Compassion Canada, Period Poverty

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Having your period is no big deal, but if you live in a third world country, or are living on the streets, this monthly visitor can be truly devastating.

When I came across this article through Graf-Martin Communications, I was immediately moved by what these people are doing to empower women in their communities. You can access the direct link above,  I have copied one paragraph for you to get the scope of the awesomeness of this project. This is really what coming together for the greater good of humankind is all about!

 A Snapshot From the Link Above:

Men working at sewing machines may seem like an unconventional picture—even more so when you realize they are sewing reusable feminine hygiene products! But for several men in Mulatsi, Uganda, this is a regular practice that is strengthening their community, generating income and empowering their daughters.

Period poverty refers to the lack of access to hygiene products for girls living in poverty—

something that was an immense struggle for women and girls in Mulatsi.

The dedication to change lives in a very practical way.

The smiles say it all. Visit the Compassion Canada site and read more about this amazing project!

Book Review: A Defense of Honor

From The Back:

Praise for Kristi Ann Hunter's An Inconvenient Beauty
When Katherine "Kit" FitzGilbert turned her back on London society more than a decade ago, she determined never to set foot in a ballroom again. But when business takes her to London and she's forced to run for her life, she stumbles upon not only a glamorous ballroom but also Graham, Lord Wharton. What should have been a chance encounter becomes much more as Graham embarks on a search for his friend's missing sister and is convinced Kit knows more about the girl than she's telling.

After meeting Graham, Kit finds herself wishing things could have been different for the first time in her life, but what she wants can't matter. Long ago, she dedicated herself to helping women escape the same scorn that drove her from London and to raising the innocent children caught in the crossfire. But as much as she desperately wishes to tell Graham everything, the risk of revealing the truth may come at too high a price for those she loves.

My Reflections:  
A defence of Honor is book one in the Haven manor series. What a strong start to a very promising series! I was expecting the normal stiff ballroom, high society storyline with a heart-tugging plot thrown in for good measure, what I got, however, was so much more!

The ballrooms were largely replaced by a quiet, quaint little village that boasts tranquillity and peace. The plot was deep, emotional and oh so well executed! 

I was pleasantly surprised by Hunter's candid exploration of the topic of illegitimate children and all involved. This aspect was very hidden in high society, ruining many lives in the process. Bringing to light the darkness surrounding these children was a bold move for this authour and I for one am overjoyed to see the beautiful story crafted from the ashes! well done Kristi Ann Hunter.

If you are looking for a regency type tale this may be your next read!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Kristi Ann Hunter

Kristi Ann Hunter is the author of the Hawthorne House series and a 2016 RITA Award winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her...

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Book Review: Battle Ready Train Your Mind to Conquer Challenges, Defeat Doubt, And Live Victoriously

From The Back:

"The best time to be strengthened against the Enemy's tactics of doubt, disappointment, and devastation is before he makes his first move toward us. We all desperately need the biblical guidance and preparation found in Battle Ready!"--Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries


Too often we fail to prepare for our battles. So when challenges, troubles, or opportunities arise, we rapidly become burdened with limiting thoughts of self-doubt, fear, impossibility, and lack. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can train our minds to conquer uncertainty, beat insecurity, and step past the tragedies of yesterday.

Battle Ready is a hands-on scriptural plan that teaches you twelve easy-to-implement, confidence-building mind-sets designed to transform your thoughts and, therefore, your life. You'll gain practical wisdom, like how to

· make new habits stick in just five steps
· disarm the seven most common attacks that plague women
· exchange self-limiting thoughts for purpose-driven, love-releasing thoughts
· implement thirty-second mind-lifters that deliver peace
· create boundaries so you live life full of what matters

You can live victoriously.

My Reflections:

This book is brilliant! I was not quite sure what I was expecting going into this one, but it was probably along the lines of getting a few good points then moving on. Not this book. This book is a slow, savoury filling of the mind, heart and soul. This book has so much depth you just need to soak it in and let the word bath you in truth and ready you for the next battle. 

Kelly Balarie's book encourages us to look at scriptures we all know and love in a whole new light. She points out that our feelings are not reality, that God's word is the only stability we need. 

Balarie lays out twelve warrior mindsets, and an action plan to utilize them. I absolutely love how encouraging and down to earth this authour is. Her writing is well laid out, with plenty of resources to support the journey along the way. It is exciting to really delve into a book that has a systematic and well thought out plan to change the way we chatter to ourselves in our own mind. We may not be aware of the lies, judging and comparisons we are playing over and over in our own thoughts on a daily basis, but these lies are shaping who we are and how we act. I for one am done with this useless limiting behaviour, I'm ready for God's truth and love to replace the tarnished bits. Bring it on!

Battle Ready is much more than a mear Bible Study or another self-help book, it is a powerful weapon that will enable you to become more aware and apply God's truth to your life!

This book is a life changer, and I have read a lot of these books, it won't happen overnight, there is no perfect sequence, it will take God's spirit in us, encouraging us one step at a time, are you ready for change?

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

1. Kelly Balarie

   Kelly Balarie is a passionate national speaker who has spent nearly ten years leading groups of women in spiritual growth, marriage building, and general Bible studies across the nation. She has lived her subject matter. Her faith was built as she battled...

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Book Review: The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond

From the Back:

For over a century, the town of Gossamer Grove has thrived on its charm and Midwestern values, but Annalise Forsythe knows painful secrets, including her own, hover just beneath the pleasant facade. Yet her strange and sudden inheritance of a run-down trailer home--full of pictures, vintage obituaries, and old revival posters--leaves her wholly unprepared for how truly dark and deadly those secrets may be.

A century earlier, Gossamer Grove is stirred into chaos by the arrival of controversial and charismatic twin revivalists. The chaos takes a murderous turn when Libby Sheffield, while working at her father's newspaper, receives an obituary for a reputable church deacon hours before his death. As she works with the deacon's son to solve the crime, it becomes clear that a reckoning has come to town--but it isn't until another obituary arrives at the paper that they realize the true depths of the danger they've waded into.

Two women, separated by a hundred years, must unravel the mysteries of their own town before it's too late and they lose their future--or their very souls.

My Reflections:

My first book by this authour was Wright's debut novel, The House on Foster Hill, I am so glad to have the opportunity to read yet another title by this very talented authour. 

Two women connected by the weight of sin. 
Brokenness, weakness, hidden deeply, these are the tools of evil. 
Forgiveness, wholeness and light shining into our darkness this is healing. 
I absolutely loved the way this novel is written, the time-slip past and present woven together seamlessly.

The atmosphere of creepiness is real with the backdrop of Gossamer Grove. This not so quaint town boasts hidden secrets, a creepy, run-down trailer and strange happenings. The adrenaline will definitely keep you racing through the pages trying to figure out the unpredictable conclusion. Grace tampers the darkness yet profound, pain-filled moments are not sugar-coated. This book is so layered I was transported within its pages, and could not leave its grips until the last page was flipped.  
I equally enjoyed both female protagonists. The present day with Annalise and past with Libby. The subtle romance was uniquely blended with suspense and quirky characters. An emulsion of perfectness!

I am not quite sure how Wright was able to pull this storyline off, but wow did she ever, how will she ever top this? I can't wait to see!
It's mind blowing how seamlessly the story fit together, and the reader is not even aware of all the pieces until the very end. I can't wait for book number three from this author and don't forget to read the author's notes, you won't regret it!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Jaime Jo Wright

Jaime Jo Wright is the author of the acclaimed novels The House on Foster Hill and The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She's also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of two novellas. Jaime works as a human resources director in...

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Book Review: How Joyful People Think

From The Back:

The secret to getting the most out of life is within your reach

Two people can face the same type of adversity and have two vastly different reactions, even when they have the same background and worldview. What makes the difference? Perspective--the way they think about things. Right thinking matters, and thankfully it's something we all can learn to do.

In this insightful unpacking of Philippians 4:8, pastor Jamie Rasmussen shows you how to focus your thoughts and attention on the things in life God has declared will make a meaningful impact on both your outlook and experience. It's the kind of thinking that has the power to change us, pointing us away from self-pity, anger, and resentment toward contentment and personal peace.

My Reflections: 

Funny how a book comes along just when you need it. Is this coincidence or is this God? You guessed it, his love surpasses all understanding, and I will never understand just how he can love me enough to peak into my life in the seemingly smallest of areas! This week has been hard. Nothing earth-shattering, just mundane hard days, kids fighting, booking errors, homeschool angst. You know the run of the mill joy sucking kind of week.

How Joyful People think is a remarkable deep book considering it is focusing on a teeny tiny passage in the Bible, Philippians 4:8.

If you are anything like me and have read so many self-help books you basically are a self-help encyclopedia. I am amazed that a book can tell me anything I have not already heard. This book by Jamie Rasmussen is truly unique. It shows how real change is accomplished through God's design. 8 way of thinking. Could it really be that simple? 
Seems like God thinks so, so it must be. We have all heard you are what you think, but it is so much deeper than this. If you have ever found yourself running on that Ferris wheel of negative self talk, unhelpful nerritives, this book was written for you (and me.) 

I so enjoyed this authours deep, yet easy to read book, the unpacking of Philippians 4:8 was done in such an understandable and readable fashion. 
A must read!
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Jamie Rasmussen

Jamie Rasmussen (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the senior pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church, which is regularly listed on Outreach magazine's Top 100 list in both size and speed of growth for the past ten years. He has been an ordained...

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Book Review: Auschwitz Lullaby

Book Description

Auschwitz Lullaby brings to life the story of Helene Hannemann—a woman who sacrificed everything for family and fought furiously for the children she hoped to save.

On an otherwise ordinary morning in 1943, Helene Hannemann is preparing her five children for the day when the German police arrive at her home. Helene’s worst fears come true when the police, under strict orders from the SS, demand that her children and husband, all of Romani heritage, be taken into custody. Though Helene is German and safe from the forces invading her home, she refuses to leave her family—sealing her fate in a way she never could have imagined.

After a terrifying trek across the continent, Helene and her family arrive at Auschwitz and are thrown into the chaos of the camp. Her husband, Johann, is separated from them, but Helene remains fiercely protective of her children and those around her. When the powers-that-be discover that Helene is not only a German but also a trained nurse, she is forced into service at the camp hospital, which is overseen by the notorious Dr. Mengele himself.

Helene is under no illusions in terms of Dr. Mengele’s intentions, but she agrees to cooperate when he asks her to organize a day care and school for the Romani children in the camp. Though physically and emotionally brutalized by the conditions at Auschwitz, Helene musters the strength to protect the children in her care at any cost. Through sheer force of will, Helene provides a haven for the children of Auschwitz—an act of kindness and selflessness so great that it illuminates the darkest night of human history.

Based on a true story, Mario Escobar’s Auschwitz Lullaby demonstrates the power of sacrifice and the strength of human dignity—even when all hope seems lost.

My Reflections: 

This book was such a heavy, saddening read. Of course, I knew it going in but the author's vivid writing was able to capture the events in such explicit detail that the very darkness and evil of this horrendous time shook me to the core.

The pure light in this book is Helene Hannemann. Though this book is fiction, the character is based on historical events and real people who showed courage in the face of the most terrifying time under the rule of Hitler.  

I often find myself drawn to fluffy, feel-good books, there is quite enough suffering in the world around me to not want to read about more. However, I believe that we must know the atrocities of the Holocaust in order to not let this be a mere time in history that is forgotten. This is not a feel-good book, it is, however, a must read. Its story and events must be retold. 

Helene Hannemann is a real hero, along with the many others who endured the atrocities. She managed to hold tight to her love for family, and those in her charge. She shows such dignity and courage!
Helene made a difference in the midst of horrors I hope we never know. Through it all, we see her humanness, a truth to self that anyone would experience.  

Escobar is able to tell the story with such power that I was literally sobbing and broken for these people and their realities. 

Surprisingly this book was first published in Spanish and then later translated. I encourage you to delve into the stories of Helene. 
Hitler was not the only sick individual read up on Dr. Mengle. The doctor who essentially experimented and tortured many innocent children. I read an article where to this day they don't fully know what he was injecting into these people. Some of his tactics were pure evil!

I would recommend this book to individuals over the age of 12 due to the graphic content. I will be sharing this book with my 16-year-old. I will certainly be looking at more from this internationally best selling authour!

I received this book free of charge from Book Look Bloggers in return for my honest review. Thank you, Book Look!

Mario Escobar Golderos has a degree in History, with an advanced studies diploma in Modern History. He has written numerous books and articles about the Inquisition, the Protestant Reformation, and religious sects. He is the executive director of an NGO and directs the magazine Nueva historia para el debate, in addition to being a contributing columnist in various publications. Passionate about history and its mysteries, Escobar has delved into the depths of church history, the different sectarian groups that have struggled therein, and the discovery and colonization of the Americas. He specializes in the lives of unorthodox Spaniards and Americans.

Book Review: Together Forever

From The Back:

Will the Mistakes of Their Past Cost Them a Chance at Love?
Determined to find her lost younger sister, Marianne Neumann takes a job as a placing agent with the Children's Aid Society in 1858 New York. She not only hopes to offer children a better life, but prays she'll be able to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train so they can finally be reunited.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing-out trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children, firm but tender and friendly. Underneath his charm and handsome looks, though, seems to linger a grief that won't go away--and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden.

As the two team up, placing orphans in the small railroad towns of Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever. 

My Reflections:

Jody Hedlund sets the bar high once again with another fantastic sequel in her series "Orphan Train." 

This emotionally charged story will have your heart tucked within the first pages. This is the second book in the series and while it certainly could be read as a stand-alone, for your reading pleasure I would recommend reading this story in its intended order.

I simply love the way the authour pulls history and fiction together seamlessly. It makes for a fascinating, educationally rich delight. 

In this installment, we delve into the second Neumann sister's story. Marianne is an agent who travels on the orphan train and places children with prospective families. She teams up with Andrew another fellow agent and together they face many joys and trials as they help their charges find new beginnings. I so enjoyed both of these characters, their willingness to engage with the children and the genuine care they display was extremely touching. 

Although there are strict guidelines they must adhere to as agents, they find themselves growing more and more dependent on each other. Both have obstacles that must be overcome before they can truly share their hearts freely. Will the pain of the past be too much to overcome or will the shared experiences and healing journey be enough to endure?

I'm so eager to read the next book, there is a lead in to book three in this series where we will most likely delve into Sophie and Reinhold's story!

You can always count on in Jody Hedlund's novels to draw her readers into a story filled with grace, love, reconciliation and unique historical detail. Well done!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund is the author of over a dozen novels, including Love Unexpected, Captured by Love, Unending Devotion, The Preacher's Bride, and A Noble Groom, winner of the 2014 Carol Award for historical romance. She received a...

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