Sunday Words of Encouragement July 28, 2013

We had a beautiful service of praise and joy. Our guest minister today spoke on Awareness and Prevention of Sex Trafficking. These comments are from her message.

A government report has stated that ‘Prevention is less costly than rescue and restoration...’ There are 27 million people in our country, America, who are involved in sex trafficking. It is a $32 Billion dollar industry and America ranks third largest of the countries involved.

The children who are pulled in, some as runaways and some kidnaped, are 12 to 14 years of age. Their average life in ‘the business’ is seven years and then they are thrown out or allowed to die.  The victims are conditioned by: starvation, gang rape, confinement, threats to family, beatings, and forced drug addiction.

Traffickers are going to smaller communities, college towns and hiding at churches. College Towns. The trafficking mafia are now using young girls as plants in schools and even church youth groups. They are befriended other young girls and lure them to an overnight when they are drugged and disappear. Parents need to be extra vigilant. The FBI has stated that if a missing child is not found within 72 hours then it is likely they are gone to in another country.

This information is not to create fear, as fear is not of God. But we must make sure our children are aware that this is not a safe world. Parents must watch internet use and always be aware of where your children are going and with whom – get phone numbers and addresses. Visit the homes before allowing sleep-overs. You wouldn’t give your wedding ring to someone to keep overnight. Are not your children even more precious?

Awareness calls for response. What can we do? We can volunteer to become mentors for young girls. We can participate in marches for Awareness or floats in any parade. We can push for stiffer sentencing. Fortunately Florida has strong laws. The most important thing we can do is to is to pray a hedge of protection around our families and churches -- continually. And be willing to help rescued victims to know there is a way back for them.

All countries have fallen from moral depravity. Our speaker likens the victims to this description in Isaiah 42:22 (NLT): But his own people have been robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.
Christians are known to say 'God Bless America' but now we need to say “God Save America!”

I failed to pick up the information after the service but here are a few sites with some information.
http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201201/201201_088_sextraffic.cfm
http://usmissions.ag.org/resources/human_trafficking.cfm
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/faqs.html

We sang this very uplifting song this morning!
I've Got a Song to Sing.

A Verse for Today:
John 17:15
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

I pray for protection of my grandchildren and my church family. I pray for deliverance for all those innocents who have been enslaved by evil traffickers.

Sharing Beyond Books #110 Comment Giveaway July 27, 2013

Hello again on Saturday night and Welcome to SBB, Sharing Beyond Books.

I've had a strange week but I keep pushing through.

Most of you have never read Manga, nor watch anime. Nine of 25 have read Manga and 12 have watched anime. Several mentioned Howl's Moving Castle which is one of my son's favs and I think I have seen part of that. I'll have to watch it next time we are together.

Thank you to all who shared last week.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #109 comments is: #17 lesleysays who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the ARC/Review titles, Christmas titles or Love titles - all linked near the end of the post.  Please let me know your choice by completing the (new) WINNER FORM.

WEEK #110 Questions

Q1. Liss asks: Have you had a moment when you don't want to read a book? If so, what do you do??

A: I really can't think of a time when I didn't want to read. :-) If I am not into one book I might switch to an audiobook but I am usually happy to read. 

(Just teasing - there is no such thing as a silly question.)
Image found at The Parkville Bookworm.

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: How many purses do you have; how many do you use??

A: I have about ten purses but I only use five of them. I generally use a black bag that fits  my Kindle and MP3. However for church I rotate three bags depending on season and color: white (summer), brick color (fall) and black (winter). I also have one small bag I use for formal evenings.

Image found at Love Your Purse, Shoes and Hat Blog.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! We are getting low on questions so hopefully you will send more in -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify to use. 
JULY QUESTION CONTRIBUTORS: Elizabeth, Margaret, Nikki and Liss. The Random.org pick is #1 so Elizabeth gets a choice of GC.

Your turn to share:

Q1. Liss asks:Have you had a moment when you don't want to read a book? If so, what do you do??

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: How many purses do you have; how many do you use??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books , the Christmas Giveaway Books, or the June 2012 Newly Updated ARC/Review List.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on either of the two questions above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.

I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made by Friday, August 2, 2013 at 10 PM central.

Book Review and Giveaway: Flight of the Raven (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #2) by Ellen Harris

Our Ladies’ book club all enjoyed this light mystery.
Flight of the Raven (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #2)
by Ellen Harris

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Ideals Publications; Retail edition (February 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824947126
• ISBN-13: 978-0824947125

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Inspirational
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: February 15, 2007
A small plane disappears from the sky above Sparrow Iland, and Abby knows she must do something to help. Together, she and Sergeant Henry Cobb, set off to hunt for survivors. They find the plane but not the passengers - who it seems don't want to be found. Abby's wilderness skills are put to the test as she and Henry go on a chase to try to uncover the secrets of the passengers' hidden pasts. An exciting, suspense-filled story, "Flight of the Raven" is a riveting tale of determination, ingenuity and courage.

Review:
Abby is a very intelligent, versatile lady, who study to be an ornithologist. After working in a big city she has returned to the island to help her sister, Mary, whose legs were badly injured in an accident. Now Abby is working at the Sparrow Island Nature Observatory and getting to use some of her skills. Abby and her young assistant, Bobby, are excited to be releasing three orphaned falcons they rescued. As they watch the young falcons flying they notice a wobbly float plane which disappears beyond another island.

Abby, Mary and Mary’s male friend, Henry, a local police Sargent are about to sit down to dinner with her parents when Henry gets a call to look for the plane that witnesses have reported as having crashed. Abby volunteers to go with Henry as she thinks she can help pin point where the plane went down and she has experience in search and rescue.

Abby and Henry face difficulties locating the plane and the night drags on. They finally find the plane abandoned but blood stains indicate that someone is injured. But when they follow the trail they determine that things may not be as they appear and perhaps the passengers are trying to avoid rescue. The suspense increases after Henry is injured and the strangers vandalize the boat, destroying the radio. Abby has to use survival skills to care for Henry while they await rescue themselves and try to avoid the miscreants.

Meanwhile Mary is at home trying to cope with her worry. Fortunately she is distracted by her son, Zack, who arrives with a service dog and its trainer, a lovely young woman. Mary is not in favor of the idea of a help dog but everyone else in town is enthraled. Finally Mary comes to realize that it is okay to accept help and she sees how much more she can do with the help of Finnegan.

This is a very easy and enjoyable read. Ms. Harris weaves lots of little details into the story, sharing about birds, rescues and service dogs. The underlying faith is quietly presented and I liked how Ms. Harris conveyed the messages of letting go of worry and pride. The characters are likeable and a couple of the Ladies’ Book Club chose Finnegan (the dog) as their favorite character.

Although this is part of a series we had not read book 1 and this worked okay as a stand alone. I recommend this to readers who like birds and dogs and those who enjoy a light, easy mystery.

A quote we all liked:
Finnegan's trainer was explaining that playtime was a reward for him.

"He's not so different from us humans in that respect. He needs time each day when he can do things for the pure joy of it," she said. "Sometimes we underestimate how much we need joy in our lives." Page 166.

I was able to pick these up on sale at Christianbooks.com for Ladies' Book Club meeting July. (Sorry they may not be available there anymore.)

ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for my gently read Copy:

ENTRY FORM HERE

Don't forget to fill in the form for entry! 

I have noticed a few commenters who forgot to enter through the Form. 

For 3 Extra Bonus entries - Comment on the review.

* This contest is open to those with US address only.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on August 2, 2013.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on August 3, 2013.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Saturday Snapshot July 27, 2013 - Stalking Pets

I had fun catching (on film) a couple of our pets trying to catch other critters.

One night earlier this month as I was about to turn out the lights and head to bed
I looked over to see the cat eying the door.

Actually, she was eying the three frogs on the windows.

She did make one swipe trying to catch one.

One evening this week I came home and was greeted by our Rat Terrier, Princess.

After saying hello she ran off to focus on a tree -- or rather what was up the tree.

She was very intent as she knew there were squirrels up there.

I wasn't able to get a picture of the two squirrels as they chased each other

but here is one more of Princess who would like to be able to climb the tree 

just to get to play with those squirrels!

I didn't get to visit this past week but maybe I can catch up later today.
I do enjoy seeing other photos as well as sharing mine.
Thanks to all who stop by and visit.

A big Thank You to Alyce of At Home With Books who has hosted this meme for a number of years. She is taking a summer hiatus at her blog and the new host will be Melissa at West Metro Mommy. Thank you to Melissa for picking up the responsibility.

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky being hosted this summer by West Metro Mommy. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Blog Tour Featuring The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr; Giveaway $25.00 GC/PP

My review was to post today and I apologize to the author and tour host that I am not ready to post the review. I am 60% complete and very much enjoying the danger and intrigue that Errol and his "team" are facing. I feel it wouldn't be fair to write the review until I finish. So I will post the review in the next day or so.
Thanks for understanding. Meanwhile, enjoy this excerpt and enter the blog tour Giveaway below!

Excerpt:

Sweat, hot and salty, flowed into Errol’s eyes in the sticky heat of the early fall afternoon. He forced a quick blink to shed the distraction, not daring to risk the split-second it would take to wipe his brow. A welt as long as his hand burned his left ribcage. Its twin worked to numb his right shoulder. The staff in his hands blurred and buzzed like an angry insect, nearly invisible, but as yet he had managed only a single strike against his opponent.

And he was tiring.

The man opposite him, stronger and fresher, darted like a snake, the blade of his sword disappeared as his arms corded and he struck. Errol parried at the last moment and flowed into a counterattack. The clack of staff against sword filled his ears like the sound of a drummer’s rim beats.

For a moment he dared hope that he would penetrate his opponent’s defense, but the attack exhausted itself and he retreated to defend against those cursed whip-like strokes of the swordsman’s counter.

Pain blossomed in his side as the sword found its mark. It was no use. Four weeks of food and rest had almost restored him to complete health after Sarin’s attack against the kingdom. But ‘almost’ was insufficient against such an opponent.

The Hero's Lot
Riveting Sequel from Christian Fantasy's Most Talented New Voice.

When Sarin Valon, the corrupt secondus of the conclave, flees Erinon and the kingdom, Errol Stone believes his troubles have at last ended. But other forces bent on the destruction of the kingdom remain and conspire to accuse Errol and his friends of a conspiracy to usurp the throne.

In a bid to keep the three of them from the axe, Archbenefice Canon sends Martin and Luis to Errol's home village, Callowford, to discover what makes him so important to the kingdom. But Errol is also accused of consorting with spirits. Convicted, his punishment is a journey to the enemy kingdom of Merakh, where he must find Sarin Valon, and kill him. To enforce their sentence, Errol is placed under a compulsion, and he is driven to accomplish his task or die resisting.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Hero's Lot is the Sequel to A Cast of Stones

A Cast of Stones

An Epic Medieval Saga Fantasy Readers Will Love.

In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.
Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Tour Schedule

Author Patrick W. Carr

Patrick Carr was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee. Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a nuclear plant, did design work for the Air Force, worked for a printing company, and consulted as an engineer. Patrick’s day gig for the last five years has been teaching high school math in Nashville, TN. He currently makes his home in Nashville with his wonderfully patient wife, Mary, and four sons he thinks are amazing: Patrick, Connor, Daniel, and Ethan. Sometime in the future he would like to be a jazz pianist. Patrick thinks writing about himself in the third person is kind of weird.

Website * Facebook

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 8/14/13

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