Saturday, November 22, 2014

When Chicks Hatch by Heather Randall A Review



ASIN: B00OZQP3OS| List Price: $2.99 kindle (on Amazon) or $10 print (on author website)|Format: Softcover or Kindle |

I write reviews for Christian Women Affiliate and when I saw that our very own Heather Randall, the CEO of the company was offering up her own book for review, I jumped at the chance to deviate from Day Planners and historical fiction to a good "chick book"! I was not disappointed!



"She had prayed for it in secret, exposing her loneliness only to God. She knew God had heard her, just as he’d heard every other prayer, whether it was a silent prayer from her heart or spoken out loud. Could it be that a door was opening and her life would soon be moving at a faster pace with love front and center?"

This is just one of the heart cries of the five women in this book who come to realize that life has ups and downs. No one is perfect. But there is a God who forgives and when we walk in God's amazing grace, we can find hope once we break free of our shells and cast our cares on Him.

In When Chicks Hatch we meet Nicky, who finds out her boss is having an affair. Sydney, a college student, who gets involved with a married man and lies about it and has to pay the consequences for her actions. Then there's Alexis who's marriage is falling apart and has no happy ending in sight. Alexis' sister, Kristen, a nurse, who has always had guy friends but has she pushed them all away leaving her to be alone the rest of her life? And don't forget the "princess", Jennifer who desires one thing that her husband hasn't been able to give her but maybe her friend can?

At first this book was a little hard to follow because of the five different story lines. But I quickly found it amusing as I learned to follow the lives of these five different women as their stories began to slowly intersect. I won't give away much but I was in tears near the end. The author has written this book so beautifully that you feel so much love for the characters that you wanted to hate in the beginning of the book. There are a lot of life lessons learned in this book. One of my favorite lines comes from the mother of Sydney, Mrs. Flannery.

“You'll learn. It takes time to kill the flesh, honey. It's kind of like those candles your father used to put on Mitchell's cake--the ones that relight when you think they're out. You've got to keep huffing and puffing and maybe even use the help of water before it's over, but eventually it's over, and that candle can't be lit even if you try
-Mrs. Flannery”
― Heather Randall, When Chicks Hatch

That line really drove home the lesson for me about how we don't change overnight. As much as we would love to see others make a 180 in their life or see a 180 in our own life, it takes time to see the results we want. Often God has a bigger plan and the answers to our prayers may not be at all what we were expecting!

If you like a fairly quick read and a good, clean, Christian, chick book, full of twists and turns and want a greater sense of how God works out every last detail of your own life for His greater purpose, you might want to pick up a copy of this book! Better yet, download a copy, now!













About the author:


Heather Randall began her writing career with baby steps, literally. In 2003 she started blogging about her mommy adventures and connecting with like-minded women online. During this time she was also preparing the final bits of a novel that had been written with pen and paper. A friend typed it all up properly for her and, at last, in 2011 When Chicks Hatch was published.

In 2013 He paved the way for her to purchase Christian Women Affiliate.

She now serves as the CEO of Christian Women Affiliate, LLC and all of its divisions including the CWA Radio Network and The CWA Review Crew. She especially enjoys serving fellow writers through her company. Heather still leaves time for God to fill her up with stories and she is currently working on a second novel.

Heather's hobbies include spending time with family, writing, reading, creating and trading mail art, homeschooling and blogging. Heather and her husband, four children, Mom, three cats, a dog, and a frog all reside in Oklahoma.


Website: http://www.heatherrandall.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherRandallBooks

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CWAreviewCrew/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherMRandall

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/heather-randall/19/8bb/b61

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HeatherRandallCWA/posts

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/heathermrandall/

Instagram: instagram.com/cwaheather

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11475687-when-chicks-hatch?ref=atw

I received a free Kindle download of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.





Thursday, November 6, 2014

Faith Joseph's Story A Novel and Christian Bible Study A Review







A novel, a Bible study, a leader's guide all in one book?! Yes, it's true! Faith, Joseph's Story, by Sandra Lea Hardage has beautifully crafted the Bible story of Joseph's life written as though it is from his own perspective, while adding a full Bible study AND a leader's guide right in the book!

About the book:

"At the age of seventeen, Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, faces the wrath of jealousy, hatred, and deceit from his own brothers. He is thrust into a world of slavery, lust, and power. Joseph experiences a culture so different from his own that he must adapt quickly just to survive. He learns to trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and be content in the difficult circumstances that challenge him far too often.

Narrated by Joseph himself, FAITH Joseph’s Story communicates the power of this young man’s faith-faith that began in the midst of a plot to murder him and ends with his rise to power in Egypt. It show the perseverance one must find to overcome the negative experiences that happen in life, and it provides a testament to the importance of placing complete faith and trust in God."



About the author:

Sandra Hardage considers Jesus Christ her Savior and her family including husband, children and grandchildren the chief blessings in her life. She has been married to her husband Jim for forty-four years, has three grown children with Christian spouses and eight grandchildren between the ages of two to fifteen.

From the age of ten, God began to stir a desire in Sandra’s heart to become a teacher.  She did in fact fulfill that desire and has worked in education all her life. Positions she held in pursuit of teaching include: public school teacher, coordinator of a televised GED-ONTV program, coordinator of an Adult Education Learning Center, coordinator of Technology, Distance Learning and Media for an education cooperative, Sunday School teacher, Bible study leader, associational women’s ministry director and online Bible teacher.

During years as Sunday school teacher, the Lord placed on her heart the sensitivity for the feelings of Biblical characters. As a result, she began writing stories of God’s people.  After retiring, the Lord placed Joseph on her heart and over a four and a half years period, she wrote FAITH Joseph’s Story, a novel and Bible Study.

Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Masters of Science in Education degrees and has taken many courses along the way to hone the skills needed for the jobs that God placed in her path including computers, web design, distance learning, curriculum and much more. She feels that every area in teaching and learning were in preparation for her current role as creator and founder of the online ministry: My Journey of Faith. http://myjourneyoffaith.com

The ministries website is a gathering place for encouraging Christians women in their daily journey of life. It is her desire for this ministry to be used by God to encourage Christians and uplift the name of Jesus Christ by sharing stories through CWA Radio, My Journey of Faith magazine, Bible studies, blogs and more.


My thoughts:

I thought this was a great book! I really enjoyed revisiting the story of Joseph from the Bible and reading it again from a fictional perspective of none other than Joseph himself! I love historically accurate fiction and I thought the book captured Joseph's story in a way that draws the reader in to really consider what it must have been like to be one of twelve sons, and favored by his father. It helped me consider Joseph as a real person and not just a character in a Bible story. I had never given much thought to how many years Joseph was in the Pharaoh's palace before the story reaches its climax. I recommend anyone could read this book and gain a little bit more insight to the real Joseph of the Bible from a fictional perspective.
The other great part about this book is the fact that it is actually three books in one! The novel begins on the opening pages but is a quick read and ends on page 67. The rest of the book is a Bible study followed by a Leader's Guide as a companion to the Bible study. This is a great way to take the history of the story and go really in depth into a Bible study of the history of Joseph's family, their family traits, family life, the study of Joseph's dreams, and many more topics. Along the way Sandra also shares a bit of her own faith walk and truths of the Bible regarding the salvation message.

If you re looking for an in depth Bible study on the life of Joseph this would be a great one to choose!


Order at Barnes and Noble here.


ISBN: 978-1-4627-2783-4(sc) |List Price: $14.99 |Format: Softcover | Page Count: 206

ISBN: 978-1-4627-2785-8 (hc) |List Price: $33.95 |Format: Hardcover | Page Count: 206

ISBN: 978-1-462-72784-1 (e) |List Price: $3.99 | Format; E-Book | Page Count: 206



For more information about Sandra Hardage come check out her sites!

http://sandrahardage.com/


https://twitter.com/myfaithjourney


https://www.facebook.com/MyJourneyOfFaith


http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sandra-hardage/75/812/529

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.