There are no perfect marriages or perfect spouses. We know having a good marriage requires effort and hard work. Yet we often don’t know how to continue to love when we are angry, hurt, scared, or just plain irritated. Nor are we sure what that kind of love is supposed to look like. Should we be patient? Forgive and forget? Do something else entirely? In this book, you’ll find the answers to these questions, differences, and sins of your spouse to help you become more like Christ. Acting right when your spouse acts wrong will not necessarily result in a more satisfying marital relationship, nor will it automatically make your spouse change his or her ways – although both could occur. It will, however, teach you to respond wisely when wronged and lead you into a deeper relationship with Christ as you yield your will to his plan for your life and learn to be more like him.

In My Opinion

I like reading books like this and picking up bits and pieces of information I can apply in my own life.  I am not saying here that my husband is doing wrong – or that I am doing wrong and he is standing behind me pointing at me hoping I don’t see.  BUT the beauty of a book like this is I think any marriage can benefit from it.  There is a little something for everyone (as I turn and make sure that Al is not standing behind me and pointing).

Reading through this book there is a theme of not only committing to your marriage but committing to your spouse. Through chapters and topics such as Stop Reacting and Start Responding and Recognize Your Power To Choose, author Leslie Vernick brings scripture  as a reminder that how we treat one another as husband and wife is all part of  God’s plan and in His words.

Choose To LOVE ….       Rather than hate

Choose to SMILE…         Rather than frown

Choose to BUILD…         Rather than destroy

Choose to PERSEVERE… Rather than quit

Choose to PRAISE… Rather than gossip

Choose to HEAL… rather than wound

Choose to GIVE… rather than grasp

Choose to ACT… rather than delay

Choose to FORGIVE… rather than curse

Choose to PRAY… rather than despair

* CHOICES: ‘Our choices reveal what we love the most, what we fear, what is of ultimate value to us, and what we think we need in life–in other words, our choices expose the dominant desires of our heart.’

While you (and I ) may look at these choices and think of course, these are no brainers…. look at them again.  How often do we (I) tend to forget that how I act, how I respond to any and all situations is a choice.  A God given choice.  I have often reminded myself that each hard situation we go through, every obstacle in our lives is a chance to grow to learn.  I like to look at this life as a training ground for whats to come and Leslie Vernick brings God’s word through this book as reminder to use the tools that we naturally have, but sometimes forget we do.

About Leslie Vernick

Author Leslie Vernick is a licensed clinical social worker who has her own private counseling practice and more than twenty years of experience counseling individuals and families from a biblical world view. She is also a popular speaker for women’s groups, couple’s retreats and professional seminars.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

A fictional fantasy  where the past becomes part of the adventure!  ~  Sheila

journey through haunted forests, through dreams and time.
A story of love, magic and the power of forgiveness.
A Tzanatzi outcast and an Einache shaman are on the trail of an ancient curse.
Will they save their people from destruction?

In My Opinion:

I like a good fantasy adventure.  Following Rom and Yldich through the pages of this book looking for an ancient curse was a wild adventure that I slowly picked up on the rhythm of the book.  Sometimes language can throw me off and words such as erstwae and Daydach proved to be stumbling blocks for me and in the beginning of the book I had a hard time with these words.  Thank goodness author Wendy Gillissen put the definitions (any many more words like them) in the back of the book for reference!

As our two characters travel North together there are a series of dreams that deeply trouble Rom and cause quite a plot for this read.  I found it interesting how Wendy wove a deeper meaning into these dreams and how a troubled past can truly effect your present if not dealt with.  For what I would call a YA read, this book was a bit deeper than I had anticipated.

About the Author:

The urge to write and her love for the world of castles, elves and ghosts stem from the time she was five years old and her parents first took her to the ancient hills of England, Scotland and Wales.

Inspired by a journey to the Greek island of Kefalonia in 2005, Wendy began writing ‘Curse of the Tahiéra’.

I received my copy for review from the author, Wendy Gillissen

I have always loved books and books!  ~ Sheila

Here are two hundred reader-tested answers to the question “What have you read that’s good?”  The Readers’ Choice is the first book to feature titles based on the recommendations of numerous book clubs.  Victoria McMains has collected two hundred favorites of more than seventy reading groups nationwide, ideal for book group members looking for a “good read,” busy people seeking enjoyable books outside the bestseller lists, or anyone who wants to read more but isn’t sure where to start.

Combining her skills as a book reveiwer and a veteran book group member, McMains provides brief, captivating profiles of a diverse mix of fiction and nonfiction.  There are love stories and war stories, fantasy and political intrigue, biography and nature-and much more.  Each profile highlights the unique traits of the book and ends with a few questions for group favorites as well as little-known gems that have been discovered and treasured.  Indexes organize the entries by title and subject matter, helping readers find books that appeal to their interest. For anyone wanting to learn the easy essentials of starting a book club, check out McMains’s introduction.

In My Opinion:

In my reading room I have one shelf dedicated to books such as this one.  They are books that recommend must reads before I die, book club companions, how to organize and run a successful book discussion…. the titles go on and on.  I am thrilled to add this one to that shelf.  The Readers’ Choice is 200 Book Club Favorites that have been the top picks from more than 70 reading groups nationwide.

I couldn’t wait to pop my head into this one and see what other groups are reading and recommending!

It opens to information on how to start a bookclub answering questions as to how often to meet, how big, will you serve food, how will you choose books…  All of this I love to read as even though my group has been meeting wince August of 2001, I am always interested in ways to tweek our discussions so we can get more out of them, with 18 active members now in our group – that tweeking becomes more important.

Here are a few of the book suggestions that were made:

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom(I have to agree, while I didnt read this with my book club, I can see where it would be a greta one to discuss with a group!)

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (this sounds good and uhhhh….. AWKWARD….  I havent read anything by this author yet!)

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg (I have read Berg but not this particular book)

The Diary of Mattie Spencer by Sandra Dallas (Interesting… I have read this book and several others by this author and while I enjoy the reads, I would not have thought of this to be a top book club pick – it must be that this book reads like a fictional diary and the voice of our main character Mattie is done in a way that makes you want to believe it is non fiction…. )

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (On my shelf… still unread.  A book about a soldier who decides to leave his hospital bed and walk home even as the war rages on…. )

Cleopatra’s Sister by Penelope Lively (Hmmm… I have read Cleopatra’s Dughter….  In The Readers’ Choice this recommendation comes with a warning that it is easy to become a Penelope Lively addict… her book Heat Wave is also in this list of top book club reads)

The English Patient by Michale Ondaatje (would you believe I have not read the book or seen the movie?)

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (Translated from German this is another one sitting on my shelf waiting on….me)

The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd (Oh!  Yet another I have not read nor do I own…)

What I have put here in this review is only a tiny sampling of the recommended book club reads.  While I have read probably a little more than a handful of the titles offered, sadly none of them were with my book club.  As our group is so big we tend to stick to newer releases (unless it is classic month) so we are able to find enough copies for everyone without anyone having to work hard to find the book or pay a lot of money.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a gift to the reader in your life.  As I read the book descriptions of the ones I was not too familiar with I was finding I wanted to read them, if not with my group then at least for me.

About The Author:

Combining her skills as a book reviewer and a veteran book group member, McMains provides brief, captivating profiles of a diverse mix of fiction and nonfiction. Since 1997, Victoria Golden McMains has chaired the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association (BABRA). Her popoular “Book Club Favorites” column is published monthly in the Press Democrat, the New York Times–owned daily newspaper serving northern California. Several of her short stories have been publihsed in literary magazines. She lives with her family in Healdsburg, California.

My Amazon Review

I received my review copy of this books from Harper Collins