Deseret Book 2014 Gift Guide for the History Lover

ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX /SEVEN / EIGHT 

I wanted to share some of my favorite reads this year. A few of them I read last year, but all of these would make an excellent Christmas Gift. 

If I had to choose my top favorite book out of these eight books, it would be the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. This book is probably my favorite book I've ever read right after The Standard Works. I really loved it that much. This book is incredible. The version of the book that I read was a very old print. I bought mine at a second hand store for twenty-five cents. Now that is a steal. The link I have shared here is an updated version of the book. 

I absolutely loved Surviving Hitler and I also was swept away by The Savior in Kirkland. Every single one of these books was fabulous. I HIGHLY recommend all of them.

*I'm lucky enough to be the receiver of most of these books for free. I purchased the Autobiography of Parly P. Pratt on my own. I received these books in exchange for my honest opinion. I've already shared reviews in the past on most of these books.

Does This Insecurity Make Me Look Fat?

Don't let the humor in the title of this book make you discount the powerful punch that its contents are packing.

Seriously.

I loved reading this book.
I was so completely taken of guard when I read it.
Every page surprised me.

Michelle Wilson shares some very personal experiences about humility, insecurity, uncertainty, self-doubt, lack of self-worth and serious pity-parties. And you will feel at times like she is inside your head.

"Ya mean, other people out there feel the same  way I do?

...who woulda' thunk?"

She does an incredible job of using personal experiences from her life and creating unique little "AFTA" (chapter one) lessons that WE all can relate to.

This book might be the perfect dose of "self help" that we all need, a little reality check for us all.

Michelle has crafted this book into this simple little "pep talk" and check list that we can all use to realign our perspective on ourselves, our self-worth, our purpose, and our destiny.

She says...

Heavenly Father knows our longing. I believe he gave us feelings of longing to draw us back to Him, a way to lead us to the truth. In our darkest moments,when the minutiae of life no longer seem important, when we are stripped of pride and pretense, when we are in the throes of a massive pity party, we face our one intense desire: to know our purpose and our worth...as we find answers to that deeply planted longing to know who we are and where we came from, we find perspective and purpose. We find ourselves.

Let's be honest. It can be easy as a wife and mother to sometimes forget who we really are in the monotony of making beds, changing diapers, trying to get a shower in, and trying to find your toothbrush in the bottom of the drawer. "Oh wait, did I get my deodorant on today? My bra?"

But Michelle points us in the right direction. She shows us the power of choice. She shows us what our Heavenly Father see's in us, and she uses incredible analogies to do it.

I'm most certain that Michelle and I could be the Best of Cyber Friends. She is wonderful and a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed her writing so much...I wish I could take her to lunch and pick her brain some more. She even lives in Washington State where I served as a missionary!

Michelle's Blog    Michelle's g+   Michelle's Facebook Page

Purchase your copy HERE AT DESERET BOOK

I can't wait to see what she writes next.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Enter to win this great book on my Facebook Page!!!

The Not Even Once Club

I'm going to tell you about a new book that I think EVERY house should have a copy of. If you have kids, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, if you teach primary or Sunday school, this book needs to be in your home. And I am not just saying this because Deseret Book sent me a free copy to look over. This book was just what my home needed.

We introduced this book at Family  Home Evening a few weeks ago. 

This is usually what Family  Home Evening looks like at our house. We sing songs, share talents, learn a new scripture and have a lesson. We all take turns. Some lessons are well prepared and others are thrown together. But we do it every week and we have been very blessed because of this learning time together.

I was really excited to introduce Wendy Watson Nelson's new book as our lesson.  I read it a few times previous and knew it would be perfect for our family. 

In this beautifully illustrated book, Tyler moves into his new ward and meets his new Primary Class. Tyler's new friends invite him to their Primary class tree house and they give Tyler the secret password: "Not Even Once." Tyler then gets to visit the tree house and discovers all the amazing treasures inside. He is asked to become part of the club, but first he has to pass the test.

My kids were so engaged by this book. They understood it, they got the message and they too wanted to join the club.

From this moment on:

I will never break the Word of Wisdom, lie, cheat, steal, do drugs, bully, dress immodestly, or break the law of chastity. I will never intentionally look at anything pornographic on TV, the Internet, a cell phone, billboards, magazines, or movies. 

Not. Even. Once.

My Family loved this book. In the back of the book there is a guide for parents and children to help introduce these difficult topics in a way that they can understand. These helps simplify Modesty and Pornography for a younger age group like my family. I personally thing that kids are never too young to discuss these topics, but that doing so requires skill and prayer and direction from the Holy Ghost.

I mean it is a 

SCARY

NASTY

GROSS

world we are raising our children in and I want them to be surrounded by

BEAUTY

FAITH

LOVE

RIGHTEOUSNESS

and if we help our children put on the Armor of God, they will be ready for the battles that lay ahead.

There is a LINK included in the book that will allow you to print your own NOT EVEN ONCE POSTER. 

The Peterson Family is saying "NOT EVEN ONCE"!!!!

You can buy your own book at Deseret Bookstore, or you can enter my giveaway and get one for free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY!!!

All you have to do to be entered to win a copy of this book is visit my Blog's Facebook page and leave a Comment on the Post Titled The Not Even Once Club GIVEAWAY. Good Luck.

Enter>>>Here

Longing For Home & Giveaway!

  

I know that  I'm not the only one that has asked a friend to recommend a good book, only to find out as I start reading it, that it is filled with sexuality, pornographic images, foul language and violence. 

What has a girl got to do to find a good book to read? 

It is pretty frustrating and has honestly kept me from reading a lot. Shouldn't there be some sort of rating system for books? I would sure appreciate it. It is funny that people think it is okay to read that filth, while they preach never watching a rated R movie and such. What a contradiction.

Here is the good news. And I mean GOOD. Shadow Mountain publishing has a new line of books that you can read and that your teenage kids can read, without having to worry about the content. 

Breathe a sigh of relief people. They are calling their new line A Proper Romance.

I've read two of these books, both by different authors and loved them both. 

Most recently I read Longing For Home by Sarah Eden. It is wonderful. Well written, interesting, swoon-worthy, clean, and a wonderful read. I strongly recommend it. If you can trust me;) 

And if you don't trust me, visit the Longing for Home Book Tour and Read the review of other authors. I mean "In the mouth of two or three", right?

And the great news is that Amazon.com is running  an e-book special and you can download this book for $7.99 this month. Wahoo!!!

Download Longing For Home for $7.99

And in September Amazon will be having a sale on these titles:

Edenbrooke for $1.99 and Blackmoore for $7.99, also from A Proper Romance Line.

And Now For The Giveaway!

If you want to win a free copy, leave me a comment on my Facebook page and tell me one book you would strongly recommend!

ENTER TO WIN >>>>>HERE!!!

Pioneer Day & What I'm Reading!

Happy Pioneer Day!

I can hardly stand waiting for Pioneer Day. July is the best month ever. Not only do we get to celebrate Our Country's Independence, but we get to celebrate the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. 

Oh, how I love the Pioneers. I love their faith, their strength, their testimonies, their legacy and their stories.

My all time favorite Novel I've ready about the Pioneers is The Fire & The Covenant by Gerald N. Lund.

If you haven't read this book you MUST!!! It was SO AMAZING. Absolutely a fabulous book.

And I am currently about 100 pages away from finishing The Winds And The Waves by Dean Hughes. I am so excited to be reading this book on Pioneer Day. I was hoping to be able to finish it today, but I'm thinking that I am going to be too busy taking the kids to our Ward's Pioneer Day Celebration. I even bought a bike yesterday and I'm hoping to ride with the kids to the party.

I am enjoying this book so much, and the good news is that it is the first book in the new series called Come To Zion. The bad news is that the 2nd book doesn't come out until next summer. I hate waiting!!! Do you like reading Novel's about church history as much as I do? Seriously I can't get enough! 

I also read a great article on Dean Hughes today and you can find it {here}. The article discuses Dean Hughes research that does for writing the books, a little about the books and more about Dean. Really interesting. 

Kate and I snuggled up on the couch on Sunday night and watched 17 Miracles again together. I cry my eyes out every time I watch it, it never gets old. I feel such a gratitude for the sacrifices made by the pioneers who came before me! I am humbled so much by their faith, service and humility. I am lucky that my children have two of their own pioneers, their grandpa's, to look up to. Both of their grandpa's were converts to the church and are incredible examples of faithful, righteous priesthood holders. Love you Dad and Blake!

There is also a current DESERET BOOK COUPON CODE which is good for 30% off, so treat yourself to one of these books. 

Use code: SUMMER

Now go buy yourself something good to read!!!

Twilight!

Okay, could somebody please tell me how I missed the memo that told everyone in the world to read the book Twilight, but me? Everyone I mention it to has read the book? Well I read it and I loved it and I'm waiting for the next two books to arrive in the mail (can't wait). Ya, I'm a little embarrassed that I enjoyed a teen (Young Adult) book so much, and yes, also a little embarrassed that I enjoyed a book about Vampires, but oh my, I love that Edward Cullen! Please feel free to write me your own review if you have read the book!