Sunday Words of Encouragement November 15, 2014

It was wonderful to be back at our home church this morning. We had great praise and worship time and then a lovely communion celebration.

Our Sunday School teacher is still in Revelations 20 (v11-15) which speaks of the Great White Throne Judgment that all men will face. Today however was about the Bema judgment ( 2 Corinthians 5:12) when Believers stand before God and give an accounting for our actions, our works. We will not be judged for sin as there is no condemnation for those who have believed and received salvation.

What we will be judged on and rewarded for is the good deeds we have done with right motive (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).  Lives here are fleeting and it is inappropriate to just bide our time and get through this life. Faith provides salvation but works follow and should produce fruit. After sharing a long list of scriptures describing, affirming and evoking “good works” our teacher noted: we should be laying up treasures in heaven not on earth. What we do for Christ is really all that matters. He wants our obedience to be shown by sharing his love, blessings and abundance, not hoarding them to ourselves.

Interestingly, our Pastor’s sermon was that Grace is the True Gospel. He is technically totally correct that we are saved by grace and grace alone. It is our believe and trust in God that saves us and that is a free gift. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves except to accept by faith the freely offered gift of salvation: payment for sin, redemption, by Christ’s death.

The two messages might seem at odds until we recognize and understand that they blend. Once we believe and have accepted the free gift of salvation by grace, our growing knowledge of God and His love should bring us to want to do His work where and when He directs in our lives.

As I looked for a video to go with this message I did find Bema Seat by Petra. 

That is very lively and fitting although you have to listen closely as the lyrics are not included.

However then I came upon this video and I really liked it's screen messages
as well as the well-known worship song.

Verses for today:

Romans 14:10-12
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Lord, I do feel that time is drawing short. And even if the time of your return is not as imminent as I might believe, my time on earth is limited. Therefore, I seek Your daily guidance as to where and when I might share share Your love and the abundance you have graciously bestowed upon me.

Sharing Beyond Books #177 Comment Giveaway 11/15/14

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

I've had a catch up week at work while I try to get used to being off the RV schedule (early nights and early mornings). My home computer seems to be faltering with the internet which has been a little difficult.
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas although it is hard to think another year will soon be over.

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
Everyone seems to agree that they like epilogues and have read some books where they wanted more. Sarah M mentioned wanting a series instead of just an epilogue. Nrlymrtl wants more at the end of Gaiman books which I think I can understand from the one I read. :-)

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #176 comments is: #5 bn100 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 #177 (One Question.)

Q1. This week nrlymrtl asks: 1. Have you ever taken a class on book binding so that you could repair your own favorite books??

A: I have never taken a book binding class. However, looking at these creative bindings makes me interested. 

Image found at Refinery29!

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 still have a supply of questions but from the same people so hopefully others will send more in -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify to use.

Your turn to share:

Q1. nrlymrtl asks: 1. Have you ever taken a class on book binding so that you could repair your own favorite books??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books, the Christmas Giveaway Books (this is the new link), or the June 2013 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 through Saturday November 22, 2014 at 5 PM  central.

Guest Post by D. J. Donaldson: A Forensic/Medical Author’s Take on Ebola and the CDC

Outbreak… Breakdown

A Forensic/Medical Author’s Take on Ebola and the CDC

by D. J. Donaldson

My book, Louisiana Fever, involves the spread of a bleeding disease known as Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever. This is a real disease that, like its close relative, Ebola, is caused by an infectious virus. And having researched this thoroughly (and having come from a forensic/health background) I feel compelled to weigh in on the Ebola outbreak.

When I was plotting Louisiana Fever, I figured I ought to have a character in the book that was once an infectious disease specialist at the CDC. It seemed like a logical idea because the CDC is this country’s unquestioned champion against virulent organisms, an organization staffed with experts that know every nuance of tropical viruses and how they can be controlled.

To make sure my writing about the CDC would have an authentic ring to it, I asked the public relations office of the CDC if I might be given a tour of the place. “Sorry,” I was told. “We don’t give tours.” Considering how many dangerous viruses are stored in the various labs there, that seemed like a good policy, even to me. So there would be no tour. But then I heard from someone in my department at the U. of Tennessee Medical Center that one of our former graduate students now worked at the CDC. I began to wonder if this connection might work to my advantage.

And it certainly did. The former student was now a virology section chief. A SECTION CHIEF…. Holy cow! This could be my way in. But would the man be generous by nature and sympathetic to writers? He proved to be both of those.

On the day of my visit, I reported to the security office as instructed. There, I had to wait until my host came to escort me into the bowels of the place… no wandering around on my own with a visitor’s badge. That day I saw the hot zone in action and spoke with experts in many fields of virology, even spent some time with the world expert on porcine retroviruses. At the end of my visit—including all the cumbersome clinical protocols I had to engage in both before and during said visit—I not only left feeling more educated, but actually more safe and secure that no tropical virus would ever be a threat to this country… not with the meticulous, detail-oriented, security conscious, microbe fighters at the CDC watching out for us.

So, it’s with much regret and… yes, even a little fear, that I witnessed the head of the CDC recently assuring us that the Ebola virus is very difficult to transmit and that we know exactly how to control it. Instead of (what looked like) his clumsy attempts to soothe an ignorant and paranoid public, the CDC head should have given a blunt assessment, educated everyone like adults, and encouraged them to exercise precaution. Then, seemingly in answer, two nurses who cared for the index patient from Liberia become Ebola positive. And the CDC clears one of those nurses to take a commercial airline flight, even though she was in the early stages of Ebola infection…depressing. From a medical professional standpoint, this was practically criminal negligence. At present, the disease is not transmitted by air ("airborne"), but any scientist worth his/her salt cannot account for mutations the virus may undergo. This is why the job of the CDC is to contain harmful microbes, issue protocols to protect the public against them and ultimately eradicate them... period. It is not to be PR professionals for television cameras and fostering carelessness.

I’m still convinced that the combined knowledge and brainpower of the CDC staff will be a major impediment to any virus taking over this country. But Ebola probably has some tricks we haven’t seen yet. That means we may lose a few more battles before we can declare that this particular threat is behind us.

Meanwhile, how is development of that Ebola vaccine coming?

D.J. Donaldson is a retired professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Tennessee, Health Science Center—where he taught and published dozens of papers on wound-healing and other health issues. He is the author of Louisiana Fever, one of the seven in the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn series of forensic mystery thrillers.
Don Donaldson Website Link

Louisiana Fever:  http://bit.ly/1u5ohGC

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1tEzXhI

B&N:    http://bit.ly/1tjAQw9

Apple:  http://bit.ly/1zhb3YX

Kobo:   http://bit.ly/1tQODeM

Please see my review post for more information about Louisiana Fever.

Book Review: Louisiana Fever by D. J. Donaldson

This is an engaging, suspenseful, and timely mystery with lots of forensic detail and distinct characters.

Louisiana Fever
by D.J. Donaldson

File Size: 746 KB
Print Length: 301 pages
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions;
Reprint edition (March 5, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
ASIN: B00L8B7EZO

Genre: Forensic Mystery
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
“D.J. Donaldson is superb at spinning medical fact into gripping suspense. With his in-depth knowledge of science and medicine, he is one of very few authors who can write with convincing authority.” --Tess Gerritsen, NY Times best-selling author of the Rizzoli & Isles novels
    Andy Broussard, the plump and proud New Orleans medical examiner, obviously loves food. Less apparent to the casual observer is his hatred of murderers. Together with his gorgeous sidekick, psychologist Kit Franklyn, the two make a powerful, although improbable, mystery solving duo.
    When the beautiful Kit goes to meet an anonymous stranger—who’s been sending her roses—the man drops dead at her feet before she even could even get his name. Game on.
    Andy Broussard soon learns that the man carried a lethal pathogen similar to the deadly Ebola virus. Soon, another body turns up with the same bug. Panic is imminent as the threat of pandemic is more real than ever before. The danger is even more acute, because the carrier is mobile, his identity is an absolute shocker, he knows he’s a walking weapon and… he’s on a quest to find Broussard. And Kit isn’t safe either. When she investigates her mystery suitor further, she runs afoul of a cold blooded killer, every bit as deadly as the man searching for Broussard.
    Louisiana Fever is written in Donaldson’s unique style: A hard-hitting, punchy, action-packed prose that’s dripping with a folksy, decidedly southern, sense of irony. Add in Donaldson’s brilliant first hand knowledge of forensics and the sultry flavor of New Orleans, and the result is first class forensic procedural within an irresistibly delectable mystery.

Review:
Andy Broussard is the true lead in this story. He is not a movie-star character but rather a plump, aging and extremely focused man. He is a unique and eccentric New Orleans medical examiner. He is particular to routine which includes precise procedures and dedication to finding clues to help identify the cause of death and the murderers, when applicable.

Kit is a criminal psychologist who works hand in hand with Andy and the local police, helping to profile and track down killers. Kit is given a cryptic note to meet a mysterious admirer who has been leaving yellow roses for her. She arrives at the restaurant to see a stranger in the corner with a yellow rose. He rises from his seat calling her name and then collapses. The cafe’s indomitable owner, Grandma O, gives CPR with the help of another man until the medics arrive. Unfortunately the man is pronounced dead and there is no identification found. Andy is puzzled by symptoms he discovers during the careful autopsy. Although the man died of a heart attack there is evidence of a more dangerous disease that Andy cannot identify.

Kits boyfriend, Teddy, arrives home just in time to help her begin tracking clues to identify the man. The few clues indicate the man may have spent time on the docks so that is where they begin their search.

Andy is called out to another very gruesome death scene. Walter Baldwin has been found dead, curled in the corner of his closet and with blood splattered throughout his apartment. Some of the symptoms match those of the unknown man and Andy is becoming concerned that a fast acting, contagious disease has hit his town. This fear becomes more than suspicion when one of Andy’s staff becomes ill with the deadly, Ebola-like symptoms.

Kit disappears and after a day of worry and contacting family and friends. the officers learn that she actually was taken in circumstances that indicate a forcible abduction. Andy ardently continues his detailed forensic work, both in the lab and beyond, looking for clues to help uncover the source of the disease and to help find Kit’s kidnappers. Meanwhile he is unwittingly being stalked by Walter’s murderer.

I thoroughly enjoyed the forensic details and clues in this story. It has an beginning hook that provides an unusual lead into the plot.  The mystery of the contagious disease is scary, realistic and wonderfully portrayed with a touch of irony. I especially liked Andy as a character although I found Kit to be self-centered and shallow. New Orleans serves as a great backdrop setting with its colorful cultural elements as well as the surrounding swamp where criminals might seek to hide. The supporting cast, including Homicide Detective Gatlin, Grandma O, Bubba and others are good additional characters of interest. I also appreciate the fact that the language is clean without loosing anything in the offering.

This is the first book I have read by this author and apparently this book is part of a series. This read fine alone but made me want to read the first and subsequent stories. I highly recommend this book and Mr. Donaldson’s other work to readers who love a good mystery, great forensic detail and interesting characters.

(Note: I might have been disturbed that the characters connected with cell phones but the publisher forewarned me that this is a reprint of a book originally published in 1996.)

I am thankful to the author and his publisher for offering the timely guest post by this author and for providing this great forensic mystery for an honest review.

Don't miss the timely guest post by Mr. Donaldson regarding the current Ebola outbreak and CDC.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway November 14, 2014

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

We are still settling in back home. I still want to go to bed at 9pm everynight as we did in the RV. It seemed easier to get up earlier on the trip too.

How is everyone else? We had a real bit of cold today as we begin a couple of cooler days.

[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 7 Pick. There were no 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 was one title blocked, but it was won through the block.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from November 7 Pick:
mariska gets a GC

booklady gets Viking Heat (through the block)

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, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

This month I give thanks for books and for followers of my blog. :-)

Image found at GoPixPic.

New Book Group #52 October 10, 2014
(Links to be added.)

PAIRS:
Richard Paul Evans, The Looking Glass and The Carousel
Mary Higgins Clark, A Cry In the Night and You Belong to Me
SINGLES
Duo Book: Yesterday's Memories by Tara Taylor Quinn and Amanda Stevens
Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
Destiny's Daughter by Rebecca Brandewyne
At The Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava
She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly
Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Behind a Mask by May Alcott
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

New Book Group #51 September 12, 2014
10/10 - I just realized I never posted the image for this group.

PAIRS:
Elysa Hendricks, Star Crash (personally autographed copy) and The Sword and the Pen
Anne Stuart, Hidden Honor and The Devil’s Waltz
SINGLES:

Intrepid Encounter by Rebecca Ashley

The Reckoning by Jeanette Baker

Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America by Thomas Bell Reprint Edition

Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann

A Painted House A Novel by John Grisham 

Scandalous Virtue Mass by Brenda Hiatt 

Viking Heat by Sandra Hill 

Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie and Gennaro Book 2) by Dennis Lehane

Missing Susan by Sharyn Mccrumb

Pandora's Clock by John J. Nance - AUDIO CASSETTES

A Stranger's Wife by Maggie Osborne

The Short Forever (Stone Barrington Novels Book 8) by Stuart Woods - AUDIO CASSETTES

New Book Group #50! August 8, 2014

PAIRS:
William J. Coughlin: The Court and The Judgment
Phyllis J. Whitney: The Ebony Swan and Woman Without a Past
SINGLES:
Maybe This Time by Victoria Barrett
The Commander by Kate Bridges
So Hard to Forget by Evelyn Crowe
The Cinderella Plan by Margaret Daley
Whirlwind Affair by Jacquie D'Allessandro
Let Darkness Come by Angela Hunt
Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione 
ChiefTain by Nan Ryan
A Place Called Home by Lori Wick
The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook by Steve Doocy
True Believer by Nicholas Sparks
A Garden of Friends by Penny Pierce Rose

New Book Group #49 June 27, 2014

PAIRS:
Sandra Brown:  The Thrill of Victory and Temperatures Rising
Beverly Barton: The Last to Die and Raintree: Sanctuary
SINGLES:
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
Down by the Water by Caroline Upcher
Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton
Savage Thunder by Cassie Edwards
Miracle by Deborah Smith
Desperate Alliances by Cory Daniells
Never Walk Alone by Paula Detmer Riggs
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
Running Blind by Lee Child

New Book Group #48 May 30, 2014

SINGLES:
Dangerous by Debra Dier
First to Fight Anthology

New Book Group #47 April 25, 2014

SINGLES:
Trey's Secret by Lois Faye Dayer
Once Upon a Honeymoon by Julie Kistler
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy

New Book Group #46 March 15, 2014
SINGLES:
Sweet Talking Man by Betina Krain
The Last Heiress by Bertrice Small (spine creases)

New Book Group #45 January 31, 2014---(All gone)
Out of Darkness by Lynn Erickson

New Book Group #44 December 14, 2013---(All gone)

New Book Group #43 November 1, 2013 ---(All gone)

New Book Group #42 September 27, 2013 ---(All gone)

New Book Group #41 August 2, 2013

Singles:
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way

New Book Group #40 June 28, 2013

Singles:
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)

New Book Group #39 May 31, 2013 - Plenty of "summer" titles!
Singles:
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford

New Book Group #38 April 20, 2013
Awaken the Senses by Nalini Singh

New Book Group #37 March 22, 2013
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.

New Book Group #36 February 15, 2013
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe

New Book Group #35 January 11, 2013 (All gone)
New Book Group #34 December 7, 2012--- (All gone)
New Book Group #33 October 27, 2012---(All gone)

New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012
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
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)

New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology

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
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---(All gone)
3/25/11 Group #19---(All gone)
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 four years I have posted 43 groups of 16 (688) books to find new homes! (as of November 2013).

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 728+ 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 

List #15---(All gone)
List #14---(All gone)
List #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---(All gone)
Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7
Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape

Pick #8
The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes

Pick #9
On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Pick #10---(All Gone)