EmpowerMoms

The holidays are a busy time . . . but life can be even more hectic! In the midst of work, after-school activities, grocery shopping, and business trips, how are parents supposed to find the time to build within their families a lasting foundation of faith?

Focus on the Family wants to step in and give you some tips. Sign up by clicking here for a free e-book called 101 Surefire Ways to Strengthen Your Child’s Faith. With creative ideas on weaving faith into everyday conversations, turning family activities into learning opportunities, and having faith-filled holiday celebrations, this book is jam-packed with fun and interesting, easy, faith-building ideas for your family.

Another way to invest in your child’s faith is through the Odyssey Adventure Club (OAC). It offers safe and free content for everyone in your family, including an Advent calendar, a broadcast download with tips to create a memorable Christmas, AIO cutouts, and Christmas stocking stuffer cards. Membership to the OAC costs just $9.99 a month — or even less if parents make a six-month or one-year commitment. Enrollment provides more than enough content to keep kids engaged throughout the year:

• Access to exclusive content and first looks at books and select Radio Theatre dramas.
• On-the-go access to the OAC app for both iOS and Android users.
• 24/7 streaming access to nearly 800 AIO episodes.
• A new, members-only AIO episode every month.
• A subscription to Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse Magazine, and more.

Another fun way to build your child’s faith: have a family craft night and use it as a faith-building opportunity! Click the image below for a printable Town of Odyssey cutout set. Bonus points if you listen to an Adventures in Odyssey episode while you put together your town!

 

To learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club, visit www.oaclub.org, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A Healing Heart (Riverview Series Book 1) by Melissa A. Hanson

I knew this was a young adult teenage romance when I requested it for review, but the book description looked really intriguing so I decided to give it a try.

The first several chapters drew me in with getting to know Bailey and her traumatic past, and about her new love interest Collin. I liked that she had a great relationship with her aunt and uncle, and that she was very responsible with keeping up at school and babysitting a 2 year old little boy most of her free time.

About halfway thru the book however, the major teenage drama started with the misunderstandings and jumping quick to conclusions.

I remember when I was that age that everything was so important and that love interests at that age are so serious; but after life experiences and age-maturity sets in and you realize alot of those teenage friendships and emotions are not so “life and death”.

If I were younger, I might have enjoyed the rest of the book more; but since I’m in my 30s, I didn’t enjoy reliving teenage young love and drama.

I also felt like Bailey’s dependency on Collin’s relationship and love grew to an unhealthy level that affected her health which is a very poor example for other teenagers.

There was unnecessary language (using the D swear word) through out the book which I also didn’t like.

Overall it was a sweet story that started well and ended well, but over the top with the drama.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook for blog and social media review from ebooksforreview.com. All opinions are my own.

Amazon Book Description:
On a bitter cold winter night Bailey Walsh’s family was killed in a traffic accident. Two years later as she lives with her aunt and uncle in Southern California, Bailey is still plagued by the nightmares of that terrible night. Everywhere around her are reminders of what she lost. Even her aunt, in a cruel twist of fate, is not just her mom’s sister, but her identical twin.

Babysitting Riley, a spunky two-year old, is a sweet distraction and one constant light in her life. One day as she takes Riley to the park she meets Collin McKenna, a senior at her high school and her life is changed forever as he helps her find herself and realize her life is worth living.

As the romance between them grows her broken heart begins to heal. However, still nagging in the back of her conscious is the fear that her newfound happiness could come crashing down and she could lose everything she loves, yet again.

Outside forces begin to tear them apart and Bailey must learn to trust in herself and realize that she is worthy of happiness. That sometimes love and healing comes in unexpected forms.

A Healing Heart, is a story about first love, life’s unexpected tragedies, and the miracles that make it possible to move forward.

About the Author:
MELISSA A HANSON lives in Southern California, with her husband and two sons. Growing up in Southern California, inspiration for the city of “Riverview” is based on her hometown. A Healing Heart is her first completed novel a book 1 of the Riverview Series.

Walk STRONG: Workout Videos For Women, Best Cardio 6 Week Weight Loss DVDs, Low Impact, HIIT Exercises For Women. Beginner To Advanced Fitness, Highest Fat Burning.

I saw this on Amazon this morning. A BRAND NEW dvd collection by Jessica Smith TV! I can’t tell you how excited I am! If you’ve been following my blog and Instagram for a while, you will know I’m a BIG FAN of Jessica Smith and Leslie Sansone. I have alot of workout programs and dvds, but those 2 ladies are my “go to” almost every day workouts.

I’ve been using Jessica Smith dvds and youtube workouts for years now. I love Jessica’s enthusiasm and teaching skills. She is very easy to follow and she does the workout along side you and offers tips and modifications.

There isn’t an Amazon product description yet, but by looking at these pictures; it looks like this will be a 4 disc/6 week program. I love that a calendar is included! That makes it so much easier to follow and stick with a fitness program.

When I have more info on this set and the sale date, I will post it here!

This book is number 3 in the Christy Spy Novel series and was released back in September of this year. I haven’t read the other 2 books, but I didn’t feel behind or confused. I probably would have had a better understanding of the character developments and relationships, but they can still be read as stand alone books.

At first I was worried since the main character is 19 years old, that this would be more for high school level reading or maturity; but I was wrong!

The story was very fast paced with lots of action, drama and some romance. I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen next to Christy and her team. I didn’t put the book down until I read the whole thing! It was like reading a girl “James Bond” book.

This series has the potential to have alot of books with Christy’s different missions and adventures for each one. “A spy never has a day where she stops being a spy”.

I would love to read more of this series and books by this author and would highly recommend this book if you like action novels.

“Fatal Exchange” is clean fiction, free of bad language and sex-with a little violence, suitable for high schoolers and above.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook for blog and social media review from ebooksforreview.com. All opinions are my own.

About the Book
For 19-year-old Christy Hadden, it’s life as usual as a spy, only this time in Paris, France. Her mission: retrieve a flash drive containing evidence that a high public official is working to destroy Paris. Pretty standard, until someone steals the drive from her. Forced to abandon her position protecting the informant, she goes after the thief, but returns empty handed-only to find her informant dead. Christy’s failure taints her reputation at Division and the director has lost all faith in her. But Christy isn’t one to slink into the shadows. Alone and disgraced, she decides to track down the drive and solve the murder, not only to redeem herself as a spy, but to give meaning to her informant’s sacrifice, and perhaps even save Paris.

You can purchase a copy here:

About the Author

Cindy M. Hogan is inspired by the unpredictable teenagers she teaches. More than anything she loves the time she has with her own teenage daughters and wishes she could freeze them at this fun age. If she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her snuggled up with the love of her life watching a great movie or planning their next party. Most of all, she loves to laugh. She is the bestselling and award-winning author of the Watched trilogy, a YA suspense series with a dash of romance and three in a spy series, Adrenaline Rush, Hotwire, and Fatal Exchange. She has since branched off to write a mystery, Gravediggers, that won Best YA novel of 2013, a contemporary romance, Sweet and Sour Kisses, and Kate Unmasked, the first in her new thriller series, Code of Silence. To learn more about the author and sequels to this book, visit her at cindymhogan.com

This looked like a really interesting book when I read the book description. I don’t recall if I’ve ever read anything by this author.

The book starts off with Rapunzel and her mother having to move because a village man proposes marriage to Rapunzel. Her mother has alot of hatred towards men because of being taken advantage of while she was younger. Rapunzel tries talking to her mother through out the book to get her to open up about her past and why she doesn’t want her to show her hair or be around men. She tries really hard to understand and keep her mother calm which I thought was really compassionate. I also liked Rapunzel’s desire and drive to want to better herself and learn to read regardless of the cost.

I only read about half the book over the course of a week because I just couldn’t get into the story line and characters so I decided not to finish. There was some adventure and possibly a romance starting, but there wasn’t enough going on in the story plot to keep my interest.

There are alot of great reviews for this book on Amazon or Goodreads, so you might find this book interesting like others did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

About the book:
The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower…

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel, in turn, rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to him than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery are about to be revealed after seventeen years. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

About the author:
Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer’s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama.