"heart sisters" by natalie chambers snapp

As an adult, I've discovered that friendships are hard—it's hard to make and maintain friendships ... much harder than I realized as a girl. That's where Heart Sisters comes in.

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Heart Sisters is for women who want to both be and have better friends and want a helpful guide to take them through the process.

Author Natalie Chambers Snapp uses her own and others' stories of successes and failures to illustrate what she has learned about girlfriend relationships. Healthy boundaries, honesty, tact, sharing, and agape love all play a part in being and maintaining a circle of close confidants. She also deals with the inevitable challenges that face many relationships including how to handle conflict; life changes like a new baby, move or divorce; and when it is right to "break-up" with your friend.

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The focus in Heart Sisters is on becoming a good friend—it's like that old saying, "To have a friend, you have to be a friend." Author Natalie Chambers Snapp gives lots of great friendship advice, including showing the importance of a relationship with God, first and foremost. "It's hard to keep our relationships in sync when our relationship with God is out of sync," she says, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Other chapters include tips on finding friends, handling conflict in friendships, and setting boundaries. Sometimes the author repeats herself a bit (such as when she uses the story of Sarai, Abram, and Hagar in a couple chapters), but overall the book reads well and is very informative without getting boring. There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter, and I think this book would be perfect for a small group setting. 4 stars.

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Buy the book.

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Natalie Chambers Snapp is first and foremost a follower of Jesus, then wife to Jason, and mom to one spunky daughter and two spirited sons with a crazy amount of energy. Choosing to follow Jesus at 27, Natalie is passionate about sharing the grace, mercy, and truth of God's love. She lives in the Midwest with her crew and tries to keep it simple by writing about the faith found in the everyday mundane. The outpourings of her heart can be found at www.nataliesnapp.com in the fleeting moments between being a wife and mother.

Find Natalie online: website, Facebook, Twitter

Want to be a better friend and have better friends? Natalie Chambers Snapp wrote Heart Sisters just for you! She uses her own and others’ stories of successes and failures to illustrate what she has learned about girlfriend relationships. Discussion questions, space to journal, photos, and quick interviews of healthy female friendships are included within each chapter.

Help Natalie celebrate the release of her new book by entering to win goodies you'll need for a girls' night out with your heart sister!


One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $100 Visa cash card to put toward a nice dinner or lodging
• A copy of Heart Sisters
• A manicure kit
• A summery polish
• A disposable camera (to document your fun)
• A clutch

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 17th. Winner will be announced May 18th on Natalie's blog.

{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"come back to jesus" by tanya logan

About the book: Have you drifted away from the Faith? Or has life gotten in the way? If any of these:

• Busy-ness

• Relationships

• Hurts

• Addictions

have held you up, you need Come Back to Jesus.

Renew your love of Christ and your joy in building on the gifts God gave you. STOP just going through the motions. Find the time-stealers and replace them by starting afresh with prayer; center yourself in The Word.

Explore the things that could lead you off the "narrow path." Practice opening up to God, being in His presence....

Experience the love of the Lord like you may never have before. Read the book as a personal growth guide, or use it as a 6-week Bible study and share insights and encouragement with your small group.

My take: As soon as I read the description for Come Back to Jesus—and Don't Bring Your Blackberry, I knew I wanted to work through it. It is a six-week Bible study that focuses on the things that pull us away from Christ—specifically things like social media, entertainment, and hobbies. As I've worked through the first couple weeks, I have indeed identified some things that are causing my relationship with Christ to stagnate. This study isn't an easy one, but I believe it is important.

A few things about the study itself: Logan constantly uses Scripture to make her points—which, of course, I would expect from a Bible study! There's more reading here than in many of the studies I've done in the past, and the response sections are limited. I actually really appreciate this, as I often get tired of the "duh" questions in many studies. I like studies that are very personal, and this one is!

I do have to say, though, that if I hadn't read the description, I never would have picked up Come Back to Jesus. Why? Because of the cover and the title. The use of the word "Blackberry" makes the study seem a bit dated to me—how many people actually use a Blackberry anymore? And the cover photo really didn't entice me, either. I don't think many women my age would be drawn to this book because of those two things—and that's a shame, as this is exactly the kind of study we need.

My rating: 4 stars

Buy the book.

About the author: Tanya Logan found herself drawn to Christ while on a cloud-gazing walk at the age of 9. Since then, she has seen His hand in nature from her native East Tennessee to Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA and now Southwest Florida. A writer all of her life, Come Back to Jesus—and Don’t Bring your Blackberry is her 4th book. She has also freelanced extensively and is the ghost author of 11 books, 2 of which are required reading for college courses.

“If I never have another word from God, this one is enough: Go tell the people to get the “stuff” out of the way so they can worship Me better,” Logan says. Thus the 6-week study Come Back to Jesus was born.

Tanya is married to Mickey Logan and together they share an office as well as a love of the ocean, boating, reading, and much silliness.

Find Tanya on the following websites:

Website: http://tanyalogan.com/WomensBibleStudy.html

Secondary site: http://www.comebacktojesusv.com/

Amazon Author Central Page for Tanya: http://www.amazon.com/Tanya-Logan

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tanyawriter

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyawriter/

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/TanyaRDavis
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links on this page are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase a product, I will receive a commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I am part of the CWA Review Crew.

"her restless heart" bible study by barbara cameron

About the book (from the publisher): Her Restless Heart is the second study in the Faith and Fiction Bible study series that uses Christian fiction as a backdrop for exploring biblical themes. Just as Jesus used stories (parables) to teach important principles, inspirational fiction can open readers to greater understanding of themselves and spiritual themes.

Based on a novel of the same name by acclaimed Christian fiction author Barbara Cameron, this six-session Bible study explores the heart’s longing for love and acceptance and the Bible’s answer to this universal human need. The Participant Book has five daily readings per week, each including Scripture, reflections on the day’s topic with questions and space for writing responses, prayer, and a suggestion for the day—a question to ponder, Scripture to consider, or action to take.

My take: I really like the idea of taking Christian fiction and adding a Bible study element to it. This study takes excerpts from Barbara Cameron's novel Her Restless Heart and uses them to draw out biblical principles. But it also relies heavily on Scripture itself (which is what you want in a Bible study!). Each day's study includes a Bible passage, reflection/response questions, a prayer, and a question to think about as you go. I was especially impressed with the reflect and respond section. I've done my fair share of women's Bible studies, and I often find myself rolling my eyes at some of the questions asked because they seem so obvious. But many of these questions really caused me to think—about what I want out of life, how I let others' expectations inform my decisions, and how I relate to God. 

The subtitle of this study is "A Woman's Longing for Love and Acceptance," and isn't that what we women all long for? I've really enjoyed the parts of the study I've done so far, and I will definitely continue to work my way through it. 5 stars.

Note: This is designed as a group study, but it can also be done solo. And you certainly don't need to purchase the novel—though if you want to, you can get it here.

Buy the book.

Watch the promo video:

About the author: Barbara Cameron is the author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies (HBO-Cinemax), and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award.

When a relative took her to visit the Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she felt led to write about the spiritual values and simple joys she witnessed there. She currently resides in Edgewater, FL.

Find out more about Barbara at www.barbaracameron.com, www.amishhearts.com and www.amishliving.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Abingdon Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

a revelation journey

I'll be honest: I've never liked the Book of Revelation very much. When I was a kid, it terrified me (as did those A Thief in the Night movies). As I got older, I just ignored it. Then last year, my Bible study group started listening to a series of sermons by Pastor Bob Thune from Coram Deo in Omaha. It was a take on Revelation I'd never heard before—rather than focusing on future events, he talked about how to apply the teaching in Revelation to our lives now. I was intrigued and challenged.

When my church announced its fall women's Bible study series, I knew I needed to be involved: it's Beth Moore's Revelation study, Here and Now ... There and Then. I'm excited for this study not only because it's about Revelation, but also because I have benefited from her teaching in the past (such as when God used her to reveal the bitterness in my heart).

We began the study last week. The first video was phenomenal! I'm very excited to continue learning.

Beth Moore studies are notorious for having lots of daily homework, but this study only has one homework assignment per week. (This should help me stay caught up!) Since I stayed home from church this morning, thanks to the "school cold" that smacked me in the face yesterday, I decided to do my homework with a nice cup of tea. It was really, really good—sent me to Scripture and didn't ask any of the inane questions present in most Bible study curriculums that drive me batty. It also took me only about 30 minutes to complete.

I'm very much looking forward to learning whatever God has for me through this study of Revelation!

P.S.: You can't see it, since the picture didn't turn out great, but I was listening to Travis Cottrell's When The Stars Burn Down as I studied. Not only is the title track completely fitting for a study of Revelation, but the whole album is so worshipful. Amazon tells me I bought it exactly a year ago, and in that time, I've listened to it countless times. You should really check it out!