Love, Lace and Minor Alternations by V. Joy Palmer

My Thoughts:

Love, Lace and Minor Alternations is a light-hearted, fun and adorable read! I love the way the V. Joy Palmer writes this book and think she is an author to keep your eye on. From the very beginning, she has me intrigued at the bookstore where Izze runs into the handsome and oh, so tolerable Miles who steals her table at the coffee shop. From there on, the book is history with whitt, character tension that builds back and forth and sweet romance. The author naturally writes in such a way that the characters have a relationship with the Lord, which is amazing to see carried out through entire Fiction novel that is genuine. 

While humor, faith, and romance are the essentials ingredients to this book, you don't want to miss out on the happenings at the Bridal Boutique. Joy did her homework and made this place come to life in the story, which makes this book even better. So if you are looking for a mouth water, fun, quirky, laugh out loud, romance, grab this book!  

This author adds fresh new blood to the writing industry especially with "rude guy" and "None of your Beezwax." She is down right hilarious, but when the humor is gone, and the book is over, you'll find teardrops falling from your eyes. This book is sweet and reminds us of who and where we put our hope and faith in. 

If you are a fan of Janice Thompson, Sandra D. Bricker, Denise Hunter or Robin Jones Gunn, then you would love this debut book by Joy Palmer. If you have never read any of these authors, you would still enjoy Love, Lace and Minor Alterations. Thank you to author for providing me a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. I give this book 5/5 stars. I look forward to more works from this author and hopefully more books to come in this series! 

About the Author: 
To learn more about Joy Palmer, you can head over to her blog and read all about her happenings, latest readings and book reviews. I invite you to check her out! 

Play with Fire by Bianca Olthoff

As a powerful speaker, Bianca brings nothing but life and power in her latest book "Play with Fire." This book is raw, gripping, emotional and filled with a fiery passion that spot on ignites with the Holy Spirit. 

She is honest about the personal struggles of her own life as she grew up and the trials that were placed before her. She refers to the Bible several times and the stories of how people also walked through some fierce moments. 

However, I will say that as powerful as Bianca is, I was a little taken back by some of the grammatical issues of the book. I wasn't sure if they were intended or not. While this could have been the style, it defiantly had a few moments for me. Not enough for me to turn away from the book, but enough that I noticed and was surprised.

Overall, I think this book is well-written in the message she conveys, in the story and trial she faces and how she has been brought through. Her testimony is like no other and I believe this book will be trans-formative and powerful to those who read it. I loved this book! It had be challenged and it had me turning the pages one after another wondering what was going to happen next.
I give this book 5/5 stars because of the content, the power and how it transformed my heart.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a complimentary copy for review purposes only. I was not compensated to give a positive review. 

Total Family Makeover by Melissa Spoelstra

{MORE ABOUT TOTAL FAMILY MAKEOVER}

Total Family Makeover: 8 Practical Steps to Making Disciples at Home(Abingdon, September 2016)

Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it. —Proverbs 22:6

God calls us as parents to be key disciple-makers in our children’s lives, but if we’re honest, some days it’s a battle just to get them dressed and ready for school on time. How can you mold their hearts when sometimes you can’t even find their shoes?

In Total Family Makeover, author Melissa Spoelstra gives parents a way—a sort of spiritual track to run on—when it comes to building family discipleship. She focuses on eight key habits of growth:

—Spending Time in Prayer
—Reading God’s Word
—Growing Through a Mentoring Relationship
—Finding Community in the Church
—Serving Others
—Taking Time to Rest
—Giving Back to God
—Sharing Your Faith

Disciples are made, not born. Whether your children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with you! Give your family a makeover with this practical approach to helping your children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

My Thoughts:

In my opinion, Total Family Makeover is a practical tool for parents to use in learning how to make disciples of your children. In our culture now, I feel like a lot of parenting books don't focus on this topic, which something that I really enjoy about this book. The job of parents is to instill the word of God and to teach them practical habits that they can use in their life to grow them spiritually, which will help them grow into mature adults who are strong in their faith. However, it's really the seed the planting is planting and watering, where the child then is helping it to produce and grow over time as he/she grows. 

This book is an awesome reminder of what an amazing gift parenting is and how it cannot be done alone. This book is divided into 8 chapters with very practical application and is good for any parent to utilize with kids regardless of the age. I  give this book 4/5 stars. Thank you to the publishers for providing me a complimentary copy for my honest review. 

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT MELISSA SPOELSTRA}

Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women’s conference speaker, Bible teacher, and writer who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about helping women of all ages to seek Christ and know Him more intimately through serious Bible study. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Theology and enjoys teaching God’s Word to diverse groups and churches within the body of Christ. She is the author of the “First Corinthians: Living Love When We Disagree,” “Joseph: The Journey to Forgiveness,” and “Jeremiah: Daring to Hope in an Unstable World Bible” studies and “Total Family Makeover: 8 Steps to Making Disciples at Home” book. She lives in Dublin, Ohio, with her pastor husband and four kids.

Find out more about Melissa at http://melissaspoelstra.com.

Author: Melissa Spoelstra

Begin to build your family discipleship and become the key disciple-makers in your children’s lives with Melissa Spoelstra’s new book,Total Family Makeover. Disciples are made, not born. Whether your children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with you! Give your family a makeover with this practical approach to helping your children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Plan an evening of fun, pizza, devotionals, and games with your family! Melissa is giving away a Family Fun Night Prize Pack.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Total Family Makeover
• A copy of Deep Blue Family Devotional: Fall 2016 – Summer 2017
• A copy of CEB Deep Blue Kids Bible Bright Sky Hardcover
• A $50 Pizza Hut gift card
• Qwirkle Board Game

Seize the Day by Joyce Meyer

Do you ever find yourself saying "I'll get to that later, or I'll call that person later because I'm so busy," and then you realize it's been over a month! If you're anything like me, you've had that experience and have wondered where the day's and months have gone.
As a person who starts her Monday's with a computer program that has a to do list and virtually checks it off one by one, some days at work I realize that I don't always accomplish what I set off to do because sometimes I get distracted and I don't seize the moment or time I have. Other days, I find myself really dedicated to my "to do list" and everything gets done, so what gives? 

Our time is in invaluable and in a society where everything is fast paced, more is better and fewer means you're not producing Joyce Meyer brings a different thought to "Seize the Day" in her latest book. Our money and our time are invaluable and how we spend both, sums our life. Did you know every single moment is one that you will never get back? Writing about this book is a moment that I will never get back, but I believe it is worth writing. Why? Because you need to understand the importance of how you live your life, who you spend it with and how you spend it! 

Each of us must choose to spend our life on purpose because a time will come where we will leave this earth and will step into eternity. What we do on this earth, impacts not only the here and now, but what happens in Heaven. Don't live your life wasted, but live it on purpose. If you find that your days and months are slipping away, and you have no idea why I recommend you picking up "Seize The Day" by Joyce Meyer. This book is full of great ideas that will help you set boundaries in making the most of your time each day to impact the Kingdom here and now, as well as the eternal kingdom.

Thank you to Faith words for providing me a complimentary copy of "Seize the Day" by Joyce Meyers. I was not compensated for a positive review but have given my honest review. "Seize the Day" will help you take charge or your day, live life on purpose learn time management and learn that you should not wait for tomorrow! Don't regret your life by missing out and not picking up a copy of this book! 
I give this book 5/5 stars. 

Pick up your copy here!

About Joyce:

Joyce Meyer is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. Her nearly 100 books have helped millions of people find hope and restoration. Bestsellers include Living Beyond Your Feelings; Power Thoughts; Battlefield of the Mind; and The Confident Woman. 

Joyce Meyer's broadcast Enjoying Everyday Life airs daily on hundreds of television networks and radio stations worldwide. She travels extensively, holding conferences throughout the year, speaking to thousands around the world. Joyce teaches on a number of topics with a particular focus on the mind, mouth, moods and attitudes. Her candid communication style allows her to share openly and practically about her experiences so others can apply what she has learned to their lives.

Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Celebrations

About: When people adopt a new diet for health or personal reasons, they worry most about the parties, holidays, and events with strong food traditions, fearing their fond memories will be lost along with the newly eliminated food groups. After suffering for years with a debilitating autoimmune disease and missing many of these special occasions herself, Danielle Walker has revived the joy that cooking for holidays can bring in Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Celebrations, a collection of recipes and menus for twelve special occasions throughout the year. 
 
Featuring a variety of birthday cakes, finger foods to serve at a baby or bridal shower, and re-creations of backyard barbecue standards like peach cobbler and corn bread, Danielle includes all of the classics. There’s a full Thanksgiving spread--complete with turkey and stuffing, creamy green bean casserole, and pies--and menus for Christmas dinner; a New Year's Eve cocktail party and Easter brunch are covered, along with suggestions for beverages and cocktails and the all-important desserts. Recipes can be mixed and matched among the various occasions, and many of the dishes are simple enough for everyday cooking. Stunning full-color photographs of every dish make browsing the pages as delightful as cooking the recipes, and beautiful party images provide approachable and creative entertaining ideas. 
 
Making recipes using unfamiliar ingredients can cause anxiety, and while trying a new menu on a regular weeknight leaves some room for error, the meal simply cannot fail when you have a table full of guests celebrating a special occasion. Danielle has transformed her most cherished family traditions into trustworthy recipes you can feel confident serving, whether you’re hosting a special guest with food allergies, or cooking for a crowd of regular grain-eaters.

My Thoughts:

This book is beautiful from the pictures to the recipes and your mouth will be watering with every page that you turn.Danielle understands the incredible power that food has whether utilized to heal or for a person learning they have an allergy and their diet needs to change. She welcomes every kind of person to the table in her recipes and leaves nothing out. She is a foodie and wants everyone to enjoy the Holiday's just as much as she does.! There is something in here for everyone and each of us can celebrate somehow! No one is left out, which shows how thought out this book is! I love how each of these recipes can be mixed and matched among various menus, dishes and meals, which makes cooking simple. Don't be scared of this book, get excited and go buy a copy! You won't regret it! Thank you to the publishers for providing me a complimentary copy! I give this book a 5/5 stars.