Sunday Words of Encouragement November 17, 2013

[As always, my comments are based on Pastor’s sermon with a bit of interpretation and/or summarizing from me.] 

This morning’s sermon was entitled A Night in the Hardrock Motel and was centered on Jacob’s story in Genesis 28.  Jacob was in trouble for stealing his brother’s blessing. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah,  convinced his father, Isaac, to send Jacob away, back to her family, to seek a wife. Jacob was in distress, estranged from his brother and father, in turmoil, away from home, fearful and worrying about selecting a wife.  As Jacob approached a certain place outside of his destination the sun was setting.  “Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.” Genesis 28:11. The Lord appeared in Jacob’s dream; stood above him and made promises. Verse 12-14.

‘That place’ was a lonely, hard, rocky place... not a gentle, fertile valley.  When in a desert, dry place you can find vultures looming for death or hummingbirds looking for new life in the fresh flowers. One focused on what was the other looking to the present. Do you dwell on what was or take joy in what is?  Instead of accepting the hard place, let your rock be Jesus’ strength and peace. (1 Cor 10:4.)  Jesus brings calm, ‘Peace’, in trouble. Mark 4:37-38. 

When Jacob awoke he recognized the place as a place of God and he made a promise back that  ‘the Lord will be my God.’  We shouldn’t give up when we know God is on our side. Gen 28:13-17. Fear is a faith killer but Faith is a fear killer. Our purpose in life is not to “be comfortable” but to radiate God’s Love to glorify Him.

I set this song aside a few weeks ago but it fits today.
I trust and He is Faithful to give me peace and to never let go of me!

A Verse for Today:
Genesis 28:15 NIV)
15 “...I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Thank you Lord for being there to calm us through the hard places until we are walking smoothly with You by trusting You!

Sharing Beyond Books #126 Comment Giveaway 11/16/13

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

I hope everyone is enjoying November. I had a busy week and am tired tonight.

The group is pretty well split with 10 who are in home towns and 10 who have moved around from state to state or even country to country. Sarah moved at least 11 times and Rita has lived in three different countries.

I was also surprised that few of you keep lists of your wins. Many of you used to keep lists and many keep track to make sure you get the book wins. You sort of have to have some list or folder if you are going to track. :-)

Thank you to all who shared last week.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #125 comments is: #7 Ricki 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 #126

Q1. Brooke asks: Do you read just one book at a time or more than one??

A: I am a multi-book reader. I almost always have three going at a time: Print, Audio and Kindle. I try to mix genres but that doesn't always happen. It can be especially confusing to be reading two mysteries or romantic suspense at the same time. :-).   

I don't read and listen at the same time.

Image found at The Culture Concept

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: Would you consider yourself a good patient or not -- not being demanding, cranky or some other not so nice reaction??

A: I don't get sick very often. However, now that I am recovering from surgery I find that I can be cranky if really tired. And clearly I don't rest enough. That is really hard for me to do even if it could give more reading time. So I would say I am not such a bad patient for others in my family but maybe not such a good patient for allowing healing. 

I'm not THAT bad!

Image found at The Guardian.

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.

Your turn to share:

Q1. Brooke asks: Do you read just one book at a time or more than one??

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: Would you consider yourself a good patient or not -- not being demanding, cranky or some other not so nice reaction??

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, November 22, 2013 at 10 PM central.

Saturday Snapshot November 16, 2013 - Potting Plants

I wasn't sure what my plans were this morning other than taking the day easy. Then my DH advised me that he found strawberries in the garden that he was tilling. So that became my project and the cause of a very late Saturday posting.

Here are the strawberries I pulled from the garden.

Here is my work table/area - rather messy.

Here are the completed pots.
(Note doggies were keeping us company outside.)

Meanwhile my DH was out in the field digging up another stump.

I overdid a little I guess as I was very tired when I came in so I took a nap. When I got up my incision area was a bit swollen. It is most annoying that I am learning that I have limitations I have to pay better attention to.

I don't think I got to visit last week as it was a super busy week at the office. I can't even remember the beginning of the week and I am behind in posting reviews. *Sigh.*
I hope everyone else is doing well and I will maybe try visiting a couple a day this week. Thanks again for visits and well wishes!

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.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway November 15, 2013

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.]

Happy Friday Friends!!  Oh Yikes! It's Thursday night already?? Time to prepare Friday Post when I really want to crawl in bed. :-) This has been a busy week and I've had some discomfort and fatigue.  I was going to take half a day off today but then my assistant went home sick and I had plenty to keep me at my desk until 6pm. Maybe I can leave early tomorrow.

Meanwhile I still hope everyone else is doing well!

[UPDATED NOTE - US entrants I prefer, please, that you pick a book as that is the first purpose of this giveaway - to find new homes for books. The GCs are for the international entrants because postage has jumped up.]

Thank you to all who entered the November 8 Pick. I thought I might have only blocked titles or GC entries to pick from after finding there were FOUR Automatic wins this week!  (Automatic winners are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks). There were only two titles blocked this week again but one with 4 picks.
Carol M gets The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
Elizabeth L gets Merger of Fortune
Linda K gets A Mother's Day Anthology
nightowl gets the Tara Taylor Quinn pair

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from November 8 Pick:
I picked three this week because November is the anniversary month for Friday Picks so I will be choosing extra winners all month! :-)
All GCs this pick.

Mary Pgets a GC

mariska gets a GC
Llehn gets a GC/PayPal Credit 

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual or sexy and I have a new supply of sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Image found at Crafting with Katie. 

A couple of THANKS with books are appropriate for the next couple of weeks!

New Book Group! #43 November 1, 2013

Pairs
Mary Higgins Clark
     Before I Say Good-bye and Where Are the Children>
Suzanne Enoch
     Lessons in Love The Rake and Sin and Sensibility
Diana Palmer (Choose any two)
    Lawless, Diamond Spur, Long Tall Texan and Brides to Be (spine creased)
Kate Wilhelm
     Desperate Measures and No Defense
SINGLES:
Never Tell by Karen Young (spine torn)
Father for Keeps by Ana Seymour
Crimson Rain by Meg O’Brien
Dove in the Window by Earlene Fowler
Cutwork by Monica Ferris
A Woman Named Damaris by Janette Oke

New Book Group #42 September 27, 2013

Pairs:
Susan Spencer Paul
     Beguiled and The Bride's Portion
Singles:
Whisper on the Wind by Joan Smith
Portrait of Dreams by Victoria Malvey
No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long
Deceptions & Dreams by Debra Deir (spine creases)
Wet & Wild by Sandra Hill
Fulfillment by Barbara Delinsky
Something Extra by Janet Dailey
Trouble Becomes Her by Laura Van Wormer
Dead Silence by Brenda Novak
Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb

New Book Group #41 August 2, 2013

Singles:
Wicked and Wonderful by Valerie King
Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels
The Nightingale's Song by Jo-Ann Power
Caught in a Bind by Gayle Roper
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way
White Heather by Jaclyn Reding

New Book Group #40 June 28, 2013

Pairs:
      (Angels) Not Quite An Angel by Bobby Hutchinson and An Angel for Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad
Singles:
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes
Dance With Me by Luanne Rice
A Mother's Day Anthology - three stories
Star Light, Star Bright by Katherine Stone
Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher

New Book Group #39 May 31, 2013 - Plenty of "summer" titles!
Oops - I never added all the links last month so no promises on these either.

Singles:
Touched by Fire by Kathleen O'Reilly
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
That Summer by Joan Wolf
It All Began at Monte Carlo by Elizabeth Adler

New Book Group #38 April 20, 2013
Here is a group with many mysteries.  Links to be added as I get time.

Sheer Dynamite by Jennifer Skully
Golden Chances by Rebbecca Hagen Lee
Awaken the Senses by Nalini Singh

New Book Group #37 March 22, 2013

As I am linking these titles it is clear to me why they were in my TBR boxes and it is really hard to let them go but I have soooo many. Better that they find good reader homes than sit on my shelves, or in a box, and collect dust. 
Pairs:
Singles:
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.
Lady Ice by Joan Hohl

New Book Group #36 February 15, 2013

Pairs:
Tara Taylor Quinn
     Father: Unknown and McGillus v.Wright
Singles:
Timeline by Michael Crichton
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe

New Book Group #35 January 11, 2013
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing 
Pairs
Singles-- I found a couple of boxes of romances (a lot of Harlequins) that I haven't gotten to read over the past 8 years so... I will send them off to others to read!
*Merger of Fortunes by Peggy Moreland

New Book Group #34 December 7, 2012--- (All gone)

New Book Group #33 October 27, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

SINGLES - CHRISTMAS TITLES (Better sizes for international) 
*A Holiday Prayer by Deb Kastner  (slight spine creasing)

New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012
- Oops upside down book! NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one - A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley

New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
I pulled some more books from several of my boxes.

An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)

New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
This time I pulled some books from one of my older boxes.
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Wild Escapade by Lisa Bingham
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander (postage too much - replaced with GC)

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
*One is the Lonliest Number - Tom Clancey's Net Force

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012--- (All gone)

New book Group #27 April 13, 2012--- (All gone)

New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)

New Group #25 January 12, 2012---(All gone)

New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
I tried to pick some books that would be good for October -
Halloween or dark minded.
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser

New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011---(All gone)

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books Group #20
Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books: Group #19
Primary Colors - audio tapes

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone).

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in three years I have posted 33 groups of 16 (528) books to find new homes! (as of November 2012)

I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want! I am happy to say that so far about 590+ books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed.

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $5.00 $7.00 and $6.00 $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.
WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

1/14/11 New List #17--- (All gone)

12/3/10 Book Set: #16
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown  (postage too much - replaced with GC)

List #15---(All gone)

List #14---(All gone)

Here is set #13 of Used books! ---(All gone)

Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11

Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2---(All gone)

Pick #3---(All gone)

Pick #4---(All gone)

Pick #5
See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel
Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7
Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape
Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8
(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape
The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes
No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Pick #9
On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Pick #10---(All Gone)

Book Review: Lace & Lead by M.A. Grant

I highly recommend this action packed, strong romance novella.

Lace & Lead, a novella

by M.A. Grant

• File Size: 692 KB
• Print Length: 102 pages
• Publisher: Escape Publishing - Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Ltd (November 1, 2013)
• ASIN: B00FB3MWN4

Genre: Sci Fi Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: November 1, 2013
Breathtaking action, startling originality and polished story-telling combine in this futuristic Sci-Fi novella about a rough mercenary, a pampered daughter, and the lies they both believe.

Blue-blood Emmaline Gregson survived one of the most brutal mining accidents ever recorded in the Republic, but she's never been in a firefight. So when unknown assailants circle the family estate, the only man she can rely on is Peirce Taggart. A former Lawman turned mercenary, Peirce has a simple job: protect Emmaline until her father can collect her and sell her to sex trafficker Richard Stone to pay off his debts. But when Arthur Gregson tries to cheat his way out of the contract, Emmaline seizes the opportunity to hire Peirce for herself, regardless of how crude, dangerous, or appealing he may be. Given the chance for redemption, he promises to help her escape both her father and Stone. But Peirce soon realises that hiding her in his apartment until the storm has passed may be more dangerous than looking down the barrel of a gun...

Review:
Emmaline is a pampered daughter of a wealthy man. She has always had maids and has never had to take care of herself or perform simple household chores. She did however survive a terrifying, brutal mining disaster that left her with nightmares. Her wealthy father has hired a ruthless team of mercenaries to protect Emmaline as she is now his most valuable asset. Emmaline doesn’t know it yet but her father has agreed to sell her to a known sex trafficker in satisfaction of all of his debts.

Emmaline became smitten with the head ‘bad boy’ mercenary, Pierce Taggert, as soon as she saw him. He is a ruggedly handsome ex-Lawman with a confident swagger, a foul mouth and oozing sexuality.

Pierce and his men face an unexpected attack and the clues lead back to a double cross by Emmaline’s Father. Pierce takes Emmaline into hiding as he tries to figure out what to do - first to protect her and then what to do with her! He’d like to treat Emmaline as just another paycheck but there is something about her fresh, naive trust and her willing determination to survive that makes him pause. He remembers another young lady who followed his example working in mechanics and war service. He wasn’t there to save her and the loss has left an emptiness filled only with his guilt. Perhaps he can redeem himself by saving Emmaline from those who would use her, including her father.

This is a quick, fast-paced story with action from beginning to end. The setting isn’t completely fleshed out although there is enough to keep it interesting. The strength of the story is in the characters who are likeable and grab your attention, the action packed plot and the vulnerable romance. The strong combination outweighed the bad language and I enjoyed the story reading through it in practically one sitting. I would be interested in trying other works by Ms. Grant. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy romance and action.

I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley.