Experience Real Satisfaction by Sarah Goebel

I am blessed to announce this week’s release of the Revised Edition of my book, Experience Real Satisfaction.

I don’t just write about satisfaction from “head knowledge” of the Bible, but I draw from my personal contentment struggles and relationship with Christ, while walking through life’s trying circumstances including health challenges, abuse, abandonment and divorce. Like Paul, we learn how to be content regardless of our circumstances as we learn to trust God and His purpose for our lives, and as we learn to draw on His strength versus our own.

Although the interior pages contain the same basic content as the first edition, the rewrite of the book takes the reader to a deeper place and experience in their relationship journey with the Lord. The cover color has also been changed to better reflect the title, and a leader’s guide has been added to the back pages of the book to help with group studies.

The book’s message has not changed. It is all about discovering “joy, peace and satisfaction” through an intimate relationship with God through Christ. If you are smiling on the outside while feeling empty inside, or if you find yourself searching for something or someone to quench your insatiable desire for more things…more control…more attention…more of an individual, then I recommend this book for you. You can get off the merry-go-round of dissatisfaction where disappointment and discouragement drain energy and life, and experience REAL satisfaction.

Let God Talk to You Review by Yvonne Ortega

Some people believe God doesn’t talk to people anymore. I’m grateful He still does. What a privilege to have the opportunity to hear God speak to us.

Many of us go to God with our long list of requests. We know what we want, and we want it now.

However, how many of us expect God to talk to us? How many of us stop our hectic pace and sit in silence to hear from God?

Becky Tirabassi writes with passion and conviction in her book, Let God Talk to You: When You Hear Him, You Will Never Be the Same.

She takes the readers step by step and explains not only that God talks to us, but also why, how, what God says, and when. She starts in the Old Testament, moves through the New Testament, and onto the present.

The author weaves in Scripture, examples, and detailed information on how to set up a prayer notebook to help readers prepare to listen to God. She calls the notebook, My Partner Prayer Notebook.

I challenge you to read this book, follow the steps and sit expecting to hear from God. He will talk to you, and I would love to know what happens.

I read Becky Tirabassi’s book and set up my partner prayer notebook. I cut out TV, the newspaper, and social media for a week. Relax. Becky didn’t say to do that, but I felt led to do so the week before Christmas. God talked to me, and I heard Him. He told me what He wanted me to do in 2012 and what He wanted me to cut out. Unfortunately, one of the things God wanted me to cut out was posting on Christians Read.

I’ve been blessed to be part of this ministry and have enjoyed posting about the many wonderful books available.

May God bless you richly as you read this book and hear God talk to you. He loves you so much that He’s waiting to talk to you.

Yvonne Ortega www.yvonneortega.com

A Christmas Journey Home Review by Yvonne Ortega

A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias is not a warm fuzzy novel. Kathi Macias is a master at writing novels that make the readers think and question the depth of their beliefs. In this novel, she doesn’t disappoint her loyal followers.

Isabella, a pregnant woman in Mexico, lost her family to gang violence. She fears the same thing could happen to her and her husband, Francisco.

isabella’s grandfather provides the money for Isabella and Francisco to pay a “coyote” to guide them illegally across the border to the USA.

Meanwhile, Miriam Nelson in Arizona is furious with God because her border patrol agent husband, David, was killed in a skirmish with drug smugglers. Miriam is bitter and wants revenge for the death of her husband.

The desperate situations Isabella and her husband face leave Isabella overwhelmed with fear and wondering if God will take care of them and the child she carries.

Kathi Macias does not condone illegal immigrants. She does make the readers see both sides of the issue and causes them to laugh one minute and cry the next.

Kathi demonstrates the power of prayer and holds the attention of the readers from the beginning to the miracle meeting of Isabella and Miriam on Christmas Eve.

This is a must read and will make a fabulous Christmas present or stocking stuffer. Include tissue with the gift.

Yvonne Ortega  www.yvonneortega.com

 

Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Yvonne Ortega

With Thanksgiving Day a week away in the USA, many of us may focus on what we will serve for dinner that day. Perhaps before we eat, we will thank God for his blessings to us.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, “Gratitude should be an every moment, every hour, every day, lifetime commitment. Will we ever run out of things to be thankful for? Not a chance.”

Nancy says, “If you’ve always wanted prayer to be as natural as breathing, then pave the way with gratitude.” She spent many months looking at what the Scripture has to say about gratitude.

The book is full of specific Scriptures and examples from the lives of such people as Fanny Crosby, writer of eight thousand hymns, who thanked God for the blessing of blindness.

Nancy takes us on a journey “to confront those stubborn weeds of ingratitude and choose to cultivate a thankful heart.” With transparency and humility she gives examples from her own life of how God encouraged her to give thanks for that which broke her heart.

In her book, the author says gratitude is “not a second-tier virtue in the Christian life—it is vital.” She points out that blessings come disguised as problems and difficulties. She asks if the pain will draw us closer to the Father or make us want to withdraw from his grace and fellowship. I pray it will draw us closer to the Father, especially after reading this book.

Nancy calls gratitude her life preserver and says that choosing gratitude is choosing joy. As we read the book, hopefully gratitude will become our life preserver too and we will choose gratitude and thus joy.

Nancy points out that people fall into two categories: givers and takers, lovers and fighters, Type As and Type Bs, free spirits and list makers, and whiners and worshipers. Will we whine or will we worship?

Our journey to grateful worship of God is “going gratitudinal” according to Nancy DeMoss.

To help us to practice gratitude and thus choose joy, the author includes a 30 day devotional at the end of the book.

Buy this book and read a chapter daily. Let the gratitude that flows out of your life be as abundant as the grace that flows into your life.

Getting Out of God’s Way–Walks in Faith by Vicki Hinze

This weekend, I had an unusual experience and I want to share it with you.

 

A few years ago, I wrote this odd short story, Before the White Rose.  When I started writing Christian fiction, I thought, well, this is another I won’t publish.  I have been writing for well over two decades, so I have quite a collection of unpublished works. J

 

Anyway, the story kept coming up, staying on my mind, prodding me.  And so I let Bell Bridge Books publish it, trusting that the nudging meant what I sensed it meant.  That God had a plan for this story and He wanted me to hear Him and listen to Him and get out of His way.  I let Bell put the story on Kindle for free for four days.  It’s there now and we’re into day three or four depending on how you count them.  Anyway, that’s not important.  What’s important is that the story shot up from being there to number 1 in contemporary fiction in 14 hours.  In 30 books, I’ve never had a project rocket like that.  Never.

 

That acted as confirmation—God was glad I had FINALLY gotten out of His way.

 

It stayed there until about 4:00 Sunday afternoon—three days later.  Now the books before it are Christian fiction, and I’m pleased as punch.  Some saw it top the list and they were so kind, and expressed their sorrow that it had fallen to third spot.  I’m thrilled.

 

The point isn’t about the numbers except the numbers confirm that when we listen to Him, however He communicates with us, then He does what He wants and He can do it in a huge way.  I also proves He uses somewhat unorthodox (to us) means to touch His children in ways He wants them touched.

 

Why do I say that?

 

Many who don’t ordinarily read Christian fiction are reading this story, and they’re finding comfort and hope in it.  They’re seeing His mysterious hand.  That’s a good thing.

 

I want to share with you a couple of comments that are public.  The entire reviews are posted on the Amazon website—in the U.S. or in the U.K.

 

“…Do you know someone who needs a phone call or a visit? It can make all the difference in someone’s life. If you’re looking for a meaningful read, this one will have you involved and thinking long after the final page….”  –Kathy Carmichael “KC”

 

This one encourages others to touch the lives and not forget those alone who need our attention.

 

“…Life is so difficult at times that it seems almost too painful to bear. But the other times, the wonderful ones like first kisses and weddings and new babies make those painful moments tolerable. We forget just how bad the pain was and we move on, we keep living.”

–Debra Webb “Deb”

 

This one speaks of hope in the face of despair.

“…It’s a touching story of three people who are hurting very badly and have given up hope, but at the same time, it fills the reader with hope over the possibilities that exist even when we see nothing but despair.”  –Skye Taylor

 

This one goes on to encourage people to reach out to others to heal yourself and them.

 

 

“…everything is meant to be and i suggest i came across the book for a good reason. before the white rose is incredible. i will never look at a white rose at my dads final resting place the same!”  –Terri’s Kindle

 

In this one, the reader has just lost her father in circumstances she saw as similar to those in the story.  She feels she came across the story for a good reason.

 

See what I mean?  It’s not whether or not they like the story, it’s how the story relates to them and the facets of the hand of God they feel—whether or not they tag those feelings that way.

 

It’s amazing to watch the way God works.  This is definitely all His doing.  And I see the complexities involved.  All the ripples on the water in all the lives in the way He uses this or any other project to communicate with His children.

 

I see these facets and note these things and in a way I feel very small and insignificant.  But in another way I’m humbled in the way we all feel humbled that of everyone God chose us for our specific task.  He trusted us to follow His direction and do what we did.

 

Some will read that and say it’s like being a glorified taxi driver.  I’m okay with that too.  It’s a privilege to drive that taxi and I’m honored to do it.  I know the glory for any and all good is His.

 

The point I wanted to make is that in this I’ve had it hammered home that God uses the willing in ways we might not fully understand but because we’re willing, He does what He wants done through us.  And His house is a mansion of many rooms.  He needs many because we’re all in different stages of spiritual development and we have many needs at different times.

 

I guess I’m feeling a little awestruck by God.  Again.  (smiling here)

 

So what do I hope you take away from this post?  Only this:  Some things in your faith walk are clear and easy.  Some you wonder if you’re doing the right thing.  Put it on the altar and listen to Him.  Sometimes, we’ve done what He wanted, but we need to then get out of His way.

 

Blessings,

 

Vicki

Book Review: 40 Ways to Get Closer to God by Vicki Hinze

40 Ways to Get Closer to God

Jerry MacGregor and Keri Wyatt Kent

• Publisher: Bethany House
• ISBN-10: 0764209183
• ISBN-13: 978-0764209185

At some point in our lives, often when we’re in crisis, we call on God for help.  When the crisis passes, all too often we return to our normal routines and keep God distant as we did before.  Even more often, we don’t realize we’re creating that distance, we just slide back into normal and the routine—and then we wonder why we feel disconnected or as though God’s forgotten us, put us on ignore, abandoned us.  We want something.  We want more.  We want that connection.  But we haven’t a clue how to get it.

In 40 Ways to Get Closer to God, MacGregor and Wyatt-Kent offer a practical (and very doable) plan for recognizing that the something more we want is an up-close and personal relationship with God, and that yearning for a connection to our Creator in our daily lives requires action–not from Him, from us.

Readers are given an opportunity in the form of a 40-day challenge to become active in their own transformation from one who lives distant and one who works to close the gap.  While God’s love is constant and unconditional, our relationship with God is two-part:  His and ours.  It’s our part that is the focus of this insightful book, and it is in those insights we find keys to our personal spiritual advancement.

Steeped in Scripture, shared wisdom from those who have previously made this journey, and from Macgregor’s personal journey, this book issues an open invitation to any who choose to embrace it.  That invitation is to make your own personal journey.  And should you accept, at its end what you discover is a new beginning. One where you have spiritually grown and you grasp your innate need to continue to grow.  A path where you walk closer with God.

Note:  This book is practical not preachy.  It’s conversational not authoritarian or lofty; more like a chat over coffee with a good friend than an instructional guide.  The challenges inspire, make you eager to tackle them, not overwhelmed at the prospect or intimidated into doing nothing.  It’s a book you’ll read and assess, then read again and again to digest.  For in its apparent simplicity is a wealth of wisdom.

Vicki Hinze