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A Book #ReviewWithElly Fix by Force By Jason Warne

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Fix by Force

By Jason Warne
Published by WestBow Press

This is a story of a young 17-year-old boy named Spencer. A high school student. Like many others of course relentlessly bullied at school, dealing with his father’s death, his mother’s illness, and everyday life battle as a teen. Part of the time he is trying to figure out who he really is and uncover a story of himself in a town that just won’t allow it to happen. His biggest fear is to become a shadow of his old man. Poor kid tries so hard and everything backfires. This book will keep you up reading till the end. Overall, a good read. I enjoyed it, also found the story interesting.

Book Description

Drawn from personal experiences, this fast-faced story about self-image, relationships, choices, and sources of hope aims to speak to those readers who seek authentic and relatable characters they can identify with in real-life situations. Spencer doesn’t have a choice. He can’t choose to be different than what he is—the son of the town’s worst enemy, the weakling who can’t stand up for himself, the loser without friends. He can’t change the way things are. Or maybe he can. Spencer believes he needs to fix his life, and that is what the steroids promise—a quick fix.

BookLookBloggers.com Reviewer copy provided for Eliane Filho in exchange for an honest review.

“Think of ways that you can speak positive words of life to your friends the next time you get together.”Tweet:

I received this book from BookLook in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Click Here to read my reviews on Amazon 

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Causes · Challenge · Devotion · family · Family Share · love · mom · motherhood · photography · Poem · reeding · sunday devotion · World VS Life

One Good Choice After Another 

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One Good Choice After Another

Are you enjoying the life and blessings of God in your everyday life? Or have you made a series of choices resulting in disappointment, pain, or feeling that everything you do requires great effort and produces little reward? Don’t spend your time and energy mourning all the bad decisions you have made; just start making good ones. There is hope for you!
The way to overcome the results of a series of bad choices is through a series of right choices. The only way to walk out of trouble is to do the opposite of whatever you did to get into trouble—one choice at a time. Maybe the circumstances of your life right now are the direct result of a series of bad choices you have made. You may be in debt because you have made a lot of bad choices with money. You may be lonely because of a series of bad choices in relationships or in the way you treat people. You may be sick because of a series of unhealthy choices: eating junk food, not getting enough rest, or abusing your body through working too much and not having enough balance in your life.

You cannot make a series of bad choices that result in significant problems and then make one good choice and expect all the results of all those bad choices to go away. You did not get into deep trouble through one bad choice; you got into trouble through a series of bad choices. If you really want your life to change for the better, you will need to make one good choice after another, over a period of time, just as consistently as you made the negative choices that produced negative results.

No matter what kind of trouble or difficulty you find yourself in, you can still have a blessed life. You cannot do anything about what is behind you, but you can do a great deal about what lies ahead of you. God is a redeemer, and He will always give you another chance.

Trust in Him

If you have a situation that is too big for you to solve, then you are material for a miracle. Invite God to get involved, trust in and follow His directions, make one good choice after another, and you will see amazing results.

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.
Devotion · family · sunday devotion

Start building your trust #SundayDevotion

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Start building your trust in God day by day!

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Form New Habits

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

God’s Word teaches us that when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, He gives us a new nature. He gives us His nature. He also gives us a spirit of discipline and self-control, which is vital in allowing us to choose the ways of our new nature. He gives us a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7), and that means we can think about things properly without being controlled by emotion. The way we once were passes away, and we have all the equipment we need for a brand-new way of behaving. God gives us the ability and offers to help us, but we are not puppets and God will not manipulate us. We must choose spirit over flesh and right over wrong. Our renewed spirits will then control our souls and bodies or, to say it another way, the inner person will control the outer person.

Without God’s help we have difficulty doing things in moderation. We frequently eat too much, spend too much money, have too much entertainment, and talk too much. We are excessive in our actions because we behave emotionally. And after the thing is done and cannot be undone, we regret doing it. But we can choose to form new habits, not doing something just because we feel like it, but instead doing what will produce the best result in the end.

We do not have to live in regret. God gives us His Spirit to enable us to make right and wise choices. He urges us, guides and leads us, but we still have to cast the deciding vote. If you have been casting the wrong vote, all you need to do is change your vote. Forming new habits will require making a decision to not do what you feel like doing unless it agrees with God’s will.

Trust in Him
God wants you to live out of your new nature, not your old one. Every time you put your trust in Him and cast the deciding vote to obey, His Spirit transforms you and makes you more like Him.

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2012 by Joyce Meyer. 

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Devotion · family · Family Share · fatherhood · motherhood

#Devotion Sunday

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Please watch the video 🙂 

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“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Romans‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NIV‬

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John‬ ‭10:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Kids 1st Day of School praying with DAD

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Review

Never Said By Carol Lynch Williams #Review

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Never Said

By Carol Lynch Williams
Published by Zondervan

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Why I Choose this Book

I liked the fact that it was a story about sisters, and it was a short read.

What I thought about the book 

 It’s a story about twin teenagers named Sarah and Annie. Sarah has an anxiety disorder and Annie has gained weight, and had a personality change. She holds a deep secret Their parents are in denial that the twins need serious help.

This book has some deep thoughts coming from Annie
She puts herself down and has really low self-esteem
Made me think of a lot of times when you see teens acting the way she does.

Another eye opener for parents.

I recommend parents to read it and kids especially girls would love it.

Back Cover 

From bestselling author Carol Lynch Williams (The Chosen One), a contemporary YA novel about a family that has been caught up in what doesn’t matter and how two sisters realize that their relationship—no matter how different the two of them are—is most important.
In this contemporary YA novel by bestselling author Carol Lynch Williams (The Chosen One), fifteen-year-old fraternal twins Annie and Sarah are sisters, but that is where their interaction ends. Then Annie begins to withdraw from the family, forcing Sarah to investigate why-and the secret she uncovers changes their relationship forever.
Never Said explores not only the effects of abuse but also our world’s reliance on self, beauty, and other people’s perceptions. With themes of forgiveness, love, sacrifice, and hope woven throughout the story, teens and other fans of young adult fiction will be drawn to this story of two sisters who must find a way to come together and find the healing they both need.

I received this book from BookLook in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Devotion · Family Share · photography

Unfinished Business

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Unfinished Business

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

It was a nostalgic time when we drove away the last time from our home of 24 years. We left behind a lot of memories in the walls – and a couple in the tree in the far corner of the backyard. See, when the kids were little, we wanted to build them a tree house. So, we made a plan, got some lumber, and started our little project. We laid down a couple of boards between two branches; it was the beginning of a floor for the tree house. Then we took a break. And we never went back. Oh, yes, we intended to finish that house, but right up until the day we moved out, those boards were all that ever happened.

That’s not the only house a parent intended to build and never got done. In fact, many of us Moms and Dads knew how we wanted our family to be – how we still want it to be – but somehow the home, the family we intended to build never got finished did it? Even as our children were leaving for college, we talked about how quickly the years had melted away and how we were feeling there was so much unfinished business in our kids’ lives.

Maybe you’re a mom or Dad, and you can see in your relationship with your children a lot of things you wish you had done, or a lot of things you wish you hadn’t done. Like us with our tree house…the intentions were good, but something happened along the way. Your children may still be fairly young, still at home, but already you have regrets about what has or hasn’t happened in your relationship – in their lives.

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But it isn’t over yet. In fact, the Bible offers a blueprint for hope and for healing. If you can find the courage to activate this powerful step, you may still be able to take care of some of that unfinished business. God says in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Let’s apply this to a broken or strained or a hurting family relationship – a part of your home that never got finished. God is calling you to fervent prayer for that person that’s on your heart. And He is calling us to “confess our sins to each other”, too. In the case of your son or daughter, that probably means saying some of the hardest words in the English language for a parent to say, “I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

For someone you love, just your recognition that you were wrong could start a healing process in both of you. Tell them you’re sorry for any way you feel you have failed them; that you want the future to be different from the past; give them the “I love you” that they may have been waiting for a long time. Give them your blessing, your approval, your praise. They may have been starved for it for years. It’s never too late to say, “I love you.” It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry.” It’s never too late to say, “Let’s make a new beginning.”

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Oh, it will take some humility, because it’s pride that keeps walls from coming down. It will take God’s courage, but it could heal so much in you and so much in that person you love. But the home, the family, the relationship you never finished can still be built if you can say three life-changing, life-giving words,

“I was wrong.”

Further Study

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Going Deeper

Someone I need to say, “I was wrong” to is…
One way I failed my family is…
Something I can do to resolve the conflict in my family is…

Thank You Ron Hutchcraft for the study 🙂 Resources: The Bible, images from pixabay.com
reeding · Review

A Simple Prayer By Amy Clipston #BookReview 

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A Simple Prayer
Series: Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel
By Amy Clipston

As if it was ” The return home of a prodigal son.” The difficulty he faces when he returns. The fear of not being excepted. The start of a love story. An Unhappy brother with his return reveals that he has kept all his contact letters over 17 years from his mother, that now just had a stroke, which cause for Aaron’s returned home.  Forgiveness seems to be the main case here.  It would have been nice to start reading from book one. A Simple Prayer is Book Four of the Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series.  But over all a great story.

Book Description 

Linda Zook, 32, works part-time at the Lancaster Grand Hotel. As the sole survivor of a buggy accident that left her orphaned at age four, she was raised by her unwilling Uncle Reuben. Linda longs to be worthy of someone, but the life-long effects of her injuries and her upbringing under the care of her embittered uncle have destroyed her self-worth. .
Aaron Ebersol, 32, left the Amish community 17 years ago when he could no longer bear the restrictions or the constant tension with his father. He’d written too many unanswered letters to his mother and found himself incapable of putting down any roots in his new home in Missouri. Success in work could not replace the family that denied Aaron, even after all of these years. .
Aaron hastily returns to the Amish community of Paradise, PA, after receiving word of his mother’s stroke. Hesitant to get too close to the family he was once a part of, he decides to stay at the Heart of Paradise Bed & Breakfast. He soon encounters Linda, working there part-time, and they begin to develop a friendship. .
Aaron’s return allows him to reconnect with his family as he jumps into home improvement projects, hoping to make his parents’ house more accessible to his handicapped mother. But before long, he is enraged to learn that his brother, Solomon, had hidden all of Aaron’s letters to their mother. .
Linda and Aaron must each learn to forgive the family members who have deceived and forsaken them. And Aaron must also show Linda that she is worthy of his love.
About the Author
Amy Clipston is the award-winning and best-selling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery series. Her novels have hit multiple best-seller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA. Amy holds a degree in communication from Virginia Wesleyan College and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at Facebook: AmyClipstonBooks Twitter: @AmyClipston

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com&gt; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html&gt; : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

love · reeding · Review

{ Love at Mistletoe Inn } Series: A Year of Weddings Novella – By Cindy Kirk

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Love at Mistletoe Inn
Series: A Year of Weddings Novella
By Cindy Kirk
Published by Zondervan

They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

An owner of a Victorian inn and charming rustic barn is used to creating the perfect setting for other couples’ nuptials. But when she falls head over heels for the new man in her life, will she be prepared to walk down that aisle?

When I got this book to read It took me longer than I expected I wished I finished it sooner what a cute story 🙂  

Hope Prentiss get shocked as she learned she is still married to her high school friend John Burke. John vows and paperwork they signed makes everything legal.

How is Hope going to get out of this situation she unexpectedly found herself in.  This foolish mistake They made while just a teenagers?  But John has other plans, he meant his words to Hope 10 years ago when he said “I do” with all his heart.  But now after such a long time. How will he make Hope believe he is the man for her?

The Story tells you all about it and how they love became mutual 🙂

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com&gt; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html&gt; : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Causes · Health · Review

{ PTSD } A Spouse’s Perspective How to Survive in A World of #PTSD _ By Erica David

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PTS D A Spouse’s Perspective How to Survive in A World of PTSD
By Erica David  
Published by West Bow Press

Has PTSD invaded your world?

Are you always walking on eggshells? Feel like nothing you do is right? Are you the victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse? Are you in a relationship with someone who suffers from PTSD? Then this book is a must-read for you. There is hope!

What is PTSD? It’s the aftermath of a traumatic event that happens during a person’s life no matter their age. The effect PTSD has on a family is very complicated why not say it’s very sad. I believe it affects everyone not only the person that has the PTSD but the spouse, their children, and anyone else that is around that person. 

In this book, the author tells her story, about her family, and how her husband came home from war and was a different man. After all that must have happened there, he had some difficult issues that took her some time to understand because he wouldn’t talk about it, like most people with PTSD. Him being like that made her depressed, and a secondary PTSD from her marriage. Not only that but she also suffered some childhood trauma that also caused her to have PTSD.  So, the book goes on to explain what PTSD is – It explains in detail the traumatic event that happens during her life. Even though the cause of PTSD can be when you’re a child you can still suffer as an adult. Some people never realize the impact that the event has on them until they start counseling sessions. When the therapist asks about the event, they have to recall all the traumatic events back. For some sleep is unpleasant, and a lot of people have panic attacks. In every chapter of the book, she gives you an answer and teaches you how to deal with some key points.  I guess I expected a little more I don’t know if it’s because I suffer from PTSD and wanted more details for myself and she’s more on the ” Veteran Spouse ” side of the story. But overall, I liked her book, and I would recommend it.

There is a quote in the book that I related to it, and I would like to quote it. 

Why does life have to hurt so bad? I am tired of the pain that is deep inside that I think I have learned to cope with only to have it mutate and return again. The people I hold dear don’t truly understand how I feel. They can’t. No one knows what I feel inside but me. The loneliness, the despair, the lack of accomplishment, the low self-esteem. if you have been successful there is no way you can understand my pain of rejection. Knowing that I am capable, but no one will give me a chance. One look at my resume says it all.
For 20 years, I devoted myself to my husband and my kids. Now I feel like I have nothing. Nothing but a persistent pain that keeps me from moving forward. But I don’t have anything to move forward to. Somewhere I lost myself, and I don’t know how to relate to this person that I have become. One minute I am fine and the next minute I am a bucket of tears. The seemingly happy moments are only a masquerade to cover the pain.
I keep treading water trying to stay afloat. But I am slowly sinking. Not able to decide what is best for me. Not wanting to make the wrong decision. I am indecisive. Wish I could live both lives to see which one I like better. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. You live with the choices you make. Good or bad.  I am someone who can be lonely in a crowded room. I sit quietly listening, thinking, but never contributing to the conversation. After all, what I have to say probably isn’t important or eventually, someone else will say what I was thinking. So why bother. Just stay in my own world. Nobody notices anyway.
What is peace? Is peace ever possible? I only wish I knew. I thought of suicide, but I don’t want to leave that scar on my children’s hearts for the remainder of their lives. I can’t even die in peace. Just please take the pain away. Let me find PEACE.

That is a killer quote/poem she wrote there it was so deep I was left speechless. To me, it was so me beside the suicide part. Having PTSD Sucks and although some people might think there’s a cure for it, I believe there isn’t. Unless you’ve ” Suffered from it ” don’t judge. That’s what I have to say 🙂

The reason why I say that is because You Might be able to FORGIVE but forgetting the past is something completely different and difficult to do trust me … Have a Blessed Day!!!!  

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this by the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html>: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”