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Archive for the ‘Promoting Friends’ Category

Skizzer By A.J. Kiesling

Posted in Book Reviews, Promoting Friends on June 10, 2008| 9 Comments »

“Something both terrible and wonderful has happened. I can’t explain now…” -Becca

After receiving news of her sister Becca’s abrupt disappearance, Claire Trowling must piece together the shadowy remnants of a past she’s long forgotten in order to find her. A cryptic note scrawled in Becca’s handwriting leaves more questions than it answers. When a stack of mysterious letters bound by a rare necklace is found, Claire races to discover the secrets that hold her family captive. Suspenseful and full of intrigue, Skizzer takes you on a transcontinental hunt for answers, weaving seamlessly between the distant past of childhood and the urgency of the present.

This was the first of my “summer of fiction” reads. While most of my blog tour books have focused on Chick-lit and Mom-lit, this one took me down the path of mystery and intrigue. A. J. Kiesling’s debut novel kept me turning pages as the story of two sisters and the secrets of their family’s past unfolded with heart breaking questions and discoveries mixed with hope in new beginnings, and the stirrings of reawakened love.

I was swept up into the adventures of the young Claire and Becca, imagining myself sitting on the lush grass of the beautiful English garden where they had visited as girls. I could see myself kicking up dust as I walked the dirt road to the old church on the grounds of the rectory. My heart beat faster while exploring the thick woods behind the house and meeting the old woman there. I smiled with appreciation at the awkward moments of young love and laughed at Becca’s dramatic and bold approach to life. I ached for Rainey (Becca’s husband) and his desperation to find her when she disappeared, and loved the friendship bond that Claire and Rainey shared as they worked together to track down the most beloved person in their lives. I cried at the revealing of Becca’s reason for disappearing and I thanked God for…wait…I’m not going to tell you. You’re going to have to read it for yourself. 🙂

I love a book that draws me into the story as if I’m a silent, invisible observer going through the events and emotions as they unfold right in front of me. A.J.’s characters are endearing while her descriptions of the landscape and settings of her tale made my heart long to remember my own childhood stomping grounds as well as the wish to visit someplace new and foreign to me – England’s tranquil countryside.

Skizzer was an adventurous, sweet, sometimes sad, and redeeming story and I’d love to give you the opportunity to win a copy of the book. Leave me a comment at the end of this post and I’ll put your name in the hat. This contest will be a bit shorter than usual because I leave for Camp Zenith on Saturday. I will announce the winner on Friday, June 13th along with the winner of Megan’s CD (It’s not too late to enter that contest – click here)

There is an additional contest being held at the tour host’s blog to win a $40.00 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice. Just visit Amy’s blog and leave her a comment answering this question:

What’s the most important thing you’ve ever lost and then found?

A.J. Kiesling will select the winning response based on originality and sizzle! Good Luck to you all! Amy also listed the schedule for the blog tour if you’re interested in reading what some of the other bloggers have to say about this book, which is available for purchase HERE.

A.J. (Angie) has worked in the Christian publishing industry since 1985 as an author and editor. She is the author of numerous books, including Skizzer (a novel, Revell), Where Have All the Good Men Gone? (Harvest House), Jaded: Hope for Believers Who Have Given Up on Church but Not on God (Revell), and Soul Deep: Prayers and Promises for Cultivating Inner Beauty (Barbour). She also ghostwrote Live Like a Jesus Freak (Albury), the popular follow-up to D.C. Talk’s bestseller Jesus Freaks.

Learn more about A.J. Kiesling and her other books on her website.

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Megan Isaacson

Posted in Music, Promoting Friends on June 6, 2008| 21 Comments »

I met Megan last summer through Dr. Zack and instantly knew we’d be friends. I believe we actually prayed her into our lives, but that’s a story for another day. She is one of the sweetest people I know and I’m glad to call her friend. Back in January when she was one of the first to find out about my miscarriage, she didn’t offer advice or answers, she just hugged me and told me she was sorry. She has continued to encourage me the past few months when we see one another each week. I bring this up because I have her CD and several of the songs really touch my heart. One in particular has been very healing for me. She wrote it long before we met, but the first time I heard it I wept like she was singing it for and to me. I’ve tried to figure out a way to put the song in this post, but I guess wordpress won’t allow the file. So the words are printed below and I’ll send you to her myspace page where you can listen to the song (and others) and even purchase it if you so choose. Her CD is also available on iTunes.

She has an amazing voice and heart for people and I’m so glad to know her! She’s currently working on her second CD project and God is growing her as a musician as she grows closer to Him, so please keep my friend in your prayers. When we had her over for dinner a few weeks ago, I grilled her about her music and life so I could write about her here, but her bio is so well written that I decided to use that instead.

Award-winning songwriter and lead worshiper Megan Isaacson is all about connecting the thirsty to the River of Life. Megan knows what it means to thirst. Growing up in a broken home, Megan tried to fill her emptiness with religion and music, but soon learned that only Jesus Christ could heal her wounds and satisfy her thirsty soul. She began to let the joy of the Lord be her strength and that joy has fueled a music ministry that has taken her all across the U.S. and beyond.

Megan hit the road with her music for the first time in 2000, when she traveled to Australia with the Continental Singers and has been on the move ever since. For four years she toured as an actress and worship leader with Dare 2 Share Ministries, Intl. She also served as the youth worship director at Grace Church of Arvada in Colorado. In 2005, Megan released her debut album, “Close”, produced by guitarist and producer Dave Beegle. This project included the song, “My Worship”, which was named Song of 2005 at the Gospel Music Association’s Music in the Rockies seminar. The following spring, Megan was honored to perform alongside Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Barlow Girl and others in the Songwriter Showcase during GMA Week in Nashville, Tennessee.

Now, as founder of River Wild Ministries, Megan is single-minded about inviting God’s people to quench their thirst with living water. In her words:

“My dream for this ministry is Psalm 69: 30-33: ‘I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad — you who seek God, may your hearts live! The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.’ (emphasis mine)

“We live in an age of boredom, depression, apathy – sometimes especially when it comes to Christianity. Even people who have been believers for years find it hard to ‘find God’ from day to day. To these hungry, tired, broken people, I believe God says ‘come.’ This is my heart’s cry: to reconnect the thirsty to the river of life – Jesus Christ. What does that have to do with worship? Everything. Only when we restore God to his rightful place – the center of our universe – and give him the glory he deserves, can we truly be satisfied. And I believe with John Piper that, wonder of wonders, ‘God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.’ Although we are strangers in a foreign land, we have not been forgotten by our God, who longs to satisfy us completely.”

Isn’t she amazing? I’ve been so excited to share my friend and her music with you. While her website is currently under construction, you can visit her myspace page and listen to a few of her songs there. She’s also on Youtube.

Her album “Close” made me laugh and cry. It’s available for purchase, AND I’m giving you the opportunity to win a copy of it here on MY Journey. Leave me a comment or email me to let me know you want it. As an added bonus, the first person to tell me what the song “You Had Me At Hello” is about, will get their name entered in the drawing twice. We’ll draw for a winner next Thursday, so go check her out on myspace, tell your friends and family about her, enter the drawing, and don’t forget to listen to the song that’s been a healing balm to my heart the past few months. Here are the lyrics:

Overrated
By Megan Isaacson

(Verse 1)
Tears form, you turn away
Words just won’t reach far enough
To explain away the pain
Your eyes search mine for answers
But all I can offer is this

(Chorus)
Answers are overrated, clichés fall short
When your world comes tumbling down
Even though your heart’s breaking this one thing’s sure
That the One who holds the universe is
holding your hand in His own

(Verse 2)
Fear and uncertainty
Fuel arguments made by your mind
Against your heart’s agony
But this battle’s not over
Sometimes the victory’s found in surrender

(Bridge)
I know it’s dangerous to dream of love
Or dare to hope for peace
But He who sees your pain has called your name
And purchased your release

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Taj McNamara

Posted in Promoting Friends on June 1, 2008| 2 Comments »

How do I even begin to talk about this incredible woman? Let’s see, we met in college as 18 year olds and spent many nights laughing it up with our fellow DOE club members. (A post coming on that little adventure sometime soon.) As Freshmen, Taj lived across the hall from me in the dorm. She was always a little…uh…crazy. I mean that with love and sincerity. We got along great because I’m loud, she’s deaf, and we both have fighter hearts. That has served us very well in life. I’ve never told her this before because the memory just came back to me as I am writing this, but one night I pounded on her door to borrow something. She wasn’t completely deaf back then, but she still didn’t hear me. The door was unlocked so I opened it and found her dancing around with her back to me, headphones in place, a paint brush in one hand and a multi-colored palette in the other. The landscape of the majestic Rocky Mountains was forming on the easel before her. She was oblivious to me as she hummed along to her music, cocking her head to look at her work as she danced. Every few seconds she’d dab a little more color on the canvas, then grab for her can of Coke. She was in her own little world and looked so…free. I laughed to myself and closed the door. Who was I to disturb her sanctuary?

Fast forward 18 years *gasp* and we’ve reconnected after little contact in between now and then. She’s still a fighter that’s living free and loving the mountains. Unfortunately we live on opposite sides of this beautiful state. One of these days we’ll see each other again. In the meantime, we Instant Message several times a week and we’ve really connected through some deep shared pain and long conversations about life, death, and faith. While I’ve been promoting friends, I wanted to share my story about Taj because she’s been an inspiration to me and because I’m so proud of her and all she has accomplished.

Taj has been through hell on earth. It’s my place to share her life story here, but I can say that I’m amazed she is still alive and feisty as ever. She’s been the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” kind of gal and made something of herself when she was being told what a disappointment she was by her family and “friends”. She is newly married to a terrific guy (yeah Tom) and has two beautiful daughters: Alex (14) and Logan (7). She is a proud (read busy) homeowner in Durango, one of the most beautiful parts of the state. But I’m trying to do more than make my college friend feel good, I’m also promoting her business.

Taj is the web-designer at the Durango Herald AND she’s running her own business doing graphic design for print and internet work as well as professional photography for everything from marketing to weddings and portraiture. Her fees vary depending on the type of work and travel involved, and she works with her clients to find something that gets them what they want for something they can afford. You can see some of her design work HERE until her website is up and running. She can be contacted with inquiries and to discuss her price list at tntmacnamara@gmail.com. Taj is deaf and doesn’t do phones, but she types 120wpm so if you email her, be prepared for a quick response. She’s also a fellow blogger: tomtaj.blogspot.com Call me biased, but I think Taj is really good at what she does. She is the one who designed our logo for SEVENS which our street kids love…and so do we. Thanks Taj! You’re amazing!

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And the e-book winner is…

Posted in Big Announcements, Promoting Friends on May 28, 2008| 2 Comments »

Congratulations Melinda! Your e-book is on it’s way!

Thank you to all who participated!

Be sure to visit Laura’s online shop!

More giveaways coming soon!

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Praying for the Chapman Family

Posted in Family, Growing Faith, Music, Prayer Requests, Promoting Friends, thinking things through on May 22, 2008| 7 Comments »

I’m interrupting my Promoting Friends Week for this special post. Keep entering to win the give aways. We’ll continue with the friends and give aways posts on Monday. I’m going to need a few days. Though I don’t know this family personally, my own pain is too recent and I am grieving with them right now.

Singer/Songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter Maria was killed last night. Her brother was backing out of the driveway and didn’t see her. I cannot imagine the horror of this situation and the pain they’re feeling right now. Please pray for their family. His music has been an encouragement to me and my family over the years. It has offered hope, challenge, comfort, wisdom, reminders to love those close to you, and so much more.

Before we were married, Benny and I knew we wanted to adopt someday and we had chosen China as our first adoptive country – before it became one of the biggest focuses of couple seeking international adoption. Several years ago Steven Curtis Chapman was at the Youth Specialties conference we were at and he sang his song When Love Takes You In and showed the video about adoption. It featured his daughter Shaohannah and it made both of us cry. We were so touched by it, and though it seemed to us at the time it was a sign to keep dreaming about our future Chinese daughter, I know now it was about a different kind of adoption.

I think we interpreted those messages and the overflowing compassion in a different way than God may have meant for us. I’m not sure if foreign adoption is still in our future, but I can tell you that we’ve already “adopted” hundreds of children, teens, and adults over our 15 years of marriage. God has placed so many brokenhearted people in our path and used us to show them that “love” and “home” and “family” can be real words in their vocabularies, and I am so grateful. We too have been adopted as sons and daughters into a family bigger than our own. Sometimes we need that reminder. I want to share the video he showed that night and the lyrics for the song. I hear it now and think of our friends on the streets.

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

I want to leave you with one more song. His latest hit single, Cinderella, was inspired by Maria and Stevie Joy, his two youngest daughters. I don’t know if God gave him this song for such a time as this, but I do know that God holds every tear we shed and He never abandons us. I cling to this truth for myself as well as the Chapmans and everyone who has grieved the loss of a child. Pray for comfort and joy for this family.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I’m sittin’ here wearin’ the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do,
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I’d approve of a dress
She says “Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She will be gone.

Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says “Dad, the wedding’s due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

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