First of all, thanks to everyone who participated, left comments, subscribed, tweeted, blogged, and joined in the fun. We will be offering more giveaways soon, so stay tuned into the blog.

The winner of the Romance Your Spouse 3-book set is Estela!

We'll be sending those out right away!


Reviewers Welcome:
This is an open call for reviewers that would like to post on Literary Discoveries. We have several spots open on the team and would welcome an inquiry if you are interested. Simply email me at christy{dot}broxton{at}gmail.

I look forward to welcoming you to the team!

Sometimes the best thing we can do for our spouse (or significant other) is to work on the relationship and remember to give it your best. This is especially true if you’ve been together for years.

Recently, I had the privilege of reviewing three books that help you do just that. Better still, thanks to the good folks at Multnomah Books* and Waterbrook Press*, I have a set of these same books to giveaway to one faithful blog reader.

Each of these three books focuses on a unique portion of the relationship, but all trace back to endeavoring to truly love one another.

In his new book Love as a Way of Life Devotional, best-selling author Dr. Gary Chapman will rouse a desire to let “love guide the way you respond to others in every situation.”

“These ninety short devotionals—perfect for reading on your own, with your spouse, or with a friend over coffee—deliver the inspiration and encouragement you need to make love a lasting habit.” As you delve into the book, applying its principles to your life, you will cultivate a new lifestyle of loving others built around the seven characteristics of authentic love.

Each devotional entry showcases biblical truths that guide a life of love, offering fresh insight and practical guidance in how to consistently love others. Over the course of three months, readers will learn to follow God’s lead as they practice the characteristics of a loving person: kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty.

Ideal as a gift or to read for personal enrichment, this little book will significantly impact all of your relationships – not just the one with your spouse or significant other.

I Do Again by Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs details the fascinating real-life story of a couple whose relationship seemed shattered beyond all hope until a spiritual awakening led them to reconsider their definitions of “happily ever after.”

With their professional success and adorable twin daughters, Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs looked like the perfect couple. But their polished facade “concealed a widening chasm between two people unable to connect on an intimate, soul level.”

“After years of frustration, Cheryl’s longing for emotional fulfillment led to an affair and, finally, divorce. Yet, incredibly, seven years later, Jeff and Cheryl once again stood at the altar, promising to ‘love, honor, and cherish’ one another. A new and vibrant love had risen out of the ashes of this family’s pain.”

“A riveting account of the power of prayer and redemption, this remarkable book offers renewed hope for even the most troubled marriages—and reveals why the rewards of restoration are well worth the wait.”

“Cheryl and Jeff are the founders of Hope Matters Marriage Ministries, and for the past several years they have shared their incredible story of a marriage restored with audiences across the nation.” Whether happily married or trapped in a troubled marriage, this book has the power to touch all who read it.

For Couples Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn combines two wonderful resources, For Women Only and For Men Only providing the perfect resource to help you understand what the woman or man in your life needs most.

“Since their debut, these revolutionary guides have sold well over a million copies, been translated into fifteen languages, and sparked many fascinating water-cooler conversations around the country. Now together in the For Couples Only boxed set, these books provide the perfect resource to help you understand what you never knew about the woman or man in your life.

Each volume is based on input from more than a thousand members of the opposite sex—including an unprecedented nationwide survey and hundreds of personal interviews. This innovative approach yields candid and surprising answers about everything you don’t “get” about your significant other—even what that person deeply wishes you knew. It also produces simple but groundbreaking awareness of how you can best love and support the one who is most important to you.

So whether you are newly dating or have been married fifty years, get ready to know each other in a whole new way. The adventure is just beginning!”

Purchase the books:

Win a copy of each of the books listed above:

As mentioned above, thanks to the folks at Multnomah Books* and Waterbrook Press*, we have one copy of each of the books to giveaway to a faithful blog reader. To win all three books in the prize set follow the guidelines below.

1. To enter simply leave a comment on this blog ~ any comment will do. That qualifies as one entry.
2. Tweet or blog about this contest and link to this post. Then comment here with the permalink for your blog entry or tweet. That qualifies for another entry.
3. Want two extra entries? Subscribe to or Follow this blog and you’ve got ‘em. Just let me know how you subscribed.

Giveaway Details:
The winner will be contacted by email. So, be sure to have it on your blogger profile or leave it in the comment.

You can enter until 5 pm Eastern on February 19, 2009. At that time the comments will be closed. The winner will be selected at random and announced on February 20, 2009.

Ready! Set! Leave a Comment!

*Both Multnomah Books and Waterbrook Press are divisions of Random House Inc.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Get your daily dose of blog giveaways, contests and free online sweepstakes from Sweeties Sweeps.

Concise, cross-referenced, and crucial – these are fitting descriptors for the Christian Writers’ Market Guide. Any aspiring Christian writer will save valuable time and effort by utilizing the tools and contacts gathered by Sally E. Stuart.

This year’s Guide is even handier with a CD-Rom included that features the full text of the book for easy searches of topics, publishers, and markets, as well as 100 pages of exclusive content including indexes and writing resource listings.

“For 24 years running, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide has remained the most comprehensive, complete, essential, and highly-recommended resource for beginning and veteran Christian writers, agents, editors, publishers, publicists, and those teaching writing classes.”

Completely updated and revised to feature the latest on…

• more than 1,200 markets for the written word
• 416 book publishers (32 new)
• 654 periodicals (52 new)
• 96 literary agents
• 100 new listings in Resources for Writers
• 226 poetry markets
• 316 photography markets
• 25 African-American markets
• and 166 contests (29 new)

The sheer volume of resources on the CD alone is worth more than the cost of the book. You will find links to Elements of Style, Freelance jobs, help for new writers, web page development, websites for locating quotes and information, legal guides, self-publishing information, tax help for writers, and so much more.

This book would be a great gift for your friends or a fantastic way to leverage your writing skills for greater profit and exposure. Every avenue is covered: from publishers to writing contests, the greeting card market to comprehensive lists of periodicals accepting submissions.

Truly worthy of the space it will occupy on your desk and guaranteed to not gather dust, this reference is one you will reach for time and again during your writing career.

Get a Copy of the Book:
Click below to purchase through Amazon.

Author Bio:

Sally E. Stuart is the author of thirty-six books and has sold more than one thousand articles and columns. Her long-term involvement with the Christian Writers’ Market Guide as well as her marketing columns for the Christian Communicator, Oregon Christian Writers, and The Advanced Christian Writer, make her a sought-after speaker and a leading authority on Christian markets and the business of writing. Stuart is the mother of three and grandmother of eight and lives near Portland, Oregon.

“For the first time ever, all of the statements Jesus made in the New Testament have been brought together and organized under more than 200 topics. When you want to know his will in a specific area of life, or you’re seeking the answer to a perplexing question, or you are desperate for his encouragement, comfort, or wisdom–you can easily find the help you need.
The moment you turn to the appropriate topic heading, you will have access to the breadth of Jesus’ teaching on that subject. You can also use this book as a guide for studying Jesus’ wisdom on any topic of interest, such as prayer, forgiveness, eternity, anger, temptation, relationships, grace, or knowing God.”

Although not a book you read from cover to cover, it is one you will reach for continually. A wealth of knowledge is contained within its pages, and during the time I’ve owned the book, it has come in handy on several occasions, proving useful in locating just the right passage of Scripture time and again. This book is an exceptional resource and one that any student of the Bible would desire to have in their personal reference library.

Perhaps more amazing than the topics covered in this book are the ones that aren’t. Out of curiosity, I would look to see what Jesus had to say on certain topics only to find there weren’t any entries pertaining to that subject. It certainly sheds new light on the issues of life that were closest to his heart, and allows you to see the depth of teaching on any subject of interest.

To Purchase the Book:
This book is available online at Amazon by clicking the link below or you can purchase it at most fine bookstores.

Practical and no-nonsense in its approach, you are certain to find this book informative and a ready reference as you embark on your wellness journey. While it revisits tried and true methodology for long term weight loss, it offers fresh perspective for those who have been in cyclical yo-yo dieting. The book affirms what we know to be true: diets don’t work for long-haul, life-sustaining weight loss. The focus rests clearly on lifestyle changes, choices, and the fact that you are truly the only one who can take steps to overcome years of deadly eating habits.

Accompanying the book is a 16 week “journal” to help you track weight loss and exercise goals. It is filled with motivational tips and exercise routines. While I have not completed it, I am looking forward to tracking the full 16 weeks of progress toward my personal weight loss.

I believe this would be an excellent resource for those who are tired of the fad diets and claims to quick and easy weight loss without lasting effects. This is the good old-fashioned “Eat Right and Exercise” method tweaked to focus squarely on choices and owning each decision you make for your personal health and wellbeing.

It is refreshing to read a book on weight loss from someone who has actually lost a LOT of weight herself and who has successfully kept if off using the same methods she is discussing in the book.

You can purchase the book by itself or with the accompanying Personal Fitness Trainer (journal). Here are the specifics as well as a synopsis of the book and Bio for the author.

Synopsis:
After years of failed diet attempts, Chantel Hobbs discovered the missing ingredient to permanent weight loss: to change your life, you first have to change the way you think.

She developed a balanced plan for exercise and nutrition and lost two hundred pounds. Now, through writing, speaking, and her work as a personal trainer, she inspires others to achieve far more than they thought possible.

In Never Say Diet, Chantel provides everything readers need to lose weight for good, including:

• Simple, step-by-step workout routines that fit into a normal weekday schedule
• A realistic approach to nutrition that helps people break their bondage to food
• Strategies for staying motivated when life takes unexpected turns
• Keys to dealing with discouragement by relying on God’s strength
• The secret to moving beyond past failures and getting over old excuses

Chantel helps readers make the five commitments that are necessary for changing their lives. Her high-energy, no-nonsense approach inspires readers to achieve results that last in body, mind, and spirit.

Personal Trainer: Her newest book, The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach, now allows readers to have Chantel show up each week to inspire, encourage, and energize them on the journey to a healthy life that centers on body, mind, and spirit.

This fitness guide helps readers set new weight-loss goals and create an exercise schedule that works in the midst of life’s constant demands. Readers will be inspired with Scripture, and they will welcome Chantel’s healthy eating plan with simple, energy-and-nutrition-packed recipes. Weekly checklists and personal evaluations direct readers in reaching their goals. Plus, Chantel’s personal and entertaining stories provide the motivation needed to get through even the most frustrating days.

With Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach readers will establish new fitness habits that burn off excess weight, increase strength, and establish a new, healthy way of living.

Author Bio: Chantel Hobbs is a personal trainer, certified spinning instructor, and motivational speaker whose no-excuses approach to fitness has won her a grateful following across the country. The author of Never Say Diet, Chantel hosts a weekly fitness program on Reach FM radio and is a regular guest on Way FM. Her “Ditch the Diet, Do the Weekend” bootcamp takes place several times a year in a variety of locations. She has presented her unique approach to lasting fitness in People magazine and on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox News, The 700 Club, Living the Life, and Paula White Today. Chantel enjoys life with her husband and their four children in South Florida.