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So Great a Love | First Line Fridays, Book Review

Published on by Amanda Tero6 Comments
Happy Friday with another children’s book (I know, I know, this may be considered “cheating” but I fully believe that you’ve got to start kids off with good books too!)!! You may remember me featuring Kristie’s other book, Made for a Purpose, several months ago (if not, check it out now 😉 ). I’m honored to present you book two! This series is adorable and wonderful.
First Line
Higher than the mountains, and wider than the desert…
so great is God’s love for you!
Honestly, what better type of book to give your kid? 
Connecting with Hoarding Books for First Line Friday!
What’s the first line of a book you’re reading?
Who is your favorite artists?

My Review
Kristie has done it again: created an adorable, sweet, and doctrinally sound children’s book. Every page features a truth directly from God’s Word—covering God’s love, care, protection, help, cleansing, watch-care, and delight. Each of these attributes of God are likened to how one of the animals in the wild does the same for its child (e.g. protection like a mama bear protecting her young), ending with the call to run to God because He always loves us. I did find it interesting that the entire book focuses on God, without mentioning Jesus, even though I assume it was Jesus pictured.  Not saying this in a negative way; it’s just something that I observed.
The art is colorful and fun, depicting the various animals (bear, koala, lions, chickens, to name a few) in their environments and sometimes their danger. There are a couple of pictures of God (or Jesus?) in which he has long hair; I personally don’t believe that depiction is true, but that’s just my Biblical opinion. 😉 It does not prevent me from enjoying the book.
At the conclusion of the book is a whole page of Scripture from which the phrases were taken. I love this idea! It takes the child directly to God’s Word to say, “See? This is what the Bible says.” I do prefer the KJV and these references are from various other translations, but I would just look them up in my Bible for my child.

*I received this book from Book Crash and happily provided my honest review*

O Holy Night | Violin and Piano

Published on by Amanda Tero3 Comments
If there was to be one song that is considered THE Christmas classic, “O Holy Night” fits the bill perfectly. One of my students requested this for recital this year, and I was happy to oblige her.
What is one of the standard “Christmas classics” to you?

Getting Back into Goals

Published on by Amanda Tero5 Comments
Praising the Lord, cause last week was better getting back into the niche of writing. Last week, I was able to…

  • Read 2 chapters of a research book
  • Brainstorm for a few hours
  • Write 1,909 words
I wasn’t able to fully kick back into full gear of doing it everyday, but I was able to make progress, and for that I’m excited.
This week, my goals are to…
  • Average writing 150 words each day
  • Read five chapters of research book
  • Reply to beta readers’ emails about Nat
Yes, I realize that, in my good ol’ days, this doesn’t seem like a huge goal. But, Lord willing, that will mean 1,050 more words than I had last week, plus being almost finished with my current research book.
Will you hold me to these goals?
Also, what are your goals this week?
Before I leave, a couple of posts from Instagram–inspired by researching. 😉 Researching… oh, researching… 🙂 

Scripture Graphics #69

Published on by Amanda Tero3 Comments

What a beautiful promise we can claim as adopted children of the one true God!


There is so much beauty in this story of Assyria’s threat and Hezekiah’s prayer
– He didn’t let others’ view of God warp his focus on the truth of God (Isaiah 36:7, 10, 18-20; 37:10-13)
– His first response was not worry and agonizing over a plan. He read the letter then immediately brought it to God (vs. 14-15)
– His concerns did not diminish his praise to God (vs. 16-17)
– He didn’t ask for victory to secure his own life, but so that the surrounding nations would see the proof of the living God (vs. 20)


If salvation was our only reason to praise God every day, it is reason enough. Yet every day, our lives are overflowing with Christ’s blessings. So why do we not praise Him more?


I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. (Isaiah 43:11)
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah 43:25)
God alone is our Savior; He alone forgives and sanctifies us.

What is your favorite verse on God’s forgiveness?

The Heart of an Agent | Blog Tour, Review, Giveaway

Published on by Amanda Tero5 Comments

About the Book

Name of book: The Heart of an Agent
Author: Tracey J. Lyons
Genre: Inspirational historical romance
Release Date: November 7, 2017

Tracey J. Lyons, the author of A Changed Agent, returns to the Adirondack Mountains of the 1890s in a novel of love, faith, and secrets…
Former Pinkerton spy Lily Handland has always dreamed of a quiet, safe life, free from chasing criminals and putting herself at risk. So when the opportunity to invest in a failing Great Camp in the Adirondacks comes to her attention, she quickly jumps at the chance.
Filled with grief, widower Owen Murphy wants to run away from it all. Though he’s worked hard to forge a future for himself, his guilt has kept him mired in the past. But all that changes when a headstrong, mysterious woman shows up at Owen’s door. Together, as Lily and Owen restore the beauty of the Great Camp, he begins to finally see a future. But will learning about Lily’s past destroy it all?


My Review

Overall, this was a sweet story. Lily wants to change her lifestyle from that of a Pinkerton detective—and her desire gets a new meaning when her paths cross with Owen, the widowed and broken owner of a mountain retreat. In essence, this was a romance with some plot woven through. I found Lily’s backstory intriguing and Owen’s journey to move forward believable. I really enjoyed the whole rebuilding of the camp, and, in essence, rebuilding of lives.

It didn’t strike me as a very deep Christian book. There were a lot of mentions of God’s hand in nature (at the same time, one reference to Mother Nature), and a few prayers for direction, but mainly only when a character was over their head in a problem.

The romance overall was sweet and not rushed. The kisses were semi-detailed. There were a few mentions of suspicion for impure lifestyle, but nothing was out-and-out said, and it was just suspicions/accusations.
A few things I didn’t care for: several uses of “heck” and similar words. Taking God’s Name in vain twice. Mention of Mother Nature. Lily talking to a grave/dead person, asking for advice.

So in essence, it’s a book for romance lovers (which you all know isn’t me 😉 ), but still enjoyable!

*I received this book from Celebrate Lit and happily provided my honest review*



Giveaway!
To celebrate her tour, Tracey is giving away a Grand Prize Package of a tea-time themed gift box (Valued at over $75) and a $25 Visa Gift Card!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c1f6

About the Author

 An Amazon Top Ten bestselling historical romance author of the Adirondack Pinkertons and the Women of Surprise series, Tracey was a 2017 National Excellence Romance Fiction Award finalist. She sold her first book on 9/9/99! Her books have been translated into several languages and are available in print, digital and audio formats. A true upstate New Yorker, Tracey believes you should write what you know. Her historical romances are all set in the New York State area. Tracey considers herself a small town gal who writes small town romances. You can learn more about Tracey and her books by visiting her website at www.traceylyons.com.


Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, December 1
A Greater Yes, December 2
Multifarious, December 3
Carpe Diem, December 6
Bibliophile Reviews, December 7
Pause for Tales, December 8
Daysong Reflections, December 10
Mary Hake, December 11
My Writer’s Life, December 12
Books n Baubles, December 12


God Bless My Family | First Line Friday and Review

Published on by Amanda Tero8 Comments
Happy Friday! For this Friday’s first line, I’ll just show you the first page. Then you get to read it and see the adorable art!

As usual, connecting with Hoarding Books for First Line Friday!
What is your favorite children’s book?
What are you reading this weekend?

My Review
I have a thing for children’s books. I have to think harder than to say “It’s truly adorable.” But this one IS. After I received it in the mail, I had laid it out and at least four family members picked it up, read it, and proclaimed, “This is the cutest book ever!” I’m from a big family, so I appreciate the positive focus on family. It covers daddy, mommy, brother, sister, grandma, grandpa, cousins, uncles, and aunts, and how God has placed each in the family for a special reason. 
The illustrations are adorable. Soft pencil drawings of dogs–who wouldn’t like that? I did think that some of them were questionable as far as two dogs walking hand-in-hand (paw-in-paw). I just know some of my siblings and their curious minds (“How can the dog climb the tree?” for instance). That would be the only critical aspect I would have to say of this book. It doesn’t really bother me. Just if you’re going to have a very literal child, they may be puzzled about some of the art.
*I received this book from BookLook Bloggers and happily provided my honest review*

November: No NaNo

Published on by Amanda Tero6 Comments
Writing… what’s that again? 😉 
Just kidding. Though honestly, November was one of those months where writing definitely was pushed to the back burner. In exchange, a lot of wonderful things happened. My friend Kenzi came down and spent about two weeks, we had a Bible conference (with more friends!), did our annual sibling Christmas-shopping trip, my niece was born (yep, second time being an aunt in less than two months!), we had a make-shift Thanksgiving (due to my niece being born that week), and about a hundred other smaller things filled the month. So November wasn’t much of a writing month for me.
However, I did get to do some brainstorming on a writing project and make wonderful progress with character development and ideas.
And the last week of November, when I was “just getting back on track” with normal-life stuff, God allowed me to put in a few thousand words in another project! This one was a completely an unexpected blessing. Our family went two nights to sing at a revival service over an hour away. I usually don’t write in the van, because I sit in the back seat and have ruined two laptops with the jostling (just trust me on that one 😉 ), but since our family has diminished in size, I was a front-seater, which isn’t nearly as bumpy as the back seat. Added to that, I was writing while my writing-sister, Rachel, was nearby. So we did a ton of brainstorming as well.
So writing hasn’t been as much overall since last writing update, but what has been done has felt very productive.
Nat is still in the hands of beta readers. I have gotten helpful feedback from a couple of them, and the remainder are hopefully going to get my their notes by the end of December so I can start the New Year off with editing his story.
How you can be praying
I’d appreciate prayers for wisdom. As many of you know, I teach around 30 music students, run WAJN (arranging and publishing music books and CDs), and assist with our family’s singing group, as well as write. Many times, it is hard to know the balance of what I am to do when–when am I to be fully available to my family, when am I to set apart writing time or arranging time, etc.? I am beginning to see that it’s a day-by-day need for direction. Yes, there are dozens of stories that are just begging to be written, but I don’t want to write at the expense of being available to others and following God. So, many times, I just need wisdom with how to balance my schedule.
How can I be praying?
I wouldn’t want to leave off without asking how I can pray for you. Whether it is in writing or something completely different, I’d love to pray for you. If you want to keep a comment private, please say so at the beginning of the comment and I will not publish it or you may email me at amandaterobooks {at} gmail {dot} com.
How many of you did NaNo? What were your goals and did you meet them? Tell me a little about your story, too. 😉

Scripture Graphics #68

Published on by Amanda Tero3 Comments

Reflecting on God’s faithfulness and truth will lead us to more genuine and frequent exaltation and praise. The rest of the passage gives points of God’s faithfulness and truth:
– He is victorious (vs. 2)
– He is strength to the poor and needy (vs. 4)
– He is a refuge from the storm, shadow from the heat (vs. 5)
– He makes His people to feast on good things (vs. 6)
– He has swallowed up death in victory, will wipe all tears off all faces (vs. 8)
– He has saved us (vs. 9)


Rebellion is not always open and blatant. On the outside, those were taking counsel and making the right appearance—but it was their heart that was rebellious. We might fool those around us, but a rebellious heart never passes God’s notice.


Not only does God provide us armor for spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-18), He also teaches us how we are to fight.


And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. (Isaiah 33:6)
What is the stability of our times? Our strength? Our treasure? If the answers are not God alone (His wisdom, His knowledge), then we will be sorely disappointed, and we are setting ourselves up for a fall.

What is a verse you turn to in times of fear or trouble?

Operation Christmas Spirit | First Line Friday and Review

Published on by Amanda Tero2 Comments
My love for Christmas books is established. I will now be looking for Christmas books every November-December (eh… August-December?? 😉 😉 )! When Operation Christmas Spirit came across my desk to read, I was eager to try it, and I was not disappointed. 
But first things first. 😉 First line!

As usual, connecting with Hoarding Books for First Line Friday!
Do you have a favorite children’s Christmas book?

My Review
This is an adorable children’s book with such a beautiful message. The children at Sonrise Stables begin talking about the Christmas story and wondering what the Bible actually says, and what has just been accepted by tradition. So, they explore the Bible to find answers. Added to that, they get the idea to use Christmas to bless others–not to gift themselves. Around these two themes is the excitement of living on a horse farm and putting together a special Christmas presentation. This book is packed with Scripture and character lessons. The perfect book to hand to my younger siblings, and the absolute perfect book for Christmastime!
*I received this book from the author and happily provided my honest review*
To Get the Books
Check out Vicki’s whole series on her website or get it on Amazon. If you want to save it to read later, add it to your Goodreads list.