Welcome to the A Token of Love Celebration Tour! #giveaway

 

About the Book

Book: A Token of Love

Author: Carrie Turansky

Genre: Fiction, Historical Romance

Release date: September 3, 2024

Separated by centuries, the lives of two women intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice.

In 1885 London, Lillian Freemont embarks on a treacherous journey to reunite with her long-lost niece, Alice, who was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital eight years ago. Fueled by her sister’s plea and armed with the gold token that identifies her niece, Lillian teams up with investigative reporter Matthew McGivern to expose the grim reality of the shadowed streets of London. As Lillian and Matthew unravel the mystery of Alice’s disappearance, their partnership blossoms into one of shared purpose and undeniable attraction.

In present-day London, Janelle Spencer finds herself unexpectedly running the Foundling Museum. When filmmaker Jonas Conrad arrives to document the museum’s history, their collaboration takes a surprising turn as they uncover articles from the past that shed light on a haunting connection to the present. As Janelle becomes caught between exposing the truth and protecting the museum’s reputation, she must decide if she can risk everything for what she believes.

 Marilyn's thoughts:   A Token of Love brings the past history of the Foundling Hospital in London during 1885 to the present Foundling Museum with the history being displayed. The dual timeline with courageous characters who risked their lives to find answers for the less fortunate brought tears and smiles as the tale unfolded to them finding villains behind the scenes causing undue stress, heartache and pain for those in need.

 

The events at the Foundling Hospital reflects how human trafficking has grown since then especially with lower social economic females who are captured into being sold into unpleasant situations. My heart broke at times in this touching read by Carrie Turansky, who included remarkable history and a lovely faith message. Fans of Historical Fiction with a faith based message will want to read this book to see the parallel to the happenings in our present day.

 

I received an early copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and Bethany House Publisher without any obligation to write a positive review. I have expressed my own thoughts.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of twenty-one inspirational novels and novellas and a winner of the Carol Award, the International Digital Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She loves traveling to England to research her Edwardian novels, including No Journey Too Far, No Ocean Too Wide, Across the Blue, and the Edwardian Brides series. Her novels have been translated into several languages and have received starred reviews from Christianbook.com and Library Journal.

 

 

 

 

More from Carrie

Come with me to London!

My latest novel, A Token of Love, is a dual-time story set in London during the late Victorian Era and present day. That prompted my husband and I to take a trip to London earlier this year. We were especially delighted to visit the Foundling Museum which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, the first children’s charity home in England. The Foundling Hospital and Foundling Museum tie the historical and contemporary plots together in A Token of Love.

Thousands of children were taken in by the Foundling Hospital when their mothers could no longer care for them. Some of the mothers left small items such as coins, thimbles, and pieces of jewelry with their infants as identifiers in the hope that if their situation changed, they might be able to return and reclaim their child. Those items were called tokens, and we saw several of them on display at the Foundling Museum.

Each token is unique and represents a mother’s love and desire to be reunited with her child. It was very moving to view them on display and think of all the heartache and hope behind each token.

More than two years ago, I saw an image of the tokens on Pinterest. That sparked my curiosity, and I followed the research trail to learn more about them. That led to the Foundling Museum’s website, which offers a treasure trove of information and personal stories about the mothers and children connected by those tokens. What I discovered helped me develop the characters and plot for A Token of Love. The story highlights one mother who gave her daughter into their care, then eight years later tries to reclaim her. But her daughter is missing, and that sets off a series of events that stirs all of London. Family drama, romance, inspiration, and a touch of mystery will make the story meaningful for readers.

If you like stories based on true events in history that will touch your heart and lift your spirit, then I think you will enjoy reading A Token of Love!

If you’d like to see more photos from my research trip to London and the Foundling Museum, I hope you’ll visit my website photo page!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 7

Maureen’s Musings, October 7

Books You Can Feel Good About, October 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 8

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 9

Connie’s History Classroom, October 9

Texas Book-aholic, October 10

Devoted To Hope, October 10

Simple Harvest Reads, October 11 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Live.Love.Read., October 11

Stories By Gina, October 12 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 12

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 13

lakesidelivingsite, October 13

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 14

Cover Lover Book Review, October 14

Lighthouse Academy Blog, October 15 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 16

Blossoms and Blessings, October 17

Holly’s Book Corner, October 17

Inspired by Fiction, October 18

Pause for Tales, October 18

Labor Not in Vain, October 19

To Everything There is A Season, October 20

Romances of the Cross, October 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carrie is giving away the grand prize of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of A Token of Love!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5461/

What Does It Mean To Be Blessed? By Sharon Musgrove #devotional

 What Does It Mean To Be Blessed?

By Sharon Musgrove

“’But don’t you have just one blessing for me, Father? Oh, bless me my father! Bless me!’ Esau

sobbed inconsolably.” Genesis 27:38 MSG

My family has been in the habit of saying bless you when one of us sneezes. To be honest, it has

never really meant anything other than acknowledging an involuntary bodily function. But when

our kids were small, and someone didn’t say bless you when they sneezed, they would flippantly

ask are there any bless yous!!? As if they had missed out on something owed them.

Similarly, in the story of competing twins, Esau and Jacob, Genesis 27 tells of a grown man

wailing, despondent that his rightful blessing has been given to his brother. Esau’s explosive

reaction to losing out on his father’s blessing is a bizarre and foreign response to us today in our

current, blessing-less culture. What was the significance of a blessing?

The first blessing recorded in the Bible is given by God when He created the creatures that filled

the ocean and the air. Genesis 1:22 says, “God blessed them: ‘Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!

Birds, reproduce on Earth!’” (MSG). The Creator repeats this blessing at the conception of

humanity.

“God blessed them: ‘Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the

sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of the Earth.’” Genesis 1:28

(MSG)

The word bless comes from the Hebrew word barak, which is literally translated to kneel. This

technical definition of barak is also used in Genesis 24:11 to describe the behavior of camels

kneeling down at the watering well, when Abraham’s servant went looking for a wife for his

master’s son.

So, how do we connect the dots between kneeling and a blessing?

In the beginning of the world, we see God giving living creatures, including humans, the go-

ahead to make more of themselves. To reproduce. And the Father has given His earthly beings

everything they require to succeed in doing so. In essence, God submits His authority so that we

can do as He has done and make more of what He has made.

This is God’s blessing: kneeling down so that others can step up in partnership with Him.

This transfer of responsibility is mirrored in the blessing Esau missed out on. His father, Isaac,

relinquished his patriarchy and handed the keys of the family legacy over to Jacob, leaving Esau

with nothing. Remember, Abraham’s legacy of God’s favor had been passed to his son Isaac.

Esau expected Isaac would turn over God’s legacy to him. Esau bawled because the fame and

fortune of his family line were not his right.

Esau had a heart of entitlement, resulting in hatred when did not get what he felt was his right. In

Jesus’ day, the Pharisees modeled that same spirit.

But the life of Jesus modeled what the Holy Father initiated in creation. Jesus lived a life of

servitude, bending down to lift others up. Humility being the blessing posture.

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but

didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter

what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status

of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly

humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life

and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that – a crucifixion.”

Philippians 2:5-8 (MSG)

This passage in Philippians reminds us that we have been blessed via Christ’s acts of service.

And we’ve been handed an invitation into God’s Kingdom as a partner. There is nothing we have

done to earn that right, in fact, we’ve done all the bad things that should get us uninvited!

Nonetheless, the blessing stands. The opportunity remains: do as He has done and make more of

what He has made.

Blessings may have been lost culturally, tossed around without meaning, but God’s Kingdom

still offers us the ability to be as He intended us to be...a blessing. This was the order that was set

at the onset of life: that God’s creation would, like Him, kneel down in order to lift another up.

Author Bio:

 

Sharon has been writing and teaching biblically based curriculum, Bible studies, and devotionals since 2007.    

 

She has had the unique position of writing curriculum and teaching for two private, Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served women in the homeless community.

 

Sharon has traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the rural Maasai communities. She’s been privileged to speak in Leadership camps intended on encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often abused young women.

 

Within these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its transformative power has become her passion.

 

Sharon and her husband, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown children. 

 

Currently, Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, but prefers sharing face to face. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ministry. 

 

~*~

Connect with Sharon:

Website: Sharonmusgrove.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonmusgrove_untethered/

 

Cornered: (Thriller Romantic Suspense 3-in-1 Novella Collection) by Lynette Eason, Lynn H. Blackburn, Natalie Walters

 Preorder your copy now!

Cornered: 

(Thriller Romantic Suspense 3-in-1 Novella Collection) 

by Lynette Eason (Author), Lynn H. Blackburn (Author), Natalie Walters (Author)

In In the Dark by Lynette Eason, accountant Steph Cross is cleaning out a coworker's desk after her untimely death when she finds cryptic notes that lead her to believe her friend's car accident was no accident at all. Detective Tate Cooper is determined to help her crack the case before someone else gets hurt. But can he protect the woman who has so quickly laid claim to his heart?

In Downfall by Lynn H. Blackburn, chef Cassie Quinn gets an offer she can't refuse: to fill in as chef at an exclusive mountain resort. But when the kitchen is destroyed and it becomes clear Cassie is in danger, she's forced to accept the help of her ex-boyfriend, Detective Donovan Bledsoe, to find the culprit and keep her safe.

In Perilous Obsession by Natalie Walters, teacher Lahela Young becomes the target of someone with a twisted obsession of righting a wrong. The first person she turns to is her good friend Briggs Turner. Briggs may have left his career as a police officer, but he still has the instinct to protect--especially for Lahela.

My thoughts:  Cornered is a three-story novella collection by three different authors. Each story is standalone.  I really enjoyed the first two stories in the book written by some of my favorite romantic suspense authors.  They were my favorite stories. The third story is a new to me suspense writer (but I did recognize her name) and I enjoyed that story as well.   If you like to read novellas and romantic suspense you will definitely want to read this collection.  I was immediately engaged and couldn't put the book down. I had to read to find out what happens next. I was given a copy free and all opinions are my own.

Welcome to the Trail to Love Celebration Tour! #giveaway

 

About the Book

Book: Trail to Love

Author:Susan F. Craft

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: September 17, 2024

A widowed father…a heartbroken nanny…and a wagon train journey that will change their lives forever.

Since the death of her fiancé, Anne Forbes has given up on the life she thought she’d have. After taking a role as nanny to her two young nephews, she’s grown close to her brother’s family—a replacement for the one she never had the chance to start. But when she accompanies them on the wagon trail to their new life in South Carolina, a handsome and gallant widowed father who’s also part of the group catches her eye and her heart, making her wonder if God might have plans of love for her after all. If only the beautiful woman the man escorts didn’t have her sights set on him.

Michael Harrigan never considered remarrying after the death of his wife. No woman could ever compare. But when he meets the gentlehearted Anne while escorting his sister-in-law on their journey to the Blue Ridge Mountains, he’s taken aback by Anne’s lovely voice and her compassion. As they face the trials and adventures of life on the trail, he finds himself open to the idea of marriage for the first time in many years.
But when disaster strikes the wagon train, Michael and Anne must work side-by-side to save lives. In the midst of their struggles, can they find a way to abandon their separate trails of grief and hardship for the trail to love?

 Marilyn's thoughts:       Trail to Love is beautifully penned with excellent historical research, faith, adventures, realistic and fun characters. Each character had fortitude and strength to accept the challenges they endured on their Great Wagon Road journey to establish a new life.

 

This tale is set in 1753 that brought another wagon group traveling to the Blue Ridge Mountains with some stopping at other settlements to make a fresh start to their lives in the America Colonies. Anne’s and Michael’s story grabbed me from the start and tugged at my heart with all the hardships they endured on the trail. It was remarkable how strangers worked together to help save and encourage others despite the losses. Michael’s gentleness and love for his daughter brought smiles. How will Anna fulfill her dream with the roller coast trials she faced?

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and Wild Heart Books without any obligation to write a positive review. I have shared my own thoughts.

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Susan F. Craft retired after a 45-year career in writing, editing, and communicating in business settings.

She authored the historical romantic suspense trilogy Women of the American Revolution—The Chamomile, Laurel, and Cassia. The Chamomile and Cassia received national Illumination Silver Awards. The Chamomile was named by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as an Okra Pick and was nominated for a Christy Award.

She collaborated with the International Long Riders’ Guild Academic Foundation to compile An Equestrian Writer’s Guide (www.lrgaf.org), including almost everything you’d ever want to know about horses.

An admitted history nerd, she enjoys painting, singing, listening to music, and sitting on her porch with her dog, Steeler, watching geese eat her daylilies. She most recently took up the ukulele.

More from Susan

A History of Buttons

In my Christian Historical Romance, my main character, Anne Forbes, is a tailor and seamstress. When she arrives in Philadelphia from Scotland in 1753, she visits several shops and is amazed by the huge supply of buttons.

Buttons have been around for 3,000 years. Made from bone, horn, wood, metal, and seashells, they didn’t fasten anything, but were worn for decoration.

The first buttons to be used as fasteners were connected through a loop of thread. The button and buttonhole arrived in Europe in 1200, brought back by the Crusaders.

The French, who called the button a bouton for bud or bouter to push, established the Button Makers Guild in 1250. Still used for adornment, the buttons they produced were beautiful works of art.

By the mid-1300s, tailors fashioned garments with rows of buttons with matching buttonholes. Some outfits were adorned with thousands of buttons, making it necessary for people to hire professional dressers. Buttons became such a craze that the Church denounced them as the devil’s snare, referring to the ladies in their button-fronted dresses.

In 1520 for a meeting between King Francis I of France and King Henry VIII of England, King Francis’ clothing was bedecked with over 13,000 buttons, and King Henry’s clothing was similarly weighed down with buttons.

In the 16th century, the Puritans condemned the over-adornment of buttons as sinful, and soon the number of buttons required to be fashionable diminished, though they were made from gold, ivory, and diamonds.

By the mid-1600s, button makers used silver, ceramics, and silk and often hand painted buttons with portraits or scenery.

The late 17th century saw the beginning of the production by French tailors of thread buttons, little balls of thread. This angered the button artisans so much that they pressured the government to pass a law fining tailors for making thread buttons. The button makers even wanted homes and wardrobes searched and suggested that fines be levied against anyone wearing thread buttons. But in la Guerre des Boutons, it’s not clear that their demands went beyond fining of tailors.

Towards the end of the 1700s in Europe, big metallic buttons came into fashion. At this time, Napoleon introduced the use of sleeve buttons on tunics. This time period saw the development of the double-breasted jacket. When the outside of the jacket was soiled, the wearer would unbutton it, turn the soiled surface to the inside, and re-button.

Thread buttons were used on men’s shirts and other undergarments from the late 17th into the early 19th century. Cheaper, they wouldn’t break when laundresses scrubbed and beat the material. They were also used on shifts and undergarments because they were soft and comfortable. Other types of thread buttons were death head buttons, star buttons, basket buttons, and Dorset buttons.  Some said that death head buttons were called that because they resembled a skull and crossbones, memento mori, a reminder that life is short and should be lived as well as possible.  Dorset buttons originated in Dorset in southern England where they became a cottage industry. Families, prison inmates, and orphans were employed in the manufacture of thousands of Dorset buttons each year, which were used throughout the UK and exported all over the world.

Bone button molds, slightly domed on one side and flat on the other, were common in the mid to late 18th century. Button molds were used to make both cloth and thread (passementerie) covered buttons.

Horn buttons were used mostly for spatterdashes and gaitered trousers. These strong durable buttons were competitive in price with other types but available in limited numbers in the 18th century since the making of them was slow.

Many colonial American buttons were made from seashells, wood, wax, and animal bones.  The bones were boiled for 12 hours, cut into small pieces, shaved around the edges and had a hole punched through them with an awl. The shape was up to the maker — round, oval, square, rectangular, or octagonal.

Brass buttons, functional and ornamental, were also popular in colonial America. In 1750 in Philadelphia, a German immigrant, Caspar Wistar, made brass buttons guaranteed for seven years. He later opened the first successful glass making factory in the colonies.

(I want to thank the William Booth Drapers of Racine, WI, for some of the information provided in this post.  Please visit their website at  www.wmboothdraper.com where you’ll find a treasure trove of books about 17th and 18th century fashion — shoes, slippers, hats, bonnets, buttons and trimmings, etc., and Packet books about sewing. Fantastic resource.  Thank you, William Booth Drapers.)

 

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 8

Simple Harvest Reads, October 9 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 10

DevotedToHope, October 10

Lighthouse Academy Blog, October 11 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 12

Texas Book-aholic, October 13

For Him and My Family, October 13

lakesidelivingsite, October 14

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 15

An Author’s Take, October 16

Blossoms and Blessings , October 16

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 17

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 18

Karen Baney Reviews, October 19

Holly’s Book Corner, October 19

Books You Can Feel Good About, October 20

Cover Lover Book Review, October 21

Pause for Tales, October 21

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5462

Flyover Church: How Jesus' Ministry in Rural Places Is Good News Everywhere by Brad Roth (Author)

 

Flyover Church: 

How Jesus' Ministry in Rural Places Is Good News Everywhere 

August 13, 2024

by Brad Roth (Author)

Christ is present and at work in rural communities. How do we lead from that reality?

The temptation to operate from a scarcity mindset is stronger than ever. The tensions unleashed over the past few years—which led to skepticism, breakdowns of trust, declining church attendance, and uncertainty around community ministry—continue to linger in and among our rural churches. Yet God’s loving, redemptive work is happening in all places, no matter how small or far-flung.

In Flyover Church, Brad Roth, the author of God’s Country, describes how rural ministry shares soul-deep commonalities with the church in every place. And he speaks a hopeful message into the distinct challenges—and promises—faced by rural communities. Tracing Jesus’ ministry and bountiful work among the small-town people and places in the gospel of Mark, this book offers a vision for ministry tailored to rural settings. Pastors and leaders everywhere will be encouraged to approach ministry from the reality of God’s abundance.

Steve's thoughts:    

The subtitle for this engaging ministry manual is, “How Jesus’ Ministry In Rural Places Is Good News For Everyone.”  And yes, I did indeed say “ministry manual.”  A disclaimer of sorts is in order: “Rural ministry is not for the faint of heart.” 

 

According to a 2021 study of more than 15,000 religious congregations by Faith Communities Today (FACT), 7 in 10 U.S. churches have 100 or fewer weekly worship service attendees.¹  And the number of rural churches is growing in number, if not in size.

 

Pastor and author Brad Roth ministers in one such church congregation, in rural central Kansas.  He grew up baling hay, tending sheep, and shearing Christmas trees on a farm in Illinois.  He’s writing from personal experience when he says, “Rurality isn’t a problem to be solved.  Rural is a way of life, a kind of culture.  We’re still here.”

 

What sets rural ministry apart is the communities themselves.  “There are formal responsibilities and contracts and job obligations in rural communities just like there are in cities and suburbs,” Pastor Brad writes, “but what really sets rural apart are the informal obligations and responsibilities that bind people together.”

 

Pastor Brad feels that ministry is not “task-based,” but is more “presence-based.”  In rural communities, the need to “get to know the people” is even more crucial than in urban or suburban ministries.  “Pastors have to be in, with, and for the community.”  “Showing up” and “staying put” are important concepts.  Loyalty is not optional. 

 

For Pastor Brad, the message hasn’t changed.  It doesn’t need to be rebranded.  The same gospel, the same methods that Jesus used to establish His church are the same.  But the rural community has its own mentality which must be understood in order to minister the Gospel effectively.

 

Using the Gospel of Mark as a backdrop, Pastor Brad “walks” the reader through the joys and challenges that are part and parcel of the rural community ministry.  Rural ministry avoids typical “measuring tools” that seem to be the bread and butter of urban and suburban ministry.

 

As a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the Anabaptist Mennonite Seminary, sometimes the author’s education gets the better of him.  But through it all, Brad Roth’s championing the cause of the rural church is a refreshing journey through the Flyover Church.

 

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my open and honest review.