Hope Harbor by Irene Hannon - REVIEWED

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Hope Harbor Revell (July 7, 2015) by Irene Hannon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Irene Hannon is a bestselling, award-winning author who took the publishing world by storm at the tender age of 10 with a sparkling piece of fiction that received national attention.

Okay…maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But she was one of the honorees in a complete-the-story contest conducted by a national children’s magazine. And she likes to think of that as her “official” fiction-writing debut!

Since then, she has written more than 45 romantic suspense and contemporary romance/women’s fiction novels. She is a seven-time finalist and three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romantic fiction—and a member of Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her books have also won a Daphne du Maurier award, a Carol award, three HOLT Medallions, a National Readers’ Choice award, a Retailers Choice award, two Booksellers’ Best awards and two Reviewers’ Choice awards from RT Book Reviews magazine. One of her novels was also named by Booklist as a top 10 inspirational fiction books of 2011. In addition, she is a two-time Christy award finalist.

Irene, who holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full. She is happy to say she has no regrets!

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and singing. A trained vocalist, she has sung the leading role in numerous musicals, including “South Pacific,” “Brigadoon,” “Oklahoma” “The King and I” and “Anything Goes.” She is also a soloist at her church.

When not otherwise occupied, Irene and her husband enjoy traveling, Saturday mornings at their favorite coffee shop and spending time with family. They make their home in Missouri.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tracy Campbell never wanted to leave Hope Harbor, Oregon, or the idyllic three-generation cranberry farm where she grew up. But life--and love--altered her plans. When tragedy strikes and changes her plans yet again, she finds herself back in her hometown with a floundering farm to run and a heartbreaking secret. Romance is not on her agenda. Nor is it on Michael Hunter's. The visitor from Chicago has daunting secrets of his own. But when Tracy recruits him to help save a struggling charitable organization, the winds of change begin to sweep through Hope Harbor, bringing healing, hope, and love to countless lives--including their own.

Fan favorite Irene Hannon brings a whole new cast of characters to life in a charming Oregon seaside village. Emotional and heartwarming, this story invites readers to come home to Hope Harbor, where love and hope bloom--and hearts heal.





My Thoughts:

“Life wasn’t the only thing full of surprises.  Hope Harbor was overflowing with them.”  (p. 252)

Michael’s thought were brimming with a myriad of thoughts at this point in Irene Hannon’s latest novel, Hope Harbor.  Between Charlie’s fish tacos and the Campbell family cranberry bread recipe, I don’t think I’ve read a more perfectly balanced modern-day, everyday reality, romance combination quite like this one!  Tracy and Michael are both reeling from serious loss, Anna has basically rolled over on twenty years of her life, and the pastors overseeing the Helping Hands ministry are overwhelmed.  Add in a few crisis’ along the way, and Hope Harbor is brimming with miraculous opportunities!

I’ve always thought if we would just stop and listen to God’s nudges in life, we would all discover some miraculous possibilities of our own!  I love how Irene Hannon taps into this daily aspect of our faith walk and literally brings miracles to life through every day interaction between broken, hurting hearts and overwhelmed lives.  Hannon is listening to God’s voice in her own writing career to be able to craft a story that brings such realistic hope to believers through the lives of her characters!

I tend to always equate Irene Hannon with suspense and mystery, but Hope Harbor is a brilliant reminder that this very talented author is quite flexible in many areas of fiction!  If you want to read a novel that will infuse hope into your heart, look no further than Hope Harbor!  This is a novel I am happy to recommend!!!

If you would like to read the first chapter of Hope Harbor, go HERE.

Trial Run by Thomas Locke - REVIEWED

About the Book:
Dr. Gabriella Speciale has assembled an international team of elite scientists with one goal in mind--to create and control out-of-body experiences that transcend the limits of time and space. Reese Clawson's mind-bending experiments aim to explode the boundaries of human consciousness--and annihilate the opposition in the process.

When a terrifying discovery and a string of failed tests threaten to dismantle both programs, the key to survival may reside in the mind of a gifted grad student whose unsettling dreams have thrust him into the center of a dangerous battle for control.

As the threads of perception and reality become tangled and time itself twists in unexpected directions, one warning remains clear: what you don't know can kill you.

My Thoughts:

“You have purpose now.  You were chosen for this project because you have trained yourselves not to fear death.  You understand what most people in the world spend their entire lives running away from.” (p. 130)

Reese Clawson’s words are filled with promise….or are they?  She has entered a race against time to discover scientific theory that is mind-bending!  In reality and in theory. Her team is one of two teams that are discovering a realm that exists somewhere in time that allows the mind to receive information from the future that can be used in the present. I know, it sounds far-fetched, but it has something to do with quantum physics and a molecule inside the DNA helix…

That does not matter.  What matters is that you will come to know characters that will touch your heart.  You will see them struggle, grow, change….make impossibly difficult choices….risk their lives for one another…this is an amazing, complex and gut-wrenching story to read.  It is the beginning of The Fault Lines series.  I’m not going to tell you that I fully understood all of the concepts presented in the book, (well, not without the help of my college-aged son)  but I can tell you without hesitation that this is a FIRST CLASS thriller you DO NOT want to miss!

I HIGHLY recommend this book!!  It is really amazing!  And you will lose sleep trying to read it all in one go!! J

About the Author:

Thomas Locke is a pseudonym for Davis Bunn, the award-winning novelist with total worldwide sales of seven million copies. His work has been published in twenty languages, and critical acclaim includes four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Davis divides his time between Oxford and Florida and holds a lifelong passion for speculative stories. As Thomas Locke, Davis is also the author of Emissary. Learn more at www.tlocke.com.

DOVE AWARD WINNER CHERI KEAGGY RELEASES NO LONGER MY OWN TODAY

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 7, 2015) - Psalm 91 Records has announced the release of Dove Award-winning recording artist Cheri Keaggy's latest album,No Longer My Own, to retail today, Friday, August 7.  The project, which is distributed by Elevate Entertainment, is the singer/songwriter's ninth full-length CD to date.

"I gave a copy of No Longer My Own to my Dad," muses Keaggy. "After he had a chance to give it a good listen, he called me. Through broken-up tears, he said, 'You wouldn't have been able to write these songs if you hadn't gone through the things you've been through.' He went on to say, 'This is your best one yet.' It touched me that it moved him so deeply."

Keaggy believes this project might be her most bold recording to date. "I have often  referred to my last album, So I Can Tell, as my beauty-from-ashes project or my bleeding heart album," she confesses. "But, the Lord heals. And this album feels a little more broad. Brokenness humbles you and makes you more sensitive to the world around you and, perhaps, even more in tune with the Father's heart. It was a stretch, both spiritually and emotionally, and I stretched myself vocally too, going for notes I might have been too timid to reach before."

Donning the producer's hat, Keaggy employed the talents of some of Nashville's top musicians, skillfully steering the project's instrumentation and her own trademark velvety vocals toward the pop and gospel genres. The result is a cohesive collection of Christ-focused songs that exude a sense of deep felt conviction and, ultimately, surrender.

No Longer My Own seeks to embolden fellow sojourners of the faith to live more fearlessly for Christ. Perhaps that sentiment is best expressed in the album's title cut, a song inspired by the "Covenant Prayer" popularized by John Wesley. Listeners can look forward to such vertically oriented songs of celebration as "Lucky To Be Breathing Your Air," prayerful petitions like "Jesus, One and Only," poignant ballads like "You Go Before," and the powerful anthem, "Overcome," a response to recent news reports of believers facing persecution, even unto death, and the increase of moral decay in our nation. 

She also enlists her uncle, Grammy nominee and Dove Award winner Phil Keaggy, who contributes a jubilant ukulele track in the lighthearted Scripture song, "Whatever is True (Phil. 4:8)." Composing new music and melody to the hymn "He Giveth More Grace" in her newly named "The Giving Song," she includes a hint of the church classic, "I Surrender All." She offers an invitation to abide in "I Love Your Company," a sentiment that echoes every parent's wish to see their child content and at rest in blessed communion. 

"My prayer is that all-too-busy believers will rediscover the simple joy of being with Jesus, sitting with Him, delighting in Him," says Keaggy. "After an incredible season of pouring out, I knew I had to guard that, to remember my First Love. And it has humbled me, in a good way."

Perhaps the most poignant and achingly honest song on the project is Keaggy's newly penned, "Be My Sabbath," which serves as a desperate cry for God's restorative power and refueling. She wrote the song after experiencing the sheer elation of reaching her goal on the Kickstarter campaign that funded the CD, and the unanticipated physical and spiritual burnout that followed. 

"One definition of 'burn-out' is 'to cause to fail, wear out, or become exhausted, especially from overwork or over use.' I'm not entirely sure what constitutes burnout," Keaggy muses. "But I think I reached that point sometime around the Christmas holidays. The hectic pace of life, work, and ministry simply caught up with me, and the usual things I did to find renewal wouldn't work. I was stuck."

All the traveling, pouring out, promoting, administering, and bill paying had taken their toll. Keaggy, who has often said, 'When you come to the end of yourself, you come to the beginning of Jesus,' had finally reached her end. "I woke up one morning and scribbled out a whole page of words and feelings with no concern for order or rhyme."

And realized a song was brewing. 

"I don't mind being broken as long as I get a good song out of it," she quips. "It might contain the most angst-ridden lyrics I've written to date, but it's real, it's authentic, and it points to God, my Source, my Sabbath."

Keaggy employed the innovative Kickstarter crowd-source business model to fund the project, joining such high profile Christian recording artists as Shaun Groves, John Schlitt, Five Iron Frenzy and Thousand Foot Krutch, who also used the outside-the-box service to fund recent projects. Keaggy is no stranger to the business model, having successfully employed Kickstarter to raise nearly $25,000 to fund her 2012 release, So I Can Tell. 

While Keaggy admits to being both humbled and excited by the number of doors that opened for ministry through concerts, church services, women's events, TV appearances, interviews, and radio airplay as a direct result of So I Can Tell, she insists the story is far from over. With a quiver full of new songs burning in her soul, Keaggy prays No Longer My Own will inspire and embolden fellow saints to live more fearlessly for Christ.

About Cheri Keaggy:

Cheri Keaggy began her career as a worship leader at a small church in Southern California before recording her debut album on Sparrow Records, Child of the Father, in 1994. Honored with a Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year, Keaggy has gone on to record eight additional albums, resulting in nine No. 1 songs, three Dove Award nominations and a Dove Award win. After more than two decades in music, her ministry has expanded to include speaking engagements as well. Her latest project, No Longer My Own is now available from Psalm 91 Records and Elevate Entertainment.

For more information about Keaggy and No Longer My Own, visit cherikeaggy.com. Like Keaggy on Facebook (facebook.com/CheriKeaggy) or follow her on Twitter (@cherikeaggy). 

FEARLESS BND Finds Something Worth Dying For at FEARLESS LA

(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- On September 4, 2015, FEARLESS BND will be releasing the new single “Brighter.” This is the first single to be released in their once-a-month structure, and the first since rebranding from their previous identity as groundbreaking modern worship outfit Worth Dying For.

FEARLESS BND, the sound of worship at Fearless LA, is launching a ‘loaves and fishes’ approach to creating new music for the church. The sole purpose is to equip and empower pastors and worship leaders with songs, media, video, graphics, sermon/song notes, tutorials and more. One innovative, congregationally ready media package at a time, every first Friday of the month.

“Instead of releasing an entire album all at once,” says Sean Loche, associate pastor at Fearless LA, “this approach gives us the ability to stay current and evolve as the music evolves, and it allows us to get material into churches/hands more quickly. Our goal is to release each single on the first Friday of every month, along with lyric videos, loops, promotional material and high-level graphics, sermons, notes—everything we use in our church—with the hope of making it easier for local pastors and worship leaders.”

“Brighter,” a pulsating club-mix anthem, embodies the energy and passion heard on any given Sunday at Fearless LA, which meets in the No. 1 nightclub in the U.S. “We have church in a nightclub, with lights everywhere, a disco ball above us, three huge LED screens and crazy graphics,” Christy Johnson says, “and it’s pretty awesome seeing the transformation that happens when people worship in that room. The same place where people are dancing all weekend, we’re lifting up the name of Jesus, and he’s changing lives through encounter with him.”

When lead pastor Jeremy and Christy Johnson moved to Los Angeles 3.5 years ago to start a new church, the former youth pastors and worship artists known collectively as Worth Dying For gave up everything they knew to make one giant leap of faith.

“Fear had been something we’d both battled with our entire lives,” Jeremy says, “and yet we felt called to the dreamers, to those crushed by their dreams, to those chasing their dreams, those with dead dreams, to people who had moved to LA from all over the world to pursue the arts, entertainment, education, entrepreneurship—to not just be a safe haven, but a dream factory, helping broken people dare to dream again.”

Trying to come up with a name for the church that would encapsulate both its radical and positive foundation, the couple started digging around for inspiration. And then they saw it: “A scared world needs a fearless church.” —A.W. Tozer.

And so the church-planting season began, migrating from seven different locations—nightclubs, studios and warehouses, at a bonfire on the beach, in a coffee shop, an old garage and eventually back to a nightclub. And as the dreamers came in droves to see this new “church,” what had been true in their Worth Dying For days was no less true in the City of Angels: when you give people their own words to sing to God, something that reflects what’s happening in their lives right now, God does something explosive with it.

The stories behind the songs of FEARLESS BND —as the story of Fearless LA itself—reflect a move of God, not born of glitz and glam and achieving acclaim in a city full of stars, but born out of encounter with grace. “We’re seeing so many people getting saved, finding new life and new birth in this place. Their world is being revolutionized, so they’re writing from that struggle, fighting for the dreams in their hearts,” says Jeremy, who has seen nightclub staff, security guards and club patrons encounter the truth of Jesus at Fearless LA.

“At the end of the day,” he says of FEARLESS BND’s mission, “it’s the words that impact us. Where two or more agree around truth, it’s truth shifts the atmosphere and opens hearts.”

That, Jeremy says, is the driving passion behind FEARLESS BND, to share the gifts God has given this church in the land of broken dreams with worship pastors and leaders around the world, equipping them to lead with power and excellence in today’s content and media-saturated culture.

For more information on FEARLESS BND, visit http://fearlessbnd.com.

For more information on FEARLESS LA, visit http://www.fearlessla.com.

Trial Run by Thomas Locke

Patterns of Evidence - Book - DVD - Releasing today!! Reviewed

PATTERNS OF EVIDENCE: THE EXODUS (HARDCOVER BOOK)

After interviewing some of the world’s leading archaeologists, author and filmmaker Tim Mahoney comes to a profound question: What if the experts have been looking for evidence in the wrong time period? The result is one of the most revealing and in-depth investigations into the Exodus ever captured on film, one that allows you to come to your own conclusions about an amazing pattern of evidence and what it might mean for today.

The companion book includes valuable insights and additional interviews not seen in the film, giving the reader a chance to get know the scholars and their positions better. Its pages are filled with beautiful photography of Egypt and Israel, scenes from the biblical re-creations, maps, charts, and diagrams.

“PATTERNS OF EVIDENCE: THE EXODUS” DVD is the award-winning feature-length documentary by filmmaker Timothy Mahoney that chronicles an in-depth archaeological investigation in Egypt as his team attempts to corroborate the biblical text. Now on DVD and Blu-ray (Aug. 4), the powerful film explores one fundamental question:  Is there any evidence that the Exodus story actually happened? Twelve years in the making, this provocative documentary reveals new or rarely seen evidence regarding the Israelites’ descent into slavery, their Exodus from Egypt and their ultimate conquest of the Promised Land.  Although many scholars and archaeologists deny the validity of the Exodus story for lack of proof, “Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus” builds a case that sheds new light on the story. The film received accolades at over a dozen film festivals and was presented as an exclusive Fathom event this past January (2015) at over 600 theatres nationwide.  Generating positive critical and editorial response, the Fathom event had sold out performances with over  ​85,000 moviegoers attending the event, which included an encore performance.​ “What started out as a crisis of my own faith led me on an incredible journey of discovery,” said filmmaker Tim Mahoney. Through the success of the Fathom event and the demand for the U.S. home entertainment release, we are confident that “Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus” will spark conversations from people around the globe who have an interest in history, culture or religion.”

My Thoughts:

“Our role was simply to go to the scholars, hear what they had to say, and turn their views into a visual presentation.”  (p. 201) 

Timothy Mahoney has taken on a monumental task!!  There was nothing simple about this twelve year journey.  When you try to examine and sort through multiple levels of faith practices, academic backgrounds and specialties, believers and non-believers, and try to settle the validity of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, you face a monumental task!  I have to believe that the very fact that I hold this book in my hand is evidence that God has nothing to hide from His creation.  He has invited them on this journey of discovery to transform lives, birth an eternal faith and answer every hard questions thrown his way.

This is a beautiful book, and it is filled with data derived from some of the most brilliant minds in God’s creation.  The film is equally beautiful and intriguing.  I look at all of it with great admiration and amazement.  However, like other similar projects I have encountered, this leaves my heart with a dull ache.  Faith IS the substance of things not seen, and there will never be time enough to find all of the answers our brilliant minds seek.  I want to know why it is so difficult to believe that that God who created the earth can’t bring His chosen people on a 40-year journey?  Why go to all of the trouble, expense and anxiety to try to get a bunch of people across multiple faiths to agree that an event did or did not happen? 

The Patterns of Evidence line up.  They always do.  God’s Word is true.  It always has been.  Always will be.  But, because this film and book exist, I know that God is lovingly answering all of the questions His children ask.  He always will!  This is a pattern of evidence of His great love for us!  Enjoy the journey! It’s an amazing, beautiful journey of discovery that God will use to change lives!

STRYPER RETURNS WITH “FALLEN” THE TITLE TRACK FROM THEIR UPCOMING 9th STUDIO ALBUM SLATED FOR RELEASE ON OCTOBER 16th

(New York, NY) -- Stryper is back to reclaim their throne in the hard rock/heavy metal world with the latest song from their upcoming 9th studio album, Fallen. The title track “Fallen” can be heard via YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/IBdoO1FUdng. The original lineup comprised of Michael Sweet (vocals/guitars), Oz Fox (guitars), Tim Gaines (bass) and Robert Sweet (drums) returns with an album of all new material showcasing the musicianship that garnered them a huge fan base in the mainstream world and the Christian market. From the opening choral refrains of “Yahweh” to the signature vocal scream at the end of “King Of Kings,” it is apparent that Stryper is back with their heaviest and most inspired work to date that is scheduled for release on October 16th via Frontiers Music SRL. Fallen is available for pre-order via digital retailers and can be ordered via iTunes at http://radi.al/StryperFalleniTunesand via AmazonMP3 at http://radi.al/StryperFallenAmazon. It is also available in various physical configurations at www.stryper.com/fallen. Fallen was produced by Michael Sweet.

“Fallen is about Lucifer before he became Satan. It’s the story of how he got kicked out of Heaven. He tried to overthrow God and take over,” describes Michael Sweet. “The song talks about how beautiful he was. When he walked, there was music. He was the angel of worship and this incredibly powerful and beautiful being.”

The latest song comes on the heels of the album teaser track, “Yahweh,” that was released last month and has been listened to over 135K times since it went live. “Yahweh” was a musical writing collaboration between Michael Sweet and Sevendust’s Clint Lowery. Tracks like “Pride,” “Big Screen Lies” and “Til I Get What I Need” show that Stryper is back and better than ever. Stryper offers their unique interpretation of the Black Sabbath classic “After Forever.” The band flexes their softer side on the instantly memorable “All Over Again” which continues the journey Stryper fans began almost 30 years ago when “Honestly” was released to mainstream success. 

The track listing for Fallen is:
1) Yahweh
2) Fallen
3) Pride
4) Big Screen Lies
5) Heaven
6) Love You Like I Do
7) All Over Again
8) After Forever
9) Till I Get What I Need
10) Let There Be Light
11) The Calling
12) King Of Kings

Stryper is one of the top Christian rock bands of all time. Comprised of the original line-up, Stryper has been rocking since 1984, and is responsible for such '80s metal classic albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil and In God We Trust. In fact, Stryper is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, Stryper returned strong in the early 21st century. To date, the Dove Award-winning and GRAMMY nominated band has sold upwards of 10 million records worldwide. Their last studio album No More Hell To Pay debuted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Top 200 landing at #35.

For more information, visit www.stryper.com.