Hope Springs

I received a copy of Hope Springs by Kim Tate from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.
In a small Southern community where everyone is holding tight to something, the biggest challenge may be learning to let go.

Hope Springs, North Carolina, is the epitome of small town life—a place filled with quiet streets where families have been friends for generations, a place where there’s not a lot of change. Until three women suddenly find themselves planted there for a season.

Janelle Evans hasn’t gone back to Hope Springs for family reunions since losing her husband. But when she arrives for Christmas and learns that her grandmother is gravely ill, she decides to extend the stay. It isn’t long before she runs into her first love, and feelings that have been dormant for more than a decade are reawakened. And when Janelle proposes a Bible study a the local diner--and invites both African American and Caucasian women she has met--the group quickly forms a spiritual bond . . . and inadvertently adds to underlying tension in the community.

Becca Anderson is finally on the trajectory she’s longed for. Having been in the ministry trenches for years, she’s been recruited as the newest speaker of a large Christian women’s conference. But her husband feels called to become the pastor of his late father’s church in Hope Springs. Will small town living affect her big ministry dreams?

And Stephanie London has the ideal life—married to a doctor in St. Louis with absolutely nothing she has to do. When her cousin Janelle volunteers to stay in Hope Springs and care for their grandmother, she feels strangely compelled to do the same. It’s a decision that will forever change her.

As these women come together, facing disappointments both public and private, they soon recognize that healing is needed in their hearts, their families, and their churches that have long been divided along racial lines. God's plan for them in Hope Springs—and for Hope Springs itself—is bigger than they ever imagined.

I'm not a big fiction reader but this was a good book.  It showed how God can work in many different people's lives.  The women all learned to follow God's calling for each of them and the town was a much better place because of it.

The Get Yourself Organized Project

I received a copy of The Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Finally, an organizational book for women who have given up trying to be Martha Stewart but still desire some semblance of order in their lives.
Most organizational books are written by and for people who are naturally structured and orderly. For the woman who is more ADD than type A, the advice sounds terrific but seldom works. These women are looking for help that takes into account their free-spirited outlook while providing tips and tricks they can easily follow to live a more organized life.
Kathi Lipp, author of The Husband Project and other “project” books, is just the author to address this need. In her inimitable style, she offers

• easy and effective ways women can restore peace to their everyday lives
• simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in one’s home (and keeping it that way)
• a realistic way to de-stress a busy schedule
• strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more

Full of helpful tips and abundant good humor, The Get Yourself Organized Project is for those who want to spend their time living and enjoying life rather than organizing their sock drawer.

Who doesn't need to get organized?  I know I sure do.  This book is great because it has simple step by step ways to get things organized.  You don't have to do everything at once - believe it or not!  Kathi gives you ways to organize a room at a time or just a few minutes a day.  This book is a great resource that I think I'll go back to time and time again.

The Coming Revolution

I received a copy of The Coming Revolution by Dr. Richard G. Lee from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.
We are living in a time of monumental change.

Countless numbers of ordinary people, men and women from all walks of life, are joining forces to challenge the direction our national leaders are now taking us. Washington’s idea of change has failed, and most Americans are now frustrated, disappointed, and angry. The result is a long list of offenses, both perceived and real, that can easily set off a chain reaction that quickly becomes irreversible. And in the right environment, the situation can be explosive.

It is easy to see that many of the identical social and religious provocations that spurred the colonists toward the First American Revolution are present today, inspiring a new generation to seek what the Founders called “a new birth of freedom.” Signs are pointing to the fact that we are now standing on the threshold of a new American revolution, not with muskets and cannon balls this time but a revolution conscience, morality, and honor, dedicated to responsible social, moral, and political reforms, demanding change from the socialistic direction our political, judicial, and intellectual leaders have been taking us.

The Coming Revolution draws from the wellspring of America’s powerful past to reveal a nation of people who, under the hand of Divine Providence, will once again fight and win the coming battle for personal and national freedom.

If you're not liking where the US is headed this is a must read.  Dr. Lee goes into great detail of the history of the United States.  This is something is not taught in schools anymore.  If we don't know how we got where we are we aren't going to know where we're going.  Dr. Lee gives the reader ways to get involved in the changes that need to be made. 

My Big Bottom Blessing

I received a copy of My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Teasi Cannon’s lifelong struggle with weight loss not only made her hate her body, but nearly sabotaged every aspect of her life and led to an emotional breakdown. Today she’s happy about the way she looks, not because her size has
changed, but because her perspective has. Her funny, gut-honest insights will inspire millions of women of all ages with body image issues to embrace their value and beauty. They’ll learn to silence their own inner critics, debunk self-sabotaging lies, and get spiritually and emotionally free. Her book includes an in-depth book club or small group study guide.
Who hasn't struggled with your self image?  Few women haven't hated their bodies for a number of reasons.  Teasi is just like the rest of us.  Her story is very easy to relate to and has a great ending that I hope many of us can also have.

Momaholic

I received a copy of Momaholic by Dena Higley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
MOMAHOLIC is one woman’s private, dramatic, and often comical invitation to peek inside a time in her life when everything fell apart, causing her to take an honest look at what she was doing right and what she’d been doing terribly wrong. With this discovery, her wacky family’s season of becoming unraveled found a new glue that would re-bond her family and unite them in a deeper and more functional way than ever before.

The real life characters: A MOM who is literally the head writer of a network soap opera … at work and at home; A HUSBAND who can’t help but scratch his head in frustration as his family’s troubles seem to spiral out of his control; an autistic SON; a popular DAUGHTER who is suddenly pregnant; an ADOPTED DAUGHTER pulled from the jungles of Vietnam; and an ADOPTED SON rescued from the streets of Ethiopia.

This is a story showing the speed with which a “normal” family can fall apart. With the family running around as the tornado sirens roared warnings to take cover, mom becomes the biggest mess of all and ends up finding a whole new freedom for her soul.
Reading this made me glad that I wasn't the only one who felt like I did.  There were so many things in this book that I could relate to.  I think any Mom could at one point or another.  This is a good read to help any mom put things into perspective.