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January Blog Highlights: Top 7 Posts, other Posts of Note

 

January saw a flurry of posts on the blog, and I (Adam) will do my best to keep it up. Here are highlights from the month.  

 

Top 7 Posts from January

Ranked by reader traffic and feedback.

1. Does Fiction Lie? Thoughts on Truth & Christian Storytelling This post caused a bit of a stir. A reader submitted a question about whether fiction is valid for Christians, and the story-lover in blogger Adam Forrest was unleashed…

2. King Jesus, His Gospel, and Us – Coverage of N.T. Wright's provocative session at the January Series of Calvin College. Basically, Wright says, we're not listening to the whole song…

3. Small Group Videos Galore – Over 50 of our small group videos are on YouTube for free. Learn where to find them.

 

4. Plan B: My Secret Terra Cotta Army – Mark Hall (@MarkHallCC) tells the bizarre true story of Chinese emperor Qin, and how he's not so different from you and me. Excerpt from The Well.

5.  History-Making Prayer & the Legend of the Circle-Maker – Mark Batterson (@MarkBatterson) tells the legend of Honi, the circle-drawing, history-changing pray-er. Excerpt from The Circle Maker.

6. The Hitchhiker and the Blue Jeans (A Surprise Blessing) Author Andrea Palpant Dilley shares a hitch-hiking story she'll never forget. (I bet you won't, either.) Excerpt from Faith and Other Flat Tires.

7. Do Not Judge? Jesus on "Using a Good Measure"  Lois Tverberg (@LoisTverberg) on what Jesus really meant when he talked about judging others. Excerpt from her new book Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.

10 More Posts of Note

1. Martin Luther King & Jeremiah the Prophet – The similarites between the prophet and MLK are considerable, as shown by Jeremiah experts Tremper Longman III and David E.

2. Sloth, aka "The Noonday Demon" An experiment in personifying sloth, so we may more easily detect it in ourselves and resist it.

3. Eight Surprising Ideas about Humility + Joe Louis's Punching Power A post inspired by the boxing champion and the writing of John Dickson (@johnpauldickson), whom I personally believe is on his way to becoming a heavyweight champion of biblical scholarship.

 

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Re:Word Weekly – 1/27/2012

 

Re:Word is our weekly roundup of useful, enriching and fascinating articles that regard words or the Word. This is where you readers, leaders, writers & creators can bring your hungry minds to roost. You'll probably make some new connections — not unlike the innovative spiders who are quickly redefining "web" in the trees below.

 

image from zondervan.typepad.com

Image courtesy of National Geographic. I'm not making light of these conditions, caused by a flood in Sindh, Iran. Learn more in this Facebook post from the Earthian.

 

Stories from the Week

1. How women fuel the man/boy problem, a post on the Her.meneutics blog by Ruthie Dean (via @rickwarren)

 

2. Find out about low literacy in America. A lot of surprises in here. For example,

"Two-thirds of those who admitted having reading difficulties had never told their spouse; 19% had never told anyone."

(Article via @Contents. Contents Magazine is a delightful digital publication "devoted to content strategy, online publishing, and new-school editorial work.")

 

3. The church talks endlessly about family but is silent about our day jobs, says pastor & author Skye Jethani (@skye_jethani, author of The Divine Commodity). Is this why 20-somethings leave the church? Read It's Back to (a Theology of) Work We Go

 

4. For bloggers: 25 Reasons Google Hates Your Blog is a helpful summary on best practices for keywords, internal linking, and other aspects of search engine optimization (via @Problogger ).

 

5. Hubbub over Genesis, creation, and evolution!  A bookseller named Louis blogged about evolution, then received backlash from a well-known champion of creationism. Louis responds with grace and good sense as he sets the record straight in My Views on Evolution – A Reply to My Critics.

 

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer shares these personal opinions for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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“Every Body Matters” Blog Tour: Sign Up to Review New Book by Gary Thomas

 

Every Body Matters
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Hey Bloggers, we're giving away copies of Gary Thomas' new book Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul to bloggers for review.

Every Body Matters explores how becoming proactive about our physical health can lead to "a fortified soul" that's better able to serve and love others. Thomas includes ways to fight health-related temptation, and how we can pursue transormation from "heads without bodies" into whole-bodied servants of God.

I've included an excerpt from Every Body Matters below about "faithful fitness" so you can get a better feel for Thomas' approach. If you're interested in reviewing Every Body Matters on your blog, please sign up below!

 

How to Participate in the Every Body Matters Blog Tour

  1. Sign up below by Thursday, Dec. 1. If your blog is selected, we will ship a  copy of Every Body Matters to you.
  2. Please post your review on your blog during the week of 1/16 or 1/23. Leave a comment here with a link to your review, because we're interested in your thoughts on the book!
  3. In your post, please mention that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  4. Finally, publish your review on another book website such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or LibraryThing.

 

 (DON'T SEE A SIGNUP FORM? Go here.)

 

 

An Excerpt from Every Body Matters

If swimming laps or doing Pilates won't substitute for regular study, prayer, and spiritual devotions, but taking off the shackles of laziness, overeating, and the physical debilitation brought about by ignoring our physical fitness can set our souls on a course of pursuing God with a renewed vigor, earnestness, and delight.

Christianity Today columnist Carolyn Arends writes of feeling convicted about "spiritualizing" her inclination toward avoiding physical fitness by focusing on "soul things" instead of "body things." A wake-up call provided by her parents' bout with ill health led to a significant life change, after which Carolyn concludes the following:

Jesus called us to love God with our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Just as his words disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed, they call the overactive to stillness and activate the overly still. They restore the soul to those who overemphasize the body, and redeem the body for those who focus only on the soul…

 

For your own health and vitality, your own spirituality, your own family, and your own personal satisfaction — will you consider [the idea of 'faithful fitness']? Not as a diet. Not as a fad. But as a life change, birthed as a spiritual exercise, a part of your worship, a new way of surrendering to God's presence in your life…

I pointed out to [my son] once how, though exercise and staying in shape require a lot of work and even regular pain, not being in shape requires its own pains and labors. If I'm going to hurt in this fallen world — and everyone of us will — I'd rather hurt and be sore getting in shape than hurt and be sore because my body isn't fit.

By God's design, we are a people with souls who desperately yearn for intimacy with God — people whose souls reside in bodies that can hinder or help this pursuit. Which will it be?

 
Every Body Matters
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Learn more about Every Body Matters.

Find more resources by Gary Thomas at  www.garythomas.com.

 


- Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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Karen Kingsbury Blog Tour: Sign up to Review “Learning”

 

Learning
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Update: Eight reviewers were selected and the books have been shipped. Thanks to everyone who entered!

We’re giving away 8 copies of Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel Learning to bloggers for review! Sign up below, and if your blog is selected we’ll ship you a review copy of Learning, Volume 2 in the Bailey Flanigan Series.

Karen Kingsbury’s new novel Learning picks up where Leaving left off: Bailey Flanigan and Cody Coleman are separated by both physical and great emotional distance. Can distance truly make the heart grow fonder? Find out in this poignant love story that features characters from Karen Kingsbury’s popular Baxter family.

 

The Learning Blog Tour
If your blog was selected, you will receive your copy of Leaving soon.

 

  1. Post your review on your blog during the week of 7/11. Please link to your review in a comment here on Zondervan Blog, because we’d like to hear your thoughts on the story!
  2. Please post your review on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, christianbook.com, or your favorite book retailer’s website.
  3. In your review please mention that Zondervan gave you a free copy for the purpose of honest review. Thanks!

 

More About Learning: Bailey Flanigan Series, Volume 2
Learning picks up where Leaving ended. While Bailey grows closer to her dream of being an actress and dancer in New York, Cody becomes immersed in the lives of the high school football team he is coaching. Neither Bailey nor Cody feel complete without the chance to share their dreams with one other, but can distance truly make the heart grow fonder? Or will Cody turn to others, especially when tragedy strikes? As Cody’s past catches up with him, he must learn to reach out for help or risk withdrawing permanently inside himself… Learn More

 

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Karen Kingsbury Blog Tour: Enter for Free Copy of “Leaving”

 

Leaving
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We're giving away 40 copies of Karen Kingsbury's new book Leaving (The Signature Edition) to bloggers for review! Sign up below.

If your blog is selected then you will receive a copy of the special Signature Edition of Leaving. This limited edition features a likeness of Karen's signature on the cover.

Leaving is the first in Karen Kingsbury's brand-new Bailey Flanigan Series. The novel kicks off with Bailey leaving Bloomington for the adventure of a lifetime. She's won an audition for the ensemble of a Broadway musical in New York City, but is she ready to leave behind friends, family, and Cody?

 

Sign Up for the Leaving Blog Tour

  1. Fill out this form by Sunday, March 26. We'll let you know by email if your blog was selected. Then we'll ship a copy of Leaving to each of the 40 winners.
  2. Please mention in your post that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  3. Post your review on your blog during the week of 5/2. Then link to your review in a comment here on Zondervan Blog, because we'd like to hear your thoughts on the story!
  4. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite book retailer's website.

 

 (DON'T SEE A SIGNUP FORM? Go here.)

 

More About Leaving: Bailey Flanigan Series, Volume 1
Bailey's determined to take advantage of her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Broadway, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of New York City? And what of Cody? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive. In order to be closer to his mother in jail, Cody takes a coaching job in a small community outside Indianapolis. New friends, distance, and circumstances expose cracks in his relationship with Bailey Flanigan. Love, loneliness, big opportunities, and even bigger decisions highlight the first book in the new Bailey Flanigan series that features members of the popular Baxter family and will complete the story of Bailey Flanigan and Cody Coleman. Learn More

 

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Fathers: Sign Up to Review “What Happened to My Little Girl”

 

What Happened to my Little Girl
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UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who signed up for the blog tour! If your blog was selected, you'll receive the book in the mail soon.


Watch Zondervan Blog for more review opportunities coming soon.

Hey Dads, are you looking for a guide to relating to your tween daughter? Then you're in luck, because we're giving away 25 copies of  What Happened to my Little Girl to bloggers for review.

Written by tween expert Nancy Rue and her husband Jim, this book will help fathers relate to their daughters as they make the transition from girl to young woman.

 

How to Participate in the What Happened to My Little Girl? Blog Tour

  1. We'll ship a copy of What Happened to My Little Girl to you if your blog is selected.
  2. Please post your review on your blog during the week of 5/9. Then link to your review in a comment here, because we're interested in your thoughts on the book.
  3. Please mention in your post that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  4. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or a different bookseller's website.

 

More About What Happened to My Little Girl: Dad's Ultimate Guide to His Tween Daughter
This companion book to the FaithGirlz novels, devotionals, and Bibles, focuses on four tween issues – appearance, body and mood changes, girl politics, and authenticity. Let tween expert Nancy Rue, and her husband, Jim, guide you in helping your daughter live as a girl-child rather than a mini-teenager.

Empower your daughter in spiritually sound behaviors as the rate of aggression rises among tween females. Show your daughter how to not only avoid but take a stand on the twisted parts of her culture such as peer abuse, shallow consumerism, and an unrealistic sense of entitlement. Give her alternatives to the toxic media, and encourage her to become part of something bigger than herself through charitable, God-centered activities. Learn to model the growth of a deep, personal connection with God, which makes all of the above not only possible, but probable. In the midst of a world saturated with poisonous role models, it is possible to raise your daughter to be a respectful, confident, God-centered, young woman. Learn More

 

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Bloggers: Sign Up to Review Lisa Harris’ “Blood Covenant”

Blood Covenant
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UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Blood Covenant blog tour! If your blog was selected, you'll receive the book in the mail soon. We're looking forward to hearing your thoughts!


Watch Zondervan Blog for more review opportunities coming soon.

 

How to Participate in the Blood Covenant Blog Tour

  1.  We'll ship a copy of Blood Covenant to you if your blog is selected.
  2. Please mention in your post that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  3. Post your review on your blog during the week of 5/2. Then link to your review in a comment here, because we'd like to hear your thoughts on the story!
  4. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite book retailer's website.

 

About Blood Covenant
Lisa Harris' action-packed new thriller transpires in the fictional African Republic of Dhambizao. With dangers that range from infectious disease to rebel soldiers looking for a fight, Publisher's Weekly has called this an "engaging" story with "lots of point of tension."

 

Paige Ryan and Nick Gilbert are trapped in an overpopulated African refugee camp where an outbreak of measles erupts and renegade soldiers block their only way out. Desperate for vaccines, they must put their own lives in the hands of God as they fight for the safety of the refugees under their protection. Learn More | Read the first chapters on Scribd 

 

About the ECHO Project
Lisa Harris is part of The ECHO Project, which exists to benefit the forgotten through Education, Compassion, Health and Opportunity. They work under the African Outreach Ministry, helping with peoples' physical needs as they seek to transform communities through the Holy Spirit.  Learn More | Donate

 

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Bloggers: Sign Up to Review “A Collection of Wednesdays”

A Collection of Wednesdays
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UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Collection of Wednesdays blog tour! If your blog was selected, you'll soon receive the book in the mail. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Watch Zondervan Blog for more review opportunities coming soon.

 

How to Participate in the Collection of Wednesdays Blog Tour

  1. We'll ship a copy of Collection of Wednesdays to you if your blog was selected.
  2. Please mention in your post that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  3. Post your review on your blog during the week of 4/25. Then link to your review in a comment here – we'd like to hear your thoughts!
  4. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite book retailer's website.

 

 About A Collection of Wednesdays: Creating a Whole From the Parts
Through story, poetry, and song lyrics, Amy Gaither Hayes contemplates the Divine design in the seemingly random aspects of her life. Gain a fresh, simpler perspective on the structure and purpose of your own life, and insights into the heart and ways of the Creator who designed you as his masterpiece.

 

If you were to set aside a part of one day every week to explore all the pieces of who you are, what would you find? For Amy Gaither Hayes, Wednesday mornings have been such a time: a sacred space for her to distill the seemingly disparate bits and pieces of her life into their essence. Then she has set about reconnecting those pieces like beads in a necklace, discovering in the process a unified whole infused with purpose and beauty by her Creator. So it is with us all. In this anthology of Wednesday reflections by Amy, you will discover a new, simpler way of looking at the person you are. Through story, poetry, and song lyrics, A Collection of Wednesdays helps you uncover a Divinely woven order in what appear to be the random components of your life. Calling. Passion. Sand. Rest. Church. Music. Books. Words such as these offer fresh, uplifting glimpses of how your soul is put together. Find out how, and discover new insights into both yourself and the heart and ways of God. Learn More

 

About Amy Gaither Hayes
Whether working as a speaker, vocal artist, actress, dancer, stage director, writer, teacher, or storyteller, Amy Gaither Hayes is driven by the notion that art aimed at the heart can transfigure the souls of men and women. Amy teaches acting at DePauw University and lives with her husband, Andrew, and their three children in rural Indiana.

 Amy Gaither Hayes

 

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Blog Reviewers: Sign Up for “The Scent of Water” Blog Tour

UPDATE: Wow, thank you to everyone who signed up for the Scent of Water blog tour! If your blog was selected, you'll receive the book in the mail soon. We're looking forward to hearing your thoughts!


Everyone else, watch Zondervan Blog for some more review opportunities coming soon.

 

Scent of Water
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You will travel with Naomi Zacharias to parts of the world shaken by natural disasters and injustice. You'll meet unforgettable people from hurricane survivors to volunteer teachers and womens’ rights activists. Grow in awareness of global issues and witness the resilience of the human spirit.

 

Through these real-world stories you might also just find an adventure that God designed specifically for you.

 

How to Join the Scent of Water Blog Tour

  1. We'll ship a copy of The Scent of Water to you if your blog is selected.
  2. Please mention in your post that Zondervan provided you with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.
  3. Post your review on your blog during the week of 4/11 or 4/18. Then link to your review in a comment here, because we'd like to hear your thoughts on the story!
  4. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite book retailer's website.

 

Synopsis of The Scent of Water: Grace for Every Kind of Broken
Follow Naomi Zacharias as she talks to women working in brothels in Mumbai; survivors of an Indonesian tsunami in which more than 160,000 lives were lost; a young girl waiting on an operation to save her life; and victims of domestic violence horrifically burned by fire. Be still with her when she realizes the pain she feels in the face of these extreme injustices reveals a common struggle that exists within all of humanity. And rise with her as she wrestles with confusion over her identity, comes face to face with redemption, and then begins to understand her own story … and to find her calling.

The Scent of Water will open your eyes to the complexities of the world, showing you pain can also be beauty, and how each are found in the unlikeliest of places.

Zacharias doesn’t have all the answers. But she has hope and encouragement that will empower you to find and begin the adventure of your life.

 

About Naomi Zacharias
Naomi Zacharias graduated from Wheaton College. After working in sales for Coca-Cola, she joined RZIM and launched Wellspring International, an initiative devoted to providing financial grants to international efforts working with at-risk women and children. Naomi has spent time in red-light districts in The Netherlands, India, and Thailand; foster homes for children affected by HIV/AIDS throughout Asia; hospitals providing surgical treatment for women who have been victims of violence in the Congo; women’s prisons in South Africa; displacement camps in Indonesia, Uganda and Pakistan; areas of the Middle East offering aid to Iraqi refugees; and areas of Southeast Asia devastated by the tsunami of 2004. Naomi recently met and married her husband, Drew, in Florence, Italy. They currently live in Oxford, England.

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Bloggers: Sign Up to Review “Heart of Lies”

Heart of Lies
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UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who signed up for the Heart of Lies blog tour! If your blog was selected, you'll receive the book in the mail soon. We're looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

  1. Please mention in your review that Zondervan sent you the book for free (for the sake of full disclosure).
  2. When your review is complete, link to your review in a comment here. (We'd like to hear your thoughts!)
  3. Post your review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite book retailer's website.

 

More blog review opportunities are coming up soon on Zondervanblog.


We're giving away 25 copies of Heart of Lies to bloggers for review. Heart of Lies is the latest historical fiction book by Jill Marie Landis. Sign up below and your blog could be selected for the blog tour.

About Heart of Lies
Maddie Grande, who was raised to be a thief on the streets of New Orleans, now lives in the bayou. She longs to change her life, but her twin "brothers" have forced her to become involved in a kidnapping. When she falls for the detective assigned to the kidnapping case, her world is turned upside-down.

 

More About of Heart of Lies: Irish Angel Series, Vol. 2
Raised in a tribe of street urchins, Maddie Grande was taught to be a thief and beggar on the streets of New Orleans. But Maddie doesn’t know her real name or where she came from. 

 

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