I have followed Faith on Instagram (@fleudelisspeaks) for a while now so I was thrilled to see that she was releasing a book. Very motivational and inI have followed Faith on Instagram (@fleudelisspeaks) for a while now so I was thrilled to see that she was releasing a book. Very motivational and inspirational, not necessarily self-help-y. Lots of encouragement but not necessarily how-tos. I actually still enjoyed her Instagram post pictures and motivational sayings most of all from the book, but it was good to get a little personal tough one the author and what’s she’s been through, how she has surpassed it, and encouraging us to too!
***thank you to netgalley and Harper Celebrate publishing co for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own...more
This was as much for me as for my kids. I read it with my boys, (ages 11 and 12), and they while they listened, it did create some good conversations.This was as much for me as for my kids. I read it with my boys, (ages 11 and 12), and they while they listened, it did create some good conversations. What a great and godly resource for kids with anxiety. I can't really imagine a kid of middle grade age picking the book up themselves without being asked to read it. But as a parent reading it, I see all the value. More teachers, parents, and counselors should have required reading in this area. This would make a great required reading book for kids struggling to know how to deal with their big emotions. Really great. Like I said, it was as much for me as for them. I know the author has books for adults, so I will definitely check those out, but it hit deep with me too....more
Wow. I have heard the grace message preached many times throughout my Christian life. And I have heard many of the things presented in this book. ThatWow. I have heard the grace message preached many times throughout my Christian life. And I have heard many of the things presented in this book. That grace is not a license to sin but in fact a gift that is a relationship that we experience and therefore no longer want to live a life of sin so that we are more like Jesus. And I am so grateful for that gift of grace that bring salvation through Jesus. But some of the points Pastor Morris makes in this book were things I had never heard before and actually will even change the way I read the Bible, nevertheless how I view grace. Mainly, what sticks with me the most, is his explanation of the two covenants presented in the Bible: the covenant of the Old Testament and the covenant of the New Testament that was brought with the death and resurrection of Jesus. And wow. The way he explains those two covenants and how they are different (how the old covenant was set up based in how the children of Israel would have understood) and WHY they are different....just amazing revelation and insight. Truly will be making notes on this in the front of my Bible so that I can study it this way. That was worth the whole book to me. But you may get something else out of it. What a great read and study!
**Thank you to FaithWords publishing and netgalley for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own....more
Stanley Tucci is just as you expect him, and his book is just as you want it to be. He had me smiling, almost cry, and eating. So very hungry. Off to Stanley Tucci is just as you expect him, and his book is just as you want it to be. He had me smiling, almost cry, and eating. So very hungry. Off to the grocery store to pile my pantry full of food I’ll never be able to make as well as he described them....more
Mama Joyce always knows how to deliver the wisdom nuggets needed. In the same way she preaches, she approaches this book with practicality and little Mama Joyce always knows how to deliver the wisdom nuggets needed. In the same way she preaches, she approaches this book with practicality and little fluff. She gets right to the point. What is success? Bottom line: “Success is doing whatever we do for God and doing it in a way that pleases and brings glory to Him.” So it’s different for everyone of us. She walks through finding out what God has called you to do (“God won’t call you to something you hate.”) then walks through what will help us do what God calls us to in a successful manner. Our thoughts, our self-image, our faithfulness, our self-discipline, our excellence and our integrity. ...more
Now THIS is a devotional with some meat! I’m not a fan of many devo’s because I think a lot of them are just fluffy. But this one is NOT fluff. It givNow THIS is a devotional with some meat! I’m not a fan of many devo’s because I think a lot of them are just fluffy. But this one is NOT fluff. It gives meat every day, not just little nuggets. As the Bevere’s usually do, they speak truth straight forward and pull no punches. Highly recommend.
***thanks to netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an advance copy of this book to review. My opinions are my own. ...more
So many great tips, so much practical steps in great detail. I’ve been running my Etsy business for years and I still learned a bunch of things. But eSo many great tips, so much practical steps in great detail. I’ve been running my Etsy business for years and I still learned a bunch of things. But especially excellent for new etsy business owners just starting out. I’ll go back to this book and its tips again and again.
** thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own. ...more
This would make a fabulous gift to a new mom along with a baby shower gift. It is just the encouragement a new mama needs. New mamas. Mamas of toddlerThis would make a fabulous gift to a new mom along with a baby shower gift. It is just the encouragement a new mama needs. New mamas. Mamas of toddlers. Mamas in the weeds. But even more than that. I am on a different side of motherhood than the author or the demographic of the book. In the high school, looking into colleges, learning to drive, weeding through the hormones and puberty and moods and etc. But I remember well the weeds of toddlerhood, the lack of sleep and the wondering if I’m enough or if I can really do this. Those feelings follow us into this season of motherhood as well. My kids may be different ages, but the feelings are still the same. My season of motherhood may be different than the one in the book, but all mothers need this encouragement, this voice of truth, this reminder....more
As an artist and owner of an art driven business, I have read a lot of calligraphy books and drawing books but never a watercolor one. And I'm glad i As an artist and owner of an art driven business, I have read a lot of calligraphy books and drawing books but never a watercolor one. And I'm glad i started with this one. The author breaks every little step down, and makes it look simple while acknowledging that it takes work and practice and to not hate what you begin with. One of my favorite parts was to give yourself permission to make bad art. As a perfectionist but also an artist, i absolutely agree and love that sentiment!! But what sold me on the book even a step further was pertaining to the fact that i don't fully believe you can learn art from a book. I am hands on but i also like watching videos or seeing someone visually show me the steps. And i think the author realized this because she included QR codes to each of the steps so that you can watch a video of her performing the steps she has explained. Genius!!! Great book!...more
Well I cried through most of this book. In the best possible way.. I would recommend this book to every mother who has a child living in their home. IWell I cried through most of this book. In the best possible way.. I would recommend this book to every mother who has a child living in their home. It is like having a best friend or mom wrapping her arms around you and making you feel normal and encouraging you and reminding imyou everything is going to be okay.
** thank you to the publishers for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own. ...more
Let me with “Hmmm”….. lots of thoughts on this one. First off, it is horrible what her dad did to her with the conservatorship. Horrible and traumaticLet me with “Hmmm”….. lots of thoughts on this one. First off, it is horrible what her dad did to her with the conservatorship. Horrible and traumatic. But I do think that even her words in the book made it clear that she has some form of mental illness. Whether it happened through trauma or not, who knows. The situation with JT could have caused it—that was certainly traumatic. But I think it may have started even before that. Either way, there were certain things that just didn’t add up which could’ve been because she didn’t go into a lot of emotional detail. In fact the way it was written felt a lot more like a “dear diary” than a memoir. Maybe it was her way of trying to keep some privacy, but it also felt disjointed, and like she was skipping a lot of things. Sometimes the portion that she considered to be controlling and out of the blue seemed like there was more to the story. Maybe because of her trauma, she doesn’t even remember. Certainly not saying she is lying, because what has happened to her is very real and very sad. I believe she needs help and unfortunately because of the extreme domineering control that the conservatorship had over her, she probably won’t get the help that she needs fully simply out of trying to protect herself from being controlled again. I hope the best for her and I hope she finds peace, happiness and health. ...more
Terri Savelle Foy has done it again. Her teachings are so practical and straight forward, that it makes for such a quick read. Typically nonfiction orTerri Savelle Foy has done it again. Her teachings are so practical and straight forward, that it makes for such a quick read. Typically nonfiction or teaching books take me 2 or 3 times longer than fiction books—more if the book is dull. But not with this book. I finished the whole thing in 10 days….which is lightning speed for me with a nonfiction book. I highlighted so many nuggets of truth. Not only does this book make you realize the importance of alone, quiet time to think, hear yourself (and God) speak, pray and sometimes even just be. But it also gives you practical ways to make it happen, that aren’t just wake up at the crack of dawn (because that’s usually the solution I come to myself). I love how she highlights the importance of investing in yourself so that you can invest in your dream and in others. She makes it relatable by weaving in her own personal stories with the origin stories of many celebrities or successful people that we may or may not have heard and shows how they used these same practical principles to reach the success goals they have achieve. She just makes it seem not only possible but plausible…with the help of God of course!
**Thank you to the author and publisher for an advanced review copy of the book. My opinions are my own....more
Beautiful cookbook. Unique and inventive recipes that are supposed to be for leftovers. Certainly makes cooking seem like it could be fun. And TiffaniBeautiful cookbook. Unique and inventive recipes that are supposed to be for leftovers. Certainly makes cooking seem like it could be fun. And Tiffani’s enthusiasm for the kitchen is evident and contagious…. Except I know it won’t work for me. Ha! I am just not a cookbook person. I get catch up in how pretty they are but then I realize how in depth these recipes are, and I am disillusioned. Truly, she talks about how these are recipes make from leftovers or things you’d have already in the house. But then uses brioche and sourdough and Gruyère cheese and beets and I don’t know a bunch of other ingredients that I never have in my house!! I don’t know what these would be leftovers from…but they aren’t from these we typically make, I know that’s for sure. I’m sure someone who loves cooking, like one of my dear friends, would love this book and make all kinds of recipes from it. But it’s just not for me.
**thank you netgalley and worthy publishing for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own....more
This is the book I wish I had earlier in my marriage! Most books like this start off with a wisdom bang and hen start to prefer off with their wisdom aThis is the book I wish I had earlier in my marriage! Most books like this start off with a wisdom bang and hen start to prefer off with their wisdom and only have a few nuggets amid a lot of repeated points from the powerhouse early chapters. But this book was almost the opposite for me. The first maybe 5 chapters felt kind of slow and very elementary for me. Then it ramped up. Stuff that even after 20 years I was needing reminding off topics and points that I have in fact learned within 20 years of marriage that I learned the hard way and wish I’d had this book to give me a leg up all those years.
*thank you to the publishers for a review copy. My opinions are my own. ...more
Not the biggest fan of compilations of small bits from other publications, but sometimes its nice to get the gist of the other books without having toNot the biggest fan of compilations of small bits from other publications, but sometimes its nice to get the gist of the other books without having to stop and read them all. I still plan on reading Think and Grow Rich at some point, but it just hasn't been the right time recently. I find it hilarious that other reviewers have said things like this book being out of date or 0% relevant today. It's like people don't know how to take advice and tweek it for themselves and their own experience any more. Add some inflation and a couple different technology industries and you've got perfectly relevant advice. There is even a prologue that address some of the out of date pricing and comments (one reviewer said he was sexist...it was a different time, we can put away our offended spirits to learn from past generations still, can't we?!). The prologue said that they considered taking them out but felt that leaving them in without edit would keep the message. Because surely we can still take advice from older generations who have learned things. Surely. If you can't, then this book isn't for you. But for those of us who can, this has great insight. I'm not complaining about how he doesn't address my Christian faith when he wasn't a Christian....nor should we expect him to talk or act like we do today when he isn't alive or writing this today. But we can still learn from him. Great success principles and nuggets of wisdom.
All in all, though, I'd rather have a complete book than a compliation.
**Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own....more
What a sweet, heartbreaking and faith building testimony. I do not know Anne’s music, though I have seen her picture and advertisements, so I was compWhat a sweet, heartbreaking and faith building testimony. I do not know Anne’s music, though I have seen her picture and advertisements, so I was completely unfamiliar with her story. I love how deeply her trust in the Lord helped her through such a trying time. While the story was written in a simple and straightforward style, it was also very fitting of the young girl the story began with and followed. I believe her testimony will continue to touch many lives....more
Very different than I expected. Good nonetheless. It editorially combines quotes/excerpts from 52 female authors from throughout history on writing. IVery different than I expected. Good nonetheless. It editorially combines quotes/excerpts from 52 female authors from throughout history on writing. I don’t know why I expected it to be a little bit more than a couple paragraphs from each author or even some original content from them. But alas…then each excerpt is followed by a “listen” portion that was more of a question to the reader about what the author’s excerpt stated, and then a “write”portion that was a prompt based off of the excerpt. I like the idea of it. But not all of the excerpts spoke to me and not all of the prompts were things that I found valuable. Which I suppose is to be expected in a book like this. I naturally feel more meh about it but I do think it would help writers who enjoy or use prompts. Some of the ideas were quite elementary and some were more profound. I guess this just wasn’t my taste.
I’d say the best part was getting a taste books that authors I enjoy have written about crafting, creating and writing.
***thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own....more
Would You Rather is one of our family's favorite games, so of course this seemed like a perfect little book for our long car rides in church or sportsWould You Rather is one of our family's favorite games, so of course this seemed like a perfect little book for our long car rides in church or sports commutes. And yes, it created quite a bit of discussion, but also, some of the discussion was based around how rather confusing some of the questions were. For example: "Would you rather use virtual reality to r ide the world's best roller coasters or explore the depths of the ocean?" Now, after much discussion, we gathered that the assumption here is that you are doing virtual reality in both of these scenarios but it is actually unclear in how it's written. This is an issue quite often in the wording of the book, which often times creates confusion in the questions. Also, some of the questions seem ignorant. Maybe this is just our family getting too in to the game, but this question for example, "Would you rather drink salt water or lake water?" seems really uneducated...like, um, both are really unsafe, and this book in particular isn't really stepping outside of reality in most of the other questions, so ones like this were weird. Okay, so, maybe we took the questions too seriously! Ha! But that was indeed part of the fun we had with them. However, the book is written as a competitive game, which I didn't really understand, so we didn't do the game or have winners. We just asked the questions and talked about them! Which in my opinion was funner than making it a win or lose kind of game!
**Thank you net galley and the publisher for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own....more
