book giveaway Archives - The Mom Maven

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You Giveaway

cindy — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:30:38 +0000

We are half way through the first month of the new year. Many of us are finding our enthusiasm to keep our healthy New Year’s Resolutions waning. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You is just the book we all need to give us inspiration to keep exercising and eating right.

Rebecca Hill was so embarrassed about her nightly consumption of room service cheeseburgers that she left the empty trays outside other hotel guests‟ doors. Douglas Brown started off one step at a time, climbing the stairs to his office each day,after being rejected for life insurance for being 80 pounds overweight. Kimberly Hutmacher lost 20 pounds in two years by going on a strict diet for one month, February, because she knew she could “be good” for one whole month, especially if she picked the shortest one!

With 101 powerful success stories, there is an idea that will work for everyone in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You. The book is filled with personal stories that will encourage and inspire readers, with positive, practical, and purposeful tales of dieting and fitness.

I have 3 copies of this inspirational book to give away to US readers. The giveaway ends at 12:00am on 1/31/13.

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Disclosure: I received nothing in exchange for this giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine. This post uses affiliate links.

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Does this Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen Book Review and Giveaway

cindy — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:34:09 +0000

I am an avid reader. My favorite genre is Christian fiction but I have read a lot of the classics and a wide array of other genres over the years. Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems piqued my curiosity and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

About the Book

What does it mean to give church a try when you haven’t really tried since you were twelve? At the end of her bestselling memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family and her roots, though her future felt uncertain. But when she starts dating a churchgoer, this skeptic begins a surprising journey to faith and love.

Rhoda doesn’t slide back into the dignified simplicity of the Mennonite church. Instead she finds herself hanging with the Pentecostals, who really know how to get down with sparkler pom-poms. Amid the hand waving and hallelujahs Rhoda finds a faith richly practical for life–just in time for some impressive lady problems, an unexpected romance, and a quirky new family.

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? is for people who have a problem with organized religion, but can’t quite dismiss the notion of God, and for those who secretly sing hymns in their cars, but prefer a nice mimosa brunch to church. This is the story of what it means to find joy in love, comfort in prayer, and–incredibly, surprisingly–faith in a big-hearted God.

My Thoughts

As I said before, I was looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, it let me down in just about every way it could. The story was very choppy and often hard to follow. Janzen jumps around a lot from past to present and the present spans a few years that take place not necessarily in order. It seems like whenever she was reminded of an old story she would just write it wherever she was in the book, even if it didn’t flow with the rest of the story. Janzen is her own main character and they both are English professors and as such they both like to show off their vast vocabulary. Unfortunately in the story most of Rhoda’s flowery vocabulary is unnecessary and makes the text annoying, if not difficult to read-even for me.

I appreciated Rhoda’s journey to real, personal faith in God. I love how it is Mitch, her reformed drug dealer boyfriend, who shows her what unconditional love is. I also appreciate the fact that God’s Word doesn’t return void and what Rhoda learned as a Mennonite child comes full circle as she makes her public profession of faith as an adult.

There are good points to the book, as you can see, but it is not one I enjoyed reading, but you might.

The Giveaway

One reader of The Mom Maven will win their own copy of Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems. This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. The giveaway will end at 12:01am on November 5, 2012.

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for the review. All opinions are 100% mine.

The post Does this Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen Book Review and Giveaway appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Thanks Mom-Giveaway

cindy — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:13:29 +0000

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom 101 Stories of Gratitude, Love and Good Times is a wonderful tribute to one of the most important woman in our lives, Mom.
We all know that a mother’s job is never done, but in Thanks Mom, she gets the praise she deserves. Children of all ages share their words of gratitude and appreciation in this new collection of stories for moms. Daughters and sons retell tales of love and learning, celebrating moms, their wisdom, and all that they do. These stories of special memories, loving and hard lessons, unforgettable moments, laughter and tears, support and encouragement will bring any mom joy, inspiration, and amusement. Mothers of all ages, whether new moms, experienced moms, or grandmothers, will feel good about the recognition they receive.
The stories are divided into sections including: Following in Her Footsteps, Mom Knows Best, Favorite Moments, Mom to the Rescue and What Goes Around, you are guaranteed to laugh, cry and totally relate with the stories in this collection.

As my Mother’s Day gift to you I am giving away 1 copy of this book to a reader of TheMomMaven.com! Since this is a Mother’s Day I’m going to make it easy to enter.

Mandatory 1st Entry-leave me a comment telling me why you want this book. Is it for you? Your mom? A friend? Just tell me who and why.

Bonus Entries-

Subscribers (new and current) get 1 entry
Google Friend Connect Followers (new and current) get 1 entry
Networked Blog Followers (new and current) get 1 entry
Tweet this up to 3x a day for 1 entry each tweet (leave the tweet url in the comment) I want to say “Thanks Mom” with @MomMaven ‘s Mother’s Day giveaway! http://bit.ly/9XI8s5

This giveaway ends Monday, May 10th at 7pm. US entries only. The winner will be chosen by Random.org

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings

cindy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:56:42 +0000

The next book in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series that I am giving away is Count Your Blessings. This follow-on book to Tough Times, Tough People continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope in these difficult times. These inspirational stories remind us that each day holds something to be thankful for – whether it is having the sun shine or having food on the table. Power outages and storms, health scares and illnesses, job woes and financial insecurities, housing challenges and family worries test us all. But there is always a silver lining. These stories of optimism, faith, and strength remind us of the simple pleasures of family, home, health, and inexpensive good times.

I love reading books that challenge me and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings did just that. It challenged me to stay positive and it encouraged me to remember that even when I am down, if I count my blessings my attitude will improve even when my circumstances don’t change.

The 101 stories of Gratitude, Fortitude, and Silver Linings are broken down into several categories including:

Expressing Gratitude
Recovering from Adversity
The Joy of Giving
I’ve Got What I Need
A New Perspective
and many more

One of my favorite stories in this collection is “Hurricane Hummers” not because I too survived the 2004 Florida hurricane season but because the story’s deeper meaning shows how God is in the details and He wants to give us the desires of our hearts.

I have a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings to give away. The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday February 24, 2010 at 10:00pm by random.org.

Mandatory 1st entry

Leave me a comment telling me some of your blessings.

Bonus Entries Leave a separate comment for each one

Subscribers get 1 entry
Public Followers get 1 entry
Facebook Fans get one entry http://bit.ly/bq7iMs
Tweet this ” Count Your Blessings and win with @MomMaven http://bit.ly/dj94uN #giveaway” (you may do this 1x a day)

Good Luck!

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