Glee

Can I just say that this new release makes me very happy?

I am really enjoying this show for it's quirkyness and great music.

Now I can share the love of it with my kids too.

Afterall, they already request "Step by Step"...

Heh, heh, heh.

I probably shouldn't admit that online!

Ah well. It's fun to relive those days every once in a while.

Touching Wonder: a review

Heard the Christmas Story a Few Too Many Times?

With his instant classic, Touching Wonder, author John Blase

breathes new life into the story of the Nativity

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—Little children understand how amazing the Nativity story is. But, sometimes, as we become men and women, we put away the childlike with the childish. The result? We lose something vital—the wonder of it all. When author John Blase went looking for the lost wonder of Christmas, he went back to the place he’d last seen it—the stories from Luke 1-2. What he found fills the pages of his new book, Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas(David C Cook, September 2009), with flesh and bone and dust and night and a baby’s cry; the intimate union of human and divine—the Incarnation.

By boldly imagining the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke, writer, editor, and former pastor John Blase has created an instant classic for Christmastime. In a tale that reads like a novel parallel parked by the record of Scripture, Blase beckons those who could use a little wonder in their lives to step onto the stage of history and witness the long awaited coming of the Messiah. With Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible translation as his backdrop, Blase adds his own voice and commentary to the historic events, exploring the renowned drama from an array of viewpoints.

In Touching Wonder, readers will meet a cast of unruly unlikelies—a frightened teenaged girl, a worried carpenter, a collection of senior citizens, a disillusioned young shepherd, even an angel or two—moving toward the realization that the little one just born is the One. This imaginative retelling of the grand miracle will leave readers wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and heart-full. The Lord is come!

In this lovely and distinctive book to be read…and re-read…and pondered in the heart, young and old will recapture the wonder of the Christmas story by seeing through the eyes of those who lived it. The book’s graceful design and Amanda Jolman’s beautiful line drawings combine to make this a thoughtful Christmas gift as well as a wonder that families will treasure for years to come.

Author Bio: John Blase’s work includes Living the Questions and Living the Letters Bible-study series, the Worldviews reference book (TH1NK), Real Life Stuff for Couples, and The Message Children’s Bible. A former pastor, John currently edits by day and writes by night. He and his wife, Meredith, have three children and make their home in Colorado.

Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase

David C Cook/September 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6465-2/hardcover/128 pages/$12.99

www.davidccook.com

My Review:

This book was easy to read in little bits and was a quick read. I appreciated the new perspective that it gives as we examine how different "characters" in the christmas story would have reacted to their situations.

Multiple Personalities

This halloween brought 3 different outfits for each girl.

I did not go out and buy them each 3 costumes, in fact I only purchased the giraffe costume secondhand for $5.00. The rest of the items we already had from previous years, or from the dressup box.

The girls each picked out what I thought was going to be their costume for the year and wore them to school. Ella was a giraffe, and Brie was Jasmine from the movie Aladdin.

When Oct. 31st came I was in the process of getting those same costumes ready again when both girls announced that they each wanted to be something (or someone) different.

So Ella became a beautiful princess and Brie was an equestrian.

That night we were on our way to a friends' house for a halloween party and the girls each wanted to wear another costume, so out came the dressup clothes again. I didn't take pictures of this but Ella was dressed in a blue dress and Brie was in pink. Both had matching accessories for the evening.

Having girls is sure fun!

Venting

Stupid prof tonight.

She cancelled class last week.

Then tonight she wanted to do one hour of "group discussion" to summarize the chapters that we have gone through already.

One. Hour.

Need I remind you that I am taking this televised class by MYSELF?

The prof had an audio-bridge planned, but the Department of Highways was on there instead, and she had no backup plan other than to summarize something my ourselves.

For one hour.

I struggled to get to class on time after my busy day of picking up Ella from preschool, picking up our sitter from high school and then picking up Brie at the elementary school.

I already had a busy day of halloween treat bags for the kids to take to school, and trying to work on my essays that are due next week.

Then it was lunch prep, pick up Brie from school, eat and drive her back.

Then I took Ella to preschool for her halloween party.

Then I picked Brie back up to go to piano lessons. Brie absolutely hates to miss any school so then I have to drive her back before I return for my own lesson.

Then I had to stop at the store for about 10 minutes before I began picking up the kids. AGAIN.

*SIGH*

I am tired.

My house is not very clean, but I have no time to clean it.

John is home tomorrow.

Hurry up dear!

That's Too Much, Bob!

Do you ever have one of those days or weeks?

It just feels overwhelming and/or impossible?

I thought I was doing not too bad...

Getting over a bad cold, but I got to sleep in until 9 am this morning.

Yes.

Nine in the morning!

John is away all week so I had pleaded with the girls to have mercy on me last night.

It apparently worked. I was rather shocked!

For the last few days I have not been able to do any schoolwork since my brain was a big mushy pile because of this cold/flu stuff.

Now that I am recovering though, I have 2 big essays due next week. I am only half done one of them and have not started the other.

Agh!

And then to top it all off tonight on my way home from class...

I discovered that I had a flat tire.

Actually not exactly a flat tire.

More like a tire that was cracked in a few places.

????

So I

s l o w l y

drove home and called some friends.

Because John is away this week.

Typical!

I remember a few years ago when he was away on some training and the ceiling started to leak.

Good times, people.

Good times.

Let's just hope that is all.

(By the way, my title is a reference to The Price Is Right, for those who are curious)

Double Cross: a review

From Suicide to Sacrifice

In James David Jordan’s new thriller, Double Cross,

an ex-Secret Service agent deals with the truth about her past

“The day my mother came back into my life began with a low December fog and a suicide.” So begins James David Jordan’s latest novel, Double Cross, which follows the exploits of Taylor Pasbury, a young ex-Secret Service agent with a checkered past and a penchant for finding trouble. Even as a high school kid, Taylor knew she was not like most other girls. Raised by her father, a retired Special Forces officer, she learned to camp, shoot, and most of all, take care of herself. Now a young adult, Pasbury opens her own security agency and finds herself in the middle of a mysterious case full of danger and intrigue.

When the top assistant of her former client turns up dead, all signs point to embezzlement and suicide. But in the world of Taylor Pasbury, nothing is as it seems. A trail of clues leads to Taylor’s mother, who abandoned her when she was nine. What begins as a suicide investigation becomes a personal quest to find the truth about her past.

Double Cross is an action-packed story that provides thrilling twists and turns as well as a thought-provoking look at the personal and spiritual struggles of characters who are as complex as they are flawed. Ultimately, it’s a story of self-examination that describes Taylor’s journey toward the conclusion that some sacrifices can never be earned.

James David Jordan is a successful business attorney in Dallas, Texas, and was named by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the most influential leaders in that legal community. Jordan followed his aspirations of becoming an author, taking five years to create his first book, Something That Lasts, which was well-received by both critics and the public. His second book, Forsaken, won the Reader’s Choice award from RelzReviews and The Suspense Zone.

Jordan writes with a commitment to tell page-turning stories that challenge readers to explore and grow in their faith. With gripping authenticity, Jordan examines subjects of family and faith and skillfully draws readers into the crisis faced by Taylor Pasbury. Along the way, readers will find ample opportunity to re-assess their own life situations and wrestle with their own thoughts about forgiveness and grace.

Double Cross by James David Jordan

B&H Publishing Group October 2009

ISBN: 978-08054-4754-5/softcover/302 pages/$14.99

www.jamesdavidjordan.com

My Review:

This book quickly captured my attention and I didn't want to put it down. I love the main character Taylor, who is far from perfect and yet so very likeable. (go figure!) The storyline was gripping and action-packed. "Double Cross" is book two in a series, but I found it very easy to follow without having read book one first. I am an instant fan of James David Jordan and will be on the lookout for more of his books to come!

The Last Word: A Review

The Last Word

In her second installment of the Sophie Trace Trilogy, Kathy Herman rolls

Henderson, Kingsbury, and Blackstock into one with both suspense and spirituality

Heart-pounding suspense meets heart-challenging truth as best-selling author Kathy Herman returns to Sophie Trace in her new page-turner, The Last Word (David C Cook, October 2009). Based on Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the gentile,” Herman’s second installment in the Sophie Trace series triumphantly demonstrates God’s miraculous ability to heal the broken.

This theme comes to life in Vanessa Jessup, a twenty-year-old college student who becomes pregnant while having a secret love affair with her psychology professor and has to make a choice: either end the pregnancy or end the relationship. The biblical truths she learned growing up prompt her to choose life and to go home to the refuge of her parents’ counsel and a right relationship with God.

When Vanessa arrives home, her mother, Sophie Trace Police Chief Brill Jessup, is stunned to see that she’s pregnant—and by one of her professors. While Brill is glad her middle daughter rejected the father’s abortion ultimatum, she’s also hurt that Vanessa ignored her upbringing and angry that the professor has disappeared without as much as a nickel of child support.

But that’s not all Brill’s got on her plate. One of her detectives has been killed, and the attacker has threatened to come for her next. When a second cop is wounded, public criticism mounts as Brill attempts to stay alive long enough to catch the perp. And she’s trying to find the deadbeat dad as Vanessa struggles to make decisions about her future.

In spite of Brill’s best efforts to stay safe, the murderer finally kidnaps and threatens to kill her and then commit suicide. As her life hangs in the balance, Brill becomes concerned that her attacker is about to die and is not saved and refuses to be silenced in her witness of God’s love for him. In a show of grace under pressure and fierce determination, Brill will manage to have the last word, even if it kills her.

Author Bio: Best-selling suspense novelist Kathy Herman has written fifteen novels, including CBA bestsellers The Real Enemy, Tested by Fire and All Things Hidden, since retiring from her family’s Christian bookstore business. Kathy and her husband, Paul, have three grown children and five grandchildren and live in Tyler, Texas.

The Last Word Book 2: Sophie Trace Trilogy by Kathy Herman

David C Cook/October 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6785-1/390 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.davidccook.com www.kathyherman.com

My Review: I am a big Kathy Herman fan. I own several of her books, including Book One in the the Sophie Trace series, "The Real Enemy". So when I was offered the chance to review Book Two, I was very excited! This book, "The Last Word" does not disappoint. It is suspenseful and edgy with a great dimension of faith as well. I would definitely recommend this book.