MY THOUGHTS
The Christmas Carol is a beautifully written children's book with a heartfelt meaning, The book rhymes and tells the story of how the cardinal is a messenger for you and your loved one. I loved the way that it teaches children that they will look out for you. I love that it helps children understand and cope with the loss especially around the holidays. My grandma passed in 2020 and the holidays are still hard. As an adult, this story gave me comfort.
The illustrations are done beautifully and match the storyline exactly. There are lots of colors that will make it engaging for your young reader.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Goddess Fish Promotions for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Aïda Juodis will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
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