This week we are going to be talking to Sandy Ralya author of new book The Beautiful Wife.

For a chance to win a copy of The Beautiful Wife, be sure to leave a comment with your name and e-mail address!

More about Sandy: Sandy Ralya is the founder and director of Beautiful Womanhood, a marriage mentoring ministry based near Grand Rapids, Mich. Her marriage testimony was the focus of a popular three-day interview on FamilyLife Today, TV's Walking by Faith, and Time Out for Women. Sandy is a sought-after speaker, presenting Beautiful Womanhood seminars to hundreds of women each year at MOPS groups, women's retreats, and church leadership conferences across the country and in Canada. Sandy and her husband Tom have been married since 1980, and have a growing number of grandchildren. To learn more about Sandy and her ministry visit her website:

http://www.beautifulwomanhood.com/sandy-ralya

More about The Beautiful Wife: The Beautiful Wife answers serious questions women have about their roles as wives. Discussing everything from romance and money to beauty, communication, and sex, Sandy challenges women to open up and share their journeys so that together they can see God's plan for their marriages.

This week on the show we will be chatting with Susan May Warren about her new book The Shadow of Your Smile, marriage, and My Book Therapy!

For a chance to win Susan's new book -- The Shadow of Your Smile, be sure to leave a comment with your name and e-mail! And be sure to click the button below to find out about Susan's $200 Visa cash card givaway!

More about Susan: Susan May Warren is the award-winning, best-selling author of over 35 novels, from historical to romantic suspense. She loves crafting a story with rich characters who grapple with life and find God’s grace along the way.  Her stories have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She makes her home in northern Minnesota, on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior with her husband and four nearly grown children.

More about The Shadow of Your Smile: The Shadow of your Smile is about a woman in a troubled marriage who falls and loses her memory of the past twenty-five years – her entire marriage, not to mention the devastating loss of her only daughter. Her family is faced with a terrible decision…keep the past from her to allow her to start again, or risk helping her regain her memory and relieve the grief all over again. Are the happy moments in her past worth the pain? Can God use the tragedy to bring joy? It’s a story of second chances.

Enter 1/9 - 1/28.

Be sure to catch this week's show! The first half hour we will be chatting with Gregg Murset creator of My Job Chart an online chore chart and reward system for teaching, organizing and motivating your kids to Save, Share and Spend responsibly. In the second half of the show we'll hear from Joanne Kraft author of Just Too Busy -- Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabatical.

For a chance to win a copy of Just Too Busy -- Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabatical please leave a comment with your name and e-mail address.

Gregg Murset has an Finance degree from Arizona State University and has been involved in the insurance and investment industry for the past 17 years. He has earned the following professional designations in that field: CerHfied Financial Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, CerHfied Funds Specialist Registered Health Underwriter, Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC), and Chartered Advisor for Senior Living. Gregg’s passion is to inspire parents to teach kids to learn how to work, be responsible and learn the value of a dollar. Currently there are 120,000 kids using My Job Chart with hundreds joining every day.

About My Job Chart: My Job Chart is the free, easy to use, online chore chart and reward system for teaching, organizing and motivating your kids to Save, Share and Spend responsibly. My Job Chart makes it easy for parents to assign chores and more motivating and meaningful for children to fulfill them. My Job Chart facilitates fun, engaging, hands-on learning for kids on the ABCs of prosperity including saving, sharing and spending. My Job Chart gives parents the satisfaction of seeing their kids gain the foundation skills of a strong work ethic and financial responsibility. My Job Chart takes the struggle out of instilling a strong work ethic in kids. For more information and to try My Job Chart visit:  http://www.myjobchart.com

Joanne Kraft is a recovering too-busy mom and the author of Just Too Busy—Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical. She’s a mom who writes and a sought-after speaker. Joanne’s articles have been published by In Touch, Thriving Family, ParentLife, Today’s Christian Woman, and P31 Woman. She’s appeared on CBN News, Focus on the Family’s afternoon show—Your Family Live, Sacramento & Co., and The Harvest Show. She makes her home in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of Northern California with her husband Paul, their four children, and a beagle with a slight weight problem. Joanne knows she is blessed. As an author and speaker, her passion is to encourage women – one heart at a time.

About Just Too Busy—Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical: In Just Too Busy, author Joanne Kraft takes us on a journey with her and her family as they take a 12-month break from activities, fast food, and technology. You wouldn’t believe how the Kraft family becomes closer as busyness takes a backseat when they shut down their daily shuttle bus. In this book, readers will laugh their way through the ten tell-tale signs that they’re too busy and discover the symptoms for Activity Denial Disorder. Families will find simple ways to guard themselves from the temptation of constant distraction and become convinced that being radical as a family is more than survivable.

Be sure to catch this week's show! The first half hour we will be chatting with Elizabeth Younts author of Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl which quickly became an Amazon bestseller. In the second half of the show we'll hear from Cindi Ferrini creator of Balancing the Active Life: An Interactive Bible Study.

For a chance to win either a copy of Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl or Balancing the Active Life please leave a comment with your name and e-mail address.

More about Elizabeth: Elizabeth Byler Younts is the author of an Amish memoir titled SEASONS: A REAL STORY OF AN AMISH GIRL. Seasons is the story of her grandmother Lydia Lee Coblentz who grew up in an impoverished Amish family through the Great Depression. Seasons was released in August 2010 and has become an Amazon bestseller in 3 categories. Elizabeth is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She is an Air Force Officer’s wife with two young daughters and makes her home wherever her family is stationed. To read more about Elizabeth and keep up with her, visit her website: http://www.elizabethbyleryounts.com

More about Cindi: Cindi enjoys speaking on topics that will encourage men and women to make a difference in their sphere of influence by being all they can be for the Lord, their families, and themselves. Cindi along with her husband Joe are on the speaking team for Family Life Ministries, a marriage-focused ministry founded by Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Joe (a dentist) and Cindi have enjoyed ministry together as they direct the City Focus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in the Northeast Ohio area as associate staff since 1989. They helped to bring the Billy Graham Crusade to Cleveland in 1994 and served as trained counselors, supervisors and leaders. They were also responsible for the direction of distributing over 32,000 pieces of material to inquirers that came forward throughout the crusade. The Billy Graham Association asked them to establish follow-up in the NE Ohio area because of the discipleship ministry they already had in place. They have also served as City Ministry Directors of the FamilyLife conferences in Cleveland (NE Ohio) from 1990-2001 with expansion to Akron in 2000 and an Urban Familylife Conference in Youngstown, OH, in October of 2001! Joe and Cindi now speak nationally for the Familylife Marriage Conferences. For more info, please visit  http://www.cindiferrini.com

More About Balancing the Active Life: An interactive Bible study for men and women of all ages and stages of life! This workbook is designed to help busy people achieve better balance in their lives. It is a helpful tool to teach and learn how to prioritize the activities we believe God wants us to do! It can be used by individuals, small and large groups, and Sunday School classes. Cindi’s book is available to order at bookstores, online at www.cindiferrini.com, and through Tate Publishing (www.tatepublishing.com)

Don't miss this week's show. We'll be chatting the first half hour with Kurt Bjorklund, senior pastor of Orchard Hill Church and author of Prayers for Today. In the second half of the show we'll hear from Betsy St. Amant, a multi-published author with Love Inspired and a newly published author of Young Adult fiction.

More about Kurt: KURT BJORKLUND was educated at Wheaton College, Trinity International University, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. After serving two churches in the Chicago area, Kurt served as a Senior Pastor in a church in southeastern Michigan for a decade. He is currently the senior pastor of Orchard Hill Church, a large non- denominational church outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Faith live with their four sons in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. 

More about Prayers for Today: A collection of classic and contemporary prayers, some derived from Scripture and others from the writings of Christian leaders throughout the centuries, this beautiful volume invites readers into a daily experience of closer intimacy with God.

Each day's entry focuses on one of ten traditional types of prayer:

• Prayers of Thanksgiving

• Prayers of Confession • Prayers of Affirmation • Prayers of Petition • Prayers of Renewal • Prayers of Praise and Adoration • Prayers to Have Christ-like Character • Prayers for Wisdom and Guidance • Prayers of Intercession • Prayers of Surrender

With 260 entries -- enough for every weekday of an entire year -- Prayers for Today guides readers through a unique kind of spiritual pilgrimage, a pilgrimage toward the very throne room of God.

For any reader who's ever wanted more out of prayer or who's ever hungered for a greater sense of God's presence, Prayers for Today promises deepened communion with the One who treasures the words and longings of His people.

More about Betsy: Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her sixth novel for Love Inspired, HER FAMILY WISH, will release April 2012 and her first YA novel with Barbour released January 2012. Betsy has been published in the Christian Communicator magazine andPraise Reports: Inspiring Real Life Stories of How God Answers Prayer. One of her short stories, Kickboxing or Chocolate, appears in a Tyndale compilation book, and she is also multi-published through The Wild Rose Press. Betsy has a B.A. in Christian Communications and regularly freelances for her local newspaper, The Forum. Betsy is the wife of a fireman, the mommy of a precious toddler, an avid reader and dedicated author who enjoys sharing the wonders of God’s grace through her stories. Find out more about Betsy and her books at her website: http://www.betsystamant.com/

More about Addison Blakely, Confessions of a PK: Sixteen-year-old Addison Blakely has tirelessly played the role of PK—preacher’s kid—her entire life. But after Wes Keegan revs his motorcycle into town and into her heart, Addison begins to wonder how much of her faith is her own and how much has been handed to her. She isn’t so sure she wants to be the good girl anymore. Join Addison Blakely as she attempts to separate love from lust, facts from faith, and keep her head above water in her murky, fishbowl existence.

Merry Christmas! I pray that you are having a wonderful holiday with family and friends. I'll be running encore shows for the next two weeks.

This week we'll be running a GREAT interview with the inspirational and best-selling author of over thirty books - Randy Alcorn. Randy talked about his book The Goodness of God and more.

More About Randy: Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). Prior to  1990, when he started EPM, he served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has spoken around the world and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah Bible College and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Randy is the best-selling author of twenty-seven books (over three million in print), including the novels Deadline, Dominion, and Deception as well as Lord Foulgrin's Letters, the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home, and Wait Until Then (children's picture book about Heaven).  His fourteen nonfiction works include Money, Possessions and Eternity, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, In Light of Eternity, The Treasure Principle, The Grace & Truth Paradox, The Purity Principle, The Law of Rewards, Why ProLife, Heaven, Heaven for Kids (8-12 year olds), 50 Days of Heaven (meditations on Heaven) and Tell Me About Heaven (picture book illustrated by Ron DiCianni).

Randy has written for many magazines and produces the popular periodical Eternal Perspectives. He's been a guest on over 500 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, The Bible Answer Man, Family Life Today, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.

The father of two married daughters, Randy lives in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife and best friend, Nanci. They are the proud grandparents of four grandsons, Jacob, Matthew, Tyler and Jack. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.

For more information on this author, please be sure to visit www.epm.org. To see the author's life and perspectives, check out his blog at www.epm.org/blog.

About The Goodness of God Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering:

Through Pain and Tears…

Finding a Way to God’s Heart

For those times when we’re wounded by broken trust, assaulted by disease, or victimized by evil—or when we’re crushed to see such things happen to people we love—Randy Alcorn offers something solid to hold onto. 

In this specially focused condensation of Alcorn’s If God Is Good…: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, we’re continually guided into a deeper glimpse of God’s loving ways and higher purposes—the very things we’re often most blinded to whenever we battle pain and anguish.

Alcorn avoids superficial or sentimental responses, and instead presses forward boldly to explore all the troubling doubts and questions that agitate within us when we confront suffering and evil.

The issues are far from simple, the answers far from easy—but Alcorn shows how the way of suffering—a path that Jesus himself followed more than anyone else—can ultimately become a journey into wholeness and even logic-defying joy.

I can't wait to chat with this week's amazing guest. Christine Jeske will be talking about how to motivate people wherever they are in the world to tackle the real challenges around them, not to avoid them. What she calls moving “into the mud.”  We'll also be talking about how we, as a church, have much to learn from people in the developing world. Those brothers and sisters are an integral part of Christ’s body and we need to be willing to let them teach us, not focus so much on trying to 'fix' them. I know this will be a fascinating interview - don't miss it Thursday at 3:00 PM Central.

Then in the 29th Christine Jeske will be on. She talked about her book Into the Mud and micro-missions.

More about Christine: Christine Jeske has spent seven years working in microfinance, refugee resettlement, development, and holistic missions with her husband Adam. Their journeys have taken them from Wisconsin to Nicaragua, China, and South Africa where she most recently taught at the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa and for Eastern University. Christine’s work has appeared in a number of publications in both the United States and South Africa, including Relevant Magazine, Neue Quarterly, MomSense, Overland Journal, and The Lookout.  She and Adam have two children.  They currently live in Madison, Wisconsin. Find out more about Christine and her book at the Into the Mud website: http://www.intothemud.com/

About Into the Mud: Inspiration for Everyday Activists: True Stories of South Africa

Into The Mud takes readers behind the headlines, into real stories of real people living neck-deep in some of Africa’s most difficult issues — but with hands, minds, and hearts rooted in God’s kingdom. Each of its interwoven stories and related discussion questions addresses a broader issue of missions and development, including: evangelism, literacy and education, microfinance, health services, urbanization and refugee assistance, and more. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter help readers to apply lessons from the chapters to their own ministry contexts.

Where the world sees despair, author Christine Jeske sees God writing stories of hope. Study groups, development students, mission teams, and everyday activists alike will be challenged by her stories to enter more deeply into the thick of life’s mud.

Download an excerpt.

Read endorsements.

Don't miss this week's show. We'll be chatting the first half hour with BJ Harmick from Real Teen Faith. Then in the second half of the show we'll hear from Stan Williams, an international award-winning video producer, filmmaker and show creator.

More about BJ: Bekah is the author of The Bare Naked Truth About Waiting (co-written with her husband, Ethan), the book that takes a satirical stab at the lies girls believe about relationships (release date: 4/2013). You can read more about the Bare Naked Truth and the Martin’s new addition to the family, Zoey — at www.bekahhamrickmartin.com.

Bekah is an editor at Real Teen Faith. RTF is a place where faith-filled and seeking teens can talk about God, current events, books, music, culture, devos, lyrics and poetry, and missions.

More about Stan: Since 1972, Stan has managed hundreds of industrial and dramatic productions, including numerous documentaries, live shows, theater, live and broadcast television as producer, director, writer, editor, and executive producer

Stan holds an earned Ph.D. in Communications-Film Studies (1998, Wayne State University), an M.A. in Speech-Communications (1980, Eastern Michigan University), and a B.A. in Physics (1969, Greenville College). He has completed numerous workshops and professional forums including the competitive Act One: Writing for Hollywood, a month-long screenwriting workshop (New York, 2000).

Dr. Williams' doctoral research and dissertation is titled: Narrative Argument Validity and Film Popularity which was the basis for The Moral Premise. This on-going research examines the relationship between a film's box office performance and the structure and consistency of its moral premise. The completed research provided evidence that upheld a Hollywood belief that a film's box office success is directly related to the consistency and truth of the film's moral premise. His rules of story validity can be used during the development of a screenplay to offer a strong predictive tool to a film's success before production ever begins.

Because of The Moral Premise Stan is frequently asked to consult on major motion picture projects, most notably since 2008 he has worked with Will Smith as a story and script consultant on various motion picture projects. In addition The Moral Premise Stan has written, compiled, and edited dozens of other book and print projects for corporations and his own distribution-publishing entity, Nineveh's Crossing.

He is currently Executive Producer and Director for "Nineveh's Crossing Presents," a television series that explores Christian faith, values, and history that airs on a number of religious networks.

As a staff director-producer for Ford Motor's World Headquarters, he produced, wrote, and directed live, film and video productions for world distribution. As founder and president of Full Circle Communications, Inc., he managed the development and production of award-winning films, videos and interactive multimedia for World's Fairs, auto shows, corporate information, and training. As Creative Vice-President of Ross Roy Communications-Training, Stan managed a multi-million dollar film and video production budget for Chrysler Corporation. During his son's high school basketball career, he chose to freelance as a writer, media producer, and professional basketball dad. (It paid off...he thanks all U.S. tax payers who put Josh through the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, Class of 1999 - at 6'10" he was the center for the basketball team for several years.) As Midwest Operations Director for ADP's Sandy Corporation, he was the creative director for multiple communication interventions, including national conferences for Harley-Davidson dealers and Internet training sites for ADP and General Motors. As an electronic engineer for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics in Houston he wrote flight procedures and trained astronauts for NASA's Skylab space station.

Stan resides in S.E. Michigan with his first, one and only wife, Pam, a cat, and a menagerie of yard mammals. As of this writing they have 3 children and 9 grandchildren residing nearby in Farmington Hills and not so nearby in Iowa. When time allows he goes sailing, if he's not at confession. www.moralpremise.com

Don't miss this week's show. The first half hour I have the privilege of chatting with the amazing Sara Groves about her new album. We'll hear a little bit about what inspires her and what's next for Sara and her family. Then during the second half hour we'll talk about successful stepparenting and thriving during the holidays with Gayla Grace. Good stuff.

For a chance to win a copy of Sara's new album, Invisible Empires or a digital copy of Gayla's Thriving at the Holidays - a Stepparent's Guide to Success, leave a comment here. Winners will be notified via email next week - be sure to leave your email addy.

More about Sara and her family: Since her debut release in 2001, Conversations, Sara Groves has become one of the most criticallyacclaimed artists in the Christian music industry, receiving rave reviews across the board for each recording by Billboard Magazine and others. Groves consistently tops year-end reader's polls and album of the year nods from the likes of CCM magazine, Christianity Today and more. On her upcoming release, Invisible Empires, the follow-up to Fireflies and Songs, Christianity Today's 2009 Album of the Year, the singer/songwriter describes the record content as a process of sorting through the layers of this frenetic life, gaining a new perspective and finding the long-standing truth. Since her 2005 release, Add to the Beauty, Groves has been immersed in a series of global conversations and experiences, from the flood-ravaged gulf of Louisiana, the genocide memorials of Rwanda and the testimonies of Southeast Asia sex trade survivors. These experiences have shaped Groves music as she brings to light the difficult and meaningful work of social justice and engaging in the suffering of the afflicted.

Sara and her husband Troy have 3 children: Ruby, Toby and Kirby.  She and Troy are actively teaching their children at their young ages how to lend a helping hand to the neediest among us on a local scale and also on a international level. 

Sara and her family are in the process of moving into a one hundred-year-old church in St. Paul, Minn., where they plan to renovate part of it into their own living quarters and part of it into an Art House. The Art House’s purpose will be to serve the artist community of the Twin Cities in a similar fashion of the Art Houses in Nashville and Dallas started by producer and songwriter Charlie Peacock and his wife Andi.  For more information, you can visit:  www.arthouseamerica.com

Sara has been involved with The International Justice Mission for many years now and she and her family continue to support that foundation to help change lives and change the world-saving one life at a time in the horrible world of human trafficking.  They are also greatly involved with Food for the Hungry where they sponsor children in Africa, and where their children have visited and regularly write letters to their other "brothers & sisters."

These are just some of the ways they are teaching their children. The big key for Troy and Sara is communication. They have countless conversations with their children about what is going on in the world and injustice - it's not something they are not aware of.

For more information visit Sara's website, www.sarahgroves.com. 

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More about Gayla: Gayla Grace is a wife and mother to five children in her blended family. She and her husband, Randy, have beenmarried 16 years and Gayla is passionate about helping other stepparents on the stepparenting journey due to the struggles she has walked through.  She has a Master’s degree in Psychology/Counseling and offers support through her blog and website at: www.stepparentingwithgrace.com. 

She is co-author of a holiday e-book published in November, 2011 titled, “A Stepparent’s Guide to Success, Thriving at the Holidays- Unwrapping the Gift of Peace.” It can be purchased at www.stepparentingsuccess.com.

More about Thriving at the Holidays - a Stepparent's Guide to Success:

Are you looking for ways to have a peaceful holiday season with your stepfamily? Thriving at the Holidays: A Stepparent's Guide To Success is a MUST HAVE resource and will help you and your family unwrap the gift of peace during the holidays. This book offers encouragement, tips, inspiration and personal stories for stepparents to embrace and enjoy the holiday season and beyond! 

You'll also find a list of unique and creative holiday traditions to start with your own family and personal recipes to help you cook up some sweet treats with your stepkids. "Heather and Gayla want to help your family unwrap familial peace. From stepparent’s living in the trenches this booklet is packed full of practical advice, encouragement, and perspective for your holiday challenges," - Ron L. Deal, President www.SmartStepfamilies.com

Happy post Thanksgiving! I pray you had a lovely time with family and friends - and that you found much to be thankful for! We're back to our regularly scheduled show this week and have two wonderful guests lined up. The first half hour we'll be talking to Anita who has written recently published the widely praised School is Where the Home Is: 180 Devotions for Parents. Based on her experiences from eight years of homeschooling and advice she was given along the way, this unique devotional offers both practical guidance along with scriptural wisdom needed for the homeschooling journey. Then during the second half of the show, we'll be hearing from author Miralee Ferrell. Miralee will be sharing her writing journey with us as well as introducing her recent books, Love Finds You in Sundance, Wyoming and The Other Daughter. Don't miss this week's show.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win Anita's homeschool devotional or Miralee's Love Finds You on Sundance, Wyoming. Winners will be notified next week via email.

More about Anita: Anita Mellott, in her ninth year of homeschooling, has first-hand experience with the ups and downs, the joys and challenges of the homeschooling life. She leads a homeschool encouragement group and  contributes to Homeschool Enrichment, Novel Rocket and Crosswalk.com. She blogs words of encouragement and hope at From the Mango Tree. For thirteen years, Mellott worked as a writer/editor with Habitat for Humanity International. Prior to moving to the United States, she headed the Department of Journalism at Mt. Carmel College, Bangalore, India, and also has experience in public relations and advertising in India.

Find out more about Anita at her website.

More about “School Is Where the Home Is: 180 Devotions for Parents”

An estimated 2 million children are homeschooled in the United States. This is a devotional for those dedicated parents.

Mellott’s 180 anecdotal devotionals explore specific homeschooling issues and present biblical truths to guide parents through challenging times. Themes include:

• Homeschool Basics—fundamentals such as obedience to the call, prioritizing, decision-making

• Homeschool and You—how homeschooling affects the primary educator (and vice versa)

• Homeschool and Family—juggling parenting, marriage, education, and domestic life

• Gifts We Give Our Children—intangible gifts, from a godly heritage to freedom to pursue their dreams

• And A Child Will Lead them—discovering life and faith though our child’s eyes

• Spiritual Vitamins: inspiration for Christian life, addressing fear, faith, prayer, and more

• Faith of Their Own—intentional discipleship that nurtures children in their own faith

School Is Where the Home Is presents a unique blend of the practical and inspirational for today’s homeschooling parents.

More about Miralee: Miralee and her husband Allen have been married 39 yrs. They live on 11 acres in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where they love to garden, play with their dogs, take walks, and go sailing. Miralee enjoys riding her horse on the wooded trails near their home with her grown daughter who lives nearby. She’s an avid reader and has a large collection of first edition Zane Grey books, which inspired her desire to write fiction set in the Old West.

Miralee serves as president of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers and belongs to a number of writer’s groups. She also speaks at women’s groups, libraries, and churches about her writing journey. When she started writing fiction Miralee believed that she’d always stay with women’s contemporary, but has since branched out to historical romance. Exploring family and marriage issues, The Other Daughter follows a family of four who receive a shock in the form of a 13-year-old girl who lands on their doorstep, claiming to be the daughter of the husband/father of the family—a girl they didn’t know existed. Finding Jeena features a character from the first book and explores socio-economic issues through a single woman’s sudden job-loss and ensuing struggle for survival.

Her fourth historical romance with Summerside Press in their Love Finds You series, set in Sundance, Wyoming released in August. All the Love Finds You books are stand-alone novels, and take place in a real town in America. Miralee’s first three are set in 1877, Love Finds You in Last Chance, CA, 1902, Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon, and 1881, Love Finds You in Tombstone, AZ.  The first two have a suspense thread as well as romance and the third has a higher degree of action.

Miralee recently signed a contract with David C Cook Publishing for a three-book historical series set in Oregon (women’s fiction with a strong romance thread) releasing June of 2013.

Facebook:   www.facebook.com/miralee   Web site:    www.miraleeferrell.com  

More about Love Finds You in Sundance, Wyoming:

Angel Ramirez is tired of living a lie. But can she live like a lady?

On the run from a dangerous outlaw, Angel works her way across several states disguised as a boy and working as a varmint tracker and horse wrangler. After taking a job on a Wyoming ranch owned by a bachelor and his widowed sister, she finally reveals her true identity and must fight to prove her worth as a ranch hand while somehow discovering her role as woman.

Hiring a woman doesn’t sit well with Travis Morgan, and the dark-haired beauty is causing a ruckus among his cowboys. Just as Angel decides she’ll never be able to please her boss, an unexpected surprise arrives from across the ocean and makes trouble on the ranch. Will Angel leave with the person who’s come so far to claim her.

The first half hour we'll be chatting with author Gayle Roper about the adoption of her two sons and how one of her sons has reconnected with his birth mother. Gayle will also be giving us a look at her new book, Shadows on the Sand. Then during the second half of the show, Holley Gerth from Heart to Heart with Holley and Incourage.me will be here to talk about her latest book, God's Heart for You. Holley will be sharing the inspiration behind the book and how the project evolved into something so much bigger than she expected.

More about Gayle: Gayle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers ofAmerica, is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of Fatal Deduction and more than forty other books. She teaches and leads mentoring clinics at writers conferences across the country. Gayle lives in eastern Pennsylvania.

More about Shadows on the Sand: She serves him breakfast at her cafe every morning … but he never seems to notice her.

Carrie Carter’s small cafe in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.

When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.

Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

More about Holley: Holley Gerth is an award-winning writer, life coach, counselor, and speaker who loves sharing the heart of God with women through words. She’s the author of several books as well as over 2,000 greeting cards for DaySpring. Her most recent book is God’s Heart for You: Embracing Your True Worth as a Woman (Harvest House, September 2011). Holley cofounded a new web site for women, (in)courage, which received over a million hits in its first six months. You can also find Holley online at her popular blog, Heart to Heart with Holley that has over 23,000 subscribers.

More about the book: God's Heart for You: Embracing Your True Worth as a Woman


The personal, inviting style of popular speaker, writer, and counselor Holley Gerth inspires thousands of readers weekly through her DaySpring site incourage.me and her well-known blog Heart to Heart with Holley. In God’s Heart for You, Holley offers insightful devotions, reflective questions, and captivating poetry to reveal how, through God’s love, a woman is wholly—

Accepted and known completely
Chosen with imperfections to be made perfect
Empowered with God’s strength
Beautiful and a one-of-a-kind gift to the world
Blessed with God’s best

Bound with a lovely padded hardcover, this gathering of encouraging readings will be a wonderful gift for any occasion and a powerful treasury of God’s heart and purpose for a women to return to again and again for refreshment.

This week on the show I'll be talking to Tamera Alexander and Susan Meissner - two wonderful authors. We'll be taking a peek at the women behind the books. We'll find out a bit about their own stories, as well as hear about their newest books. Mark your calendars and don't miss Thursday's show.

Both ladies have a copy of their books to giveaway. Leave a comment here for a chance to win one. Winners will be notified via email next week.

More about Tamera: Tamera Alexander is a best-selling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose resonate with readers. Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in Nashville Tennessee, along with their two adult children who live near by. And don't forget Jack, their precious--and precocious--silky terrier.

For more information please visit www.tameraalexander.com. 

About Tamer's new release: A Lasting Impression

A fake. A forger. More than anything, Claire Laurent longs for the chance to live an authentic life, to become the woman she wants to be. And she'll be given that choice. But will it come at too costly a price?

Claire Laurent's greatest aspiration is to paint something that will bring her acclaim. Yet her father insists she work as a copyist. A forger. When she's forced to flee from New Orleans to Nashville only a year after the War Between the States has ended, her path collides with attorney Sutton Monroe. She considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But after he later refuses to come to her aid, Claire fears she's sorely misjudged the man. Finding herself among the elite of Nashville's society, Claire believes her dream to create a lasting impression in the world of art is within reach--but only if her fraudulent past remains hidden.

The Federal Army has destroyed Sutton's home and confiscated his land, and threatens to destroy his family's honor. His determination to reclaim what belongs to him and to right a grievous wrong reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever imagined--as well as the woman he loves.Set at Nashville's historic Belmont Mansion, a stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, A Lasting Impression is a sweeping love story about a nation mending after war, the redemption of those wounded, and the courage of a man and woman to see themselves--and each other--for who they really are.

More about Susan: Award-winning writer Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker and workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2008. She is a pastor’s wife and a mother of four. When she's not writing, Susan directs the Small Groups and Connection Ministries program at her San Diego church.

Visit www.susanmeissner.com for more information.

About Susan's new release: Sound Among the Trees

A house shrouded in time. 

A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

If you're married, single or a mom - you won't want to miss this weeks' show. Our first guest will be Shannon Ethridge, she'll be talking about Every Woman's Battle and Every Young Woman's Battle. Then during the second half hour we'll be talking to Carla Ann Coroy about her recent book, Married Mom, Solo Parent. If you've ever felt like you're doing this "mom thing" alone - be sure to tune in for Carla's segment.

For a chance to win a copy Shannon's or Carla's Married Mom, Solo Parent leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Shannon and the Every Woman's Battle series:

Shannon is a million-copy best-selling author, speaker, lay counselor, and advocate for healthy sexuality with a master’s degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University. She has spoken to youth, college students, and adults since 1989 and her passions include: Challenging adults and teens to embrace a life of sexual integrity, encouraging married couples in their pursuit of sexual and emotional fulfillment, counseling women who have looked for love in all the wrong places and equipping parents to instill sexual values in children at an early age.

Her passion for healthy sexuality actually began in Mortuary College. Her first career choice, becoming a mortician, led Ethridge to work on dead bodies. Many she embalmed were young people who had died from AIDS or committed suicide as a result of an HIV positive diagnosis. Because of her own promiscuous teenage years, she knew it was a miracle that she was standing over the embalming table rather than laying on top of it. These experiences inspired her to begin speaking boldly and bluntly to teen, college-age, and adult audiences about the benefits of sexual integrity. She has taught and counseled thousands of young singles and married couples over the past decade. She is the author of 18 books, including the best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series, the 5-book Completely His series, and her new book for the mainstream market, The Sexually Confident Wife.

Shannon has been featured on The Today Show (MSNBC), appeared on the cover of Today’s Christian Woman Magazine, and is a frequent guest on international radio & television shows such as The 700 Club, Life Today with James & Betty Robison, FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey, and New Life Live! with Stephen Arterburn. She has also been published in numerous magazines such as Focus on the Family, Brio, and LifeWay and is the winner of a Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Publishing. 

Although grateful for the opportunities to influence this generation as a writer and speaker, Shannon remains most passionate about her role as a wife and best friend to her husband of 20 years, Greg, and a mother and cheerleader to their two children, Erin (18) and Matthew (15). Visit www.shannonethridge.com for more info.

More about Carla Ann: Carla Anne Coroy has served full-time with organizations such as Youth for Christ and CrownFinancial Ministries, and is currently developing an international mentoring organization for youth and a ministry to wives who parent alone. She runs the Married Single Mom blog at www.carlaanne.com/blog. She speaks regularly and serves as a staff writer for an online Christian women’s magazine Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. Carla Anne lives in Canada with her husband and four homeschooled children.  

More about Married Mom, Solo Parent: For married women who feel like single parents. Bookstore shelves are full of parenting resources for moms who are newly divorced or widowed. But where do moms turn if they feel like a single parent--but they’re not? Whether he is away on business, deployed in the military, or obsessing over a computer game, dad may not be available for a variety of reasons. Moms who parent in this situation still need help and don’t necessarily relate to the advice given in divorce recovery or single parenting resources.

Married Mom, Solo Parent is a common-sense, down-to-earth look at the struggles wives and mothers face when their husband is not actively involved in family life. Writing from her own experience as a married single mom, Carla Anne Coroy will help wives and mothers sort through their questions, such as: Can I do this alone? How do I raise kids to honor their father? How do I give my children a healthy perspective of marriage if they never see one in action? With practical suggestions, anecdotes, and biblical teaching, this book will encourage moms to see their position as a high calling, to find healing for their worries and frustrations, and to tap into God’s strength for help in facing the daily challenge of being a married mom, solo parent.

I'm so excited to have a blogger I've long admired on the show. Robin doesn't mince words and she's not afraid to say it like it is. I was recently intrigued by the latest series she ran on her blog called 31 Days of Parenting Teens & Tweens. Good stuff. She has also blogged from India for Compassion International and ... well she's involved in a whole heap of stuff we'll talk about on Thursday. Don't miss the show - you will love Robin!

More about Robin:

In a scandalous, decades-long affair with her husband, Robin also confesses mad crushes on her three teens. She’s Southern as sugar-shocked tea and advocates talking to strangers, creative punctuation, stopping to smell the posies, twirling words in poetry and walking in the rain. Her favorite emotion is laughing through tears and she's convinced laughing IS divine. People and places inspire her, but Creation's marvels steal her breath. Her "prayer without ceasing" is Lord, I believe...help my unbelief.

Robin began blogging anonymously at PENSIEVE six years ago, when after six months, she finally went public: she was grateful for her four readers (her husband and children). Thankfully, her readership has grown a bit since those early days.

In addition to writing for her personal blog, Robin pinches herself daily for opportunity to contribute monthly to sites sheconsiders inspiring, relevant and compelling:

● DaySpring’s (in)courage, a division of Hallmark (faith)

● Simple Mom (parenting teens & tweens)

● The Skinny (focus on inner beauty)

● Story Bleed (online literary magazine, editor)

Her most important work, greatest privilege, humbling experience and life highlight was traveling to Kolkata, India as a Compassion International blogger in 2009. To use her words on behalf of those who have no voice changed her forever.

Robin’s education and professional experience is in public relations, marketing, advertising, and sales, which she companions today with new media. Her background and expertise earned her the role as social media consultant for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s 2011 Season Finale filmed near Chattanooga.

In addition to writing and looking forward to her first published contribution in book form, Mother of Pearl: Legacies, Lessons and Love, scheduled for release next Spring, she works part-time in catering sales for Chick-fil-A, where she implores you, to, yes...Eat Mor Chikin.

Don't miss this week's interview with the amazing Amanda Bennett! We'll be talking about homeschooling, curriculum, Veteran's Day and catching up with Amanda and what's she's been up to since she was on last on Living Inspired.

For a chance to win one of Amanda's great new unit studies (see below), leave a comment here. Two winners will be notified next week via email.

Amanda is also offering a special coupon code for the Veteran's Day study for my Living Inspired listeners! Visit this link for more information: http://www.unitstudy.com/veterans/.

More About Amanda:

Take one mechanical engineer, add three bright and busy children and a loving husband, and you have the formula for Amanda Bennett, best-selling author and popular homeschool speaker. Amanda has more than 90 books and two college graduates to her credit (one with a degree in veterinary medicine, the other a business degree). Her third child just began his college adventure in the fall of 2011.

Amanda’s love of life and zest for learning infuse her work with well-known passion and energy that make her a leader in the homeschool arena. She relishes her role as the “ultimate encourager,” answering questions, sharing personal anecdotes, and giving others the skills and confidence to help children fall in love with learning. From lost pants to melted aluminum pots, Amanda’s stories keep readers and audiences laughing as she teaches about life, academics, and developing the God-given talents of every child.

Amanda brings her encouraging words and wisdom to audiences across the United States. She is a popular and highly demanded speaker on the homeschool circuit, and also appears at online conferences. Her lectures attract both national and international attention. 

Over the past eighteen years, Amanda has spoken before tens of thousands of parents and professionals, encouraging, entertaining, and equipping them to teach with confidence. 

Amanda lives on a tree farm in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee with her husband of 32 years. Together they enjoy the view and life’s ever-changing seasons. She is an avid photographer, wannabe quilter, and voracious reader, as well as a forgetful cook with a top-of-the-line smoke detector. Most of all, Amanda is a follower of Jesus Christ – forgiven, loved, and infinitely grateful.

More about Amanda's new Unit Studies:

Veteran's Day

Veterans Day--what does it mean to you? The history of this holiday is important; it exists because of the strength and conviction of past generations that we should always remember our veterans and their sacrifices for our peace and protection. This week-long study guides students to become familiar with veterans, their sacrifices and their courage. Let's bring out the flag and applaud our veterans. Let's teach these things to our children, so that we never take our freedom and liberty for granted. For more information or to purchase, go here:http://www.unitstudy.com/Veterans_Day.html

Passport United Kingdom

Pack up and get ready to travel to the United Kingdom with Amanda Bennett’s new Passport Geography series! This one-week unit study has been developed to provide your student with a virtual tour of the United Kingdom, covering the geography of this nation, as well as some of its history, art & literature, landmarks, and

interesting people. You will see and hear the sights and sounds of cities and villages, people, daily life, tourist spots, and historical places, all from the comfort of home–no passport required, other than your Passport series unit study! For more information or to purchase, go here, http://www.unitstudy.com/PassportUnitedKingdom.html 

Don't miss my interview with Lisa Whittle lives in North Caroline where she is a busy wife and mother of three. She is also a author, speaker, an advocate for Compassion International. In addition to writing her own books, she also writes for writing Women of Faith, Proverbs 31, and guest posting on blogs like Michael Hyatt along with numerous other publications. But, Lisa is not all work. Her other passions include chocolate macadamia nuts, home decorating, and her growing ministry community. She loves conversations that dip below the surface, uniqueness in people, and her Jesus who makes all things well. Bundle all of that up and you're in for a real treat on Thursday between 3-4 PM Central. Join us.

For a chance to win a copy of Lisa's latest book {w}hole - leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Lisa:

Author and Speaker, Lisa Whittle is a natural leader and bold thinker. As the first solo female author to originally launch under the popular Barna Group, her third and latest release, {w}hole comes out October 2011.

Taking on the task of writing the most grueling project of her life, Lisa says of this process, “It’s been a difficult and divine experience and I’ve left my carcass in it’s pages.”

Exposing the holes in her life, she shares her story that will both compel and inspire, opening up and offering her own feelings about the church, her standoff with failures, and the scandal that nearly sent her pastor-father to prison, which she has never publicly commented on before.

Her refreshing and contemplative voice is drawing in audiences of men and women, both believers and non-believers, and inviting deeper conversation within and between those in the church and whom it seeks to reach. She is a wife and mother of three, an advocate for Compassion International, a coordinator for the Proverbs 31 20-something ministry division, and she currently resides North Carolina.

Previous literary works include: The 7 Hardest Things God Asks a Woman to Do and Behind Those Eyes: What's Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women.  Lisa has written for Catalyst, Michael Hyatt, Women of Faith, and numerous other publications.

For more about Lisa visit her website: http://lisawhittle.com

More about {w}hole:

How to get past whatever’s holding you back—and start living a whole new story

We all have holes in our lives—those things we lament about ourselves. Those things we allow to define us in ways we don’t like. Those things that keep us from living the life God wants for us.

But what if you discovered that the holes in your life are really the things that will ultimately make you . . . well, whole?

Author and communicator Lisa Whittle knows this all too well. When her world was rocked to the core in a very public way, her faith and whole reason for living were challenged like never before. In that moment, Lisa was confronted by the holes in her spiritual life. And what she learned not only changed her life, but could bring great possibilities to yours.

In Whole, Lisa calls you to take an honest look at your holes, discover how to fill them with God’s presence, and get to a real and vibrant place of wholeness instead. In her trademark bold, compassionate, and relatable voice, Lisa takes you on a transformational journey of understanding who you really are . . . and what you were born to be and do.

This week on Living Inspired hear the true story behing my Amish Big Sky series. Don't miss the encore presentation of my interview with my dear friends Ora Jay and Irene Eash. This three book series (Along Wooded Paths and Beside Still Waters are available now) is loosely based on events from the Eash's lives. Be sure to tune in to Thursday's show - we talk about the stories behind the story, the Amish community in Montana, and their Amish heritage.

I'll be giving away a few copies of Along Wooded Paths, so be sure to leave a comment here for a chance to win one. Winner will be notified next week via email.

And be sure to catch Suzanne Woods Fisher's podcast interview with me and the Eash's on her show, Amish Wisdom. She interviewed all of us about the book, what it was like working together, and what we learned in the process.

About Along Wooded Paths:

Although proud of living apart from the world, Marianna Sommer's newly relocated Amish family is discovering that life in the remote mountains of Montana requires working together with the Englisch.

As Marianna pours her life into helping those around her-and receiving their help-her heart further considers two directions. She's torn between the Amish man from Indiana whom she has long planned on marrying and the friendly Englischer who models a close walk with God like she’s never seen before.

Who should have young Marianna's heart? What is God asking of her through ongoing family struggles and this romantic and spiritual tension? The answer is found along the wooded paths.

About Beside Still Waters: Marianna Sommer believes she knows where her life is headed. Nineteen years old and Amish, her plan is to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and live in the only community she's ever known.

When Marianna's family moves from Indiana to Montana she discovers life and faith will never be the same. As she builds an easy friendship with local guy, Ben Stone, Ben not only draws her heart, he also gets her thinking about what loving God and living in community is all about.

As Marianna struggles to find "home", she also encounters God in intimate ways.

Meet the Eash's:

Don't miss my guests on Thursday's Living Inspired. The first half hour we'll hear from Patricia Miller Mauro who will share her truly inspiring, deeply personal story of perseverance in the face of unimaginable hardships. She chronicled her journey in her recently released, Safe From the Past. Then during the second half of the show we'll meet debut author Rosslyn Elliott. Rosslyn has arrived on the scene with critical acclaim and quickly won over historical fiction readers with, Fairer Than Morning. Don't miss this week's show.

For a chance to win a copy of both author's books, leave a comment here. Winner's will be notified next week via email.

More about Patricia: Patricia worked in New York City's financial district for thirteen years in the field ofsecurities operations. At that time, she went on to obtain an MBA from New York University. She and her husband moved to Dallas, TX in 2001 where they are raising their two children. 

During her time in NY, Patricia wrote an article entitled "A Tribute To My Mother" which was published in "The Recovery Journal" in 1999. Her book is a continuation of that tribute and serves to spread the message to those in similar situations that good news is on its way to children considering a higher education but who are afraid to dream. For more information please visit, www.patriciamaurobooks.com.  

More about Safe From the Past: A kidnapping, the divorce of her parents, the loss of her father, temporary abandonment and extreme poverty are just some of the issues the author dealt with as a young child.

Her mother finally tells her she must go to college so she can break out of this cycle of poverty and hopelessness. But how can she when she has no money and absolutely no confidence or self esteem?

Read this true story to discover what hope, faith and determination can do to change a life. A truly inspiring, deeply personal tale of perseverance in the face of unimaginable hardships, Safe from the Past makes clear the restorative power of an education.

Told in an open, honest voice with the deepest sincerity, the author’s life story serves as a rousing inspiration to those with the desire to create a better life than the one they are currently living. No matter how helpless you feel, everyone has the power to shape their own life.

More about Rosslyn: As the child of a career military man, Rosslyn Elliott lived in four states and two foreign countries before she graduated from high school. She attended Yale University, where she earned her BA in English and Theater Studies. After five years working first in corporate New York City, then as a schoolteacher, she entered the Ph.D. program in English at Emory University and finished her dissertation in 2006.

Her study of American literature spurred her to pursue her lifelong dream of writing fiction.

Rosslyn lives with her husband and daughter in the southwestern United States.

Visit www.rosslynelliott.com for more information.

More about Fairer Than Morning: Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor, Eli-until Will Hanby shows her that nobility is more than fine words.

Ann travels to Pittsburgh, accompanying her father on business. There she meets Will Hanby, a saddle-maker's apprentice. Will has spent years eking out an existence under a cruel master and his spirit is nearly broken. But Ann's compassion lights a long-dark part of his soul. Through his encounters with Ann's father, a master saddler, Will discovers new hope and courage in the midst of tremendous adversity.

When the Millers must return to Ohio and their ministry there, Will resolves to find them, at any cost. If Will can make it back to Ann, will she be waiting?

I'm super excited about Thursday's show. The first half hour we'll be chatting with author Gayle Roper about the adoption of her two sons and how one of her sons has reconnected with his birth mother. Gayle will also be giving us a look at her new book, Shadows on the Sand. Then during the second half of the show, Holley Gerth from Heart to Heart with Holley and Incourage.me will be here to talk about her latest book, God's Heart for You. Holley will be sharing the inspiration behind the book and how the project evolved into something so much bigger than she expected.

For a chance to win a copy of both books, leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email. 

More about Gayle: Gayle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers ofAmerica, is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of Fatal Deduction and more than forty other books. She teaches and leads mentoring clinics at writers conferences across the country. Gayle lives in eastern Pennsylvania.

More about Shadows on the Sand: She serves him breakfast at her cafe every morning … but he never seems to notice her.

Carrie Carter’s small cafe in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.

When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.

Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

More about Holley: Holley Gerth is an award-winning writer, life coach, counselor, and speaker who loves

 sharing the heart of God with women through words. She’s the author of several books as well as over 2,000 greeting cards for DaySpring. Her most recent book is God’s Heart for You: Embracing Your True Worth as a Woman (Harvest House, September 2011). Holley cofounded a new web site for women, (in)courage, which received over a million hits in its first six months. You can also find Holley online at her popular blog, Heart to Heart with Holley that has over 23,000 subscribers.  

More about the book: God's Heart for You: Embracing Your True Worth as a Woman

The personal, inviting style of popular speaker, writer, and counselor Holley Gerth inspires thousands of readers weekly through her DaySpring site incourage.me and her well-known blog Heart to Heart with Holley. In God’s Heart for You, Holley offers insightful devotions, reflective questions, and captivating poetry to reveal how, through God’s love, a woman is wholly—

Accepted and known completely

Chosen with imperfections to be made perfect

Empowered with God’s strength

Beautiful and a one-of-a-kind gift to the world

Blessed with God’s best

Bound with a lovely padded hardcover, this gathering of encouraging readings will be a wonderful gift for any occasion and a powerful treasury of God’s heart and purpose for a women to return to again and again for refreshment.

For this week's Living Inspired I'm doing an encore show with Shannon and her husband Matt Ratliff. They'll be talking about being in the modeling world, sticking to their standards, how God put them together, and remaining virgins until their wedding day!

If you watched Season 1 of America's Next Top Model you most likely remember first-runner up Shannon Stewart. A dedicated Christian, Shannon made waves on the show when she stood up to her standards and refused to pose nude for one shoot. Through the episodes while other girls were fighting, arguing and causing drama, Shannon could be seen reading her Bible, listening to worship music and praying.

This season on America's Next Top Model is an All-Star season. Fan's favorite picks were brought back--including Shannon. Last week was the first episode and there was already conflict on the show when Shannon refused to wear underwear for the shoot. How will this God-girl stick to her standards while competing with other models again? I'll be watching to find out.

Shannon it's just a "reality TV star," she's also a friend of mine. We're actually working on a book together for teen girls. (More details to come when we find the right publisher!)

For more information about Shannon go to: www.shannonstewart.net

Interview with Shannon about Season 17.

Q&A with Shannon:
On Season One of America’s Next Top Model you refused to pose nude. Are you happy with your decision?

I am so glad that I did not pose nude or with those bands they offered me! I have always wanted to be a “supermodel,” for as long as I can remember. I wanted to win so incredibly bad, but it wasn’t worth compromising my standards for or becoming someone that I am not. I knew that refusing to do the shoot might hurt my chances of winning and I was ok with that. At the end of the day I have to be content with who I am as a person. I want to be able to sleep at night!!! Money and fame isn’t worth selling my soul for.

Is it hard being a Christian in the modeling world?

Yes, it is extremely hard to be a Christian in an industry where “sex sells.” I have high standards and will not do things that I do not feel comfortable with, no matter how much money I might be offered. I know that if the Lord has me in this business, then He is more than able to supply me with jobs that are “clean.” I do not need to pose in lingerie, wear see through shirts, or sell bottles of alcohol. There are countless others that are willing to do those kind of jobs, but I am not one of them. I have said no to several jobs that would have been great for my career and would have also made me alot of money. It isn’t easy to say “no,” especially in a business where everyone is saying “yes.” I have learned at a young age that nothing is worth selling your soul for. I have such a peace within and can rest my head at night. I have also made firm in my mind what I will and won’t do. I think it is important and really imperative that you have things that are “non negotiable.” I tell my agents up front so that they don’t submit me for jobs, or send me to castings for jobs that I will not do.

Did you date a lot growing up?

No, I actually did not! I wanted a boyfriend so bad, but I can see now, that the Lord was preserving me for my husband! It was so hard to watch others get cards, flowers, and gifts. I had to fight of jealousy at times, being insecure, and wondering what was wrong with me for no guy to want to date me. There were a few guys that liked me eventually, but the guys I liked, never liked me when I liked them! I got so frustrated at times! I also wondered if I was going to have to lower my standards. But, I am so glad to say that I did not! I also never dated a guy that I could not see myself marrying. I didn’t want to keep giving myself away to all these guys, for I wanted to be able to give ALL OF MYSELF just to my husband. I had imagined myself being this beautifully wrapped package. I didn’t want it to be handed around, causing the edges to become torn/worn, or for it to get ripped. I wanted the package, myself, to remain perfect, just as the Lord intended it.

Don't miss Thursday's show - I'm talking with Jay and Beth Loecken and actor Ken Bevel about his recent appearance in the movie everyone's talking about - Courageous! First the Loecken's, they were an ordinary family searching for meaning in their lives while living the American Dream. They owned their dream house, drove nice cars, and from the outside seemed to have all they needed. Yet something kept pulling at them—a stirring, a sense that they were being called to a greater purpose in life. They couldn’t escape the feeling that there was more to life than the relentless pursuit of material possessions. In Passion to Action: How God Uses Ordinary People in Extraordinary Ways, the Loeckens share the remarkable story of how they rediscovered another dream and how it turned their life upside down and fulfilled them more than they ever thought possible.  It will inspire readers to discover their own passions and put them into action.

Then during the second half hour I'll be talking with Ken Bevel who is one of the leading characters in theyet-to-be-released movie, Courageous. We'll hear Ken's personal testimony and how working in these films has made him take a look at his own faith journey. 

More about Ken: Ken Bevel is an American Marine Corps officer and actor who stars in the 2008 film Fireproof and the 2011 film Courageous. Like many actors in the film, his work was performed on a voluntary basis. In Fireproof, Bevel portrayed firefighter Michael Simmons, and portrays police officer Nathan Hayes in Courageous.

After 20 years of active service in the United States Marine Corps, Ken retired to serve in the ministry.  He currently assumes the role as the Senior Associate Pastor of Connections and Major Events at Sherwood Baptist Church.  His responsibilities include coordination of major events, coordination of the Security, Usher and Greeter ministries and lastly assisting new members and visitors with connecting to the Body of Christ and the Sherwood Family.   

Ken is a graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering Technology and a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Business Administration degree in Logistics Management.  

Ken and Lauana have been happily married for 14 years and two children, Kyra and Kaleb.

For more about the movie, visit www.courageous.com 

More about the Loecken's: In the summer of 2007, the Loeckens headed to Africa on a mission trip with three of their four children.  That trip changed their lives.  When they returned home to their comfortable lifestyle, they all knew they wanted something more.  In April of 2008, the family made the daring decision to sell their home, purchase an RV, and begin traveling the country serving communities in need: crushing cans for a senior center in McCall, Idaho, cleaning used books for a program in Portland, Oregon, and

 serving meals at the Rescue Mission in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

“Being in Africa gave us a true and new understanding of what it means to have a sense of community.  The people we met and mingled with for those two weeks really rely on one another.  They work together and share everything and don’t just think about themselves.  They instinctively put others first,” says Jay.  Upon returning home, the family realized that they had abandoned their dreams, so they made a u-turn, deciding to recreate what they had found on the other side of the world: purpose, joy, simplicity, and service.  

The Loeckens knew they were not just called to live their dream, but to encourage others to do the same through their Passion to Action ministry.  Their mission is to inspire others, empower them with tools and resources, and mobilize them to put their faith into action.  While reading their story, including excerpts from their children (Ben, Bekah, Abigail, and Noah), readers will witness remarkable courage and see how far God can lead us to places we never imagined.  Their book includes ten challenges for readers to complete on their own, such as identifying their passion, conquering fears, and helping someone who is different than them.

Passion to Action is more than just a story about the Loecken family; it is a movement that encourages action in discovering one’s life passion and beginning to live it.  According to Beth, “There is a God-given dream in each of us.  That dream looks different for every person, but it is definitely there.  For some, perhaps the dream is to write a novel, compete in a marathon, or work with disadvantaged kids.  Deep down, we all have a dream.  But sadly, most people will never act on it.”  

Visit http://passiontoaction.org for more information about the Loeckens and to watch videos from the road.

Leave a comment here for a chance to win a copy of the Loecken's book. Winner will be notified next week via email.

I'm super excited about this week's guest. Just the title of Glynnis' book, I Used to Be So Organized makes me want to say AMEN! Glynnis is part of Proverbs 31 and we'll be hearing more about Glynnis' background, why she wrote this book and hopefully get a few tips from her about being effective in our mess and getting a 'handle on our lives'.

For a chance to win a copy of Glynnis' book, leave a comment here. Winners will be notified next week via email.

More about Glynnis: Glynnis Whitwer is on staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries as the Senior Editor of the P31 Woman magazine. She is one of the writers of Encouragement for Today, the Proverbs 31 e-mail devotions, with over 500,000 daily readers.  Her newest book, I Used to be So Organized, has just been released.  Glynnis, her husband Tod, and their five children live in Glendale, Arizona.  

Visit www.GlynnisWhitwer.com or www.HerOrganizedLife.com to learn more.

More about the book: If you’ve given up on getting your schedule, office or home organized, Glynnis Whitwer’snewest book, I Used to Be So Organized, will help.  In it, Glynnis addresses the frustrations many women feel when they can’t get a handle on their lives.  The truth is, getting organized in today’s reality is like being hired for a job and given no training.  Old ways of organization are ineffective given our world of information overload, increased expectations and technology advances that won’t slow down.  Thankfully, we can learn new ways of managing life.  Glynnis combines encouragement with lots of tips on how to bring peace and order to your life.

This week on Living Inspired I'll be interviewing two guests. The first guest is Janet Holm McHenry, author of PrayerWalk. We'll be talking about her new book and hear tips from her on how to live a life of prayer. Then during the second half hour I'll be interviewing my good friend Loring. She and her family (Team 5 Morris) moved to the slums of Uganda two and a half years ago to church plant. We'll hear all about their adventures.

For a chance to win a copy of Janet's PrayerWalk, leave a comment on this post.

 Winner will be notified via email next week.

More About Janet: After Janet graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in journalism, she married her high school sweetheart Craig and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor.  They eventually settled down in the Sierra Valley in northern California, where Craig is a rancher and where there is not a single stoplight in the entire county. In their town of 700+ folks, she says they have raised four pretty good children – three done with college – and are now enjoying the grandkids, all of whom are perfect. As a high school English teacher, academic advisor, and teacher mentor, Janet says the only pastime she has time for is friends!  And she looks forward to knowing you better! For more info about Janet and her other books, please visit her website at http://janetmchenry.com.

More about PrayerWalk:

Many years ago, depressed and overweight, McHenry found a simple plan for her life: she would pray while she walked. Little did she know, it would change her life personally and open her eyes to the needs of her community.

More about Loring: Benjamin, Hannah, Aiden, Loring, and Daniel Morris comprise Team Five Morris. Inobedience to God, they are committed to sharing Jesus as sojourners in Uganda. They have joined International Messengers, an organization committed to training and mobilizing believers for active involvement in reaching the world for Christ.

Keep up with daily life of Team 5 Morris here: http://www.teamfivemorris.com/latest-news/lorings-blog or connect with Loring on Facebook (you'll be glad you did!). If you feel led to support Team 5 Morris or to find out more information - go here.

Don't miss my guest this week! Jean Blackmer is head of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) publishing and a wonderful writer herself! Her latest book Momsense is a topic that has long resonated with me. I'm a firm believer in momsense! Be sure to tune in to find out if you have "momsense". 

For a chance to win a copy of the book, leave a comment here. Winner will be notified via email next week!

More about Jean: Jean Blackmer is the publishing manager for MOPS International where she designsbooks specifically for moms of preschoolers. She is also the author of a book for moms of boys, Boy-sterous Living! Celebrating Your Loud and Rowdy Life with Sons, is a regular contributor to MomSense magazine, and has written for other magazines including Guideposts, Thriving Family, Today's Christian Woman, and Christian Parenting Today. She has her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and lives in Colorado with her husband, Zane, and their three sons.

Visit Jean's website for more information about her and her other books! www.jeanblackmer.com

More about Momsense: Life can be overwhelming but when children become part of the picture, a mom mayfeel that her life is out of control. In MomSense (ISBN: 978-08007-2022-3, $12.99, 192 pages, June 2011) author, Jean Blackmer guides new and experienced moms through the plethora of advice that is available today. MomSense illustrates that moms do not need to seek perfection but find their own unique mothering style is what really counts with their kids today. Readers will discover that they already possess the instincts and the ability to think critically to be confident moms and to raise confident kids. 

Blackmer showcases “real mom” stories that are proven and practical advice for moms.  MomSense provides clarity and helps moms honestly assess their skills, embrace those instincts, and develop their own unique mothering style. This practical and hope-filled book equips moms to mother with confidence, contentment and joy.   Each chapter provides thought-provoking “MomSense” questions and a section of “Mama Drama” scenarios for moms to discuss in groups making this an excellent resource for study groups.

This week on Living Inspired Debora Coty will be joining me.  We'll be talking about her new book Too Blessed to Be Stressed. Her interview couldn't come at a better time. I'm not saying I'm stressed or anything (YIKES!), but I'm looking forward to hearing her tips and funny stories. 

Leave a comment here for a chance to win a copy of Debora's book for yourself! Winner will be notified next week via email.

About the book:

Do your to do lists have footnotes? Has your fam suggested a rabies shot because your bite has surpassed Rover’s?

Maybe it’s time for a healthy dose of truth gift-wrapped in humor. With her own offbeat brand of wit and near-wisdom, inspirational humorist Debora Coty addresses the heart-needs of desperate women drowning in the churning everyday stress-pool of busyness.

In Too Blessed to Be Stressed, you’ll find simple, practical steps for attaining the peace that you crave as you struggle with the stresses of finances, health, career, relationships, self-image and family. You’ll discover healing, refreshment, and revitalization for your own spirit, body and mind through heart-changing real life stories, biblically based insights, and short chapters for on-the-run convenience.

About Debora: 

Debora M. Coty is a humorist, columnist, speaker, writing workshop instructor and award-winning author ofover 100 internationally published articles and ten inspirational books. She has also contributed short stories and devotionals to numerous anthologies. Debora's passion is sharing her offbeat blend of humor and hope, wit and near-wisdom with women of all ages. As a piano teacher for twenty years, she acquired the skill of auditory long-suffering and has helped countless people as an occupational therapist specializing in orthopedics for over three decades. Mother of two grown children, Debora currently lives and loves in central Florida with her husband and desperately wicked pooch, Fenway. www.deboracoty.com

Be sure to check out Debora's KINDLE giveaway (going on right now) and Facebook party on the 25th.

Enter 8/8 - 8/25!

Don't miss this week's show with my guest Shannon Ethridge. Shannon is the author of the Every Woman's Battle series and she has spoken to youth, college students, and adults since 1989. Her passions include: challenging adults and teens to embrace a life of sexual integrity, encouraging married couples in their pursuit of sexual and emotional fulfillment, counseling women who have looked for love in all the wrong places and equipping parents to instill sexual values in children at an early age. Don't miss this week's show. And if you have a question of Shannon, leave it in the comments section or send it via twitter (@triciagoyer). Or call in to the show at 1-877-864-4869.

More about Shannon: Shannon is a million-copy best-selling author, speaker, lay counselor, and advocatefor healthy sexuality with a master’s degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University. Her passion for healthy sexuality actually began in Mortuary College. Her first career choice, becoming a mortician, led Ethridge to work on dead bodies. Many she embalmed were young people who had died from AIDS or committed suicide as a result of an HIV positive diagnosis. Because of her own promiscuous teenage years, she knew it was a miracle that she was standing over the embalming table rather than laying on top of it. These experiences inspired her to begin speaking boldly and bluntly to teen, college-age, and adult audiences about the benefits of sexual integrity. She has taught and counseled thousands of young singles and married couples over the past decade. She is the author of 18 books, including the best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series, the 5-book Completely His series, and her new book for the mainstream market, The Sexually Confident Wife.

Shannon has been featured on The Today Show (MSNBC), appeared on the cover of Today’s Christian Woman Magazine, and is a frequent guest on international radio & television shows such as The 700 Club, Life Today with James & Betty Robison, FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey, and New Life Live! with Stephen Arterburn. She has also been published in numerous magazines such as Focus on the Family, Brio, and LifeWay and is the winner of a Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Publishing. 

Although grateful for the opportunities to influence this generation as a writer and speaker, Shannon remains most passionate about her role as a wife and best friend to her husband of 20 years, Greg, and a mother and cheerleader to their two children, Erin (18) and Matthew (15).

For more info go to www.shannonethridge.com

More about Shannon's latest book: Every Single Woman's Battle - Powerful Tools For Guarding Your Body, Mind, and Heart

Remaining pure while single isn't easy in a culture that encourages women to use their bodies to gain power and personal fulfillment. The longing for emotional and physical connection can gradually and subtly lead you into compromises you never intended to make. But you can resist the pressures-or reclaim your purity-by building a strong foundation of integrity.

This week on the show I'll be talking with author Bob Hostetler. Bob has co-written several books with Josh McDowell, the latest of which releases this week - Don't Check Your Brains At the Door. It's an apologetics book targeted toward older teens and college age and focuses on the importance of knowing what you believe and why. Bob also writes GREAT fiction and is a sought after speaker. I'm thrilled to have him on the show.

Leave a comment for a chance to win Bob's book. Winner will be notified via email next week!

More About Bob: Bob Hostetler is an award-winning and best-selling writer, editor, pastor, and speaker. His books include Don't Check Your Brains at the Door and The Bone Box.

Visit Bob's website for more about him and his other books, www.bobhostetler.com

More about the book: Recent polls illustrate what Christian parents have feared: kids are dropping out of church early and for good. Age 16 is the average age at which teens are dropping out, says one poll, and 70% of Protestants ages 18 to 30 quit church by age 23, says another. Authors Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler have written Don't Check Your Brains at the Door (Thomas Nelson, August 2011, ISBN: 1400317202, $12.99) to stem a troubling tide among Christian youth. 

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door answers many of the faith-related questions Christian youth face. Itchallenges young readers to test gospel truths found in the Bible so they can learn to give an answer for their faith as they mature into thinking adults.

"We receive all kinds of messages, myths, and misconceptions in the course of our lives," says co-author Bob Hostetler. "One of those messages is the idea that following Jesus requires us to check our brains at the door-that reason and faith are incompatible. And that mistaken idea leads to others. That's why this book exists: to help a young man or woman weigh the evidence and lay a firm foundation for a strong faith in Christ." 

Written as a definitive but humorous resource, Don't Check Your Brains at the Door examines questions that today's youth face and explains how to give reasoned answers in a Christlike manner. Readers will find answers to common cultural myths and misconceptions about-

...God:

God is a faceless, impersonal force.

God is a cosmic vending machine.

...Jesus:

Jesus was a just a man.

Jesus was just a good teacher.

...the Bible:

It's just a great work of literature.

It's full of factual holes.

...the Resurrection:

Jesus didn't actually die.

Jesus' body was stolen.

...and many more! Also in Don't Check Your Brains at the Door, the authors have added a great reading comprehension section after every chapter called "Brain Food." Readers, parents, and teachers alike will find this tool helpful in processing and retaining the facts presented in every chapter.

With these tools in hand, the readers will be equipped to have a positive influence on the world around them, rather than succumbing to its faithlessness. Every church and family library needs Don't Check Your Brains at the Door.

Don't miss this week's show. I'll be talking with Missy Buchanan about . Her book Don't Write My Obituary Just Yet: Inspiring Faith Stories for Older Adults, is a great help for the aging and to those learning to care for their aged parents and or friends. Then later in the show, we'll chat with Family Life speaker and pastor, Brian Goins. His new book, Playing Hurt deals with how men (and women) need to push through the pain to victory in marriage. When the going gets tough it's easy to quit, but Brian makes a compelling and Biblical case for sticking it out. Highly recommended.

More about Missy: Buchanan is the author of Talking with God in Old Age and Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults (Upper Room Books).  Don’t Write My Obituary Just Yet was released in March 2011, and Aging Faithfully: 28 Days of Prayer was released in May 2011.  She writes a monthly column, “Aging Well,” for the United Methodist Reporter and she hosts Aging and Faith with Missy Buchanan on BlogTalk Radio.  She has also written for many publications including Mature Years, Mature Living, Presbyterians Today, Christian Association Serving Adults Ministries, Entrepreneur, The Dallas Morning News, and Good Morning America’s spirituality page.  In December 2010, she appeared on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts and Roberts’ 86-year-old mother in a segment about aging and faith.  (Visit www.missybuchanan.com for a link to the interview.)

A sought-after speaker on topics of older adult ministry and spiritual creativity, Buchanan brings passion and humor to many events for churches, organizations, and women’s groups.  She recently toured the East Coast, speaking to a variety of churches and senior resident centers.

A native Texan and former creativity educator, Buchanan loves spending time with her family, including her husband, Barry, their three grown children/spouses, and her two grandchildren.  Buchanan and her husband reside in Rockwall, TX.

More about Don't Write My Obituary Just Yet: Inspiring Faith Stories for Older Adults: Time after time, mature adults pick up a book by Missy Buchanan and find themselves reading stores that reflect their lives and situations.  Each time the stores, poems and prayers move the reader through a myriad of thoughts and feelings ranging from questioning and pain to relief and joy.  It is this emotional connection that will draw in readers of Don't Write My Obituary Just Yet.

Buchanan offers a glimpse into the lives of active, giving, and prayerful older adults who are seventy, eighty, ninety, and even one hundred years od.  Readers explore what it means to develop a deep attitude of gracious acceptance of the life God has given them.  And with each account, Buchanan relates what it means to live out a life that has a strong spiritual foundation.

Each of the 30 stories provides more than just wisdom to the reader; it inspires the reader to find a way to overcome struggles and sorrows and to live with passion and hope for something more.  Young and old alike will undoubtedly find value in this book as they continue to live out their own life story.

###

More about Brian: Since the NBA never drafted him, Brian decided to go into full-time pastoral ministry.Brian and his bride of 15 years, Jennifer, set up shop in Charlotte NC with their three kids (Brantley, Palmer, and Gibson). He, along with a great team, started and serves as pastor at Renaissance Bible Church. Brian bleeds Tarheel blue, remembers when he played full court basketball, wishes he was a carpenter, and wants to figure out how to live in Montana six months out of the year.

Brian and Jennifer travel around the country speaking to couples at “Weekend to Remember” events for Family Life. He received his Masters of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and worked as Creative Director for Insight for Living before going into church ministry. He's written for a number of Christian leaders including Chuck Swindoll, Chip Ingram, and Tommy Nelson.

Brian will be featured on Family Life Today in August of 2011. He speaks at family camps, retreats, and churches around the country.

For more about Brian, visit www.playinghurt.org.

More about Playing Hurt: A marriage book that husbands will actually want to read!

Everyone admires people who play hurt, from the superstar athlete to the journeyman player who finishes the game even when hurt, sick, or falling apart. Everyone looks up to these athletes and wants to mimic their “never give up” attitude. Except when it comes to marriage. Most husbands are willing to take a bullet for their wives in a life-and-death situation; but when his bride fires the bullet--hurls an insult, disrespects him in public, ignores his foreplay in private--he’d rather throw in the towel than play through the pain.

Playing Hurt is a biblical playbook for marriage that speaks in the language most men understand—the language of sports. Using a sports analogy to explain the motivation, means, and methods of playing hurt, author Brian Goins shows men how to overcome the temptation to stay on the bench. Playing Hurt is more about inspiration than instruction. It’s about finding the motivation to stay in the game, despite the pain. It’s about becoming like the One who knew more about nails and thorns than any superstar athlete. Using Ephesians 5 as a biblical basis, this book will call husbands to be the heroes they long to be--men who play hurt in order to win at marriage.

For a chance to win a copy of Missy's and Brian's books, leave a comment on this page. Winner's will be announced next week via email. 

Don't miss this week's show. I'll be interviewing two debut Christian fiction authors. The first half hour will feature Joan Wolf. Joan is a best selling author of over 40 books in the ABA (secular book market) who decided to switch gears when God miraculously healed her from a long-time illness. Her book A Reluctant Queen is fresh interpretation of the story of Esther and is receiving wonderful reviews. The second half hour will focus on Catherine Richmond. Catherine was busy as a wife, mom and occupational therapist when an old song by Harry Chapin planted a story in her heart that wouldn't remain untold. The result is Spring for Susannah which has received overwhelmingly rave reviews for a debut author. Each author has a unique road to publication and you won't want to miss their personal stories.

For a chance to win a copy of each author's book, leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Joan: Joan Wolf was born in New York City but has lived most of her adult life with her husband in Connecticut, where she raised two children and countless numbers of assorted animals. Joan is the author of numerous historical novels including The Road to Avalon which Publishers Weekly lauded as “historical fiction at its finest.”

For more about Joan and her other books, please visit www.joanwolf.com. 

More about A Reluctant Queen: An inspiring re-imagining of the tale of Esther, a young Jewish woman thrust from a life of obscurity into a life of power, wealth, intrigue . . . and tender love.

See the story of Esther in an entirely new way-with all the political intrigue and tension you remember, but told as a passionate and tender love story between a young man and woman. Misunderstood by many, King Ahasuerus was a powerful but lonely man. Esther's beauty caught the eye of the young king, but it was her spirit that captured his heart.

Imagine anew the story of Esther, one of our faith's great heroines, destined to play a key role in the history of Christianity.

More about Catherine: Catherine Richmond was focused on her career as anoccupational therapist till a special song planted a story idea in her mind. That idea would ultimately become Spring for Susannah, her first novel. She is also a founder and moderator of Nebraska Novelist critique group and lives in Nebraska with her husband.

More about Spring for Susannah: Hundreds of miles from home, Susannah faces an uncertain future as a mail-order bride on the untamed Dakota prairie. When her parents die suddenly, and no suitors call, Susannah resigns herself to the only option available: becoming a mail-order bride. Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.

Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves. Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them. And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge. But Jesse's confidence in her-and his faith in God's perfect plan-slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.  Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.

She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

Be sure to catch Thursday's interview with pastor and author Daniel Darling. Daniel is the Senior Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and is the author of numerous books, including Teen People of the Bible, which was nominated for a Gold Medallion Award. His latest book is iFaith, connecting to God in the 21st Century. 

For a chance to win a copy of iFaith, leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Daniel: Dan’s work has been featured by Focus on the Family, Christianity Today, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, and other evangelical publications. He is a contributing writer to Lifeway’s Men’s Devotional, Stand Firm, a columnist for Enrichment Journal,  and a blogger for Patheos.com. 

His op-eds have appeared in Newsweek/Washington Posts’ On Faith section and other newspapers and opinion sites. He has been profiled by The Chicago Tribune.  Daniel was a contributing writer to Zondervan’s Couples Devotional Bible. Publisher’s Weekly called his writing style “substantive and punchy.”

Dan’s columns appear weekly at Crosswalk.com and monthly for the local Lake County Journals. Dan has been interviewed on TV and radio outlets across the country, including, Steve Brown, etc, Moody Broadcasting Network, Harvest Television, The Sandy Rios Show, American Family Radio, 100 Huntley Street and many others.

Daniel has a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College. He travels and speaks to groups large and small. He and his wife Angela have three children, Grace, Dan Jr., and Emma, and reside in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. 

More about iFaith: “Brings some substance along with his punchy prose.” – Publisher’s Weekly

We’re a generation raised on instant: Instant formula. Disposable diapers. Satellite TV. GPS navigation. Online check-in. Automatic everything. We’re always plugged in and wired. We’re accustomed to having answers at the snap of our fingers. We’re used to being in control. How does this affect our communication with God? This is the question iFaith seeks to answer. What has life at warp speed done to our souls? Has faith been replaced with a false sense of security? Has the digital and technological revolution made us more impatient with the God who delights in making His people wait? iFaith is a unique look at prayer and faith in the twenty-first century, calling us back to a place of rest and silence and peace with God.

This week on Living Inspired my guest is my friend and co-author, Ocieanna. We have written two books together, Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana and Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington. Besides being a great writer, she is a great friend who has had a very interesting year. Be sure to tune in on Thursday to hear about Ocieanna's near death experience and how it's changed her life.

More about Ocieanna Fleiss: Ocieanna Fleiss has co-written two novels with Tricia Goyer—both for Summersidepress. The most recent, Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington, released July, 2010. Ocieanna has also written several articles for national publications including MOMSense and MOPS.org and a bi-monthly column for Northwest Christian Writers Association. Homeschool mom of four little ones, she, along with her husband, stay busy at her home in the Seattle area. Learn more about Ocieanna at www.ocieanna.com 

More about our books: Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of each book - winners will be notified next week via email!

Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana: In 1890, Julia Cavanaugh travels west from New York City to unite orphans in her care with new families.

Imagine her horror when she discovers that she's to be "delivered," too--as bride to an uncouth miner! But with no return fare, Julia's options are bleak.

What does God have planned for her on the lonesome prairies of Montana?

Read an Excerpt

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington: The war has stolen Rosalie’s fiancé, Vic, from her forever.  But rather than wallow, Rosalie distracts herself by cramming her days full of activity—mainly by shooting rivets into the B-17 bombers that will destroy the enemy.

When a reporter dubs her “Seattle's Own Rosie the Riveter,” even more responsibility piles up. Her strong arms bear all this, but when intense feelings surface for Kenny, the handsome, kind-hearted, and spiritually unwavering reporter, the fear of losing another love propels Rosalie to leave.

It’s only when Rosalie realizes that God has brought her to this place—and this person—for a reason, the sparkling grace of God compels her to let go of her own strength and lean on His, as well as open her heart to love.

Discover the Story Behind the Book

Join us this week for an encore epsidode of Living Inspired. We'll be running a GREAT interview with the inspirational and best-selling author of over thirty books - Randy Alcorn. Randy talked about his book The Goodness of God and more.

More About Randy: Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). Prior to  1990, when he started EPM, he served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has spoken around the world and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah Bible College and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Randy is the best-selling author of twenty-seven books (over three million in print), including the novels Deadline, Dominion, and Deception as well as Lord Foulgrin's Letters, the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home, and Wait Until Then (children's picture book about Heaven).  His fourteen nonfiction works include Money, Possessions and Eternity, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, In Light of Eternity, The Treasure Principle, The Grace & Truth Paradox, The Purity Principle, The Law of Rewards, Why ProLife, Heaven, Heaven for Kids (8-12 year olds), 50 Days of Heaven (meditations on Heaven) and Tell Me About Heaven (picture book illustrated by Ron DiCianni).

Randy has written for many magazines and produces the popular periodical Eternal Perspectives. He's been a guest on over 500 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, The Bible Answer Man, Family Life Today, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.

The father of two married daughters, Randy lives in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife and best friend, Nanci. They are the proud grandparents of four grandsons, Jacob, Matthew, Tyler and Jack. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.

For more information on this author, please be sure to visit www.epm.org. To see the author's life and perspectives, check out his blog at www.epm.org/blog.

About The Goodness of God Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering:

Through Pain and Tears…

Finding a Way to God’s Heart

For those times when we’re wounded by broken trust, assaulted by disease, or victimized by evil—or when we’re crushed to see such things happen to people we love—Randy Alcorn offers something solid to hold onto. 

In this specially focused condensation of Alcorn’s If God Is Good…: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, we’re continually guided into a deeper glimpse of God’s loving ways and higher purposes—the very things we’re often most blinded to whenever we battle pain and anguish.

Alcorn avoids superficial or sentimental responses, and instead presses forward boldly to explore all the troubling doubts and questions that agitate within us when we confront suffering and evil.

The issues are far from simple, the answers far from easy—but Alcorn shows how the way of suffering—a path that Jesus himself followed more than anyone else—can ultimately become a journey into wholeness and even logic-defying joy.

I'm so excited to chat with this week's guest, Helen Lee. Helen's book, The Missional Mom addresses how to balance our roles within our home as well as using our talents for His Kingdom. Helen's book affirms Christian mothers who desire to not only to build their homes in a Christ-like way, but engage the world with their skills, abilities, and interests. It doesn't minimize the importance of a woman's role in her home but encourages us to not ignore the stirrings God has planted within our hearts to extend her influence. This will be a great show!

More about the author: Helen Lee is an award-winning freelance writer and editor with nearly two decades of experience publishing in the Christian market. She is the co-editor of and contributor to Growing Healthy Asian-American Churches (IVP, 2006) and co-founder of the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, which runs the annual “Best Christian Places to Work” survey. Helen has written numerous articles for publications such as Christianity Today, Today’s Christian Woman, re:generation quarterly and Leadership Journal (LJ). In both 2008 and 2009, her articles for LJ earned Higher Goals awards in reporting from the Evangelical Press Association. She is married to classical pianist and Moody Bible Institute professor Brian Lee; together they have three young sons. Helen is also a homeschooling mom and seeks to provide her sons with a classical Christian education; she and her family reside in Chicagoland. For more about Helen and her book, visit her website at http://themissionalmom.com.

More about The Missional Mom: We all must seek to be missional in our life journey.  The evangelical subculture, however, tends to reduce the domain of the Christian mom to that inside the walls of her house.  But the reality is that today's Christian moms come from a full range of personal and professional context, whether they are homemakers, full-time in the marketplace, or somewhere in between.  Numerous Christian mothers today are living missional lives, using their gifts and abilities to further God's kingdom by engaging the world around them.  They artfully, passionately, sometimes messily, juggle multiple callings and demonstrate in their modern day contexts how they are emulating the woman of noble character in Proverbs 31.

For a chance to win a copy of Helen's book, leave a comment here. Winner will be notified next week via email.

If you've ever struggled with sharing your faith (or struggled with people trying to tell you about Jesus) you won't want to miss Tim Sinclair on Thursday. Tim is a radio personality on one of the top Christian morning shows in the country, Mornings with Tim and Pam. And now he is an author. His first book, Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture, was just published by Kregel. In the book, Tim points out that the church has been commissioned to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. To that end, the church spends $1.5 million for every one new follower of Jesus. Yet Apple can sell 26 iPads every minute. Branded is Tim's first hand observations about what makes Apple so exciting and Jesus so boring. In a word: marketing. Jesus is a life-changing product with lousy sales-people who are intimidated and embarrassed by the word "evangelism" and who show more enthusiasm for their gadgets than their God. Good stuff. I look forward to hearing what Tim has to say.

For a chance to win a copy of Tim's book, leave a comment on this post. Winner will be notified via email next week.

More about Tim: Tim Sinclair is a radio personality on one of the top Christian morning shows in the country, Mornings with Tim and Pam. For over a decade, he has been helping radio stations and various other businesses creatively and effectively market themselves. His award-winning productions have been heard on more than 2,000 radio stations worldwide and recent clients include McDonald's, Word Records, Moody Press, and the country's most-listened to Christian nonprofit radio station KSBJ/Houston. Tim has written for CCM Magazine and the Huntsville Times. For more info, please visit www.tim-sinclair.com.

More about Branded: Written with the wit and wisdom of an experienced marketer, Branded  peels away feelings of fear and encourages readers to share their faith in ways that are honest, authentic, and, most importantly, effective.

Praise for Branded:

"Convicting at times and outright hilarious at others, Branded is a simple plea for all of us to be true to the artists God created us to be. In Sinclair's words, 'If you're open, honest, real, and raw, millions of people will resonate with your story anyway, flaws and all.' Branded is the perfect pep talk you need to truly share Christ with a consumer culture." -Dave Frey, lead singer of Sidewalk Prophets

The church spends $1.5 million for every one new follower of Jesus. Apple sells 26 iPads every minute. What is it that makes Apple so exciting and Jesus so boring? What is it that compels someone to bring their iPod everywhere and their Bible nowhere? In a word: marketing. Jesus is a life-changing product with lousy salespeople-people who are intimidated and embarrassed by the word "evangelism" and who show more enthusiasm for their gadgets than their God.

What would life look like if we stopped mass-marketing Jesus and started marketing our faith like Nike and Apple market their products--sharing relationally, from person to person? Using examples from these and other successful companies, author Tim Sinclair challenges Christians to throw out their casual attitudes toward faith and sign on for a marketing campaign for the Savior.

Don't miss my amazing guest this Thursday. Scott Ginsberg, creator of Hello, My Name Is Scott, is bold about what he believes and YOU have much to learn from his simple strategy. Scott Ginsberg is an author, speaker, artist, mentor, publisher and one smoking hot piece of brain candy. He's delivered 600+ presentations worldwide on identity, approachability, stick-to-itiveness and execution. He never gives the same speech twice. I love his message and his humor. Don't miss this show.

More about Scott:
ENTREPRENEUR. He transformed wearing a nametag into a six figure enterprise. His publishing/consulting company, HELLO, my name is Scott! offers an array of products and services. And, he was voted as St. Louis's "Young Entrepreneur of the Year," in 2008 by The St. Louis Small Business Monthly!

AUTHOR. Scott is the author of twelve books including HELLO, my name is Scott, The Power of Approachability, How to be That Guy and Make a Name for Yourself.

NAMETAG TV. In 2008, Scott launched his Online Training Network, NametagTV.com. This interactive learning community teaches approachability through video modules, message boards and other tools. Stick yourself out there!

SPEAKER. Scott gives presentations, breakout sessions, keynote speeches and seminars to tens of thousands of people each year. He's shared the stage with bestselling authors/speakers like Jeffrey Gitomer, Jim Collins and Fred Reichheld. Companies and organizations worldwide have been successfully implementing his programs on approachability since 2003.

DIVERSE CLIENTELE. Since 2003, Scott has worked with large companies like STAPLES, VERIZON Wireless, Boeing, Prudential Financial, UniGroup, Coldwell Banker, Gundaker Realty, Leo Burnett, Manpower and Hyatt Regency. He's and also worked with organizations like United States Jaycees, International Association of Workforce Professionals, International Cemetery & Funeral Association, American Society of Association Executives, Meeting Professionals International, National Association of Personnel Services, School Nutrition Association, Word of Mouth Marketing Association and The YMCA of America.

THE NAMETAG GUY. Scott is the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 to make people friendlier. (In case you're wondering, he has a nametag tattooed on his chest for certain occasions.) While transforming his simple idea into a business, his adventures have earned him recognition as "The World's Foremost Expert on Nametags" and secured a spot in Ripley's Believe it Or Not!

COLUMNIST. Scott is a regular contributor to American Expression Open Forum, The Ladders, St. Louis Small Business Monthly, INSTORE Magazine, and over 50 additional online/print publications. Also, his work has been reprinted in dozens of textbooks and resource guides.

MEDIA EXPERT. Dubbed as "The Authority on Approachability," Scott is regularly interviewed by various online, print, radio and TV media for his unique expertise. He has been featured in hundreds of outlets such as 20/20, CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, The Associated Press, REDBOOK, FastCompany, The Washington Post, Paul Harvey, The CBS Early Show and Headline News. He even wrote "The Quiz" on approachability for COSMO!

NAMETAG NETWORK. Scott's award winning, content-rich websites get as many as 30,000 hits a day from readers and audience members around the world. His blog was voted as #39 on the "Top 100 Business Blogs on the Web!" His ubiquitous web presence and powerful platform set the standard for entrepreneurs and marketers in his field, and have earned him an surprising amount of credibility seeing that he's just some guy who wears a nametag every day.

* * * *
When he's not traveling around the world speaking to companies, associations and universities, Scott lives in St. Louis where he often talks to strangers. To drop Scott a line today, call 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com.

Welcome to this week's edition of Living Inspired. On Thursday's show we'll hear from two authors. My guest for the first half of the show is a self-published historical author, Tracey Jackson. Tracey has had an interesting publishing journey. We'll talk a little about that and her current release, The Rebel Bride. The second half hour, will feature Pulitzer nominated author (and homeschool mom!), Sibella Giorello. The fifth book in her Raleigh Harmon series, The Mountains Bow Down, released earlier this year and we'll hear about that, as well as what inspires her.

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of either Tracey or Sibella's books. Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Tracey: Tracey was born and raised in New Zealand, and that’s where her love of horses wasformed. Her grandfather taught her to ride at four years old, and she couldn’t get enough.

Her love and passion for Abraham Lincoln and the entire Civil War era might have come from her American father, however, he lays no claim to influencing her. Tracey's mother used to tell her she was simply born in the wrong place in the wrong time.  

Tracey hasn't always wanted to write. It took her a long time to get started, but now she doesn't seem to be able to stop, the joy of escaping to the 1860s is too much fun.

She's been happily married and gooey in love with her husband for sixteen years. They live in the Pacific Northwest with their two sons. For more about Tracey, visit her website: http://traceyjanejackson.com/ 

About The Rebel Bride: The Bride Ransom - Book #5 in the Civil War Brides Series

Victoria Carrington is a small town southern debutante who is accepted into college in Chicago. Her roommate goes missing, and Victoria’s family is convinced she is in danger.  Alone and somewhat irritated  by the FBI’s forced protection, she throws herself into her passion, photography.

Her photography studio is housed in an historic building. While she is there one afternoon, she is led to aroom that does not appear to have been touched in 100 years. She finds an old hand tinted Ambrotype of a soldier buried in a stack of paintings. As she is staring at his face, her world begins to spin.

Quincy Butler is trapped in a hell he could never have imagined. Fighting yet another battle in The War Between the States, he is shocked to encounter a woman on the field. When she begins to speak to him, he realizes she is southern, and assumes she is the enemy. 

His intention to apprehend and take her to his superiors is cut short however, when he is shot and wounded.

As Victoria tends to Quincy’s injuries, will she be able to convince him to trust her?

When she is kidnapped by a mad man, will Quincy save her before she is lost to him forever?

More about Sibella: Sibella Giorello grew up in Alaska and majored in geology at Mount Holyoke College.After riding a motorcycle across the country, she worked as a features writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her stories have won state and national awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. She now lives in Washington state with her husband and sons.

For more about Sibella and her other books, visit her website: http://sibellagiorello.com

More about The Mountains Bow Down: Book 5 in the Raleigh Harmon series

Everything's going to work out. Time away always makes things better . . . 

That's what FBI Special Agent Raleigh Harmon believes as she boards a cruise to Alaska. A land of mountains and gems and minerals, The Last Frontier is a dream destination for this forensic geologist who's hoping to leave behind a hectic work schedule and an engagement drained of romance. 

But when a passenger goes missing and winds up dead, Raleigh's vacation suddenly gets lost at sea. Theship's security chief tries to rule the death a suicide, but Raleigh's forensics background points to a much darker conclusion: Somewhere onboard, a ruthless murderer walks free. 

Engulfed by one of her toughest cases yet, Raleigh requests assistance from the FBI and receives her nemesis—perpetual ladies man Special Agent Jack Stephanson. As the cruise ship sails through the Inside Passage, Raleigh has five days to solve a high-profile murder, provide consultation for a movie filming onboard, and figure out her increasingly complicated feelings for Jack—who might not be such a jerk after all. 

And that's only her work life. Family offers even more challenges. Joined on the cruise by her mother and aunt, Raleigh watches helplessly as disturbing rifts splinter her family. 

Like the scenery that surrounds the cruise ship, Raleigh discovers a situation so steep and so complex that even the mountains might bow down. 

I'm super excited to introduce you to this week's guest. I had the opportunity to meet Shellie a few weeks ago when I was in Shreveport for a book signing for Beside Still Waters. (There we are below.) She was at another book store across town signing copies of her latest laugh-out-loud book, (get ready, it's a mouth full!) Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy: The Belle of All Things Southern Dishes on Men, Money, and Not Losing Your Midlife Mind! Shellie is not only an author, but also a syndicated columnist and the host of her own radio show (also syndicated), call All Things Southern. Don't miss Thursday's show, Shellie is a total hoot - you will love her.

More about Shellie: Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and her husband Phil live and farm in the Louisiana Delta.Shellie is the author of Lessons Learned on Bull Run Road, Twas the Night Before the Very First Christmas, Southern Comfort with Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and the Penguin Group USA release, Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On, voted Nonfiction Finalist of 2009 by SIBA Independent Booksellers Alliance. 

Tomlinson is owner and publisher of All Things Southern and the host of the weekly radio show All Things Southern as well as a weekly video segment by the same name. Listeners also hear Shellie in her All Things Southern radio segments aired across the South. Shellie writes a weekly inspirational feature in Newsstar and a monthly print and online column for Lousiana Road Trips.

When Shellie isn't writing, speaking, taping her show, answering email or writing content for the next deadline, you can find her playing tennis with Dixie Belle, (the chocolate lab who thinks she is in charge of running Shellie's life). 

More about Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy:

I'm here to tell you that Shellie Rushing Tomlinson is laugh out loud funny. For anyone who has an ounce of Southern blood flowing through their veins or those that wish they did, this book is going to be a treasure!   --Jeff Foxworthy

The bestselling author of Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On! returns with more helpful how-to's and keen observations from Dixie. 

Guided by principles from the ancient Belle Doctrine, the host of radio and television's All Things Southern offers down-home advice on everything from health and fitness-managing thy caloric calculations without going Straight Running Crazy and surviving the Raging Inferno Syndrome (aka hot flashes)-to the Southern art of handling your man (Bubba Whispering). Whether giving business tips or debunking the Big Boned Theory, making political observations or celebrating the inevitable resurgence of big hair, Shellie is an adviser women can relate to and laugh with regardless of their age or which side of the Mason-Dixon they call home.

Win a copy of Shellie's book by leaving a comment. We'll contact the winner via email next week!

To celebrate the release of Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy, Shellie is hosting a fun Facebook  Party on June 2nd. She'll be dishing on Bubba Whispering, debunking the Big Boned Theory, and how to manage going Straight Running Crazy. If you don't know what any of that is, then be sure to pick up a copy of the book (Not necessary to join the fun! Who knows - you might win a copy!) and join us at 5:00 pm on June 2nd at Shellie's Facebook page. And tell your friends - she's giving away copies of her books and some great gift certificates.

I'm looking forward to this week's show. My guest will be the co-author of my latest book, Praying for Your Future Husband, Robin Jones Gunn. This is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts and this project is something we've been thinking about (and praying about) for years. Robin is one of my FAVORITE people and it was such a treat to get to work with my dear friend on this book. So tune in, get ready to laugh and find out why it's important to pray for your future husband (and keep praying for the one you have!). If you know a teen or 20-something - please tell them about today's shows. We'll be taking callers and answering your questions. Call 1-877-864-4869.

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of the book. Winners notified via email, so be sure to leave your email address.

More about the book: Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His

Buy this Book

Have you ever thought about praying for your future husband?
Will it make a difference?
There's only one way to find out…

From when we were small girls, most of us dream of “The One,” our future husband. We think about what it would be like to be a bride. We wonder who that special guy is and when we'll find him. The great news is that what you do now can make a difference in your life and the life of your future husband!

Authors and good friends Robin Jones Gunn (Christy Miller series) and Tricia Goyer (author and former teen mom) believe God answers women's prayers for husbands—even husbands they may not meet for years. They invite young women to pray boldly for their future mate … while also asking God to prepare their own hearts.

In Praying for Your Future Husband, Robin and Tricia share their two vastly different experiences, including the things they did right and the mistakes they made on the path to meeting and marrying their husbands. Each chapter includes helpful Bible verses, prayers, and practical application, along with true stories of women who prayed for a husband and how God answered in remarkable ways.

God has a beautiful romance prepared for you. Prayer is the key to unlocking the love story … with your future husband and with God, the lover of your soul.

More about Robin: Robin Jones Gunn was born in Wisconsin and lived on a dairy farm until her familymoved to southern California when she was five years old. She grew up in Orange County and spent her summers at Newport Beach with friends from her church youth group. After attending Biola University and Capernwray Bible School in Austria, Robin and Ross were married and spent the next two decades working together in youth ministry.

It was the young teens at Robin’s church who challenged her to write stories for them. She hadn’t thought much about being a writer, but took their request to heart and set her alarm for 3am, three days a week. With two small children it was the only time she could find to write the first story about Christy Miller. After two years and ten rejections the novel Summer Promise was accepted for publication in 1988. Robin hasn’t stopped writing since. Over 4 million copies of her 75 books have sold and can be found in a dozen translations all over the world. 

Robin and her husband now live in Hawai’i where Ross is a counselor and Robin continues to write to the sound of tropical birds chattering in the palm trees outside her window. Their children are grown but manage to come to the islands with their families every chance they get. Robin's awards include: three Christy awards for excellence in fiction, a Gold Medallion finalist, Mt. Hermon Pacesetter and the Mt. Hermon Writer of the Year award. Robin travels extensively and is a frequent key-note speaker at various events around the world.  She serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writer’s Guild. Find out more about Robin and here other books at www.robingunn.com.

I'm thrilled to be interviewing Eric and Leslie this week, my daughter is a HUGE fan of their books. We'll be chatting about their amazing love-story, their children and heart for orphans. We'll also talk about their books and their mentoring program through Ellerslie. The Ludy's will share tips on how parents can help their young adult children grow in the relationship with Christ and prepare them for their future marriages and ministry. Thursday's show is not to be missed!

More about the Ludy's and their Set Apart Life: Eric and his wife Leslie have a passion for adoption, and have adopted two of their four children.  The Ludy family lives in Windsor, Colorado where they enjoy Rocky Mountain sunsets, evening bike rides, and the daily chuckles and adventures that four small children bring.

Eric and Leslie Ludy are bestselling authors and speakers who have published eighteen books with well over a million copies in print and with translations into over a dozen languages around the world. Their widely known classic, When God Writes Your Love Story remains one of the top-selling Christian relationship books of all time.

Over the past sixteen years, Eric and Leslie have shared their message around the country, overseas, and on Christian media platforms such as Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, and Moody Radio. They have become a strong voice in the Church today, especially on issues of Biblical sexuality, masculinity and femininity, prayer, and the deeper Christian life.  The Ludy’s poignant books and powerful messages present a clarion call to return to triumphant, Bible-centered, Christ-empowered Christianity. 

Their recent works include The Bravehearted Gospel, Wrestling Prayer, and The Lost Art of True Beauty.

Eric serves as the President and teaching Pastor at Ellerslie Training – a Colorado based discipleship school that equips young leaders to impact the world for Jesus Christ.  Leslie is the director of Set Apart Girl; an internationally known organization that provides resources and training for Christian young women on purity and Christ-centered living.

Eric and his wife Leslie have a passion for adoption and orphan advocacy, and have adopted two of their four children.  The Ludy family enjoys an adventure-filled life in Windsor, Colorado.

More about Leslie: Leslie Ludy serves as the executive director of Set-Apart Girl - an internationally-known organization that provides books, resources, conferences, and training for Christian young women.  As a speaker and best-selling author of more than a dozen books, Leslie has become a highly respected voice to her generation on issues of Biblical femininity. In addition to the many books Leslie has written along with her husband Eric, she has written multiple solo books geared for young women, including Authentic Beauty, Set-Apart Femininity, Answering the Guy Questions, Sacred Singleness and The Lost Art of True Beauty.   

Authentic Beauty spent several months among the top-ten CBA’s bestseller’s list, and Set-Apart Femininity was a finalist for the 2009 Christian Retailing Reader’s Choice Award.

Leslie is widely recognized for her poignant and practical messages on purity, femininity, and set-apart living.  Leslie’s online website and magazine, www.setapartgirl.com has developed a devoted following in over 170 countries around the world, and her Set Apart Girl Conference Tour annually reaches thousands of girls in churches and communities around the United States.

Leslie’s most valued ministry role is as a wife and mother of four.  She and Eric share a burden for the rescue of orphan and vulnerable children worldwide, and have adopted two of their four kids.  The Ludy family lives in Colorado where they enjoy an adventure-filled life together everyday.

More about Eric: Eric Ludy serves as the President of Ellerslie Mission Society.  He is also the teaching pastor at the Church at Ellerslie and the lead instructor in the Ellerslie Leadership Training.

Eric is a best-selling author of more than a dozen books and a highly respected voice in the Church today, especially on issues of Biblical sexuality, manhood, prayer, and the deeper Christian life.

When asked about his denominational leanings, Eric very simply says, “Just stick Leonard Ravenhill, C.T. Studd, Hudson Taylor, Rees Howells, and Charles Spurgeon into a blender, and that’s pretty close to what I believe.”  

For the past sixteen years, Eric has been a popular speaker at colleges, conferences and events, and has been a guest on nearly every major Christian radio platform. 

Eric has a strong passion for orphan advocacy, and is in process of spearheading the development of an international orphan program that provides strong spiritual and academic training for vulnerable children around the world, with the goal of building orphans into world-impacting leaders.

Join me on Thursday when I'll be interviewing Nancy Williams, author of Secrets to Parenting Your Adult Children, and political-suspense author, Jeanette Windle. Nancy and I will be chatting about helping your kids make that transition out of the nest and onto the next phase of their life. Jeanette is an amazing researcher and a master story-teller - her 'ripped from the headlines' novels grip and touch the hearts of people world-wide. So be sure to tun in at 3 pm CST and be sure to leave a comment on this post for your chance win a copy of both authors books.

More about Nancy: Nancy Williams, MEd, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and trained life coach. She speaks frequently in both professional and church contexts and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Nancy and her husband live Near Austin, TX, and are the parents of two adult children.

Nancy is an advocate for creating a strong, healthy relationship with your grown child. You're still a parent, no matter how old your child is. Roles change, but your love and your sense of responsibility remain. Maybe he hasn't left the nest as quickly as you expected, or she needs career and financial guidance, or he's bringing new members into your family. Whatever the situation, how can you help your adult child without crossing appropriate boundaries?

Nancy Williams draws from her own professional and personal experience, and also provides insights fromyoung adults. She will help you navigate these transitions with love, respect, and grace. While every family is unique, this book provides practical tools you can use to help your changing family become the best it's ever been. 

For more information, please visit www.nancywilliams.net.

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More about Jeannette: "The countries, people, and issues of which you write are so real they hardly seem fiction." "I get the news now after reading your books." 

If these are comments political-suspense novelist Jeanette Windle routinely hears from readers, it is because she indeed knows firsthand of what she writes. The daughter of American missionaries, Jeanette grew up in the jungles and small towns of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Later, she lived with her husband in Bolivia for nearly two decades, working for a Christian ministry organization while witnessing the emergence of the world’s first true 'narco-democracy'. To date, Jeanette has lived in six countries and ministered in more than thirty. And, though she now makes her headquarters in the States, she keeps abreast of international affairs traveling extensively as a missions journalist and mentor to indigenous writers across Latin America, Europe, Asia and into Africa. 

Jeanette has fifteen books in print, including Kregel bestseller CrossFire and Veiled Freedom, a finalist for both the 2010 Christian Book Award and 2010 Christy Award.  Her on-the-ground experience and in-depth research have made her an expert on political and social realities from Latin America to Afghanistan. She has been questioned more than once by government agencies as to her sources of information because her writing reveals an insider’s look few U. S. officials can claim. 

How does Jeanette handle writing on such gritty issues as Latin American drug cartels, guerrilla insurgencies, terror threats at our borders, Islamic extremism, and the persecuted church worldwide? She shares, "If I did not have absolute assurance that the course of human history and current events as well as my own life lie in the hands of a loving heavenly Father, I would not have the nerve to research, much less write, the

 stories that I do. My ultimate goal in every book I write, however much a 'thriller', is to share with the reader my own heartfelt conviction that for all the turmoil and conflict and pain in our world, this universe does make sense and has both a purpose and a loving Creator."

For more about Jeanette and her books, please visit www.jeanettewindle.com.

For a chance to win a copy of Jeanette's recently re-released, The DMZ,  or Nancy's Secrets to Parenting Your Adult Children, please leave a comment on this post. We'll contact you next week via email if you won!.

Don't miss this week's show. My guest will be talented author Erin Healy. Erin is an award-winning fiction editorwho has worked with talented novelists such as Frank Peretti, Lisa Samson, Ted Dekker, and many more. After editing twelve of Dekker's heart-pounding stories, they decided to collaberate on a series of novels, the first of which, Kiss, was the first novel to seat her on “the other side of the desk. Erin is also the owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a consulting firm specializing in fiction book development. She lives with her family in Colorado.

In addition to Erin's writing, we'll also be chatting about raising teens and being vigilant to be the loudest and most compelling voice they hear each day. We'll hear about Erin's family's own struggle with teen bullying and depression.

For more information about Erin, visit her website: www.erinhealy.com

More about Erin's latest book, The Promises She Keeps: Promise, a talented young singer with a terminal illness, is counting on fame to keep her memory alive after she dies. Porta is an aging sorceress and art collector in search of immortality.

When Promise inexplicably survives a series of freak accidents, Porta believes that she may hold the key to eternal life.

Enter Chase, an autistic artist who falls in love with Promise and fascinates her with his mysterious visions and drawings.

Soon, all are plunged into a flesh-and-blood confrontation over the mystery and the cost of something even greater than eternal life…eternal love.

For a chance to win Erin's book, please leave a comment on this post (and your email address) and we'll select one winner next week to receive a copy of The Promises She Keeps. The winner will be notified via email.

I'm super excited about this week's show with Sheila and Abby. Both are passionate about things that are near and dear to my heart: tweens and pro-life advocacy. Don't miss a minute of this week's show.

More about Abby and Unplanned: Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in her first actual abortion procedure, walked across the road to join the Coalition for Life.

Unplanned is a heartstopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby’s story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies.

For more info about Abby, visit her website: http://abbyjohnson.org/

More about Sheila Walsh: Sheila Walsh is a powerful communicator, Bible teacher, and best-selling author with more than 4 million books sold. A featured speaker with Women of Faith®, Sheila has reached more than 3.5 million women  by artistically combining honesty, vulnerability, and humor with God's Word.

Author of the best-selling memoir Honestly and the Gold Medallion nominee for The Heartache No One Sees, Sheila's most recent release, The Shelter of God's Promises, has also been turned into a DVD curriculum and in-depth Bible study. The Gigi, God's Little Princess book and video series has won the National Retailer's Choice Award twice and is the most popular Christian brand for young girls in the United States.

Sheila co-hosted The 700 Club and her own show Heart to Heart with Sheila Walsh. She is currently completing her Masters in Theology.

Twitter @SheilaWalsh, facebook.com/sheilawalshconnects

How to Be God's Little Princess: What does it take to be a princess? Sheila Walsh has some important answers to share for every little girl. This trendy design features black & white line art and a two-color pink and black interior. The art will tie to each how-to topic in the book—how to make the best pink cookies, how to wear a tiara, how to earn money at home, how to care for a royal dog, how to be respectful, how to use good manners, how to help Mom, how to follow Jesus, how to act like a princess when things go terribly wrong, and many more.

Sheila Walsh is celebrating the release of How to Be God’s Little Princess with a KINDLE giveaway and Facebook Princess Tea Party! “In How to Be God’s Little Princess, it’s my prayer that young girls will learn important life skills and discover for themselves how to navigate the do’s and don’ts of life. I want them to see that making wise decisions about clothes, friends, family, make-up, and more can be FUN! – Sheila Walsh Read what people are saying here. Sheila has put together a Princess prize package worth over $200!

One lucky winner will receive:    

* A brand new KINDLE with Wi-Fi & New Pearl Screen    

* How to Be God’s Little Princess    

* A Princess Tea Kit (includes princess backpack, tiara, book, jewelry making kit, & mug)

To enter click on entry ports below, then tell your friends! Hurry, giveaway ends 4/30! But wait! There’s more … On May 4th join Sheila at her Author Page on Facebook for the Princess Tea Party! She will announce the winner of the KINDLE, connect with readers and give away a ton of fun products from the Gigi and God’s Little Princess line! Tweens invited! Don’t miss the fun! She is looking forward to connecting and learning more about you – so be sure to stop by on May 4th at 5:00 PM PST (6 PM MST, 7 PM CST, & 8 PM EST).

I'm so excited to have my friends, the Eash's on the show this week. My new book, Beside Still Waters is loosely based on events in their lives. I can't wait for you to meet them. Today we'll be talking about the book, the stories behind the story, the Amish community in Montana, and their Amish heritage. I'll be giving away a few copies of the book, so be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one. (Don't forget your email address!)

And be sure to catch Suzanne Woods Fisher's show, Amish Wisdom (she's on right after Living Inspired) she'll be interviewing all of us about the book, what it was like working together, and what we learned in the process. I'll also get to chat a bit about my next non-fiction release, Praying For Your Future Husband.

About Beside Still Waters: Marianna Sommer believes she knows where her life is headed. Nineteen years old and Amish, her plan is to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and live in the only community she's ever known.

When Marianna's family moves from Indiana to Montana she discovers life and faith will never be the same. As she builds an easy friendship with local guy, Ben Stone, Ben not only draws her heart, he also gets her thinking about what loving God and living in community is all about.

As Marianna struggles to find "home", she also encounters God in intimate ways.

Meet the Eash's:

THEN:

NOW:

Thursday the 7th is John and I's wedding anniversary. I thought it would be fun to have him on the show and talk about marriage, parenting, & life. :) Have a question for us? Email it to amy@triciagoyer.com or leave it on this post.

The official show blurb: John and Tricia Goyer live in Little Rock Arkansas with Tricia's grandmother, their four children, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby on the way. (All in one house!)

John and Tricia got married when she was 18-years-old and he was 23 and they're celebrating their 21st Anniversary TODAY on Living Inspired.

In addition to working at FamilyLife (www.FamilyLife.com), John is the lead children's pastor at Mosaic Church (www.mosaicchurch.net). His passion for children's ministry seeped over and Tricia and their kids have been involved, volunteering with him for years.

Tricia is the author of 25 books, 500+ magazine articles, and a gazilaon blogs (or so it seems). She loves her family, her weekly radio show, and mentoring Teen MOPS. Leave a comment to win a copy of Tricia's Generation NeXt Marriage: The Couple's Guide To Keeping It Together.

On today's Living Inspired John and Tricia are going to talk about their romance, their challenges in marriage, and how they've helped each other follow their dreams. You won't want to miss it!

Don't miss this week's show! Guest Matt Bell will be on talking about his latest book, Money & Marriage. Whether your newly engaged or just celebrated your 30th wedding anniversary, you'll learn something about finances and marital bliss from Matt! And be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of his book. We'll choose one winner at random next week and notify you via email. Also, be sure to see below, Matt has a fun Nest Egg Giveaway with a GREAT prize!

More about Matt: Matt began his career as a radio journalist, with his work featured on National Public Radio, the NBC Radio Network, and several other networks. His reporting earned national awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and United Press International.

Today, Matt is a full-time personal finance writer and speaker. He is the author of two books: "Money, Purpose, Joy" (September 2008) and "Money Strategies for Tough Times" (April 2009), both by NavPress. Matt has been quoted in USA TODAY, U.S. News and World Report, the Chicago Tribune, and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, has written for ChristianityToday.com, and has been a guest on WGN-TV and several nationally syndicated radio talk shows.

Matt holds a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from DePaul University, where he wrote a thesis about the emergence of America's consumer culture and its influence on people's beliefs and behaviors.

Matt lives with his wife and their three young children in the Chicago area. Visit his website and blog at www.mattaboutmoney.com.

More about Money & Marriage: Money & Marriage: A Complete Guide for Engaged or Newly Married Couples

In this thorough and practical guide, financial expert Matt Bell helps engaged and newly married couples navigate the merger of habits, flaws, and attitudes about money so two can truly become one.

His writing is full of helpful advice, Scripture, and practical steps to gaining financial freedom together as a couple. Learn to use money in a way that minimizes disputes and maximizes marital happiness.

Matt Bell's (a.k.a Matt About Money) Money & Marriage has just released (NAVPress) and is a great resource for engaged or newly married couples. Read the reviews here.

Matt says about the book, “I wrote “Money & Marriage” because I believe in marriage. I’m sure it isn’t news to you that money is a very common source of stress between spouses. It’s even a primary factor in many divorces. I wrote this book with no less of a goal than to save many marriages from disaster, and to help all couples use money in a way that strengthens their relationship and increases their joy.”

To celebrate Matt has put together a Nest Egg Giveaway with a prize package worth over $250! 

One winner will receive:

•    A Free 1 Hour Financial Session

•    A $100 Visa Cash Card

•    A signed copy of Matt’s Money, Purpose, Joy and Money Strategies for Tough Times

To enter just click one of the icons below. Then tell your friends. And hurry - the contest ends April 11th. The winner will be announced on Matt's blog on April 13th.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Money & Marriage – important principles whether you're newly engaged or just celebrated your 30th anniversary.

I'm excited to have my good friend Cara on the show this week. We'll be chatting about her new books and how she balances writing, family and her career as an attorney.We'll also be talking about Cara's miscarriage and how she got through that difficult time.

More about Cara: Cara Putman is an author and attorney who lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. A homeschooling mom, she has written eleven novels, two repackages, and a Complete Idiots Guide since 2006. In the first half of 2011 she is writing two novellas and a full-length novel for Barbour. A lover of history, she has written seven novels that are set in the United States during World War II. She loves doing the research to get the details right and bring that time period to life. Many of her contemporary novels have an attorney as a main character, allowing her to bring her experience as an attorney to the stories. Her first novel Canteen Dreams won the Carol Award for short historical in 2008, and Sandhill Dreams was a finalist in the same category in 2009. You can learn more about Cara and her books on her web site and facebook.

More about Cara's latest books: For a chance to win a copy of either Stars in the Night or Ohio Brides, leave a comment here. Next week we'll choose two winners randomly and notify via email. Please let me know which book you'd like and your email in the comment section below.

Stars in the Night: Stars in the Night is a historical romantic suspense set in Hollywood during 1942. When Audra Schaeffer's sister disappears in Hollywood, Audra flies there to find her, but has to identify her body instead. Determined to find the killer and bring him to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan. Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States as the stars sell war bonds. When Robert's ex-wife and another woman are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to her sister's. Is the killer is the man she's falling in love with? And can she identify the killer before he targets her?

Ohio Brides: Three Ohio women seek God's promises for peace on the 1940's home front. Josie is a new bride struggling with dreams unfulfilled. Evelyn serves with the WAVES, but feels unappreciated. Kat becomes a professional softball player amidst criticism. Can each of them find love in such times of trial? This volume contains A Promise Kept, A Promise Born and A Promise Forged.

Don't miss Thursdays' show, I'll be chatting with speaker and author Keri Wyatt Kent about her new book, Deeper Into the Word: Reflections on 100 Words from the New Testament.

About Keri: A Keri Wyatt Kent is the author of Breathe and has written for both the Daily Herald (Chicago) and for Willow Creek Community Church. Keri speaks often on spiritual formation. She lives with her husband and two children in Illinois.

For more information about Keri visit her website at www.keriwyattkent.com.

About the book: A Fresh Look at the Words Within the Word

"We don't use words well because we coax them into meaning what we'd like them to mean rather than what they did mean. The only way to become a Bible Christian is to learn how the Bible uses words, and Keri Wyatt Kent will guide you into how to do just that. God bless this book for what it can do for Christians."
--Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor of Religious Studies, North Park University

Words matter. God cares about them and so should we. Going a little deeper into the Bible's words can make an old passage new again, enriching your understanding of God's message to his children. Why was this word chosen rather than that one? What does it imply in its original language that you can't see in English? And without knowing Greek, how can you learn to explore the details of God's Word for yourself?

Keri Wyatt Kent provides a fresh encounter with the most important words of the New Testament. Deeper Into the Word can be used as a daily devotional or as an easy-to-use reference tool. Either way, you'll find yourself excited by the wonders of God's amazing Word.

For a chance to win a copy of the book, leave a comment here along with your address. One winner will be selected at random next week and notified via email.

This week's guest is Rick Tunis. We'll be talking about his book, Do You Love Me? Feed My Sheep. Rick is a pastor, speaker and founder of Bread of Life Ministries. Be sure to tune in and hear about this inspirational man and his mission!

More bout Rick: Rick Tunis is a seasoned pastor, international speaker, and founder of Bread of Life International. He has shared his passion for famine relief with CBS Evening News, Charisma magazine, and as a guest on Daystar’s television program “Celebration.” He earned a B.A. in biblical studies from Southern California College and an M.F.A. from Columbia University. He is currently working toward his M.Div. with Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Rick has been married for 28 years to his wife, Nancy.  They are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, Colleen and Patty.

Visit Rick's website for more information: www.ricktunis.com

More about Do You Love Me?: Many Christian believers know that they are saved sheep in Christ’s fold but are unable to maximize their potential calling to become effective shepherds of  others. As a result, many will experience years of frustration, a sense of an unrealized calling and limited usefulness in the Kingdom of God. The purpose of this book is to encourage believers to get their calling and make the transition from sheep to shepherd through sustained faithfulness to Christ and obedience to God’s Word.

This is a book for a broad range of Christian readers. Do You Love Me is filled with graphic personal stories about faith, falling away, returning home, and getting a calling to shepherd others. It can provide value and added punch in the Christian higher education arena for classes on spiritual formation and courses on discipleship. Anyone who is hungry for more of what God has planned for them will want to devour Do You Love Me? Feed My Sheep.

For a chance to win a copy of Rick's book, please leave a comment here along with your mailing address. My assistant Amy will contact the winners next week via email.

Don't miss Thursday's show with the fabulous Anita Lustrea. Anita is the co-host of Moody's Midday Connection. We'll be chatting about her new book, What Women Tell Me. Should be a fascinating interview.

More about Anita: Authentic. That’s the word heard over and over when women describe Anita. She is a popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, and an amazing communicator as co-host of the award winning Midday Connection radio broadcast. Her deep desire is to communicate freedom to women and help them nurture and care for their soul.

Anita is the co-author of “Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook” and “Daily Seeds from Women Who Walk in Faith”, a Devotional for women.  Her first solo venture as an author releases in November, 2010, “What Women Tell Me: finding freedom from the secrets we keep.”

Anita and her husband, Mike Murphy, a pastor, along with her teenage son John live in the Chicago suburbs. When she’s not traveling or speaking, you can find her reading and drinking a venti hot tea at her local Starbucks. www.anitalustrea.com

More about What Women Tell Me: Real Women.  Real Stories.  Real Healing.  That’s what you’ll find inside the pages of “What Women Tell Me”. When issues of loneliness, friendship, mothering, domestic violence, and body image are raised, women want to pour out their hearts.  That’s been the case as women have tuned in to Moody Radio’s Midday Connection, the radio program Anita hosts.  In What Women Tell Me, Anita tells her story along with the difficult stories of other women.  Her prayer is to be an agent of healing in the body of Christ.

For a chance to win a copy of Anita's book, please leave a comment here along with your mailing address. My assistant Amy will contact the winners next week via email.

I'm thrilled to be chatting with this week's guest and my good friend, Lisa Bergren. Lisa is the author of the popular God Gave Us series. We'll be chatting (and catching up) about Lisa's most recent releases God Gave Us the World and also her recent YA fiction novel, Waterfall. 

More About Lisa: Lisa Bergren is the author of more than 35 books that have sold over two million copiescombined. She's written fiction, Bible studies, devotionals, nonfiction for women and children's books. Her most recent releases are God Gave Us the World, a children's book in the bestselling God Gave Us... Series, and Waterfall, the first in her teen fiction series, The River of Time. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and three children.

More about God Gave Us the World: Little Cub’s trip to a special museum exhibit, “Bears Around the World,” sparks a flurry of questions from the young polar bear who is just beginning to learn about life beyond her North Pole home. 

As Mama Bear shares with her about the different types of places that God has put the various types of bears, with their different kinds of fur and food, Little Cub begins to wonder: Why didn’t God make us all the same?

With Mama’s loving guidance, Little Cub is taught to see the vastness of God’s wonderful creation; His abilities as an amazing, inventive Creator; His desire for us to care for our world, and especially the important lesson that…

“Every bear has a special place in God’s great, big world.”

This adorable story offers young children who are discovering their place in God’s big world an opportunity to learn about the wonder of diversity, the gift of creativity, the importance of caring for His gifts, and how each child-each creation-is special to God. 

More about Waterfall: Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

For a chance to win either one of Lisa's new books, leave a comment on this post along with your address and next week we'll select two winners at random to receive Lisa's books. Be sure to leave your email address and which book you'd like to receive.

I'm so excited to have my close friend Joanna Weaver on the show this week. Joanna is the beloved author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and Having a Mary Spririt. We'll be chatting about her new book, Lazarus Awakening - dont' miss the show. You will love Joanna's funny sense of humor and sassy spirit.

More About Joanna: Joanna Weaver is known the world over for her transparent and life-changing books, Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World and Having a Mary Spirit. These two books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into several languages including Spanish, French, Dutch, Chinese, German, Korean and more. Joanna has appeared on a wide variety of nationally syndicated radio and television broadcasts. Past appearances include: The Harvest Show, At Home Live With Chuck & Jenni, Midday Connection, HomeWord, and Janet Parschall’s America. She is also a highly sought after speaker and shares her message at intimate gatherings and several high profile events each year. But Joanna's greatest joy is found in being a wife and mother and her role as a pastor’s wife. Find out more about Joanna and her books at her website, www.joannaweaverbooks.com.

More about Lazarus Awakening: Getting God’s Love from Our Heads to Our Hearts

We all know Jesus loved Mary – look how she worshiped. And we can understand why He loved Martha – after all, look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God? Lazarus Awakening explores the tale of the third follower – Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus. We never hear him speak, we never see him serve. The only thing of any significance that Lazarus did was to die. And yet, the Bible is clear. Jesus loved Lazarus. And He loves you and me as well.

Using a flexible 8 or 10-week companion study, Lazarus Awakening looks at different aspects of the story we find in John 11. We learn what it means to be a friend of God and begin recognizing the tombs we spend far too much time in. As we journey through the life, death, and resurrection of Lazarus, Weaver shows us how to unwind grave clothes – both our own as well as others – so that we can learn how to live resurrected.

For a chance to win a copy of Lazarus Awakening, please leave a comment on this post. Two people will be chosen at random to receive the book and notified next week via email.

Join me on Thursday as I interview author Patti Lacy. Her latest release, The Rhythm of Secrets, is receiving wonderful reviews. We'll be chatting books, the writer's life and getting a peek at the woman behind the novels.

More about Patti: Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw. She has two grown children and a dog named Laura. She and her husband can be seen jog-walking the streets of Normal, Illinois, an amazing place to live for a woman born in a car. For more information, visit Patti's website at www.pattilacy.com, her blog at www.pattilacy.com/blog, and her Facebook daily Artbites. Patti's longer bio here.

More about The Rhythm of Secrets: Since 1955, Sheila Franklin, a talented musician, has perfectly performed the role of devout pastor’s wife, locking away her past as Sheba Alexander and Sylvia Allen. Her carefully constructed façade crumbles with a single phone call from a young Marine named Samuel, the illegitimate son she secretly put up for adoption. Samuel begs Sheila to use her government contacts to get his fiancé, Mali, a Thai prostitute, into America. A dangerous mixture of love and guilt spurs her to help her only child even though it devastates her husband Edward and exposes her questionable past. After a quarrel with Edward, Sheila and Samuel board a C-130 for Thailand and then search Bangkok’s steamy streets for a Madonna-faced prostitute. The two whisk Mali from a brothel but are seized by a warlord who considers Mali his “number one girl.” In a teak “ghost house,” Sheila discovers God’s grace and gains the freedom she needs to find her own identity—Sheila, Sylvia, and Sheba. A framed story, this novel has roots in the bohemian 1940s New Orleans French Quarter and spans three decades, including the turbulent Vietnam era. Purchase a copy here,

The Rhythm of Secrets is Patti's third novel and praise for her writing is pouring in:

"The 'secret' is out--Patti Lacy is easily one of the most gifted authors in Christian fiction today, and her stunning new novel, The Rhythm of Secrets is absolute proof. From the delicious jazz-filled streets of New Orleans to the seedy underworld of Bangkok, Thailand, embark on a journey that transcends the mere pages of a book to become a riveting life experience. No longer a 'well-kept secret,' Patty Lacy is a master storyteller who speaks to the soul with a powerful and unique rhythm all her own, weaving a tale so rich with emotion that story and reader become one." --Julie Lessman, author of The Daughters of Boston series and A Hope Undaunte

"Patti Lacy is known for riveting tales that span continents, decades, and lives. The Rhythm of Secrets is another great Patti Lacy story, this time of a woman whose past secret lives have caught up with her. Captivating, heart-rending and heart-expanding, The Rhythm of Secrets is a vibrant journey across time in search of the greatest truth of all: grace." --Tosca Lee, author of Havah: The Story of Eve and Demon: A Memoir

Enter the Rhythm of Secrets NOOK eReader Giveaway:

Patti and her publisher, Kregel, are giving away a NOOK prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!!

Enter the Nook eReader Giveaway and you could win:

* A brand new Nook eReader with Wi-Fi

* $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form/s, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on February 16th at Patti's Rhythm of Secrets Facebook Party.

I'm excited to have my friend and fellow author Judy Baer on the show this week. Judy has written over 70 books (wow - now that is something to aspire to!) and we'll be talking about the highs and lows of a writer's life. Judy is a lovely woman - don't miss Thursday's show. (Judy's giving away a KINDLE - scroll down to the bottom to find out how to enter!)

More about Judy: Judy was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people—either those she read about or those she made up in her head. Her most ambitious conjuring did not succeed, however. She kept a clean stall with fresh hay and oats for the horse she imagined would arrive. Unfortunately it didn't come, at least not until she was an adult. After she was unexpectedly given three horses, she bought even more and began raising foundation quarter horses.

She graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota with majors in English and education and a minor in religion. At the time, she was simply studying what interested her, but now realizes that she was educating herself for her future career as a Christian writer. Her first book was written with a toddler on her lap. Judy would type a few words and say "Now, Jennifer." He two year old daughter would hit the space bar so Judy could continue writing. It was't the fastest way to work but it was a very cozy time.

In 2001 Judy became a certified professional life coach. In 2008 Judy completed her Master's program. She studied in the areas of writing and coaching. Now certified in three coaching disciplines, Judy coaches primarily professional and aspiring writers. She is also a faculty advisor in the Department of Human Development at St. Mary's University in Minneapolis, MN. She is married, lives in Minnesota, has two daughters and three step children.

She is the author of more than 75 books. She grew up in rural North Dakota and has done many of the things her Hilltop characters experience. Please visit www.judykbaer.com for more information and to keep up with the Hilltop characters on her blog!

More about Judy's latest book, An Unlikely Blessing: An Unlikely Blessing is a heartfelt story about a new pastor and life-long city dweller Alex Armstrong, who reluctantly accepts his first assignment, a two-point parish in the wilds of North Dakota. Hilltop Township, a farming community, blooms from the prairie like a wild pink rose—lovely and prickly all at once, much like the people who live there.
Unlikely

Alex quickly finds that this lovely place is in quiet peril. Farmers are struggling to make ends meet: Jonas Owens, a faithful member of Hilltop parish, is on the brink of losing the farm. Alex believes that part of why God called him to Hilltop was to help turn things around, and steps in with ideas for saving the Owens' land. But can even God's minister help save this rural community?

There are a lot of firsts for the new pastor—the annual Hunter's Breakfast, julebukking (also called Christmas fooling), King Oscar's fish balls, and the melody of the musical saw. And the new, single pastor creates remarkable excitement among the unmarried women in the community. If you could die of hot dish overdose, Alex would be a dead man. Whether performing weddings, counseling his flock, or herding cattle by snowmobile, Alex soon discovers that his new church home has as much to teach him as he will teach them. Day by day, he falls more in love with the people of Hilltop Church. People may leave Hilltop, but Hilltop never leaves them.

For a chance to win a copy of Judy's An Unlikely Blessing, leave a comment here along with your email address. We'll choose the winner at random and notify via email!

Prolific author of over 75 novels, Judy Baer, is launching her new Guideposts series, Forever Hilltop, with a KINDLE giveaway! The first book in the series, An Unlikely Blessing is available now wherever fine books are sold. Read the reviews here.

One lucky winner will receive:

• Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi
• A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com

To enter just click on one the icons below and then tell your friends! Winner will be announced on February 21st on Judy's blog, http://www.judykbaer.com/wordpress

I'm thrilled to have my friend and fellow novelist on the show this week. Robin has written over sixty (WOW!) novels. We'll be talking about conflict and hope in writing and in life. Robin is just beginning chemo after finding out she has cancer. She is an inspiration to me and I know she will be to you too. Don't miss Thursday's show.

More about Robin: Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 60 novels. Her historical romance Catching Katie was named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying plays under the stars. She makes her home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet, the high-maintenance Papillon, and Princess Pinky, the kitten who currently terrorizes the household.

For a chance to win a copy of Robin's beloved classic, Ribbon of Years, leave a comment on this post (and your email address). The winner will be notified via email next week.

More about Ribbon of Years: Named a Top Ten Favorite Novel of 2001 by Christianbook.com

In 1936, 15-year-old Miriam Gresham of River Bluff, Idaho, wanted nothing more than to be a famous actress, just like Greta Garbo. But God had other things in mind. The remarkable story of her life of faith comes to light at an estate sale ... and to restless Julianna Crosby, it's a priceless find!

Hatcher writes with a strength and compassion that celebrates the impact of one devout woman on the people around her. Highly recommended. — Library Journal

Don't miss Thursday's interview with my guest Marcia Washburn. We'll be discussing Father Knows Best: Learning to Trust God Instead of Myself. Marcia traces her journey of learning to trust God as He has stretched her beyond her comfort zone. She shares vivid personal stories including her long-distance engagement, dealing with a crisis pregnancy, homeschooling five boys, teaching home education principles in an Ecuadorian jungle village, and more. Join us for this reminder that our Father does indeed know best. Tune in on Thursday at 3:00 PM Central.

More about Marcia: Marcia Washburn, joyfully married for 34 years, is the mother of five sons whom she homeschooled in their rural Colorado (USA) home for nineteen years. She has served in various leadership positions at the local and state level and holds advanced degrees in elementary education & music education. She was awarded the 2009 Dr. Ruth Beechick Award for Outstanding Contribution to Home Education in the State of Colorado. She now serves as a teacher of teachers through her speaking and writing ministry. She is a regular columnist for Home School Enrichment Magazine and the CHEC Update.

Her first book, Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families, was originally published in 2001 and revised and updated in 2010. Talent to Treasure: Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business was released in January 2009. In addition to speaking regularly for homeschool support groups, she has been a featured speaker and keynote at events across the country. She was especially blessed to present the first-ever home education seminar to the Shuar people of the Eastern Ecuadorian jungle community of Makuma; she presented a follow-up seminar there for two weeks in 2010. Marcia has also been featured on Generations Radio with Kevin Swanson, a daily Christian Internet radio program heard in fifty states and thirty countries. Marcia is available to speak to groups of all sizes, both nationally and internationally. Her topics include home management, parenting, home education, encouragement for moms, and teaching tips for private music teachers.

Please contact her at marcia@marciawashburn.com for further information, letters of reference, and a list of presentations she offers.

More about Homemade Convenience Foods: Have you ever wished you could spend more time with your family and less with your pots and pans?  Homemade Convenience Foods is a practical e-book that shows you how to break free from the kitchen and get tasty meals on the table in fifteen minutes or less—without using TV dinners or once-a-month cooking!  Recipes and techniques are included.

If you'd like to receive one of Marcia's helpful resources, Homemade Convenience Foods leave a comment on this page for your chance to win. (Don't forget to leave your email address!).