Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption

This book is in the Bright Lights Lending Library

Book Title: Kisses from Katie

Author: Katie J. Davis

Description:

What would cause an eighteen-year-old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn’t even speak the language?...A passion to follow Jesus.

Katie Davis left over Christmas break of her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, is in the process of adopting thirteen children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ.

Kisses from Katie invites readers on a journey of radical love down the red dirt roads of Uganda. You’ll laugh and cry with Katie as she follows Jesus into the impossible and finds joy and beauty beneath the dust. Katie and her children delight in saying yes to the people God places in front of them and challenge readers to do the same, changing the world one person at a time.

My Review:
To some up this book in word...amazing! Kisses from Katie is the testimony of a young woman whose life is radically changed by a three-week visit to Uganda. A normal teenager, Katie had everything a girl could want: an attentive boyfriend, loving family, great friends and school, cute car, and fashionable shoes and clothes...Sounds like the American dream right? Well, after spending three short weeks among the poverished in Uganda Katie had a longing for that country that could only have come from God. After graduation from high school Katie convinced her parents to let her minister in Uganda for a year this time. What a year it was too...during that time Katie founded Amazima Ministries, started a sponsorship and feeding program, adopted eight children and became "mommy" to hundreds more. At the end of that year Katie tearfully returned to the United States to keep her promise to her parents to go to college. But after the first semester she knew she couldn't stay...her heart belonged in Uganda.

That's just the beginning of the story! You'll be amazed by the miraculous works God performed through Katie. And hopefully you'll be inspired to live your life fully devoted for God's work as well!

Kisses from Katie is such an inspiring and encouraging book. You will laugh, cry, and just be fully amazed by this incredible true story! (For the record, I did cry just a little in this book...it was a sad part and I just couldn't help it ;)

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Amazima Ministries

Katie Davis's Blog

 

New Releases: Chivalrous

I hope everyone is having a great Summer! Hard to believe that school's getting ready to start back up again for the year...where did the time go?

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Just a reminder, the kindle book With Every Breath giveaway is ending in two days so if you haven't gotten the chance to enter do so now...

Have a blessed day!

Book Title: Chivalrous
Publication Date:
September 8, 2015
Publisher: Bethany House

Description:
Strong and adventurous Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be a knight like her chivalrous brothers. However, that is not an option for her, not even in the Arthurian-inspired Eden where she dwells. Her parents view her only as a marriage pawn, and her domineering father is determined to see her wed to a brutish man who will break her spirit.

When handsome, good-hearted Allen of Ellsworth arrives in Edendale searching for his place in the world, Gwendolyn spies in him the sort of fellow she could imagine marrying. Yet fate seems determined to keep them apart. Tournaments, intrigue, and battles--along with twists and turns aplenty--await these two as they struggle to find love, identity, and their true destinies.

Review:
Chivalrous was an exciting book from the very beginning when you are introduced to Gwendolyn racing through the forest with lance in hand. In this book you will learn about Allen from the previous book, Dauntless. From the time of their first offical introduction you know that Allen and Gwen were made for each other but fate and everything else seems to be against the match.

In this book you will experience many adventures with the characters; such as, jousting tournaments, battles, kidnapping, imprisonment, and deceit. Through each of these incidents you will grow more attached to the characters and more involved in the story until you lose track of time.

Chivalrous also has an ever present Christian message in the story. Gwen, through Allen's influence, will come ot know the God who is worthy of her love and loyalty. And Allen will overcome the pride in thinking that the future lies in his hands and turn it over to those of God. --To sum it all up, Chivalrous is a book that is well worth your time in reading. :)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note: I received this book through NetGalley. http://netgalley.com

Read my review on Dauntless

(the first book in the Valiant Hearts Series by Dina L. Sleiman)

 

New Releases: How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible

Book Title:
How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible
Publication Date: May 19, 2015
Publisher: Bethany House

Description:
Do you feel like you should read the Bible more? This book will help you want to read it.

Keith Ferrin has been talking to churches for years about enjoying God's Word. Here he shares the most helpful ideas and habits you can start using today. You will find ten proven tips that are equally practical whether you are a longtime Bible student or simply exploring what this life-changing book is all about.

Aimed at deepening your relationship with God, these simple suggestions will help you focus more easily as you read, remember Scripture better, and most importantly, enjoy the Bible and its Author more than you ever dreamed possible.

(Includes Discussion Questions and Reading Suggestions for Small Groups)  

Review:
I don't know about most of you but I've always found reading the Bible to be somewhat of a chore, an item I do just to check it off the list. It's not that I didn't want to read the Bible but I never could enjoy it as I knew I should. This book, How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible is so helpful and if anyone is struggling with the same things I am I would recommend that you read it too.

Keith Ferrin, the author of this book, was a Christian for about twenty years before he actually started enjoying his Bible. And it all began with hearing a man recite one of the gospels with such passion that the stories came alive. Because of one man, Keith's life was changed forever and because of that change we now have a book that will inspire and influence many more.

In How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible you will learn numerous tips for Bible reading. There are Bible reading plans, study outlines, and so much more that will help you get started on this incredible journey.

I've read many testimonies of people who came to really enjoy reading their Bible but none of them made me want to dig into my Bible as much as this book. I'm one of those people who likes to have clear directions and steps before I undertake a project and I think that's what many of the books were lacking. After reading this book I felt like it was a feasible mission and definitely a worth while one!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note: I received this book through NetGalley. http://netgalley.com

Interview with Elizabeth Camden / Part Two

Author, Elizabeth Camden

What does a typical day look like for you?
It starts at 4am. My husband and I are both early birds and we like to hit the gym before work. It’s actually quite fascinating to go to the gym at this hour, because there are only a handful of people there. I’ve seen them almost every day for years, and yet I don’t know their names or the first thing about them. They are ‘familiar strangers.’  Then we both go to work at our day jobs. My husband is a high school teacher and I’m a college librarian. After work is cooking dinner, mowing the lawn, and all that fun stuff that comes with home ownership. Then at night I go to my moonlighting job…which is writing novels. I usually do a fair amount of daydreaming while commuting or at the gym, so I’m usually able to bang out a scene or two each night.

What are two things that people might be surprised to know about you?
My nickname in college was ‘Ice Princess.’ I guess I gave off cold vibes, but that wasn’t what I intended. I was just shy. A lot of shy people get mistaken for haughty and cold, but don’t believe it.

I also think most people who know me would be surprised that I write novels. For my day job I publish dull, dry nonfiction books and I didn’t want that getting mingled with my novels. I write fiction under a pseudonym in order to keep my work life and Elizabeth Camden life separate. So actually the online fans know a lot more about Elizabeth Camden than the people who work down the hall from me! I simply don’t talk about that part of my life at work.

What's your favorite book & favorite movie?
Book: The Chronicles of Narnia. That was the series that took a slow-learning, non-reading kid and turned me into a wide-eyed girl eager to devour novels. It will always hold a very special place for me. I loathed the movies though. Sorry, but for me they lacked the magic and beauty of what I saw in my mind.

Movie: Can I say a TV show instead? I am fanatic about Downton Abby. I love the characters, the drama, and the writing. It’s a fabulous show and I learn more about writing dialog from watching a single episode of Downton Abby than from an entire creative writing class. Also, I am dazzled by the new BBC series Poldark. I adored the original version that came out in the 1970s, but I think the new version may be even better. The first episode was ‘meh,’ but it has been magnificent after that. I love the epic scale, the passionate emotions, the drama and turbulence. And oh yes, the hot lead actor is easy on the eyes, too!

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A librarian. And I got to be one! Being a librarian is actually an incredibly cool career. If you want a management position in a library you need to get a master’s degree in Library Science, but it pays well, the benefits are great, and you get to buy books with other people’s money. What could be better?

What three adjectives would your family/friends use to describe you?
I’ll say it in two words: Dream Killer. That sounds rather scary, doesn’t it? We jokingly have Indian names in our family which describe our characters, such as: Running Mouth, Mighty Wind, Fierce Peanut…..anyway, I am Dream Killer. My husband gave me the name because I am the ONLY practical person in my family. For example, when it’s time to buy a new car, my husband wants a Porsche. I want a car we can all fit in and afford, so I veto the Porsche. Dream Killer! My husband wants to go out for Sunday brunch and order artery clogging omelets, and I think we should stay home and have a bowl of healthy bran cereal. Cheap and healthy, right? Nope! Dream Killer strikes again.  

What's the next book you're writing?

I’ve got a beauty & the beast type story coming out in December (Until the Dawn). It features a difficult, despondent hero who is lost in darkness and despair until he meets a wonderfully luminous woman who simply won’t allow him to wallow in his misery. It’s set in a gothic estate in the Hudson River Valley with a centuries-old mystery driving the action. Here’s a link for more information. http://amzn.to/1gEdwpP

(Missed part one of this interview? Here's the link: Part One)

Hope you all enjoyed this author interview with Elizabeth Camden! I know I sure did. I always love to learn more about the author themself... A BIG thanks to Elizabeth Camden for taking the time to answer these questions!