Having a best friend is one of life’s greatest joys, and research overwhelmingly proves that our life depends on them. The absence and presence of them affects our physical and mental health – even our finances. In a world of diluted friendships, from “besties” to Facebook friends, friendships of convenience and “specialty” BFs, how do we find and keep them?

Dr. John Townsend, the best-selling author of Boundaries (over 2 million copies sold) helps readers break through relationship barriers with his new book How to Be a Best Friend Forever. BF and BFF messages are send by text or social media profiles and widely recognized as important friendships. You’ll see BFF jewelry and bracelets for little girls, BFF clothing and a variety of marketing and products based on the concept of specialization. Yet when you read this book by Dr. John Townsend, you’ll have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the value of true friendship.

This book answers the question on how to be a best friend to someone else and how to find true value in your relationships. The timing is perfect with so many people on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube communicating in electronic chatter rather than deep conversation. As more and more people place value on the number of followers they have, number of likes or activity around something they said…fewer people are investing time in deep relationships. Dr. Townsend reminds us to create face-to-face encounters with one another, plant seeds for lasting friendships and maintain those BFF relationships. He outlines benefits on both sides of the BFF relationship as well as potential pitfalls.

The book covers things like:

• The anatomy of a B.F.F. and 3 must-have qualities
• How to find and keep a BFF
• Learning to connect deeply in a friendship
• The trouble with family or spousal BFFs
• Does Facebook make friendships better?

One of the greatest benefits to this book How to Be a Best Friend Forever are the checklists for evaluating your friendships. We are encouraged to examine the health of our friendships to create lifetime relationships. I found the book useful and informative with several ideas I’m exploring in my own life. After reading the book I was impressed with the advice to take a deeper look at my current BFF’s and invest more time in mutually rewarding relationships. I was so inspired by the book, I can’t wait to attend my next church small group or hang out at the office lunchroom to search for potential BFF’s. I’ve already reached out to my neighbor for another coffee break- it’s been at least two months since our last one- and I put an asterisk next to the date on my calendar (read the book and find out why!).

Men and women of any age will enjoy this book.  Read it yourself, or with a group of friends and then take time to sit down together and discuss some of the concepts and questions. Buy a copy for a high school graduate and send him or her off with a mission to create more BFF’s. I hope you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did…and if you want to build a BFF relationship with me…let’s get this party started!

Click to see more Amazon Reviews of How to Be a Best Friend Forever: Making and Keeping Lifetime Relationships

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received How to Be a Best Friend Forever free from Worthy Publishing and PR by the Book as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

Have you been thinking about getting published? Then you’ll want the essential book for all writers, The Christian Writer’s Market Guide 2012 by Jerry B Jenkins and the Christian Writers Guild. This reference book includes contact information for 384 book publishers and 582 periodicals. You’ll also find a list of 80 agents. If you’re an established or aspiring author…this book is your road map to results. Get a copy into your hands as soon as possible.

It’s essential to read the first chapter called “How To Use This Book” so you’ll understand how to best use the layout and content of the book. Next you’ll find a section on “topical Listings of Book Publishers.” So if you’re writing a book about spiritual warfare, biblical studies, spiritual gifts, Christian living….or many other subjects… you’ll find a list of publishers for the specific subject.

The next section includes a detailed list of the publishers. Within the listing you’ll find useful information such as mailing address,phone, email and contact person. You might see a minimum word requirement, publication timeline,standard payment terms, and special tips. The author encourages you to read and understand any contract before you sign and make a commitment.

Similar to the publishers, a topical list of periodicals and detailed listing of requirements and terms follows.

The final section of the book includes a list of Christian Writer Conferences and workshops, Christian fellowship and critique groups, editorial services and agents.

This book is loaded with resources and an absolute must for Christian writers. Get a copy today!

My Amazon Rating 5/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Christian Writer’s Market Guide 2012 free from Tyndale Books as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

The new book 7 Money Rules For Life by Mary Hunt, founder of Debt-Proof Living teaches you how to take control of your financial future. So many people live paycheck-to-paycheck and worry for their financial future and find money mastery difficult. Financial expert Mary Hunt applies seven rules “for every income, every age, every stage of life. They apply to an unemployment check, an allowance, a paycheck, a dividend check, a bonus check, a trust account, an inheritance and even a vast estate. The 7 rules apply to individuals and families who are deeply in debt, just as they do for those who are debt free.’

Because money affect all of us, it’s something you should learn more about. Often money controls us and it’s time to regain a sense of control. Mary Hunt explains the 7 rules, one per chapter. She then uses examples from Debt-Proof Living to show how the rule is applied. Her methods are simple and encouraging in a subject that is often overcomplicated by financial experts. Special chapters are devoted to the challenge of irregular income and drowning in debt.

To learn more about Mary Hunt visit her website www.DebtProofLiving.com

My Amazon Review 5/5

About the Author Mary Hunt, award-winning and bestselling author, syndicated columnist and sought-after motivational speaker, has created a global platform that is making strides to help men and woman battle the epidemic impact of consumer debt. She is founder and publisher of Debt-Proof Living website, which features financial tools, resources and information for her online members. Her books have sold more than a million copies and her daily newspaper column is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate, where it is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Everyday Cheapskate readers. Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as Oprah, Good Morning America and Dr. Phil. She and her husband live in California.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received 7 Money Rules for Life free from Revell Books as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

When Your Teenager Becomes the Stranger in Your House by Dr. Gregory L. Jantz and Ann McMurray begins with the enticing words of chapter one “who are you and what have you done with my child?” This book was written to help you better understand your teenager and his or her behavior changes. You’ll learn the difference between normal behaviors you can work with and those behaviors you can’t. You’ll learn how to prepare your child for adulthood while riding the roller coaster of teen emotions. Fasten your seat belt and bring a copy of this book along for the ride!

As you continue to read and rediscover the stranger in your house, you find a variety of subject are discussed, including eating disorders, depression, smoking, drinking or shoplifting. The author brings awareness to the many conditions he encounters in his counseling practice. In chapter eight he helps parents evaluate when and how to get medical treatment for their teenager, and then includes a two-page list of mood medications.By the time you finish the book you’ll have an awareness of how to recognize and treat teenage depression.

Depression has the ability to derail a teenager’s progress toward healthy adulthood while confusing and frustrating parents. With years of experience, Dr. Jantz  answer’s the hard questions about the most critical season of your child’s life:

• Is this “just a phase,” or is it clinical depression?
• How do hormones affect my teen’s behavior—and what can I do about it?
• How can I get help when I see the warning signs of suicidal thoughts?
• Why does my teenager seem to need me some days and hate me other days?
• How can I be a source of peace in my child’s life, especially when I feel stormy too?

The Stranger in Your House will help parents to push beyond the closed door that is adolescence and open the door to hope.

About the Author: Dr. Gregg Jantz is the best-selling author of numerous books, including Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders. He is the founder of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, a leading healthcare facility near Seattle that specializes in whole-person care. Jantz has appeared on numerous shows including CNN’s Headline News and the 700 Club. He has been interviewed for CNN.com, as well as the New York Post, the Associated Press, Family Circle, Women’s Day, Yahoo.com and MSNBC.com.

My Amazon Rating 4/5

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Stranger in Your House  free from The B & B Media Group and David C Cook as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

Mary’s Son, A Tale of Christmas by Darryl Nyznyk  was selected as a Moms Choice Award and is destined to become a Christmas classic. It’s the story of two young people with life challenges and bitterness. The children are visited by a mysterious old man who happens to look a little bit like Santa. As Nicholas weaves himself into the lives of these special children, the children find themselves on a magical journey into the real meaning of Christmas. Winner of Mom’s Choice Gold Award for the most inspirational/motivational book for young adults and juveniles (ages 9-12) and in fiction for the adult category, this keepsake book has much to offer.

The book Mary’s Son, A Tale of Christmas touches the subject of rebellion, bitterness, fear, anger and resentment. The key characters include a spoiled rich girl and an underprivileged boy. Both children are abandoned by key adults in their lives and both respond to their hurting hearts in different yet similar ways. The story brings awareness to the differences in rich vs poor, the challenges of the current economy, the attitudes of the heart and neglectful parenting. When Nicholas joins them he introduces them to an experience that is healing for all. He reminds them the true meaning of Christmas and takes their focus off themselves and their problems.

I enjoyed reading  Mary’s Son, A Tale of Christmas and will look forward to reading it each year during the Christmas season. It would make a good addition to a family library.

My Amazon Review 4/5

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Mary’s Son, A Tale of Christmas free from PR By the Book as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

Once I started reading the book Never the Same by B. C. Fleming, I could not put the book down. In fact, I read it cover to cover in about two hours and had to pause my reading several times to pray for Brian and his wife Jamie. When you pick up the book and begin reading, you’re walking right into the middle of a war with religious fanatics who are programed to kill you. Brian witnessed attacks, crimes against innocent people, and the dismembered body of a suicide bomber who tried to kill him. Yes, some parts of the book are graphic, as the author writes from personal experience.

What impresses me most about the book is Brian’s faith in action. He was a young solider fighting for America against the Taliban. As he encountered the enemy in battle, he often felt a spiritual presence of good vs evil. He describes one terrorist burning in hell, and another man who became a friend. Brian brings a faith-based perspective into the war and humanizes the soldiers fighting this war. After reading his book I was convicted to spend more time praying for the men and women who fight for our freedom.

Brian’s story is about being blown up in Afghanistan, not once, but twice, and given a chance to live and share his story. He enlisted in the United States Army at age 18, served in South Korea and then climbed into Afghanistan where he encountered a suicide bomber. His story continues as he reclaims his life at home with his wife and children. He inspires others through his writing and public speaking, and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, CSPAN, ESPN and the 700 Club with Pat Robertson. Still under the age of 30, this young man continues to serve his country by sharing a powerful story of hope.

You can purchase the book from Brians website http://blownupguy.com

You can watch an interview with Brian here

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Never The Same free from The B & B Media Group as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher is a novel based on the Salvation Army Angel Tree which provides Christmas gifts to needy kids. A child’s name is written on a paper angel, and then a “wish list” for Christmas with the child’s age is included. A few years back, I was a Chairman for a local Adopt-an-Angel program and so this book appealed to me. Reading it reminded me of the year I collected more than 1,200 gifts for kids in foster care and watched the community open their hearts to kids they’d never met. As I turned the pages of the book, I remember the outpouring of the human spirit for needy children.

Kevin Morrell is a forty-three-year-old husband and father who runs a successful design and marketing firm that’s crashed into the suffering economy. Attempting to navigate the busyness of the mall at Christmas, Kevin is humbled when he stumbles across the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Project. His wife insists that he take a paper ornament.

The name on the ornament is Thomas Brandt, a fifteen-year-old still reeling from the implosion of his family—from years of verbal abuse from an alcoholic father to a mother who finally left him behind, only to find herself and her children penniless and struggling. The only thing has allowed Lynn to survive is her faith. Thomas shares that faith, but he also wonders why God has seemingly abandoned them.

This is the story about a man and a boy one December. A man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true meaning of Christmas.

This novel is an inside look at the lives of children on the other side of the paper angel. It humanizes the kids and their families and demonstrates how poverty finds them. One story looks at a single mom sheltering her children from an abusive husband, while another story examines the middle-class faced with job loss and financial hardship. Each family encounters the Salvation Army Angel Tree and has an unique experience with it.

From my personal experience, I remember cutting out the paper angels for the Christmas tree. We had a list of names of the children in foster homes and wrote their age, name and three items they wanted for  Christmas. Some of the items were simple- like a pair of warm pajamas or a doll, while others were over-the-top such as a 10-speed bike or an X-box. To my amazement, people bought the extravagant as well as the simple. No child went without a gift, and I saw my office and hallways filled with giving hearts for the Angel Tree.

Paper Angels is an enjoyable book to read during the Christmas season. It’s a reminder of life outside our own homes, struggles within different economic classes, and a central theme of giving. It’s simple in style yet significant in its message of giving. Take some time this year and step into the lives of the paper angels.

My Amazon Review 4/5

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Paper Angels free from Simon and Schuster as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.

Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh is a good book to read this holiday season. Like other novels written by Walsh, this book jumps right into the life of the main characters. Rick reflects back on this season when the course of his life changed direction. The setting takes place in the 1980′s when IBM had not yet launched the personal computer; the Boombox was hot; Reality TV was unheard of; MTV was just launching; Ronald Reagan was president; the Winter Olympics witnessed the USA team defeat the favored Soviet team and win the gold; and Rick Denton was in pursuit of his career goals and climbing the corporate ladder.

The focus of the story is Rick- a self-centered executive on track to promote himself- contrasted with Andrea, the single mom working two jobs and struggling to provide food and warmth for her daughter. We see rich vs poor and kindness vs pride woven into the story. Through remembering we are reminded of the person we once were and how we change with the presence of Christ. One of the key characters in the story, a homeless man named JD, brings life to a lost community. His words are few and his message in the story is lasting. He even inspired me to post this photo on my Facebook wall along with a scripture verse:

It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture’s kitchen. And it’s not getting any better. 1 Cor 4:11 Message

It’s the third book I’ve read by this author and Dan Walsh’s writing style reminds me of Nicholas Sparks. My hope is someday his books will be published into a movie for all to enjoy. Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, and The Deepest Waters. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he’s busy researching and writing his next novel.

If you need a good Christmas gift idea for someone who enjoys reading, I’d recommend putting together these three books- Remembering Christmas, The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming. 

My Amazon Rating 5/5

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Remembering Christmas free from Revell Books as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Click here to find out How to Become A Book Review Blogger.