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Monday, May 20, 2019

Strike the Mark FB Banner

About the Book

Book: Strike The Mark
Author: James W. Goll
Genre: Christian non-fiction, prayer, spiritual warfare
Release Date: May 7, 2019
Strike the Mark CoverPrayers that strike the mark are specific prayers authorized by the Holy Spirit and endowed with divine power to accomplish the will of God in your life and for the needs of the world. On the cross, Jesus fulfilled the ultimate answer to all of our prayers, but He awaits our invitation to come into our situations and circumstances. When people of prayer intercede, they create a meeting place between the heavenly Father and His children. God comes upon the person who is praying and moves them from the natural to the supernatural. Empowered by God, the intercessor has the authority to cut down enemy forces and pick out “targets” for God’s lightning bolts of glory, bringing victory and breakthrough.
Intercession could be called “extreme prayer” because it links extreme needs with the extraordinary power of God. Inserting ourselves into the gap between God and a need, we call upon the Holy Spirit, our Helper, who is ready to move us from finite ability to infinite ability, take hold of difficult situations, and help accomplish the will of God. We have the great honor of being called to “paint targets” on cities, churches, ministries, family members, contemporary “Sauls” (those who persecute or cause difficulty), and even ourselves. Our believing, persistent prayers will Strike the Mark!
“He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark” (Job 36:32 NASB).

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Author

James GollJAMES W. GOLL is the president of God Encounters Ministries and has traveled around the world sharing the love of Jesus, imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry, and life in the Spirit. He has recorded numerous classes with corresponding study guides and is the author of more than forty books, including The Seer, The Discerner, Releasing Spiritual Gifts Today, Passionate Pursuit, The Lost Art of Intercession, and The Lifestyle of a Prophet. James is the father of four wonderful children with a growing number of grandchildren, and makes his home in Franklin, TN.


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The title of the book had me wondering what it had to do with prayer. I know how important prayer is and the way each individual prays is the way God designed our prayer life. I went into the book with an open mind and came out knowing that I don't agree with a lot of what is written in the book . To be fair everyone has their own belief system but I know if it doesn't line up with the word of God then it is not from God. 

Praying together in a church is very dynamic. We come together to commit in agreement for something . We don't have to pray exactly as the person next to us. God wants us to pray from the heart and listen to His Holy Spirit. I don't think we need to scope out the atmosphere before deciding how to pray. If we are in a group at church, of course we will each pray differently and not everyone will agree. 

I'm on the fence about the different types of intercessors the author described. If God puts on your heart to pray for finances one week and spiritual warfare the next, he will equip you too do so. People do have a heart at times for a specific needs, but I don't think we need to label which intercessor you are. 

There is one statement I did agree with and wanted to jump for joy when I read it. We are not fighting against each other but, "we are fighting principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness." To me that is a powerful statement to remember. We are in this together and must join together as God has called us to pray for what he has put on our hearts.  The author has many scriptures and personal examples of prayer that may be helpful for someone. I did find a few things I liked in the book but I can't say I agreed with everything he wrote.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.


Blog Stops

Mary Hake, May 14
Genesis 5020, May 15
Artistic Nobody, May 18 (Spotlight)
Power of Words, May 22 (Spotlight)

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, James is giving away a grand prize of a $20 Starbucks gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e2ac/strike-the-mark-celebration-tour-giveaway
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Past Forward FB Banner

About the Book

Book: Past Forward
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance, Suspense
Release Date: April 19, 2017
Past Forward CoverAlone without friends or family to comfort her after the death of her mother, Willow Finley’s idyllic life is over—and just beginning.
The Finley women’s lives, while rich and full, aren’t easy. rejecting electricity and many other modern conveniences, they live purposefully and intentionally–alone and isolated from the world around them.
When Willow Finley awakes on a hot summer morning, she is unprepared for the grief that awaits her. Jerked from a life of isolation with her mother, Willow learns what alone really means when she finds her mother dead.
From the moment Willow arrives in the police station with her startling announcement, Chad Tesdall fights the friendship he knows he can’t avoid.
The Past Forward series opens with Willow’s life-changing discovery and gently guides the reader through aspects of her life–the past weaving through the present and into the future. Experience her first morning in church, her first movie, and the culture shock of her first trips to the city. A birthday party and a street faire add welcome diversion from butchering, canning, and the beating of area rugs. Disaster strikes. Will she choose to continue her simple life, or will an offer in the city change it all? Find out in this first volume.


About the Author

ChautonaChautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona

HOW DID MY WEIRD HIGH SCHOOL YEARS INSPIRE THIS BOOK?

December 1985. The time had finally come. After two months of living in a run-down motel in Rosamond, California, we were finally moving to our own place. Seventeen miles away.
Just off Highway 58, outside Mojave, California (about the place that Alton Gansky’s, Distant Memory opens), a huge billboard loomed. For the curious, it’s still there today. Aqueduct City.
For the record, there was no city. There still isn’t. Just a dirt road or three. Oh, and the aqueduct. In fact, that’s eventually how we got our water—stole it from the California aqueduct.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
At the edge of all those parcels lay our new land. Twenty-two acres of desert sand, creosote, sage, and a tiny, baby Joshua tree at the end of our long, U-shaped dirt driveway.
I took out that sucker with my first attempt at backing down the drive. It looked like a snake had slithered back and forth across the sandy strip of cleared dirt, and somehow I managed to run over the foot-high tree. It wasn’t often I managed to shock my mother speechless. That was one time. I now have mad back-upping skills. Thought you oughtta know.
On that land, my parents put an 18’ travel trailer.
We hauled in water in 55-gallon drum barrels—first from a friend’s house and later from that aqueduct. It was several miles closer. One of those barrels ended up on top of the trailer for showers. The water pressure depended on how full that sucker was. Navy showers? Ever had one? It goes like so:
  • Turn on water.
  • Make one slow turn under the water to get all wet.
  • Turn it off.
  • Lather up.
  • Shampoo hair.
  • Turn on water.
  • Turn off.
  • Work conditioner into hair.
  • Turn on water.
  • Turn off.
  • Get out.
  • Try to stop your teeth from chattering.
For the record, that chattering is no joke. When it’s twenty degrees out there, water gets cold. And we had no way to heat it.
Our plumbing also included a shovel. For… um… other plumbing needs. Winter was the worst and the best time for the call of nature. Worst because, well, 40 mph winds and twenty-degree weather. Best, because no snakes.
We used Coleman propane lanterns, a propane refrigerator (that sat outside our door), and eventually, a gas-powered generator. Once a week, Dad would fire that thing up so I could iron my church clothes. #darkages
For the curious, summer was blistering hot.
No fans (except for stiff cardboard we used arm-power to operate). No air conditioner. Not even a swamp cooler. Mom and I would go into town and read at the library when we just couldn’t take another minute in 112-degree desert heat. She’d drive me to Lancaster so I could go sit in an air-conditioned movie theater and watch another movie. If it came out in 1986 or 1987 and wasn’t pure smut, I probably saw it. Out of self-preservation.
Before long, I’d been relegated to the “porch.” That consisted of a redwood lattice “patio” enclosure in front of the trailer door. (For those who haven’t figured it out yet, I was the dictionary definition of “trailer trash” in some people’s books.) That space was eight feet wide and sixteen feet long.
I had a twin bed out there. When winter came, dad made sleeping out there more bearable by heating huge rocks in one of those 55-gallon drum barrels and wrapping them in old quilts. That went at the foot of my bed to keep my feet warm.
If only the wind hadn’t blown sand into my hair every night…
What does all of this have to do with Past Forward?
Just this. People have often asked why Willow would choose to live without electricity. Some have said you couldn’t live only five miles outside of town and be so isolated and reclusive.
I disagree.
We did it. By choice. Because it’s who my father is. And of all of my characters, Kari Finley, Willow’s mother, is the most like my father. The way Kari taught Willow? That’s exactly how Dad used to teach me—by making it a natural part of life.
I didn’t know it when I wrote the series, but Past Forward really does show exactly what kind of life my father would have chosen to live if he’d ever really considered it. The self-sustaining work, the emphasis on beauty, the isolation—all of it shows the kind of man I call Dad.
If you’d asked me as a kid what I thought of living out there in Mojave, I would have said I hated it. Not only that, I would have believed myself. But if you’d talked to me for a while, you would have figured out that I said that because I was expected to. No one thinks you’ll like living with almost nothing, in the middle of nowhere, especially as a teenager.
Looking back, though, I actually I liked it. Dad. Mom. Me. And Boozer, our dog. I’d tell you about her, but that’s a story for another day. Yeah, I liked my life there “out on the property,” as we called it.
Except for the Mojave green rattlesnakes. Not a fan of those. Not then or today.
Just sayin’.




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The beauty of reading a book by Ms.. Havig is that she has the gift of bringing the story to life. I was so absorbed in Willow's story that everything around me faded away. I loved getting to know Willow and how strong she was. It was so much fun to read how she made her own soap, canned vegetables and fruits and lived off the land.  I could picture her out there in the hot sun as she worked in the garden and took care of her animals.I loved the way she lived and how carefree and innocent she was. 

It is not hard to believe that she didn't know how to ride an escalator or use a cell phone. Some may say she had been sheltered all her life. I think her mother raised a young woman who was able to provide for herself and stay away from the dangers that a city has. Her simple but hard working life appeals to me. The story does remind me of the summers I spent at my granddad's farm. He harvested wheat, had chickens and a garden full of bountiful fruits and vegetables. He hardly went to town and enjoyed farming. Just like Willow, he didn't have air conditioners and kept the windows open for the breeze to blow through.

The journals that Willow found that belonged to her mother was definitely eye opening. Her mother shared her heart in those journals and made Willow realize how hard it was at times for her mother. I loved how the author allowed readers to follow Willow as she discovers the city and all it has to offer. The movie theater incident was classic.. I won't spoil it for you, but it is typical Willow discovering something new. I loved her innocence at things like riding in a vehicle or just walking into a store to purchase something. Can you imagine what it would be like to sew all your own clothes, eat off the land and never go into town? 

Chad is a welcome addition to the story and instantly became a favorite of mine. He meets Willow under a tragic situation but quickly feels the need to protect her. He is a classic gentleman with a heart of gold It is easy to see the signs of deeper feelings he has towards Willow. After all, he seems to always find a reason to stop at her place. I rooted for Chad and Willow to get together and loved reading how at times Willow let her guard down with him. 

The story is the liberation and new beginning for Willow as she finds herself on her own in a world that has many up and downs for her. Her talents are endless around the farm and her ability to adjust to new friends is wonderful to witness. I admired her mother for raising a daughter who stands up for herself and can easily take care of a farm with sweat and hard work. Being isolated most of her life does bring challenges to her but her determination is refreshing. I will briefly mention that there is a little tug of war going on with Willow's feelings towards two men, but you must read the story to find out what happens. The big question is , will Willow continue to live on her farm, or will an opportunity draw her to the big city?

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.


Blog Stops

Bigreadersite, May 19
Carpe Diem, May 24

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a grand prize that includes a complete paperback set of Past Forward & a custom Past Forward Lavender Lemonade candle!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e319/past-forward-celebration-tour-giveaway

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Sunday, May 19, 2019

The Inn at Hidden Run FB Banner

About the Book

Inn at Hidden Run_COVERA Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Present to Past on Family Trees Meri flunks out of medical school—and runs from her parents. Genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy’s digging traces the family long tradition of doctors to an ancestor saved during a yellow fever outbreak in Memphis in 1878. As Meri’s family closes in, Jillian gets the final puzzle pieces in place just in time for them all to learn the truth. The Inn at Hidden Run is the first book in the Tree of Life series. Readers will come back to backdrop of a lovely mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that inspire them to connect with their own family histories and unique faith journeys.
Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

OliviaNewportOlivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.

More from Olivia

Of Family Lines and Family Lore
I suppose it all started in a cemetery.
Once, while a group of relatives were visiting a cemetery, one of my cousins and I wandered off and looked at all sorts of graves, speculating about the names we read and the lives they represented. We were duly scolded both for separating from our families, which caused some consternation, and for being disrespectful—though I think the second accusation was a false one!
Just because we were young children didn’t mean we were disrespecting the dead. Quite the opposite. We were respecting lives long forgotten with our curiosity about who they were and what legacies they left.
These days a lot of people are interested in genealogy. Entire TV series spin around the theme, and DNA kits show up in Christmas stockings. Lost branches of family trees find the main trunk—sometimes with big surprises.
My new Tree of Life series is set in the backdrop of a lovely Colorado mountain town I hope you’ll want to visit often, where a father-daughter genealogy team link present to past on family trees and characters learn about who they are, where they come from, and their unique faith journeys as they discover their own Tree of Life.
It all starts with The Inn at Hidden Run. When Meri arrives in Canyon Mines because she wants to run away from her family, true answers come from understanding the past that generations have forgotten—the accounts from another time and place no longer handed down but that still form the backbone of the family’s story.
What’s the backbone of your family’s history? How is it shaping your own future?



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This book starts a new series  called Tree of Life where readers will be transported back in time to find out about the history of a family. I love genealogy and with by brother's help we have found some very intriguing facts about our past relatives. In this story we are introduced to Jillian and her father Nolan who make a great team when a mysterious woman enters their life. 

Meri is desperate to run away from her family and hopes to hide out in the quaint town . She lands a job at the inn but doesn't share much about herself. I liked Meri but wished she would be a bit more assertive. All her life she has done what was expected of her. I was amazed at all the doctors and medical background in her family. Of course she is expected to follow the family and get into medicine as well. This is where the book  becomes intriguing and we find ourselves in a time slip story that takes us from present to the late 1870s. 

I loved reading about Eliza and how dedicated she was to children. During this time period the yellow fever was running rampant and taking lives of innocent children as well as adults. The horror of this disease was hard to read about. Eliza feels helpless at times as she witnesses someone taking their last breath. I loved her compassion  to help others even though she put herself in harms way. Her story was inspiring and I loved how she tied in to Meri's family.

The author does a great job of looking at family dynamics and how they can shape our future. Meri knows at some point her family will find her. Jillian becomes an advocate for Meri and investigates her family tree. It is an intricate family tree that will have surprises and answers for the family. It is a wonderful journey of discovery as Meri and her family learn about their ancestors.  I read a bit of the next installment in the series and I am already anxious to delve into it. I love the way the author captures faith, family and forgiveness in a story that tugs on your heart strings.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. the review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Hallie Reads, May 22
Bigreadersite, May 23
By The Book, May 23
Mary Hake, May 28
Quiet Quilter, May 29
Remembrancy, May 30
Moments, May 31

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Olivia is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of The Inn at Hidden Run!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e1c1/the-inn-at-hidden-run-celebration-tour-giveaway
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Friday, May 17, 2019

Shine the Light FB Banner

About the Book

Shine the LightShannon is out to save the world one caring act at a time. She’s stood by her best friend, Amber, through their whole lives especially when Amber lost her sight. She has an active outreach ministry to the homeless and disenfranchised. And she’s even let down her guard long enough to let a boyfriend, Justin, into her life.
Her life has settled into a pleasing routine of teaching, freelance photography work, quiet dinners with Justin, and taking Amber on treks to find new subjects for her visionary paintings. But when a man from her past shows up, her secure world crumbles into triggered PTSD episodes that threaten everything she relies on. Will she be able to overcome these old memories, or will her past crush any hopes she had for a future?

About the Author

April MsGowenApril McGowan loves to read and write inspirational fiction. She and her husband, two children, and her ‘mews’ (three cats!), live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. April is a member of Oregon Christian Writers, the Christian Author’s Network, and American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not writing, homeschooling her son, or playing board games, you might find her at her drum kit, imagining she’s on a world tour. Hey, it could happen.

More from April

Writing About Tough Subjects—with Hope
I began writing over twenty years ago. And technically I wrote long before that as well. But those pieces were ‘just for fun.’ However, as I look back on my short stories, blog posts, and now my published work, there’s a definite theme: overcoming. Overcoming childhood abuse, overcoming an abusive marriage, overcoming loss—physical and emotional. And those overcoming stories were not about overcoming through our own strength, which is so often flawed and lacking, but by relying on the One who can heal us from every wrong, every hurt, and every loss.
After my first novel, Jasmine, I asked my readers what they’d like me to focus on in my next books—what subjects were overlooked in fiction today? The overwhelming consensus was adoption, loss, and mental illness.
As a contemporary fiction author, I stay current on social issues, so that wasn’t a huge jump for me. My readers saw a gap, and I did, too.
Not that it’s wrong to simply read for entertainment—shoot, I do! But I’ve always loved gripping stories with people I could identify with who were overcoming obstacles I’d faced, or watched a loved one face—stories that offer real hope in the face of tragedy.
So began my journey. In book one of this series, Hold the Light, I wrote about sight loss and adoption. I wrote about best friends who were solidly there for each other in the face of great hardship and pain. And in book two, Shine the Light, I’m doing the same—with a twist.
There’s a lack of representation and writing concerning mental illness and how it affects the sufferer and those around them. There is a stigma that is significantly changing, but it’s something we’re still hesitant to discuss. Myself and many I know are deeply touched by this issue, and I think we’re long past due letting those that suffer from mental illness and their families know that they are not alone. Or if they are, that they don’t have to be.
Book two, Shine the Light, is about Shannon’s life. Her love for the downtrodden, the lost, and the injured. Her passion for the underdog. How she became the stalwart friend she is to Amber in Hold the Light, the obstacles she’s overcome, and those she has to continue to grapple through with God’s help.
As with all of my books, I’ve vetted this story with people who have faced these situations and am very careful to respect their stories as well as staying true to my characters. I hope you’ll dive in and find Shannon to be a deep and real and identifiable character. I hope you’ll discover in her a friend.
I know you’ll grow to love her as I do.
The giveaway: Many of my books are set in Portland, Oregon, and as a celebration of that, I’m offering a giveaway celebrating two of my favorite things about the city: Powell’s books and super good coffee! Also cats…but I can’t give one of those away in a contest! Well…I could try, but I’d probably fall in love with it and never send it to you…so for now, books and coffee!


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I wish I could say that this story didn't affect me but it took an emotional toll on me. The author hits hard with very sensitive subject matter and I appreciate the honest and open approach she took. Being homeless, dealing with mental illness,  abuse, living in foster care, or becoming a drug addict all are things people try not to talk about.  In this book we read Shannon's story with realism and pain. I instantly took to Shannon and could feel the hurt of a little girl who wanted to be loved by someone. 

I like how the author goes back and forth telling her story by memories or flash backs she starts having. PTSD is hard to live with and you never know what may trigger an episode. I know this first hand because I have PTSD.  Shannon is  one not  to trust many people and the circle of friends she does have are starting to become concerned for her. It was hard to read how Shannon had to find ways to feed herself as a child when her parents had checked out on her.  I am impressed with the strength she has and the ability to care for others.

I don't want to give anything away from the story because it is one that will stay with you forever. The turmoil Shannon faces as she comes face to face with her past will test her faith. Will she be able to forgive the person who abandoned her? The author does an incredible job of highlighting mental illness in a way that takes away the stigma of it. People who deal with mental illness are sometimes treated poorly and this book opens readers eyes to how devastating it can be for families and the person who suffers from it

Shannon's friends' Justin and Amber are very vital to the story. They care deeply for Shannon and I loved their loyalty to her. It's not everyday you can find people who are always there for you. With all that Shannon has had to deal with, she still reaches out to the homeless. I think with her knowing what it is like to be homeless, her empathy for them is genuine .

Justin reminds me of my husband in so many ways. They both are strong, have integrity and love unconditionally. God knows just what we need and always places the right people in our lives to help us. When Shannon said she was damaged goods, I knew exactly how she felt. This book has been hard to read but I am thankful for an author who will tackle the hard subjects and bring the truth to the surface. 


"I think if we give over the hard things to God, He can use it to shape us, and then we can help other people."

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, May 6 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)
Mary Hake, May 10
Carpe Diem, May 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, April is giving away a grand prize of a $20 Powell’s gift card, a Powell’s coffee mug, and Stumptown coffee!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e21c/shine-the-light-celebration-tour-giveaway
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