Saturday, September 3, 2016

Guardian Angel Kids - September Issue Online



This a free digital magazine that my publisher, Guardian Angel Publishing, produces once a month. Each issue has poems, short stories, and articles. There are free games and activities too. This month is dedicated to monkeys.

You can check out our current and past issues by visiting http://guardian-angel-kids.com

New Release: Josiah's Fire by Tahni Cullen with Cheryl Ricker

This book just arrived in my mailbox. I am so excited. Can't wait to read it.


Where is hope when there is no hope?

First-time parents Joe and Tahni Cullen were thrust into the confusing world of autism when their toddler, Josiah, suddenly lost his ability to speak, play, and socialize. The diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder. In their attempts to see Josiah recover and regain speech, the Cullens underwent overwhelming physical, emotional, and financial struggles. While other kids around him improved, Josiah only got worse.

Five years later, Josiah, who had not been formally taught to read or write, suddenly began to type on his iPad profound paragraphs about God, science, history, business, music, strangers, and heaven. Josiah’s eye-opening visions, heavenly encounters, and supernatural experiences forced his family out of their comfort zone and predictable theology, catapulting them into a mind-blowing love-encounter with Jesus.

- Find hope in hardship.
- Catch a fresh glimpse of heaven.
- Learn to hear and trust God’s voice.
- Identify the roles of Father, Son, and Spirit.
- Be aware of the workings of angels, and much more!

Follow a trail of truth into Josiah’s mysterious world, and see why his family and friends can no longer stay silent.

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Broadstreet Publishing Group, LLC (September 1, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1424551404
ISBN-13: 978-1424551408

Order from:

CBD
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

Friday, September 2, 2016

The Challenge with Health and Fitness



I've come to discover I have two challenges with my health and fitness goals:

1. I keep buying new equipment.
2. My stomach doesn't enjoy junk food the way it used to.

The first challenge gets darn expense and the second one is just no fun. I guess you could say that all those years I ignored my diet and didn't exercise means I've got an untapped budget in the workout department; but it seems everything I want to do costs an arm and a leg: you remember I am an Ebeneezer Scrooge when it comes to spending money, right? 

So far I've invested in the 21 Day Fix and the CIZE programs from Beachbody. I definitely find the first one easier, but CIZE is fun on the days I feel like a different kind of workout. Recently, I purchased a set of resistance bands and new weights. 


When they released me from physical therapy this summer, they encouraged me to keep up my resistance band workouts. I had bought some loop bands last year, but I snapped one of them and figured it was time to buy something sturdier. Those things don't feel good when they snap. 

I would really like to order the 3-Day Refresh, but I am afraid I won't be able to stomach the shakes. I haven't been able to tolerate them in the past. Since the majority of the program is the shakes, I sure don't want to spend $69.95 and not get the results I'm looking for. 

It's a challenge that I am on this new healthy eating kick, but the kids still want goodies. I've always loved junk food. When I eat it these days, I just don't feel right. My stomach bloats and I'm sluggish. I guess I should be excited, but instead I miss being able to eat cookies and cake and other yummy foods without feeling yucky. Well, that's not totally true: I used to feel yucky before. I just didn't know how yucky until I started taking better care of myself.

I'm glad I'm making the right changes for my health. Too bad I didn't do it two decades ago. I can't see myself ever looking forward to exercising, but at least I am staying focused on my goals. 

What is your health and fitness plan? If you don't have a health and fitness plan, what stands in the way of you making one? What are some of your favorite healthy snacks? Anything you simply can't give up? 

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Free for Kindle: 7 Days to a Byline That Pays by Michael Ray Smith


This book is your secret weapon to writing articles and blogs that pay.

7 Days to a Byline that Pays explains how to tell stories that audiences will read and editors will pay you to write. Delivered in a breezy and compact manner, this book will help you work fast, smart, and get paid for your work.

"I've worked with writers and editors across the country to compress the salient points in an easy-to-grasp approach that you can tackle," says author, Michael Ray Smith. "I'm convinced you can accomplish your goal of writing a salable article in seven days by using the ideas in this book."

File Size: 1113 KB
Print Length: 244 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (August 31, 2015)
Publication Date: August 31, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B013XRNOKO


Order here!

Free for Kindle: That First Montana Year by Donna L. Scofield


When B’Anne (Beatrice Anne) marries Will, she knows he is a reluctant groom. But she's a minister’s daughter and pregnant. To save embarrassment for the families, and hoping a fresh start will help them become the sweethearts they were before, B’Anne agrees to leave everyone and everything she knows and go with Will to the Montana Territory. They hope Will's uncle Hiram, whom he has never met, will guide them in their homesteading. Uncle Hiram welcomes Will, but treats B’Anne coolly until he realizes she isn’t a “frills and furbelows” girl.

Although Will seems to care for B’Anne, she loses her confidence when she discovers a letter from Will's former sweetheart. Will's secrecy threatens to build a wall between them.

Spring arrives, and with it the promise of renewal. But is B’Anne's hope for a fresh start enough to sustain the young couple through the years of hard living under that big Montana sky?

File Size: 1251 KB
Print Length: 262 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1941103758
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Heritage Beacon Fiction (September 30, 2015)
Publication Date: September 30, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0160P1232


Order here!

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mailbox Monday - August 29



Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

How is it Monday again already? I swear last week just started.

Soccer practice has started and school begins Wednesday. After Labor Day violin and dance will kick off. It's nice to be back to our regular schedule, but it's hard to leave behind the lazy days of summer.

Not that I've been lazy this summer. I've sold a ton of real estate. If you're curious about the most recent real estate news, please visit me at Busy REALTOR(R) Mom.

Only a couple of free books this week, but they sound like great ones.


Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like rock star Kari Kingsley. But being a famous person's doppelganger hasn't turned out to be the teen fantasy you'd expect. People look at Alexia like she must be as ditzy as her counterpart. One day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job as Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime--or at least a way to make some fast cash--but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. They can't be trusted. They'll use her.

Alexia can't resist the siren call of fame. Who could say no to Hollywood, hot guys, and . . . um, did we mention hot guys already? She flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she also romances the hottest lead singer on the charts and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

This Prince and the Pauper retelling is teen comedy at its best.


An old house + A new computer program =The travel opportunity of a lifetime...to another century.


The People

Abby Thomas is spending the summer in a run-down old house with a bratty pre-teen named Merrideth she is supposed to tutor. Not a dream job. But it does come with perks.

There's John Roberts, a devastatingly attractive neighbor who is almost too wonderful to be real.

And there's the new computer program Beautiful Houses--also too amazing to be real. No one knows how it works, but with it she can rewind and fast-forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house, including Charlotte Miles.

In 1858, the house is a train stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. And Charlotte is stuck there serving meals to the passengers, wondering if she'll ever get to have any fun. And then she meets two travelers who change her life forever.

There's James McGuire with whom she falls in love. And there's his boss, a young Springfield lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. His debate with political opponent Stephen Douglas catapults him onto the national stage. And it inspires Charlotte to take up the cause of abolition.


The House

A stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. A stop on the Underground Railroad.

Watching the house's history unfold, Abby and Merrideth gain a new perspective on their own lives as time and again they see God's loving hand in the lives of its inhabitants.

What was in your mailbox?

Saturday, August 27, 2016

E-book On Sale This Weekend: An Amish Market by Vannetta Chapman Et al.

Graphic from Vannetta Chapman's Facebook page


Love Birds by Amy Clipston

While Ellie Lapp and her mother are still mourning the loss of her brother, Seth, Ellie starts working at one of the gift shops in town. Seth’s friend Lloyd is talented at carving wooden birds, but his father disapproves and expects him to take over the family farm someday. Ellie sees the beauty in Lloyd’s creations and insists Lloyd sell the birds in the gift shop where she works. As Ellie and Lloyd spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for one another, but she accidentally betrays his trust. Will she lose any hope of a future with him?


A Bid for Love by Kathleen Fuller

Every week, Hannah Lynne brings her home-churned butter to the local market. And every week Ezra stops by to purchase some. Hannah Lynne knows not to read too much into it—Ezra is a confirmed bachelor and barely even glances her way, despite any hope to the contrary. But when Ezra bids an exorbitant amount to win the quilt she had her heart set on, Hannah Lynne can’t stop her heart from taking over her mind. Could Ezra finally be in the market for love?


Sweeter Than Honey by Kelly Irvin

Shattering a jar of pickled beets wasn’t the impression Isabella hoped to make on her first trip to the local Combination Store of Bee County, Texas. But as embarrassed as she was by the accident, she didn’t think it warranted the frosty reaction from the handsome manager of the store, Will Glick. As she soon learns, though, Will’s heart has been broken one too many times. And now, for some reason, Isabella finds herself determined to be the one to repair that broken heart and renew his faith in love.


Love in Store by Vannetta Chapman

Stella Schrock works at the Old Mill in Nappanee, Indiana, with new employee David Stoltzfus, a recent widower. When strange happenings begin occurring around town, it appears as if someone wants to close the mill. Stella and David have to work together to solve the mystery of what is happening at the Old Amish Mill, and in the process they might just find that God has more in store for their future than they would ever have dreamed possible.


Purchase at: