October 2017

The great month of October is over. That is rather sad, as it’s one of my most favourite months! But I do love Winter, too, which definitely starts in November here in Minnesota. We’ve already gotten our second snowfall, though it’s the first that has actually stayed a bit. We got 3 inches the other night, but now there’s only about an inch on the ground, with some ice. Because that’s how this time of the year rolls.

This wrap-up post is a bit late…but it’s the day that works to post this, so it’ll do. ;)

I’m rather awful at these wrap-up posts…I probably say that every month. But hey, it’s true. Life is hard to wrap up, even just one month.

“Too much, I sum up…”

Sooooo…October was great, with plenty of Fall weather to delight us with. I turned the whopping age of 22. And got my yearly bag (or two…) of candy corn. The changing of the leaves was beautiful, but too short. I’m thankful we got to see a good amount of Fall beauty while up north visiting my grandparents, and also just the beauty around here. Fall is such a pretty time of year! And for many places, it is still in progress – lovely! Here, as I mentioned, we’ve hit Winter. It’s a bit early this year, and there are still some leaves on top of the snow, but Winter it is nonetheless. In temperature if nothing else! But I’m sure no one really wants to read about the weather…

Another great part of October was the release for this book:

(You sick of seeing this graphic? Too bad. I really like how it turned out. XD)

In case you missed it, this blog was the host blog for the blog tour of “Out of the Dark”. ‘Twas fun! You can check out the first post HERE.

 

I also wrote a blog post that was NOT related to books. Shocker! You can find that here: “Social Media and Me”.

 

What else happened in October….

I just don’t know.

 

 

 

Well then, let’s move on to the book section! (I can hear imaginary groans here, but what can I say…I love books.)

 

 

So yep, as the pictures show, I swapped some books, got review books, bought a couple books for SUPER cheap at a used Christian bookstore up north, and then redeemed my reward points on MyReaderRewards (used to be Tyndale Rewards).

 

I read 6 books:

 

          

The first three already have their reviews up (just click on the image to go to it), and I will be posting the other three shortly. The review of “Perception” will be up on the 9th. :)

They were each pretty good books. :)

 

This month, I have quite a bit of reading to do, as usual. So that hopefully means more book reviews, once I get caught up! :D

 

This is one of the books on my list. I’ve actually already started it! :)

 

So, how was your October? Are you still enjoying the Fall Leaves?

Social Media and Me

I have this inner war with myself regarding social media. I love it, I see the good in it, and then…I don’t. I hate it. I hate how much garbage there is out there.

And my heart cries for how many mislead people there. How many people claim Christ but don’t proclaim Him.

There are days where I scroll through one of my feeds and I just get disheartened by what I see. We live in a very technology-age where social media is basically everything. And our lives looking good on the outside are everything.

But it’s not. We’re messy on the inside. Aren’t we all? Who can say their life is truly as perfect as their instagram pictures? Or their Pinterest boards? Or what we portray on Facebook or twitter? It looks good. But does it reflect our soul, which should be a mirror of our Savior?

I do not claim to have this down myself. Oh how I wish I did. But I still want my life to look pretty. I want to be able to take these aesthetically pleasing photos, and make beautiful art that just makes you want to stare at it for hours. I want to join in with the crowd and proclaim my own accomplishments. Ouch.

 

So there are days where I get upset as I scroll. Disheartened. Angry, even. I sometimes want to shout “People! Let’s tweet about Jesus harder than we tweet about ourselves!!”, but then God stops me short. He pulls me back and reminds me of the verse about seeing the speck in the other person’s eye when I’ve got a log in my own. He leads me to posts by others that convict my soul. I read one just this morning.

 

“Oh my soul, do not be stirred up by what does not bring life to self or others” 

 

-This quote comes from the post, Just Delete the App, on author J.A. Marx’s blog.

 

When I think I am right in my “righteous anger” towards people on social media, I really am just judging. And that’s not my place, and so I repent.

Yes, there can be shards of truth in what I was feeling – social media can be a monster. But it’s not my place to be all judgey about it. What people post is between them and God. I cannot change anyone. I can inspire. I can encourage. But it is not my battle to tell them what to do. Basically, it’s not my issue, so stop taking it on. I’m to live MY life, learning how to make it pleasing to the Lord. To stop looking outward and start looking inward more. That can be hard. But I want to try. I don’t want to be stirred up by things that do not bring life to myself, to others, or is  not pleasing to my Lord and Savior.

So maybe that means I click out of twitter for a while, or don’t visit facebook as often. Again, to quote J.A. Marx’s post…

““If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” Matthew 5:29.
Seriously, it’s easier just to delete the app.”

 

 

(Image from google)

 

I want to be focused on following after God, not how to encourage other people to do that. Because if I first follow after God, encouraging people to do the same will happen naturally.

Yes, it is right to want to see Jesus more on social media. But it isn’t right for me to say where people need to put Him. We are all at where we’re at by the grace of God. And we’re all growing. Hallelujah! I’m so thankful to learn that it’s not up to me. The power is of God! And oh how I love Him.

 

 

“Out of the Dark” by MacKenzie Morganthal Wrap-up, character spotlight, and giveaway winner announced!

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of this fun blog tour celebrating the release of MacKenzie Morganthal’s second book, “Out of the Dark”! It’s been a lovely time, and we’re grateful to each blogger who participated!

And now I welcome back the author to take the mic, blogaphorically speaking!

 

The time is here to wrap-up the “Out of the Dark” blog tour. It went by too fast, didn’t it?! I hope you all have it enjoyed it as much as I have. “Out of the Dark” is such a special story to me and I hope you are now so excited to read it, and also to get involved in the fight against human trafficking.

What was your favorite stop on the tour? Leave me a comment and let me know! I want to thank each and every one of you that have joined us for any part of the tour. Now I’m sure you’re all waiting to find out who the giveaway winner could be. ;) You don’t have to wait any longer! The winner of the giveaway for a PDF copy of “Out of the Dark” is….

 

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FAITH POTTS!!!

Congratulations, Faith!! I will be sending you an email with your prize and hope you will enjoy my story.

For everyone else, you can still order a copy through my website at: http://www.morganthalbooks.weebly.com.

Thank you again for joining us on the tour! I look forward to reading about your favorite parts. <3

 

And now for the last special character spotlight…

 

 

Character Spotlight:

Elaine Reynolds

 

Fifteen year old Elaine is a brand new character that shows up in “Out of the Dark”. She is still grieving the loss of her mother, and she’s looking for love and affirmation from her older boyfriend. But he proves to be more dangerous than she ever could have imagined, and by the time she realizes he’s more of a nightmare than a dream, it’s too late. She was tricked and now he has her trapped. We see many emotional glimpses inside her heart. The shame and guilt she feels…the brokenness of her heart. She puts on a tough exterior to the world around her, especially to Haley when they first meet. But inside she’s full of pain and grief and regret. She’s ready to just give up all together. But Haley and DesiRae aren’t willing to let that happen. Can they save her before it’s too late? I hope you’ll read “Out of the Dark” and follow along with Elaine’s journey to find out what happens!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not over yet…

    It’s been three years since Haley Hampton rescued her sister, Avery, from a human trafficking ring. They are still struggling through the aftermath as both women desperately long for healing to come. But the emotional wounds are not easily forgotten. And the past is quickly catching up to them. A string of death threats leaves Haley on the hunt for a potential killer. As tensions run high, a single mistake could jeopardize Avery’s life.

    Then Haley encounters Elaine, a young teen trapped by human trafficking. Could she be their missing link in the case? Is there anyone they can trust? Haley must rely on God now more than ever if they intend to make it out alive. Will they find a way out of the darkness closing in? Because evil is lurking closer…and determined to win this time.

PURCHASE HERE

 

The Author:

 

 

 

MacKenzie Morganthal is the author of the Mission for Freedom series. Book one, “Not Abandoned”, was her debut novel. She lives in Pennsylvania where she is a monthly e-magazine columnist, Creative Artist, and musician. She loves Jesus most, sweet tea, singing along to the radio, and spending too much time at Starbucks.

 

 

   

GoodReads

 

 

And in case you missed some of the tour, just click on the graphics below to be led to those stops! Thank you for following along!!

 

 

  

  

          

 

 

Book Review: “Out of the Dark” by MacKenzie Morganthal

 

Yeppers, this book review is part of the lovely Blog Tour! Click on the image above to be brought to the first post that kicked off this amazing tour!

 

“Out of the Dark” by MacKenzie Morganthal

Book Two in the Mission for Freedom series, Released October 27th, 2017

Contemporary, human-trafficking awareness, action, redemption

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

 

 

About the Book:

 

It’s not over yet…

     It’s been three years since Haley Hampton rescued her sister, Avery, from a human trafficking ring. They are still struggling through the aftermath as both women desperately long for healing to come. But the emotional wounds are not easily forgotten. And the past is quickly catching up to them. A string of death threats leaves Haley on the hunt for a potential killer. As tensions run high, a single mistake could jeopardize Avery’s life.

Then Haley encounters Elaine, a young teen trapped by human trafficking. Could she be their missing link in the case? Is there anyone they can trust? Haley must rely on God now more than ever if they intend to make it out alive. Will they find a way out of the darkness closing in? Because evil is lurking closer…and determined to win this time.

 

 

My Thoughts:

 

Oh this book. Where do I start? I had the immense – and I do mean immense – pleasure of reading this book twice before its release. It was so fun to see how it changed and strengthened.

As with the first book in this series (“Not Abandoned”), “Out of the Dark” is a very strong, poignant story, full of action, and truths. The author deals with the topic of human-trafficking with such gentleness and expertise.

Revisiting the familiar characters was an absolute delight – I was so happy in particular to reaquaint myself with a character whom we met in the first book of this series. I was eager to see his journey continue, even though he’s not necessarily a central character. :)

Each of the characters are well-built up, and relatable. Sisters Haley and Avery each have to go through their own unique process of healing; their struggles are present, and very well-portrayed. I believe the struggles a character goes through towards healing is a very good element in novels, and that was evident in “Out of the Dark”. I really loved the healing aspect – the journey of healing. It was beautiful, and meaningful.

Not only is this book full of beauty, it is also full of danger and suspense. There is always darkness to overcome, but sometimes a character questions whether or not it might overcome them.

Have I mentioned that this book is exciting? I can assure you that it’s not a dull one. And that ending – you will just have to read it to find out what I mean. And I highly recommend that you do so!! “Out of the Dark” is a fantastic sequel to “Not Abandoned”, and it is a story I will cherish for many years to come. I can hardly wait to read the next installment in The Mission for Freedom series!

*I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

Enjoy some sneak peaks into the story:

 

And don’t forget to see the first blog tour post to follow along with the other stops, and enter the GIVEAWAY!!!