Review - God Never Blinks! Treat Yourself to this book!

God Never Blinks, 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours
Author: Regina Brett
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 13, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446556521
ISBN-13: 978-0446556521

My Rating: 5++
Product Description
Already an internet phenomenon, these wise and insightful lessons by popular newspaper columnist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Regina Brett will make you see the possibilities in your life in a whole new way.


When Regina Brett turned 50, she wrote a column on the 50 lessons life had taught her. She reflected on all she had learned through becoming a single parent, looking for love in all the wrong places, working on her relationship with God, battling cancer and making peace with a difficult childhood. It became one of the most popular columns ever published in the newspaper, and since then the 50 lessons have been emailed to hundreds of thousands of people.


Brett now takes the 50 lessons and expounds on them in essays that are deeply personal. From "Don't take yourself too seriously-Nobody else does" to "Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift," these lessons will strike a chord with anyone who has ever gone through tough times--and haven't we all?

Review: I can’t say enough good about this book. I am buying copies for my daughter, my sister, my dad and stepmother and an extra to give to a friend. If it comes out in audio I’ll get it for my husband!

This book is full of basic, down to earth advise for coping with daily living as well as the road bumps and crisis that life throws at us.  The chapters are short, bite size chunks that let you devour them, chew a bit and savor before going to the next bite.  The chapter titles help give a picture of the wisdom that is shared in a humorous, entertaining flow. Here are just a small sampling. The titles are the author’s and the comments following are mine.

Lesson 1: Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.  Now we all know that is true!
Lesson 15: Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
Great reassurance.
Lesson 21: Burn the candles, use the sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save anything for a special occasion.  Today is special enough.  I’m guilty of this but it makes sense. Why get the pretty candles (or lingerie) and not enjoy them?
Lesson 26: Frame every so-called disaster with these words:”In five years, will this matter?”
I actually learned this in my teens and it helps to get over mistakes, embarrassment and guilt.

The author shares from her own experiences with a difficult childhood, as a single mother, a woman struggling to establish a career and a woman in her early 40s suffering with the emotional trauma of  breast cancer. The book is not preachy although the author doesn’t hide her faith in God. Her faith is something she had to learn until it became part of her daily living. She shares from living in the trenches, not a palace.

I recommend this book for every gender, every race and every age.  There is no person who is able to read who can’t benefit from the calm lessons expressed here. And it’s worth reading to your children to get the wisdom in their heads early. Please treat yourself and a friend to this book!

xxx

You have a chance to win one of three copies by entering my Giveaway.  

Winners of Tuesday Comment 4/13 Title Game

Thank you to CHERYL, LLEHN and MARGIE for playing the Title Game in last week's Tuesday Comment Giveaway! I really thought that was a fun thing to do with our books!
I did put 1-3 in the random generator and then decided that you should all win!
I like to reward faithful commenters!

So Cheryl and Margie can pick a book from the Friday Pick List and Llehn can pick a book for $5.00 or under  from Book Depository. E-mail me with your choices and thanks again for playing.

Mailbox Monday April 19, 2010

This Meme starts with Marcia at The Printed Page

I got in several review books and these books that I won or purchased.




I won a galley copy of  The Courtesan's Wager (The Courtesan Series) at a Writerspace Chat with author Claudia Dain.  Thank you Claudia and Writerspace!


Product Description
If Lady Amelia Caversham is to marry before another Season passes, she'd better find help-namely, that of the infamous courtesan-turned matchmaker Sophia Dalby. But even Amelia is shocked when Lady Dalby informs her that they will hold interview for the position. And most shocking of all? Only Dukes need apply. 

I also won the eBook Cassie's Awakening by Birgit Aine from Karen Michelle Nut's Blog.

Product Description
He obviously doesn't want her...so how can she be his mate? Blurb: Cassie's talent is dampening the emotions of others. This has been a very useful way of keeping peace around her, but has proven harmful in learning about passion and love. After all, none of the men she has ever dated have been able to profess or show the true depth of their feelings. Jared is happy for Ethan and Red, but he doesn't want a mate of his own, no matter what his inner wolf might say. Unfortunately, every time he sees the beautiful Cassie, he knows his wolf is winning the battle. Will Cassie and Jared discover that a powerful force can overcome even a talent? As their path unfolds, a stranger arrives in Torrent; is this a sign of trouble on its way?

I purchased the book Michal: A Novel (The Wives of King David) by Jill Eileen Smith for our Church Ladie's Book Club.

Product Description
As the daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege--but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and by competition from her beautiful older sister. When Michal falls for young David, the harpist who plays to calm her father, she has no idea what romance, adventures, and heartache await her. As readers enter the colorful and unpredictable worlds of King Saul and King David, they will be swept up in this exciting and romantic story. Against the backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and desert escapes, Jill Eileen Smith takes her readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride as Michal deals with love, loss, and personal transformation as one of the wives of David. A sweeping tale of passion and drama, readers will love this amazing story.

What are you Reading Monday? April 19, 2010

This meme starts at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books!

I got to visit more new blogs this week for Friday's Blog Hop meme. That seems to work out easier for me at the end of the week.  I did get a couple of reviews done but felt I had a good week getting interviews ready to post and working on some editing for the publication business.

Here is how the reading went:

Finished:
PB:

God Never Blinks - 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours by Regina Brett
If you get the chance - get this book! This is so wonderful I listed it as one of my TEN PICK must read books!I am planning on buying copies for several friends/family.

See the posted Hachette Giveaway for book info and to enter to win one of three copies!

PB and Kindle2: White Wolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight  

by Eva Gordon

I enjoyed this werewolf tale alot - well done.

Reviewing through CherryD Ning Book Blog group.

Ebook Description

Story of the secret society of lycans living in ancient Britain. Bledig, an orphan raised by a childless couple near the magical Isle of Avalon dreams of becoming a knight of the Round Table. Bledig refuses to become a beast and wants no part in marrying a wolf maiden and begetting lycan children. Annora,a Romano Greco wolf maiden, is more interested in intellectual pursuits than romantic ones.

 

PB:  The Sun and the Moon (The Brian D. McClure Children's Book Collection)
I read this to my 6 year old Grandson who liked it.
We will read
The Raindrop (The Brian D. McClure Children's Book Collection) next.
Reviewing both for The Cadence Group.

Audible - Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan, Book 8)
by Kim Harrison.

I really like this series,
even with the heartache. 
I thought I was done but didn't realize till I went to bed that there is a Part 3 so I am still listening to this!
I listened to this while I was working in the yard and cleaning house.

Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons,and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.

Currently reading:
PB: Traction - Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
I like how this has started. Seems very direct and practical.
Reading and reviewing for YGR Reviews.
I have three businesses - I wonder why they asked if I wanted to review this one. :o)

Product Description

Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you? Don't let common problems and frustrations run you and your business. Get a grip and gain control with the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Inside Traction, you'll learn the secrets of strengthening the Six Key Components of your business. You'll discover simple yet powerful ways to run your company that will give you and your leadership team more focus, more growth, and more enjoyment. Based on years of real-world implementation in over 100 companies, the Entrepreneurial Operating System is a practical method for achieving the business success you have always envisioned. Successful organizations are applying it every day to run profitable, frustration-free businesses -- and you can too.

Kindle2: The Guise of a Gentleman by Donna Hatch
I saw this eBook on the review list for YGR and couldn't resist!

Product Description

The widowed Elise is a perfect English lady living within the confines of society for the sake of her impressionable young son. Her quiet world is shattered when she meets the impulsive and scandalous Jared Amesbury. His roguish charm awakens her yearning for freedom and adventure. But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret. A gentleman by day, a pirate by night, Jared accepts one last assignment before he can be truly free. Elise gives him hope that he, too, can find love and belonging. His hopes are crushed when his best laid plans go awry and Elise is dragged into his world of violence and deceit. She may not survive the revelation of Jared's past...or still love him when the truth is revealed.

Audio CD/Audible -  Not decided yet

Same old story:  I am still working on writing more reviews!  It could happen!

Upcoming books:

Uncertain Magic by Laura Kindale
This is a re-release by Sourcebooks. I can do a giveaway for this ARC too at the end of April or beginning of May.

The Brothers of Gwynedd: The Legend of the First True Prince of Wales by Edith Pargeter
I am reading this as part of the first Sourcebooks Summer Reading Club! We are reading it in sections.
My review is to be posted May 18.

Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet by Jonathan Merritt
I peeked at this and like it all ready! There will be a Hachette Giveaway for this one too.

Sunday Words of Encouragment April 18, 2010

Another down to earth message from our Pastor today.
If I had a fresh, crisp $100.00 bill would you want it??
If that same $100.00 bill was crumpled and trodden on, ground in the dirt, would you still want it?
The point?  We are valuable - no matter how gritty or stomped on. Eph 1:5.

Additionally, We are secure.  If we have been adopted into God's family, in spite of all our flaws which He knows of, then we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  The blessings are permanent and eternal.  Always strive to remember the positive of who you are...sometimes how we think is self fulfilling.

Here is another song I found looking for Easter songs.
It contains a message that confirms our security.

Verses for today:

 Ephesians 1:3-4 NIV

 ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.

The message and our prayers today were to encourage and support a sister in the Lord who has a lump on her liver.  No matter our circumstances, we can be at peace that we are valuable to God and we are secure in Christ.