Cheri Swalwell – Christ Follower, Wife, Mother, Author, Podcaster, Speaker, Friend
A Thanksgiving to Forget
Journey Back Home releases TOMORROW! Hurry and get your FREE Pre-Order gift TODAY!
What happens when Jace and Simone invite both sides of their family over for their first married Thanksgiving? What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving memories?
Book: Desire of the Heart
Author: Anne Perreault
Genre: Christian Romance
Release Date: April 2020
It all started with a hike…
Cady Jackson’s vacation plans were simple. Go to Yellowstone National Park, enjoy the scenery, take lots of pictures. She and her cousin, Ashley, have grown up in a strict, conservative Christian family in upstate New York. Cady has never been encouraged to spread her wings. This trip is an opportunity to do so. Only, she doesn’t know how much her life is about to change when she has an unfortunate encounter in the middle of nowhere.
Why would God take a personal interest in someone like her?
Grant McClintoch generally loves his job as a ranger in the oldest national park in the country. That it includes rescuing stranded visitors to the park is unfortunate. He has been trying to rebuild his life after it had nearly been destroyed. Grant doesn’t realize that God isn’t done with him yet when he stumbles onto an injured hiker.
But can he place his past in God’s capable hands where it belongs?
Click here to get your copy!
Anne Perreault was born and raised in Germany. By the time she was 14 years old, her family moved to Dubai, UAE. While living in this exotic place, she traveled extensively to various countries around the world. After graduating from an American boarding school in Austria, she attended college in England, where she met her husband. She graduated from New England College with a degree in biology, and settled down in Connecticut. Anne became a horseback riding instructor as well as a certified therapeutic riding instructor. She and a group of friends started a therapeutic riding center in Bristol, CT. During that time, Anne also received a masters degree in secondary education and began to homeschool her three children. While raising their three children, she began to write an inspirational story primarily for her daughter. Anne, her husband, and two of their grown children now reside in Southern Vermont, where they are building their home. Besides writing, Anne enjoys reading, spending time with her husband, grown children, and grand-dogger.
Desire of the Heart…
This book is so special to me. I had been pondering what to write a few years back and the thought came to me that I should base my next character on some of the adorable quirkiness of my beautiful daughter, a young woman filled with integrity and strength. Except, when you first meet her, you might think she’s too naïve or too sweet. She has a fire in her and a passion. And then I watched a TV show and one of the character’s were named Cady. I knew I had my main character. My daughter loves to travel, and a few years ago, she and her cousin traveled to Scotland together. It was kind of like fiction came to live right then and there. I had already paired Cady up with her cousin, a young woman who is the complete opposite to Cady. Of course, in real life, my daughter and her cousin are incredibly similar to each other and are both such amazing young women of God.
Her counterpart came about because I was looking for someone with strength and also with great integrity, but someone who was wounded by life. I also realized that I wanted to set the story in a national park. I’ve always enjoyed nature and wanted my main character to be working in some capacity with nature. Grant naturally became a park ranger. It fit his personality so well, I secretly rubbed my hands together in glee.
Setting the story at Yellowstone allowed me to research that beautiful part of the country. I have always been a wildlife enthusiast. My oldest son loves wolves and has studied them all his life. I wanted to include wolves in the story… enough said. I fell completely in love with the park and I will one day travel there and stand where Grant and Cady did.
My Review of Desire of the Heart:
This was the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be the last. I can’t wait for the sequel because this book had it all: biblical truths woven throughout, a great storyline, humor, drama, and romance. I love that their story continues in Book #2, those are some of my favorite books. I love how Cady, and Grant, both grow in this book. I love how these characters are real to life and could be my neighbors. I loved this book and will be telling many of my friends they need to get a copy of their own.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit but was not under any obligation to write a review. All opinions are strictly mine.
Thanks for stopping and connecting here at Spoken from the Heart: If you want to subscribe to my email to receive the latest updated information or to just be encouraged, sign up here: www.cheriswalwell.com
As my way of saying thanks, you will receive a free eBook – Spoken from the Heart: Choosing Grace
Just sign up at: www.cheriswalwell.com
Don’t forget to check out the other blog spots listed below for your convenience.
Blog Stops
For Him and My Family, November 2
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 3
Book of Ruth Ann, November 3
Texas Book-aholic, November 4
Mary Hake, November 4
Inklings and notions, November 5
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 6
Pause for Tales, November 6
Older & Smarter?, November 7
deb’s Book Review, November 7
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 8
Through the Lens of Scripture, November 9
Ashley’s Bookshelf, November 9
Artistic Nobody, November 10 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
21st Century Keeper at Home, November 10
Quiet Quilter, November 11
Sara Jane Jacobs, November 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 12
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 13
Just Your Average reviews, November 13
Spoken from the Heart, November 14
Emily Yager, November 14
Daysong Reflections, November 15
To celebrate her tour, Anne is giving away the grand prize package of a bookmark and a signed copy of Desire of the Heart!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/102f2/desire-of-the-heart-celebration-tour-giveaway
I wanted to let you know that I had a wonderful opportunity to be on #BecauseFiction, reading the first chapter of Book ONE for The Redemption of Green Pines series …
Head on over and grab a sneak peek of:
Don’t Forget … There are only a few days left to preorder your copy of
BOOK TWO: JOURNEY BACK HOME and receive the short story “A Thanksgiving to Forget” as a special bonus.
You’re invited to Jace and Simone’s first Thanksgiving dinner as a married couple. They decided to invite their WHOLE family … Seriously, this is one family get together you won’t want to miss! It will make you appreciate your family even more!
What’s one thing your grateful for this year?
Please comment and let me know.
Jace and Simone are married with four kids. He’s a youth pastor and she’s a second grade teacher. Holly’s his best volunteer. The question isn’t whether or not Jace and Simone are living out their happily ever after. The question is what’s Holly’s motive for hanging around the youth’s pastor’s house?
Get your Pre-Order short story “A Thanksgiving to Forget” w/purchase before November 17th
This year in particular, I think largely in part because of the opportunity to slow down this year, I am looking forward to celebrating a whole month of being thankful, grateful, and blessed. God is the One who gets the credit for the blessings, big and small, that we experience every year, and this year I’m more excited than ever to name them, remember them, and savor them.
What about you? Have you thought about taking the whole month of November, or better yet 365 days a year, to thank God for at least one blessing in your life?
Comment below if you want to share it with us.
Book: Grow Over Your Wall
Author: Matt Sorger
Genre: Christian Living/Spiritual Growth
Release Date: September 18, 2020
Experience God’s Unstoppable Blessings and Breakthrough!
You may be facing an issue that’s seems like an insurmountable barrier in your life. Or, your circumstances may be so difficult you feel surrounded by walls with no way out. You ask God to knock down those walls, just as He did for Joshua at Jericho. But they’re still standing. Sometimes, God removes the obstacles from our lives immediately and dramatically. But what can we do when the change doesn’t occur, when the breakthrough doesn’t come, when God’s promises aren’t fulfilled, even when we pray?
That’s when we have to plant ourselves in God’s Word and presence and let Him grow us over the wall. The breakthrough starts as our roots grow deep. This is what Joseph did when he was in the pit and the dungeon. He grew over his wall by adopting a heavenly perspective rather than an earthly one. The result was a multitude of blessings for him, his family, and the world: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall” (Genesis 49:22).
You can grow over your own wall of difficulty, opposition, hindrance, or limitation. As you grow, your wall won’t look as high as it used to. And one day, you will grow over it. Every negative situation will divinely position you to be where you need to be in life. You will grow over circumstances you thought were too powerful for you. You will grow over the wall of limitation that once surrounded you. You will grow over the dead end or impossibility that threatened to defeat you. The trials of life have no power to stop you from being abundant and fruitful in God, receiving His blessings, and fulfilling the plans He has for you. Like Joseph, let your branches grow over the wall. Then, your breakthrough will become a breakthrough and blessing for others, too, enabling them to grow over their own walls of difficulty.
Click here to get your copy!
Turn your pain into power and experience God’s unstoppable blessings and breakthrough.
My daughter and I were talking about the very concepts in this book this summer, and then the book came out and it was one we wanted to study together. I’m so glad we did. It was packed full of truths and set up well for us to study and learn together. This is one I will be sharing with friends (maybe doing studies with them) and inviting others to join in. Great book. New author to me, but one I definitely want to read more from.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit but was not under any obligation to write a review. All opinions are strictly mine.
Sara Jane Jacobs, October 24
Artistic Nobody, October 25 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Texas Book-aholic, October 26
For Him and My Family, October 27
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 28
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 29
Simple Harvest Reads, October 30 (Spotlight)
deb’s Book Review, October 30
Older & Smarter?, October 31
Inklings and notions, November 1
Ashley’s Bookshelf, November 2
Spoken from the Heart, November 3
Captive Dreams Window, November 3
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 4
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 5
Through the Fire Blogs, November 6
To celebrate his tour, Matt is giving away the grand prize package of a $20 Starbucks gift card and finished copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/102aa/grow-over-your-wall-celebration-tour-giveaway
I have a friend…you know, one of those that we can pick up right where we left off no matter how much time has passed in between. We’re working on getting a podcast started, and so we decided a few months ago to practice. (I’m so glad we did because there are definitely kinks we need to work out.)
I was feeling a little stressed, and overwhelmed with my to-do list so I said “I have to be mindful of the time and stick to our 30 minutes in order to get the rest of my stuff done today.” Her loving response? “We’ll set a timer,” because she knows if we don’t, we will end up talking and sharing and praising God way past the allotted time.
I’m so thankful for friends like that, sisters in Christ who do life with me. Friends who I can pick right back up with despite months, or years, of silence, not because we’re upset with each other but simply because life got in the way.
Do you have a friend like that? Or more than one? Maybe today’s a great day to celebrate that friendship with a phone call, a text, an email, letting her know how much she means to you.
And that timer? We failed … instead of taking 30 minutes, we finally hung up 90 minutes later. But was it really a failure when it filled us up for the rest of the week? Nope. I consider that a huge win!
© Cheri Swalwell 2020
Have you ever felt like that? I used to think life would be more of a happily ever after with an occasional bump in the road, but the older I get, the more I realize it’s a choice. There is a lot of hard in between the celebrations but even the hard can be fun.
I have jokingly told my husband (with a lot of truth behind my words) that if I have to go through a pandemic, there’s no one else I’d rather share it with than him. I said the same thing about losing our baby, his health crisis, losing my job, and a host of other things our family has gone through (and I’m sure you could fill in the blanks with all the things you’ve experienced in your life).
But, despite the “hard” we experience in life, or maybe because of the hard we get to the other side of, the victories, the celebrations, the good are that much sweeter. The grass looks greener, the flowers more vibrant, the sun reflecting off the ice and snow more shiny.
What about you? Do you celebrate the happily-ever-after moments even more because of the hard you survived and the lessons you learned during those times in your life?
© Cheri Swalwell 2020
Book: The Plans We Made
Author: Kathryn Cushman and Lauren Beccue
Genre: Contemporary Women’sFiction
Release Date: August 14, 2020
When past secrets hold the only key to hope for the future…
Caroline Chapman is reeling from a broken engagement. Determined to start again, she moves cross-country for her dream job of planning events in the historical mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. Just as her life is getting back on track, she gets an email that shakes her very foundations.
Linda Riley’s life looks picture perfect – a wonderful husband, two great kids, involved in church and the community. Then comes the diagnosis that shatters the facade. In order to save her son’s life, she must reveal secrets that can rip everything apart.
Connected by more than painful circumstances, these two women discover a sacred bond. In this beautiful story of love, loss, and the fight for life, Caroline and Linda experience the reality that life doesn’t always go according to The Plans We Made.
Kathryn Cushman graduated with a degree in pharmacy from Samford University. After hanging up her lab coat, she shifted her focus toward writing. Her previous works have received multiple nominations for both the Carol Award and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award. The Plans We Made is her tenth published novel.
Learn more at kathryncushman.com. Follow Kathryn on Facebook (@authorkathryncushman) and Instagram (katiecushman1). 
Lauren Beccue graduated from Holy Cross with a BA in English and now lives with her family in Santa Barbara. She writes about faith and family, with an emphasis on agricultural passages of the Bible. This is her first novel.
Learn more at laurenbeccue.com. Follow Lauren on Facebook (@beccue.lauren) and Instagram (@lauren_beccue).
My Review of The Plans We Made:
This book was wonderful. It had so many different storylines (two specific ones) and the fact it was written by two different authors – it was written so seamlessly it wasn’t evident that it was written by two different people. The topics were heavy but written in a way that brought hope and encouragement. It was a wonderful book and I definitely will be reading more by these two authors (separate and together).
I received a copy of this book from the publishers but was not under any obligation to write a review. All opinions are strictly mine.
| A Glimpse of Our Life | 10/6/2020 |
| Book Reviews From an Avid Reader | 10/6/2020 |
| Colleen Richman | 10/6/2020 |
| Life of Literature | 10/6/2020 |
| Words By Design | 10/6/2020 |
| Girls in White Dresses | 10/7/2020 |
| As He Leads is Joy | 10/8/2020 |
| Batya’s Bits | 10/8/2020 |
| Faith Hope & Joy | 10/9/2020 |
| Hallie Reads | 10/9/2020 |
| Hanging Off The Wire | 10/9/2020 |
| Bigreadersite | 10/10/2020 |
| reviewingbooksplusmore | 10/10/2020 |
| A Busy Mom of Two | 10/11/2020 |
| Remembrancy | 10/11/2020 |
| Everyday Shortcuts | 10/12/2020 |
| Happily Managing a Household of Boys | 10/12/2020 |
| A Christian Writer’s World | 10/12/2020 |
| sunny island breezes | 10/13/2020 |
| Adventures of a Travelers Wife | 10/14/2020 |
| Inklings and Notions | 10/15/2020 |
| Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses | 10/16/2020 |
| Clicking Her Heels | 10/16/2020 |
| Pause for Tales | 10/16/2020 |
| Simply Susan | 10/16/2020 |
| Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy | 10/16/2020 |
| SK Bell | 10/17/2020 |
| Veronica’s ‘Views | 10/18/2020 |
| Moments | 10/19/2020 |
| Writing to Inspire | 10/19/2020 |
| I am believing God | 10/20/2020 |
| Living Outside the Lines | 10/20/2020 |
| Magical Wonder of Books | 10/20/2020 |
| Older & Smarter? | 10/21/2020 |
| The Librarian’s Bookshelf | 10/21/2020 |
| Genesis 5020 | 10/22/2020 |
| Inspiration Clothesline | 10/22/2020 |
| Cafe Lily Book Reviews | 10/24/2020 |
| Christian Chick’s Thoughts | 10/24/2020 |
| Reviews by Leslie | 10/24/2020 |
| Southern & Style | 10/24/2020 |
| Peaceful Pastime | 10/25/2020 |
| A Room Without Books is Empty | 10/26/2020 |
| abookandalattee | 10/26/2020 |
| Chat With Vera | 10/26/2020 |
| Christian Bookshelf Reviews | 10/26/2020 |
| Debs book review | 10/26/2020 |
| God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae | 10/26/2020 |
| Jamie Ann Bartlett – Author | 10/26/2020 |
| Beck To Basics | 10/27/2020 |
| Captive Dreams Window | 10/27/2020 |
| ositive Grace | 10/27/2020 |
| Spoken from the Heart | 10/27/2020 |
| Two Points of Interest | 10/27/2020 |
https://www.audrajennings.com/2020/10/win-copy-of-plans-we-made.html
Author Giveaway:
MAKE YOUR PLANS IN PENCIL!
Now, go buy your copy of The Plans We Made online or at a local bookstore, then be sure to head to Lauren’s website to claim your bonus freebie!
THREE CUSTOM PENCILS:
Just contact Lauren with your name, address, and where you purchased the book, and she’ll send you a set. That’s it! (US only and get ’em while they last.)
Thanks for stopping and connecting here at Spoken from the Heart: If you want to subscribe to my email to receive the latest updated information or to just be encouraged, sign up here: www.cheriswalwell.com
As my way of saying thanks, you will receive a free eBook – Spoken from the Heart: Choosing Grace
Just sign up at: www.cheriswalwell.com
Don’t forget to check out the other blog spots listed below for your convenience.