Inspire, The Bible for Creative Journaling

Last year a friend gave me a gift card to our local Bible book store. I had been wanting a Bible to color in. Each year I read through the Bible and I try to read a different translation each year. This Bible is the New Living Translation. Which is a paraphrase of the Bible. I wouldn't recommend studying God's Word with this translation, but for daily reading it is perfect. I loved all of the opportunities to color a page that helped me reflect on what a passage was saying. I plan on keeping this by my chair so that I can pick it up and color more pages. There were many illustrations that I chose to color and then there were many that I skipped over so I think it will be fun to go back through this next year and color some that I missed.

For 2018 I have chosen to read The Daily Bible in the NIV translation. It is a devotional Bible and is in chronological order. I'm usually not a fan of the chronological order because I like to start in Genesis and read through to Revelation, but like I said, I like to choose a different translation or format each year. One of the women I go to Bible study with gave us these Bible's for Christmas last year, but I had already chosen the Inspire Bible to read so now I will read the Daily Bible.

How about you? Do you read the Bible daily? Do you read through cover to cover? Do you like different translations? Do you like to read a "real" Bible or do you go for the electronic Bible's? Any thoughts on paraphrases such as this one or ones like The Message? Have you ever thought about creative journaling?

This will be my last post for 2017. May God richly bless you all in 2018 and may you grow closer to Him. If you have never read through His Word then I would encourage you to give it a try. His Word never gets old!

Top 10 Books of 2017

Usually I do a Top Whatever Year it is. But this year I haven't read much so I am going to stick with the Top 10 and call it good. I actually loved all of the books I read this year. Since I have cut way back on my reading I have found I am much more prone to read books that I will enjoy rather than reading those that I know are not going to be a favorite. I read 62 books, so once again failed to reach my Goodreads reading goal of 75 books. I'm hoping to add a few more books to this year's total, but as busy as we have been I don't know if I will.  So here it is, my Top 10 picks for 2017:

10.

I have actually enjoyed all of the books in the Chesapeake Valor series and read 2 in 2017. Love Dani Pettrey's books and am looking forward to reading more from her and more in this series!

9.

Such a good book! So many twists and turns! I loved it and can't wait for the next book in this series. Irene Hannon definitely knows how to keep a reader enthralled with the story.

8.

Karen Witemeyer writes such lovely historical romances and then she adds a bit of excitement/suspense that gets the heart going pitter pat! Love her books!

7.

I read a couple of books by Keli Gwyn this year. This one was my favorite. Keli has retired from writing this year. I have loved every one of her books!

6. 

I actually gorged on the whole series this year and loved all of them, but this was my favorite! Lynette Eason is another favorite that I will always snag her books when they become available. In fact the first one in her new series is on Netgalley and currently waiting for me on my Kindle! 

5. 

I can count on Susan Sleeman to keep me awake at night reading her books! They are wonderful suspense-filled reads!

4. 

This is a prequel novella in a new series by Julie Lessman and I loved it! The dialogue had me snort-laughing throughout and the kisses of course can curl your toes Julie Lessman style! 

3. 

This was a compilation from many different authors and followed the lives of 7 brothers. I loved all of the stories and the unique way each author portrayed their brother. I had my favorites, but I truly enjoyed each one.

2. 

There is something about Ginny Yttrup's writing that always manages to touch my heart. I absolutely LOVED Home because it did just that, touched my heart. 

1. 

Once again a Julie Lessman book has made my number one spot! I loved this Isle of Hope series, but especially this one. Julie Lessman knows how to write the perfect Prodigal story! I love how she shows that God continues to call us back to Him even when we think we are unlovable or unredeemable. She had me crying and laughing in this one!

So there you have them! Once again, I loved all of the books I read this year and still have a few more that I hope to squeeze in before the year ends, but these were the stand-outs. I hope that you too had a wonderful year of reading and that 2018 will bring you many more wondrous reads and favorite authors! 

As Tiny Tim says, "God Bless us, every one!"

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Gwen and her two children are once again on the run. This time not only are they hiding from the crazy people that are seeking revenge for Gwen and her children's relationship to serial killer Melvin Royal, but they are also running from newly escaped Mel. Gwen knows that his contacts reach far and wide. Leaving the children with someone she can trust to protect them Sam and Gwen go hunting for Melvin. What they find is a network of evil that becomes their worst nightmare. Knowing that Melvin will stop at nothing to get to Gwen and his children, Gwen becomes bait to lure Melvin out of hiding.

Killman Creek is the sequel to Stillhouse Lake and is just as scary and creepy as the first book! I tried not to read too much of it at night before bed because it was that scary! The writing was gritty, gory and definitely made for nightmares! I love that even though Gwen's character was a victim she didn't have the characteristics of a victim. She became stronger the more she was pressed and the more people that were against her. Her goal was to protect her children and she would do that at all costs to herself. The shaky alliance between her and Sam was frustrating but yet understandable, they both had one end in mind, to kill Melvin Royal. The sense throughout the book of the evil that human beings are capable of was perfectly portrayed in Melvin's character. The ending was just as exciting and heart-pounding as watching an action thriller movie. If you love the scary, or serial killer-type stories then this is definitely one you should pick up.

Note to my readers: This is definitely not a Christian book and not what I normally review on my blog. While I enjoyed it, there were definite elements that would not be acceptable or appropriate for most audiences. The language was pretty harsh and offensive and some of the scenes were pretty gory and graphic. I would say if you are not used to reading secular books, then this definitely would be one that you would want to stay away from.

**I received an advanced copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own**

Cold Truth by Susan Sleeman

When Kiera gets a phone call from a person with a disguised voice claiming to have her twin brother Kevin held hostage she rushes to Kevin's house to find him. It turns out Kevin has disappeared and his work is claiming that he has stolen a biotoxin that he was working on. Blackwell Tactical has been hired to find Kevin. Cooper Ashcroft is on the job when Kiera is almost run over by an ATV. Rescuing her and taking her to their training compound does not mean that they trust Kiera to not be involved in the theft of the biotoxin. Determined to prove both she and her brother's innocence Kiera insists on helping the team play the kidnappers game to free her brother. What neither Coop or Kiera count on is their attraction to each other. But neither one of them have a relationship written in their life-plans, especially with someone they cannot believe or trust.

I'm definitely a fan of the Cold Harbor series. The suspense of Cold Truth is what I expect from Susan Sleeman's books. It keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and keeps them turning the pages late into the night. Kiera was a strong female character, at times bordering on hysterical. I can't imagine having your twin in such danger so would assume that a person would fall apart at times. She pulled herself together with the help of Coop and continued head on into danger. Both Coop and Kiera struggled with their faith in God. I always like the spiritual aspects of Susan Sleeman's books because they show everyday people struggling with honest feelings about God's role in their lives. The Cold Harbor series is definitely one that I recommend if you enjoy suspense and a bit of romance.

Check out the first book in the series that can be purchased individually or as part of the Targeted for Danger compilation of various authors:

Targeted For Danger

Checkmate by Steven James

Wow! Talk about edge-of-your-seat suspense! This one kept me totally engaged and totally freaked out! Patrick has two serial killers on the loose that he is trying to track down. Not sure that Basque survived his dunk in the river at the end of the last book, Patrick has his eyes open for more attacks against his family. Then another killer that Basque helped escape from prison makes an appearance. Which one is behind the attack on the FBI? Once again Tessa has agents keeping an eye on her, which doesn't thrill her until she meets one of them. Beck is all business, but there is something that clicks between them. With threats against Pat's co-workers, and friends Checkmate moves along at a fast and exciting clip. If you are into thriller-type stories then Steven James doesn't disappoint. I happen to love these types of stories so I highly recommend them!