WORD up!

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the epistle of 1 John. I feel a great sense of urgency to publish them because I’m not sure how much time we have left on this big, blue marble. Thank you for reading them. I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, mid to late summer 2010, things are still looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, BP finally thinks they’ve stopped the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and many people I know personally are experiencing difficulties of mega-crisis proportions – including my own diagnosis of breast cancer. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 5 of 1 John...

Welcome to Week Seven of Angela Thomas’ “When Wallflowers Dance:   Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence”. In this week’s video, “Eyes to see”, Angela challenges the audience to see the God Who loves us.   He is powerful.   He is protector.   He wants to dance with us.   Angela illustrated this point by bringing her daughter onstage and holding her close and moving her around the floor.   God loves us.   Are you dancing with Him? This final week has no homework for us to do in the workbook, but that doesn’t mean that the homework is done.   I pray that you’ve allowed the Lord to change a few things about you in our short time together and that you’ll allow Him to continue the good work He’s begun in you. Join me next week as we begin Lisa Harper’s study of the book of Malachi.   You won’t want to miss it.

Here is my review of this amazing romantic comedy: First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Janice Thompson and her publisher for sending me a copy of "The Dream Dress" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me. Janice Thompson's "The Dream Dress" is the third laugh-out-loud offering in her Weddings by Design romance series.  In this installment, the reader visits the world of wedding chaos and bliss from the perspective of the dress designer. Gabi wants to be a wedding dress designer, but right now she works as a "material girl" (she does alterations) for another designer.  She is at the bottom of the bridal totem pole, beneath the seamstresses and even the sales associate.  Her frenzied first meeting with the incredibly handsome journalist, Jordan Singer, leads to some unbelievable consequences that may ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the epistle of 1 John. I feel a great sense of urgency to publish them because I’m not sure how much time we have left on this big, blue marble. Thank you for reading them. I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, mid to late summer 2010, things are still looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, BP finally thinks they’ve stopped the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and many people I know personally are experiencing difficulties of mega-crisis proportions – including my own diagnosis of breast cancer. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 4 of 1 John...

Short Book Description:   Sadie Callum is a master of disguise. Undercover agent William Jefferson Tucker is not looking for marriage—pretend or otherwise—but he needs the cover of a wife to clear his name and solve the art forgery case that has eluded him for years. But what will happen to his heart?   Short Bio & Author Website: Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of fifty novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad and nominations including a Career Achievement Award, Reader’s Choice Awards, Romantic Times Book of the Year, and several Romantic Times Top Picks. A proud military wife and tenth-generation Texan, she now cheers on her beloved Aggies from north of the Red River. Find out more at www.kathleenybarbo.com . Take a look at Chapter One! May 10, 1889 Louisiana State Penitentiary Angola, Louisiana Detective William Jefferson Tucker of the Criminal Investigations...

Welcome to Week Six of Angela Thomas’ “When Wallflowers Dance:   Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence”. This week’s video, “The Holy Spirit” brought to light several facts about the Holy Spirit and our relationship to Him.   First, we received the assurance from Acts 2:38 that the Holy Spirit lives in everyone who has accepted Christ as Savior.   Second, the Holy Spirit will glorify God in my life (John 16:13-15).   Third, Hebrews 2:4 teaches us that we can’t boss the Holy Spirit around.   Fourth, the Holy Spirit falls on people (Acts 10:44).   Fifth, He is our power (Acts 1:8).   And I’m intrigued by the following formula:   maturity = time + the consistent covering of the Holy Spirit. This week’s homework, “The Spirit of God” gave us a too quick overview of Who the Holy Spirit is:   in us, to us, for us.   This time in the Scriptures and Angela’s commentary really whet my appetite to be a more appropriate vessel for Him. ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the epistle of 1 John. I feel a great sense of urgency to publish them because I’m not sure how much time we have left on this big, blue marble. Thank you for reading them. I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, mid to late summer 2010, things are still looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, BP finally thinks they’ve stopped the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and many people I know personally are experiencing difficulties of mega-crisis proportions – including my own diagnosis of breast cancer. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 3 of 1 John...

Get ready for Rachel Hauck's newest heroine, Regina Beswick. Book two Princess Ever After , in Hauck's The Royal Wedding series, is Princess Diaries for grown-ups! Regina Beswick never dreamed of faraway places. She's happy with her life as a classic car mechanic and owner of a restoration shop. But an unexpected visitor and the discovery of a fairytale, drawn by her great-grandma, causes Regina to wonder if she might be destined for something more. Tanner Burkhardt, Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg, must convince the strong-willed Miss Beswick that she is his country's long-lost princess. Failure could destroy his reputation and change his nation forever. As Regina and Tanner face the challenges before them, neither are prepared for love to invade their hearts and change everything they believe about themselves. However, when a royal opponent nearly destroys Regina's future, she must lean into God and trust He has sovereignly brou...

Welcome to Week Five of Angela Thomas’ “When Wallflowers Dance:   Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence”. This week’s video, “Not Your Turn Yet” taught us to respond like Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:12.   Angela told us six things God asks us to do while we are waiting for “our turn”:   first, stay with the Lord (John 15:1-11); second, entrust to Him whatever you deem valuable;   third, trust Him to keep those valuables safe while you wait;   fourth, become the woman who is ready to be called up; fifth, become and remain women of prayer;   sixth, stand (Ephesians 6:13, Isaiah 61:3).   And when God says it’s your turn, run to Him! This week’s homework, “Until It’s Your Turn” gave us the opportunity to examine what we’re waiting for and what we’re doing while we wait.   It led me to pray that God would teach me to be patient as I wait on Him to bring the life within me to maturity. One of the things I’m waiting for is Christ’s ret...

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Jill Eileen Smith and her publisher for sending me a copy of "Rachel" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me. “Rachel” by Jill Eileen Smith is the third offering in the Wives of the Patriarchs series.   Following the account found in the book of Genesis, the story of Laban’s younger daughter is told with a sympathetic bent.   The culture at the time mandated that the elder daughter should be married before the younger is wed.   Laban pulls the most diabolical switch on his nephew, Jacob, by promising Rachel and secretly delivering Leah in her place!   What good can come of four women sharing the same husband, especially when two of those women are sisters? This dramatic story is richly crafted to bring the Bible vividly to life.   The characters and places and circums...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the epistle of 1 John. I feel a great sense of urgency to publish them because I’m not sure how much time we have left on this big, blue marble. Thank you for reading them. I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, mid to late summer 2010, things are still looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, BP finally thinks they’ve stopped the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and many people I know personally are experiencing difficulties of mega-crisis proportions – including my own diagnosis of breast cancer. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 2 of 1 John...

The February Bride by Betsy St. Amant A year's worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed. Allie left the love of her life at the altar---to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine's Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family's destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress? History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day---in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family---women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she's destined to repeat her family's mistakes. She can't bear to hurt Marcus worse. Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar---him. When the two are thrown together for his sister's Valentine's Day wedding, he discovers the truth a...

The January Bride by Deborah Raney A year's worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed. What will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser's 'pen pal' friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn? Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie's never met the innkeeper---but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie's alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn's owner---a man who's likely many years her senior---and who she's never even met. Arthur Tyler is a college professor who lost his young wife to cancer. Together they ran the bed and breakfast w...

Compass is about helping you find the answers you’re looking for in the pages of the Scriptures and allowing that truth navigate your life. Packed with Bible-reading helps and using an energizing, new Bible translation, Compass is a Bible designed with you in mind. Do you want to start reading and applying the Bible to your life, but aren’t quite sure where to start? Let Compass point you in the right direction. Features include: In-text notes that include cultural, historical, theological, and devotional thoughts God’s Promises®—Thomas Nelson’s bestselling guide to Scripture for your every need Book introductions Reading plans for every day of the year Topical Guides to Scripture and notes In-text maps   Here’s my review of this enlightening new Bible: I’ve read and enjoyed the Voice translation, and in this screenplay-like format, the Compass Study Bible is appropriate for devotional reading, and will engage s...

In this remarkable collaborative novel, besties Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, and Diann Hunt tackle the tale of the Gentlewoman's Guide by writing for one book club member apiece. Smitten Book Club is a hopeful, hilarious story of friendship and healing, written by friends for friends. The century-old Gentlewoman's Guide to Love and Courtship is no ordinary book club choice. But for the little book club in Smitten, Vermont, it might be their best pick yet! The thick, leathery tome Heather pulled out of the dusty cardboard box was definitely coming home with her. Not only was The Gentlewoman's Guide to Love and Courtship an appealing curiosity by virtue of its title; it was also written by Smitten, Vermont native Pearl Chambers, a local gentlewoman from three generations back. Little did Heather know the repercussions this little curiosity would have on her and her friends' romantic exploits. When Heather and her fellow book club members begin pa...

Welcome to Week Four of Angela Thomas’ “When Wallflowers Dance:   Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence”. This week’s video, “Resisting Bitterness” taught us that it’s heartbreaking to see a grown woman who finds comfort in bitterness.   Teaching from Ephesians 4:31 and Hebrews 12:15, Angela shares three choices we should make to keep from becoming bitter:   choose God, choose wisdom and choose victory.   Hallelujah! She also told a great story about a new Christian who went to her Pastor and asked what she should do next.   The Pastor told her to get a Bible and start reading and he would meet with her the next week to talk about what she read.   The woman shows up at the church the following day wanting to talk to the Pastor.   She was reading her new Bible and couldn’t wait to talk with him.   He asked where she started reading and she responded, “Revelation”.   Surprised and nervous, the Pastor said that Revelation can be a c...

While she's stalking the truth . . . someone is stalking her. Psychology professor and criminal profiler Taylor Martin prides herself on being able to solve any crime, except the one she wants most desperately to solve--the disappearance of her father twenty years ago. When she finally has a lead on his whereabouts, Taylor returns home to Logan Point, Mississippi, to investigate. But as she works to uncover the truth, someone else will do almost anything to keep her from it. Nick Sinclair pens mystery novels for a living, but the biggest mystery to him is how he can ever get over the death of his wife--a tragedy he believes he could have prevented. Now that his estranged brother is the only family he has left, Nick sets out to find him. But when he crosses paths with Taylor, all he seems to find is trouble. Join the chase as Taylor and Nick search the murky shadows of the past for the keys to unlocking the present--and moving into a future they never imagined. "Bradley had me ...