Amish Love!

Amish Love

What’s all the hubbub about Amish fiction? Major media outlets like Time and ABC Nightline are covering it, and authors like Cindy Woodsmall are making the New York Times bestseller list regularly. What makes these books so interesting?

Check out the recent ABC Nightline piece here about Cindy and her titles When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends. It’s an intriguing look at Amish culture and the time Cindy has spent with Amish friends.

And don’t forget that Cindy’s new book The Hope of Refuge hits store shelves August 11, and is available for preorder now.

Book Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Elaine of Orange Beach, Alabama, our winner of The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir. Thanks to everyone who entered. Please check back on Monday for another book review and giveaway!

Empty Hands

I just wanted to share with you a quote from a book I'll be reviewing in a few weeks:

" . . . I know you are carrying this loss as if it is yours alone to bear. But you were not meant to carry such a heavy burden. Give it back to God and keep giving it back until you have no more grief in your heart to hand over to Him. Then wait and see what gift He places in your empty hands." Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes! by Robin Jones Gunn

When I lost my beloved Persian, Sonja, a few weeks ago, I had such a moment. I was lamenting the loss of my cat which carried into the loss of all kinds of species from the Earth such as the polar bear (Unfortunately, I had a sad image in my mind from a movie). I was asking God to take away my feelings of pain and loss and remove the polar bear image from my mind. I felt God say to me, "How do you think I feel? They're MY creations! I love the polar bears and I love Sonja more than you can even imagine."

God cares. So what are you carrying in your hands that prevents you from accepting His gifts?!

The Night Watchman -- Book Review and Giveaway

The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir is great if you like mysteries/cop dramas, which I do! Ray Quinn is a shattered man, both figuratively and literally. He was forced to retire as a police officer after a shooting incident kills his partner and leaves him physically disabled and emotionally wrecked. He takes a job as a night watchman at a condominium which is rather boring until a couple of dead bodies – a preacher and an exotic dancer – turn up in one of the condos. The case is quickly closed as a murder/suicide, but the minister’s sister doesn’t believe a word of it. She finagles Quinn into looking into the case which turns out to be anything but open and shut. Quinn finds himself fighting for his life as he tries to solve this murder which intertwines with his own shooting incident as well.

The Night Watchman is a great read! I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader. To enter the drawing, please e-mail me at seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be announced Friday, May 29, 2009.

You can purchase it from Random House here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781590529355&ref=externallink_mlt_thenightwatchman_sec_0414_01

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:
Ray Quinn is a tough, quick-witted homicide detective in love with his partner, Trisha Willis. She gives Ray something to live for—something to hope in. Until a barrage of bullets leaves Trisha murdered and Ray crippled.

Struggling with his new physical disability and severe depression, Quinn turns to whiskey, scorn, and a job as a night watchman to numb the pain. But when a pastor and dancer are found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, the pastor’s sister approaches Quinn for help.

Reluctantly, Quinn takes the case and is plunged into the perilous Orlando. Soon he discovers that, not only was the pastor murdered, but the case may be linked to his and Trisha’s ambush. Torn between seeking revenge or responsibility, Quinn is thrust into the case of his life.

Author Mark Mynheir gives readers his most profound police thriller to date with The Night Watchman (first book in The Night Watchman Private Detective Agency Series). Readers of all ages will devour this gripping murder mystery that bristles with tension and intrigue. In a taut cop-style all his own, Mynheir delivers an inside look at the thoughts, feelings, fears, and challenges police officers experience while investigating violent crimes and the lost souls who commit them.

Book Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Mary of Raleigh, North Carolina, who won a copy of Hero by Fred and Jasen Stoeker. Make sure you check back on Monday for another book review and giveaway.

Be K.I.N.D.

With kids spending more time indoors and with electronic entertainment (anything with a screen like a TV, computer, gaming system), how do we encourage a connection with nature, foster empathy for animals, and educate about the environment?

A good friend of mine told me about a program called KIND (Kids In Nature's Defense) News. Here's what she had to say:

KIND News is a publication for elementary school children published by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). For only $30 ($25 if purchased through a humane society) per classroom, students receive a monthly four page newspaper and the teacher receives a guide for an entire school year. It teaches children to be kind to animals, each other, and the environment. I think it's a fabulous way to make a difference in the world since the children can bring home ideas to their parents. Our shelter has been sponsoring classrooms for five years. It doesn't cost the schools or the animal shelter a single penny (except very minimal postage and paper costs). The teachers, students, and sponsors are all enthusiastic about it. Last year we sponsored sixteen classrooms and for the upcoming school year we're sponsoring twenty-five! Just think how many children can be affected in a positive way. It isn't much work for me and it's only once a year that I need to do anything.

You might want to print this and bring it to your local animal shelter, talk to your kids' teachers about the program, and contribute funds to a local KIND news program in your area. Here's the link if you'd like more information: http://www.humanesocietyyouth.org/Adopt_a_Classroom/default.asp

REMINDER: I have one copy of Hero by Fred and Jasen Stoeker to give away to my readers. To enter the random drawing, please e-mail your name and mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be announced on May 22, 2009. Good luck!

Calling All Heroes!

Hero, Becoming the Man She Desires, by Fred Stoeker and his son, Jasen, is a fabulous book for a teen, young adult, or parent. Essentially, it is a book about how a single, young man can remain (or become) sexually pure. In doing so, you strengthen your relationship with God through your obedience to His word, you protect the women who come into your life, and eventually you find a similar young woman with whom to spend the rest of your life. The principles of this book are not easy – a fact the authors admit – but they are possible and Jasen Stoeker proves it. His first kiss (EVER) occurred on his wedding day to a beautiful, righteous young woman. While his wife had kissed in the past, she, too, had remained sexually pure.

I had the pleasure and honor of knowing a young couple such as this. A handsome young man and a beautiful young woman who saved themselves for each other on their wedding day. Although their decisions weren’t easy and didn’t always make them popular, they had/have plenty of friends and more fun than I ever thought possible.

In fact, this book made me sad because although I’m happily married now, I didn’t remain pure in my life and I was skeptical of anyone who would want to try. Now that I am older, wiser, and slightly more in tune with God’s heart, I know He was right and I was wrong (duh). This is what God intended for a relationship.

This book is down to earth and honest about the difficulty of the task. It also contains invaluable practical advice on how to win the battle. Although the intended audience of this book is young, single men, I think it would be great for parents (to talk to your kids), young women (to know what you should be looking for in a godly man and what their battle is like) and older, single men who may not be sexually pure, but can repent and change their ways to become pure from this point forward.

This is truly an essential book if you have a pre-teen, teen or college age son.

I have one copy of Hero to give away to my readers. To enter the random drawing, please e-mail your name and mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be announced on May 22, 2009. Good luck!

If you don’t win the giveaway, you can purchase the book from Random House here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071098&ref=externallink_mlt_hero_kef_0403_01

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:
You already know it’s not easy being a single man in this culture today. But it is easy to be overwhelmed, to feel helpless and hopeless about living by God’s high standards for singles. It’s easy to cave in to the pressures of this sex-soaked world and accept defeat—blaming the media, the culture, even girlfriends who don’t know how tough it can be.

But many men have read books like Every Young Man’s Battle and Tactics and have committed themselves to stand strong and pure in the power of God, and to go on the offensive against the onslaught of negative stereotypes. Some have suffered. Some have fallen. But many have experienced victory—and you can be among them.

What makes those committed men so desirable to women? Be Her Hero is their motto. From best-selling author Fred Stoeker, along with his son Jasen, come the straightforward insight and real-life examples you’re looking for to help you take personal purity to its logical conclusion. Here’s straight truth with irrefutable evidence of what makes an ultimate hero to women who long for men of faith—men who stand by their convictions and make their world a safer and better place.

Are you ready to accept the challenge?