Free for Kindle: A Lady in Defiance by Heather Blanton

...IT'S HIS TOWN AND HE DARES GOD TO STEP FOOT IN IT.

Charles McIntyre owns everything and everyone in the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance. When three good, Christian sisters from his beloved South show up stranded, alone, and offering to open a "nice" hotel, he is intrigued enough to let them stay...especially since he sees feisty middle sister Naomi as a possible conquest. But Naomi, angry with God for widowing her, wants no part of Defiance or the saloon-owning, prostitute-keeping Mr. McIntyre. It would seem however, that God has gone to elaborate lengths to bring them together. The question is, "Why?" Does God really have a plan for each and every life?

Written with gritty, but not gratuitous, realism uncharacteristic of historical Christian fiction, A Lady in Defiance gives a nod to both Pride and Prejudice and Redeeming Love. The story, based on true events, is an "ensemble" piece that deftly weaves together the relationships of the three sisters and the rowdy residents of Defiance.

File Size: 512 KB
Print Length: 430 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B0078T6YHY

PURCHASE AT AMAZON!

A Multitude of Best Tips for Working Moms

I love blogs because they provide a wealth of information for busy moms like me. But sometimes I wish there was an easy way to find the tips I am looking for to help make my life as a working mom easier. Now there is. The article “80 of the Best Tips for Working Moms” provides links to blogs that share tips on a variety of topics:

• Meal preparation,
• Choosing childcare,
• Self-care,
• Breastfeeding,
• Wardrobe,
• Travel,
• Organization, and
• Housework.

Check out all these helpful tips at http://www.housekeeping.org/blog/80-of-the-best-tips-for-working-moms/

Hidden Valley® Ranch Fest House Party

Last month, my Hidden Valley® Ranch Fest party pack I received through Crowdtap arrived. It included a Hidden Valley Team Ranch T-shirt, a bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Original Dressing, a packet of Hidden Valley Original Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix, a packet of Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dips Mix, packets of Hidden Valley Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing, and a party insert with activities, recipes, and a coupon. It also came with samples for my guests, inserts with coupons, and a surprise gift.

Because it's tough to get everyone together this time of year, I opted to use Thanksgiving Day as my party date. We invited family and friends to join us. In all, there were nine of us. Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is the largest meal I prepare each year. We had standard Thanksgiving Day fare, starting out with cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, and cut vegetables served with Hidden Valley Ranch Original Dressing (because they think ranch dressing is the perfect companion for them), then moving on to the main meal of salad with Hidden Valley Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing, turkey, mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, gravy, squash, and rolls.

I set the table so that every guest had a package of Hidden Valley Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing in their salad bowls. We're all game to try just about anything foodwise, so the rest of the group was on board.

My sister-in-law loved the individualized packets of dressing because they were the perfect size and amount for her salad. I liked that I didn't have to find room in my crammed refrigerator for yet another open bottle of salad dressing. I sent my guests home with some Ranch to Go packages I received. They are the best size to tuck into a lunch bag or bring up to my desk while I'm working so I can catch a quick and healthy snack. Guests also received coupons that came with party pack.

Finally, I used the remaining packets of Hidden Valley Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing in a slow cooker recipe this week. You can find the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore at https://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipe/962/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore/ With the exception of pizza, no one but me is a huge fan of tomato based meals, but everyone ate this one up. The best thing for me is that it took very little time to prepare, and then I turned on the heat and left it alone to cook for four hours.

I've usually stuck with Wishbone or a store brand for dressing, but this party convinced me that Hidden Valley dressings need to be regular purchases for our household.


I received my Hidden Valley® Ranch Fest party pack through Crowdtap. This review contains my honest opinions, which I was not compensated for in any way.

Product Review: The Dwarf in the Drawer by L. van King

Are you one of those parents who is tired of The Elf on the Shelf? Just yesterday, there was an article featured in The Gazette out of Colorado Springs, Colorado that discusses the backlash from parents about this mischievous little elf who wreaks all kinds of havoc on your house and belongings and then reports all your family's misdeeds back to Santa.

L. Van King and illustrator Chuck Gonzales have decided it's time for a new tradition. Like the troublesome elf, The Dwarf in the Drawer comes with a book and a plush toy. But that's where the similarities end. The dwarf lived in the house before the elf even arrived, and instead of flying back to Santa and appearing in a different place each morning, the Dwarf--we've named ours Billy Bob Joe--hangs out in your clean underwear drawer. He doesn't insist you behave with plans to rat you out if you don't. Instead, he wants you to appreciate the love of friends and family and believe in yourself.

OMG! I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Our dwarf has been so much fun to have around. While my girls don't see their Elf on the Shelf in the unflattering light that the book portrays, we all got a kick out of reading The Dwarf in the Drawer story and making our dwarf part of our daily lives. Our dwarf pops up in someone else's clean underwear drawer (Do they make a drawer to hold your dirty underwear?) each morning. So far it's just been the dwarf, but I think you could be quite imaginative with the dwarf by adding reading material or snacks; even if that's not the point of the story or the toy.

The Dwarf in the Drawer matches humorous rhyming text with colorful, sometimes zany, illustrations to come up with a winning product that might just become a new Christmas tradition. Its simple, yet meaningful, message is one that is so important to remember as we rush through the holidays. Highly recommended.

Find out more at http://page.macmillan.com/mcpg/dwarfinthedrawer/!




Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Square Fish; Har/Toy edition (October 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250041430
ISBN-13: 978-1250041432


I received a copy of this book/plush toy kit from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

TV Movie Review: Angel in the Family (2004)

When widowed father (Ronny Cox) collapses, his daughter Sarah (Tracey Needham) calls her estranged sister. Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner), feeling like she is jeopardizing her job, begrudgingly leaves her husband and a major account behind to be with her father in Los Angeles.

Their father convinces them that they need to return home to Trinity for Christmas. The house has been closed up since the death of Buddy's wife. When a frustrated Sarah cries out to her mother, the miracle of Christmas returns Lorraine (Meredith Baxter) to her family to help heal the wounds that have torn them apart.

Hallmark Channel has been running this 2004 movie as part of its Countdown to Christmas lineup. It features a fractured family that soon realizes their late wife/mother is what held them together. Sarah feels like the unappreciated older daughter who has been left behind to care for her widowed father; while Beth, the one who got everything--including all the love and attention, is pursuing a great career and is happily married. What Sarah doesn't know is how fragile Beth's marriage is. Their father, Buddy, has struggled to let go of his late wife, and is unable to move on.

This is a touching, heartwarming seasonal story. There are a few subplots that branch off of the main story, giving Angel in the Family a great deal of depth. This is an emotional story; one that will require a tissue or two. It will also force you to suspend a bit of common sense. It's touching to see how Lorraine comes back to help her family and the magical things that she can do, but other things she can't do make no sense: she can cause a tree with no lights strung on it to light up, can make the beds and cook hot chocolate without being seen, but she can't find an old phonograph so she and Buddy can dance together to music. I have to admit, I didn't care for Beth at first, but she grew on me as the movie progressed. I feel the best part of this movie is that everyone is able to step back and reflect on how their actions contributed to the distance between them--even Lorraine. If you like movies about second chances, this would be a good choice.

Angel in the Family is available on DVD and Blu-ray. It will also air again on the Hallmark Channel on Monday, December 23rd at 6 a.m. EST.

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: December 5, 2006
Run Time: 88 minutes
ASIN: B000ION27G

I watched this movie on Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

TV Movie Review: Window Wonderland (2013)

Photo credit: Hallmarkchannel.com

Chyler Leigh plays Sloan Van Doren, a driven young woman determined to become the next window dresser at McGuire's Department Store. Also interested in the job is artist Jake Dooley (Paul Campbell). Mr. Fitch, who heads up advertising and promotion, challenges Sloan and Jake to create a series of seasonal storefronts. The creator of the window that gets the most attention from passersby will get the job.

As the competition moves along, a mutual attraction develops between the serious and professional Sloan and the happy-go-lucky Jake, which is hampered by the contest and Sloan's rich boyfriend. With support from the store's window washer, Mac (Terence Kelly) and bathroom attendant Rita (Naomi Judd), it's anyone's game to win.

This romantic seasonal comedy is another new movie in Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas lineup. I loved every minute of it. Sloan and Jake work for an extravagant department store in the city vying for a chance to become the new window dresser. Sloan has the college education, but Jake has natural artistic ability, which irritates Sloan to no end.

Sloan's boyfriend, Kenneth (Cameron Mathison) is a wealthy businessman. He doesn't take Sloan's job seriously and can't understand why she does either. It doesn't help that Sloan is so embarrassed by her family that she can't even bring herself to introduce them to Kenneth.

Window Wonderland has all the trademark elements of a great Hallmark Channel movie: romance, conflict, humor, a great setting, and a cast of actors who play their parts superbly. This seasonal movie would be nice to unwind with by the fireplace or to watch while trimming the tree. The storefront windows definitely inspire. And the surprise ending is a nice treat.

You can catch it again on Christmas Day at 6/5C.

I recorded this movie through my cable provider. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Thy Will Be Done by Ronald W. Kirk

The world cries out for an imaginative but realistic Biblical guide to the life foreshadowed in Christ’s model prayer. No foolish utopia, here is a powerful, comprehensive portrait of a sinful world redeemed and transformed by Christ—including the tools needed to hasten the day.

The author weaves a tapestry of possibility–Christ’s people growing as salt and light, putting flesh on the Bible’s vision of blessing in every aspect of human life and endeavor, bringing joy to all peoples and glory to the One who came to save the world.

“Ron Kirk comprehensively applies the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life” (Peter Hammond, The Reformation Society, South Africa).

Purchasing information:

Nordskog Publishing: http://www.nordskogpublishing.com/book-thy-will-be-done.shtml

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thy-Will-Be-Done-Blessed/dp/0988297655/

Book excerpt:

Jesus said we know a tree by its fruit. What fruit might we expect when the world has fully given itself to Christ on His terms? How would the world then appear when Jesus Christ generally establishes in the highest degree His Gospel among a receptive mankind, and men systematically apply that Gospel to every area of life?....

Thy Will Be Done thus attempts to present a crafted approach to biblically directed living. In this, applied-faith thinking in each area of life uniquely expresses itself in real life upon Biblically defined life objectives. Everything builds upon a simple set of coherent Biblical principles that speak comprehensively to God’s goals for men in this life in anticipation of eternity....

Rather than seeing this present life as a mere holding tank for eternity, Thy Will Be Done views this life as the first fruits, the down payment on the promises of eternity with Christ.

Jesus Christ graced Ron with salvation late in his college career at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1974. In entering his first church ministry, a lack of a Biblical material on education led him to the Christian History Movement and the works of R.J. Rushdoony. Since 1980, Ron has studied and taught the Biblically and historically identified applied-faith theology and philosophy outlined in this book.

God gave Ron a voracious appetite for learning about everything. Ron studied math and physics in college, and then pursued professional landscape architecture—design is a central component to his calling. He gained a passion for education after finding that a full-orbed Biblical treatment of education was nowhere to be found in contemporary literature.

Ever since about 1977, Ron devoted his life to understand God’s earthly and eternal purposes for mankind, to help others know them, and to derive and spread a thoroughly Biblical system of education aimed toward God’s ends for His people.

Ron’s success in pioneering day and home schools has long proven the effectiveness of systematic Biblical thinking. His work has been published internationally and translated into Spanish. Gloriously married since 1971, Ron and Christina have five children, five more sons- and daughters-in-law, and eleven grandchildren, all walking with Christ. American Heritage Christian Church ordained Ron in 1984.

Ron’s educational and worldview ministry website is www.getwisdom.us. He’s also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GetWisdomMakingChristianHeroesOfOrdinaryPeople.

Win a copy of Thy Will Be Done by Ronald W. Kirk

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