6 Verses That Can Change Your Life By Joe Barnett

This book is about-shelters from life's storms. Six of them: Trust, Assurance, Courage, Patience, Peace, Joy. The front door to each is a single verse of Scripture. I thought this book was thoughtfully written, and Biblically researched. I think that nearly anyone could benefit from the principles and advice contained in these chapters.
I would recommend this for any adult reader, as it covers such important topics and really uses Biblical references as well as modern day tie-ins to help the reader relate.
I received this book for free from BookCrash in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

The Girl In The Glass By Susan Meissner

When Meg was a little girl she heard stories about Florence, Italy from her grandmother. Her grandmother promised Meg they would go to Florence when she graduated from high school. But Nonnah died before graduation and Meg’s father promised his mother he would take Meg on the trip to Florence. He was never all that reliable and when he and Meg’s mother divorced he became less reliable and less available. Still Meg believed his promises and waited for the day when her dream would come true. At twenty-nine Meg is working as an editor for a travel book publisher. In the last year she has broken her engagement to a man she realized that though she liked him she was not in love with him. She is living in a borrowed house with a borrowed cat. Her life is routine and unexciting until her father surprises her with the long-awaited trip to Italy. One of her author/photographer clients lives in Florence. They have been talking via Skype for some time and have become friends. When she tells him her plans to be in the city they make plans to meet. In the meantime he has asked her to read a couple of chapters of a book his neighbor, Sophia, is writing. Meg agrees, likes what she has read and looks forward to meeting Sophia and Lorenzo. Meg is supposed to meet her father in Florence but he never shows up. Though terribly disappointed she makes the best of it and enjoys time with Sophia and Lorenzo. Sophia, who is a tour guide, shows Meg the beautiful city of her dreams. Sophia is as delightful as her book; but Meg learns there are serious problems in Sophia’s life that could affect the publication of her book. One of the problems is that Sophia believes that her ancestor, Nora, speaks to her through the canvases and statues of Florence. She is including these stories in her book. This aspect of her writing will make it difficult to publish the book as a travel memoir. The lives of these three women come together; Meg and Sophia, contemporary women of different generations, and Nora, a woman of another century. The city of Florence is what brings them together but it is love that binds them. All have loved and been disappointed. All have loved and lost. And they all find new love in one form or another.
This novel is a story of fathers and daughters and love. It is about what life is and what we can choose to make of it if we are willing to risk letting go of what we know to grasp what we do not know.
I liked the book. An easy and entertaining read that does have a message.

This book was sent to me by WaterBrook Multnomah at no cost to me in exchange for this review.

Come To The Table

I loved seeing Kat's development as she matures both as a person and as a Christian. The love triangle with Kat, Nick, and Rochelle maintains suspense and I enjoyed how the food pantry idea played out. There are a lot of characters to keep up with and I think previous familiarity with Jackson's various series would be helpful, particularly Stand by Me, the first novel in this SouledOut series. Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

still LOLO

Still Lolo follows the life of Lauren Scruggs taking a raw look at a family confronting tragedy. It is the story of survival and finding God in the lowest point and coming out on the other side triumphant.

For me, this was a fresh look at pain and a lovely tale told by an overcomer: to look at the heart, to hear the moments of defeat and depression, to be struck by the fresh inspiration from scripture, and to trust Jesus for the next breathe, the next step, the next day.

Truly inspirational and a reminder to each person to wake-up to the reality that our lives are so fragile. Lauren and her beautiful family understand the meaning of living by faith not sight!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Heaven Changes Every Thing

The original book tells the story of Colton dying and going to heaven before he is resuscitated. As time goes on, his family beings to hear things from him that he couldn’t possibly know, things like the looks of his grandfather he never knew, a sibling in heaven his parents never told him about, and what his parents were doing while he was in the hospital room. This book is written by Cloton’s parents, Todd and Sonjo Burpo, in the format of a short devotional. The book is broken into 42 chapters, and each contain an excerpt from the original book followed by a devotional concept by Todd or Sonja Burpo. I liked the format of this book, and I liked the fact that the chapters were short enough to be read pretty quickly. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Would You... Read Me To Sleep?

Would You… Read Me To Sleep?, by George E. Edenfield and illustrated by Alyson A. Harris, is a lovely book about the lifelong relationship between a father and daughter and of their love for Bible reading at bedtime. The book is beautifully written and illustrated. It has a grandfatherly feel to it and is flooded with lots of love. The great part about this book is that it is bible themed and it is a wonderful way to share a bible journey at bedtime; however, the language and the length of the story may get lost on children of today. It's full of wonderful stories, but it may be a little lengthy for smaller children and parents who aren't found of reading may get restless before the end. With the right combination of parent and child (or grandparent and child) this book just might work very well. I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A Christmas Home: A Novel by Greg Kincaid

How many of you have read A Dog Named Christmas? Chances are, if you're a book lover, you've read this heartwarming tale about how the right dog can change a family. Of course, I read it too (in fact, I own a copy). So, when I saw that a sequel was out on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. Well.... I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's a really sweet story and I did want to finish the book, but somehow, it wasn't as touching as A Dog Named Christmas. Personally, I think this is all the fault of the narrative choice. The book is written in third person (and if I remember rightly, A Dog Named Christmas was written in first person). While this was necessary, as the book jumped from character to character, it ended up distancing me from the characters. I think, the book would have been much better if it had the immediacy and intimacy of the first-person narrative. As to the plot, it's interesting. Due to the economic slowdown, the small town is struggling. It's struggling so much that they have to close the shelter where Todd now works. And so, Todd, Haley and the volunteers at the shelter do their best to either keep the shelter open or find homes for all the animals in the race against time. In addition, Todd has to struggle with finding a new job, and we're also given a look into his relationship with Laura. All in all, this is a really sweet and short book. I didn't feel very touched by it, but I have a feeling that it will touch a lot of (other) people. Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for a free and honest review.