Christmas Miracles by Karen Kingsbury

 

Do you believe in miracles?  Although I am an engineer and work in a fact-based science world, I do believe in miracles.

Christmas Miracles is a short collection of true stories of miracles that took place during the Christmas season.  I love this description on the back of the book, “We have all experienced miracles.  An incredible chance encounter that changes everything . .. help that suddenly appears from nowhere . . . kindness handed to us when it is least expected.”  These stories were the type that brought shivers down my spine when miraculous events happen.

The author had the first story, “Have I Told You Lately.”  Her father was dying, and he discovered the song “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” by Rod Stewart.  He called his family members and played the song for them to let him know how he loved them.  After he passed, his family members would hear the song during special moments or birthdays on the radio through the years.  When visiting New York City, Karen ran into Rod Stewart at a park out of the blue.  She told him the story of her father and he said that she didn’t know how much that meant to him right now at that moment.  They later reconnected on a TV show, and both told their stories.

I read this book one evening before bed and found it to be very inspirational. It was the perfect book to put me into the Christmas spirit and to realize how God works through mysterious ways.

Favorite Quote:

“I’ve learned over the years that there are some things we on Earth cannot explain when it comes to medical healings.  I like to call them miracles.”

Book Source:  Review copy from Hachette Book Group / Faithwords. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

Title: A Baxter Family Christmas
Author: Karen Kingsbury

Read by: January LaVoy & Kirby Heyborne

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 4 minutes
Source: Simon & Schuster Audio Digital Review Copy – Thank-you!

A Baxter Family Christmas is a wonderful family Christmas story that offers hope, sadness, joy, and love all in one story.  John Baxter’s daughter Erin, her husband, and three of their daughters died in a horrific car accident two years previously.  One daughter survived and lives with Erin’s sister Ashley and her husband Logan.  Erin’s heart lives on in another, Kendra Bryant.  John decides to invite Kendra to the Baxter family Christmas Eve party and this causes much conflict in the family.  Will the Baxter family be together this Christmas Eve or driven apart by this conflict?  Will Kendra Bryant be able to put her life back together with her husband Moe after this surgery?

I enjoyed all of the characters in this novel and thought it was set up well for a person like me who had never read a Baxter family book.  I really enjoyed the main story of Kendra and her invitation to the family Christmas.  The family has gone through hardship and loss – what does it mean to lose an integral part of your family and how do you move on?  There is also a sweet romance between 18-year old Maddie West (daughter of Brooke Baxter West) and 19-year old college student Connor.  They have a misunderstanding as Maddie tries to work through guilt on something that happened in the past to her sister that she feels responsible for.  I also enjoyed that this was a Christian novel and faith was a large part of the novel.  It’s faith that ultimately gets everyone through their hard times.

One annoyance I had with this audiobook is that is started with an endless stream of thanks by the author.  For an audiobook, this would be better placed at the end of the book.  I listened to five minutes of thank-yous and then remembered there was a fast-forward button and skipped to the next section.  Luckily the next section was a review of who all of the characters are in the Baxter Family.  It is apparently a very long running series and being new too it, this was invaluable to me to set the stage for the story.  I liked how the narrators switched depending on if it was a male or female point of view – they had unique voices which kept me engaged in the story.  I also liked how there was a large section at the end with recipes from the story.  I love recipes!  Karen Kingsbury also announced that the Baxter family will be on TV – I definitely need to read more of this series and check out the show.

Overall, A Baxter Family Christmas is a wonderful family Christmas story that I greatly enjoyed.  It was a wonderful holiday audiobook that really put me in the Christmas spirit!

Chasing Sunsets (Angels Walking #2) by Karen Kingsbury

Title: Chasing Sunsets (Angels Walking #2)
Author: Karen Kingsbury

Read by: January LaVoy and Kirby Heyborne

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 14 minutes
Source: Simon & Schuster Audio Digital Review Copy – Thank-you!

What if you were to become the mother of an important child for all of humanity and you didn’t know it? What if angels were sent from God to watch over you and to fight the forces of evil to ensure that you would become the mother of this child?  This is the basic premise of Chasing Sunsets.

Jag is an angel that had a mission ten years before that ended in tragedy. He is trying to make up for that on this current mission.  With gangs running around LA causing senseless violence, Jag has a hard time controlling his rage and keeping with the forces of good.  He has a partner, Aspyn, who helps to intervene and stop tragic events.

Mary Catherine is a wealthy young woman who is living life to the fullest.  She has a heart condition that leaves her not knowing if the next day will be her last.  She devotes her life to charity, but starts to have strong feelings for Marcus, a pitcher for the LA Dodgers.  Although Marcus appears to return these feelings, Mary Catherine doesn’t want to embark on a relationship with her health in peril.  Together Mary Catherine and Marcus help Lexie, a young teenage girl and girlfriend of Dwayne, a wannabe gang leader who attempted to murder Marcus.  Lexie feels like there is no future for her outside of the gang, but with the help of Mary Catherine, Marcus, and her incarcerated mother, Lexie starts to learn that there is more to life than being part of the gang and that she has the possibility of a different future.

I thought this audiobook had a riveting storyline.  I thought this was much stronger than book one.  The Angels had more of a personality and were better-rounded.  They played a more integral role in the storyline.  I particularly loved Jag and his struggle with remaining good and not seeking vengeance.  I also really enjoyed Lexie’s storyline as well.  It was a painful story, but also one of hope.  I sadly missed the very end of this book as my audio file must have been corrupted.  I need to find a hard copy to find out what happened on the last few pages!  I also enjoyed that Tyler and Sami were back from Book #1.  I think this book stands on its own, but there is enjoyment from knowing more of the background of the characters if you’ve read book one.

I enjoyed the start of the audiobook, I enjoyed the thanks at first and they even brought a tear to my eye . . . until they seemed to go on forever.  They went on for ten minutes and I’ll admit I skipped forward.  I think this would be more appropriate for the end of an audiobook than the start of one.  Otherwise, January LaVoy and Kirby Heyborne were great narrators and it was a perfect story to keep me entertained and awake on my hour long commute to work.

Overall, Chasing Sunsets was a powerful book with an intriguing storyline.  I really need to read book three!

Winner of Miracles by Karen Kingsbury!

The winner of Miracles by Karen Kingsbury is RubynReba.  Rubynreba has been notifed via email and has one week to respond with her mailing address before a new winner would be drawn.  Rubynreba was determined to be the winner through the use of random.org.  Congrats to Rubynreba!

Thank-you to Hachette Book Group for allowing me to review this truly inspiring devotional and for allowing me to host this great giveaway.  Thank-you to all who read my review and commented for a chance to win.

Sad you didn't win?  I will have another giveaway up shortly and will have another one or two up before November ends.  Stay tuned!

Miracles by Karen Kingsbury Review and Giveaway!

Miracles is a book that brought a tear to my eye on more than one occasion.  It is a 52-week devotional.  It is basically 52 short stories that detail different miracles complete with Bible verses.  These stories were very, very moving and inspiring.  I summarized just a few at dinner with my family this weekend, and my kids were all riveted.

A couple of my favorite devotionals included stories of miracles that occurred for those that were struggling with being able to have children, or those whose lives were saved through miracles, and also friends and family that were separated because of misunderstandings, but then were reunited in a miraculous way.  One of my favorite stories was a doctor that came home after a long day and was stopped by a little girl that said her mother was in trouble.  The doctor went with her to her home and helped out her mother.  The mother asked how she knew she was in medical distress and the doctor responded that her daughter had told her.  The mother said that her daughter had died a few months ago.  The doctor saw the same little girl coat hanging up that the girl had worn to come and get her.  The angel of the little girl was watching over the mother and went for the doctor providing a miracle for the woman.

I also loved one explanation in the book when a woman wonders why God saved her from an accident that killed many others.  Her father replied that God has a different time for everyone to be called home to heaven and it was not her time.  I loved thinking about it like that.  Some people are just wanted in heaven sooner than others.

Overall, I loved Miracles by Karen Kingsbury.  It is a wonderful devotional about true miracles that have taken place through God that are inspiring and emotional to read.  I have a few people on my Christmas list that I am going to buy this book for!

Source:  Review Copy from Hachette Book Group – Thanks!

Giveaway

 One lucky winner will receive a copy of  Miracles by Karen Kingsbury courtesy of Hachette Book Group.  If you would like to win Miracles, please leave a comment on why it sounds interesting or about a miracle that you have witnessed.

 

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. 

 

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments. 

 

This contest is only open to US  residents (Sorry!). 

 

No P.O. Boxes. 

 

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday November 6th!

 

Please make sure to check the second week of November to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

 

Good luck!