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In 2003, Robert Morgan released what would become a future classic for over a million readers, a unique book entitled Then Sings My Soul. This collection of the world’s greatest hymns and the stories behind them stirred an entire generation to better understand the heritage of our faith through song.

Now, in the long-awaited third volume of this series, Morgan expands his material to include the great history of worship, the first biblical hymns, biographical sketches of the most interesting composers, and almost 60 generations of hymn singing. The new book also includes a collection of the greatest hymns you’ve never heard, with lead-sheets included.

All of this is in addition to even more standard hymns and the stories of the composers behind them.

Morgan’s conclusion guides the reader into enjoying all of God’s music, blending the old and the new into a symphony of praise that keeps the worship alive for a new generation.

I love this description the author gives on the power of hymns:

“Hymns are miniature Bible studies that lead us effortlessly to worship, testimony, exhortation, prayer, and praise. They’re bursts of devotional richness with rhyme and rhythm. They clear our minds, sooth our nerves, verbalize our worship, summarize our faith, and sing our great Redeemer’s praise.”

I loved this book but I also love the previous two books too! This is a book that not only includes a wonderful selection of hymns but the history behind them. It is an awesome learning experience and you get so much more out of the songs when you learn how they were written and what the writers were going through when they put them together. This book would make a great gift!

Note : I was offered a copy of Then Sings My Soul, at no cost, in exchange for an honest review, by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

In Small Space Organizing: A Room-by-Room Guide to Maximizing Your Space (Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8007-2028-5, 240 pages, January 2012, $12.99), Bechen compiles 20 years of real life organizational tips and tricks. This ‘small space bible’ will help anyone transform cramped space into a perfectly petite living space as Bechen goes room-by-room giving design and organizational advice as well as taking on the extremely small spaces of studio and basement apartments, loft and high-rise spaces and even tips for RV living.

“A true home is really about the size of your heart, not about the size of your space,” says Bechen. She encourages readers to embrace living in a small space and assures them that even the most teeny-tiny space can be transformed into a welcoming environment to maximize the space – and more importantly, maximize living. Bechen tells clients to “always remember that it’s far more important to have a spirit of hospitality and friendship as the emphasis of your home, rather than neglecting to invite others to visit you there just because you lack large rooms or expensive furniture.”

After reading Small Space Organizing readers will be able to:
Create a non-traditional entryway space
Find a creative space for a home office
Craft a spa atmosphere in a teeny-tiny bathroom
Design a nursery space to nurture a newborn
Find storage space that’s hiding in their kitchen
Downsize their living space successfully

Small Space Organizing will help readers at every stage of life create an inviting home and maximize living. Everyone from the newlyweds struggling to fit all their wedding presents into a small apartment to empty-nesters with years-worth of sentimental possessions moving to a smaller home can benefit from Bechen’s expert advice.

For the reluctant downsizer faced with the daunting task of moving into a smaller living space, Bechen offers encouragement and practical tips for the emotional process. “It’s normal to go through an array of emotions during your downsizing process,” says Bechen. “It helps to get through it by keeping your mind’s eye focused on the end results of a lovely new right-sized home, decorated in a style you love, in a neighborhood that’s just right for you at this new stage of your life.”

Kathryn Bechen is an award-winning professional writer whose articles have appeared in popular national and regional magazines and newspapers. She specializes in lifestyle feature articles and has also published several organizing and decorating e-books. The lifestyle companies she founded, Organized with Ease and Kathryn Bechen Designs, have served clients worldwide. Bechen has organized and decorated 13 personal small space residences together with her husband Steve. They currently live in their favorite small space ever: a 1,200-square-foot high-rise apartment in beautiful San Diego, California. She blogs about timely lifestyle topics at www.KathrynBechenINK.com.

I thought this book was nice with a lot of great ideas. I live in a small house and know the challenges of trying to stay organized and keep things neat. Lots of practical ideas but they do come with a cost. I was a little disapointed that there was so much to buy. I was hoping for more inexpensive ideas. Some people choose to be frugal and others have to be but either way it would be hard to follow this books store ideas on a budget.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books for everyday life.  For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

The past often holds secrets that are too painful to be revealed, too deep to confess.

A wealthy businessman travels to Fairbanks, Alaska, to learn why his mother abandoned him when he was a child, and in the process learns that not everything is as it appears to be.

The Encounter, the unique new book from best-selling author and counselor Stephen Arterburn, is a moving parable involving Jonathan Rush, a wealthy and famous entrepreneur, who is tortured by bitterness toward his mother who abandoned him when he was four. He travels to Alaska to find her but instead meets an enigmatic old woman known only as Mercy. Mercy has the information he needs but is strangely reluctant to talk to him. Somehow Jonathan must find a way to persuade a frightened woman to unlock the secrets of his past.

This is a quick and easy read. I don’t read much fiction but I did like this book. It is really hard to give a review without giving away too much. It does show how God works in mysterious ways and things don’t always turn out the way we expect them to. It’s a story about forgiveness even when we think we can’t. It really keeps your attention.

I got a complimentary copy of this book from www.BookSneeze.com in return for my review

Americans young and old are flunking their finances. A shocking 77 percent live paycheck to paycheck with no savings. And 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, while 49 percent could cover less than one month’s expenses if they lost their income. In the face of this bleak financial picture, bestselling author and finance expert Mary Hunt offers 7 Money Rules for Life®. This no-nonsense and encouraging book gives readers the keys to get their money under control and get prepared financially for the rest of their lives. In her warm and engaging style, Hunt takes everything that she’s learned over the past twenty years and boils it all down. Presented in a conversational style and readable in a weekend, this book offers applications for each of the seven rules as well as practical advice for how to recover from past financial mistakes. These simple, unchanging, basic rules work in every financial situation, for every income level, and for every stage of life.
Money mastery isn’t really that hard. 7 Money Rules for Life® can help readers change their futures from uncertain to rock-solid with principles they can apply right away.

This book gives 7 simple rules for handling money. The rules are as follows: Spend less than you earn, save for the future, give some away, anticipate your irregular expenses, tell your money where to go, manage your credit, and borrow only what you know you can repay. The first of these rules is the foundation and can be the hardest to get under control.

I think that this book has a lot of good points but the information is not new. You can find this information in a number of other books. Reading the book may get you on the right track but it is not ground breaking.

That's My Girl

A father impacts every aspect of his daughter’s life–for her entire life. Fathers model for their daughters how women should be treated, how men should act, and how a man shows healthy love and affection toward a woman. And, perhaps most importantly, he sets the standard for how his daughter feels she deserves to be treated by men. It’s plain to see that this is a big responsibility and one that is not always easy to carry out.

In That’s My Girl, parenting expert Rick Johnson shows men how to develop the close relationships with their daughters that they both crave. Rick’s plainspoken common sense, wisdom, and humor meets dads right where they are with stories and advice that will change their relationships with their daughters for life.

Any man who wants to be the best dad possible to his daughter, as well as mothers and adult daughters seeking to understand the men in their lives, will love this hope-filled book.

I really liked this book and especially in Chapter 4 where Rick discussed bonding with your Daughter. He talked about healthy affection and how if Dad is providing the affection our daughters need, they are less likely to look for that affection from other boys. My favorite point, however, was when he was talking about making memories with your daughter. Do the same thing every year for her birthday, or call every Valentines day, etc; simply something that becomes a tradition for them to look forward to or count on. Another awesome thing I liked about the book was the section on dating your daughter. He took his daughter out to a fancy steakhouse when she was twelve so she could see what a date should be like and how she should always be treated like a lady. It was very memorable for his daughter.

Nice book that not only gives real life experiences but advice that I think would be awesome for any father to follow. Easy to understand and just the simple little things that make a daughter feel special.

“Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

NOTE: I received this book at no cost, in exchange for an honest review by Revell Publishing.

With the vibrant illustrations and engaging text in this Bible storybook, you can enjoy sharing the best-loved stories of the Bible with the children in your life and encourage a life-long love for the Word of God.

My Favorite Bible is a book of exciting Bible stories and activity pages that guide children through the foundational truths of Scripture. Each story is fully illustrated and includes a simple narrative full of things kids love: repetition, rhythm, and energy, along with a key biblical theme, a key Bible verse, and discussion questions to help adults introduce children to the Bible.

The colorful illustrations will capture the imaginations of children ages 4-8, and the stories will help adults to pass along the most important truth in life–the Gospel. Families will cherish this time as they read, listen, learn, and love, growing closer to one another even as they grow closer to God.

To win your very own copy of this wonderful book you can go to www.laurelforkfarm.com and email me through our contact page, who you would like to have a copy of this Bible and why. Remember to include the person’s name and address. We will pick one special person to receive a free copy of this book and mail it out December 16th so they should get it before Christmas.

One of the best ways to get to know God on a deeper level is to know the names and titles both he and his people give to him. Now the bestselling author of Praying the Names of God reveals the richness of God’s character and love found in his names. The Names of God Bible restores more than 10,000 occurrences of specific names of God–like Yahweh, El Shadday, El Elyon, and Adonay–to help readers

Discover the Hebrew names of God within the biblical text
Understand the meaning and significance of each name
Encounter God in a new way through prayers, promises, and devotional readings

Perfect for personal study, prayer, and reflection, The Names of God Bible includes these special features:

more than 10,000 names and titles of God restored to their Hebrew equivalent and printed in brown ink to stand out within the biblical text
Names of God Reading Paths lead readers to the next reference of the name so they can pray the names of God throughout Scripture
Name Pages feature
- background information associated with 68 names and titles of God
- key Scripture passages in which the meaning is revealed
- devotional readings on each of the featured names
- specific Bible promises connected to each of the featured names
introductions to each book of the Bible highlight the main themes and list the names and titles that appear in that book
300 callouts highlight key Scripture for memorization and reflection
Calling God by Name sidebars shed light on the relationship between biblical people and the specific names they called God
topical prayer guide, pronunciation guide, name index, and Bible reading plans to assist in study

Anyone who desires a deeper understanding of God and new insights into the Bible will cherish The Names of God Bible as it opens a door into the Hebrew roots of the faith and the Scriptures.

I loved this Bible! It is awesome because what better way to get to know God than by learning his names and what they mean. I have read books about the names of God but to actually see them in the text in which they were written is awesome! Really nice reference Bible when studying. “The Names of God Bible” in God’s Word Translation is easy to use though it doesn’t contain the number of references that you will find in a reference or study Bible it is a great supplemental Bible to have to find scripture where and why each name for God is used. Great way to get to know God better.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Too many times the impact and grandness of the actual words Jesus spoke, as recorded in the Bible, are lost in the telling of the story. In A Year with Jesus, the primary focus is to allow the scriptures that contain Jesus’ dialogue to uniquely speak to the reader. The author follows each reading with insights and applications to help explain the context and nuances of the text. The unique titling of each meditation and the nontraditional themes and organization help bring Jesus to our daily lives. Topics include:

Love and Hate

Truths and Lies

Arrogance and Humility

Friends and Enemies

Belief and Disbelief

Patience and Impatience

Deserved and Undeserved

Good and Evil

Fidelity and Treachery

Life and Death

I love this book! I love it because the author starts with day 1 not January 1 which makes you feel like you have to wait until January 1 to start it. The author states in the intro that the best way to get to know someone is to spend time with them, and this book gives you a great way to spend time with Jesus every day. This is not your typical fluff kind of devotional either. It has meat to it. It gives scripture and the author speaks to you like I feel Jesus would, in a loving but “matter of fact” kinda way. I am excited to have it as part of my daily readings.

I received a copy of A YEAR WITH JESUS: DAILY READINGS AND REFLECTIONS ON JESUS’ OWN WORDS by R. P. Nettelhorst, fromThomas Nelson via BookSneeze.

10 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life and 10 Lies That Can Prevent You From Making Them

Do you want to get well?

The power to heal—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—is in God’s hands. But the choice to be healed is ours. Everyone, at some level, needs healing. In this book, Stephen Arterburn outlines ten choices crucial to receiving healing and ten lies that can prevent us from making them. Readers will find the wholeness God desires for them in a practical and prayerful way through this book.

Now including the full workbook, this combined release emphasizes the fact that we must choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.

The book asks the participant, “Do you want to be healed?” If the answer is yes, then ten choices are provided to make the path toward healing a restorative experience.

I really enjoyed this book. A wonderful, resourceful book about personal healing to transform your life. Healing really is a choice and in order to change we have to make a concerted effort to heal. What truths we choose to believe and what lies we choose to believe is what makes up our past. Stephen Aterburn writes in an easy to understand way that keeps your interest, although some of the content can be hard to swallow as is any life changing truth. The book includes a workbook that pulls you into the book and starts the ground work if you are open enough to let it. Great book.

***I received a complimentary copy of this book, courtesy of Thomas Nelson and the BookSneeze Blogger Program, for the purpose of review on this blog. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have not been compensated in any other manner***

She looked into my eyes and blinked hers slowly and deliberately, like a stroke victim, to show me that although she couldn’t speak, she understood what I was saying to her. I stroked her hair softly. ‘I know you’re in there, honey,’ I told her. ‘We’ll get you out.’”
Despite the horror of seeing fifteen-month-old Elizabeth slip away into autism, her mother knew that her bright little girl was still in there. When Elizabeth eventually learned to communicate, first by using a letterboard and later by typing, the poetry she wrote became proof of a glorious, life-affirming victory for this young girl and her family.

I Am in Here is the spiritual journey of a mother and daughter who refuse to give up hope, who celebrate their victories, and who keep trying to move forward despite the obstacles. Although she cannot speak, Elizabeth writes poetry that shines a light on the inner world of autism and the world around us. That poetry and her mother’s stirring storytelling combine in this inspirational book to proclaim that there is always a

Me

I sometimes fear
That people cannot understand
That I hear.
And I know
That they don’t believe I go
To every extreme
To try to express
My need to talk.
If only they could walk
In my shoes
They would share my news:
I am in here.
And trying to speak every day
In some kind of way.

Though she cannot speak, Elizabeth Bonker writes poetry that shines a light on the hidden inner world of autism and the world around us. I Am in Here is the spiritual journey of a mother and daughter who refuse to give up hope, who celebrate their victories, and who keep moving forward despite the obstacles. Elizabeth’s poetry and her mother’s stirring storytelling combine in this inspirational book to proclaim that there is always a reason to take the next step–with hope.

This book was so educational, as I read more and more about Autism and how is has affected Elizabeth and the people around her. It also made me realize how someone who is non-verbal must feel, whether a senior citizen in the nursing home, or another autistic child. This book is one that moves a person to a deeper understanding and compassion for those suffering from autism. Though Elizabeth has never spoken she has found her voice by writing poetry and with that voice she has expressed the struggle of communication for a person with Autism

Thank you Revell for the opportunity to review this book.

Available October 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group