Book Review: Sisterhood of Strength by Diony George

Title: Sisterhood of Strength: True Stories of Miraculous Service
Author: Diony George
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Release Date: August 14, 2012
Website: http://diony-george.blogspot.com/

Book Summary:

Experience for yourself the pure love that inspires ordinary women to serve and accept service in a truly extraordinary manner. This inspiring collection of true stories from the lives of women just like you is told with heartwarming sincerity. Perfect for sharing, this remarkable book is sure to uplift, encourage, and cheer any woman, whether it’s her turn to serve or be served.

Sisterhood of Strength is a compilation of touching stories of sisters who serve each other.  You can pick it up and read just one story at a time or read through the whole thing in one sitting as I did.  Of the nearly three dozen stories in this book about half are by published LDS authors.

The stories are varied, some are accounts of acts by visiting teachers, other of service to neighbors, friends or family members.  A great reminder that sometimes it takes just a small act to make a huge impact in the lives of others.

Rating: 4 Stars - Great Book

Content: Clean & Uplifting

Source: From Publisher for Review

Blog Tour: Book Review - Eat Your Peas by Cheryl Karpen

If you want a special way to celebrate your mother, look no more! Eat Your Peas for Mom is a 3-minute read with a forever message. Upon opening this little package, her heart will smile through the pages filled with affirmation, appreciation, and gratitude expressed for all the ways she loves and cares for you. Each page is artfully hand-illustrated for a charming and homespun feel. It's a perfect keepsake and reminder for Mom to hold onto forever.

Eat your Peas for Mom: Simple Truths and Happy Insights is a beautiful gift book.  It would be perfect for a mothers day present as a way to tell your mom how much you love and appreciate her.  Use it instead of a card.  A way to basically say sorry I was such a pain in the rear growing up - I learned a lot from you and love and appreciate.  It really does take just "3-minutes" to read.



About the Author:
Cheryl Karpen is the president of Gently Spoken Communications, an organization that is committed to providing others with encouragement and inspiration through books and speaking events. She is the creator of the Eat Your Peas Collection, which includes 21 titles, with nearly a million copies sold. A successful entrepreneur, Karpen previously sold nearly 700,000 copies of the Eat Your Peas books as a self-publisher. Other titles include versions for fathers, sons, teens, grandparents, sisters and even a title you can gift yourself. Karpen lives with her husband near Minneapolis in Anoka, Minn.

Content: clean

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Received through PR by the Book

Book Review: I Sit All Amazed by Steve Mikita

When Steve Mikita was 18 months old, his parents received the horrifying news that their son would not live to see his second birthday. Afflicted with an incurable neuromuscular disease, he has never walked, never ridden a bicycle, never driven a car. He has never married, never had children, never knelt to pray. But the story of his life is not about the things he has never done or will never do. The story of his life is about reaching our possibilities in spite of our disabilities. It is about living rich, meaningful lives despite trials and tragedies. More important, it is about the undeniable influence and power of a mother's love—a mother who was told to prepare for her son's death, and who, instead, raised him to become a self-sufficient adult.
• Steve Mikita is now 53 years old. He has outlived both of his parents.
• Approximately 12.6 million (or 18%) of U.S. children under the age of 18 have a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition that requires ongoing medical supervision.
• For parents, grandparents, and caregivers of children with disabilities or unique challenges, this book is an uplifting message of hope.

The timing on this book was perfect - it was just what I needed at this point in my life. One of my children has recently had some serious medical issues. No diagnosis as of yet but I think/fear/worry that it is going to be a lifelong battle. This short little book brought me a lot of comfort, hope and peace. 

I felt so uplifted and encouraged that no matter what the outcome of this illness is it will be ok.  As a mother I can make a difference in my children's lives.

Recommended to LDS mothers who are looking for encouragement and hope that the Lord knows them and their circumstances, especially those who are dealing with trials that are weighing them down.




Content: Clean

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: From Publisher for Review

Book Review: Unlocking the Power of the Spirit by Campbell Gray

Obedience to the Lord's commandments does not exempt us from trials and struggles in life. But it does qualify us for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can comfort us. It can chasten us. It can confirm our choices or prompt us in new directions. It can give us feelings or strokes of ideas. And learning to understand the subtle communications of the Spirit is one of the most important thnings we will ever do in this life. The Spirit is our lifeline to heaven. Yet at times, when we are weighed down by feelings of personal inadequacy or distracted by the trials and busyness of life, we may feel that we have been left largely on our own.


Iin this book, Campbell Gray suggests that the Holy Ghost can be a constant presence in our lives, gently leading us through our inclinations and desires. By learning to be attentive to the Spirit above all, we will find grace that overcomes our own personal weaknesses - not just over time, but in the very moment - and find ourselves being carried "wither (we) wouldest not" (John 21:18).

Unlocking the Power of the Spirit is a great read for a Sunday afternoon.  There was nothing in this book that I hadn't heard before but it was a gentle reminder of things I already knew.  It reminded me of an extended EFY or Fireside talk.  My favorite parts were when the author used his personal life experience to illustrate the point he was trying to make. 

The eight chapters could easily be read in one sitting or could be spread out and read over the course of a week by reading one each day.  Helped me to remember the importance of feeling the spirt each day and the peace it can bring.



Content: Clean

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Won in a giveaway

Book Review: The Road Show by Braden Bell

Scott Jenson hates everything he knows about road shows: cheap costumes, silly songs, and bad acting. Being asked to create a road show is his worst nightmare come true. Can flawed but talented artist create a piece of art that testifies of Jesus Christ? And is there any way that something so trivial can have a healing effect on the lives of five troubled souls? A pornography addict, a depressed young mother, a sick older woman, a lonely outcast, and a spiritually numb elder's quorum president are about to find out. Braden Bell gives a five-star performance with Road Show: Beauty for Ashes. With true-to-life characters, humorous situations, and tender realizations, this book is guaranteed to make you smile and applaud for more.

This book was not at all what I expected. When I think "Road Show" I have fond memories of cheesy preformances we did at church as a teenager. I was expecting a light-hearted, cheesy book. There was nothing cheesy about The Road Show.

The Road Show is a short book, just 120 pages, but author Braden Bell packed a powerful message into those pages. The characters in this book were well developed and each faced real issue that many of us stuggle with or can relate to: depression, illness, pornorgraphy, lonliness, pride, burdens that weigh us down and make us feel less than we are and unworthy of the Savior. 

I loved seeing the characters overcome their problems as they worked to produce a road show.



Content: Clean

Rating: 5 Stars

Souce: From Author For Review

Book Review: Impractical Grace by John S. Bushman

A COUPLE'S FAILING MARRIAGE, a family’s heartbreaking accident, and a woman’s excruciating childhood—these are just a few of the challenges confronting these individuals. But with struggle, patience and faith, they each discover that there’s no limit to God’s power to heal, strengthen, and transform.


PART TREATISE, PART NOVEL, Impractical Grace pulls you in as you learn with the characters how the grace of God and the grace we show one another really can change everything. Take part in these doctrinal insights to the Savior’s grace and love in this compelling novel full of true-to-life stories of hardship and hope.


What does Jesus offer us? What is the extent of the Lord’s power to heal, save, renew, and transform? In this novel, three broken lives find the transforming power of the Savior. Through this gripping novel, doctrinal insights of the Savior’s grace and love are shared. See the transforming work of God’s grace and love that moves through, and changes everyone in this compelling book.

Impractical Grace teaches doctrine and principles in a story format. The book chronicles a new bishop attempting to help 3 members of his ward understand the Lord's atonement and his "impractical grace".

I would recommend this book to any and everyone who would like to better understand grace, a term that is often used but hard to describe. John S. Bushman uses scriptures, as well as quotes from apostles and prophets to teach how the Lord's grace can help and heal us.

I'm sure everyone can relate to at least one of the trials the characters in this book are experiencing: a troubled marriage, a tragic accident, abuse, the inability to forgive someone who has wronged us. The doctrine taught in this book has the ability to change those open enough to give these principles a try.



Content: Clean

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Source: From Author For Review

Book Review: 33 Habits of a Really Good Man by Yvonne Swinson

Bill Wells wasn't a famous man, but he felt an invaluable legacy for those who knew him. He kept a little black notebook full of quotes, proverbs, poems, and stories that inspired him. He lived his life by these words of wisdom and taught his children to do the same. Compiled by his daughter Yvonne Swinson, 33 Habits of a Really Good Man shares Bill's legacy with you. Each mini-memoir includes one of Bill's favorite bits of wisdom and how making it a habit can lead to a "really good" life.

I agreed to review 33 Habits of a Really Good Man by Yvonne Swinson thinking I could then pass it on to my husband or father.  Little did I know this book about a "really good man" would be filled with such wonderful wisdom for "really good women" too.

This book really is a gem that would make a great gift book for just about anyone.  Yvonne was blessed to have an amazing father who left behind a legacy in his little black notebook.  Kudos to Yvonne for sharing such wonderful quotes, stories and life lessons.

This book was great inspiration for me.  Since today is New Years Day and I'm working on my goals and resolutions for the year this book helped me to focus on what is really important and on the kind of person I want to become.  Great motivation to become a better person.

Rating: 5 Stars

Content: Clean & uplifting

Source: From Author For Review