Last month I became hooked on Susan May Warren! I devoured her Team Hope series–think Dee Henderson, wow, awesome books! So I was especially excited for this opportunity to review her newest release, Wiser Than Serpents. Let it suffice that I was riveted to the recliner from page one. Susan’s characters grabbed my interest and my heart, and the plot escalated my heart rate so much that I kept glancing over at the half open front door, thinking maybe I should go over and lock it up tight!

A note from Susan:

Did you know that there are 27 million people around the globe held as slaves today – more thank 80% of them women and children, and up to 50% minors. In fact, there are MORE slaves today than were in the time of William Wilberforce. That leaves me horrified, and it was those stats that compelled me to write a story with a human trafficking plotline.

Wiser than Serpents is a continuation of the Mission:Russia series, a thriller about Yanna, whose sister is snatched through a Russian dating service, and disappears. Yanna enlists the help of Delta Force Captain, David Curtiss to find and rescue her. Readers who’ve read, In Sheep’s Clothing and Sands of Time will recognize Yanna as the tech expert, and David as the solid Christian of the group. (Read the 5-Rose Review here!)

The book is written from the point of views of the rescuers, not the victims, and offers hope and empowerment, instead of feelings of helplessness. It raises awareness without lowering the standards of Christian fiction.

However, the world is real, and the need to get involved is great. I so greatly admire people who take their beliefs and put action to them –hence why a portion of the proceeds of Wiser than Serpents is going to help the International Justice Mission, (www.ijm.org), an organization dedicated to rescuing victims and fighting the scourge of slavery.

About Susan: Susan May Warren is the award-winning author of seventeen novels and novellas with Tyndale, Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing. Her first book, Happily Ever After won the American Fiction Christian Writers Book of the Year in 2003, and was a 2003 Christy Award finalist. In Sheep’s Clothing, a thriller set in Russia, was a 2006 Christy Award finalist and won the 2006 Inspirational Reader’s Choice award. A former missionary to Russia, Susan May Warren now writes Suspense/Romance and Chick Lit full time from her home in northern Minnesota.

About Wiser Than Serpents: When her sister vanishes into a human slave ring, FSB agent Yanna Andrevka is determined to rescue her. Unfortunately, she’s in over her head, with no way out, especially after destroying the undercover operation of Delta Force Operative David Curtiss, who is deep undercover in the Twin Serpents crime syndicate. David has his hands full trying to save Yana, and his operation — one that could rescue hundreds of women from the Serpent, or cost he and Yana their lives. The thrilling next chapter of the Mission: Russia series!

Important Links

Buy Wiser Than Serpents

Susan is donating 15% of the book’s royalties to the International Justice Mission. Help spread the word about IJM and their vital work!

Susan’s Website

Susan’s Blog

Blog Tour Schedule

Contest Info! Susan will be giving away 3 SIGNED sets of the Mission: Russia (In Sheep’s Clothing, Sands of Time, and Wiser Than Serpents) series. To enter the contest…click on over to Susan’s blog tour post here (http://susanmaywarren.typepad.com/scribbles/2008/06/wiser-than-serp.html) and tell us which ministries/charities you support and why! Susan will randomly select three winners!

I was raised by a Mary-heart! And I’m such a Martha. This non-fiction gift edition spoke to my heart, whispered to me of “living room intimacy with God”, “fruitful living”, the wisdom and desirability of keeping God at the center of my busy life, how to work through the “Lazarus Moments” of life…I highly highly recommend it to you all, may it re-awaken your soul as it has mine.

About Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World:

An invitation for every woman who’s ever felt she isn’t godly enough, isn’t loving enough, isn’t doing enough.

The life of a woman today isn’t really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord’s feet…but the daily demands of a busy world just won’t leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him…yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.
Then comes Jesus, into the midst of your busy life, to extend the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters from Bethany. Tenderly, he invites you to choose “the better part”–a joyful life of intimacy with him that flows naturally into loving service.

With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story, Joanna Weaver shows how all of us–Marys and Marthas alike–can draw closer to our Lord: deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

About Joanna Weaver:
Joanna Weaver was voted the Most Promising New Writer of 1997 at the Mount Herman Writer’s Conference. She has authored Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and written for publications such as Focus on the Family, Home Life, Aspire, and The Evangel. A pastor’s wife for more than eighteen years, she and her husband have counseled many couples, both those approaching their wedding and those struggling in marriage. The Weavers live in Montana and have taught young married classes and spoken on the topic of marriage throughout the northwestern United States.

Contests:

Joanna will be giving away 7 copies of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Joanna’s blog tour post.

She is also giving away 7 copies of With This Ring, her latest release. To enter that contest, simply leave a comment on Joanna’s blog tour post (same link) telling her which chapter of Having a Mary Heart was your favorite and why. Fun and easy! Believe me, you’ll read this book and want to gift all your friends with a copy.

Places to find Joanna:

Joanna’s blog: http://joannaweaver.blogspot.com

Joanna’s website: www.joannaweaverbooks.com

Buy the book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400074037?&camp=212361&creative=383841&linkCode=wss&tag=sprightly-20

Blog tour schedule: http://joannaweaver.blogspot.com/2008/06/having-mary-heart-gift-edition.html

That’s what it’s been about at my house this past couple weeks. Hubby and I finally purchased our dream exercise equipment, after watching eBay carefully for the perfect deals. I’ve wanted a Gazelle Supertrainer for years, and he’s wanted a Total Gym…you know, the kind Chuck Norris endorses? Well, I couldn’t get to town to utilize a gym membership, so we brought the gym to me! And I’m loving it, especially when dh works out with me!

And all this exercising is really making me aware of the foods I’m eating. After all, who wants to spend 45 minutes burning fat to put it back on again during a ten minute snack fest? So I’ve been cutting my meals in half, and the first week I lost a whopping 9 pounds! I’ve lost two more since then, and it’s blowing my mind how much food I used to eat. In trying to analyze it, I think “eating more” during my years of pregnancy and breastfeeding (I bf my girls more than a year when possible) became a habit that I never realized. I’m not a big snacker, but I do love real food. In becoming cognizant of eating only until I’m satisfied–not quite full, but not hungry, I’ve noticed that I’m losing the familiar “urge” to eat more. It’s great stuff!  

I’ve also been reading helpful weight loss tips, some from magazines, some from the net, and have gleaned some from friends. Here are the ones I’ve found helpful:

Paul McKenna’s 4 Golden Rules

I knew nothing about this man before a friend began talking about some of his techniques and “golden rules” of weight loss. So I looked him up online and began reading his site, and the forum comments. Gleaned a bunch of goodies. I really liked his tip of squeezing the thumb and forefinger of your left hand together and thinking nasty thoughts about the foods you’re craving when those inevitable desires arise! It works! We ate at Pizza Hut after church this past week, and I opted for salad bar only…watching my family eat slice after slice was hard until I tried this and my stomach actually ceased growling at me! For motivation, and more on these ‘rules’, definitely visit www.mckenna.com.

The Maker’s Diet

My friend Deborah perked my interest in this one, and I immediately got my hands on a copy of the book. You can check Jordan S. Rubin’s book and testimony out at this link: The Maker’s Diet. It’s based on Biblical guidelines for eating, cleansing, etc. I just finished the book, and highly recommend it. Jordan Rubin was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and after seeing over 70 doctors and health practitioners, he looked like a concentration camp survivor…definitely at death’s door. He regained his health 180% by in-depth study of the Bible and following God’s prescription for diet and health. Fascinating reading! And an especially informative Appendix at the book’s end contains simple and delicious sounding recipes, resources (books and websites) for places to purchase organic foods, essential oils (Biblical ones!!), sweeteners, grains and flours, popcorn…non-toxic household cleaners and odor removers…it’s unbelievable what’s available out there. Informative read!

Don’t Get Distracted

Savor each bite. We’re aiming for chewing this a few more times (25-30 or more) than your normal mom-in-a-hurry bite-and-gulp routine. Concentrate on your meal, and on stopping when you feel satisfied. This has really worked for me. That and drinking a ton of lemon-water if I don’t quite feel satisfied when I’m determined to stop!

Get Distracted

Sometimes you just have to let a little time go by and your common sense will overtake those cravings. Get busy doing something else. I REALLY wanted one of the homemade biscuits I’d made to go with supper the other night. I reasoned that I’d skipped the mashed potatoes and gravy, and only had half a piece of the chicken fried steak, so one little biscuit wouldn’t hurt anything, right? Well, I put it off, thinking it would be a nice treat after we’d cleaned up the kitchen, but I kept eyeing the ziplock bag of leftovers, wondering if it was really worth it. By the time we finished clean-up, I was glad I hadn’t gone for it. There are still biscuits in the bag two days later, untouched by yours truly! (Can you tell I don’t feel at all deprived?)

Be Too Smart to Be Tricked

Foods with the appealing titles of “Home-style Fried Chicken” or “Grandma’s Sticky Buns” tempt us, saying that the food must “taste better”…nah, probably not. Think how long you’d have to work out to burn those calories that you’ll forget minutes after having consumed them!

Keep Track of What You Put in Your Mouth

I haven’t been doing this, but I think it’s a great idea to help us be more aware of how much mindless consumption we’re guilty of. One article I read advised to write down every food before you put it in your mouth.

I’ve never been a calorie counter either, but my Gazelle keeps track of how many calories I’ve burned and a 30 minute workout on there says I’ve burned 160-300 calories (depending on how fast and furious I’m going!) so I got online and started researching some of the foods I’d been eating at CalorieKing.com. Yikes! Go get educated…the bottom line is that most fruits and veggies have barely any calories, while the hamburgers hubby fixed for us the other night each contained 218 calories, plus the 70 calorie slice of cheese, the 1 calorie leaf of romaine lettuce, two slices of tomato at 3 calories each…equals an almost 300 calorie meal. I skipped the bun and ketchup, but had a little mustard at 0 cals. Think I’m obsessed? Well, it’s been interesting correlating the two, burning calories and consuming them. (Yeah, I’ve never seriously dieted before!)

Keep Healthy Snacks Around

I’m snacking more diligently to keep from “starving” between meals. Baby carrots, watermelon cubes, celery sticks, bell pepper, broccoli, two or three tablespoons of tuna fish with lime juice and garlic (as a veggie dip), 6 oz of V-8 Juice…things under 35 calories per serving. They’ve really taken the edge off.

Stay Away From Fat-free and Sugar-free Products

I just read a very informative book called Sweet Poison on the dangers of Aspartame. Really wanted to review it on the blog but ran out of time. If you or anyone you know likes diet pop, or diet/sugar-free/fat-free anything, you need to read this book. Really. It could save your/their life. Did you know that Aspartame is even in children’s Tylenol? It’s in most of the available yogurts, sugar-free gum (both things we consumed prior to reading this book), etc. The author’s  compelling testimony of being diagnosed with a fatal thyroid disorder, Grave’s Disease; she was about to have her thyroid destroyed by doctors (irradiated) when she did her own research and found that her devastating health problems (hair loss, vision problems, migraines, weight gainall tracked back to her daily diet pops and overuse of Aspartame. Within 30 days of giving up Aspartame products (de-toxing, essentially) she was back on the road to good health, and her doctor eventually announced her cured of Grave’s disease, which is uncurable. Anyway, visit the link, it’s much more convincing than I am! (My girls are mourning the loss of sugar-free gum…b/c we don’t chew gum otherwise!)

Well, there’s a lot of “thought for food” to keep ya’ll busy! I do want to stress that it’s not about starving yourself, it’s about moderation! There are SO many ways to cut back, as I’m discovering. I’d love to hear your favorite tips in comments!!

Healing Promises, book 2 in the Defender’s of Hope Series, is a fantastic romantic suspense by Christian author and homeschooling mom, Amy Wallace. Let me tell you it is TOP among my fiction faves this year! Just for fun, read my initial response to the book (emailed to Amy):

“Amy, this is as good a time as ever to let you know I devoured your book. I honestly am so impressed with your gift for not only a superb story, but one that is SO inspired by God! I loved every word of it, Clint and Sara were so real…I have such a greater appreciation of what people–married couples esp–must go through when facing cancer together. Wow. I especially loved seeing Gracie and (edited out so as not to spoil the Ransomed Dream experience!) continue their relationship to the altar (!!!) and am very anxious to read Hanna’s story! You have all the exciting elements my dear. I’m not gushing to build you up, I’m truly being honest here. I hope you take this as a compliment, you are up there with Karen Kingsbury in my favorites, and she’s always been at the top. I just love how she makes God so real in the lives of tragedy, and here you are doing the same thing. Thank you for following your calling, and keep up the awesome work! Do we have to wait till next April to read the third book??? ;O)”

As you can tell, this is a book I’m HIGHLY recommending you read and promote to all your friends!

Back Cover Copy:

FACING A NEW THREAT. When FBI Agent Clint Rollins tkes  abullet during a standoff, it might just save his life. But not even the ugly things he’s seen during his years working in the Crimes Against Children Unit could prepare him for the overwhelming powerlessness of hospital tests revealing an unexpected diagnosis. If only Sara weren’t retreating into doctor mode…he needs his wife now more than ever.

FROZEN IN FEAR. Sara Rollins is an oncologist with a mission–beating cancer when she can, easing her patients’ suffering at the very least. Now the life of her tall Texan husband is at stake. She never let the odds steal her hope before, but in this case, the question of God’s healing promises is personal. Can she hold on to the truth she claimed to believe?

FAITH UNDER FIRE. As Clint continues to track down a serial kidnapper despite his illness, former investigations haunt his nightmares, pushing him beyond solving the case into risking his life and career. Clint struggles to believe God is still the God of miracles. Especially when he needs not one, but two. Everything in his life is reduced to one all-important questions: Can God be trusted?

Read Ransomed Dreams first! (Visit this link to read my blog review of it)

IMPORTANT! Be sure and read Ransomed Dreams, Amy’s first book in the Defenders of Hope Series. Healing Promises can stand alone, but there are some spoilers in the first chapter that refer back to Ransomed Dreams, so keep that in mind. And you really don’t want to miss out on Ransomed Dreams, it’s a wonderful read! Curious? Go here to read the first chapter!

What makes you come alive? Think about this.

Last night at our weekly Bible study, this question was asked by the DVD host, John Eldridge…FYI, our small group is watching his series, Wild at Heart. John made the statement, “Don’t ask what the world needs of you–ask what makes you come alive?” The point being, if you are passionate and cognizant about pursuing your calling, you’ll be fulfilled by and effective at whatever God has for you to accomplish.

John addressed the fear factor as well, bringing in Abraham’s faith in leaving everything but his family behind to follow God across country. Most often, following our dreams means facing certain fears, going on total trust and obedience to whatever God asks of us. I was especially sobered by this passage that John read in Revelation 21:7-8:

“He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Notice the first group described in that list? The cowardly. Ouch. I know I’ve been content to swim the placid waters of my “small story” (as John put it) afraid to brave the rapids and waterfalls in my journey to the “big story” God’s inviting me to join…

Also contributing to my thoughts on this… Last week my hubby, girls and I watched a World View Weekend DVD featuring Mark Cahill, titled, Lukewarm No More! Listen to it here, if you want. (You can find the Biblical passage on the importance of being hot or cold, but not lukewarm in Revelation 3:14-22) Mark Cahill, as I shared in my post recommending his book One Heartbeat Away, is extremely burdened for the lost. In this DVD he shares that he knows a family whose children beg their parents to take them street witnessing on their birthdays. Anybody else’s jaw fall off at that one? He also mentioned that he queried the hotel clerk at the hosting quarters of a national conference for youth pastors, asking this person if they’d been working the desk all weekend…to which they answered “yes”…Mark then asked them if any of these youth pastors had shared the plan of salvation with them…and the answer was “no”.

I’ve heard that when polled, most Christians haven’t shared their faith or Christ with others in the last year, much less in the last month.

What concerns me, is how comfortable I am keeping my God-service within my church. How much do I do in my community for Christ? Not a whole lot. Well, that’s going to change.

What makes me alive? Reaching out to women…mothers and wives. I love to bake. I love to write. I love having women and their children over to spend the day. I long to encourage families. How can God use this in me to reach others? I’m thinking old-fashioned neighborliness would be a good place to start. I mean going beyond family and friends here. It’s when you do a kindness for a stranger that God’s love is profoundly felt. By the way, that’s a lesson I’ve recently learned out of my b&sil’s house fire. They knew that their family had their back, but the true impact came via the love and outpouring of townspeople/strangers giving their time, their possessions and their shoulders to cry on.

So what are your thoughts?

“You may find it hard to believe that God could make everything out of nothing, but the alternative is that nothing turned itself into everything. Which takes more faith to believe?”

I took the above quote out of the highly believable and thought-provoking book I’m currently reading: One Heartbeat Away, Your Journey Into Eternity by Mark Cahill. Though this book is not solely about Evolution, it is about finding answers. Cahill does an excellent job countering arguments for the culture’s most common complaints about God and the Bible. Consider a visit to his website, get a copy of his book(s) and get to reading/witnessing! His enthusiasm and compassion for God and the lost is contagious…

A few more quotes taken from One Heartbeat Away:

“You will never hear of a tornado ripping through a junk yard and leaving a fully formed 747 jet, a Mercedes, and a skyscraper in its wake. Why? Blind chance cannot do that.” p. 23

“If you placed all the pieces of a watch into a shoe box and shook it for ten minutes, do you believe it would shake into a functioning watch? Of course not. What if you shook it for a year?” Would a functioning box then come out of the box? Say you were able to shake it for five billion years; would you then have a functioning watch? There is no possible way for that to happen.

And if it couldn’t happen by chance to something relatively simple like a watch, it most certainly couldn’t happen by chance to our magnificently complex universe.” p. 23

It amazes me what the evolutionary theory proposes about birds for instance. Take this on macroevolution from Wikipedia:

“An example of macro evolution is the appearance of feathers during the evolution of birds from one group of dinosaurs.”

This has always astounded me, the claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs. That reptilian scales evolved into feathers. Are there records of fossil scales that even partially resemble a feather? Not to mention that my girls and I recently revisited information from our science textbook showing that birds have four chambers in their hearts, while reptiles have only three. That’s quite a feat. What are the scientific odds?

If the fossil record is where the major evidence supporting evolution lies, then forget about “one missing link”–there must be thousands of missing links. Shouldn’t there be fossils galore of species in transition on their way to becoming new species? I’m not a scientist, but to my way of thinking, if this earth is billions of years old, then there should be millions of creature fossils that are halfway evolved. Part-bird, part-reptile, etc. Where are they?

Mark Cahill explains God’s design as seen in nature so eloquently,

“Every time we look at something built by man–a house for example–we know it had a builder, someone who assembled it. When we see something that has design, like a watch, we know it had a designer who planned it. When we see artwork, like a painting, we know there is an artist who painted it. When we observe order–say twenty Coke cups lined up in a row–we know there was an ‘orderer’ who set them up that way. When we look around the universe at things not made by man, what do we see? We see creation, design, art, and order. So if everything man-made has a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind it, why would we not think that there is a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind the universe?” pgs. 15-16

Cahill proceeds to tell of a street conversation he had with a self-proclaimed atheist, in which he asked the man to prove that a nearby skyscraper had a builder.

“The man answered, ‘That’s easy. The building itself is proof that there is a builder.’

He was 100 percent correct. We know that you don’t just gather some concrete, pipes, windows, paint, wires, etc., then turn around and look back to suddenly find a building. A building requires a builder.

I said, ‘Exactly. The building requires a builder.’ I then added, ‘The sun, the moon, the stars, the oceans, the sand, each unique snowflake, the three billion pieces of your DNA that are different from mine, are absolute proof that there had to be a Creator of this universe.’”

A few sentences later he continued,

“Just because you can’t see, touch, taste, smell or hear the builder of a skyscraper doesn’t mean that such a person doesn’t exist. You don’t need any amazing faith to believe there was a builder of a building you can see; you just need to look at the evidence and make an informed decision. And the best piece of evidence is the work that builder left behind.” p. 18

One Heartbeat Away is a resource we all need to own. If you visit Mark Cahill’s website, you’ll see his heart for God even extends to making this resource available for free to those who can’t afford it. That speaks volumes to me about his motivation for the lost. For more about his books and discs–this book is available as an MP3 Audio Book CD as well–visit http://www.markcahill.org.

And remember, Evolution isn’t the basis of this book, it’s just the topic I zeroed in on for this blog post. Mark also covers:

• New Age issues, among other religious beliefs
• How historical, archaeological, and scientific evidence supports the Bible
• Testimonies of people who have seen Heaven and Hell
• How the Ten Commandments are necessary and for our benefit
• The expensive cost of sin, and how we are all guilty
• Why Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that pays for our sin once and for all
• The how-to’s and importance of repentance, belief, commitment, and evangelism
• What God says about you as a Christian
• How to let your light shine for Him

Please pass the word along, and be encouraged!

Printed with permission from Mark Cahill

Who are the Gen Xer’s? The forty-one million Americans born in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. According to Tricia Goyer’s awesome new book, Generation NeXt Marriage, we of Generation X are serious about life. We want successful marriages, yet we’re realistic and a bit overwhelmed from “the techno-stress that 24/7 communication such as cell phones, e-mail, and instant messaging has brought about. We’ve bought into following our dreams and finding our purpose. Yet we struggle to balance our spouse, kids, ministry, work, and service. ”

Let me say right off that Tricia Goyer is fast becoming my favorite non-fiction author. After reading several of her books, I feel akin to her sisterhood. She definitely has a way of relating that somehow leaves me feeling as though I’ve just poured my heart out to a great Christian girlfriend. Talk about encouraged!

How to narrow my enthusiasm down to one blog post? Not possible. You’ll definitely be hearing more from me on this book as I get time to write here and share more of my thoughts. Yes, it’s that good.

For today, I want to focus on Chapter 13, sub-titled, Conflict Resolutions for Couples. Main title: Love is a Battlefield.

I have to laugh at the thoughts that went through my mind as I began reading this particular chapter. They took me back almost fifteen years to a hot July morning and a dusty, gravel road. I was walking with a neighbor, my newlywed self no doubt chatting on about married life when my friend happened to ask me, “So how do you and your husband fight?”

My blank-faced response had her hurrying to explain. She told me how she’d learned to fight from her parents. Throwing things, defending vulnerable body parts, etc. That nearly every fight she and her dh had left their home a wreck. But making up sure was fun! So back to her question, how do you guys fight things out?

Um, we didn’t! Not like that, and not often even in minor disagreements. We still don’t, this many years later. So this statement from Tricia really stood out to me:

“I’ve seen many couples give in to resignation. In fact, I grew up in a home like that for many years. I never saw my parents have screaming fights. Yet I never really saw them laughing, talking, or having fun together either. After a while, it seemed as if they didn’t care.

It has taken time for me to realize that lack of conflict in a marriage should not be the goal. No one wants an emotionless marriage, but rather one in which the conflict is as carefully tended to as the romance, the care, and the consideration.”

Ouch. All these years of thinking what a great marriage we have, and now this! But there’s so much truth here. For several years now I’ve realized how quick I am to avoid conflict. Sure, I have some deep hurts within me, none I would blame directly on my spouse, but enough things have happened in our relationship that I know what triggers to avoid and what things to leave unspoken. I love my man sooooo much, and he loves me, of that there’s no doubt. But I do know there is room for a much deeper relationship.

Tricia says that when it comes to conflict, there are two important things to remember:

1. Closeness fosters conflict.
2. Through conflict, we can grow closer to our spouses and to God.

She quotes the following from Gary Smalley’s, Marriage You’ve Always Dreamed Of:

“Conflict is not something to be avoided but something to be navigated. If we want to get to the deeper levels of a relationship, we have to go through conflict. By entering the door of conflict, we learn more about each other and our relationship.”

Now I’m not advocating fist-fights or sudden outbursts of self-justified offensive action here! And neither is Tricia Goyer. But sometimes suppressing a slew of grievances can come back to haunt you, you know? Better to inter-depend upon one another, than try to handle the most sensitive of subjects independently. Right?

And for more from that chapter on handling conflict–from identifying and confessing failures to your spouse to forgiveness and regaining of trust–you’ll have to buy the book!

Book Description

Do you still find yourself humming the love songs of the 80s and 90s?

Do you still believe that every marriage should be between soul mates?

But — do you wonder how you can succeed at love and marriage when the generation you grew up in didn’t?

Marriage isn’t what it used to be-it can be better than ever.

If you are a Gen Xer, your marriage has challenges and potentials that no other generation has known. A Gen Xer herself, Tricia Goyer offers realistic help to achieve the God-honoring marriage you long for. She includes:

·Ways to protect your marriage despite the broken relationships modeled in your youth

·Stories, suggestions, and confessions from fellow Gen Xers facing the “What now?” question of real-life marriage

·Advice from the ultimate marriage survival guide: the Bible

·Stats, quizzes, sidebars, and study questions related to this “relationally challenged” time in history

·Practical helps for negotiating kids, work, sex, money, and dirty laundry-sometimes all in the same evening

If you are part of a generation of adults who don’t want to bow to their culture or live and love like their parents did — this book is for you.

WIN A FREE COPY OF Generation NeXt Marriage!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post. One week from today I’ll announce the winner!

Love Gen X Style! Share your story and WIN a dinner for TWO to the restaurant of your choice! ($50 maximum)

Tell us the story of how you and your spouse met. If you have photos, send those along, too! The winning story will be chosen at the end of the blog tour and will be posted on Tricia’s GenX blog. More comments on your post increases your chance of winning … so tell your friends!

Contest entry form for Generation NeXt Marriage blog tour

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go here for a sneak peek: Book excerpt

And to this link to hear What people are saying about Generation NeXt Marriage

But honestly, even if you are not a Gen Xer, this is a must-read for strengthening your marriage. Buy the book! (Or comment on this post to get your name in the drawing for a free copy!)

And lastly, be sure and visit Tricia Goyer’s website at http://triciagoyer.com

Guess what? My hubby took our older girls out to set and check traps with him during three year old’s nap yesterday, and meanwhile, I got in almost three hours of work on my WIP (work-in-progress)! It’s a contemporary women’s fiction novel, with two point of views, the hero’s and the heroine’s.

It’s been forever, so I spent some time gathering my hastily jotted notes–yes, even when I’m not writing, I have great dialog and ideas for scenes flashing through my ever busy brain–and fleshed out an already started GMC chart for hero and heroine. GMC stands for goals-motivation-conflict, in case you’re wondering.

My hero needed some help. He’s a nice guy, despite his inner turmoil. Too nice, probably. So I was pleased to find these blog articles by Susan May Warren (author of Chill Out, Josey!) over at Book Therapy. The one I’ve linked to is the first in the series, and even if you don’t play around at writing like I do, you might enjoy checking them out. Writers evaluate everything. It feeds our creativity, lol. I can’t even watch a movie anymore without getting to the heart of every little detail…things that I love or hate, what makes the main characters tick.

So Susan’s articles on heroes and their “Noble Causes, Flaws and Fears” really hooked me. Especially as one of her examples is spot on for what I’ve written. My fictional hero’s dad died in the line of duty when he was 9 years old, and hero grew up wanting to be just like him (not dead, you know what I mean *wink*). He served in the military police, and came home to work in a small town police department near his childhood community. He has a “protector complex”, but I wasn’t sure what other flaws I should give the poor man.

He’s already made “his stunning mistake”, he is atoning for it, but I have yet to figure out how to have him betray one of his “deepest values” for the sake of the more important one. Have I lost you? Maybe Susan’s explanation using Mel Gibson’s struggle in The Patriot will help:

“Well, here’s why…because at some point in your story, your hero is going to have to choose between the two values. He’ll have to betray the one, and choose the other.

But why can’t he just have both?

Because, the best tension is INNER tension…and competing values are what makes a story take a reader’s breath away. It’s why we’ll cry at Sommersby, and why Mr. Darcy’s confession of love gets us in the heart every time, and why it’s so darn heroic when Mel Gibson comes riding up with the mended American flag after his son is killed in the Patriot. Every character has had to grapple with their inner values, and find the one that pushes them forward. The one that is most Noble.”

I should say that I’m on the fourth draft of this particular novel…yeah…so I still have a lot to learn and am using this story to hone my craft! May it someday see the light of day, one can always hope!

My favorite movie heroes include Tom Hanks (You’ve Got Mail), Keanu Reeves (Lake House), and Mel Gibson (The Patriot). As far as book heroes go, I really loved Trevor in Deb Raney’s Remember to Forget, Landon in Denise Hunter’s Surrender Bay, and Jamie in Liz Curtis Higg’s Lowlands of Scotland series.

All my favorite heroes have one thing in common, they all make me swoon! They’re courteous to a fault, protective and committed. And usually tormented by their past, or the heroine’s past.

What do you look for in a hero, and what are some of your fictional/movie favorites? If you can think of their flaws/fears/noble causes, will you share them in comments?

As you can tell from the title and cover, this chick lit from Susan May Warren promises plenty of unexpected drama! I thoroughly enjoyed my armchair tour of Russia and can’t wait to read another of Susan’s novels!

Here’s a teaser from the author:

Russia?Not again. Josey’s finally living the good life - she’s got the man, the (almost-perfect) wedding, the two-story Cape-Cod house of her dreams. That is until her man drags her back to Moscow! Josey knows she has the guts to follow her own dreams across the world, but she’s not so sure she can play the perfect wife while her husband chases after his. Josey’s set on having the perfect life…even in a world without hot water, decent take-out and size-two leather fashion. But can she find the courage to tell her man the secret that will change their lives forever?

From author Susan May Warren: I can’t help but be amazed at the gifts God has delighted me with - a wonderful husband, four amazing children, and the opportunity to write for Him.

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember - I won my first book writing contest in first grade! Over the years, writing has become, for me, a way to praise God and see Him at work in my life.

Although I have a degree in Mass Communications from the University of MN, my real writing experience started when I penned the The Warren Report - a bi-monthly newsletter that detailed our ministry highlights.

Living in Russia meant I never lacked for great material - and those experiences naturally spilled out first into devotionals and magazine articles and finally into my first published story, “Measure of a Man,” in the Tyndale/HeartQuest, Chance Encounters of the Heart anthology.

I grew up in Wayzata, a suburb of Minneapolis, and became an avid camper from an early age. My favorite fir-lined spot is the north shore of Minnesota - it’s where I met my husband, honeymooned and dreamed of living. The north woods easily became the foundation for my first series, The Deep Haven series. Based on a little tourist town along the shores of Lake Superior. I have to admit - I’m terribly jealous of Mona, the heroine of my first full-length book, Happily Ever After, a Christy Award Finalist published in 2004 with Tyndale/Heartquest.

Our family moved home from the mission field in June 2004 — and now we live in the beautiful town I’d always dreamed of! God has amazed me anew with His provision, and blessings — and allowed me a season when I can write full time for Him.

Buy Chill Out, Josey…

Read the first chapter…

Check out other books by Susan…

Visit Susan on the web and at her blog…

And…

A Pregnancy Story Contest! The contest is open to all you bloggers and readers! Details: Submit your funniest/craziest/most embarrassing PREGNANCY STORY and be entered to win a Super Fabulous, Ultra Deluxe Chill Out, Mom SPA BASKET! Here is the link to the Contest page on Susan’s website: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/joseycontest.html (**note, this contest is exclusively for her blog tour, chances are there will be another contest going on for her general audience…feel free to enter both contests. By submitting your story, Susan will know which contest you are entering!)