Welcome, Janet! I’m excited to have you join me today on my blog during your Everyday Brave Blog Tour Giveaway! I invite everyone to comment at the end of Janet’s article for a chance to win an autographed copy of her new release Everyday Brave. I’m even more excited and honored to have my personal “brave” experience included in her book. Here’s Janet: “Mom, they sentenced me to ten years in prison.” In Everyday Brave, Loretta Eidson tells the story of how a phone call from her son plunged her down the deep dark hole of depression. Loretta grieved for…
God is Not Our Virtual Assistant by DiAnn Mills
Recently, I heard a speaker state God was a virtual assistant. The claim didn’t resonate with me. In fact, it irritated me, so I dug deeper for a definition and the qualifications for a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is self-employed and generally works from home to assist a client or clients with professional, technical, communication, and creative advice. Nothing spiritual in that definition. The need for a virtual assistant is basic: reduce our work load, give us more time personally and professionally, and flexibility. Nothing spiritual there either. To be among the five-star virtual assistants, one must: Express him/herself…
Surviving Life’s Dark Clouds
Have you ever felt like a dark cloud keeps hovering over your head and everything that could go wrong…does? Storms pop up along life’s path and we become engulfed in a flood of unwelcomed circumstances that take us on unexpected detours. Detours that take us away from our daily routines and responsibilities. We all face times when it seems God might have forgotten to shield us with his protective arms, and yet, we know in our hearts that He is right there with us every minute of every day. He never forgets who we are or what we’re going through….
Cold Aim by Janice Cantore
Whatever you do when you read this book, don’t skip the Prologue. It gives essential information you’ll later connect with as you read. Police Chief Tess O’Rourke has strong reservations about sheltering a witness in a high-profile human trafficking case in her small town of Rogue’s Hollow. The town has been through enough with the recent forest fire that swallowed people’s homes. Pastor Oliver Macpherson’s belief is that anyone can be rehabilitated and can change, including hardcore criminals. Tess isn’t convinced, but she chooses to trust Oliver’s opinion. Because of his strong faith, Tess gives in to the FBI and…
Living Lies by Natalie Walters
I loved the gripping suspense that captured my attention from the beginning. Lane Kent harbors a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about. Even though her husband died a few years ago, she still suffers from grief and regret. She becomes severely depressed and clings to the bridge by the lake that’s surrounded by trees. Thoughts of suicide haunt her, but she has a five-year-old son who needs her. Charlie Lynch, the new deputy in town, is out riding his mountain bike when spots Lane on the bridge. He stops to see if she’s okay. His presence spooks her….
Justice Delivered by Patricia Bradley
This riveting suspense kept me up all night! A definite page-turner. Carly Smith was fighting for her life and I had to help her escape her captors as she fought to stay alive. Carly attempts to rebuild her life after years of captivity, but her past returns with a vengeance. She returns to Memphis where the life as she’d know as a seventeen-year-old ended. She’d never forget going to a party with a friend where a man posing as a modeling agent offered her a job. He had talked her into leaving with him that night. A decision that changed…
Giving Doesn’t Always Require Money
Isn’t it funny how the first thing that pops into your mind when someone mentions giving is money? I suppose it’s because society today seems to be focused in that direction. However, money is only a small portion of what giving really means. Take time out of your busy schedule to cook a meal and deliver it to a sick friend. Too many times we disregard thoughts like this. If someone’s name comes to your mind at a random moment, stop and listen. God may be speaking to your heart that Jane Doe needs to be encouraged. Be still and…
Breach of Trust by Rachel Dylan
This legal thriller escalated into a suspenseful from the beginning and didn’t slow up until the end. From the onset, I grew suspicious of every character which kept me turning the page. Rachel Dylan did a fabulous job of keeping the action rolling and the reader guessing. Mia Shaw, a corporate litigator, discovers the brutally murdered body of her co-worker when she arrives at his apartment with balloons to celebrate his first successful year at Finley & Hughes. The visual is a picture she can never erase. At the first bit of evidence, Mia is convinced the murderer is the…
Love Stories
I appreciate good, clean love stories. Stories where the girl meets the guy, they fall in love and live happily ever after. Stories like: You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle and Hope Floats. We laugh and cry with the couple as they go through misunderstandings, and from the comfort of our sofas, we try to help them make the right decisions. Watching these movies may make us feel happy that everything turned out like it was supposed to, but how often does it leave us feeling a bit dejected? How many times have we wished we could be loved and…
Uncertain Destinations
Visiting an inmate in prison can be exhausting and stressful. The gate opens, and you step beyond tall razor-wired fences. The scrutiny of suspicious eyes from armed guards, the intimidation of metal detectors, and stern voices accompany you to an uncertain destination. The twisting in your gut pulls tighter with each steel door that opens and closes, trapping you inside. Security cameras and guards watch your body language, the movement of your hands and facial expressions. You’re ordered to keep your hands above the table as you wait for the inmate to appear from yet another steel door while feelings…
