Sandcastle Kings | November Book Club

The holidays are just around the corner and so many books are about religion and God.  In my November book club selection, Sandcastle Kings.  Rich Wilkerson uses powerful stories from the bible and relates them to everyday life and how we can truly find happiness in this very crazy world.  

The world seems to have figured out the formula for manufacturing material success, but when it comes to finding true, lasting happiness, we are as lost as ever. We yearn for more, or less, or something that's just different from what we have right now. Deep down we know there must be satisfaction for our longing. We just don't know where to find it.

In Sandcastle Kings, Rich Wilkerson uses four powerful stories from the seventh chapter of Luke to explain why spiritual fulfillment cannot be found in ourselves, in other people, in material things, or even in religion. Wilkerson wants you to understand that the only answer for your spiritual bankruptcy is Jesus and that until you turn to him you we may never experience the lasting peace and joy that we all hope and pray for.

CLICK HERE to purchase Sandcastle Kings.

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Rich Wilkerson makes religion cool. Especially for the millennial generation which is so busy living in a past-paced, tech-driven world that sometimes they forget to look up from their smartphones and be inspired.  And that's exactly what Rich does, he inspires us to always make time for faith, no matter how busy we are, and he does it in the most relatable, entertaining way. It's like having a best friend who can guide you through struggles, heartache and life's biggest worries. He constantly amazes me with his love of all people and his genuine desire to help us all.  He is the real deal. 

-Guiliana Rancic, Host of E! News, Fashion Police, and author of the New York Times Bestseller Going Off Script

Pastor Rich is one of those rare people who always lights up the room and makes everyone feel like a priority. His optimistic advice and his passion for the Word of God are contagious. He has had such a positive and enlightening influence on my family; we are so blessed to call him our Pastor and our friend.

- Kim Kardashian West

"Thank you, Rich, for revealing this truth that we are all sandcastle kings. This book is a powerful reminder that God is our one true source for solid ground. While material things crumble away, God's firm foundation remains! It's time for us to drop our shovels and allow Jesus to take over."

-Christine Caine, Founder A21 Campaign & Propel Women

"Growing up with Rich I knew he would impact people but I underestimated by how much. I witnessed him writing some of this book on a vacation when he sat down and couldn't type all his thoughts out fast enough. I knew he was on to something and after reading Sandcastle Kings, he delivered. I'm glad he gave up some of that trip to remind us about the importance of life's foundations. I'm forever changed."

-Jason Kennedy, E! News Co-Host

"Rich has a voice for this time and this generation. He writes and speaks with clarity and passion. If you long to know you're building your life on a foundation that will last-read this book!"

-Sheila Walsh

Ghost Boy | October Book Club

Written By: Martin Pistorius

They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years.

In January 1988 Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.

Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought.

Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In these pages, readers see a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body.

We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others.

Martin Pistorius was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1975.  At the age of twelve, an unknown illness left him wheelchair bound and unable to speak, and he spent fourteen years in institutions.  In 2001, he learned to communicate via computer, make friends and change his life.  In 2008 he met the love of his life, Joanna, and immigrated to the UK.  In 2009 they married, and in 2010 he started his own business.  He loves spending time with friends and, most of all, being with his wife.

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Interview reel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJpQvIf54nU
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"A deeply affecting and at times shocking book... The Diving Bell and The Butterfly but with a happy ending." - The Sunday Times

"Martin’s writing makes you feel what he feels. He vividly reminds us of all those little injustices we each experienced that help us to grow and be stronger because of them. He reminds us that we all can grow from life’s twists if we choose to do so. Most important, Martin Pistorius shows us that God really does not give us more than we can handle, but rather he gives us the opportunity to meet adversity head on and overcome it no matter what the challenge. Read Ghost Boy. It really is a “page turner” and you will be a better person for experiencing Martin Pistorius’ life." - Michael Hingson, New York Times best-selling author, Thunder Dog

"Ghost Boy is a book to open our minds and our hearts." - Sue Swenson, former US commissioner for developmental disabilities

"It's impossible to read this book without understanding just how much most of us take for granted." - John-Paul Flintoff, author, How To Change The World

Ahhhhhhhctober!

Cool misty mornings, red-ripe apples, falling-leaves, gushing rivers, restful critters, and kids firmly tucked into the school routine. Pickling spices, pressure canners, and rows of gleaming jars full of fruits and veggies on the counter. Fresh straw in the stalls, on the pea patch, and stacked on the porch as the perfect perch for Jack-O-Lanterns, pots of colorful mums, and a bushels of bumpy gourds. This is Ahhhhhctober to me, today, on my farm.

Once upon a time, it was slightly different. The mornings were drippy and the fog sometimes so thick, I couldn’t see more than a foot in front of me as I walked the familiar path to school. There were more coniferous trees than deciduous; not so many falling leaves as falling cones and needles. Critters would have been a rabbit, chinchilla, goldfish or irritable parakeet; the only type of pets my parents allowed in our house once we had moved into town.  Jack-O-Lanterns to be sure, but they were carved the night-before and molding by the day-after.  Gourds from my grandparents garden, yes, but no fancy displays. This was life in a small town on the Oregon Coast, which was already rain soaked and sodden by this time.

But we didn’t care; because it was also Birthday Month. Four of our six family members had opal-stone birthdays.  It was a month for celebration.  And cake. Lots of cake. Each person was celebrated on their own special day with their favorite. A box cake for Mom, made “lovingly” by her kids. Gingerbread for older brother, Matt. Chocolate with boiled fudge frosting for Dad, and yellow cake with chocolate icing for baby, Timbo. And then there was the big weekend gathering that included the grandparents bringing more sweets, treats, and gifts – for all! They felt so bad that my sis and I were left out of the wrapper-tearing party; they always included something for us.  That’s what grandparents do. It was a good month.

I think of this as the month of “settling.” We have stopped mourning the summer sun, gone before we were ready. The garden has slowed to a crawl from its non-stop over-productions.  Animals have had their babies and have calmed and quieted.  We wake and sleep to the rhythms of a now familiar routine that will take us into the winter months and beyond. There are so many differences and similarities between my life then and now. More animals, more kids, more work, but at the heart of each; family. 

Make yourself a soothing cup of tea, take a little trip in your mind back to the things you loved about this time as a child, then forward to what it means to you now.  Inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Ahhhhhhctober.

Eve

One of my favorite books of all time was The Shack.  I discovered it early and it went on to become a NY Times bestseller, selling over twenty-five-million-copies.  WM Paul Young's new book Eve is a captivating new novel destined to be one of the most talked-about books of the decade. The Shack shattered our limited perceptions about God. Eve will destroy harmful misconceptions about ourselves.

As The Shack awakened readers to a personal, non-religious understanding of God, Eve will free us from faulty interpretations that have corrupted human relationships since the Garden of Eden.

Eve opens a refreshing conversation about the equality of men and women within the context of our beginnings, helping us see each other as our Creator does—complete, unique, and not constrained by cultural rules or limitations.

About the Book:
When a shipping container washes ashore on an island between our world and the next, John the Collector finds a young woman inside—broken, frozen, and barely alive. With the aid of Healers and Scholars, John oversees her recovery and soon discovers that her genetic code connects her to every known race. No one would guess what her survival will mean...

BOOK REVIEWS

From GoodReads:

Bestselling Christian novelist William Paul Young likes to shake his readers, both in terms of subject matter and the questions he asks...Eve is likely to prove similarly provocative with its interpretation of the creation narrative that suggests Adam, not Eve, triggered the Fall, which means that Eve—and therefore womankind—has for centuries been unfairly maligned. 

From Beliefnet:

"Eve opens many doors by creating a forum that discusses the equality of men and women from the beginning. This point of view further helps others look at men and women as true equals and brings forth viewpoints that our Creator possesses."

From Publishers Weekly:

"The writing is stunningly beautiful, offering an evocative, challenging look at our view of God and the Creation narrative. Young's latest will certainly pique the interest of established fans as well as generate controversy."

From Guideposts.com:

What Paul does as an author is allow his faith to inform his imagination, like great Christian writers of the past, Bunyan, Dante, Milton. He doesn't rewrite the Bible – he sticks to Genesis as it was first put down. But then he creates a world around it to enhance our understanding and to remind us, indeed, that there is nothing more certain than the goodness of God.

From Reba Riley, author of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome:

"By turns emotional, inspiring, and filled to overflowing with grace, Eve is exactly the engaging, challenging story you would expect from the author of The Shack."

Also be sure and see if WM Paul Young is going to be in your town on his book signing tour: http://www.delilah.com/articles/daily-428682/eve-by-wm-paul-young-13947386

You CAN do it!

One of the things I love most about gardening isn’t gardening at all, it’s eating! There’s nothing better than a fresh tomato, sliced cucumber, tender-crisp floret of broccoli…  Well, maybe there is. Maybe a dilly bean with a slice of cheese, pickled beets on a winter salad, applesauce with my pork chop, spaghetti sauce full of herbs and spices… I’m talking about all the types of food I can or preserve in late summer/early fall, that I, friends, and family get to enjoy all year through; far beyond bright summer days and the end of the growing season.

Canning and preserving was a way of life for most of our grandparents, when our country was mostly agrarian, people lived rurally, and you couldn’t run to the grocery to pick up a tomato, just flown in from Chile’, any day of the year.  The tradition continued in my home because my grandparents left a 500 acre farm in Arkansas when many were doing the same in the mid-fifties. They came to the West Coast lured by the lucrative timber business, but couldn’t sever themselves completely from the lifestyle that had supported their families for generations. They always had a big garden and raised livestock. So, this time of year both my grandmothers kitchen and my mothers were a hive of activity “putting up” the various fruits and vegetables grown over the summer.  Kids were put into production chopping, grinding relishes, smashing fruits and hanging corn to dry.  Now that I have realized my life-long dream of a place to farm and my crops are large enough to do more with than have a few great dinners, I’ve been going back to my roots and relearning the skills that were instilled in me all those years ago.  And I’m having a blast doing it! 

I’ve talked about my canning on the air and on social media, and have had many, many requests for more information.  I’m going to tell you just enough to hopefully get you interested in doing more research on your own and trying it for yourselves!

There are two methods of canning; hot water bath and pressure.  The hot water method is used for high-acid food. It’s great for pickles, jellies and jams.  The pressure canning method is used for low-acid foods.  This method brings the temperature of the food up much higher than boiling water can and is necessary to prevent the growth of botulism, which, put bluntly, can kill you.  So can driving a car, going swimming, or crossing a road, which most of us do fairly regularly without panic. Don’t be frightened of home canning, but do be cautious. Get the right equipment and follow directions TO THE LETTER.  Think of it as “looking both ways” before you step into the crosswalk.  If you’re new to canning, start out with pickles and jams please, then once you get the basics down move on to pressure canning for your meats and produce like green beans and corn that are not in pickling brines.

I’d recommend jam for your very first canning experience.  You can buy grapes, berries, or other fruits from farmers markets or produce stands, and it doesn’t take much.  You will need a large pot, small (1 or 1/2 pint) canning jars (often found in your supermarket cooking aisle this time of year) lids, seals, and a box of fruit pectin (SureJell is the brand I often use.)  Buy the pectin first and read the directions, picking up any necessary supplies.  Most recipes call for the fruit, chopped or as the recipe instructs, sugar (lots of sugar!) and pectin.  The fruit mixture is usually cooked with the sugar and pectin and poured into sterilized jars. Sterilized seals and rings are used to close the jar and they are then place into the ‘hot water bath.’  The jars sit in boiling water for a specified amount of time bringing the jam and jar up to the same temperature.  After they are removed, the cooling air in the jar compresses, sealing the contents. Viola! Jam!

Homemade jam is delicious! Just the knowledge that you made it yourself makes it taste ten thousand times better than anything you can pick up in the grocery store!  Forget the toast – you want to eat this on top of ice cream, in milkshakes, a dab on a pork chop or with a sharp cheese – Ummm Ummm good!

So if you’ve ever been curious about canning – get out there and DO IT! Pick up one of the many guides put out by Kerr or Ball (standard canning supply providers) and get to jammin’! Your county extension office is also a good source for information as is your local library or, where else, the internet!

I want to know of your successes – and also if something doesn’t work right.  Many times I’ve made jam or jelly that “doesn’t  set”, but ya know what? It makes excellent syrup for pancakes and waffles!

CAN you do it? Yes, you CAN!!!

For the Love | September Book Club

In this raucous ride to freedom for modern women, Jen Hatmaker bares the refreshing wisdom, wry humor, no-nonsense faith, liberating insight, and fearless honesty that have made her beloved by women worldwide. Jen shares her insight and wisdom with us in “For the Love” and it is most read for woman of all ages.  You will want to share this insightful book with you daughter’s, mother and friends.  Be sure it is on your must read list!!!

“The only thing worse than this unattainable standard is the guilt that follows when perfection proves impossible. We measure our performance against an invented standard and come up wanting, and it’s destroying our joy.” Jen Hatmaker

CLICK HERE to purchase "For The Love"

The Book of Forgiving | August Book Club

In The Book of Forgiving, Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Mpho, explain the four-step process of forgiveness—Telling the Story, Naming the Hurt, Granting Forgiveness, and Renewing or Releasing the Relationship—as well as offer meditations, exercises, and prayers to guide the reader along the way.

The perfect companion for your forgiveness journey, The Book of Forgiving lays out the simple but profound truths about the significance of forgiveness and why granting forgiveness is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves.

This is a special book and I will be hosting a special movie about forgiveness, Just Let Go on September 28th. You can like them on Facebook and see the movie trailer: https://www.facebook.com/JustLetGoMovie?fref=ts It is a Fathom movie event and will be shown for one night all over the county on September 28th. The producers of Just Let Go have teamed up with Desmond Tuto to tell people about the Forgiveness Challenge.  You can find out frequently ask question and more about the Forgiveness Challenge here: https://www.forgivenesschallenge.com/faq/  This is a special book that will help in your walk to forgive.

"Without forgiveness, we remain tethered to the person who harmed us... Until we can forgive the person who harmed us, they will hold the keys to our happiness, they will be our jailor."

Desmond & Mpho Tutu, The Book of Forgiving

CLICK HERE to buy The Book of Forgiving. 

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"Bishop Tutu and his daughter Mpho reveal groundbreaking insights as to how to acknowledge and resolve our lifelong burdens of anguish and pain towards a new paradigm of transformative healing." - Annie Lennox

"A primer for not only finding the path for healing ourselves and the world, but for restoring balance in our biology, mind, and spirit." - Deepak Chopra, author of What Are You Hungry For?

"Includes instructions on how to forgive, as well as scientific and moral reasons to do so. No one is unforgiveable; it takes a moral icon such as Tutu to credibly assert this....This book belongs on nightstands, shelves, and altars everywhere."  - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"There is no one who embodies the virtue of forgiveness like Desmond Tutu. With this book, he and his daughter take forgiveness out of the realm of mystery and offer a handbook on forgiveness, revealing this most exacting and freeing of human capacities in all its complexity and transformative achievability."- Krista Tippett, Host/Executive Producer of On Being

Fly a Little Higher | June Book Club

"Okay, Lord, you can have him. But if he must die, I want it to be for something big. I want someone's life to be changed forever."

This is what Laura Sobiech prayed when she found out her seventeen-year-old son had only one year to live. With this desperate prayer, she released her son to God's will.

At that point, Zach Sobiech was just another teenager battling cancer. When his mother told him to think about writing good-bye letters to family and friends, he decided instead to write songs. One of them, "Clouds," captured hearts and changed not one life but millions, making him an international sensation.

But Zach's story is not just about music. It's a testament to what can happen when you live as if each day might be your last. It's a story about the human spirit. It's about how God used a dying boy from a small town in Minnesota to touch the hearts of millions--including top executives in the music industry, major music artists, news anchors, talk show hosts, actors, priests and pastors, and school children across the globe.

Zach once said, "I want to be known as the kid who went down fighting, and didn't really lose." Fly a Little Higher is about how God used Zach to do something big.

CLICK HERE to buy Fly a Little Higher

The Target Book Club Edition is now available at your local Target or at Target.com.
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Zach's story is inspirational and I wanted to share it with you.  It’s the perfect summer read and the music video will inspire you and give you hope.  Look at all the famous people that have been touch by Zach’s story!! http://flyalittlehigher.com/ 

Katie Couric
Award-winning journalist and TV personality

Once in a blue moon, you meet someone who changes you. Though I never met Zach Sobiech, his grace in the face of a devastating prognosis was a beautiful thing to witness. The fact that his mother, Laura, and entire family were able to accompany him on his journey with such strength and courage (not to mention love and laughter) is a powerful lesson, not about dying, but about

Jason Mraz
Grammy-winning artist

Zach is an example of how one can choose to live one's life powerfully. His life and music will live on, sharing a beautiful message.

Bryan Cranston
Award-winning actor

Zach was a special spirit on earth. And though he was taken, all too soon, from...all those who loved him, he touched many people throughout the world with his talent and smile.

Read more: http://www.delilah.com/articles/book-club-466911/fly-a-little-higher-13725297/#ixzz459dsn1bV

Orphan Train

Written By: Christina Baker Kline

Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train is an unforgettable story of friendship and second chances that highlights a little-known but historically significant movement in America's past—and it includes a special PS section for book clubs featuring insights, interviews, and more.

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse...

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. This book reflects on how two people who seem so different can really have so much in common. Put Orphan Train on your summer reading list !

CLICK HERE to purchase Orphan Train.
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"A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of American history. Beautiful." 
- Ann Packer, NYT bestselling author of The Dive From Clausen's Pier and Swim Back to Me

"Christina Baker Kline's latest wonder, Orphan Train, makes for compulsive reading--this is a story of resilience in the face of tremendous odds and oppressive loneliness. Meticulously researched and yet full of the breath of life, Kline's novel takes us on an historical journey where survival depends upon one's own steely backbone, and the miracle of a large and generous heart."
- Helen Schulman, NYT bestselling author of This Beautiful Life

"In Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything or – perhaps most importantly – ourselves."
- Ann Hood, NYT bestselling author of The Knitting Circle

Read more: http://www.delilah.com/articles/book-club-466911/orphan-train-13614443/#ixzz459dWphfd

Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child

I never really thought of myself as a "middle child". Gifted computer hacker? Check. Fashion trailblazer? Double-check. Finest prankster in my sixth grade class? Triple check, but then something happened. Things messy, you see I did something really bad, and I mean really, really bad. Bad enough to get expelled for, bad enough to have to move cities for, AND even bad enough to be sent to a shrink for.

At first, I thought Dr. Scales was just a sad old man with a hazardous dandruff problem, but you know what? By the end of the summer, I was a changed girl. But then in our last session, the day before my brand new middle school life was about to start, he gave me a mission:

Find the most bullied, friendless, hopeless, laughed at, lonely girl in the entire school and befriend her.

Her name was Marta the Farta and you could see her from space, she was that bad. She looked like a homeless Disney princess. Her teeth were the color of butter, her hair defied gravity and provided homes for small animals, and yes, she loved to fart. But she was also the most talented gymnast I'd ever seen in my life. We're talking Olympics time and all she wanted was to get on the gym team, but the mean girls wouldn't let her. So anyway, this is the story of how I changed her life and yeah, alright, fine, how she changed mine.

Click here to purchase the book!

REVIEWS

"In her first book for children, adult author Lennon (Making It Up as I Go Along) offers a fast-moving story with a satirical edge." 
-Publisher's Weekly

"Readers will admire the unabashedly quirky Charlie as she embarks upon her journey of self-understanding and transformation with verve." 
-Kirkus Reviews

"Confessions is a funny story with a fresh and sassy, winning heroine who develops into a loyal and resourceful friend, daughter, and sister." 
-School Library Journal

Make it Happen

Written by: Lara Casey

You were created for a purpose, and it's time to make it happen.

Make It Happen is the story of how I surrendered my fear, took the leap, and got a life. In my case, a perfectly imperfect, fulfilling life as a mama, a working woman, and a grateful wife. This is the story of how I chose to make "it"-a greater purpose than mine-happen, and how you can too.

Make It Happen is for

• women who find themselves worried, anxious, and completely overwhelmed by the constant chase for perfection
• those seeking the courage to jump into a new venture
• working women who are struggling to "do it all"
• weary wives and moms looking for relief from burning the candle at both ends
• anyone who dreams of a life lived not by accident, but on purpose

Your time has come to take a leap of faith. Join me as we surrender our fears, end the chase for perfection, and say yes to cultivating the meaningful lives God desires for us.

You know all those things you've always wanted to do? 
You should go do them.


CLICK HERE to purchase Make It Happen.

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"Want to exchange your fear for faith and move forward into all God has for you? Lara shows by example how to sort through the clutter and chaos of your life to find what really matters. So many of us hold dreams and we don't know what to do with them. Lara is a master at unraveling purpose and helping you move forward with freedom and joy."
--Jennie Allen
Founder, IF :Gathering and Author, Restless

"Finally there's someone to remind us that making things happen is more than just trying to accomplish everything that might happen on our to-do lists. Instead she explains how we often glorify busyness and then goes on to offer important helps to find and follow the real success equation—the one that will allow you to live on purpose."
--Jeremy Cowart
Artist, Author, Humanitarian

"My days and weeks are filled with meeting with women of our generation, online and in my living room. I can't tell you how often I find myself asking them, ‘Have you heard of Lara Casey?' God has wired Lara in the most beautiful way to fire women up while simultaneously soaking them in grace and hope through her story and her wisdom. This book is one that I cannot wait to pass across the table because I know it offers the truth and encouragement that so many women are desperately searching for."
--Jess Connolly
Entrepreneur and Writer

"If you've spent most of your life living between feeling like you are either not enough or way too much, you will want to read Make It Happen. Lara Casey's personal history and her relentless pursuit of perfection (and ultimate surrender to grace) provide the perfectbackdrop to help you go from feeling overwhelmed to living on purpose. You won't put down the book feeling more overwhelmed, but with an actionable plan filled with reminders from Lara that you're already enough and never too much."
--Hayley Morgan
Cofounder, Influence Network
Creative Director, Wildly Co.

 

Point Hope Ghana's work with Food Security

Food insecurity (lack of food) is a HUGE problem among households in rural Ghana, West Africa.  Point Hope partners with Point Hope Ghana to provide nutrition (food) and agricultural training to stem the tide of hopelessness, helping to provide a hand-up for vulnerable people. #avoiceforforgottenchildren

Point Hope Nutrition

One of the primary areas of interest is that of nutrition. We focus on children and adults who our are malnourished or starving; using the UN's guidelines to make our determinations. A variety of tools are used to bring the under or malnourished up to a healthy state of being.

For over 12 years Point Hope has been providing healthy, hot, nutritious meals for malnourished and starving children. Much of the food we provide we raise in our organic farm; vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish and goats are all raised organically and the foods prepared for the children, the vulnerable, and disabled adults. 

Using my own farm in the US as a testing ground, I learn and apply new and better farming techniques which are then adapted for Equatorial climates. Nationals in Ghana and throughout West Africa are then taught how to grow their own organic healthful food! It's all about independence and sustainability.

Get to know Point Hope

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Our mission is to be a voice for forgotten children domestically and abroad. We want to shed light on the fact that right now there are half a million kids in foster care throughout America – and less than five percent of those children will ever have permanency thru adoption. Through Points of Hope Chapters, which you can start in your own area, we host programs that raise awareness and donations for local foster kids as well as events to help raise their spirits and inspire them to dream big.

We also work very hard to care for poverty-stricken families and orphans in Ghana, West Africa. In fact, I founded Point Hope after discovering that 140 acres made up a Liberian refugee camp which was home to more than 60,000 people living in poverty and without hope. The camp, located in the middle of a village called Buduburam, was only equipped to handle 4,000 people. What I saw when I first stepped into the dirty camp broke my heart. It was over-crowded, full of litter, without fresh water or proper sewage. The people often struggled for just one meal a day, and too many of them died from malnutrition or disease. I was motivated to take action and help.

One of our biggest initiatives was to produce a source of fresh, flowing water inside the camp and the surrounding Buduburam village. Residents were relying on dirty drinking water trucked in and sold at a high cost or they would try to “filter” rainwater and other runoff from gutters, gullies and trenches through sand and rock – drinking water that was unsanitary and disease-ridden. Point Hope constructed a water tower, a pumping station and laid underground pipes to pump fresh water to spigots throughout the camp. It took four years, a lot of time, money and volunteers to see our project complete, but the improved health and smiling faces are worth it!

That’s not all. Point Hope worked with Ghana Health Services and other partners to supply the camp clinic with doctors and nurses to treat more than 500 people a month – who otherwise would have no access to healthcare – and have supplied enough equipment that surgeries can now be performed at this location. We pilot a garden project to produce fresh vegetables for our nutrition feeding program as well as train the parents of malnourished children to farm and feed their families and provide a means of income. We provide additional skills training for sewing, baking, beading, fabric art, and carpentry to men and women. We run a nutrition program for foster kids and three daycares for malnourished children where they get at least three meals daily. We care for pregnant and nursing mothers, and also send hundreds of children to school, equipping them with the proper educational tools to succeed.

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Liberians are no longer “official” refugees, the war in their country is over and many people have returned home. Many people, however, don’t have a home to return to and are now displaced – but Point Hope is still on the ground trying to help them build a future. And we have bigger plans. We have purchased 40 acres of land to build Point Hope Village. It will be home to widows, orphans, children rescued from human trafficking, abandoned babies, unwed teen mothers and children with chronic illnesses and special needs like my son Sammy whose story you will read about later this week. We will continue doing all the things we have been doing and more. We want to build a progressive, sustainable, healthy community for the next generation.

Go to PointHope.org and get to know us a little better, and learn how you might be able to help us care for those in need. If you do nothing more than forward an email, or post about us on your Facebook page or spread the word about us to others, that blesses us more than you realize.

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Miracle on Voodoo Mountain

Written by: Megan Bourdreaux
 

"It took months of God waking me up in the middle of the night before I realized I was the one He was calling to leave my comfortable American life and move to Haiti."

Miracle on Voodoo Mountain is the inspirational memoir of an accomplished and driven twenty-four-year-old who quit her job, sold everything, and moved to Haiti alone--all without a clear plan of action. Megan Boudreaux had visited Haiti on a few humanitarian trips, but each trip multiplied her sense that someone needed to address the devastation--especially as it affected the children, many of whom were kept as household slaves on the poverty-stricken and earthquake-wrecked Caribbean island.

Three years later—on the former site of voodoo worship in Gressier--six acres atop Bellevue Mountain are home to the nonprofit Respire Haiti. Many still come to the area to make animal sacrifices, but Megan and her staff of nearly two hundred are transforming this community as they educate, feed, and address the needs.

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Miracle on Voodoo Mountain by Megan Boudreaux is a very inspiring, heartfelt book. The book chronicles Boudreaux's journey as she finds her life purpose in Haiti, starting an organization that does humanitarian work and helps children in need. The book was very interesting, and because the content is so compelling, it is definitely a page-turner! Though many people reading the book may not be called to the mission field, the book is very easy to relate to, and Boudreaux is a great role model for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world.

Boudreaux writes the book in an intriguing and genuine manner. Readers will especially like this book if they want to learn more about Haiti, mission trips, or Megan Boudreaux's specific ministry, Respire Haiti.

Miracle on Voodoo Mountain really is a story about a miracle, and readers will be touched after finishing it. Additionally, readers will enjoy learning about Boudreaux's personal life through the book; she eventually [spoiler alert] adopts two little girls from Haiti and marries someone who shares her passion for Haiti… 
—Oak Tree Critic

CLICK HERE to purchase Miracle on Voodoo Mountain

 

Unsaid

What would the world look like after you passed on? What if you were still on the scene watching events unfold, watching the people you care about carry on after your death? What if those people, who are only connected by you, gravitated together for a greater purpose? Helena Colden, a veterinarian who has just died of breast cancer is witnessing those events take place.

Neil Abramson’s book, Unsaid, is told from Helena’s perspective as she watches her husband, her farm life and the animals she loves suffer in life after her death. She watches her husband, David, struggle to take on the care of her farm animals while getting back to his life as a high-powered Manhattan attorney. She watches him crumble under the weight of depression and the demands of his work. She watches her loyal animal companions be neglected as a result of her absence.

As I pictured David’s life unraveling before me, my heart tore out for him. I wanted to make him sit down and slow down, take a breath and mourn. I wanted to help him with his animals and talk him thru his pain. I wanted to make him take more time before going back to his stressful job. But of course, he quickly gets thrust back into the demands of his fast-paced career.

David ends up in the courtroom on behalf of Helena’s old research associate who has raised and cared for a now-threatened chimpanzee that has made amazing breakthroughs in communication. The drama that unfolds before Helena threads together pieces of her life in a story that shows the special bonds between people and their pets. It shows the healing power of animals; it shows how they connect with us and communicate with us on many levels.

Having grieved the loss of pets and people, having rescued and raised horses, dogs, cats, and a variety of other animals, the book especially hits home with me. Each of my animals have their own distinct personalities and communicate in their own way. Each of them is an integral part of my life, like a piece of the puzzle that makes my life more complete. Even when it comes time to let them go, I know I’m better for having loved and having been loved by such loyal companions. Go get Neil’s book Unsaid today, curl up with your loyal companion and enjoy this wonderfully compelling story.

The Invention of Wings

Written by: Sue Monk Kidd

The Invention of Wings, a powerful and sweeping historical novel by Sue Monk Kidd, begins, fittingly, with an image of flight: Hetty "Handful", who has grown up as a slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, recalls the night her mother told her that her ancestors in Africa could fly over trees and clouds. That day, Handful's mother, Charlotte, gave her daughter the gift of hope— the possibility that someday she might regain her wings and fly to freedom.  Throughout Kidd's exquisitely written story, Handful struggles, sometimes with quiet dissidence, sometimes with open rebellion, to cultivate a belief in the invincibility of her spirit and in the sacred truth that one does not need actual wings in order to rise.

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Here's what makes The Invention of Wings extraordinary—and why I am thrilled to announce it as my third selection for Oprah's Book Club 2.0: Sue Monk Kidd has written a conversation changer. It is impossible to read this book and not come away thinking differently about our status as women and about all the unsung heroines who played a role in getting us to where we are. 
—Oprah

In a world beset by modern-day slavery, this is a resonant, illuminating novel. It is a story about searching for a voice to express inexpressible pain. Handful's "slave tongue" dialect is filled with hurt, longing and defiance, while Sarah, who struggles with speech, "pulled words up from her throat like she was raising water from a well". It's when they find voices to articulate the pain of being silenced that they pave their path to freedom… 
—The Guardian

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.

As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.

Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better. 
—Good Reads.com

Click here to purchase this book.

 

Walk to Beautiful

Written by: Jimmy Wayne

Imagine being thirteen, in a strange city, hundreds of miles away from home, and your mom abandons you at a bus station, driving off into the night with her lover.

It's a miracle Jimmy Wayne survived his growing-up years. Hungry, homeless, and bouncing in and out of the foster care system, Jimmy spent more nights wandering and sleeping in the streets than he cares to remember. His father left before he was born. And his mama, when she wasn't in a mental hospital or behind bars for various small offenses, was simply too overwhelmed, trying to survive herself.  

Walk to Beautiful is the powerfully emotive account of Jimmy's childhood and the unconditional love and acceptance Russell and Bea Costner gave to Jimmy. This elderly couple provided a stable home and the chance for him to complete his education. Jimmy says of Bea, "She changed every cell in my body." After his high school graduation, Jimmy went on to earn a degree in Criminal Justice because, as he says, "I knew a lot about it." But in his heart Jimmy wanted to write songs and sing. 

A music company opened its doors to Jimmy, and he moved to Nashville to pursue his dreams. He had several memorable hits, such as I Love You This Much, Paper Angels, and Do You Believe Me Now, which remained at #1 for three consecutive weeks on the Billboard Chart.

But success was not satisfying. Jimmy remembered where he came from, and he wanted to give back. With his Meet Me Halfway campaign—a 1,700 mile walk from Nashville to Phoenix—Jimmy walked halfway across America, raising awareness for foster children. Along the way he not only found a lot of crazy things, such as coins, keys, a plastic Jesus, and a Lucille Ball ashtray; but he also found himself. And more important, he found a way to forgive the people who had hurt him. Jimmy learned how to walk to beautiful—and so can you.

REVIEWS

• “Curveballs, sinkers, and change-ups -- life has thrown all at Jimmy Wayne, and he has not only managed them; he has hit them out of the park! When Jimmy and I first met, we were two guys from Bessemer City High School who had big dreams and little more.  Jimmy’s incredible story in Walk to Beautiful is evidence that with faith and hard work, dreams still come true." - Kevin Millwood. Major League Baseball Player
   

• “We were blessed to hear Jimmy Wayne’s story as he shared them with our family at our home.  Walk to Beautiful  presents a challenge to all of us to live out the biblical charge to help children that are in need (Matthew 25:40) can make a difference.”  - Bubba and Cindy Cathy. Chick-fil-A
   

• “Jimmy Wayne’s Walk to Beautiful weaves the complexities of life, love, faith, hope and the eternal validity of the soul.  This is a deep down-in-the- gut story.  A uniquely American tale of truth that exposes a shadow culture in our country in a way that cannot be rivaled by even the finest fiction.  If a person is defined by experience, then Jimmy Wayne and his story should be an example for a profound effect on the world and everyone around us” - John Oates of Hall and Oates
   

• “I was very touched by reading Walk to Beautiful.  It is an incredible story, so well-written, and Jimmy Wayne is an inspiration.  What a way God has of working things out.  I guess if he can true water into wine, he can certainly make lemonade out of lemons.  It reads like a movie to me, and if so I’ll be the first one in a seat to see it .“ - Dolly Parton
   

• “Jimmy Wayne’s story is as powerful as it is heartbreaking.  Walk to Beautiful offers, hope, inspiration, and incontrovertible proof that one person can make a difference.” - Cynthia Sanz. Editor, People Country

A Travel Guide to Life

Written by: Anthony DeStefano

For the many inspired by Anthony DeStefano's A Travel Guide to Heaven -a remarkable tour of the pleasures God has in store for us in the next and everlasting life-more inspiration is here in A TRAVEL GUIDE TO LIFE, offering an enlightening tour of the kind of deeply meaningful and happy life we can live here on earth. DeStefano outlines the path that can lead each and every one of us to renewed faith, understanding and fulfillment. With simplicity, honesty and a personal and practical look at the challenges God places before us, he outlines a reassuring and hopeful framework for living the life God has designed for us all ... even if we're not sure (yet) that we're true believers.

DeStefano offers hope and optimism to everyone-committed Christians as well as struggling doubters, agnostics and even atheists-whether we've lived exemplary lives or are sinners who've lost all hope, whether we're struggling to keep a roof overhead and food on the table or are seemingly successful and surrounded by material wealth.

This frank and inspiring guide incorporates that crucial element so often missing from other self-help and personal development books about living a happy life: spirituality and a living, working faith in God. Clear and basic "Lifetime Principles" are at its heart, to be followed whenever we are ready to begin, no matter the lives we've lived, no matter the baggage we carry, no matter the faith we've had (or lacked) up until now:

Accept yourself as one person - body, mind and spirit, all connected and interrelated - the way God created you.

Make a decision to start over - you can do it any time, on one tiny part of life or everything in it - and begin living the way God intends.

Take action - start with just one small step and each successive one will be easier - following the example God gave us as Jesus moved from infancy to manhood and wisdom, His momentum growing step by step.

Put God first - most importantly of all - wholeheartedly if you can, or hesitatingly if your heart still harbors doubt.

DeStefano's personal no-holds-barred yet joyful style is always positive, always encouraging. Travelers who take this incredible journey with him will come to truly understand that when we take up the crosses in our lives - the whole of our lives, the good and the not-so-good - and follow God, He will transform it all, making everything brand new and granting us the strength, peace and happiness for which we yearn.

So take heart. Take hold of the powerful path open to you on the pages of A TRAVEL GUIDE TO LIFE. And take your place in God's happy universe, living out the humble requests asked in the prayer taught by Jesus Himself: "...Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

CLICK HERE to learn more and purchase now.

TESTIMONIALS

"I love that Anthony DeStefano has a deep and abiding faith, but does not preach or make you feel like you are being lecture. His book, A Travel Guide to Life, presents God's wonderful truths and love in a way that shines!" —Delilah

“Anthony’s book shows that every human being is a miracle; that we are not just our bodies, but rather, we are soul and spirit, and are therefore capable of achieving miraculous things during this adventure called life.” —Tony Robbins

"Move over, Dr. Phil! Anthony DeStefano's advice on how to turn your problem-filled life into something to celebrate is bare-bones, no-holds barred, no bull and spot-on brilliant." —Kathie Lee Gifford, Co-Host, NBC’s Today show

“In his new book, A Travel Guide to Life: Transforming Yourself from Head to Soul, Anthony DeStefano provides a clear and concise road map to a fulfilled and happy life, and makes the compelling case that we must be God-centered in order to experience true joy. While the book provides solid self-help techniques, Anthony helps show us that the way to happiness is to know, love, and serve God in this life, so that we might experience everlasting happiness with Him in Heaven." —Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

 

Heaven is For Real

Written by: Todd Burpo

“Do you remember the hospital, Colton?” Sonja said. “Yes, mommy, I remember,” he said. “That’s where the angels sang to me.”

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival. What they weren’t expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed—a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy’s trip to heaven and back.

Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery–and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on. He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born. He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read.

With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton tells of meeting long-departed family members. He describes Jesus, the angels, how “really, really big” God is, and how much God loves us. Retold by his father, but using Colton’s uniquely simple words, Heaven Is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, “Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses.”

Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child.

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TESTIMONIALS

"…One of the absolutely most helpful books I have read in the last several years…." —Delilah

"…This book helped me at a critical time in my life, and I know it will for millions of other people, as well"… —Delilah