DO HARD THINGS - TWO WINNERS!!

CONGRATULATIONS!! I WAS ABLE TO DRAW TWO WINNERS FOR THIS AWESOME BOOK!!

RACHEL AND STAMPEDWITHGRACE!!

YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT LADIES!!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE...MUCH MORE!!

Teen FIRST presents Chosen by Ted Dekker

My thoughts: (and those of my teen sons)
This is a story of courage. It is a story of overcoming doubt and fear and pushing beyond your own limits in order to sacrifice for others. Yet, this is a story unlike any other because it is a story only Ted Dekker can tell.

Chosen is the first book in The Lost Book series. If you are already a Dekker fan, you are familiar with The Circle Trilogy. The Lost Book series picks up some 13 years after Thomas has become the leader of the Forest Guard. The evil of the Horde has grown to enormous strength, and the Forest Guard faces their greatest battle. However, Thomas has to appoint new leaders of the Forest Guard from among some of the youngest member of the Forest Dwellers. Will he choose correctly? Or will he send four innocent children to certain death?

Thomas can’t possibly know that his new leaders are called to a much larger purpose. Once the four chosen ones set out on their mission, they encounter creatures straight out of legend. Their mission turns into a life or death search for the lost Books of History. The very future of all Forest Dwellers depends on their success! Along the way, these four young warriors must discover their own strengths and weaknesses and learn to trust one another like they have never had to trust anyone before. Their choices must be made solely on faith sometimes, and the consequences are often very dire indeed.

Told in classic Ted Dekker style, this story will have you reading at a frantic pace! There is action galore and a strong battle between good and evil! If you are the type of person who enjoys “diving deeper” into the meaning of the story, you will find wonderful analogies hidden among the pages of this tale! Are your teens lovers of fantasy? Do they love action-packed epic tales? Then you must introduce them to Dekker’s latest series! Go ahead and read The Circle Trilogy to enjoy the full impact of the Lost Book series. This is a fabulous continuation of a marvelous story! Don’t miss it!

My two teen sons also reviewed this book. Here is what they had to say:
Is Ted Dekker afraid of bats? His fantasy needs a better and more believable base to work from. There was a lot of action, but the main character needs to learn to fight! The women shouldn’t be teaching the men about fighting! It was ok, but there should be more fighting and more severe consequences in their conflict with the Horde.

So, there you have it. Three different opinions. If you are a Dekker fan, I think you will like this series! Check it out here today!



It's April 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his/her latest Teen fiction book's FIRST chapter!

Ted Dekker

and his book:

Chosen (The Lost Books, Book 1) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Thomas Nelson (January 1, 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. To see a complete list of Dekker's work, visit The Works section of TedDekker.com.

Here are some of his latest titles:

Adam

Black: The Birth of Evil (The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, Book 1)

Saint

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


beginnings

Our story begins in a world totally like our own, yet completely different. What once happened here in our own history seems to be repeating itself thousands of years from now,
some time beyond the year 4000 AD.

But this time the future belongs to those who see opportunity before it becomes obvious. To the young, to the warriors, to the lovers. To those who can follow hidden clues and find a great
treasure that will unlock the mysteries of life and wealth.

Thirteen years have passed since the lush, colored forests were turned to desert by Teeleh, the enemy of Elyon and the vilest of all creatures. Evil now rules the land and shows itself as a painful, scaly disease that covers the flesh of the Horde, a people who live in the desert.

The powerful green waters, once precious to Elyon, have vanished from the earth except in seven small forests surrounding seven small lakes. Those few who have chosen to follow the ways of Elyon now live in these forests, bathing once daily in the powerful waters to cleanse their skin of the disease.

The number of their sworn enemy, the Horde, has grown in thirteen years and, fearing the green waters above all else, these desert dwellers have sworn to wipe all traces of the forests from
the earth.

Only the Forest Guard stands in their way. Ten thousand elite fighters against an army of nearly four hundred thousand Horde. But the Forest Guard is starting to crumble.

one

Day One

Qurong, general of the Horde, stood on the tall dune five miles west of the green forest, ignoring the fly that buzzed around his left eye.

His flesh was nearly white, covered with a paste that kept his skin from itching too badly. His long hair was pulled back and woven into dreadlocks, then tucked beneath the leather body armor
cinched tightly around his massive chest.

“Do you think they know?” the young major beside him asked.

Qurong’s milky white horse, chosen for its ability to blend with the desert, stamped and snorted.

The general spit to one side. “They know what we want them to know,” he said. “That we are gathering for war. And that we will march from the east in four days.”

“It seems risky,” the major said. His right cheek twitched, sending three flies to flight.
“Their forces are half what they once were. As long as they think we are coming from the east, we will smother them from the west.”

“The traitor insists that they are building their forces,” the major said.

“With young pups!” Qurong scoffed.

“The young can be crafty.”

“And I’m not? They know nothing about the traitor. This time we will kill them all.”

Qurong turned back to the valley behind him. The tents of his third division, the largest of all Horde armies, which numbered well over three hundred thousand of the most experienced warriors, stretched out nearly as far as he could see.

“We march in four days,” Qurong said. “We will slaughter them from the west.”

Book 3 Change and Cherish Historical Series Jane Kirkpatrick - GIVE AWAY!!

What a powerful story! This book encapsulates what is true and beautiful, painful and life-altering, real and meaningful about living in this world at any moment in time. Emma Wagner Geisy is a priceless treasure that Jane Kirkpatrick has unearthed from historical record and brought to life in a way that transcends the many years that separate her from this 21^st century society we now inhabit. I am so very, very thankful that I had the opportunity to read this story, and that I am now able to share it with you!

Emma Geisy has left behind her life in Wilapa Bay, Washington and come to Aurora Mills, Oregon. Her pain and suffering have tendered her heart, but her willful spirit has yet to be tamed. However, from the very first pages of the book, God introduces people into Emma’s life that begin to teach her a new way to live and within these changes to gather the deepest meaning from every moment of her life. Brita tells her on page 21, “You can’t always get what you want in this life, but as any wise Zwerg knows, a hopeful soul learns to spin gold from the straw she’s been given.” By page 55, Emma is beginning to grasp this idea as she tells Louisa, “We take sad times and find the threads of wisdom there and weave it into the next generation. We’re alchemists we women. We change things.”

There are many changes ahead for Emma as this story unfolds – not all of them pleasant and many of them heartbreaking. However, she finds herself surrounded by those who are holding her up and making it possible for both she and her children to build a new and meaningful life from the heartache they left behind in Washington. Because of the strength Emma gains from her new community, she is able to learn the truth about herself and the human heart in general. She never gives up her true talents and desires, but she learns that as she pours them out in service to others that she strengthens herself and everyone within the circle of her life.

This book contains so much beauty and so much truth, it really is a struggle to express how full my heart is from this journey. God is so good and so faithful in every single circumstance of our lives!! I think Karl said it best on page 64, “God is there Emma, present at the end of the thread, pulling us toward Him. And if we ask ourselves in every situation how He is working in that experience or even our worry or disappointment, then we can feel that tug on the thread.”

I hope you will purchase this entire trilogy and share it with those you love! This is an amazing set of books! And I actually have a FREE COPY of A Mending at the Edge to share with you! Please leave a comment on this post to be entered in the drawing!

Book 2 in the Change and Cherish Historical Series - Jane Kirkpatrick

“A hinge is so much more. It divides two sides of a story. It is what separates mourning from joy, belief from aimlessness, surrender from independence. It’s what holds those halves together. A hinge is a circumstance upon which later events depend.” (p.11)

The second book in Jane Kirkpatrik’s Change and Cherish series acts as the hinge in Emma Wagner Giesy’s story that began in the first book A Clearing In the Wild. Even though she and Christian have remained behind the Keil colony members who have moved on to Oregon, Emma can’t seem to let go of the hurt and resentment toward everything the colony represents. Her struggle to be independent and free from communal living and the care of others seems to stem from a deep sense of pride and her struggle to be everything her family needs in every circumstance. Christian tries very hard to teach Emma the danger in resisting everyone’s help by pouring himself out for others and trying to live the “Diamond Rule” of the colony and make other’s lives better than his own. It is this selflessness that takes him from Emma and leaves her alone to raise her three children.

Jane Kirkpatrick alters the points of view in this story differently than in the first book, and she uses Brother Keil’s wife Louisa as counterpoint to Emma’s willfulness. The reader is able to see both sides of the woman’s roll within and without the structure of the colony. Louisa is learning that she too longs for more of a voice in her husband’s world, and the grief over her son’s death winds up changing her own blind submission into a helpmete’s voice in her husband’s dictatorial leadership style. She has wisdom enough to know that she can’t survive outside the safety of the colony’s structure, but the reader learns’ that she too longs to be loved and accepted for who she is independent of the other women that surround her.

Meanwhile, Emma’s solitude in Wilapa Bay seems to cause her to sway from extreme contentment to abysmal despair. She wants to be the sole provider in an area whose harsh weather and wet winters threaten to take even her children from her. Rather than accept other’s selfless giving of their time and resources, Emma begins to make a series of very selfish and dangerous decisions. Blinded by grief and bitterness, she winds up in a relationship that becomes harmful to both she and her children, and one that forces her to make the hardest decisions of all. Emma Giesy’s desire to protect her children proves to be the one thing that teaches her that she can lean on others without losing herself in the process.

You don’t want to miss this dramatic and soulful hinge in this beautiful trilogy! Pick up your copy today!!

Book 1 - Change and Cherish Historical Series - Jane Kirkpatrick

Jane Kirkpatrick’s historical novels have a distinct and beautiful way of drawing you back to another time. A Clearing In The Wild begins the Change and Cherish trilogy, and it take you into the Keil Colony formed in Bethel, Missouri, 1851. It is there, on Christmas morning, that we meet Emma Wagner – a distinctive character whose story will grow and expand in ways only Jane Kirkpatrick can share. This Colony of believers sounds similar to the Amish in many ways, and they practice communal living set apart from the “outside” world. However, at age eighteen, Emma has become a woman who knows her own mind, and she begins to question this blind submission to a man who hold women in such low regard. It is this independent spirit that takes Emma on a rather treacherous journey into womanhood.

A Clearing In The Wild primarily focuses on Emma and her relationship with Christian Giesy. While Emma’s headstrong ways and independent thinking are seen negatively by the leader of the colony, these very same traits are what draw Christian to her despite the fact that she is 20 years his junior. Christian appreciates her uniqueness, and it is that love that sustains their relationship through some very daunting trials. Emma’s “free thinking” ways also open the door to new ideas that wind up bringing new life to many in the colony.

I don’t want to spoil this beautiful story by sharing a lot of detail. I just want you to know that Jane Kirkpatrick captures the very essence of life in the mid-1800’s and creates characters that you will long remember. Emma and Christopher have to leave the known safety of the colony and journey forth into a new world. They must find their own “clearing in the wild” and the lessons they learn along the way are both strengthening and tendering. Emma’s mother shares a German proverb in the beginning of the story – on page 18 that says; “Begin to weave/God provides the thread.” By the end of the story, Emma understands that proverb like this; “…that life is a weaving with our fine threads being broken and stretched. It’s our calling to keep weaving, find ways to tie things together again.” (p. 340)

Come to Bethel, Missouri and travel to Willapa Bay, Washington with Emma and Christopher. You will be glad you did!!

My Soul To Keep - Melanie Wells

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
My Soul To Keep
(Multnomah Books - February 5, 2008)
by
Melanie Wells

ABOUT THE BOOK:

As nasty as I knew Peter Terry to be, I never expected him to start kidnapping kids. Much less a sweet, funny little boy with nothing to protect him but a few knock-kneed women, two rabbits and a staple gun…

It’s psychology professor Dylan Foster’s favorite day of the academic year…graduation day. And her little friend Christine Zocci’s sixth birthday. But the joyful summer afternoon goes south when a little boy is snatched from a neighborhood park, setting off a chain of events that seen to lead nowhere.

The police are baffled, but Christine’s eerie connection with the kidnapped child sends Dylan on a chilling investigation of her own. Is the pasty, elusive stranger Peter Terry to blame? Exploding light bulbs, the deadly buzz of a Texas rattlesnake, and the vivid, disturbing dreams of a little girl are just pieces of a long trail of tantalizing clues leading Dylan in her dogged search for the truth.

“Like water rising to a boil, My soul To Keep’s suspense sneaks up on you…before you know it, you’re in the thick if a frightening drama…Superbly crafted.”
---ROBERT LIPARULO, author of Deadfall, Germ, and Comes A Horseman

“Written with passion, a good dose of humor and, dare I say it, soul, this novel reminds us that we all, with grace and good fortune, bumble our way toward salvation.”
---K. L. COOK, author of Late Call and The Girl From Charmelle

MY REVIEW:
Dylan Foster is perhaps the most neurotic, obsessive compulsive, emotionally immature person I have ever met in fiction – especially since she is supposed to be a 30-something-year-old college professor. She has a flippant attitude toward God and His power, is lacking many social skills, is very undisciplined and chronically late. Is it any wonder in this world that her boyfriend is having second thoughts? Who is Dylan Foster? Oh, I forgot. She is the main character in Melanie Wells’ trilogy of supernatural suspense novels featuring a demon (or something similar) named Peter Terry. I’m quite torn as to what to tell you about this book.

Now, let me preface anything I might think by the fact that I have not read the two books that precede this one (When the Day of Evil Comes and The Soul Hunter) and it is very obvious that those two books contain vital information if you are to fully appreciate this third installment of Dylan Foster’s supernatural experiences. I strongly suggest that you read them first, or you will find yourself as I do now, totally unable to figure out what to do with this book. You can follow the story just fine, but you don’t have a lot of background on Dylan herself which makes it impossible for you to know where she is spiritually. If all you have to go on is this one book…well, edgy books with covert messages are all the rage, so this definitely qualifies.

Dylan Foster is a college professor at a small Methodist University who has been having violent, dreadful encounters with some sort of demon creature named Peter Terry. In the opening scenes of the book a friend’s child is kidnapped during a visit to a local park, and Peter Terry is almost immediately suspect. Problem is, Dylan is the only one clued into this guy. However, in this book, her friend’s six-year-old daughter Christine seems to have a similarly installed spiritual radar, and she can see/sense evil and good beings (demons/angels) like Dylan can. Hence, many of Dylan’s friends and co-workers consider her a total NUT with the WORST bad luck. In the meantime, it appears that poor Christine is spiritually tied in with the kidnapped child and vicariously experiences his abduction. It’s exciting. It’s suspenseful. It’s well-written. I just wished that there was more spiritual depth to the story. Somehow that seems important when you are dealing with spiritual beings.

There was no spiritual depth to any of the main characters to speak of, so I was left feeling like I was watching a bunch of rather worldly folks try to make sense out of something totally out of their league. If even one of the main characters had had a modicum of spiritual depth it would have added a more meaningful dimension to the story. However, as it stands, it’s no wonder the main characters are so suspicious of these other-worldly encounters that keep Dylan’s life so messed up. In the end, it left me kind of frustrated. Well, not really frustrated, but just wishing I new more about the main character’s personal relationship with Christ – more specifically, if she even HAD one. Hence the very strong suggestion to read the first two books. Either way, be prepared to be creeped-out BIG TIME! This is not for the “big honkin’ chicken club” members AT ALL! It’s a great suspense ride! Just do not read it before bedtime!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of the Texas panhandle and the child of musicians, Melanie Wells attended Southern Methodist University on a music scholarship (she's a fiddle player), and later completed graduate degrees in counseling psychology and Biblical studies at Our Lady of the Lake University and Dallas Theological Seminary.

She has taught at the graduate level at both OLLU and DTS, and has been in private practice as a counselor since 1992. She is the founder and director of LifeWorks counseling associates in Dallas, Texas, a collaborative community of creative therapists.

When the Day of Evil Comes is her first published work of fiction, and the first of a three-book series. The second work, The Soul Hunter was released in May, 2006. Melanie lives and writes in Dallas.

A REBELUTIONARY BOOK - DO HARD THINGS - GIVE AWAY!

Alex and Bret Harris may be leading the largest Rebelutionary force of teens in the world, but they have written a book that will change the lives of Christians everywhere – no matter how old they are! You know, at 41 years of age, I’m going to become a rebelutionist!

Alex and Bret’s book, Do Hard Things, is a call to be everything God intended for us to be. As we study His word and draw close to Him, He will direct us to ideas and passions that will change the world! The unique thing about Alex and Bret is that they are issuing this challenge to kids between the ages of 12-18! And these guys are only 19 themselves! Can “kids” hear from God? YOU BET! Can they answer His direction and purpose in a way that will make a difference? ABSOLUTELY!

Alex and Bret don’t just offer a feel-good tale of stellar accomplishments. They offer clear, practical advice of ways to implement God’s plan for our lives…TODAY! How? A premise of five basic goals encapsulate their ideas. There are five kinds of hard things we can all do to strengthen and grow our spiritual muscles. 1. Do things outside our comfort zone. 2. Do things that go beyond what is expected or required. 3. Do things that are too big to accomplish alone. 4. Do things that don’t earn immediate payoff. 5. Do things that challenge the cultural norm. These two young men take these basic ideas and expound upon them in a way that will have you really giving yourself a good long look in the mirror and asking some pretty revealing questions!

Do fear of failure and complacency have you chained to a life that keeps you from using your God-given abilities to reach out for Him? Are there areas in your life where you’ve accepted “good enough” instead of pushing to do your best? Alex and Bret are young men with a passion to see their peers living lives that are marked not just by great things but by activities and lifestyles that boldly proclaim the life-changing power of the grace of God.

This book is filled with stories of young people who have boldly stepped out in faith to do hard things that have made a life-altering impact on thousands of people world-wide! You will be impressed not only with their ability but with the humility and passion with which they approach their tasks. Truly, God is working in the lives of young people around the globe, and Alex and Bret Harris are serving as God’s tools to deliver a powerful message!

I strongly recommend this book for every teen in your life! I recommend it for every adult that wants to live a more meaningful life in the days ahead! I recommend this book as a teaching tool for youth leaders everywhere! In short – read this book! God has something for you there, and He will meet you within the message and change your life! Purchase your copy HERE today!

Leave a comment on this post to be entered for a FREE COPY of this awesome book!!!

About the Author

Alex and Brett Harris founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today, at age nineteen, are some of the most popular teen writers on the web. The twins are frequent contributors to the webzine Boundless, serve as the main speakers for the Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured nationally on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and The New York Times. Sons of homeschool pioneers Gregg and Sono Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett live with their family outside Portland, Oregon.