It is hard to believe but it is almost time for one of our favourite family holidays – Christmas! The month of December for us is always busy but to make things fun we try to do family activities like baking, hiking and spending time watching movies on Netflix. What better way to get into the Christmas mood with #NetfliXmas theme movies?!
Besides how easy it is to use Netflix (one button on our Smart TV and wham – Netflix is there!), one of the best features of Netflix is the crazy amount of holiday favourites which includes films that I enjoyed from my own childhood!
So while our Elf, lovingly named Captain, terrorizes our home with his silly pranks (I have to admit I prayed that an Elf would never visit our home – I sure am happy to have this one in our home!) and we practice our baking skills with popular recipes such as Amaretti cookies and chocolate dipped snicker doodles, we are getting in the #NetfliXmas mood with some very popular titles that includes Christmas with the Kranks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Paws.
Looking for more #NetfliXmas spirit makers? Why not check out these titles: Caspers Haunted Christmas, My Little Pony: A Very Minted Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Swan Princess Christmas. There are many titles to help you make the holiday movie night a hit!
To help you and your family get into the #NetfliXmas spirit, Netflix Canada is giving two of my readers a six month free subscription to Netflix! Pretty awesome, right?! My Canadian readers, eighteen years of age and older can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
In Pieces on Earth, a Christmas Novella, find out how Liv finds God’s peace during the midst of life’s pieces.
About Pieces On Earth: A Christmas Novella
As the wife of a naval aviator in sunny Pensacola, Florida, Liv Tulley eagerly anticipates the first Christmas in several years with her husband, daughter, and extended family. Then her husband is unexpectedly deployed for an undetermined amount of time, smashing her white Christmas dreams to pieces. Can she find God’s peace in the midst of life’s pieces?
Book Excerpt
Liv finished filling out the necessary paperwork in the medical clinic waiting room, doing her best to keep her fears at bay.
She rose to her feet and carried the clipboard with the completed paperwork to the receptionist. The harried woman took the clipboard without so much as a glance her way.
“Have a seat. A nurse will call you back momentarily.”
Liv trudged back to the worn gray chairs and slumped into one of them, once more cognizant of her reason for being here. October marked her second month without her period. For most women her age, that would be a sign of promising things to come, but no such luck in her case. She’d known since her daughter’s birth that having more children just wasn’t in the cards for her. A fact that made Chesney’s life even more miraculous.
She gnawed the inside of her lip and watched a little boy–probably about two years old–playing in the floor with a toy car. Without warning, the fear returned, bringing with it only one thought. Was it possible that she’d somehow inherited the gene that lead to the ovarian cancer that claimed her grandmother’s life? Was that the reason for her current symptoms?
Liv pressed her lips together and forced her thoughts to happier ones. How wonderful it would be to add a fourth member to their clan. Chesney would make such a great big sister, and Jeff would be ecstatic to have another child. Since being promoted to lieutenant a few months ago, he had qualified for a stateside assignment as an instructor pilot at Pensacola NAS. How wonderful would it be to be able to raise a child with his or her parent actually around to help out? Even the few short months of having her daddy at home had made a huge difference in Chesney.
A pent-up sigh whooshed from her lungs. This current line of thought was landing her nowhere except in the dumps. There wouldn’t be another baby. She grabbed her large sack of a purse and rummaged inside until she found an old envelope. Forcing the baby blues away, she started a to-do list of things to accomplish for her family’s first Christmas together since before Chesney was born.
Get the Christmas shopping done. Well, that was a no-brainer. But this year it was especially important, since they’d also be buying gifts for nieces, nephews, siblings, aunts, and uncles. How fun it would be to have both sides of the family all together again in the mountain cabin vacation rental her mother had located online.
Now happy thoughts wound their way through her insides. Liv leaned her head back against the Plexiglas partition and allowed the happiness to wander unchecked. Warm sweaters, cups of cocoa, a gigantic tree stuffed with presents, laughter of loved ones, and fluffy white snow.
Though she loved the sunny weather of Pensacola where Jeff was stationed, during the holidays she always yearned for the cold weather and snow of her Colorado upbringing. This year it would finally become a reality.
She straightened in her seat, checked the clock above the receptionist window, and returned to her list. Buy Chesney some cold weather clothing. Hmm, maybe she could order a ski bib online, since there was very little to no chance that she’d find one in Pensacola.
One thought led to another, and Liv scribbled as quickly as possible, unwilling to let even the smallest detail escape. A few minutes later, she brushed some escaped frizzy hair from her face and once more scanned her list. Yeah, that should do it. Now if she could just get these health concerns out-of-the-way so she could concentrate on more pleasant tasks.
Liv glanced at the clock once more. Unbelievable. She’d been here for a half hour already. At this rate, she’d never make it to Chesney’s preschool in time to pick her up. She grabbed her cell phone and hit speed dial for Darcy, one of many military wives in her group who all looked out for each other.
Her friend picked up immediately. “Hi Liv. What’s up?”
“My blood pressure.”
Darcy’s contagious giggle sounded through the phone. “Let me guess. You’re still waiting to see the doctor.”
“How’d you guess?”
“Umm, ’cause I’ve been there and done that. Need me to pick up Ches?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. And if a miracle occurs and I get out of here in time, I’ll shoot you a text.”
“Sounds good.”
Liv had just dropped the phone back into her purse, when a short blond nurse in pink scrubs called her name from the doorway that lead to the exam rooms. She followed the nurse through the door where the dreaded scales awaited. After getting off the scales, fresh resolve took root in Liv’s mind to cut back on carbs and lose those ten extra pounds that had plagued her since Chesney was born. Four years was way too long to lug around the unwanted weight. She followed the woman down the hallway and dutifully entered the room to which she motioned.
The nurse smiled and pulled the door toward the closed position. “Dr. Amy will be with you soon.”
Liv perched on the edge of the exam table, once more on pins and needles about the potential problem. Lord, please let me be okay, and please, please, please, don’t let this affect our Christmas plans.
My Thoughts
While this may be a novella, the story is full of intense emotion, faith and will make you laugh, smile and cry.
My favourite quote from this book: “Peace…I know. It means being complete and whole, not being broken.”.
It can be extremely difficult to remember God’s words during trying times. We don’t feel at peace with our thoughts, our own words and even our faith. We are tested in every aspect of our lives. This was true for Liv. She had to deal with so much but she could not see those around her that wanted to help her and guide her. This is something I think so many of us can relate to (maybe not the exact situation but the feelings of hurt, anger and desperation). Cathy brings us an amazing story of faith, as Liv struggles with her own faith as she guides her young daughter. I love how Cathy uses easy to understand explanations from the Bible (we are never too old to learn more about the Bible!). She helped me to stop, focus on my faith path and use some of the teachings in my own life. Christmas can be a very trying time for so many of us and the true meaning of Christmas can be lost. It is the celebration of the birth of “the Fixer” who came to bring us peace and make us whole again.
Pieces On Earth, a Christmas novella, will be a story you can treasure for a long time. It will make you smile, laugh, cry and more importantly think.
Amazon best-selling author Cathy Bryant loves to write heart-stirring stories of God’s life-changing grace, and has done so through six Miller’s Creek novels, two Bible studies, one Christmas novella, and two devotional books written in collaboration with other Christian authors. She’s also written for The Upper Room devotional magazine. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her rummaging through thrift stores, romping in the great outdoors, or up to her elbows in yet another home improvement project in the mountain cabin she shares with her minister husband of over thirty years. You can connect with Cathy in the following online spots, including her website: http://www.CatBryant.com, where you can download a free eBook copy of one of her novels.
Pieces on Earth Giveaway!
In celebration of the release of PIECES ON EARTH, Cathy is giving away a $200 Amazon Gift Card. The contest closes on December 21, 2015. Winner will be announced via social media channels on Cathy’s Reader’s Group Newsletter. Click here to enter.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
If you could have the answer to one question, and only one question, what would you ask and who would try to stop you from asking it?
About The Question
THE QUESTION invites readers to consider this premise:
If you could have the answer to one question, and only one question, what would you ask… and who would try to stop you from asking it? To what extremes would they go?
THE QUESTION is a thriller that explores a new way of thinking, a method powerful enough to answer very complex questions perhaps powerful enough to solve the universe’s most fundamental mysteries perhaps powerful enough to resolve religions’ most beguiling unknowns.
THE QUESTION is an adventure story, fiction that you may wish, may believe, may know, is true. The narrative occurs in the present, with scenes in California, Washington, D.C., Paris, Shanghai, New York, and Afghanistan. The story is aimed at high-school and older readers and contains some graphic violence and occasional sexual allusions. The plot is action-oriented with an element of scientific fantasy, similar to Jack Finney’s “Time and Again.” The prose is crisply written, professionally edited, and organized into movie-scene chapters.
My Thoughts
The Question is an interesting novel that took me a while to get in to the story. I found the beginning of the novel hard to follow as it seemed to jump around a little bit, which caused me to have to re-read certain parts of the book over again. This made it a little hard for me to get into the novel and the characters like I usually do. Once I was about halfway through I was able to follow along much clearer and did not have to backtrack as much through the novel to understand the current plot.
The Question is not a light read but instead you invest your time in this thought-provoking novel. You question your own thoughts, beliefs and ideologies. It is a book to learn and expand your thoughts.
R. Breuer Stearns is an investor and author. Mr. Stearns graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover (1970), Harvard University (AB, 1974), University of Chicago (MBA, 1977), and DePaul University College of Law (JD, 1979). He rapidly ascended on Wall Street in the 1980’s, serving as Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions at Lehman Brothers and Head of Investment Banking (North America) at UBS Securities. While living in New York, he founded “Terrific Teachers, Inc.,” a foundation dedicated to identifying and rewarding the best of the best of the city’s public high school teachers.
Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Stearns launched a private investment bank in the former Soviet Union. He spent the early 1990’s seeking to marry emerging science, primarily emanating from Russia’s Defense sector, with Western capital. During this period, Mr. Stearns made a small fortune, albeit from a larger one. The venture provided a remarkable lesson in hubris, a tremendous reservoir of internal strength, and first-hand source material for Mr. Stearns’ first book, Winning Smart After Losing Big (Encounter Books, Beijing University Press). Subsequently, Mr. Stearns served as Chief Financial Officer of The Dial Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of Columbia/HCA Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of PacifiCare, Inc., President and Chief Operating Officer of Vascular Genetics, Inc., and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quepasa Corporation (QPSA:Amex).
Mr. Stearns is a Founder of VestaPoint Capital LLC, a family of investment funds focused on real estate development. He lives in Arizona with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and a horse. He travels extensively and is intensely curious.
The Giveaway!
My Canadian and American readers can now enter to win one of ten copies of The Question. Good luck!
In Whispers in the Reading Room Lydia’s job at the library is her world, until a mysterious patron catches her eye and perhaps her heart.
About Whispers in the Reading Room
Just months after the closure of the Chicago World’s Fair, librarian Lydia Bancroft finds herself fascinated by a mysterious dark-haired and dark-eyed patron. He has never given her his name; he actually never speaks to a single person. All she knows about him is that he loves books as much as she does.
Only when he rescues her in the lobby of the Hartman Hotel does she discover that his name is Sebastian Marks. She also discovers that he lives at the top of the prestigious hotel and that most everyone in Chicago is intrigued by him.
Lydia and Sebastian form a fragile friendship, but when she discovers that Mr. Marks isn’t merely a very wealthy gentleman, but also the proprietor of an infamous saloon and gambling club, she is shocked.
Lydia insists on visiting the club one fateful night and suddenly is a suspect to a murder. She must determine who she can trust, who is innocent, and if Sebastian Marks-the man so many people fear-is actually everything her heart believes him to be.
My Thoughts
Our two main characters in this novel are so very different but at the same time so much alike in their fondness of books and the escape they provide. Sebastian is not all he appears to be but at the same time there is such a sweet side to him that wants to come out. He wants to be what Lydia needs him to be but he is just not too sure how he can this way. He allows his past to predict his future and couldn’t be more wrong.
I love Lydia’s character, she is strong but so unsure of herself at the same time. She is refreshingly kind-hearted and open. She would do anything for those around her, even at the expense of her own happiness. Her story is not a sweet, kind life but one of hardships and an upwards battle.
Whispers in the Reading Room is a fantastic read from start to finish that will leaving you hoping and praying for Lydia to have strength and to finally receive all that she deserves for her kindness.
Shelley Gray is the author of The Heart of a Hero series. Her Amish novel (written as Shelley Shepard Gray), The Protector, recently made the New York Times best seller list. A native of Texas, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Colorado and taught school for ten years. She and her husband have two children and live in Southern Ohio.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The holidays are all about family, fun and food. It is also the perfect time to switch up your regular holiday meal time favourites to enjoy the tastes of another culture. What better way to try something new then by adding some Spanish flair to your holiday table this year with Persimon® persimmons, a fruit that is grown in the Ribera del Xuquer Valley near Valencia, Spain.
The versatile Persimon® , given this name to distinguish it from other persimmons because of its characteristics which includes that it is ready to eat as soon as you buy it – no waiting for it to ripen. I thought it looked similar in appearance to a bell pepper or even a tomato but it has the sweet taste of a mango. They are completely seedless, pitless and do not require peeling (although some people may prefer to peel the skin similar to an apple).
This unique fruit is perfect to eat on cereal, yogurt, ice cream (my personal favourite!!) or even on a salad. It gives a Spanish flair to the every day, something I think we can all appreciate during the long, cold months when the regular routine becomes bland and boring. The Persimon® Says website is full of mouth-watering recipes for you to try (many of the ingredients you will find in your home so don’t worry about not having them on hand!).
Our family loves their bread (must be the Italian in us, we always have to have a loaf of bread at a meal or as a snack) so we couldn’t wait to try the crostini with Persimon® and manchego cheese. The recipe itself was incredibly simple needing only olive oil, spinach, baguette, Persimon® and manchego cheese. Instead of a wine reduction we drizzled the recommended apricot jam on top. It was a wonderful explosion of flavour when you bit in the crostini. You had the sweet with the taste of spinach and old cheese with the crusty bread. It was definitely a taste I have never experienced before but it was well worth it. The flavours combined to make an appetizer that we gobbled up right away. The crostini had such an amazing flavour to it that we just couldn’t resist!
Make sure you head into your local Food Basics or Sobeys to pick up a case of Persimon® persimmons before it is too late – they are only around until mid-January. You can also follow Persimon® Says on Twitter to keep up to date with news, recipes and more.
How do you enjoy your Persimon® persimmons during the holiday baking season?
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So while our Elf, lovingly named Captain, terrorizes our home with his silly pranks (I have to admit I prayed that an Elf would never visit our home – I sure am happy to have this one in our home!) and we practice our baking skills with popular recipes such as Amaretti cookies and chocolate dipped snicker doodles, we are getting in the #NetfliXmas mood with some very popular titles that includes Christmas with the Kranks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Paws.
