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Real World Parents

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:00:26 +0000

How Does Your Parenting Stand Up to the Real World?

Introducing a new approach that swaps fear and guilt for grace and wisdom

I have a few extra copies of this book ready to give away! Would you like to learn more about what it takes to be a real world parent? Post a comment for a chance to win a FREE copy of Real World Parents!

Listen in to my interview with Mark Matlock…

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If news stories and some high-profile Christian leaders are to be believed, the task of parenting—particularly of parenting a teenager—has never been more difficult or terrifying. The often-quoted statistics, which, like a fisherman’s tale, seem to grow more fantastic with each retelling, have produced a groundswell of panic within many Christian circles. Pharmacy parties, oral sex, and apostasy…oh my! Many parents live in constant fear that they will fail, that their children will be devoured by the world—unless mom and dad can inspire good behavior for 18 full years. But what if parents are only hearing part of the story? What if the real world isn’t so scary, after all?

In his new book Real World Parents: Christian Parenting for Families Living in the Real World, popular author and speaker Mark Matlock offers a perspective that directly contrasts the usual fear and guilt-based parenting programs that focus on shielding kids from the evils of the world and producing good behavior. Parents, he says, become fearful and controlling because they are listening to the wrong story—the world’s story. Real World Parents is about a fundamental shift in focus towards God’s epic, timeless story and His understanding of reality, which is unchanging, regardless of the world’s traps and trends.

What readers won’t find in the pages of Matlock’s book is a rigid program or magic formula for churning out good kids because Real World Parenting is not about what parents do. It’s about who they are.

“Many Christian parenting books focus on helping parents figure out how to raise well-behaved, well-mannered kids. And while that’s an important element, not many focused on raising kids to have hearts that seek after Christ. The goal of parenting, in the long run, isn’t for our kids to be known for how well behaved they are, but for how well they know and respond to God,” Matlock says. “Our behaviors are ultimately driven by our understanding of the way the world works, of what we believe to be true and false about the universe, of our perception of reality. How can we communicate God’s worldview to our kids? What story are we telling them about the universe, both intentionally and—more importantly—in the way we live with and for God over time?”

Matlock teaches a wisdom-based approach to passing God’s story on to young people and teaching them by example how to navigate the real world. Along the way, Real World Parents will discover:

· Why God likes us and is already happy with our families

· Surprising statistics about teen sex, drugs, and smoking that raise the question: are things really getting worse?

· The three most common parental responses to a scary world—and why they don’t work

· Why parents should teach their children how to “fail productively”

· What kids really need to become spiritually healthy—and how parents can provide those things

· How to evaluate media through the lens of God’s story

Just like the Real World Parents seminars, the book guides parents through the seven marks of a wise person, encouraging them to examine their definitions of success, their management of resources, the sources they turn to for wise counsel, and the health of their relationships. Matlock believes it is only through embracing and modeling God’s wisdom to their families that parents will create an environment that promotes the true spiritual growth of their children.

Real World Parents is, at the heart, a message of hope for families. “We wonder how God could ever look at our families in the shape they’re in and grin. And the problem is that as parents we sometimes forget that we’re also children, that our God is our Father, that he’s even more lovingly inclined to smile

at us than we are to smile at our own kids. Our father likes us, and he forgives even our parenting shortcomings and our family failings,” Matlock says. “No matter how good or bad you think your family is God has plans for you that will unfold in the Real World. God will continue to move your family along in the journey he has in store for you. That’s what real world parenting is about—understanding that journey and communicating it to our kids.”

Real World Parents: Christian Parenting for Families Living in the Real World by Mark Matlock

Zondervan/Youth Specialties March 2010

ISBN: 978-0-3106-6936-4/143 pages/softcover/$12.99

www.RealWorldParents.com

Restoration Road

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:10:51 +0000

The way Mitch Kruse (with Derek Williams) weaves the restoration of an antique car with the restoration of the soul is pure genius. A God revealed epiphany, indeed.

Listen in to our interview and you be the judge…

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Is Restoration Road the path God is drawing your soul toward? Post a comment for a chance to win a FREE copy and let fate decided!

Kruse shares the story of his journey down Restoration Road

Dr. Mitchell Kruse is an author, speaker, and the driving force behind The Restoration Road, a ministry movement that equips believers to live authentically where culture connects with Christ. Kruse is best known for his contribution to the auction arena, especially in the area of collector cars and real estate. For seventeen years, Kruse was owner, CEO, and auctioneer of Kruse International, the world’s largest collector car sales organization.

The art of auctioning has been passed down through three generations of the Kruse family, but as Kruse followed in his father’s footsteps, he discovered that success is a fragile thing that often comes at a high price. Though Kruse had been raised in a Christian family, he had vacillated between legalism and relative lawlessness. Facing the constant pressure of his life in the fast lane and the real possibility of losing everything he had labored to build, Kruse finally reached a turning point and surrendered control of his life to God. This move radically transformed both Kruse and his business over the next several years.

He sold his company to pursue his calling to communicate God’s restoration through grace and wisdom evidenced in leadership. Kruse earned his Master of Arts and Doctor of Religious Studies degrees with high distinction from Trinity Theological Seminary. He volunteered as teaching pastor at Blackhawk Ministries, a church of two thousand members.

Restoration Road by Mitch Kruse with Derek Williams

Credo Communications/March 2010

ISBN: 978-1-935391-31-9/316 pages/hardcover/$24.99

www.TheRestorationRoad.com www.MitchKruse.com

Become a fan of Mitch Kruse on Facebook. Follow Mitch on Twitter http://twitter.com/mitchellkruse

The Right Call

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:30:06 +0000

Best-Selling Suspense Novelist…dun dah dah dun…

Kathy Herman’s The Right Call, the third book in the Sophie Trace trilogy, has made the April ECPA Fiction bestseller list. All three titles in this trilogy are now bestselling books. Additionally in the Amazon Kindle store, The Real Enemy was listed the #1 bestseller in fiction, #1 in Literature and Fiction, #1 in Mystery, #1 in Genre Fiction, and #5 bestseller in all Kindle books.

Would you like to try your chances at winning a FREE copy of The Right Call?

Chosen

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:00:25 +0000

Ginger Garrett’s retelling of this classic story gives new perspective to one of Scripture’s most beloved figures.

I’ve always loved Ginger Garrett, she breathes life into history for people like me who think history is dead boring. Ginger is an awesome author and woman of God.

Listen to our interview…

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Do you love Ginger Garrett too? You can have a chance of winning a FREE copy of her latest book Chosen by simply posting a comment below!

Based on the historical account of Queen Esther of Persia, Chosen, by Ginger Garrett, is a contemporary account of this beloved and ancient story. Uniquely written in first-person diary format, renderings of Esther’s thoughts and experiences are interspersed with current-time news excerpts, which show how Esther’s tale is woven into our own lives.

Chosen tells the story of Queen Esther, the young woman with the future of her nation in her hands. Wrenched from a simple life for her beauty, Esther finds herself at the mercy of King Xerxes. Leaving behind her only relative, her cousin Mordecai, and her first true love, Cyrus, she is thrown headlong into the unrestrained extravagance of palace living. Quick of mind and strong in spirit, she refuses to suffer the fate of her harem sisters and boldly challenges Xerxes to give of his heart before taking his pleasure, thus sealing her place beside him as queen. While conspiracy spins its diabolical web, Esther’s mind and spirit waver, and she is forced to confront the past in order to save her future—and that of an entire nation.

Chosen by Ginger Garrett

David C Cook/April 2010/ISBN: 978-1-4347-6801-8/304 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.davidccook.com www.gingergarrett.com

Screen Play

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:30:29 +0000

Want a copy of Screen Play by Chris Coppernoll? Post a comment below for a chance to win a FREE copy!

Listen in on my interview with Chris Coppernoll!

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Screen Play (David C. Cook 2010), the third novel from author Chris Coppernoll is an inspiring story of friendship and faith set amidst the complexities of Hollywood and cleverly combined with an uplifting love story reminiscent of Sleepless in Seattle.

At thirty, Harper fears her chances for a thriving acting career and finding true love are both fading fast. After a devastating year of unemployment and isolation in Chicago, Harper is offered an unexpected role in a Broadway play—as understudy to New York’s biggest diva––and everything in Harper’s world changes.

Harper also hopes to find love in NYC, but when it doesn’t happen, she reluctantly signs up to an online matchmaking site. Frustration mounts when the only match Harper is even remotely interested in lives in a remote territory on the opposite coast, thousands of miles away. A faith conversation during her year in Chicago shapes how Harper sees everything. She wants to see God at work in her life, but His ways are mysterious, and she’s faced with challenges in the secular world of Broadway. Harper feels like an actress who doesn’t act and a woman in love with someone she’s never even seen, but God’s about to change all that.

Linked through the contemporary, text message world of internet dating, Harper learns it’s possible to care for someone outside her own universe, even when that someone can’t be touched, and ultimately how to love. She reaches out through the impersonal world of cyberspace and becomes more aware than ever of God reaching out to her. Sometimes the person farthest away from you, she discovers, is the one who’s closest to your heart.

“Screen Play is a story about believing that God can do great things, even when we’re at our weakest,” say Coppernoll. “I hope readers will be swept up in Harper’s story instantly and that their excitement won’t let up until the very last page.”

Romantic Times Online Magazine has given Screen Play 4 ½ stars and selected the novel as a “Top Pick”.

Author Bio

Chris Coppernoll is the author of six books including Screen Play, A Beautiful Fall and Providence. A national speaker to singles, Chris is also the founder of Soul2Soul, a syndicated radio program airing on 800 outlets in 20 countries. Chris holds a Masters degree from Rockbridge Seminary and is deeply in love with his wife, novelist Christa Parrish.

Screen Play by Chris Coppernoll

David C Cook/January 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6482-9/342 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.davidccook.com

The Blue Umbrella

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:33:57 +0000

I had a delightful interview with the author of The Blue Umbrella, Mike Mason! He is a non-fiction writer however he decided to try his hand at fiction and I must say, I’m glad he did! Mike has always wanted to write fiction and after nearly three decades of writing and publishing non-fiction, his novel The Blue Umbrella has flown in and carried its readers away with characters you’ll fall in love with and a story line that will having you floating in the clouds of fantasy.

If you love fantasy, you’ll want to post a comment to be entered for a chance to win a free copy of The Blue Umbrella!

To learn more about Mike Mason visit www.MikeMasonBooks.com.

Listen to our interview…

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“You asked me the other day about my umbrella,” said Sky. ” About why I always carry it. I gave you a partial answer. I think it’s time to answer you fully.”

Plucking his umbrella from its stand and making for the door, Sky motioned Zac to follow. To the boy’s surprise he headed up the stairs, the ones leading to the very place that had to come to hold so much mystery for Zac. It all came rushing back to him–the strange lights he’d seen up there, the talk of haunting, the unknown footsteps and the shock they’d given him. Following Sky up the narrow staircase, Zac felt a mixture of excitement and dread. Whatever was up there, would he now learn the secret.

Check out the book trailer:

Interview with Kim Stuart

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:27 +0000

I have can’t remember laughing this much during any interview I’ve facilitated. Please be advised that if you are planning on listening to this interview at work, or at a library, or any place that has monitored noise levels you may want to reconsider. You’ll be holding your side and covering your mouth as a pathetic attempt to muffle your laughter. Seriously.

If you’d like to get your hands on a FREE copy of Stretch Marks, post a comment below and you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win! To learn more about the zany life of Kimberly Stuart visit www.KimberlyStuart.com.

Check out our hilarious interview:

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Stretch Marks

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:30:52 +0000

If you’d like to check out this book, you should post a comment for your chance to win a free copy!

(A David C. Cook Publication)

When a daughter becomes a mother, can she learn to accept her own?

Mia is a granola-eating, sensible shoe-wearing, carbon footprint-conscious twenty-something living in a multicultural neighborhood in Chicago. Her mother, Babs, is a stiletto-wearing Zsa Zsa Gabor type who works as an activities hostess on a Caribbean cruise line…and if you guessed there’s some tension there, you’d be right. Factor in an unexpected pregnancy and Mia’s idealistic boyfriend, and the mother-daughter relationship is, well, stretched very thin. As is Mia’s sanity when Babs shows up to…help.

Actually, Mia has a whole neighborhood of quirky characters who want to help, including her BFF, Frankie, a magenta-haired librarian; Silas, the courtly gentleman of indeterminate age who lives downstairs; and Adams, proprietor of the corner grocery store where Mia shops. But it’s Adam-endearing, kind, possessed of a perfect smile and impeccable Persian manners-who ultimately charms Babs and rescues Mia from more than one mother-induced meltdown. Could it be that Mia and Babs might actually be able to get along?

With Kimberly Stuart’s trademark irreverent humor and a surprising and satisfying take on romance, Stretch Marks is an authentic but tender story about family, grace, and the importance of a good grocer.

Author bio: Kimberly Stuart’s lives, plays, parents, does a lot of laundry, and writes at her home in Des Moines, Iowa. She would like to thank you for your support. Please visit her, probably not in Des Moines, but definitely at www.KimberlyStuart.com.

Battle Ready

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:15:14 +0000

If you’d like a chance to win a free copy of Battle Ready by Steve Farrar, post a comment below!

Be strong and of good courage in these troubled times!

There is a kind of man God uses. He stands tall in the face of giants. He strives to honor God through his life. He is trusting when it seems all hope is lost. And when life is uncertain, he is certain of God’s unfailing provision.

Battle Ready is for any man who longs to serve God. Inside you’ll explore the lives of men who made an impact in their world, including…

Joshua, who let the Israelites into the Promised Land

Caleb, who trusted God, and not himself for victory in battle

Uncover the traits of authentic manhood. Learn how to fully lean on Him. And become a man God can use, a man who is battle ready!

Author Bio: Steve Farrar is the founder and chairman of Men’s Leadership Ministries, an organization dedicated to equipping men for spiritual leadership. He is a frequent speaker at men’s events and conferences across the country and is the best-selling author of God Built and Point Man. Steve and his family reside in the Dallas, Texas area.

Excerpt from Battle Ready by Steve Farrar:

Our Times

In the course of my ministry, I have had the privilege of speaking to men all across the country. And it’s very clear to me as I interact with men that once again “these are the times that try men’s souls.”

If there is a verse that speaks to the condition of men in our day and time, I believe it is Psalm 42:5 (NASB):

Why are you in despair [sunk down], O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence [saving acts].

Everywhere across our land men are discouraged and depressed— and some verging on outright despair. So let’s answer the question of the psalmist. Notice that he is talking to himself instead of listening to himself. When we are panicked and fearful, we are listening to ourselves—listening to the killing worries and anxieties that fuel our negative imaginations like a windblown forest fire. The psalmist, however, attempting to fight off the fear that has become epidemic in his heart and mind, speaks to himself instead of listening to himself.

In the process, he asks himself a significant question:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?”

If most men today were to answer that question, I believe their answer would center in a fearful giant named “Uncertainty.” This giant, of course, has been around since the beginning of time, sometimes more visible and sometimes less. In recent days, however, it has been stalking our land with a vengeance. Why? Because …

· there is giant uncertainty over the meltdown of the economy; and

· there is giant uncertainty over the breakdown of the nation.

Triple Shot of Hope

As the psalmist continues to talk himself out of depression, he reminds himself about God. Because God exists and because of His great attributes, the psalmist tells himself that he will again praise God for the help of His presence. And when God is present, He saves His people. All is not lost— God is in absolute control.

The source of our depression these days is gigantic uncertainty about the economy and the future of the nation. But there are three certainties that form the (true) foundation of our hope:

The certainty of providence

The certainty of the promises

The certainty of the plan

In our times of giant uncertainty about the economy and our nation, those three certainties are nothing less than a triple shot—not of espresso, but of hope.

Extraordinary

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:30:38 +0000

Post a comment for your chance to win a free copy of Extraordinary!

There’s a question that troubles many believers: “Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life–didn’t Jesus promise that?”

He did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of “the ordinary.” They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals.

Nothing could be further from the truth! John Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments—the life God always intended for his children.

Here is a guide to understanding God’s incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the “extra” to “ordinary.”

John Bevere is an internationally popular conference speaker, teacher, and author of bestsellers, including The Bait of Satan, Drawing Near, and Driven by Eternity. His award-winning curriculum and books have been translated in over sixty languages and his weekly television program, The Messenger, is broadcast around the world. John and his wife, Lisa—also a bestselling author and speaker—reside with their family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit his ministry website at www.MessengerInternational.org.