faith

God, Grace and Gumption

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

It wasn’t my plan, but I spent the entire day yesterday reading a most amazing book – Miss Brenda and the Loveladies by Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell.

As the subtitle reads…  “One woman’s brush with prison… A community of women fighting the odds for survival on the outside…”

Some years back in another life, I had a family member end up in prison after being convicted of murdering her sister.  She ended up in prison at the young age of 18.  Scroll forward 15+ years…  unable to cope with the free world, with no skills and no one to give a second chance to a murderer…  and then wondering why she ended up back in prison??  Continue reading →

The Storm Inside

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The Storm Inside: Trade the Chaos of How You Feel for the Truth of Who You AreThe Storm Inside: Trade the Chaos of How You Feel for the Truth of Who You Are by Sheila Walsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Storm Inside – Trade the Chaos of How You Feel for the Truth of Who You Are by Shelia Walsh

“Women feel the storm activity all around. We find ourselves teetering somewhere between everyday chaos and crisis. We can feel a storm brewing, we are in the middle of a storm, or we are facing the aftermath of a storm. But don’t be afraid because it is possible to grow through turbulent times. Storms show you what’s really going on inside, reveal what you really believe, and actually make you stronger.“

The Storm Inside is a powerful book written for we women that somehow seem to spend a good portion of our lives either about to be run over by a storm, are in the middle of a storm, or have just come through the other side of a storm a bit battered and bruised. Those storms of our lives sap our strength and resolve and leave us precious little resources for the next. In this book, the author – Sheila Walsh – shows us that while we may not be able to avoid the storms, we can triumph in and through the storms. Continue reading →

Messed-Up Mustard Seeds & Broken Want-to’s

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

Messed-up Mustard Seeds and Broken Want-to’s

These are a couple of chapter titles in a book that I just finished reading – Heart Wide Open by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson.

The title sound benign enough…  ah…. but it’s the sub-title that says it all:

Trading Mundane Faith For An Exuberant Life With Jesus 

And then I will take it one step further… The opening page of Chapter 1:

“Jesus, I know I don’t love You like I should, but I want to want to love You!”   Continue reading →

Cloudy with Scattered Worries

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Women's Nonfiction - Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries (A Matchbook Services Women's Inspirational Gift Idea)Women’s Nonfiction – Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries by Kathy Collard Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“If you’re facing a storm – trial, temptation, worry, uncertainty, regret, or fear – Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries will increase your faith and help you trust God as you find peace in all kinds of weather.”

Who among us hasn’t faced their share of storms in the life? The title of this book is what caught got my interest… and I am glad that it did.

This is an interesting book laced with solid biblical truths mixed with gritty honest stories of triumphs and tragedies. Throughout the book the author, Kathy Collard Miller, share’s her personal struggles of the times when worry nearly took over her life and destroyed her marriage.

As I read through the chapters I found myself in more than one scenario about how we can take what might not even be as big as a small rain shower – mix it with a good dose of worry and fear – and we have ourselves one giant hurricane. I took encouragement from the truths and tools that are in this book. We all have worries and storms in our life; it all depends on how we react to them that determines the peace that we have in our life.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, and Goodreads

View all my reviews
This book is available online at
Deeper Shopping Books and Bibles

Four Cups

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

What if God has had a plan for you from the very beginning?

Did you know:

  • God wants to rescue you from bondage?
  • He wants to deliver you from whatever holds you back?
  • He wants you to discover His original intention for your life?
  • And He wants you to be a part of a family that is making a difference? Continue reading →

Breaking Free From Strongholds

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

Can a person be a born-again, blood-bought, Jesus-loving, child of the Most High King and still struggle with strongholds in their life?  According to a book that I just finished reading by Pastor Bobby Davis – yes,… they can.

Here is an excerpt that I found so amazingly telling…

“As I said when we began this chapter, salvation is a journey.  It is a process.  True salvation is not a one-time event, as most people think.  You go the the altar;  you accept Jesus as Lord of your life; you get up and go on with your life. Sure, at that  moment you were transferred from one kingdom to another, (I love that line!) but the same strongholds you stuggled with before kneeling at that altar are the same one you will struggle with when you get up.” – Saved But Still Enslaved – page 20 Continue reading →

At Peace in the Storm

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Below is the online review of a book that I had the priviledge to review.  This book touched my heart on so many levels that it is hard to describe.  When your own storm is brewing on the horizon, or if you are riding it out right now…  I recommend this book to help you to remember that you can find strength and encouragement in that storm. 

“EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF KNOWING THE GOD WHO IS ALWAYS THERE TO REACH OUT A HAND AND PULL YOU OUT OF THE WAVES”

I pray you will be blessed as I was. Continue reading →

Turn Up The Volume, It’s Time To Live Life Out Loud

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Your Guide to Living Life Out LoudYour Guide to Living Life Out Loud by David Bell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Life can be frantic, fleeting and full of challenges. It can also be a wonderful discovery, packed with adventure. Whatever your experience, there’s no doubt that it doesn’t come equipped with a step-by-step manual or an instant answer to each daily question. That’s where this book comes in. Having faced some of life’s most daunting issues at an early age, Dave Bell reflects on his path so far and shares some practical insights that will help you plot your own course as you navigate your own uncharged territory. Focusing on the simple truth of God’s word. This real, honest life-story invites us to take a deep breath, look ahead and begin to live every day to the full.”

This book is an amazing story of a life. Specifically the life of Dave Bell… who at a young age was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. This book chronicles the story of that journey as the author reflects on it ten years later. Continue reading →

Prone To Love

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“I know many who can hypothesize about Love.  I know many who can debate the theology, they can tell me the Greek definitions and Hebrew pronunciation, and there is nothing wrong with that.  There is beauty in loving God with all of our minds.  But infinitely more important is loving God with all of our heart.  Love’s not rote discipline:  it’s a response birthed from an encounter, from a revelation of our heavenly Father.” Prone To Love – pg, 50 

Those of you that follow this blog know that I read…. alot.  I make no secret that I receive books via several publishing companies and other sites at no charge to me, in exchange for my review of the book.  I am not required to give a positive review.

I have been blessed to read some amazing and insightful books.  I’ve also read a few that just didn’t do it for me.  And I’ve also discovered that I do enjoy reading good Christian fiction – from time to time.

That being said…  Of the nearly 40 books that I have read in the last 6 months, I have not encountered a book that has affected me like “Prone To Love” by Jason Clark. Continue reading →

A Starfish At A Time

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

A Starfish at a TimeA Starfish at a Time by Dana Wynn Steele

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Join the Steele’s on the never ending roller coaster ride of their family life as they share the ups, twist and turns of an ever changing family which now numbers nineteen, with more anticipated. Dana Wynn Steele shares the stories of their special needs children and their adoptions including one during her battle with breast cancer.”

This book took me off guard just a bit. From it’s sweet colorful cover, and it’s precious title, I expected a totally different story that what came to life under the cover. This is a remarkable book with true tales of the lives of babies and children, most times born into drugs, abuse and chaos and being trapped in a system that was at it’s best, designed to preserve and protect them. Though at times, that system so completely failed them.

The author – Dana Steele and her husband, Alan, saw this travesty and opened their hearts and home to these children. From newborn babies to young adults – every one of them just wanting a forever family, a family to call their own, the Steele’s took each of them in and loved them. Yes… like saving one starfish at a time.

A warning to the reader, there are some passages and stories about the abuses and horrors these children endured that some may find disturbing. But, for better, for worse, they are the stories of these children.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, and Goodreads
View all my reviews
This book is available online at
Deeper Shopping Books and Bibles

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