Quotes to Live By

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
(John Quincy Adams)

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. (Aristotle)

Every artist was first an amateur. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. (Thomas Jefferson)

It takes ten years to build up a reputation, but only five minutes to ruin one. (Anonymous)

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Parenting the Wholehearted Child

This book lets you see what parenting is like from a humorous point of view. I see many of my friends having kids and I feel like I would want one too, but first I want to read up on parenting first. 

With authenticity, conviction, and a lively sense of humor, Jeannie guides you on a transformative journey into raising wholehearted - not perfect - children, who live from the freedom found in being wholeheartedly loved (and liked!) by God. 

Parenting the Wholehearted Child equips you with biblical wisdom and practical ideas to teach your children that they are fully accepted by God, not because of anything they do or don’t do but because of everything Jesus has already done for them. Woven throughout the book is the good news that it is God’s extravagant grace - not your perfect performance - that transforms the hearts of children.


Friday, March 21, 2014

Storming the Black Ice

When British geologists discover the world's largest oil reserves under the desolate, icy tundra of Antarctica, Britain and Chile form a top-secret alliance for control of petroleum resources that will rival the economic power of OPEC. But when their discovery is uncovered by an Argentinean intelligence officer, a surprise-attack against a secret British outpost in Antarctica triggers a war. Britain and Chile are in a military standoff against Venezuela and Argentina, and when the war escalates, Britain asks America for help. 


For two couples separated by the battle, the outcome will be either love reunited or devastating heartbreak. For a young British boy living with his mother in London, his father’s life is on the line. And for Pete Miranda, an American sub commander detailed on a special military assignment to his father's homeland of Chile, will his fate be a crushing death under the icy-cold waters of the Antarctic Ocean, or a future of life, light, and a second chance for love?

The story seemed like it was set as a journal of some sort but it was fascinating and not at all boring. The plot didn't drag even though I wasn't familiar with all the jargon being used. 

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Below the Surface

In the third book in the Code of Silence series, a coming-of-age story that both boys and girls will enjoy, from prolific author and speaker Tim Shoemaker.
Buried fears don’t stay buried for long. Something is wrong with Cooper. He doesn't understand it, and he won’t admit it, but after surviving the trauma of abduction, Cooper is plagued by a deep fear he can’t control. A vacation aboard the restored Getaway with his friends is just what he needs. No drama, no mysteries, just fun, relaxation, and a few well-planned pranks. But trouble follows this crew, and the idea of a carefree vacation soon disappears along with a missing woman. The police think she drowned, but Hiro has her own suspicions and starts investigating, while Cooper keeps busy and hides behind his practical jokes. But fear has a way of rising. A prank gone wrong, a dark water dive, and the four friends find more than they bargained for - just below the surface.
This book was really good and I wished that I could have read the series from the beginning. Too bad this series weren't around when I was younger. It is def. better than Nancy Drew. I can identify with Cooper and his practical jokes to hide behind and not let the problems I was facing get in the way. 
At least when my cousins come over this summer, they have reading material fit for their age group. I really like reading books from this age group too. It lets me go back to the younger age and imagine what it would be like to have friends like those in the book.

It is available on March 25th, 2014! 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Queen's Handmaid

From the servant halls of Cleopatra's Egyptian palace to the courts of Herod the Great, Lydia will serve two queens to see prophecy fulfilled.
Alexandria, Egypt 39 BC
Orphaned at birth, Lydia was raised as a servant in Cleopatra's palace, working hard to please while keeping everyone at arm's length. She's been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times in her short life.
But then her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the nearest thing she's had to family and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed king, Herod the Great, as handmaid to Queen Mariamme.
Trapped among the scheming women of Herod's political family-his sister, his wife, and their mothers-and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must deliver the scrolls before dark forces warring against the truth destroy all hope of the coming Messiah.
Biblical fiction is at its best. Since we can't ever go into the imagination station and go back and see it all happen, it's nice to at least imagine how it all went. I really liked the point of view of this author. Makes it feel like you were there with all the action.

This book comes out in March 18th, 2014!