Julie Arduini's Blog, page 136

Sabbath Sunday: Beyond the Woods

 

Each Sunday I take my own amateur nature photo and share a thought or two about God’s love.

Fairy tales are a popular theme these days and I’m a fan like everyone else. There’s Once Upon a Time, Maleficent, Cinderella is coming out, and right now, Into the Woods.

But real life hasn’t shown me a carriage or a fairy godmother.

And when life is hard, going into the woods is not full of music and dancing.

It stinks.

Probably why wilderness is named that and not rainbows and sprinkles fun time.

Thing is, the wilderness is where I’ve grown the most. It’s isolating by choice. Not only did the Lord put me there to have me to Himself, to prepare and teach me, I had to surrender to it. At first I fought the wilderness tooth and nail. Who signs up for that kind of torture? Not me.

But I realized that once you’re into the woods, there is a destination. Beyond the woods. There will be a clearing. The sun will shine. And I emerge stronger, taller, and because of my trust in Jesus, I’m a force to be reckoned with.

And that’s something to sing and dance about.

Can you relate?

My favorite verse about the wilderness is Hosea 2:14. May it encourage you today.

 

Tags:  adversity, amateur nature photo, Cinderella, fairy tales, Hosea 2:14, Into the Woods, Jesus, Julie Arduini, Maleficent, Once Upon a Time, trials, trusting God, wilderness




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 CHRISTMAS BONUS: The Christmas Concert Disaster by Ruth O'Neil  WFW: Frenemies are Everywhere...But that Doesn't Make It Right  Interview with Author Laura V. Hilton  Activation  Sabbath Sunday: The ChosenCopyright © Julie Arduini [Sabbath Sunday: Beyond the Woods], All Right Reserved. 2015.

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Saturday Confession: Scar Tissue

It’s been awhile since I’ve confessed, and Saturday is the day I do it. For new readers it’s not to air my laundry, it’s to encourage. Because there is one thing I know—the true defeated one likes us to think we’re the defeated ones. And if I can shed light on my struggles and surrender process, chances are you can relate. Together we can surrender together and find that freedom that I KNOW exists for us.

Yesterday I shared that my word for 2015 is revive. For whatever reason, God created me as a word picture girl. I learn best that way and remember better when I have a visual. This is the scenario He gave me.

Scar tissue.

I can hear Jimmy Fallon now.

“Ew.”

But it works.

I had severe PCOS and in my reproductive years had multiple surgeries. Some were related to PCOS, some were C sections, one was a hysterectomy at age 38 to be functional because the pain was that bad. All good, legit reasons for surgery. They helped me.

But those good things gave me scar tissue.

And it took a surgeon to go in and clean me out. When he did, I was able to live at optimum health again.

Nothing horrific has come my way yet the scar tissue built. Some from grief or wounds I haven’t dealt with from years past. Some from stress. Some from awesome things that happened but I let life overwhelm and I didn’t deal with it as wisely as I could have.

So, scar tissue.

I believe 2015 for me is surrendering those areas, yes, the good, the bad, and—maybe one day—the chocolate. I want to live at the best place I can in body, mind and spirit.

And getting rid of the scar tissue for personal revival is just the thing.

Can you relate?

Tags:  2015, confession, Ew, Jimmy Fallon, Julie Arduini, PCOS, revival, revive, scar tissue, word of the year




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 12 Pearls of Christmas---Elizabeth Goldsmith Musser's Why I Decorate for Christmas  Book Review: 1000 Days--The Ministry of Christ by Jonathan Falwell  COTT: Announcing the 2014 Olympia Contest for Unpublished Writers  Saturday Confession: So Freaking Hard  A2Z Meme: Letter M Means MOVIESCopyright © Julie Arduini [Saturday Confession: Scar Tissue], All Right Reserved. 2015.

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2015 Word of the Year

The word came to me in November. I was tired, burning the candle at both ends. Not recovered from the move or the stress of it. Off kilter from being vulnerable and dealing with some emotional ambushes I wasn’t ready for.

I was so spent I can’t say it was a prayer, but it was definitely a confession.

“I feel dead inside.”

And in that moment, the word came in a whisper.

Revive.

I’ve searched images and combed through definitions trying to figure how this word is going to play out. And in that I’ve realized I need to live it out to find out.

So, stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me, what’s YOUR word for 2015?

Tags:  2015, dead inside, Julie Arduini, revive, word of the year




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 Five Reasons Why I Twitter  Guest Blogger Lauren Bailey: How to Find Balance and Enhance Learning Through Shiva Nata Yoga  Guest Blogger Paul Robinson: Waving the White Flag at P*rn Addiction  BookSneeze Book Review: The Love & Respect Experience---A Husband-Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love  Write Integrity Press Christmas: Pictures and Ugly SweatersCopyright © Julie Arduini [2015 Word of the Year], All Right Reserved. 2015.

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Julie Arduini’s Favorite Book of 2014

Each year I have fun looking back at the books I’ve read and choosing a favorite. Earlier this week I shared the favorite fiction and non fiction books I read for 2014. Today I share a book I reviewed this year, but it was released in late 2013. I wasn’t sure what it was about and I thought it was a genre I probably couldn’t relate to.

I still can’t haven’t forgotten this book.

What is it?

Fistful of God by Therese Travis

Book Description:

She’s never taken a drink, but she’s recovering from alcoholism all the same.

After the death of her father, teenager Aidyn Pierce spends all her time cleaning up her mother’s messes. So when Mom announces she’s getting sober, Aidyn doesn’t believe her. Mom has tried before, and Aidyn knows there will come a time—a day, a week, maybe even a month from now—when the cravings will be too much, and her mother will start drinking again. So, when Aidyn is encouraged to attend support meetings, she refuses. No point in wasting her time when her mother’s going to drink again, anyway.

But what Aidyn doesn’t count on is the healing power of love and friendship, and the incredible strength of God to walk both mother and daughter through the dark valley of addiction and recovery.

I read this back in March and I was blown away by how this reached beyond the YA genre. It was real, gripping and all these months later, I haven’t forgotten it.

You can read my original review here.

To purchase Fistful of God, click here.

Tags:  2014 reads, alcoholism, favorite book of the year, fiction, Fistful of God, Julie Arduini, Therese Travis, YA novel




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 The Books that Showed Me Summer Heat Will Never Be Hotter Than Hell  Sabbath Sunday:Simply Put  Entrusted: My Interview with Heroine Jenna Anderson  Testing Our Newlywed Strength by Amanda Kerl  COTT Survey: What Summer Book Would You Read First?Copyright © Julie Arduini [Julie Arduini's Favorite Book of 2014], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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Julie Arduini’s Favorite Reviewed Non Fiction Book 2014

Each year I enjoy looking back at the books I’ve reviewed and choosing my favorites. I choose a fiction and non fiction book that I’ve reviewed plus a Kindle or paperback read I enjoyed as a reader that I was under no obligation to review.

Today is non fiction.

The book I chose took a contemporary look at God’s Word and I was mesmerized the entire time. I’m always looking for fresh ways to be challenged without watering down God’s Word and this book not only delivered, the entire series this year has.

What book?

What series?

Amazed and Confused by Heather Zempel.

The inScribed series.

Book Description:

Most people have prayed for something or someone in earnest, seeking God’s will, only to be left confused by God’s response. Sometimes we ask, “Why would a good God allow bad things to happen to good people?” In Amazed and Confused, Heather Zempel tackles this question head-on by exploring the book of Habakkuk.

When the prophet Habakkuk prayed that God would bring change to the backsliding nation of Israel, this issue came to the forefront. Habakkuk begged God for revival and that He would turn the hearts of faithless people back to Him.

God’s answer to Habakkuk was, “Take a look at the nations and watch what happens! You will be shocked and amazed” (1:5, The Voice). The vision God gave Habakkuk was one of warfare and exile. How do you respond when God answers your prayers in a way that seems out of line with his character and promises?

Amazed and Confused proceeds systematically through the book of Habakkuk, exploring the prophet’s prayer, God’s response, and the prophet’s journey from confusion to worship. This interactive Bible study is the perfect choice for those who are hurting and confused about God’s responses to their prayers.

Features include:

Helpful guidance on a question without an easy answer

Practical tools for studying the Minor Prophets

Easy-to-understand, accessible language

This is just one of many Bible studies in the series. I’ve also enjoyed Living So That and Dive Deeper.

To purchase Amazed and Confused, click here.

To learn more about inScribed Bible studies, click here.

Tags:  Amazed and Confused, Bible study, book review, favorite book, Heather Zempel, inScribed Bible study, Julie Arduini, non fiction, non fiction book of 2014




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 Encouraged by Scaffolding  A2Z Meme: Opportunity  I Recommend: If My People 2012  Character Confession: Imagine the Timing  Get Some Couch Time with Jeannie Campbell, Character TherapistCopyright © Julie Arduini [Julie Arduini's Favorite Reviewed Non Fiction Book 2014], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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Julie Arduini’s Favorite Reviewed Fiction Book 2014

Each year I look over the books I reviewed and choose the ones I enjoyed most and remember even after I finished the book.

Today I choose the fiction book.

I chose this one because it was more than a romance. It was a message, an invitation by the author to draw into a relationship with meaning. She went even further and on Facebook created a Bible study that not only re visited her book, but walked readers through the story of Ruth.

The book?

Beyond I Do by Jennifer Slattery.

Book Description:

Marriage . . . it’s more than a happily ever after. Eternally more.

Ainsley Meadows, raised by a hedonist mother who cycles through jobs and relationships like wrapping paper on Christmas morning, falls into a predictable and safe relationship with Richard, a self-absorbed, socialite psychiatrist. But as Ainsley’s wedding nears, a battered woman and her child spark a long-forgotten dream, a hidden passion. One that threatens to change everything, including her fiancé. If she wants to embrace God’s best and find lasting love, this security-seeking bride must follow God with reckless abandon and realize that marriage goes Beyond I Do.

Even though it’s been a couple months or so since reading, I’m still thinking about the story. The message. The Bible Study she had on Facebook.

If you need a book to see you through Christmas vacation, I definitely recommend my favorite fiction reviewed book of the year, Beyond I Do.

To purchase Beyond I Do, click here.

Tags:  2014 book of the year, Beyond I Do, Bible, book review, favorite book, fiction, Jennifer Slattery, Julie Arduini, Ruth




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 Character Confession: I'm Intense with a Dash of Superficial  Character Confession: Birds of Different Feathers  COTT: Oath of the Brotherhood by C. E. Laureano  And There, There, and There You'll Find Me and My Writing  Saturday Confession: Resurrected FireCopyright © Julie Arduini [Julie Arduini's Favorite Reviewed Fiction Book 2014], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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Sabbath Sunday: Christmas Season Rest

 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28, NIV

Julie Arduini photo

Tags:  Christmas, Julie Arduini, Matthew 11:28, rest, Sabbath, Sunday




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 A2Z Meme: Forget about the Garage  A2Z Meme: Heaven's Happy Hallelujah  Sabbath Sunday: Like God Likes You  Introducing BookShout!  COTT: The Hesistant Heiress by Dawn CrandallCopyright © Julie Arduini [Sabbath Sunday: Christmas Season Rest], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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Book Review: Farewell Four Waters by Kate McCord

Book Description:

Day 14: It should have been the beginning . . .

All she needed were stamps and signatures. Marie and her translator stood in the government offices in Kabul, Afghanistan to complete the paperwork for her new literacy project. The women in her home town, the northern village of Shehktan, would learn to read.

But a spattering of gun shots exploded and an aid worker crumpled. Executed. On the streets of Kabul. Just blocks from the guesthouse. Sending shockwaves through the community.

The foreign personnel assessed their options and some, including Marie’s closest friend, Carolyn, chose to leave the country. Marie and others faced the cost and elected to press forward. But the execution of the lone aid worker was just the beginning.

When she returned home to her Afghan friends in Shehktan to begin classes, she felt eyes watching her, piercing through her scarf as she walked the streets lined in mud brick walls.

And in the end . . .

It took only 14 days for her project, her Afghan home, her community-all of it-to evaporate in an eruption of dust, grief, and loss. Betrayed by someone she trusted. Caught in a feud she knew nothing about, and having loved people on both sides, Marie struggled for the answer: How could God be present here, working here, in the soul of Afghanistan?

Farewell Four Waters gives a great glimpse of life as an aid worker in Afghanistan. Marie learns how quickly everything can change when just as her plans are ready to unfold, she hears of a shooting on a street she knows well. That changes everything and I think the author did a great job walking the reader through the journey. I felt like I was there, unsure of who to trust and how to move forward.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in serving overseas or learning about life in Afghanistan.

To purchase Farewell Four Waters, click here.

I received a copy of Farewell Four Waters from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Tags:  Afghanistan, Aid worker, book review, Farewell Four Waters, Julie Arduini, Kate McCord




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 Better Late Than Never: Marriage Monday & Overcoming Boredom and Apathy in Marriage  Thankful for Every Breath by Denise Oldham  My Early Christmas Present: JournEzine's 6th Annual Christmas Story Contest  Book Review: The Honor Key by Russell Evans  Book Review: Leaving Egypt---Finding God in the Wilderness PlacesCopyright © Julie Arduini [Book Review: Farewell Four Waters by Kate McCord], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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Merry Christmas from Julie Arduini

Tags:  birthday, Christmas, gift, Jesus, Julie Arduini, manger, Merry Christmas




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 Ultimate Blog Party 2013: Meet an Uncoordinated Mom With Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs--Kind Of  12 Pearls of Christmas---Elizabeth Goldsmith Musser's Why I Decorate for Christmas  Book Review: It Had to be You by Susan May Warren  New Beginnings by Sharron Cosby  COTT: Edna in the Desert by Maddy LedermanCopyright © Julie Arduini [Merry Christmas from Julie Arduini], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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COTT: Kinsale Kisses by Elizabeth Maddrey Wins December Clash

Julie’s Note: Thank you to everyone that voted for Entrusted !

KINSALE KISSES

 


Congratulations, Elizabeth Maddrey! Kinsale Kisses received enough votes to claim the win!

This clash received more votes than any other clash in COTT history. So we offer a big thank-you and a standing ovation to each of our contestants: Rachel A James with The Forgotten Princess of Elmetia , Heather Gray with Queen , Julie Arduini with Entrusted , Caryl McAdoo with A Little Lower Than The Angels , and Janet Sketchley with Secrets & Lies . We’re honored to have had you with us!

And now, let’s hear about our winning title!

About the Book

She wants stability. He wants spontaneity. What they need is each other.

Colin O’Bryan cashed out of the software company he founded and started a new life in Ireland. Content to wander from town to town as a traveling musician, he had no goals beyond healing from the betrayals that led to his career change, and finding his next gig.

After the death of her parents, Rachel Sullivan hoped her aunt’s B&B on the Southern coast of Ireland would be a place for her to settle and start a new life. Though she can’t deny the sparks in Colin’s touch, his lack of concern for hearth and home leave her torn. Can this free-spirited minstrel win her heart or will Rachel choose roots and stability over love?

This gentle inspirational romance will take you on a journey to Cork County, Ireland and give you a glimpse of Kinsale, Charles Fort, Blarney Castle, and Cobh as Rachel and Colin undergo their own journey of self-discovery as they learn that God’s plans are bigger than their own and that waiting on Him is worth the insecurity it brings.

Author’s Note

Ireland has always been a place I dreamed about. My husband and I were able to travel there in 2003 and again in 2005. We’re counting the days until we’re able to go back. This novella (short, around 150 pages, or 30,000 words) started as a short break from some of the heavier aspects of writing the Remnants series (Faith Departed, Hope Deferred, and Love Defined) and it turned into something I’m particularly proud of. Rachel and Colin were a delight to get to know — I hope you’ll take the time to spend some time with them, traveling around Ireland and falling in love.

Purchase now and step onto Irish soil in minutes: Amazon

About the Author:

Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who loves a good happily ever after.

Elizabeth Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of computers, math, and organization steered her into computer science at Wheaton College, she always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time. This continued through a Master’s program in Software Engineering, several years in the computer industry, teaching programming at the college level, and a Ph.D. in Computer Technology in Education. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity.

She lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys.

Visit her Website

A Few Voter Comments

Elizabeth Maddrey is now on my top 3 favorite author list. I have read each and every one of her books, and they are beautifully written. Gtrat Christian fiction! Can’t wait for a new release by Elizabeth Maddrey.
Elizabeth Maddrey writes with rich characters and refreshing honesty. I’m looking forwarded to her next work.
one I’ve read already, one – besides Kinsale Kisses by ELIZABETH MADDREY – remains on my TBR pile / list! I’m all about all things Irish, so of course I’ve to vote for the Irish story in the lot, don’tcha know!!

***

That wraps up our final clash of 2014. Thank you for playing with us and for supporting our authors. God bless all the writers represented in this Clash. Thank you for serving Him with your pen!


Tags:  authors, books, Clash of the Titles, COTT, Elizabeth Maddrey, Entrusted, fiction, Julie Arduini, Kinsale Kisses, romance




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 About Forgiveness  12 Pearls of Christmas---Debora M. Coty's Inside Out Christmas  COTT: Speak No Evil by Mary Hamilton Wins Clash  Book Review: Courageous Teens by Michael Catt and Amy Parker  Sabbath Sunday: The Windy RoadCopyright © Julie Arduini [COTT: Kinsale Kisses by Elizabeth Maddrey Wins December Clash], All Right Reserved. 2014.

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