White Picket Fences (Review & Giveaway)

Do you ever look at the life of someone else and think, "Wow, they have it all together! Their house is beautiful, they are healthy, they have adorable and well-behaved children. Life for them is so easy!" You know you do! I do. But we also know appearances are deceiving. It is like seeing two pixels of an entire computer screen, or even better, do you know those pictures that are made up of thousands of other smaller pictures? It is like looking at one tiny panel of one of those.

Susan Meissner's White Picket Fences is about a family that appears to have it all. Wonderful careers, great kids, and a perfect life. Amanda Janvier agrees to have her niece, Tally, stay with the family when her father disappears. Tally and Amanda's teenage son, Chase, work together on a school project about the Holocaust. Chase becomes troubled. This project unlocks secrets that have been carefully hidden in his family. But secrets always have a way of coming to the surface. Can this family survive the turmoil and stick together?

Meissner's characters are very developed and believable. About halfway through the book I couldn't put it down. I tend to avoid Holocaust books, because of the heavy subject matter. This book deals with it thoughtfully and tastefully. Facades and secrecy aren't glorified. The importance of relationships and communication come through. A very interesting read!

Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

Buy it here.

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Press.

Interested in your own copy? Leave a comment by Friday, November 20 on this post (or on facebook post) and I'll give one away!

Dear Santa....

I know it seems a little early, but my kids have been working on their wish lists for some time, so I figure, why not?

I know I should ask for world peace and food for the starving kids in Africa.
I know I should ask for love among my brothers and sisters (and a hammer, probably showing my age there).

But I'm all about keeping it "real" these days.

So,

for Christmas I would like,

A Family Celebration of Christ free from arguments, strife, and guilt.
5 more hours in every day
A housekeeper
A landscaper
A personal chef
A live-in babysitter (well, I do have an 11 year old who is good for short stints).
A dumpster
A weekly date night with hubby
NO MORE TOYS!

If you can't deliver, don't bother stopping at this house.....

My heart today

Caught in the half-light, I'm caught alone
Waking up to the sunrise and the radio
Feels like I'm tied up, what's holding me?
Just praying today will be the day I go free

I want to live like there's no tomorrow
I want to dance like no one's around
I want to sing like nobody's listening
Before I lay my body down
I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I'm not afraid
I want to be the man I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made

Made in Your likeness, made with Your hands
Made to discover who You are and who I am
All I've forgotten help me to find
All that You've promised let it be in my life


How about you?

Leaving Yesterday review

I always enjoy reading fiction that makes me think about my life and things close to my heart. Currently, that involves parenting. (Big surprise with four kids, I know!)

One of the dilemmas of parenting is walking the fine line between protecting your child and making them take responsibility for their actions and the consequences that stem from their actions.

Leaving Yesterday by Kathryn Cushman follows Alisa Stewart. A mom and Christian who says and does all the right things. She leads the women's ministry at her church. She leads grief seminars to help others find healing, but she feels like her life is falling apart. One child was murdered for sharing his faith. One has become the prodigal. Her marriage is in trouble. When it looks like the prodigal has changed his ways, a police officer starts asking questions about an unsolved murder. Was her son involved? Alisa is torn. Her son has changed, he is a new creation, doesn't he deserve to move on with his life? But if he was involved, should he face the consequences of his actions? Is it her responsibility to make sure the truth comes to light?

This is the first book I have read written by Kathryn Cushman. I really enjoyed her writing. It is easy to read. Actually, I was hooked. I kept wondering, if I was in that situation, what I would do. I would like to say I would help my child face reality and consequences, but without actually being in that situation, I'm not sure I could accurately guess my actions....

It was a page turner. Alisa's internal struggle and ultimately dealing with the consequences of her own decisions was captivating!

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. Her two previous novels were A Promise to Remember and Waiting for Daybreak, a finalist in Women's Fiction for the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award. Kathryn and her family currently live in Santa Barbara, CA.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House publishers. No money was received for this review and the opinions expressed are my honest opinions.

Newest winners!

S from Temple Transformation wins a copy of Extraordinary by John Bevere.

Heather from Sugar N Spice Mostly Nice wins a copy of The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall.

Congratulations! The next giveaway will start the week of Nov 9th!

My 11 year old dear daughter's christmas list

I thought I would share Sha Sha's Christmas "Wish List" (her title, not mine).

Divided into two parts, the first part is predictable and has seven reasonable items.
I won't bore you with it.

The second half is titled "Wishful Thinking", and subtitled "(probably won't happen)". This will have you laughing. I'll refrain from commentary on it...

1. an email address
2. A facebook account (I know this won't happen).
3. A Nintendo DS
4. My own room
5. On/off switches for my 3 siblings
6. a car
7. to be allowed to babysit


A couple of these are reasonable. But I certainly got a good chuckle out of a couple of them too.

The Well-Behaved Child review

I have been a parent for 11 years. I have read A LOT of parenting books. Within the last few years I've grown disenchanted because they all started to blend together and sound the same. I admit I wasn't sure about this book when I first heard of it. BUT - after I started reading, I was captivated! John Rosemond writes in a practical tone and to the heart of every parent. Using specific examples, practical techniques and frequent questions drawn from his years of Family Psychology and personal experience as a parent, Rosemond addresses techniques and parental attitudes toward discipline. He writes as if in the room with you, chatting over a cup of coffee. My favorite part of reading this book was the realization that ALL kids misbehave. We so frequently feel like failures as parents because our children misbehave. Children are born with a sinful nature, just like the rest of us. Rosemond's straight-forward approaches are likely to offend the sensibilities of those who believe that discipline stifles children, but parents who are dedicated to shaping their children's behaviors, to eliminating "negotiations", and to raising truly well-behaved children will find a treasure trove in this book. The book includes -

Seven Fundamentals of Effective Discipline
Seven Discipline Tools You Can't Do Without
Seven Top Behavior Problems of All-Time
Seven Tales of the Strange and Un-Expected

Intrigued? You should be!

John Rosemond is a family psychologist, popular speaker, featured guest on major televison talk shows, and syndicated columnist for more than two hundered newspapers. He and his wife, Willie, married forty-one years, have two adult children and seven grandchildren.


This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson publishers.