Kindle Freebies

Last night I got carried away when I was browsing titles available for Kindle.
As a writer, I love old books, and there were many "new" old titles available--and almost all of them were free. (How could I resist?)

It occurred to me that many of these books would be of interest to some of you. Lots of my readers are writers also, or mothers, homeschoolers, etc. (I have such smart women readers!) So, here's the list I picked up: Books are free unless otherwise noted: (If you don't have a Kindle, take a title that interests you and check Project Gutenberg for it. Most older books that are free in one place will also be available there, and you can download the books as a pdf. In addition, unlike the Kindle versions, Project Gutenberg offers books WITH illustrations intact. That's my biggest complaint with Kindle--illustrations are often missing.)

Anyway, here's my list of my latest and greatest free ebooks:

1.Tillie, A Mennonite Maid: A Story of the Pennsylvania Dutch
2. Woman's Life in Colonial Days
3. The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions
4. The Paradise of Children (From, "A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys")
5. Under the Lilacs (Penny Books) (This one cost $1.00)
6. The Betrothed (Penny Books) (Also $1.00)
7. A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes
8. Woman's Institute Library of Cookery: Various Volumes (I got three)
9. Directions for Cookery, In Its Various Branches
10.Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled During Her Visit Among the Pennsylvania Germans
11.The Homeplace (Singing River Series #1) (This won't be on Gutenberg)
12.Stopping Time, Part One
13. Stopping Time, Part Two
14. A Gift of Grace (Kauffmann Amish Bakery Series#1)(won't be on Gutenberg)
15.The Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law (I can't wait to see this one! HA.)
16. Publish on Amazon Kindle With the Digital Text Platform (this may help with a workshop I teach on self-publishing.)
17. The Grey Fairy Book (Also the Brown, Blue, and Lilac are available.)These are the classic books that Dover puts out, too.
18. Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations
19. Familiar Quotations
20.The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes,Historical, Literary and Humorous: A New Selection
21. The World's Greatest Books, Volume Two: Fiction (I'm trying this one out. What the heck--it's free.)

Now you know why I love my Kindle! Every so often I go on a book "buying" frenzy and it costs me practically nothing. Actually, the real reason I love it is because it's truly helping me read more. I no longer have to annoy my husband with my reading light because the Kindle light is way less obtrusive to others in a room. He gets to sleep while I get to read!

I've had other book-gathering frenzies for my Kindle, which I'll share another time. But use this list to take advantage of freebies while they last if you have a Kindle, or check Project Gutenberg.

Happy Reading!!

Using Your Talents

"Don't be satisfied with a mere feeble measure of spiritual life. Strive to have the abundant life and to be well-rounded Christians. Seek to have every power of your life developed to its utmost possibility and usefulness."
J.R. Miller (from, 365 WWJD? by Nick Harrison)

As a co-leader of Greater Harvest Workshops, it is part of my responsibility to encourage our workshop participants to hone their God-given talents so they may use them in His service.
The workshops are primarily for writers, speakers and (ministry)leaders; but each one of us has been given unique talents to use uniquely--for God.

Have you given any thought lately to the unique talents that God has endowed you with? Joy comes from serving Christ with our gifts: the passions and skills and abilities He has given you. Read that again: JOY is found in giving them expression and using them for the Kingdom.

This is not the same thing as doing what other people ask or expect, unless those expectations are based on your God-given abilities. In addition, we all have things we MUST do in life that we are decidedly not passionate about, to say the least. But a "well-rounded" Christian will seek to hone and develop his or her unique gifts and talents to not only honor God, but to live the abundant life that He promises His followers.

What is one way you can develop a talent that you've kept buried for too long?
Ask God to open a door for you to use it. Today!
Remember the parable of the "talents"? The one servant who was AFRAID to use his talent buried it "for safekeeping," and the Lord described him as wicked!

Your gifts are not meant to be a burden, but a blessing--for you and for others. Consider one area that you are gifted in, and seek to use that gift this week to bless someone else's life.
The blessing will pursue and overtake you, too. : )

Whatever You Do...

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23


When I thought about this verse today, I realized that the principle here, of working as to GOD and not man, reflects one of the first "commandments" of effective time management. When I teach a workshop on How to Write A Novel, I tell writers that the biggest and most effective thing they can do to reach the goal of novel writing is to FOCUS unswervingly from it. To work at it consistently, and without allowing distractions to get in their line of vision. Is not this the same as working at it "with all your heart"?



In this small verse, the Lord gives us one of the MOST effective principles to live by, period. Even people who live ungodly lives, if they follow this idea, of working at something with all their heart, can accomplish great goals.

This does not mean that we develop tunnel vision and ONLY work at one goal; it does not mean that we spend all our time obsessed with one idea. We can approach every area of our lives with the hope and privilege of bringing it to the feet of Christ, offering it to Him, and working towards improvement in that area for Him, and not man.

Think about something you have wanted to improve at, something that has long been on your heart but which you have not focused on, or made holy through consecration to the Lord. Can you think of one thing, one goal, one aspiration that has been on the back burner but needs to be brought forward? Perhaps you have a few things on the burners of your life, and they all need to be consecrated?

Give those things to the Lord today; do it right now.
Ask Him to empower you as you offer them to Him, that you may work as unto GOD and not man. Thank Him for the help and improvement you will receive.

And, if your goals are not in line with what God would have you do, ask Him to help you give them up, period. Life is too short to spend it on the wrong pursuits.

Whatever you do today, do it as unto Him!

Today's image from www.readthespirit.com

Does Beautiful Equal Thin?


Today's broadcast on Nancy Leigh DeMoss's "Revive Our Hearts" show discusses this with a youth pastor's wife who came out of bondage on this issue. I used to be there, just like her, and even now, I struggle with weight issues when it comes to self-worth. But I am far healthier than I was when I was stick thin.

I once caught a glimpse of myself by accident when I was walking down a busy sidewalk in Queens, NY. There was a wall that was mirrored, and I glanced ahead, not realizing it for a second. I saw a thin, lovely woman. Then I realized it was ME, and the image changed instantly. Right before my eyes, I gained weight. Because my self-image was not the same as my true image.

It was really never a weight issue, however, but a heart issue.

Like Erin on today's show, I never felt thin, even though I was. And I certainly did not feel beautiful.

Have you found your beauty in Christ? Have you discovered how he imbues us with value and yes, beauty, by indwelling us?

Take a listen or read the transcript:

Does beautiful equal thin? What does God think? http://bit.ly/a38gHl

I'm furiously at work on my next novel, which leaves me short on time for blogging. Until I meet this deadline with my agent, I'll be sharing mostly short, succinct posts or quotes from my personal collection. If I can team up a quote with a scripture, I'll do so.

When read often, encouraging quotes can be quite powerful, and scripture, of course, never returns to God void. In other words, it has inherent power. Use it in your life daily!

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
Thomas A. Edison

And, "With God, all things are possible."
Matthew 19:26