Sunday Words of Encouragement December 14, 2014

This morning we lit the third candle of advent, which is the candle for Praise. The people have been given Hope and a message of Joy. How else should they respond but with Praise and Worship!

We presented our Choral Christmas program today. There were six songs from Hallelujah! Light Has Come, A Christmas Choral Collection plus another five from a prior year's book, Gloria. We have a choir of about 17 people, four bass, three tenor, five altos and five sopranos, plus three more for the Christmas special when our Pastor sings special and our pianist and organist join in. We have some fantastic voices with seven different people singing solos and duets! Then we have those of us who love to 'make a joyful noise' to one degree or another.

The songs this year have been beautiful, though some were challenging with the echos. Our music director added some narration that enhanced the program.

I chose this song to share today. It is truly beautiful plus it leads to praise.

Hallelujah, Light Has Come

A Verse for Today:
Luke 2:20
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Heavenly Father, Almighty God, I thank you and praise you for sending your only son to find us in our sin and deliver us through His own sacrifice. Please help me to focus on hope, joy, praise and love this Christmas season.

Sharing Beyond Books #181 Comment Giveaway 12/13/2014

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

This was another nice week of consistent work but no great stress. We are still trying to get things ready so we can have the a handful of days off around Christmas. I'm not ready - the cards have not been sent, the tree is only half trimmed and I haven't finished all my shopping. Still - I am not stressing over these things but focusing on the true meaning of the season instead. :-)

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.

I am rather surprised that so few of us are audio book listeners. Only three out of eighteen listen to audiobooks regularly. A few others listen rarely but the majority do not listen. You can get a small MP3/4 player for under $50.00 if you ever want to start listening. I'll try to do another giveaway with a player in 2015.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #180 comments is: #6 Marjorie 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 #181 (One Question.)

Q1. Nikki asks:  Do you regift presents? Or do you prefer to exchange a terrible gift for something else you prefer??

A: Honestly, I do occasionally regift some gifts - things like house decorations I won't use. I gather that it is becoming more acceptable. I also exchange some gifts and will usual tell the gifter if I did that and if the opportunity to say so nicely comes up. I never re-gift hand made or personally selected items. Those have special meaning due to the thought from the giver.

Image found at Money Management.

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. Nikki asks: Do you regift presents? Or do you prefer to exchange a terrible gift for something else you prefer??

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 December 20, 2014 at 5 PM  central.

Book Review and Giveaway: Jesus Daily: 365 Interactive Devotions by Aaron Tabor #JesusDailyBook

This is a wonderful devotional that includes the opportunity to connect and share with others. 
Jesus Daily: 365 Interactive Devotions
by Aaron Tabor

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords (October 7, 2014)
• ISBN-13: 978-1455577231

Genre: Christian, Spiritual
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Based on the major themes found on the most active Facebook page in history,
JESUS DAILY is a 365-day interactive devotional that goes beyond even the fan page to create a deeper experience and cultural movement that celebrates your redemption in Christ. JESUS DAILY presents a devotional thought but also challenges you to respond to each daily reflection using a variety of social media tools.

Review/Highlight:

I have not read the entire book yet so this review is my observations thus far. This beautiful devotional is set out so that each month has a distinct high-quality picture and scripture to focus each month. December features a nativity silhouette and the scripture: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests. Luke 2:14.” (See the image to the right.)

Each day has three sections: a scripture; a few short paragraphs of clear devotional thought; and a “Connect” activity. The “connect” feature is a unique element of the Devotional. Readers are encouraged (and sometimes challenged) to take action that applies to daily living and to share with other Christians at the Facebook page.

The book is palm-sized so could be carried easily or kept in a small space beside your favorite reading spot. The book pages are glossy and provide a feel-good texture to touch along with the feel good text to our hearts. The scripture for December 12 happens to be the one in the image I posted in the upper left of my blog this past week: Isaiah 9:6. The devotional discusses the names for God as well as his triune nature. The title and focus summary is: “God Is Mighty.”

This devotional book would make a wonderful gift to help oneself or loved ones to start their day with a focus on truths from God’s word. Then it goes a step further with the connection to like-minded Christians. I look forward to savoring for the next year.

I received this from FaithWords (Hachette) for an honest review as part of tour highlighting.

Retailers include Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook.com, and Walmart.

GIVEAWAY

Faith Words is sponsoring a giveaway of the JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL plus a T-Shirt!

One Winner, US Only.

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, OR

visit THE FACEBOOK page and tell me something you like/learned there.

* This contest is open US Only for Print Book.
* This contest will close 5 PM (Central) December 20, 2014.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED after December 20, 2014.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 12, 2014

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

I had a fairly quiet week. Several appointments with time in between to work on files. I have been steady with reviews all week. Our weather is cold again.  I am not ready for Christmas but I am not stressing either.

For the next four weeks I will be giving at least 4 wins each Friday - whether auto or random.
(New List is now up but still needs picture - opps the picture is on my other computer so I will add it later.)

[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 December 5 Pick. There was one automatic win 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. 
Rubynreba gets The Reckoning

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from December 5 Pick:
Becky gets the Elizabeth Lowell pair

Di gets Scandalous Virtue
Faith Hope CherryTea gets a GC 

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.}

Books make me Merry!

Image found at Wicked Writing Skills.

New Book Group #53 November 28, 2014
(Picture to be posted soon)
PAIRS - five sets!
Catherine Anderson: Seventh Heaven and Always in My Heart
Sandra Brown: A Whole New Light and Fanta C
Elizabeth Lowell: Autumn Lover (only Book 5) and Winter Fire (Only Book 6)
Joan Johnston: I Promise and Sisters Found
Katherine Stone: Rainbows and Pearl Moon
SINGLES:
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
To Catch a Flame by Kimberly Cates
Fifteen Minutes of Shame by Lisa Daily
Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner
Never Say Never by Joan Hohl
Poe's Tales of Mystery and Terror (1967 Collection) by Edgar Allan Poe (Magnum Easy Eye Edition)


New Book Group #52 October 10, 2014
(Links to be added if and when time permits.)

PAIRS:
Richard Paul Evans, The Looking Glass and The Carousel
SINGLES
Duo Book: Yesterday's Memories by Tara Taylor Quinn and Amanda Stevens
Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
At The Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava
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
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
Scandalous Virtue Mass by Brenda Hiatt 
A Stranger's Wife by Maggie Osborne

New Book Group #50! August 8, 2014

SINGLES:
Maybe This Time by Victoria Barrett
The Commander by Kate Bridges
The Cinderella Plan by Margaret Daley
The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook by Steve Doocy
A Garden of Friends by Penny Pierce Rose

New Book Group #49 June 27, 2014

SINGLES:
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
Down by the Water by Caroline Upcher
Miracle by Deborah Smith
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin


New Book Group #48 May 30, 2014---(All gone)
SINGLES:
Dangerous by Debra Dier
First to Fight Anthology

New Book Group #47 April 25, 2014

SINGLES:
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)

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 five years I have posted 42 groups of 16 (832) books to find new homes! (as of November 2014).

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 741+ 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 ---(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)

Audio Book Review: Snowbeard the Pirate and the Naughty List by Chip Huddleston

This is a delightfully fun listen with a bit of hope for naughty 'children' at Christmas time.

Snowbeard the Pirate and the Naughty List
by Chip Huddleston

From the Album Snowbeard the Pirate and the Naughty List

August 1, 2014 | Format: MP3

Genre: Humor
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

A funny, whimsical story for older children and adults, it is about Santa's younger brother who runs away to Florida and becomes a pirate.

Review:
This is just a light delight! As soon as it started I was reminded of The Night Before Christmas.  Of course Snowbeard the Pirate isn’t quite a nice as Santa and in fact he has been on the bottom of the naughty list. He has banned the most polite words - what I taught my children as the “magic words” - from his ship’s crew.

Then, one ‘eve of THE eve’ Santa arrives to embrace his brother, Kasper Kringle. Santa enlists his brother’s help to deliver stale fruitcake and a token gift to the all the ‘naughties’ on Santa’s list.

Snowbeard’s sleigh is Dreadnaught’s jolly boat pulled by eight sharks and “at the head for their beacon, they placed with great care, an angel fish nicked named “the Dentist’s nightmare”. And as he delivers the gifts he raids the icebox with a shout, not a “Ho, Ho’Ho” but “Yo, Ho, Ho...and a bottle of Yum”.

The story gives hope to even naughty children and acknowledges that sometimes we need to look at the circumstances and make an effort to help the "naughties" find where they can "fit in" and maybe stop their rebellious, naughty behavior. Along with the total humor, there is a little bit of scatological humor that is likely to get a few giggles from kids (and guys). I look forward to sharing this with my grandchildren, but as noted on the cover, it is a tale for "Pirates Ages 1-92".

Audio Notes: The author narrates this short work with a wonderful deep voice that fits the tale with swashbuckling glee. The only difficulty was that I had to turn the sound volume on full to hear properly (instead of my usual setting of 25). It is a wonderful listen though.

This audiobook was provided by the author for an honest review.