January has come and gone. And, I am still in a chaotic, no structure frame of mind. Yes, here and there, I have made some baby steps forward, and that is a good thing, because for the longest time, I have either stayed stagnant, or degressed backwards. But, I want to seize the day and find a sense of committment. To something. To anything! A good friend of mine, challenged me to do a challenge that she is doing. Ironically enough, several other people, here in blogland, are doing the same challenge. So, its like “OK, God. You have my attention”.

Starting tomorrow, I am starting a 30-day encouragement challenge. Encouraging David each and every day. There is guidelines for this challenge, and I will post those everyday. And hopefully, I can add my own input, that “yes, I did do this, and this was his response”. At very least though, I am going to read and post the daily challenge steps through out the month of February. The guidelines are this:

* You can’t say anything negative about your husband …to your husband…or to anyone else, about your husband.
* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband…to your husband…and to someone else, about your husband!

AND. If all goes according to plan, then I have a list already set up. I will move into March with a similar challenge. Posting questions, that focus on me. And in April, the theme is parenting. May is encouraging your pastor. And June turns the focus on the pastor’s wife. I have a book on encouraging friends and such. I need to look in it to see if it has some guided questions that I could do. If so, I may do it in the next couple of months, before the pastor and his wife months. But. Before I get ahead of myself, lets just see how February goes, with the 30 day encouragement challenge with David.

Can I do it? Its one small step. But its within the realm of something I really like to do, which is blogging. But it steps outside of myself, to encourage others. Something I really need to work on. And I know, by encouraging others, I will be blessed myself. I just know that I have got to get out of this negative-self-talk rut I’m in, and move ahead. Life is good, if I would just find some structure and peace, I could let myself enjoy it!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Passion Most Pure

(Revell January 1, 2008)

by

Julie Lessman

ABOUT THE BOOK
She’s found the love of her life. Unfortunately, he loves her sister …

As World War I rages across the Atlantic in 1916, a smaller war is brewing in Boston. Faith O’Connor finds herself drawn to an Irish rogue who is anything but right for her. Collin McGuire is brash, cocky, and from the wrong side of the tracks, not to mention forbidden by her father. And then there’s the small matter that he is secretly courting her younger sister. But when Collin’s affections suddenly shift her way, it threatens to tear Faith’s proper Boston family apart.

Refusing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship that pleases God, Faith O’Connor steels her heart against her desire for the roguish Collin McGuire. Collin is trying to win her sister Charity’s hand, and Faith isn’t sure she can handle the jealousy she feels. Full of passion, romance, rivalry, and betrayal, A Passion Most Pure is Book 1 of the Daughters of Boston series.
Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0800732111

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie Lessman is a debut author who has already garnered writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She is a commercial writer for Maritz Travel, a published poet and a Golden Heart Finalist. Julie has a heart to write “Mainstream Inspirational,” reaching the 21st-century woman with compelling love stories laced with God’s precepts. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. A Passion Most Pure is her first novel.

Visit Julie’s website

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Awaken My Heart

Avon Inspire (February 5, 2008)

by

DiAnn Mills

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Award-winning author, DiAnn Mills, launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. She is the author of numerous titles including novels, novellas, and a nonfiction. In addition, she’s written several short stories, articles, devotions, and has contributed to several nonfiction compilations.

DiAnn believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” Her desire is to show characters solving real problems of today from a Christian perspective through a compelling story.

Several of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA Best Seller List. Three of her books have won the distinction of Best Historical of the Year by Heartsong Presents, and she remains a favorite author by Heartsong Present’s readers. Two of her books have won short historical of the year by American Christian Fiction Writers both in 2003 and 2004. She was named Writer of the Year for 2004 at the 35th Annual Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference and is the recipient of Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards for 2005 in the long contemporary and novella categories.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, ChiLibris, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops. DiAnn also belongs to Cy Fair Women’s Networking, an exclusive professional women’s networking organization.

She lives in sunny Houston, Texas, the home of heat, humidity, and Harleys. In fact she’d own one, but her legs are too short. DiAnn and her husband have four adult sons and are active members of Metropolitan Baptist Church.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
1803, the colony of Texas

Awaken My Heart is set in 19th century Texas and tells the story of 18 year old Marianne Phillips, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, Weston Phillips. Weston is involved in a hostile struggle with Armando Garcia, the infamous rebel leader of the ‘mestizos’ who claim to own the land that Phillips has settled.

Marianne Phillips, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, has never agreed with her father’s harsh treatment of the poor mestizos who first inhabited the colony of Texas. When rebels kidnap Marianne, in hopes her father will trade back their land for her freedom, she realizes her loyalty lies with her abductors, not her father, who plans to marry her off to the don of a nearby estate.

Armando Garcia is the locals’ reluctant leader, but his people revere and depend on him. Knowing that without his leadership they’d be forced from their land, Armando accepts his role, but does not approve of the latest attempt to manipulate their enemy. When he learns that Marianne actually speaks his language, of her loyalty to his people, and of the faith that keeps her strong, Armando is faced with a difficult decision. Will his newfound love keep him from letting her go? Or will he set her free and risk losing their land forever?

Buy The Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061376019
Visit DiAnn at her website

This has been a good week, and if everything goes according to plan, next week will be even better. Several large and very time consuming projects that I’ve been working on are almost a thing of the past now. The church directory, except for one change the elders asked me to make yesterday, is ready to copy and distribute. The IFTA report at the trucking company … for last quarter … is all checked, and entered in the computer. I can now focus on staying on top of it — on a weekly basis — this quarter, so I don’t have to work long hours at the end of the quarter to get it finished up. It goes so much smoother if you do it every week as the drivers turn the paperwork in, and then it doesn’t become this overwhelming project hanging over you. I have every week for this quarter already done and in the computer, all the expenses checked, making sure the drivers haven’t bought Chrysler 300 accessories for their personal use, and charged it to the company. The expenses usually check out OK. Every once in a while, one of the guys will misadd, and we’ll have to adjust their check. But for the most part, its a pretty painless process. Only when you let it build up and have to check 13 weeks of paperwork does it become a major pain. But. I’m done. And now I can do it the way it is supposed to be done. Being caught up feels good!

As Ethan goes through high school, he has opportunities to join various different organizations and clubs. Being his mother’s son, he has a tender and giving heart, and he likes to be involved in things that will make the lives of others better. He works part time, and I know he would like to save up his money for a newer and better car (the one he is driving runs good, and looks good, but is older than he is!). If he is able to do this, he needs to consider donating the car he is driving now to Car Angel. They are a non-profit company that uses cars and other types of donations to help single mothers, orphans, homeless, teen and adults in rehab, as well as prison reform. You can choose the charity organization that you want to benefit from your car donation . The money also goes to make videos for kids and teens. The video at the end of this post is one such video that they produce. They have given away over 2.4 million videos.

Embedded Video

Brrr. Brrrr. and Brrrr. Its cold out there. The weatherman just said it was -2 degrees out. Can we say cold? We had best leave a trickle of water running in the bathroom sink. It does matter if we have Kohler sinks or an old fashioned pump. With the temps with the way they are, the pipes are going to freeze if we don’t keep water running through them. The crawl space underneath our house leaves very little room to crawl around in, so, if we don’t want an expensive plumbing bill, we make sure every winter that we leave a little bit of water running every night. Yes, it does make our water bill go up, but its not all that bad, and definately only a fraction of what it would cost if we had to have someone come in and fix broken pipes! Our next house is going to have a basement!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Fallen
(Kregel Publications February 29, 2008)
by
Matthew Raley
ABOUT THE BOOKJim was at work when his eyes drifted to the coffee shop visible from his office window. An attractive woman driving a Mercedes pulled up to the curb . . . and Jim’s married pastor emerged from the car. When Jim delves deeper into his pastor’s world, will he be able to handle what he discovers? Is he right to suspect that Dave is having an affair? In the behind-the-scenes church battle that ensues, Jim is torn between duty to his church and a desire to show grace. A ripped-from-the-headlines drama of suspense that keeps you engaged to the last page.

Fallen is the story about Jim’s relationship with Dave—how Jim tries to do the right thing to keep Dave accountable, but finds the situation getting worse and worse. It’s also about Jim’s other relationships. Just as he discovers hypocrisy in Dave, Jim discovers his own sins against his wife and daughter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matthew Raley is senior pastor of the Orland Evangelical Free Church in northern California, where he lives with his wife and two young children. For fun, he enjoys playing chamber music with friends, giving occasional solo recitals, and playing first violin in the North State Symphony. This is his first book.

Buy the book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825435757

Matthew’s website: http://merchristianity.com/.