November 2011 Archives

It’s the last day of the month and you know what that means… Time to announce the best-selling novels at LifeWay Christian Stores for the month of November!

     

     1.) Longing by Karen Kingsbury

     2.) The Tehran Initiative by Joel Rosenberg

     3.) Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock

     4.) Courageous: A Novelization by Randy Alcorn

     5.) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

      L   

     6.) Learning by Karen Kingsbury

     7.) Lonestar Angel by Colleen Coble

     8.) A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

     9.) Leaving by Karen Kinsgbury

     10.)  Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers

Thanks, everyone, for entering our giveaway today! We have randomly chosen 5 winners from the comments that were left on the blog. Congrats to:

Vicki Hubbard

LD

Darlene Felts

Gail Mundy

Tosha Wolfe

You will each get a copy of The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall. I’ll be contacting you soon to get your information.

Thanks to our good friends at Waterbrook, we have 5 copies of the new Christmas novel by Cindy Woodsmall to giveaway today! The Christmas Singing will allow you a glimpse into the Amish life during the holidays. 

For your chance to win one of the copies, answer this simple question:

What is your favorite Christmas carol or hymn?

Leave your response in the comments section of today’s post by 6:00 p.m. central time. We’ll randomly choose 5 winners.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband, Sol, the Christmas gift they have both longed for – news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big Amish family isn’t likely to become a reality. Will those empty chairs at the table ever be filled?

Then a winter storm raging outside blows an impatient young woman and her husband into the Riehl home on Christmas Eve – and into a much slower pace of life.

Both couples are about to find out if they can weather the storm – and if miracles still happen at Christmastime.

LifeWay Christian Stores wishes you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I hope you are gearing up for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend full of family, friends, rest, and well… food. I know I’ve located my “fat pants” for tomorrow, how about you?

We’ve got some more of our wonderful authors (all of whom I’m thankful for!) stopping by to share what they are grateful for this year. After you read their posts, share with us what you’re thankful for. We’d love to hear from you!

I’m most thankful for God’s comforting grace and daily presence in my life. Without it, I could not have made it through several challenging issues that threaten to undo me this year. I’m grateful that He chose to bless me with the gift of writing for Him which I enjoy so much. I’m thankful too, for my wonderful family, my four delightful grandchildren, and my best friend who all support my writing endeavors. This past May, I had a very bad fall with multiple injuries while I was on deadline and struggled to face each morning. I decided that every day I awoke—I had a choice to either have an attitude of thankfulness or one of grumbling. I choose the former and God has blessed that choice. Oh, I’m also thankful for cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie and pecan pie! – Maggie Brendan, author of Deeply Devoted

After a couple rough years health wise, I am so thankful for God's healing powers. I feel strong and healthy, by God's grace. But even that doesn't compare to how thankful I am for Dave, my hubby of 45 years (yeah, that's right, 45!!!). He is a jewel beyond compare. I'm also thankful for friends who are also SISTERS to me, and I never want to take them for granted. One of my closest friends just died this morning as I write this, after years of living with a weak heart. I am grieving, but not as one who has no hope. I will miss her precious presence here and now, but I am so thankful for the gift of eternal life where there will be no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, and no parting. Thank you, Jesus! - Neta Jackson, author of the Yada Yada Prayer Group and House of Hope novels

Being grateful is a state of mind and heart that I’ve asked God to cultivate more deeply within me this past year. And He’s doing that. Of course He’s doing it in ways I wouldn’t have chosen. I want to be thankful not just for the fun things––the parts of life that I would have chosen to walk––but for the parts of life that are hard. Unwelcome. That I would have detoured around, if given a choice. Yet I believe that nothing touches my life that doesn’t first filter through the loving (and sovereign) hands of my heavenly father. Therefore, I’m grateful for every step. And one thing He’s reminded me of this year that I'm carrying with me into the next is that––when you're walking with Him––every step changes the view. – Tamera Alexander, author of A Lasting Impression

There is so much I am thankful for on this holiday: God, who guides and fortifies me on this journey called life; the readers who have vaulted me to best-sellerdom and who brighten my days with their kind e-mails; the RITA and Carol awards I won this year—a deeply gratifying validation by my peers; and the nurturing, sustaining love of family and friends. I truly have an abundance of blessings. But the one I have been especially grateful for in recent years is health. Four years ago, both my parents suffered life-threatening medical crises—brain tumor, pulmonary embolism, broken pelvis, broken arm, and ensuing complications from all of the above. It was a full year of trauma and stress that made me appreciate both good health and the joy of ordinary days. I’m happy to report that my parents recovered, and we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving together again this year. So on this holiday—as I’ve done every single day for the past four years—I’ll give thanks for the gift of their continued presence in my life…and for all the other blessings that have enriched my world in 2011. – Irene Hannon, author of Deadly Pursuit

Thanksgiving Bounty

For many years now, I've referred to April 15 - tax day -- as Bounty Counting day realizing that bounty has come to us in sufficient means that we owe taxes. If we didn't have jobs, an income, resources to pay our bills, we wouldn't be writing a check on April 15th." Render under Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21 comes to mind). I think of those payments as making it possible for us to have roads, sewer systems, telephone access, public servants to intervene to protect abused children, fight fires at my neighbor's home, get that EMT to our bedroom within twelve minutes of a 911 call -- also publically supported -- when my husband had a stroke earlier this year...right around that Bounty Counting time. Such counting takes the sting from knowing that some of my tax dollars go for things I don't support; but others help pay for things I do. My cup overflows with gratitude that I live here, in this nation, with so much bounty surrounding.

This may seem an odd introduction to a Thanksgiving tradition but for me it isn't. Thanksgiving is the perfect halfway point in a year to remind and remember again the bounty of our lives. We often spend Thanksgiving Day with family or friends; sometimes at our home and sometimes at another's. But when we arrive back from a feast of food and friendship, my husband and I take our time to bounty count. Again.

Perhaps it's health we thank God for; perhaps it's someone we prayed for finding a job who called last week to say he thought our prayers worked as he was now employed. This year we'll count the bounty of God's grace that my husband's stroke and heart attack were met with skilled nurses and physicians and health insurance that enabled him to continue cardiac rehab after he left the hospital. We'll thank God for the first year in a different home than the one we've lived in for the previous 26 years and for new, good neighbors. The list is always long and when we look back on previous lists, we are amazed at God's grace.

Funny, how in the midst of turmoil I may not take the time to thank God for intervening in my life, only later breathing prayers of thanksgiving. But twice a year, we make that list of bounty and it serves as a reminder that God is with us all the time, bountiful indeed. – Jane Kirkpatrick, author of Where Lilacs Still Bloom (April 2012)

Each year brings a new round of blessings, and I continue to be thankful beyond words to a God who knows no limits when it comes to His Grace.  I'm especially thankful for my husband, children, new little grandson, and all my friends and family.  I give thanks that God continues to bless me with stories to tell and for His reminders to just breathe sometimes--to be still, quiet, and just listen.  He'll put the tales in my head that need to be told.  And after a recent scare, I'm particularly thankful for my good health. - Beth Wiseman, author of The Wonder of Your Love

Two simple words

From the moment my kids were old enough to express themselves, my husband and I endeavored, as all parents must, to teach them to say “thank you.” Saying this is part of the code of conduct that we call “good manners,” and it’s expected of everyone on the planet. But it’s also something that we had to teach them. When one of my kids was given something and shy silence followed, I had to lean down— as a million other mothers have had to do— and whisper, “What do you say?”

We all know the answer to that four-word question, don’t we? It’s not, “Have a nice day,” or “Excellent choice!” or “Better luck next time.” The answer to “What do you say?” is always, “Thank you.” Expose a child often enough to situations where she is obligated to say thanks and eventually it will become ingrained. She will learn that gratitude doesn’t have oxygen unless it’s expressed.

As Thanksgiving approaches with the busy Christmas season already nipping at its heels, this time of concentrated gratitude can easily morph into just a yummy precursor to the rest of the holiday season.

Giving thanks, however, is as intentional – and as meaningful – as giving gifts. Thanksgiving is more than just a fabulous turkey dinner and college football and loved ones around the table eating pumpkin pie. Giving thanks is an act of parting with something. Thanks is something I give, not take. I don’t eat it. I don’t watch it. I don’t pass it around. I give it.

To give something is to offer something of value to someone; something that’s completely mine to give, and means something to me. Usually it means a sacrifice of some kind on my part, because giving something to someone is rather meaningless if the thing meant nothing to me.

Truly giving thanks is a sacrifice of praise to God for all that He has given us; the wonderful and the hard; the mysterious and the amazing; the abundance and the scarce. And if I’m truly to mean it, then I must consider that my gratitude to God has no oxygen unless it’s expressed. 

This Thanksgiving, gather those whom you love and spend some moments sharing with each other what it means to give thanks. Not just say thanks, but truly give it, part with it, and offer it to God as a gift. It is in God’s nature to be generous with us. When we pause to offer words of gratitude back to God we breathe life into our relationship with Him each other, and we find ourselves changed by two simple words, “Thank you.”

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)

Susan Meissner is the author of A Sound Among the Trees, a contemporary novel with a Civil War thread, by WaterBrook Press. You can find her online at www.susanmeissner.com

Many of you have been anxiously awaiting today for months! Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel is now available at LifeWay Christian Stores. Pick up Longing for just $10!

Thanksgiving week can be a busy one for a lot of us. We’re trying to cram 5 days of work into 3. We’re loading up suitcases and cars to head out to visit family. And if we’re hosting Thanksgiving, we have to clean, organize, shop, and cook…cook…COOK (let this serve as a reminder to get your turkey out to thaw now). In between all of our hustle and bustle, let’s not forget to take time to reflect on all the blessings the Lord has lavished upon us this past year. 

Some of our most favorite posts on the blog last year were from a lot of authors who shared what they were thankful for.  As my cousin David says, "If you do something once and you like it, it now becomes a tradition."  So, in keeping up with tradition, we have authors stopping by this week to share what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving season. 

I'm thankful for the people God has put in my life. A husband who loves and adores me. Parents who were strict, Godly, and gave me such confidence. Our children who have each chosen such different paths and all make me so proud. The friends who I can turn to any time regarding anything. A sister who is patient and still one of my closest friends. And I'm grateful to have a job that challenges me, rewards me, and allows me to share the miracle of God's grace. – Vanetta Chapman, author of Falling to Pieces

Thanksgiving is such a rich word. It combines two of the most wonderful things we can do – thanks and giving. Doesn’t that sum up a lot of what the Christian life is all about? Every year during the Thanksgiving season I think about the original celebration and touch in my imagination the appreciation the Pilgrims felt for surviving another year in a New World and the generosity they enjoyed from their Native American neighbors.  Fast forward to the present, and I try to bring that same attitude toward my family when we gather together.  - Robert Whitlow, author of Water’s Edge

Life offers us rich beauty.

The joy of having our hearts touched so deeply it moves us, changes us, creates new hopes inside us. Moms, dads, daughters, sons, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. The list goes on of those who reach into our lives in concrete ways and create abstract splendor inside us. The ways we’re changed and moved because of those relationships is deep and often beyond easy description. And, in turn, we move those we love, sacrificially at times—maybe cheering loudly or correcting firmly, but always gently nudging them onward.

Life offers us rich beauty.

We soak in the greatness of majestic mountains and vast oceans, of budding trees flowering each spring to deep green foliage in the summer and to brilliant colors each fall. Rivers flow. Springs bubble. Brooks babble. Seeds are planted. Harvests are reaped. Needs are met. We set aside some of our abundance, thin as it may be, to share with those whose harvest was destroyed for reasons we don’t understand, knowing that we don’t have to comprehend anything more than that there is a need. The God who gives His love freely, who sacrificed greatly so that His love could flow to us, longs for us to let that love flow to others—the type of love that made a way to forgive us through His own sacrifice.  

Life offers us rich beauty.

Fallen leaves twirl and whoosh across the yard. Sunlight streams golden rays through cloudy days, reminding us of God’s vast love that is always reaching toward us even on stormy days. Snow falls. Blanketing the earth in white and muffling the usual sounds of nature or man. It speaks of His ability to wash us white as snow, to quiet the noise of the world. And it begs us to take note of the gently falling specks that seem like nothing when caught in a hand or on a tongue, but a multitude of them grabs our attention and alters the course of daily lives. It’s that way with our prayers too. One may seem insignificant, but days and months and years of them will alter the course of our life and those of our loved ones. 

Life offers us rich beauty.

Delicious aromas of feasts waft through our homes at various times, especially on holidays such as Thanksgiving. And we pause to remember the lives of those who were at the first Thanksgiving, the sacrifices they made to come to a new country, the battles they lost during difficult, unfamiliar times—hunting game in a foreign land, illnesses, harsh, unpredictable weather, and planting gardens in a land they had no history with. We remember the help God provided to strengthen them in their heartache and the assistance offered by natives who cared. And we’re stirred afresh to know that despite the numerous harsh difficulties, they did not fail to pass along faith and strength to the next generation.

Home is where we feed souls most often, a tradition passed down from one generation to the next. A kitchen table holds far more than bowls, plates, and platters filled with delicious foods. A sheltering place keeps the bodies of those we love warm and safe, but also does far more. That is where we nurture the next generation.

Life offers us rich beauty.

Let us not become so weary in the tough times that we forget to draw strength from Him who was and is and always will be, and share it with others who are hungry.

Galatians 6:9-10 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cindy Woodsmall, author of The Christmas Singing

I’m so thankful for an intimate God, who from the dawn of creation, knew we needed Sabbath reminders of His nearness. During this season of thanks, even those having a casual acquaintance with Jesus talk freely of His goodness and concede His provision in their lives. I’m grateful for the winding—and sometimes difficult—roads that strengthen me in body, mind, and spirit; for an incredible husband, devout parents, and amazing daughters and sons-in-law. We’ve tasted the joys of grandparenting for the first time this year and are looking forward to more! But the over-arching blessing that gives strength and hope for each new day is the living, breathing Word of God. I’m so thankful for His Love Letter to us all. – Mesu Andrews, author of Love Amid the Ashes

I love Thanksgiving. Love it. Everything about it. The thigh-expanding food. The gathering of precious souls. The traditional watching of the original black and white version of Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street.  And really, what’s more special than everyone around the table expressing what they’re thankful for?

These last few years, though, with many people I love suffering from major medical events and reversals of fortune, I’ve tried to live in a state of gratitude, all the time. That means letting go of internal “stuff” I’m holding onto. Finding the small thing to be grateful for in the midst of a jaw-clenching situation. Praying “Thanks, God,” before I pray, “Please help, God.”   Every day may not be the turkey-and-gravy Thanksgiving, but it can give us the hope that comes from gratefulness.    – Nancy Rue, author of Unexpected Dismounts

This year I am especially thankful that I live within an hour of beloved parents and in-laws, siblings, and close friends. I am grateful for new friends who have accepted me into their supportive circle. I am grateful for kind neighbors and wise advisers and skilled caregivers. God has shown His tender love toward me again and again this year through the diverse and wonderful group of people I'm privileged to know. - Erin Healy, author of The Baker’s Wife

It’s been a trying year for many people I care about but God continues to shower us with his many blessings even during adversity—and for that I’m grateful.  My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for my dear loving husband, my wonderful family and many caring friends. I’m also grateful for my readers because without them I couldn’t be doing what I most love to do—tell my stories.  Most of all I’m thankful for a strong connection to God, the shining light of hope and a faith that continues to grow. - Margaret Brownley, author of A Vision of Lucy

A Grateful Heart

We have a Thanksgiving tradition in our family that I love. We sit down to eat, say the Blessing, and then we go around the table and each person states what they are most grateful for this year. Even the youngest grandchild, who was two last year, participated. She was grateful for her Mommy and Daddy. That generated a lot of warm fuzzy feelings in all the adults—and a couple eye rolls from the older grandchildren.

Some things stated are ones you would expect at any Thanksgiving table. There is gratitude for family, jobs and homes. Gratitude for health and promotions and safety. Gratitude for enough food to eat and (I’m smiling as I write this) for chocolate milk. 

But there is also gratitude stated for things you don’t expect. Sometimes these things are stated at the table, or before or afterward, and they are ones that remain in your mind forever. Things like a child comforting you after the loss of a parent—that their grand is with their other grandparents and those who’ve passed on and they’re all working for Jesus now. That happened the first Thanksgiving after my mother passed and her loss was so fresh and the empty chair at the table so stark. It’s been fourteen years, but to this day when I envision my mother, it’s of her doing some work for Jesus.

I remember the Thanksgiving right after people had been forced from their homes in Kosovo. They were robbed of home, family and all they had and banished. Standing out in the rain, asking for help, desolate and despairing. When we sat down to eat, I couldn’t get the images of those people out of my mind. I hurt for them, wept for them, easily imagined being them. But then I thought of all the military members serving our nation, separated from their families so that I could be with mine—their sacrifice so that what happened to those people wouldn’t happen to my loved ones. I was and remain grateful. That day I saw many things in a whole new way, a more complete and loving way, and for that, I am grateful.

Thanksgiving is a time of celebration, but it is also a time to reflect and remember, to look beyond your immediate blessings, for which you likely often express your gratitude both in and out of prayer, and expand your thinking into those very real and relevant blessings that escape your daily thoughts but are at home in your heart. 

Above all, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to embrace a grateful heart and to hold it near and dear always. - Vicki Hinze, author of Not This Time (February 2012)

Creating A Lasting Impression

By Tamera Alexander

When I first stepped foot across the threshold of the Belmont Mansion in Nashville, TN, and learned about Adelicia Acklen––the born-before-her-time woman who built Belmont––and her “tough as nails” personality and extraordinary life, I knew I wanted to write a story that included her, her magnificent home, and this crucial time in our nation’s history.

But when I “met” Sutton Monroe and Claire Laurent while visiting the mansion one afternoon, or more rightly, when they shoved their way into my imagination and met each other, oh…I knew I had to write their story. And I knew exactly what the setting would be too. The historic Belmont Mansion. After over two years of research and writing, A Lasting Impression is the culmination of that “chance meeting.”

So far the male protagonists in my novels have been ranchers, freighters, sharpshooters, sheriffs, U.S. Marshals, and doctors. So I loved it when Sutton Monroe finally revealed who he was––the most dashing and promising young attorney in Nashville in 1866. And who better to pair him with than an art forger? A woman who’s broken about every law imaginable in the world of art but who’s bent on leaving her past behind and starting anew.

Yet when Claire finds herself interviewing for the job of a lifetime in the home of a woman who could bury her with a single word, she’s scared to death. It doesn’t help that the woman’s vigilant attorney would happily grab a shovel and help. But where else can Claire go? She wants so badly to have a second chance at life, and to make a good impression.

A Lasting Impression is about being authentic in one’s life and relationships, and in one’s faith. It’s a story dear to my heart because I’ve been asking God to help me be more authentic in my personal life, and in my faith. Being real makes you vulnerable, and sometimes it comes at great cost, as Claire learns quite well.

I’m grateful that I’ve got two more books through which to share not only the real life history of the Belmont Mansion, but also to “live there” again (story wise) in that lovely home and with those people. They’ve become like friends to me.

Just as A Lasting Impression explored the concept of “beauty in art,” the next two Belmont Mansion novels will continue the theme of beauty in different areas of God’s creative nature. And these novels will be far more “stand alone” than my previous series have been. You’ll still catch a glimpse or two of people you’ve met before, but several years pass between the stories within these novels.

I love connecting with readers and do that through my website, blog, twitter, and facebook. On my website (www.tameraalexander.com), I host monthly book giveaways as a way of saying thank you! There’s no catch. Just sign up. If you’re in a book club, discussion questions for A Lasting Impression can be found there as well.

If you’re looking for a great Thanksgiving dessert, be sure and visit my facebook page. I have a Creamy Praline Pecan pie that’s to die for (link below), and you can bet it’s going to be on my Thanksgiving menu.

Blessings this holiday season, friends, and may we treasure the time with family and friends. But most of all...the One for whom our hearts should be most grateful.

Tamera

Link for Creamy Praline Pecan Pie: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.180818845338220.47649.142700165816755&type=3

TAMERA ALEXANDER is a bestselling novelist whose works have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the Christy Award, the RITA Award, and the Carol Award. After seventeen years in Colorado, Tamera and her husband have returned to their native South and live in Tennessee, where they enjoy spending time with their two grown children.

Tamera invites you to visit her at:

Her Web site    www.tameraalexander.com

Her blog           www.tameraalexander.blogspot.com

Twitter               www.twitter.com/tameraalexander

Facebook         www.facebook.com/tamera.alexander

‘Tis the season for Christmas novels on sale for $5 at LifeWay Christian Stores! Hurry in… supplies are limited and they’re going fast!

   

     

There’s something about Fall that makes me want to bake. And for me, nothing says Fall like a good apple dessert. Here’s a recipe from The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook. 

Apple Crisp

3 lbs. baking apples (a bit tart)

1 Tbsp. (rounded) granulated sugar

2/3 cup water

2 cups flour

3 cups brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup chopped pecans

Peel and slice apples; arrange in a buttered 9x13 glass pan. Lightly sprinkle with sugar; top with water.

Mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry knife. Sprinkle crumbs over apples; sprinkle chopped pecans over the top. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Beverly suggests, “Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and hot tea or coffee.” Yum-o!

The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook by Beverly Lewis, Bethany House Publishers, page 115

A great gift for someone on your list this holiday season (or yourself) is the complete Rose Trilogy Boxed Set by Beverly Lewis. LifeWay Christian Stores currently has it on sale for just $26.99 (regularly $44.99)!  That's three books for less than the price of two!

A sad reality hit me today. It’s November 10 and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping. Looks like my lofty goal of starting early isn’t going to be happening this year…again. If you are like me, maybe you need some good deals to jump start your shopping. Here are some novels that we currently have on sale for just $5. Come into your local LifeWay Christian Store soon… they are while supplies last! Sale runs through November 26.

     

A Hope Rekindled by Tracie Peterson

A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell

Waterfall by Lisa Bergren

     

Falls Like Lightning by Shawn Grady

False Witness by Randy Singer

Jane Austin Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo

   

Love’s First Light by Jamie Carie

Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury

Back by popular demand today is Ruth Anderson, reviewer extraordinaire (in my humble opinion, anyway). Ruth is a fellow LifeWay gal that works in my office and she loves reading novels, talking about novels, and blogging about novels (check out her blog). Today she’s giving us her take on the new Christmas novel by Susan May Warren, Baby, It’s Cold Outside. 

Welcome, Ruth!

When war claimed her only son Nelson, Dottie Morgan grew cold and brittle, the physical embodiment of the name of her hometown of Frost, Minnesota. Nelson had been her salvation, a sign of redemption and forgiveness for the youthful

folly that caused her to spurn her childhood sweetheart Gordy's declarations of love for adventure with a ne'er do well thug. With crushed dreams and a hopeless outlook, Dottie resigns herself to another isolated Christmas and a lonely future, sure that God and mankind has forgotten her -- but more than that, positive that she doesn't deserve to be found. But when a fast-moving snowstorm brings four lonely souls to her door for shelter, Dottie discovers that not only she stands in desperate need of a new beginning. Gordy hopes for one last chance to rekindle his romance with Dottie. Violet, a tomboy who understands cars better than men, served in the WAACs and now struggles to adjust to civilian life and her family's expectations. Jake, a handsome stranger newly-arrived in town, hopes for redemption and carries with him news that could destroy Violet's dreams. And Arnie, a lost and lonely boy, longs to be a hero for his single mother, their family bereft by his father's wartime death. Isolated in Dottie's Storm House, these five bruised and wounded near-strangers are forced to confront their deepest fears for a chance to grasp hold of the promise delivered to the world anew each Christmas -- hope birthed in a world craving a second chance at redemption.

Oh how I adored this book. Baby, It's Cold Outside is the perfect Christmas read, brimming with the warmth and nostalgia of the late 1940s, made all the richer by Warren's trademark and skillful handling of emotional issues that cut to the core of what it means to be a believer in a fallen world. This novel is saturated with hope and spiritual truths, capable of thawing the most jaded of hearts if you'll but crack open the door, much like Dottie does, and listen to the whispered promise that no matter where you're at, no matter the pain,
God has not forsaken you. With Dottie as the centerpoint, Warren speaks strongly to the idea of what makes a family -- not just those one is related to by blood, but family forged by the fires of shared experiences and faith. It's a powerful reminder to not overlook or forsake those who are different or whom tragedy has set apart from the "norm." The flirtatious song from which the novel takes its title dually speaks to the sweet, heart-stopping romances that Warren spins on the page, and on a deeper level as an invitation to take shelter in God's never-failing promises of redemption and second chances.

I am admittedly biased towards novels centered around World War II and its aftermath -- the 1940s is a decade rich with history and change, heartbreak and hope. Warren is adept at bringing this generation to life, with characters that feel wholly authentic to the time period, but vibrant and relatable thanks to their struggles with hopes and heartaches that are timeless and define what it means to be human. It seems that the 1940s is where Warren really shines when writing historicals. She has a gift for sprinkling her narrative with little details that bring the time period to life, from descriptions of clothing and food to the music and expressions that bring the characters and the time period to sparkling life on the page. And setting the story during the 1949 holidays is a well-played stroke of genius -- enough time has passed for the reality of the war's aftermath to settle into the characters' lives, and on the cusp of a new decade's worth of promise, Warren posits a question for the principle players, and by extension the reader: will the tragedy and heartbreak of the past define one's future, or will one allow God to bring beauty and hope forth from the ash heaps of shattered dreams?

I have to briefly speak to Violet and Jake's blossoming romance, as since it begins with letters it is one of my favorite storylines in the novel. With echoes of You've Got Mail (perhaps a more apt comparison would be In the Good Old Summertime, the musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner that released in 1949), Violet and Jake fell in love through letters, where the worst hurts of their wartime experiences were laid bare (only Warren adds the delicious twist of "stolen" identities). In the Storm House, they're faced with the choice -- is the hope of love worth the risk of possible rejection? The risk of being truly known? Warren writes some of the best, most sizzling romances in the business. The tension between Jake and Violet sends sparks off the page, and Jake's quiet heroism and vulnerability will melt your heart -- Warren's outdone herself with this hero. :)

More than a passing seasonal treat, Baby, It's Cold Outside is a novel saturated with rich spiritual truths and overflowing with the beauty of grace. Warren's novels never seem to fail to meet me where I'm at and encourage me when I need it most. The characters within this novel's pages are so heart-breakingly authentic, so fully-realized on the page they'll become your friends, and if you're like me you'll be loathe to finish the book's final pages. Warren's story will weave its way into your heart, leaving you warm with its gorgeously rendered illustration of the meaning of Christmas -- redemption for a fallen world, hope to broken souls. Like so many of Warren's books, this one is a gift to treasure.

Thanks, Ruth!  You can check out of the first chapter to Baby, It's Cold Outside to get a taste of the novel for yourself.

There are a few authors that I eagerly await their new novel each year. Tamera Alexander is one of those. Every year it seems like the fall can’t get here fast enough. My patience was rewarded this year in her new release, A Lasting Impression.

Tamera starts us off in 1866 New Orleans where we meet Claire Laurent, a young artist who lives in the French Quarter. Sounds like a nice life, right? What few people know is that Claire’s father insists she works as a forger, copying classic works of art that he then sells as originals. Claire loves to paint but hates how her father abuses the talent God has given her. After a theft in the family gallery, her father and his business partner put her on a one-way trip to Nashville.

Claire arrives in the city that is still recovering from the Civil War with little personal belongings, even less money, and few choices as to what she is to do next. While seeking refuge in a church on her first night in Nashville, she learns of a job opening at the Belmont Mansion as the personal liaison to the home’s owner, the very wealthy Adelicia Acklen. With nothing to lose, Claire obtains an interview and soon finds herself moving into the historic mansion on a trial basis. While she settles into her new responsibilities, she prays daily that her life as a forger in New Orleans will never reach her new employer in Nashville.

Wary of any new people to Belmont, Sutton Monroe always keeps a close eye on newcomers into Adelicia Acklen’s circle. He’s not only her lawyer but has dedicated his life in recent years to protecting all of her interests, and that includes making sure people don’t take advantage of the wealthy widow. Sutton is intrigued by the new liaison but he still feels there is a secret she is hiding. As Claire brings new warmth into the Acklen household, she is also finding her way into Sutton’s heart.

A Lasting Impression is set in the beautiful and rich landscape of the Belmont Mansion at its height of wealth and social standing in 19^th century Nashville. Through extensive research that included reading through personal files from Adelicia Acklen, Tamera makes the reader feel that they are walking up the tree-lined driveway, past the exquisite gardens and up the steps that lead into grand foyer of the home. I have driven by the mansion several times but I’ve never gone in. After reading this book, I’m eager to visit it!

As beautiful as the setting is, it’s the story that is the real treat. A Lasting Impression brings a lovely mix of diverse characters that you find yourself longing to know more about (oh, how I hope some of them appear in future novels in this series!). I thoroughly enjoyed the classical art elements that were in the novel as well. It gave it a unique twist that you don’t find in other stories. 

Oh, and of course, the romance. Tamera always makes you fall in love right along with her characters in the story. The relationship that develops between Claire and Sutton is genuine, fun, and most importantly, realistic. I don’t have much patience for novels where the guy and the girl fall in love in ways that are unbelievable and well, incredibly cheesy. I never get that from her writing which is always a welcomed breath of fresh air for me. Claire and Sutton are two people that lead lives broken from choices they have made and the regrets that come with them. Their friendship, while not starting off on the best foot, soon  grows into a relationship of encouragement and support.  And, well, we all know where a good friendship can then lead… ah, romance!  I mean, can you not just picture Claire gliding down that set of stairs in a fabulous gown with Sutton waiting on her?  Insert dreamy sigh here...

A Lasting Impression is an excellent start to the Belmont Mansion Series. The only negative I can find is that we now have to wait a year for book #2. Oh, the torture!

Karen Kingsbury’s new novel hits the shelf on Tuesday, November 22! Longing is the third book in the Bailey Flanigan Series. You can pre-order it for just $10 at www.lifeway.com (note: this is an on-line pre-sell only!).

Is anyone else having a hard time believing that today is November 1? My word… where is this year going?! Not only is it hard to believe that today is November 1 but it’s also mind boggling that LifeWay’s November Catalog is out… which means Christmas is just around the corner! Ack! I’m still up to my eyeballs in leftover candy from last night. I’m so not mentally prepared to start thinking about the holidays.

Check out our new catalog for a wide variety of new releases and great sale prices!