Audra Jennings

Witness the Gospels Through the Eyes of a First-Century Hebrew New Bible study from David C Cook gives readers a fresh new way to experience the Good News How is it possible to make the Good News of the Gospel better? How can truth be enhanced? Can Jesus Christ be improved upon? In his new Bible study, author Neb Hayden emphatically answers, “Impossible! The Gospel gets even better only when it’s more clearly understood. The Good News gets even better only when we read the Gospels as they were communicated and in the way they were meant to be seen.” That’s why in his new study, When the Good News Gets Even Better (David C Cook, June 2009), Hayden gives students of the New Testament the opportunity to walk through the Gospel narratives in Hebrew sandals. This unique Bible study allows readers to see these letters just as their original audience did and provides vital insights into the Jewish culture, customs, and perspectives, giving a fresh and thoroughly relevant context to the life

Develop Spiritual Champions for Jesus Christ with New Practical Guide for Growing Children of Faith With her newest release, Awana author and staff member Linda Massey Weddle equips parents to build a foundation of faith for their children Parents long to help their children reach their full potential. They schedule regular medical exams, get them involved in planned activities, help them with their homework, and invest for their college education. Yet while they may plan for their success, they can overlook a vital part of their personal development: Nurturing and encouraging a solid, lasting foundation of faith. Though we often assume that children are growing spiritually through church youth groups and programs, it’s essential that parents take an active, encouraging, and purposeful role in developing their values and morals. Linda Massey Weddle, the U.S. program senior designer for Awana and established author of children’s books and curriculums, has created How to Raise a Modern-

Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World Author Tom Davis explores today’s most vital social issues in his new international saga The United Nations estimates the world orphan population to be over 143 million children. Poverty, war, disease, and AIDS are the primary enemies of children across the globe, leaving those who are robbed of their parents at-risk for criminal behavior, prostitution, drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. In his debut novel, accomplished author and speaker Tom Davis offers readers a sweeping narrative that explores these most critical social concerns. Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World (June 2009/David C Cook) delves into the lives of a photojournalist struggling to redeem his past and an African orphan fighting for survival. Once a celebrated and award-winning photojournalist, Stuart Daniels is reeling from debt, a broken marriage, and crippling depression. The source of Stuart’s grief is his most famous photo, a snapshot of brutality in the dangerous

Where Life Is a Dance and Disco Is a State of Mind In Her Latest Novel, Queen of Boomer Lit Allison Bottke Offers Mature Women Contemporary Fiction with an Attitude! With over seventy-eight million baby boomers alive today, a demand for women’s fiction that deals with age-appropriate issues has grown exponentially in recent years. Out of the ever-increasing number of novelists that feature characters in their 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, best-selling author Allison Bottke has distinguished herself as a true “queen” of boomer lit. This summer, Allison will launch her new Va-Va-Va Boom series, published by David C Cook, where vibrant, successful fifty-somethings share laughter, tears, and advice as they pop into each others’ lives via the Internet—and the airlines! Brought together in an online community known as Boomer Babes Rock, Susan, Patricia, and Mary form a fast friendship, even though they live in different parts of the country and lead completely different lives. “My boomer babe chara

Taking a Shortcut to God? In Secondhand Jesus , rising author and musician Glenn Packiam helps Christians exchange rumors of God for a firsthand faith We live in a culture of experts. Everywhere one turns, there are professionals touting advice on everything from how to repair your car to how to fix your marriage. And, in Christian circles, some have even started to believe that there are “God experts”—people who can pray in just the right way that God hears them or who worship in such a way as to make God listen. We begin to rely on these people as our sole source of information about God, rather than make the effort to encounter Him directly ourselves. In his new book, Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith (David C Cook, June 2009), author and worship pastor of New Life Church Glenn Packiam summons readers upon a passionate quest—a holy pursuit—to truly experience Christ’s power and love for themselves. “God wants us to know Him deeply and personally,” Packia

I've become one of those blog people I work with. That's not a bad thing. I love the bloggers that I work with that request books from me to share the word about new releases. I've just become one of them. My friends over at Multnomah now have me hooked on another series. I started and finished this book on the way home from the seemingly never-ending road trip. Well, all but 27 pages that I finished up the day we got home. (If nothing else, at least I accomplished reading a book and a half on the trip.) To start with, here is the summary... Ray Quinn is a tough, quick-witted homicide detective in love with his partner, Trisha Willis. She gives Ray something to live for—something to hope in. Until a barrage of bullets leaves Trisha murdered and Ray crippled. Struggling with his new physical disability and severe depression, Quinn turns to whiskey, scorn, and a job as a night watchman to numb the pain. But when a pastor and dancer are found dead in an apparent murder-su

After church tonight, Jenny picked up a pizza (she gets a discount since she delivers pizza on the side to earn extra money) and brought it over along with her cousin Shannon. We then proceeded to watch Sweet Home Alabama for the I-don't-know-how-many- eth time. When it ended about 10:15, Jenny had to go home so she could watch the insides of her eyelids. In case you were wondering, this is what single, independent women do for fun. Our new line that we now say to each other is, "one day, our lives will not suck." I actually know a publisher who is planning on releasing a book entitled When Will My Life Not Suck? I'm not sure where it is in the process of being released. I need to check into it. Actually, my life isn't all that bad. I just like the title of the book. Now, I'll share a stupid story. When I was in high school, if anyone said, "that sucks" in middle of geometry class, our teacher, Mr. Hurley would say, "you have to add a direct o

When it is all said and done, I might not actually do much of anything on my to-do list. It may indeed be a laid back weekend, but I really would like to knock out a number of things on my to-do list. I needed clothes for work, so we went to Waxahachie . I didn't really find what I was working for, but found some clothes. I let my mom talk me out of buying a picture frame I wanted because we were going to look elsewhere. We had to go back to Belk to get it because we didn't find anything better. Mom debated a rug at Target. I asked her if she wanted me to talk her into or out of it. She talked herself out of it even though I told her that Dad would say get it when she asked me what I thought he would say. We had to go back to Target and get it. I had to go to the grocery store (who likes that?) so that I can have clean hair and teeth and be able to take out my contacts. Not to mention that I needed milk and food. My house is a mess, I have loads of clothes to hang up, have to

From Fiction to Real Life, Author Changes Orphans’ Lives with Education Tom Davis sponsors the Scared $1 Million Education Fund and Writing Contest The number one need in Swaziland, Africa, is not what you think. It’s true: Swazi people face the realities of poverty and disease and have great, pressing needs which must be met. But this alone will not give children what they need to overcome their circumstances and to change their world – this can only happen through education. In his new release, Scared (David C. Cook, June 2009), author Tom Davis tells the story of a young Swazi girl and a jaded U.S. photojournalist on assignment in her country. Based on his experience working with orphaned children in Swaziland, Davis reveals the power of words to change lives – and the power of God to bring light and new life, even to the darkest of places. Adanna’s life story could be a blueprint for any of the thousands of Swazi kids Davis has met and worked with as CEO of Children’s HopeChest ( h

This week has seemed really long for some reason. It was the third night in the row out at the ball field, but it honestly felt like about the 6 th . And Paige has a game tomorrow night. I was soooo sleepy this afternoon, but can say that I gave someone their best laugh of the day alongside my attitude adjustment. Anything I can do to better the world and add light to someone's day. Now, I need to sort through the 388 vacation pictures we had printed to do scrapbooks of our vacation. Actually 388 pictures for me. 388 for Mom. And she wants me to do her scrapbook this time and I agreed. That thought alone overwhelms me. And I need to start gathering stuff for VBS crafts. Lots to do! Next week, there will be a lot of posts on new books. Lots of new releases coming up at work to share, just in time for summer. I've heard some great things about some of the new fiction coming out June 1. Keep an eye out!

I don't think I've blogged anything about this even though I know I've mentioned my mysterious bumps and whelps on my arms in my Facebook status. Last Wednesday afternoon, I started itching and had a few bites on my elbow. I asked Christi and Tracy if there was anything biting them because something was eating me. By Wednesday night, I had a considerable number of bumps all down my arms - from the back of my shoulder on down to my wrists. Thursday morning, I came into work and they got worse. I couldn't count them all quite honestly. It looked like the spots were multiplying before our eyes. I took a Benadryl and hazily went through the rest of the day. I've not noticed mosquitos en masse landing on me, but I have seen some gants at the office and home. They didn't come from the ball field, even though there were ants, fleas, mosquitos, and gnats at the ball field one night after this problem developed. And no, I didn't spray the OFF over myself (I hate the

What do think about when you read headlines about economic hardships, natural disasters, and politically charged conflict? Circumstances like these set families and entire communities reeling, and few people are affected as profoundly as the children involved. How do the littlest victims cope with the changes and uncertainty around them? And what can the church do to reach out specifically to these little ones? Group Publishing, the premier publishers of children’s Bible curriculum including Sunday school and VBS, believes that some of the best ministers to children experiencing disaster and hardship are other children. That’s why they have created a program called Operation Kid 2 Kid (OK2K), which partners with nondenominational Christian ministries like International Bible Society and World Vision to provide opportunities for children in North America to share God’s love with other children in difficult or disastrous situations. Since its inception ten years ago, Operation Kid-to-Kid

Is it just me, or did this weekend fly by? I did not accomplish near what all I needed to accomplish. Not by a long shot. We have lots of things mailing out in the next week or so with projects, so work will busy, and I'll have lots of new releases to share. And this coming week, there are softball games four nights. What all do you have coming up this week?

I wasn't able to bring you a post yesterday because I left the house early yesterday to be in Ft. Worth by 8:30 AM for the Association of Biblical Counselors conference, and I didn't get home until 11:00 PM. The conference started back up at 8:00 AM today, so it was another early morning. I'm soooo sleepy right now! ABC does great work to "Encourage, Equip and Empower all believers everywhere to live and counsel the Word." The main speaker was Paul Tripp, discussing "A Quest for More." The conference went very well, and I was able to attend some of the breakout sessions with other speakers between helping out at the ABC booth and taking pictures for them. Check out their website ( http://www.christiancounseling.com/ ) for more information about who they are and what they do. More photos will be posted there soon.

California pastor celebrates International Bible Society’s 200th anniversary with coast-to-coast bicycle trip Dallas/Fort Worth, TX—Dipping his bicycle tires in the Pacific Ocean at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, California, 56-year-old California pastor Randy Gardner began his Biking for Bibles cross-country bicycle trip on Monday, April 20, 2009. The trip commemorates the 200th anniversary of International Bible Society, an affiliate of IBS-STL Global. Gardner hopes to raise awareness of and funds for IBS’s mission to provide Scripture resources to people worldwide who need the life-changing message of God’s love and mercy. IBS traces its history to an evening in December 1809, when a group of men met in a home located in lower Manhattan to launch the New York Bible Society, later renamed International Bible Society. Nearly 200 years later, on Friday, May 29, 2009, Gardner will end his trip in this same area of Manhattan, along the historic waterfront of Battery Park. Weather and healt

First of all, an apology for not blogging last night. I got home from Peyton's t-ball game and I had a headache that sucked the very life out of me. So, tonight, I bring you a really stupid vacation story. Even though we skipped Arbuckle Wilderness as we pass through Oklahoma, I promise we saw our fair share of animals from the car as we drove around. (For those of you who missed the humor there, Arbuckle Wilderness is a drive- thru animal park.) I was telling Peyton about all the animals that we saw, and she sadly says, "I wish I went with you." My response was, "no you don't. We were in the truck for a long, long time." My nieces are not good on road trips to Dallas. Well, like a bunch of four year olds , we made a list of the animals that we saw along the way. As pathetic as it sounds, making this list was a highlight of the trip. mule deer whitetail deer pronghorn deer antelope buffalo (I do believe the song "Home on the Range" was written

OK, so part of my title was a knock at the fact that we didn't see Dorothy's house in Kansas because we went through another attraction (one of two actually) highlighting the 1880's, but I digress. There was no doubt we were back in Texas when we got here. Hit with 90-something degrees and 147% humidity right in the face, I tell you. During our trip, we encountered thunderstorms and hail in Oklahoma City. (This is a picture from the garage of our hotel. No, I didn't get to see a game. - Then, can you see the hail on the hood?) Rain off and on throughout Oklahoma and Kansas. Snow (and some mighty wind) while up on Terry's Peak in South Dakota. I also stood out in the snow for this picture, but I wasn't wearing socks with my slide on shoes and I got snow in between my toes trudging out. I know, real bright. I guess if you cover enough states, you cover virtually all types of weather. I'd talk about something more interesting than the weather, but I have to go

In addition to my blog being a source of entertainment and ranting, hopefully, I can share some actual knowledge from time to time. Today's lesson is about Mt. Rushmore. Have you ever wondered about the answers to the following questions? Why is it called Mt. Rushmore? Why did they decide to carve this mountain in middle of South Dakota? Why Teddy Roosevelt? Does he seem just a little random of a choice to you? Well, thanks to the Park Ranger that lead our tour, I have some answers for you. (You may correct me if I have any details off.) First of all, just who or what was Rushmore? Well, Charles Rushmore, a lawyer from New York was on an expedition to the Black Hills in 1880 looking for new mining possibilities. He asked his guide what the name was for the mountain, and when he was told that it didn't have a name, he decided to name it after himself. Why South Dakota? Well, state historian, Doane Robinson, knew about a project that sculptor Gutzon Borglum was working on in Geor

I know that everyone is anxiously awaiting me to post again. I'm so tired tonight that you will get a post, though it won't be a action-packed, detail-filled description of my week away. We left last Friday around 5:30 PM. We got back home today at 12:30 PM (then I had to go to Wal-Mart for groceries - and going to Wal-Mart on a Saturday is kind of against my religion). We traveled 3064.4 miles on this trip. If you average it out over 9 days (because we drove on parts of 9 days) and 60 miles an hour (sometimes we went 80, but other times we had to go much slower on the scenic routes) we were in the car close to 6 hours a day. I'm a bit tired from being in the truck. I'm not normally claustrophobic, but there were times I was ready to jump out of the truck because I felt like I was trapped. And more than once, Mom and I voiced our motion sickness. Here's a bit of travel advice. Do not travel to this region of the country that we just went through on vacation unless i

Sign-up early for these great books! If you would like to post about these books on your blog, contact Audra at ajennings(at)tbbmedia.com. Secondhand Jesus by Glenn Packiam We live in a culture of experts. Everywhere one turns, there are professionals touting advice on everything from how to repair your car to how to fix your marriage. And, in Christian circles, some have even started to believe that there are “God experts”—people who can pray in just the right way that God hears them or who worship in such a way as to make God listen. We begin to rely on these people as our sole source of information about God, rather than make the effort to encounter Him directly ourselves. In his new book, Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith (David C Cook, June 2009), author and worship pastor of New Life Church Glenn Packiam summons readers upon a passionate quest—a holy pursuit—to truly experience Christ’s power and love for themselves. “God wants us to know Him deeply