Rare Earth by Davis Bunn is a “rare read!”


Rare EarthMarc Royce is a troubleshooter, and from the time he lands in the Rift Valley in Kenya, he is in trouble. He was expecting the poverty and wretchedness of the refugee camp he was sent to, purportedly to audit a relief organization, but he was not expecting Kitra Korban nor the adventures they would share.

He meets tribal councils, the “rulers” of Kenya, and the powers behind all action there. He has harrowing escapes, goes on exciting escapades, and escalates U.S. action in the area.

Rare Earth is a thriller and a romance, and rarely predictable – I could not put it down, nor could the other two readers in my household. My husband, after raving about the book, when asked to give it from 1 to 5 stars, gave it 4.5 stars. When I asked him why, he replied, “Because it ended!”

Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore or click immediately on the image below. You won’t want to miss this one!


everyday matters BIBLE for women Pub – Hendrickson Bibles


Everyday Matters Bible for Women

The “everyday matters Bible” has much for women to study in it. Most important are the spiritual disciplines and the articles associated with them. Studying such concepts as Acceptance, Hospitality, Silence, Bible Study & Meditation are life-changing. The articles could easily form a standalone booklet. The Bible text itself is the New Living Translation – everyday language that is easily understood by today’s women. Women who are used to some of the “older” translations may question the veracity of the text, but the readability is great for someone just starting out.

However, as pretty as the Bible is, I found it difficult to navigate – the main identification for books of the Bible is turquoise borders on the first page of each book. A light-colored, leaf design and the name of the book are written vertically on each page, but are hard to see/identify. The pages numbers are much more prominent. Unless you have a good understanding as to the location of the books in the bible from a spacial standpoint, this design, coupled with the hard-cover format, will be hard to use.


 I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Grace Like Rain by Jeff Petherick


Grace Like RainAs today (8/22) is Jeff’s birthday, I thought it fitting to post my review of his book. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff at the International Christian Retail Show in July. These are some of his thoughts and my impressions.

When I [Deb] started to read this book, I was captured by these words, “When I [Jeff] was writing the book, it was amazing how many times God turned it back on me and made me realize how much I judged people.” Jeff learned he needed to grant the same grace to others that God grants to him.

He’d observed people walking down the sidewalk – and judged them. “That woman is too fat – she must stuff down the chips and snacks. That man is obviously homeless – he’s so scruffy and poorly dressed. Well, there goes an obvious drunk – must be an alcoholic.” – and on and on. Then he was shown pictures of these same people up close and realized as he looked into their eyes that they all had stories. “I didn’t judge the whole person, just what I saw on the outside.”

He and his wife are in a season of grace right now. They have teenagers – I can identify with that need for grace! They found themselves assaulted with the need to respond with grace to their kids – Jeff said, “It’s much easier to respond negatively to kids than with grace.”

He wrote Grace Like Rain when he felt God convict him to do so. “It was as if God was saying, ‘You are a storyteller. I want a book about people who have been transformed by grace.'” The book came floating forth – it took him only two to three months to write. The people in the book were “divine appointments.” Some were friends; some people he didn’t know. “God put the people into my life.”

Jeff spent most of the book talking about what grace isn’t, then what grace really is. “Grace is the only power to transform a person’s life.” Once you appreciate this, then you can have grace yourself [to others].

Generations of people have been so turned off by what they see as the hypocrisy of Christians and the church. What will win them back is when they see Christ by our actions and our lives.

Jeff related a story of taking his kids to the Rose Bowl parade when they were younger. After all the beautiful floats had passed by, they were followed by a group of “Christians” holding placards saying things like, “Repent – or spend eternity in hell, ” and “You’re going to hell unless you repent.” Jeff’s kids were shocked and said to their dad – no one is going to come to Christ that way!

Jeff is an avid sportsman and the family loves camping. He’s an adventurer. That sense of adventure follows into his career – he’s in investment management. “In 1991, I was managing a small cap mutual fund that was the best in the world.” Then things crashed and he spent several years in a depression.

When he was thirty-seven (he’s 50 now), he and his wife were in bed one night when he said to her that he felt they needed to turn their lives over to Jesus. She agreed – they prayed together and both accepted Christ at the same time.

He’s married to his high school sweetheart – they started dating when he was 17 and his wife 16. After college, they got married and are celebrating 27 years together.

We all need Grace Like Rain – you’ll read it with a highlighter in hand and learn something new each time you pick it up.

Jeff can be contacted through Elk Lake Publishing (www.elklakepublishing.com). Click below to purchase Grace Like Rain.