"The Life Ready Woman" Blog Tour! (And a contest! And a giveaway!)

This post is a Blog Tour stop for “The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World” by Shaunti Feldhahn & Robert Lewis. It was sent to me through Litfuse Publicity Group by BH Publishing Group. (I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. See the information below for the description from the publisher.)

My Review

I have to say right off the bat that I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and follow, and the information in it is so good for women today. I really liked how the authors described the different seasons of a woman’s life and how best to live life to the fullest and bring glory to God during each one. Since I am in the ‘Married with Preschoolers’ phase of life, I was very encouraged by what was said in that section.

One critique I have of this book is that there is a lot of ‘Naming-of-things’ in it. What I mean by that is that everything has a label:  ‘Life-Ready Woman,’ ‘Core Callings,’ ‘Faith Steps.’ It does help to make the book cohesive, but I did think some of the labels were a little cheesy! Another thing is that I think too much emphasis in the beginning was put on the statistics of women in the modern world, in education and in the workplace. It seemed as if, in quoting those statistics (about women being so involved in higher education, for example), the authors were saying this has contributed to the 'downfall' of the modern woman. Please do not discourage women from pursuing higher education and success in the workplace and other areas of their lives!

In that light, this book may seem limiting to women rather than empowering. This becomes the case any time the subject of Biblical womanhood is brought up. If you read this book, please keep an open mind! Apart from the opening statistics sections, I thought  the authors did a great job of pointing out that being a ‘Life Ready’ woman does not mean that women must stay at home and raise the kids and do all of the household chores. It does mean learning how God created women and how that fits in with the modern life and with Biblical priorities. I feel “The Life-Ready Woman” is a great way to learn more about how women can live a full and wonderful life that is pleasing to God and focused on what really matters.

I will give “The Life Ready Woman”… 4 BookWorms!

The Giveaway

The publisher of this book gave an extra copy to me to give away on my blog! Woo-hoo!

So, if you would like to have this book, please leave a comment on any of my posts between now and March 6th or become a follower of my blog, Facebook page, or Twitter. I will announce the winner on Monday, March 7th. (As usual, if you are already a follower through any of those ways, you will get an automatic entry). Please leave comments so that I will have a huge list of entries to choose from!!!


From the Publisher

About The Life Ready Woman:

Are you a ‘Doing it all’ or ‘Do what matters’ woman?

Whether a stay at home or working mom, an airplane-hopping executive, an empty-nester caring for multiple generations, or a single juggling high demands of career and personal life, today's fast-paced modern world leaves women gasping for balance. We as modern Christian women want to look to the Bible for guidance on how to manage our lives -- but because the world of women looks so different today than it did when the Bible was written, it is hard to find chapter and verse that seems to apply to our situation today.

Thankfully, God has given us exactly that timeless, unchanging guidance for how to find peace, clarity, and God's best for our lives once we know where to look! The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World, reveals a profound biblical roadmap for how each of us can find the abundant life we are longing for, rather than the stressful, torn, how-do-I-balance-it-all life we often feel like we are trying to keep up with today. Actually being a LifeReady Woman means that you are clear about your life, bold in your faith, and able to find God’s best for you, and the end result will be that you not only survive but thrive in our do-it-all world.

God has given every wonderfully unique woman different skills and abilities, different desires, and different temperaments -- and every woman around the planet and through the ages is certainly living in different circumstances. But no matter what a woman’s life looks like, the Bible says that God has an individual mission and plan that He’s carefully designed for each of us. And He wants us to find it. Starting January 2011, The Life Ready Woman and the Life Ready Woman Video Series will help every wonderfully unique woman to thrive as she identifies and courageously pursues God's unique design and callings for her. LifeReady Woman puts you on a roadmap to make decisions that will lead to relief, delight, and fulfillment instead of regret.

You can purchase this book here.

Check out this video:

About Shaunti Feldhahn:

Shaunti Feldhahn is a former Wall Street analyst, best-selling author of the book For Women Only, national speaker, and regular commentator in the media. She has been featured on The Today Show, PBS, TNT and Fox News- to name a few. You can learn more about her many activities by visiting her website Shaunti.com or get some great mom advice from her at MomLifeToday.com. She and her husband live with their two young children in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoy every minute of living at warp speed.

About MomLife Today:

At MomLife Today you will enjoy community with real moms experiencing every age and every stage of MomLife—right alongside you.

Moms need friends we can walk through life with, but more importantly we need friends who will encourage us and equip us in our role as moms in an honest and transparent way … and that’s just what you’ll find by becoming part of our MomLife Today community! We believe that every MOMent counts!

We admit it, being a mom 24/7 is not easy. Rather than lament the role of motherhood, however, we choose to embrace that role and learn from each other how to make it through each day with the right attitude. Come share the joys, sorrows, insanity, and special moments of motherhood with us as we live it and candidly write about it…we’ll have lots of fun along the way! Join us, and do tell… What’s happening in your MomLife Today? http://www.momlifetoday.com/

In celebration of Shaunti Feldhahn’s Life Ready Woman, MomLife Today is giving away 2 Weekend To Remember
Gift Packs and much more!

Not only, is MomLife Today helping promote Life
Ready Woman, but they are thrilled to announce that Shaunti will be joining MomLife Today as a regular contributor!!!

Weekend To Remember Get-
Aways offer marriage-changing
principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives to strengthen your
marriage. Whether you are newly engaged or have been married for 50 years, you will
find value in the tools provided at the getaway.

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive a conference registration for you and your spouse
… and more! MomLife Today will be randomly selecting NINE lucky recipients to
receive one of these great gifts:

1. 2 Weekend To Remember Get Away conference registrations for two. $259 value
   
   each pair (Two couples will receive this.)
2. 2 Life Ready Woman DVD packs. $149 value each (Two different
   people will receive this gift.)
3. 5 The Life Ready Woman books. (Book will go to 5 people.)

To enter click one of the icons below then tell your friends. Winner will be announced
on March 2nd on the MomLife
Today website.

MomLife Today provides encouragement, advice and resources to help YOU with your

daily Momlife! Because…every MOMent counts!

***I know that was a lot of content for this post, but I hope you kept up with me and will enter the giveaway and the contest!***

Stay tuned for another Book Club review next week!

"Paws & Tales" DVD Review and Giveaway!

“Paws & Tales:  God Cares for You” (a DVD) was sent to me by Tyndale House Publishers through their Blog Network. This is an animated video series that is based on the national radio program of the same name by Chuck Swindoll’s Insight for Living.

This DVD contained two different stories with a video song sequence in between. The first story featured several woodland creatures (bears, a beaver, a fox, and a moose) that are trying to build a tree house. Along the way, they learn about making sure that your foundation is built on something solid and unmoving.  This is further related to how we should be building our spiritual lives on a firm foundation (Christ) as well. I thought this story was good. The message was clear, and some of the lines were funny.

The second story featured the same characters and was based on God caring for us by being our Good Shepherd. The friends in this episode are given the opportunity to become shepherds for the day and to see what caring for others is all about. To me, this second story was not as good as the first one. It was like it had completely different writers. Part of it was slightly gross (unnecessarily, I thought – a sheep kind of ‘spits up’), and at the end of the story, I don’t think CJ (the bear) actually told the whole truth when he explained to the Shepherd what had happened overnight with the sheep. (Also, I was slightly offended that in this story the girls in the group are the ones who decide not to take care of the sheep because the sheep are too smelly, leaving the boys to take care of the smelly sheep instead…come on… this is 2011…let’s make the girl characters have a little more gumption…)

Overall, I thought this DVD was okay. The messages were good and were based on spiritual truth. The animation felt a little flat to me, though. My 2-year-old daughter did not watch the whole thing, but I think that was only because this series is aimed at an older age group. One thing that is really cool about this DVD is that you can put it into your computer and print out coloring pages and activity sheets and other things. Neat!

And now on to the Giveaway! For this blog tour, Tyndale has provided me with a certificate that can be redeemed for a free copy of “Paws & Tales:  God Cares for You.” I will be announcing the winner in one week (February 28^th). If you would like to enter this contest, comment on this post and tell me the name of your favorite animated show/movie! I will also include an entry for each follower of the blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

For more information about this DVD, please click here.

To become a member of the “Paws & Tales” Clubhouse, please click here.    
Be sure to enter ‘Paws1’ on the sign up page where it asks for a Clubhouse Membership Number.

Check out the video of “The Good Shepherd” here:

I think that is everything I am supposed to include for this blog tour! Thanks for reading!

And the Winner is.....!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you to everyone who became a follower of my blog, started following me on Twitter, or became a fan of my Facebook page over the last few weeks! I am so glad that there are at least a few people out there reading my blog. I hope you are enjoying it.

And now on to the winner of my first giveaway! I announced on January 25th that I would be giving away a copy of "The Thorn" by Beverly Lewis. I had lots of entries, and the winner is..... Olivia Resende!

Congratulations, Olivia! Please send your current mailing address to me at:

shoopettesbookreviews@gmail.com

and I will get the book to you in the mail as soon as I can.

Olivia had the odds going for her during this contest since she comments on my  posts quite frequently! Keep that in mind, everyone, for the next contest! (I will announce the next contest later on this week).

Thank you again to my readers. More reviews coming soon!

--Shoopette

"Essentials of the Heart" Blog Tour

Today’s post is a blog tour for “Essentials of the Heart” by Susan Weagant. This book was sent to me by the author through Christian Speaker Services.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book when I received it, but it turned out to be a really good book. The author, Susan Weagant, does not shy away from using Scripture as the basis of how to life your life. The book is written in ‘first person’ so you know that this is truly from her heart.

“Essentials of the Heart” is only 153 pages, but there are a lot of great truths within those pages. It did not take long for me to read it—I think it would be a great little devotional for a busy Mom like me! There are pages for reflection at the end of every small section.

Please read on in this post for an exclusive interview from the author!!!

I will give “Essentials of the Heart” by Susan Weagant… 4 ½ BookWorms!

Check out the Christian Speaker Services blog here.

Author Interview:

Susan, you and your husband serve as Christian Camp missionaries. Share with us how this ministry-focus came about and how it influenced the writing of your book.

My husband and I have been missionary supported at Camp Peniel since 1992. The word Peniel comes from the Bible in Genesis 32:30 where Jacob wrestled with an angel.  He named that place Peniel because he said that he had seen God face to face and his life had been preserved.

The man who started Camp Peniel had a desire that anyone who came would experience God face to face, either by coming to know Him as their Savior or growing in their walk with Him.

Many spiritual turning points in my life happened at Camp Peniel. Decisions that impacted my spiritual life the most were made at that place. Those decisions and disciplines that I learned there are what has influenced my book the most. It is for that reason that a portion of the proceeds will go to Camp Peniel’s scholarship program.

I understand Essentials of the Heart is blessing both men and women. Did you consider the impact it would have on men when you wrote it?  What are they saying about it?

I was blindsided by this one. I speak to women’s ministries; so, my audience is women. One day my friend came to me to apologize for not reading my book that she got a month earlier. I told her that she didn’t need to apologize for that, but she insisted to tell me why.

Her husband had picked up the book and started reading it. She did not want to take it from him until he was finished, but it was taking a long time.  (It is a small book so it shouldn’t take him that long.) He finally came to her and told her to go buy two more books because he wanted to give them to his adult sons for Christmas.

I was floored that he would enjoy it so much that he would want his adult sons to read it, too. 

Essentials of the Heart is divided into two parts, Decisions and Disciplines.  What is the significance of this?

“He has made everything beautiful in its time; He also has planted eternity in men’s heart and mind [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun, but only God, can satisfy]…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, AMP) What that means to you and me is this: God created us with a sense of eternity in our hearts and mind. We know that there is more to this life than the here and now. We sense it deep within us.  The only thing that can bring lasting fulfillment to you and me is our relationship with God and growing in that relationship. That is what has brought me the greatest fulfillment in my life, and it starts with heart “Decisions”, which is the first section of the book. The next section is “Disciplines”. These are daily practices, which are necessary to grow in the Lord. 

So the first Essential of the Heart is the decision we make personally for eternity … accepting Christ as our Savior. You list several more Decisions we need to make such as: Who do we want our life to count for, a Decision to Trust, a Decision to Build Intimacy, etc. I’d like for us to look at the issue of Trust. You explain though we often use the words trust and faith interchangeably, we first need to understand what they mean. Could you shed some light on this?

The word trust, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.  Faith according to the Bible is this: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV). The Greek word for faith in the New Testament is pistis, which is a firm persuasion or conviction based on hearing according to Strong’s Dictionary.

If you look at all the definitions, that will give you a better picture of faith. It is important what you base your hope on in this life. Here is my definition of faith.  Faith is a firm conviction of hope based on God’s character, God’s ability, God’s strength, and God’s truth when I can’t see what lies ahead.  When I base my hope on God’s character and God’s Word, it is then that my faith will grow.

If someone would like to have you speak at their event, how can they contact you?

They can go to my website, SusanWeagant.com, for information on my speaking ministry.

I know your book is blessing individuals. Can Essentials of the Heart be used for a group study?

There is a pdf file of study questions for each chapter on my website and it is free to download.


I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author's interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services.

Updates...

Hello, Everyone!

I wanted to write a blog post to tell my readers about several things I have lined up for the month of February. I am participating in several blogs tours this month, and a couple of those blog tours will have giveaways!

Here is what is on the calendar so far for February:

• "Essentials of the Heart" by Susan Weagant --- Blog Tour
• The Blog Tour for "Essentials of the Heart" will make a stop at Shoopette's Book Reviews on Friday, February 11th. This review will feature an interview of the author.
• "The Thorn" by Beverly Lewis --- Giveaway on February 14th!
• Please click here for information about how to enter this contest!
• "The Life-Ready Woman" by Shaunti Feldhahn & Robert Lewis --- Blog Tour
• This blog tour will begin February 14th, and I will be be posting my review sometime after that. During this tour, I will be giving away a copy of the book!
• "Paws & Tales" DVD --- Blog Tour
• This tour is for a new children's DVD series by Tyndale House Publishers. I will be posting my review on February 21st, and I will also be giving away a certificate for a free copy of the DVD.

Wow! It's going to be a busy month for Shoopette's Book Reviews! I also have a couple of other review copies to read as well as my Book Club book for this month. It's a good thing my Baby Girl still takes a good nap every afternoon!

I hope everyone is enjoying my blog. Please leave comments if you like a review or if you have read one of the books I have reviewed. I would love to hear your opinion!

Happy Reading!
Shoopette

"No Errors in My Bible, Sorry About Yours" Review

The book “No Errors in My Bible, Sorry About Yours” by Mark Johansen was given to me by GoodReads through their “First Reads” giveaway program.

I was really excited to get this book. There are many things that I believe about God and the Bible, but I sometimes don’t know how to answer when someone brings up a question or criticism about something that I believe. I confess that I have not done all of the scientific/historical research that I should in order to defend my faith. After reading this book, I am now more prepared!

In “No Errors in My Bible, Sorry About Yours,” Mark Johansen lays out many different criticisms of the Christian faith and the Bible and gives rebuttals to them based on scientific and historical evidence. The criticisms are divided into categories (i.e. “Scientific,” “History,” “Inspiration & Authorship”) and are organized effectively. The author explains up front that this report will sound defensive, but that is what it is:  a defense of Christianity.

For a non-fiction book, this was one I really enjoyed reading. It was pretty easy to read the author’s style of writing, and I only got bogged down a little during the historical stuff. But that is only because history isn’t really my thing. (Now, the scientific stuff…I ate that up!) The ‘questions’ and ‘answers’ were laid out in a logical way (very organized…I could tell that this author is an engineer by trade!), which I liked a lot. I also appreciated the author’s metaphors that were used throughout the book. The examples from everyday life of how to think through a particular ‘problem’ related to believing the Bible were enlightening. This author is obviously a true Christian and has researched the topic of Biblical authenticity very thoroughly.

A critique for this book is that there were several typos and editing mistakes throughout the volume. Also, the cover art for the book seemed a little bit odd to me, but that is just my preference.

This book made me realize that I need to study for myself why I believe what I believe and how I can defend myself in a world that is increasingly anti-Christian. I think that every Christian needs to examine the facts for themselves, but this book would definitely be a step in the right direction to do just that.

I will give “No Errors in My Bible, Sorry About Yours”… 4 BookWorms!

For more information about this book please click here.






Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author through the Goodreads "First Reads" program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Precious Moments Storybook Bible" Review

The “Precious Moments Storybook Bible” was sent to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers through their program called, “BookSneeze.”

I am very familiar with Precious Moments, and although I am not a huge fan, I was interested to receive this book. 

To begin, this book is a lot nicer than what I was expecting. It is larger than I thought it would be (around 8x10 size), and it has more stories and other things than I thought it would have. The illustrations are beautiful, in keeping with the style of Precious Moments. It also has a nice section in the beginning for a Family Tree and other records.

The stories in this book are retold from the “International Children’s Bible” by Jennifer Morgan Gerelds. I was not familiar with this version, but I was charmed by the telling of these stories. The words used are simple enough to understand without ‘watering-down’ the Bible. Some examples of the stories in this book are:  “Noah & the Ark,” “Crossing the Red Sea,” “The Lord is My Shepherd,” and “Jesus Teaches the People.” There is also a section of ‘Songs & Prayers.’

The layout of this book is not necessarily in Biblical order; the order is more topical. This did not really bother me, but it is nice to know if you are looking for something that is more similar in nature to the way the Bible is ordered. Also a few of the stories are not necessarily ‘complete’ if you know the full Biblical account. (For instance, the account of Jonah ends with him getting spit out of the fish…not with him going on to Nineveh.) However, since this is a storybook and not a complete version of the Bible, you can’t put everything in.

My daughter (almost two) really likes to look at the pictures in this storybook! I think she will enjoy reading the stories more as she gets older. She does like to listen to them before naptime, though. This book is a hardback book, but the pages are regular paper, not a board book. (Nice to know if you have really little ones!)

Overall, I am impressed with this Bible storybook. It is a lot nicer than I thought it would be. It would make a nice baby shower gift or other gift, too.

I will give the “Precious Moments Storybook Bible”… 4 BookWorms!

For more information about this book, please click here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”