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This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
ADAM

(Thomas Nelson April 1, 2008)


by
Ted Dekker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), and Obsessed, with two more...Renegade, and Chaos to be released later this year.

ABOUT THE BOOK





















He died once to stop the killer...now he's dying again to save his wife.

FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark has become famous for his well-articulated arguments that religion is one of society’s greatest antagonists. What Daniel doesn’t know is that his obsessive pursuit of a serial killer known only as “Eve” is about to end abruptly with an unexpected death-his own.

Twenty minutes later Daniel is resuscitated, only to be haunted by the loss of memory of the events immediately preceding his death.

Daniel becomes convinced that the only way to stop Eve is to recover those missing minutes during which he alone saw the killer’s face. And the only way to access them is to trigger his brain’s memory dump that occurs at the time of death by simulating his death again…and again. So begins a carefully researched psychological thriller which delves deep into the haunting realities of near-death experiences, demon possession, and the human psche.

"As always with a Ted Dekker thriller, the details of ADAM are stunning, pointing to meticulous research in a raft of areas: police and FBI methods, forensic medicine, psychological profiling-in short, all that accompanies a Federal hunt for a serial killer. But Dekker fully reveals his magic in the latter part of the book, when he subtly introduces his darker and more frightening theme. It's all too creepily convincing. We have to keep telling ourselves that this is fiction. At the same time, we can't help thinking that not only could it happen, but that it will happen if we're not careful."

MY REVIEW: I'm gonna be honest here. I have not finished reading this book yet. Not because it's a horrible, rotten book that I just can't get into, but because I broke my glasses and am having a hard time reading. I'm only able to post thanks to spell-check! lol!! What I have read so far is great...very scary and truly a thriller. The part of the story where Daniel dies is completely scary. I had not read any reviews about this book before starting it, so I did not know that the main character was going to die. I was almost stunned!

I am still in the beginning of the book...just past where Daniel dies and is resuscitated. I will certainly be finishing this one quickly after I pick up my glasses. I might just even cancel school (we homeschool) for the day so I can read! After I finish, I'll give a more complete review, but so far, this has been a great read and I expect even more exciting things to happen as I progress in the story! So, check back...

A Few Things I Hate

I’ll be honest. There are several things I hate to do…they are stupid things to hate, but nonetheless, I hate to do them: pumping gas, banking, ordering pizza, going through fast-food drive-thrus and picking up prescriptions. Anytime I can convince someone else to do these things, I am thrilled. In fact, my sweet husband just accepts the fact that these are his jobs! Lol!

I’ve thought about online banking, using an online pharmacy…heck, I could even order pizza online. I don’t order pizza online though because you never know what the “deals” are and we NEVER buy pizza unless there is a “deal”! lol! I’ve not figured out a way to pump gas or go through drive-thrus though…those are gonna be quite difficult! Lol! Besides, wouldn’t it be horrible if all the fast food places delivered?? Really, I’d gain so much weight…

Anyway, back to online pharmacies because that seems like a valid option especially if you have a lot of medications you take. I also see where using an online pharmacy would give you the privacy you wanted if you had a condition that you did not want others in your community to know about. I know pharmacist are not allowed to give out information but, come on, this kind of information gets out! Sometimes people see your prescription…you know, those people with “eagle eyes”. It’s always the town gossip too! Lol!!

I also think online pharmacies would be useful if you were taking care of someone who is chronically ill. If there’s a way to lighten your load, you take it. I’ve been in that situation and we had to use a local infusion company that delivered. If I had to pick up medication daily, (and I would have had to because the medication my son used was mixed daily)I would have croaked. So, seriously, I can see where online pharmacies would be extremely helpful.

Fortunately for us, none of us are on any type of medication right now. If, in the future, one of us does start taking a medication on a regular basis, I’ll be checking out our online options!

Big Ol' Beef Recall

OK...that's it! This is just the kind of news I needed to hear in order to break my fast-food addiction...a big ol' honkin' beef recall!

143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse has been recalled. The meat was distributed through Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. which supplies several fast food restaurants and the federal school lunch program. Do I even need to say it?? Yet another reason to homeschool! lol!!

Seriously, this is not a laughing matter....but the "Holy Cow" headline at Fox News is! lol!!

CFBA Blog Tour: My Name is Russell Fink

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
My Name is Russell Fink
Zondervan (March 1, 2008)
by
Michael Snyder

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Michael Snyder has spent the bulk of his professional career in sales, has fallen in love, and continues to struggle with the balance between art and vocation. He's never investigated a murder, much less that of an allegedly clairvoyant dog.





ABOUT THE BOOK:

Russell Fink is twenty-six years old and determined to salvage a job he hates so he can finally move out of his parents house for good. He's convinced he gave his twin sister cancer when they were nine years old. And his crazy fiancée refuses to accept the fact that their engagement really is over.

Then Sonny, his allegedly clairvoyant basset hound, is found murdered.

The ensuing amateur investigation forces Russell to confront several things at once-the enormity of his family's dysfunction, the guy stalking his family, and his long-buried feelings for a most peculiar love interest.

At its heart, My Name is Russell Fink is a comedy, with sharp dialogue, characters steeped in authenticity, romance, suspense, and fresh humor. With a postmodern style similar to Nick Hornby and Douglas Coupland, the author explores reconciliation, forgiveness, and faith in the midst of tragedy. No amount of neurosis or dysfunction can derail God's redemptive purposes.

My Review:

Can I just say, “Thank you, Michael Snyder!” I have completely enjoyed reading this novel…it’s clever and had me grinning quite often. Seriously, this book may have just brought me out of the book blahs I’ve been in lately. It seems like the books I’ve read recently have been lack-luster and mediocre…not this one! I love the characters and the crazy story lines…again, all very clever. Russell is certainly a very likable character…

This book is definitely a keeper and is going on the shelves!

Esignatures

I have often wondered why we still need to use so much paper these days. Since we have the internet and can exchange information much quicker, why is it necessary to have “hard copies” of documents and other important papers. Would it not make more sense to store these types of documents? It would cut down on the need to manufacture paper and would create less garbage. Of course, I’m just talking about all the important documents here, not the hand-written letter! Those are still important and I think paper instead of e-mail should be used when possible…it’s just nicer!

With that being said, I love when I can esign something instead of having to find a fax machine to receive the document…sign it..and then turn around and fax it back. I swear, things like that make me want to stick a fork in my eye! It’s so much easier to just take care of all the signing on the internet or through e-mail. Being able to use an esignature frees up my time and allows me to take care of business without rounding all the kids up and piling them into the van to run out to the copy center to use the fax machine.

I would think that businesses would be jumping at the opportunity to use an esignature service. It just seems like it would stream line business and make it run more efficiently. At Middlepost, businesses can collaborate and store documents forseven years and use the esignature service. Right now Middlepost is offering a “test drive” of their services. If you are a business owner, you should give it a try. Like I said, sounds like a good idea!

This sponsored post is helping buy a laptop for Up the Hill Academy!

Roy Scheider

I just read about the death of Roy Scheider...you know, the police chief in "Jaws". He was 75 and the report I read did not list a cause of death.

I remember the first time I saw "Jaws"...it completely freaked me out! Now that I am older, I am still freaked out but for different reasons. You see, it's that scene where Roy and his family are at the beach and his son wanders off and they can't find him....FREAK me out!! Just thinking about not being able to find my child on a packed beach like that just slays me...now add to the fact that there is a shark out there eating everything in it's path...yep, this scene makes me completely sick with fear! lol!

It is a really good movie though...and I'm sure I'll watch it again the next time it's on TBS!

Disney Movie Club

I know several people who have huge movie collections. Most of these people have a good chunk of their collection devoted to Disney movies. We have several of our favorites that we’ve picked up over the years, but nothing like some collections I’ve seen!

I would think a good way to start a collection of these neat movies would be to join the Disney Movie Club. Right now, you can purchase 3 Disney movies for $1.99 each (free shipping and handling!)when you sign up for a free membership. That sounds pretty easy to me! Just click on the banner at the top of this post to get all the details! Neat!

Qassia..Come to Mama!

I found out about Qassia over at Momma Muse and I just had to give it a whirl!

Basically, it’s a directory where you can list your sites, create quality backlinks and generate some Adsense revenue! You do this by adding “intel” which is just information you share with others. I figured that would be pretty easy since that’s what I’m doing anyway, right?

The site is still in beta so who knows how things will turn out…I’m gonna try it out though. If you want to try it out also, you can sign up through my profile page!

Reclaiming Some Space

I want some shelving units with doors…would those be called shelving unit? I have no idea, but I want them…no, I need them!

I am trying to reclaim our schoolroom/living room/dining room and I need some new furniture. Shoot, I’ll take used furniture if it will meet my needs. I want all my fabric stash to be behind doors so that when I want to be all crafty, I can open up the doors and voila….it’s all there colored coded and organized. I want to cover all this up because I want a sleeker look in the living room.

I’m not completely sure of what I’m even wanting. It’s one of those things that I’ll “know it when I see it”. I really have no idea where to start to look: Lowe’s, directbuy, local furniture store, flea market?? The only think I am certain about is that I want it yesterday! Lol!! The clutter is driving me nuts!

Have any suggestions?

Entrecards...My New Addiction!

OK...so I have a new addiction other than deviled eggs! It's Entrecards which are sort of like business cards that you drop at different blogs as you are out visiting. You can see my widget over in the sidebar. See the little link that says "drop yours"...you click on that to leave your "business card" here! Of course, if you don't have a business card you can't drop one...so head on over to Entrecard and set up an account. I've found some pretty neat blogs and it's completely fun to be able to drop my card!

I have registered most of my blogs...remember, I'm addicted...and here are my current entrecards. I will have to say that creating cards is kind of addicting too! lol! I'm sure my dear friend Judi who actually designs templates, headers and buttons would do a much better job!!

I Have Now Seen it All!

I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my life, but this has to be one of the most disgusting things ever! I had the opportunity to blog about colon cleanser so I was doing some research on diverticulitus when I came across it…bleh! I don’t have the exact link for the place I originally saw this site, but I’m sure you can search for it….I was tempted, but I kept vomiting in my mouth so I decided against doing so! Lol! You see….there are galleries out there that show the “gunk” that people pass when they are undergoing a colon cleanse. Not only is the subject matter of the photos gross, but these people place this “gunk” on the edge of the toilet bowl and take the photos!! Some photos showed drippy gunk! No, no, no…..this may be a good thing to do (I wasn’t able to actually finish my research because I’ve gotten hung up on the “gunk” photo shoots so I have no idea!) but please no more! Bleh! Ack!

Template Giveaway!

Ok, folks! All of you that have told me that you really like my template....here's your chance to win a template from the gal who designed this one! WooHoo!! To celebrate the grand opening of Doodlebug Designs, Judi is giving away the following prizes:

• 1st Place Prize ~ FREE completely customized blog design for a blogger blog!
• 2nd Place Prize ~ FREE completely customized header for a blogger blog!
• 3rd Place Prize ~ 10% off any service!

So head on over to get all the details! Contest ends February 22nd!

I'm the Chauffeur

Shortly after Pete started school, he convinced me that I needed to drop him off at school. I remember how horrible the parking is at the university so I agreed to do so. Since I’ve been doing this, we’ve only been using one car. To some this is absurd, but to us it works…most of the time!

There are occasions when I need to keep the car so I have to drop Pete off at the hospital (which is where he works). The drop off at night is no big deal…it’s the morning pick up that slays me! Lol! I have to pick him up at 6am…aka the crotch of dawn!

It is usually dark when I leave the house and I am always a bit spooked about that. I have a vivid imagination and I swear I’ve seen people sneaking around the corner of the house to get me…or I can see someone in the back of the van…a hobo trying to keep out of the cold! Now, if you live near me and you know that I have to go on one of my morning pick-ups and you try to scare me on purpose…I WILL attack back now that I have my self defense products! Oh you better believe I’d use it on you!! I wouldn’t think twice nor would I apologize upon realizing you were friend not foe….I’d spray you down…quickly!

Yep…I’m feeling safer already! Lol!

Sister's Ink Review

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Sister's Ink
Broadman & Holman Books (February 1, 2008)
by
Rebeca Seitz

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebeca Seitz is Founder and President of Glass Road Public Relations. An author for several years, PRINTS CHARMING was her first novel.

Rebeca cut her publicity teeth as the first dedicated publicist for the fiction division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. In 2005, Rebeca resigned from WestBow and opened the doors of GRPR, the only publicity firm of its kind in the country dedicated solely to representing novelists writing from a Christian worldview.

Rebeca makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Charles, and their son, Anderson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sisters, Ink marks the first in a series of novels written by, for, and about scrapbookers. At the center of the creativity and humor are four unlikely young adult sisters, each separately adopted during early childhood into the loving home of Marilyn and Jack Sinclair.

Ten years after their mother Marilyn has died, the multi-racial Sinclair sisters (Meg, Kendra, Tandy, and Joy) still return to her converted attic scrapping studio in the small town of Stars Hill, Tennessee, to encourage each other through life’s highs and lows.

Book one spotlights headstrong Tandy, a successful yet haunted attorney now living back in Orlando where she spent the first eight years of her life on the streets as a junkie’s kid. When a suddenly enforced leave of absence at work leads her to an extended visit with her sisters in Stars Hill, a business oppor­tunity, rekindled romance, and fresh understanding of God’s will soon follow.


Endorsements:

"What more can any woman want? Sisters, Ink weaves the love of sisters, the fun of scrapbooking, and a romance as sugary and tingling as Sweet Home Alabama. A must read for those who love southern fiction."--DiAnn Mills, author of Leather and Lace and When the Nile Runs Red

"Fun . . . funny . . . fantastic! Rebeca Seitz has brought together scrapbooking and sisterhood in a lively romp, with a love for going home again."--Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of The Potluck Club series.

My Review:

First of all, I just need to say that I absolutely love the cover of this book! The color combination and the photos set up in a scrappy way are perfect with this first book in a scrapbooking series! The story itself was entertaining and I think it would be a perfect “beach read”. I did wish for more depth in certain parts and less silliness in other sections. I also found that this story was quite predictable…not that I like to read about tragedy, but I would have liked to have had something happen that just stopped me in my tracks, ya know?

With all that said, I do think the relationship between the sisters is wonderful and the fact that the parents adopted all these gals from different backgrounds is fantastic! I also love the setting of a small town…I love the atmosphere that the author created. It made me long for that small town living!

Be sure to check out the website for this book! There is a real Sister’s Ink Club for all those scrapbookers out there! That’s pretty neat! I also noticed that the second book in this series will be released later this year. I believe this one will be about Kendra…who I really liked…so I just may have to check that one out...we’ll see.

Anyway, even though this has not been one of my favorite books, I still think it’s entertaining and worthy of a read….especially if you can read it at the beach with a fruity drink in hand! Lol!

Abu Dhabi

I’ll be honest, traveling to the Middle East right now does not sound too enticing to me. It’s not that I find the area dull and boring, but rather, I feel that it may not be too safe. After reading a little about Abu Dhabi though, my view may have changed. From what I have been reading, the area is considered safe.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and is known as the “Island City”. One of the places I would like to see if I were visit is The Corniche. A “cornice” is considered a waterfront area that is paralleled by a main road. There are many beach type activities there and really, who doesn’t like the beach!

So, hurry and check out the flights to Abu Dhabi! And if you go, be sure to visit The Corniche and come back and give me the details. I’m afraid since Pete is in school right now, there is no traveling for us! One day though…

One of My Many Addictions

Deviled eggs...yep, I have an addiction folks! In fact, my addiction is hereditary because my son, Jake, also has a deviled egg addiction. Normally, people fix a dozen eggs...that gives you two dozen deviled eggs. In our home, we fix much more! Believe it or not though, I have nothing to store them in or transport them in if we are going to share them.. yeah, right...like we would share! lol!! Anyway, I found this neat carrier/container over at Lillian Vernon and I think we need this. It only holds two dozen though...that's a problem. I might consider purchasing two if I had Lillian Vernon coupons. I'm sure there are probably some coupons or codes out there on the internet.


Of course, we could just eat the ones that won't fit in there! That would probably be the best thing, right?!

What's you're favorite deviled egg recipe?? Maybe I should host some type of deviled egg carnival or something! lol!!

The Little House

Seriously, this little house located in Toronto is completely cute...but I could never live there! I do believe my claustrophobic tendencies would sprout forth with great fervor! I do like the back patio area quite well though. I think I would probably spend most of my time there...weather permitting.

The Little House was built in 1912 by a well-known contractor named Arthur Weeden. During the same year, the biggest house in Toronto was built. I guess it was a year of construction extremes in Toronto! Neat!

link source: Neatorama

New Jawbone From Stem Cells

Those of you who know me personally, know that I am staunchly against embryonic stem cell research...and even if it were proven that embryonic stem cells were the absolute best means of creating organs, tissues and bones, I would still not support or use such methods. There is plenty of research that has revealed that there are other types of stem cells that are just as effective...those are the stem cells that need to be used.

Here is an article about a Finnish man who had his jawbone replaced with bone that was grown from his very own stem cells! Now this is the kind of stem cell usage that I can support! Leave the little babies alone....

I Miss the Lunch Lady

I was reading the latest news about Heath Ledger and his alleged drug problems and it made me think about Chris Farley.

I really miss his SNL skits and his hilarious movies. The whole "Lunch Lady Land" skit with Adam Sandler slays me each and every time. Whenever we hear the word "hoagie", Pete and I bust out singing "hoagies and grinders, hoagies and grinders...navy beans, navy beans..."....and it usually takes us several days to stop singing it! lol! And I'm not even going to begin talking about Tommy Boy...now that movie completely slays me! lol!

I don't know what kind of hardships Chris Farley had...I don't know if he ever went through a drug treatment program....I don't know if he had any kind of support at all. I like to think that he did try to get help. I just wish that he were still around making us laugh....sigh.

The Oceanic Six

So, we know that Jack, Kate and Hurley are part of the "Oceanic Six"....but who are the other three? I'll be honest, the season premier of Lost was very confusing to me. I've never done well with flash backs in shows and movies and I don't think I'm gonna do well with the flash forwards! Maybe I need to take a little nap before watching the show...maybe a "fresh brain" will help me! lol!!

I did notice that Jacob looked a little like Christian Shephard...was that my imagination??

So...what do you all think? Who are the other three??

Phil Says What?!

This is not the kind of news I wanted to hear today! I am very much in need of Springtime...I need warm, sunny weather. I need the temperature to be in the mid to upper 70's. I need to see flowers popping up out of the ground...I need to open up our windows and air out our stinky home....I need SPRING! So...Phil, I don't like your forecast...humpf!

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabolous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,
Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

Phil's Official Forecast

Bangles

I do not wear a lot of jewelry. I would like to, but I never seem to remember to put it on! Lol! Necklaces are probably my least favorite piece of jewelry….unless the necklaces are longer and have a funky or unique pendant. I love the look of the chokers, but when I wear them I feel like I am ..well…like I am choking! Lol!

Earrings are the hardest for me to remember to put on. Sometimes I think I should just buy a good pair that I can keep in all the time. Pete has bought me several nice pairs throughout our years together, but little hands digging in the “treasures” of my jewelry box have led to those earrings being lost.

For some reason, I am able to drop bracelets on my wrists though. I have some that are funky and some that are classic. I have one that has little charms that represent the verses of Proverbs 31…that one is neat! I have a silver bangle, but no gold bangle yet. I do like this one though…and Valentine’s Day IS just around the corner….hint, hint Kid Dynamite!