Eat the Cookie.... Buy the Shoes

Eat the Cookie...Buy the Shoes
By Joyce Meyer

It is engrained in our society that the harder you work and stick to your schedule the happier, more productive, and more successful you’ll be. In Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes Joyce Meyer points out why this thinking is wrong and ways to change it.



Though setting goals and being disciplined is important, balance is the most important in leading a restful, happy, and productive life. Joyce sets out to help us feel less guilty about straying for our planned goals and even embracing lifes little indulgences. So sit down, grab a cookie, and enjoy yourself.



I really liked the book. The concept is simple but important. As someone who likes routine and sticking to her schedule this book was refreshing to think that it’s alright to take time for things we really enjoy and that simply make us happy, even if it’s a little frivolous.



Although the theme of the book is celebration, Joyce does a great job of pointing out that we need to discipline ourselves to do what is important and not put ourselves in a situation where we are lazy or overspending on our wants. I think she did a great job of balancing the theme of celebration with the importance of discipline proving that she truly understands and has experience the subject herself.



I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator was the biggest downfall of the entire book. Her voice was boring and she talked slowly to enunciate everything well but doing so stopped her from being engaging and she ended up sounding more like a boring high school teacher than someone who wants to inspire to you lighten up and celebrate.



I received this book free for review from Hachette Audio Group



Favorite Quote:

“Celebration strengthens us”

Rating: 5 carats


Visit Joyce's website
Buy the book HERE

Rating: 5 carats

God Never Blink: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours

God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours
By Regina Brett
After cancer struck in her 40’s, Regina Brett wrote “45 Lessons Life Taught Me” for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper she worked for in Cleveland, OH. When people began emailing the lessons around Regina added five more lessons and turned it into the book, God Never Blinks.




Regina begins by sharing that when she was younger she felt as though at the time she was born God blinked and over looked her life. Through the years she’s gathered lessons proving that God does not blink. Regina explores the reasons why God does not blink seen through her own personal stories, the love of her friends, and people she has learned about as a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.



Written in a conversational tone, Regina is upfront about her mistakes and short comings. The book is funny, thought provoking and poignant with lessons like “Don’t take yourself too seriously - no one else does” and “Life is too short to waste time hating anyone”.



God Never Blinks makes for a great coffee table book and one to flip through whenever you’re feeling a little down or contemplative. I listened to the audio version of this book read by the author herself. I really liked that it was read by Regina because she was able to put emphasis on issues she wanted, the way she meant for them to be.



I received this book free for review from Hachette Audio Group.



Favorite Quote:

“The only day worth living is the one I’m in.”

Learn more about Regina HERE
Buy the book HERE
Rating: 4 carats

Brava, Valentine

Brava, Valentine
By Adriana Trigiani
Brava, Valentine , the sequel to Very Valentine , begins in Tuscany with Valentine Roncolli and her family attending the winter wedding of their grandmother Teodora and Dominic Vechiarelli. On Valentine’s first trip to Tuscany (Very Valentine) Valentine was taken aback by Dominic’s son, Gianluca. Valentine eagerly anticipates seeing him at the wedding but things don’t go as planned.




Now that Teodora is living in Italy with her new husband, she entrusts the Angelini shoe company in Greenwich Village, NYC to Valentine and her brother. As Valentine faces the new challenges of running a business with energy and determination she feels something is missing from her life and is drawn into mystery and romanticism when a letter from Gianluca arrives in her mailbox. Can Valentine live up to the image Gianluca paints of her in his letters from across the Atlantic?



The story weaves a journey from Italy to New York City onto Buenos Aries, Argentina. I absolutely love the descriptions of everything - from where Valentine was living at the moment, to how they made the shoes, to envisioning what the shoes must look like. This book is definitely a fun and engaging read. Brava, Adriana Trigiani!



Favorite Quote:

"A handwritten letter carries a lot of risk. It's a one-sided conversation that reveals the truth of the writer. Furthermore, the writer is not there to see the reaction of the person he writes to, so there's a great unknown to the process that requires a leap of faith. The writer has to choose the right words to express his sentences, and then, once he has sealed the envelope, he has to place those thoughts in the hands of someone else, trusting that the feelings will be delivered, and that the recipient will understand the writer's intent. How childish to think that could be easy."


Rating: 5 carats

Visit Adriana's website HERE

Buy the book HERE

Operation Worship

Operation Worship Pink Camo Bible




The Operation Worship Pink Camo Bible is a special edition New Living Translation Bible for wives, mothers, sisters, friends, and girlfriends of persons in the military.



It’s a small Bible with pieces of pink camo paper to pull out and write simple notes on, a military prayer for peace, a guide to studying the Bible, and excerpts of letters to people in the military at the back of the Bible. It’s cute.

I received this  Bible for a free review from Tyndale House Publsihers



Favorite Quote:

“O Lord, while we are apart, make us instruments of your peace.

When there is hatred let us plant the seeds of your love;

Where the is anger,..restraint;

Where there is brutality,…kindness;

Where there is fear,…courage;

Where there is pride,..humility;

Where there is blindness,…wisdom;

Lord, while we are apart, help us entrust our lives to you.

Where there is loneliness, make your presence known;

Where there is doubt, give us faith;

Where there is despair, awaken in us hope;

Where there is darkness, shine your light;

Where there is sadness, fill us with joy;



Lord, while we are apart, bless us and protect us.

Smile on us and be gracious to us.

Show us your favor and give us your peace.

And use us to plant seeds of blessing

wherever we go, whatever we do,

in everything we say.



We pray all these things

for the sake of your Name and your Kingdom.

Amen.

Learn more about Operation Worship HERE
Buy Assorted Military Bibles HERE

Rating: 5 carats

The Telling

The Telling
by Beverly Lewis

This is the third and final book in the Seasons of Grace series by Beverly Lewis. The series is set around an Amish family in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania and is a story of God’s provision and redemption.



In the first two books Lettie Byler left her family without any explanation for Ohio to find the missing piece of the life she left when she was a teenager. The third installment starts with Lettie’s daughter in Pennsylvania, Grace Byler, setting out on a quest to find her missing mother and to bring her home.



Grace takes a ride with an “Englisher” named Heather Nelson who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer and is going to Ohio to attend an alternative treatment facility.



Will mother, daughter, and one seriously ill “Englisher” find what they are looking for?



Every Beverly Lewis book is good and this one is no exception. Beverly offers a glimpse into the life of the reclusive Amish people that are so easily misunderstood. The Telling is simple yet deep as it unfolds and illustrates covering up our mistakes only makes situations worse than had we owned up to them in the first place.



I listened to the audio version of this book and really liked that there was a different voice for each character. The Amish characters even had a traditional Amish accent which gave a certain authenticity to these characters.

Favorite Quote:
"Sighing, I knew in my heart I was willing to put up with any awkwardness-even fear-if it meant bringing mama home"

I reviewed this audiobook for review from Christianaudio.com
Learn about Beverly HERE
Buy the book HERE




Rating: 5 carats