Sunday Post September 4, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 5, 2022

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

What Are You Reading? is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

My internet router at home apparently went down and the IT fellow is out of town. I hope to get back on line in the next day or two. It has been frustrating not to have service at home. By the time I get home and eat dinner I have been too tired to even get on the computer so the reviews have not been done. I had to stop in the office Sunday to do the two posts.

We have most items moved back to my real office. There is still much unpacking to do and a bit more supplies and file cabinets to be moved.

Here are images of our front lobby although it is not fully set-up.
Lobby West Wall, paddle ceiling fan and barn door.

Lobby East Reception - hand made privacy desk.
The decorations need to be hung up.

The Sign
I had to turn the light off on the neon sign to make it readable.
My staff ordered that as a surprise.

We are all very excited!

I continue with my previous prayer lists.
Our temps may be a little cooler this coming week at low 80s to just 90 during the days. We are still getting regular summer downpours in the afternoons. 

I enjoyed three more audios.  I posted very little due to the lack of internet at home.
I visited 16 blogs last week.
No Shout Out today.

Audible offerings for free children's titles ended June 30, 2021.
Audiobooks.com is still sharing some free listens for children.

These were the posts last week:

• Sunday Post August 28, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday August 29, 2022.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement September 4, 2022 - Listen to the Voice.
  

Finished Reading:
1. Audio Audiobooks App Smartphone (ATBR)

Spellsinger [Dramatized Adaptation]
By Alan Dean Foster
Narrated by: Multi
Duration: 8 hours 1 minutes
This is a fun fantasy listen.
Source: 3/14/2021 Two for One Young Adult Credit Deal at Audiobooks.com.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Double Share
A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 4
By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 09-13-16
I like this series which provides an easy listen.
Source: 9/18/2021 Audible August Credit.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audio Chirp App Smartphone (ATBR)

A Matter of Trust
Written by Lis Wiehl & April Henry
Read by Eleni Pappageorge
Run Time 9h 6min
This is an okay mystery.
Source: August 2020 Chirp Purchase at $3.99.
Publisher Description
When life is murder, who can you trust? One minute Mia Quinn is in her basement, chatting on the phone with a colleague at the prosecutor’s office. The next minute she hears a gunshot over the line, and Mia listens in horror as her colleague and friend Colleen bleeds to death.
Mia’s a natural for heading up the murder investigation, but these days it’s all she can do to hold her life together. As a new widow with a pile of debts, a troubled teenaged son, and a four-year-old who wakes up screaming at night, she needs more time with her family, not less-and working Colleen’s case will be especially demanding. But Colleen was her friend, and she needs to keep her job. So Mia reluctantly teams up with detective Charlie Carlson to investigate. But the deeper they dig, the more complications unfold-even the unsettling possibility that someone may be coming after her.
Lis Wiehl’s signature plot twists and relatable characters shine in this absorbing series debut … with an intriguing cameo from her best-selling Triple Threat series. ôA stunning crime series debut … Smart, suspenseful, and full of twists that only an insider like Wiehl could pull off”. (Linda Fairstein, New York Times best-selling author).

Currently Reading:

1. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

After The Ending
The Ending Series, #1
By: Lindsey Fairleigh, Lindsey Pogue
Narrated by: Natalie Duke
Series: The Ending Series, Book 1
Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
I went to the older TBR to get this post-apocalyptic.
9 hours in. A bit on the teen angsty side for me but I am interested in the supernatural abilities.
Source: April 2014 Audible Credit.
Publisher's Summary
The best-selling first audiobook in the emotionally charged post-apocalyptic romance series, The Ending Series.
The virus spread. Billions died. The ending began. We may have survived the apocalypse, but the virus changed us.
When people started getting sick, they thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family ...they're all gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them - with the rest of the world - but I didn't. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I'd ever experience. I was so wrong. My name is Dani O'Connor, I'm twenty-six-years-old, and I survived the ending.
The virus changed everything. The world I knew is gone, and life is backwards. We've all had to start over. I've been stripped of my home, my dreams ...all that is me. I'm someone else now-broken and changed. Other survivors' memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won't let them consume me. I can't. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I'm twenty-six-years-old, and I survived the ending.
We've been inseparable for most of our lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the virus has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers, making sacrifices, killing - we'll do anything to reach one another. Fear and pain may be unavoidable, but we're strong ...we're survivors. But to continue surviving in this unfamiliar world plagued by crazies and strange new abilities, we have to adapt. We have to evolve.
And more than anything, we have to find each other.
This audiobook contains some adult content and language.

2. NetGalley App on Smartphone (NGA2022)

Until Someone Listens
A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl's Mission
by Estela Juarez; Lissette Norman
Narrated by Estela Juarez
Listening Length: 11 minutes
I am interested to listen to this short plea.
Source: NetGalley August 2022.
When Estela Juarez's mom is deported to Mexico, Estela knows she has to speak up for her family. Told in Estela's own words, Until Someone Listens is a true story about a young girl finding her voice and using it to make change.
Estela’s family lives together in a happy home full of love. Or, at least, they used to… until their home was torn apart.
My mom had to go back,
to the other side of the river,
because she wasn’t born in this country.
For years her family fought and fought for permission for her to stay in the U.S. But no one listened. When Estela was eight, her mother was deported to Mexico.
Estela knew she had to do something. So she wrote letters: to local newspapers, Congress, the President, and anyone else who could help. She wrote and wrote and wrote until, finally… someone listened.
In this heart wrenching, autobiographical story, Estela Juarez's letters take her from the local news all the way to the national stage, where she discovers the power in her words and pledges to keep using her voice until her family―and others like hers― are together again.

I am sure I will get to another audio but I haven't decided yet. This time maybe a historical romance or space sci fi.


September 4, 2022 - I continue on track and enjoying the informative videos in The Bible Reading Plan is: BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus. It really soothes me to read the pieces each day.
No new study this week.

I now have 8 books to review plus 7 children's books. I don't recall being this far behind before.

NETGALLEY STATUS-- One new short audio book being listened to this week.
My NG shelf is back to the three old ebook titles. I will probably end up letting A Place Called Armageddon go as DNF.
I don't have any author reviews in my queue right now.
(Plus a few that I received from Facebook links and newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, me and new to the team, Velvet at vvb32reads. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
No new review title this week.
No audio titles - no internet to be looking.
Two free Kindle titles this week.
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?
***ATTENTION: Mailbox Monday is looking for a new host! If you’re interested, please email savvyverseandwit AT gmail ***

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

NONE

Free

9/2/2022 - Facebook link

Fallen Out: A Jesse McDermitt Novel (Caribbean Adventure Series Book 1)
Wayne Stinnett

9/2/22 Another Facebook link

Crossing Over
Paul Clayton

Two titles added to Kindle library. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Book Adrenaline, Ereader News Today, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement September 4, 2022 - Listen to the Voice

I don't have internet at home so I decided to share this video that was shared by a church friend on Facebook.
So perfect!

Verses for Today:
John 10:27-28 ESV
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.


Lord, please help me dim the other voices and focus only on Your Voice!

Friday Pick Post Delayed 9/2/2022

I am suffering through another week without internet at home. UGH.

Limited time at office as we made the move back to renovated office this week so couple days without phones and internet. We are fully online again but have boxes everywhere.
(This image is for my office - not for my blog.)

I am a good three weeks behind on legal work. Yikes!

I'll post (hopefully) over the weekend from the office. 

Thanks for understanding.

Have a GREAT FRIDAY!!

Sunday Post August 28, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday August 29, 2022

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

What Are You Reading? is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I am feeling much better having I worked from home through Wednesday and moved any appointments off another two weeks. No one else in the office got ill from COVID last week although one of the staff had a viral infection with cold symptoms.

We will be in between the two offices this coming week as we transition back. The plumbing was done by Friday and the phone people have pulled the line into the building. We have boxed our files and 'stuff' and the desks are ready to be moved. Next week I hope to have some "Finished Construction" photos.

This is the photo I wanted to share after my Illinois visit.

The family, including me, participated in the local library summer reading program. The Illinois crew have the blue "Read Beyond the Beaten Path" shirt. I got the "Reading Colors Your World" T-shirt since I was very late to the challenge.

The twins are on either end (standing on the deck). The elder child in the middle looks shorter because she is down on the sidewalk with the adults.
My son managed to get the dogs in the photo too, even though they didn't read.

I continue with my previous prayer lists.

Repeat: Our temps are still running mid 80s to 90s with regular showers.

I enjoyed two more audios.  I posted three reviews and my usual memes.

I visited 16 blogs last week.
Shout Out today: FIRST OF ALL.  Victoria says she "When I share with my readers, I share my personal experiences and hopefully give them 'news they can use.'"

Audible offerings for free children's titles ended June 30, 2021.
Audiobooks.com is still sharing some free listens for children.

These were the posts over the past two weeks:

• Sunday Post August 21, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday August 22, 2022.

• ATBR: Audio Book Review: Elemental Thief by Rachel Morgan; Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway August 26, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 8/25/2022.

• ATBR: Audible Book Review: The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian; Genre: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.

• ATBR: Audible Book Review: Wolves by D. J. Molles; Genre: Dystopian, Horror, Post-Apocalyptic; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement August 28, 2022 - Think and Practice.
  

Finished Reading:
1. Audio Chirp App Smartphone (ATBR)

The Road to Paradise
A Vintage National Parks Novel
Written by Karen Barnett
Narrated by Ann Richardson
Run Time 10h 9min
This is a nice Christian fiction with gentle romance and just a little suspense.
Source: 9/5/2021 Chirp $2.99.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Commune: Book Four Commune Series, Book 4
By: Joshua Gayou
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
This kept me up when I should have been sleeping.
Source: 11/18/2021 Audible October Credit.
Click on book title for full description.

Currently Reading:
1. Audio Audiobooks App Smartphone (ATBR)

Spellsinger [Dramatized Adaptation]
By Alan Dean Foster
Narrated by: Multi
Duration: 8 hours 1 minutes
This is a fun fantasy listen.
Source: 3/14/2021 Two for One Young Adult Credit Deal at Audiobooks.com.
Summary:
Snatched through a portal into a land of magic, a young musician must use a mysterious, multistring duar to rescue the world into which he has fallen before he can return to his own. Jonathan Thomas Meriweather is a typical college student, interested in girls, music, and an occasional taste of reefer. But when a journey through an interdimensional portal lands him in a world of talking animals and ominous sorcery, he finds he is on a very different trip indeed. Here, when he plays a strange instrument called a duar, peculiar things happen: powerful magic that may be the only way to stop a dark force that threatens his new world-and his old one. Reluctantly, he finds himself teaming up with a semi-senile turtle wizard; a thieving, backstabbing otter; and a bewildered Marxist dragon to rally an army for the war about to come. Spellsinger, the first in Alan Dean Foster's eight-book Spellsinger series, introduces a world of magic and mayhem, where animals are people and plunging ahead no matter what the consequences may be the only way to survive.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Double Share
A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 4
By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 09-13-16
I like this series which provides an easy listen.
Source: 9/18/2021 Audible August Credit.
Publisher's Summary
An inexperienced officer. A dysfunctional ship. Life in the Deep Dark just got a whole lot harder.
In his first assignment as an officer, Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself fresh out of school, wet behind the ears, and way out of his depth. Aboard the William Tinker the senior officers are derelict and abusive, the crew demoralized and undisciplined, and change unwelcomed and dangerous. Can Ishmael use what he learned aboard the Lois McKendrick to help the crew find the ship's heart? Or will he discover that bucking the system may come at too high a price? Return to the Deep Dark with Ish in this fourth installment of the award-winning Solar Clipper series, as he makes the transition from crew to officer.
©2013 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Publishing

I am sure I will get to another audio but I haven't decided yet. I am thinking mystery.


August 28, 2022 - I am on track and continue to enjoy the informative videos in The Bible Reading Plan is: BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus. It really soothes me to read the pieces each day.
No new study this week.

I still have 5 books to review plus 7 children's books. I will have to push to catch up.

NETGALLEY STATUS-- One new short audio book.
My NG shelf is back to the three old ebook titles. I will probably end up letting A Place Called Armageddon go as DNF.
I don't have any author reviews in my queue right now.
(Plus a few that I received from Facebook links and newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, me and new to the team, Velvet at vvb32reads. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
One new Audio NetGalley title this week.
I selected my two August Audible credit titles.
Seven free Kindle titles this week.
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?
***ATTENTION: Mailbox Monday is looking for a new host! If you’re interested, please email savvyverseandwit AT gmail ***

Review Titles

8/27/2022 NetGalley Audio

Until Someone Listens
A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl's Mission
by Estela Juarez; Lissette Norman
Narrated by Estela Juarez

Won

NONE

Purchased

8/28/2022 Audible Two August Credits: (a favorite series and the 1st in a new-to-me series)

Soul Taken
A Mercy Thompson Novel, Book 13
By: Patricia Briggs
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
Release date: 08-23-22

A Borrowing of Bones
A Mercy Carr Mystery By: Paula Munier
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 09-11-18

Free

8/22/2022 - Amazon find

Sea of Shadows (USS Towers Trilogy Book 1)
Jeff Edwards

8/22/22 Author email Notice

The Secret Diary of a Magnificent Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Book (Charmed by Gracious Lords 2)
Norton, Aria


Amazon find

Her Glimmer of Hope: A Historical Western Romance Book
Carol Colyer



Amazon find

Without Sin (An Owen Day Thriller)
Rachel Ford



Facebook link

Gunner: A Fated Mates Paranormal Romance (Wolf Elite Shifters Romance Book 1)
Sedona Venez



8/24/22 Link notice from Author

The Shadow of a Ruthless Criminal: A Historical Western Adventure Book
Henry McConley



Amazon find

The Origins: A Scottish Medieval Romance (Crown & Crosses)
Violet Malvik

Seven titles added to Kindle library. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Book Adrenaline, Ereader News Today, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement August 28, 2022 - Think and Practice Good Things

Our Sunday School lesson was focused on the wrath in Bowl 7, the destruction of Babylon – a world system. Revelation 16:17. We discussed the policies that are being sought that set parents against children and may give the schools the power to turn the parents in as abusers if they don’t support a child in gender transformation issues.

In all of this, the enemy is Satan seeking to deny and defy God. We see the enemy infiltration (and indoctrination) in government, politics, education, economics, health care, the entertainment industry, and social media. Christ followers may be saddened, and we may long for leaders who will make a change in our upside down, world. We cannot overcome God’s plan to handle this as He will. But we can pray, we can share the Good News of a future hope with others, we need to be in the Word of God so we are not deceived. The church needs to take a stand in prayer, in spiritual warfare, in peaceful example, and in resisting evil and deception.

Our church service started off with worship and then Child Dedication from an infant to teens. This represents a commitment by parents to raise their children under God’s truths and a commitment of the church to support the family.

Pastor continued his message on Spiritual Warfare from 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 and Ephesians 6:12. we struggle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers.

Satan attacks the minds of men. The enemy went after Jesus’ thoughts even as Satan goes after us. Matthew 4:1-11. Did God really say? Do you doubt? Jesus resisted each time with “It is written…” This comes from being in the Word, knowing the Word, and having it available to resist the temptations of the enemy.

We must know when we are in the midst of the battle, that God’s grace is enough.
Christ followers need to be aware of deceiving spirits. 1 Timothy 4. We are to study the word to divine the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15.

Enemy retreats toa more opportune time but he does not go away. We must always be ready. The battle is not “one and done”. Christ followers need to be filled with the Word.

Evil takes possession of our minds if we let it. Matthew 12:43-45. There is a “Law of Vacuum” that says an empty space will fills back up. We need to be careful what it fills with. There are times we need to empty spaces of the old and useless to be ready to open to the fresh and useful.

How can we be ready with good things of God? We need to apply the directive of Paul in Philippians 4:7-9: think and practice good things.
You can have the God of peace during war.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…. Romans 12:2.
‘Bless the Lord and forget not His benefits’. Psalm 103 :1-5.

We are intended to be more than believers but disciples. We are meant to be disciples who learn and exercise discipline. Being disciplined doesn’t happen by thinking. We must act, practice, and exercise the right and good things.
The enemy will be whispering to you. Thank God for your current blessings and be ready. The Old Testament is full of stories of monuments that were built to remind the Israelites of what God has done. We must be ready to remember what God has done for us and what he will do again.

Faith comes by hearing, (think of ads saturation). Hearing comes by the word. Romans 10:17.
Our minds need to be ingrained, (indoctrinated) with God’s Word. We must meditate on God's Words daily!
Give yourself affirmations. The Lord will raise up a standard, spiritual weapons against the enemy. Recognize that God is with you… through all.

Daily prayer
Daily affirmations
Daily thanksgiving
The Apostle's Creed

The raging battle for our thoughts starts within each of us.

I like this song video today: “No Other Love”

Verses for Today:
Philippians 4:7-9 NIV
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.


Lord, be in Control in my life each day. Let me knot forget your Benefits!!