Regret Free Parenting - A BookSneeze Review

Regret Free Parenting, by Catherine Hickem, is a faith-based parenting book. Catherine has about 30 years' experience as a psychotherapist, speaker, and mom, and she is also the founder of Intentional Moms.

At 214 pages, Regret Free Parenting has chapters that focus on building fellowship with our children and trust, being a parent/authority figure, building emotional intelligence, learning the difference between control and intention, and living peacefully during those crazy teen years. At the end of each chapter are questions for you to reflect about your motherhood and some exercises that you can do to develop your role as an intentional mother. Also in the back of the book is a parenting plan that you can work on.

Regret Free Parenting revolves around listening to your kids, watching your kids, and learning about them. Too often we moms get distracted by our busy lives and don't take the time to truly learn our children's hearts.

I loved the tip that she gave on page 91 regarding teens and the curfew problem often faced:

When your teens get older, set the alarm for the agreed-upon curfew. They have to get in and turn off the clock before it goes off. If they don't succeed, they have to pay you a dollar for every minute they're late or lose a night out per minute. Curfew will be a nonissue with this tactic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I highly recommend this for parents who've struggled with parenting.

I am a member of BookSneeze, a fabulous program through Thomas Nelson. BookSneeze sends members free books to read and keep in exchange for written reviews on a blog and on a major retailer's website (such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble).

Indivisible - a Waterbrook Multnomah Review

Indivisible, written by Kristen Heitzmann, was a good read. This is one of those books that I tend to not read much of, simply because mystery/suspense isn't something I enjoy on the whole. However, this was a book that was well-written, character-wise, and so it made it easier for me to enjoy it.

I want to get my pickiness aside before I tell you what I liked about the book. There was some mild profanity in this book (not a lot, but one word is too much for me) that I just didn't feel was necessary. Yup, it is a suspense book, laced with a little murder-intrigue, but profanity is just something I can't shrug off. It is possible to show the profane side of a character without using the language. And that's all I'll say about that.

The main characters in the story were well fleshed out, once I got into the gist of the story. At first, there were a lot of questions popping into my head, and sometimes if there are too many questions in the story, I'll lose interest. Thankfully, Kristen had plenty of spice thrown in that the questions didn't overwhelm me. By the time I finally got to the answers, it all made sense, and the questions and answers came together nicely.

Jonah Westfall, main guy and Chief of police, had been in love with Tia Manning since childhood. However, when he decided to marry her sister Reba, Tia was crushed. However, Jonah and Tia had a short fling, for which was discovered--literally--by Tia's family. The result was that Jonah's impending marriage was doomed, Tia's family moved away, and Jonah and Tia were never the same. They avoided each other throughout the town, harboring their own demons and skeletons in the closet. But when a new, mysterious vet moves in to town and fixes her eyes on Jonah, chaos ensues. Added to the fact that there are supportive characters who also have their own problems, Indivisible makes for an action-packed book that'll keep you on your toes.



I received Indivisible as a complimentary gift in exchange for review from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.

Possession - a Tyndale Review

Possession, written by Rene Gutteridge was a pleasant thriller. If you're looking for clean suspense, this is your book. I've not been a big fan of mysteries, but books like this make me change my mind.

Vance Graegan, main character in the story, was a cop involved in the D.C. sniper case. Having dealt with the stress of his job long enough, Vance decided to move his family to California in an attempt to start his life anew. However, upon leaving, the movers decided to hold his family's possessions for ransom (due to the condo being too far from the curb), creating a chaotic situation in which Vance was determined to surpass. After a confrontation with Joe the mover, Vance began an investigation, and things begin to quickly heat up.

If you like a good mystery, this one won't disappoint! If you're interested in reading the first chapter (for free!) click {here}!

I am a member of Tyndale Blog Network, a fabulous website that sends free books to read and keep if you write a review for your blog and for a major retailer (such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble). Tyndale Blog Network is through Tyndale House Publishers.

An Unlikely Blessing - a LitFuse Review

An Unlikely Blessing, written by Judy Baer, is a story of a single, 40-ish pastor who moves from the city to the country in North Dakota to pastor two churches. Alex Armstrong quickly learns that his single status earns the attention of all of the single ladies in the community--from the young to the old! He quickly packs on a few pounds as he struggles to do something with all of the food they send his way!

Soon enough Alex finds that his position as pastor comes with its share of grief when he discovers that many in the churches he pastors struggle to make ends meet or have other types of heartaches. The two churches he pastors has a wedge between them, which saddens him greatly. The desire to help is strong in Alex.

What he doesn't realize is that he has a lot to learn about living in the country--especially cooking for himself and growing his own crops since the nearest store is nearly an hour away! But with the helpful and caring members of his flock, he soon finds that the city boy he'd once been belonged in the country.


About the Author
Judy Baer is the author of over seventy-five books for adults and teens. She has won the Romance Writer of America Bronze Medallion and has been a RITA finalist twice. She lives in Elk River , Minnesota with her husband. Follow the Hilltop characters on Judy’s blog and find out more about Judy and her books at http://www.judykbaer.com

Prolific author of over 75 novels, Judy Baer, is launching her new Guideposts series, Forever Hilltop, with a KINDLE giveaway! The first book in the series, An Unlikely Blessing is available now wherever fine books are sold.

Read the reviews here.

In celebration of the release of An Unlikely Blessing, Judy is giving away a KINDLE prize package worth over $175.

One lucky winner will receive:

• Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi
• A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com

To enter just click on one the icons below and then tell your friends! Winner will be announced on February 21st on Judy's blog, http://www.judykbaer.com/wordpress The giveaway has now ended.

I received An Unlikely Blessing as a complimentary gift in exchange for review from Litfuse Publicity Group