A wonderful exploration of the male and female energies. A must read for anyone interested in Sex Magick.

This book features bamboo illustrated for contemplation and koans for consideration. Different from every other Tao book I've seen and enriching because of the gentle breezes of fresh thought that waft through the mind of the beholder.

So many times we look at someone's appearance and judge them. Thankfully Denise found out that we should look at people through God's eyes. I am disappointed that this book is not being published because it was a good book to encourage people to look "at" the person instead of "through" the person.

Denise well done. This is one that I have greatly enjoyed and encourage it to be passed around to friends. This would be a good stocking stuffer or a present.

For anyone interested in William Faulkner, this book is far better than any of the other biographies on the market. By illuminating the organic society of the South that is mirrored in Faulker's works, the author has added significant depth to the historical understanding of this great author's works.

Pastor George Landris seemingly has everything a man could want. He is the Head Pastor of a large church with thousands of members and the leader of a successful television ministry. Pastor Landris has also managed to woo the beautiful Theresa Jordan's hand in marriage.

As a well-respected figurehead in the community, Pastor Landris shows love and compassion for his church members by counseling the troubled and visiting the sick and shut in.

Unfortunately, through the mask of all this success, both members of this seemingly happy couple hold damaging secrets. Theresa Jordan, daughter of a prominent Bishop has kept vital information about her past from George. Likewise George is caught in an emotional quandary between his feelings for Theresa and a yearning to be with a woman from his past during her family tragedy. This departure may seem inconsequential to the outside observer but when looking deeper, readers get a glimpse of the true feelings George has for this woman.

Vanessa Davis Griggs demonstrates her extraordinary writing talents in her captivating novel about religion, relationships, betrayal and redemption. Promises Beyond Jordan follows George and Theresa along their slippery slope toward relationship peril.

The spiritual references and scripture verses at the beginning of each chapter creates a fresh and unique approach to storytelling. The verses relate to the emotions and voices and acted upon in each chapter as well as its overall theme.

Griggs is very successful at telling the story within the story without losing the reader in the interpretation of complicated subplots. Characters are also well developed, allowing you to feel their struggles and moral dilemmas. When Theresa contemplates her relationship with George and questions his love for her, you can feel her sadness. Likewise, when George is faced with church politics and is confronted by members of his church, the reader is concerned with seeing his good name cleared.

Promises Beyond Jordan is not only for the spiritual churchgoers among us. The book speaks to many situations and relationships far outside of the realm of the church. I will admit that experience with church politics or even membership in a black church environment will give readers an increased appreciation for the author's realistic depiction of how church members often react to gossip and so called "inappropriate behavior".

I enjoyed this novel and was impressed by how things in the beginning tied into revelations at the end. I recommend this book to both men and women. Promises Beyond Jordan receives a rating of Four.

Promises Beyond Jordan is an emotional, heartfelt, suspense-woven novel by Vanessa Davis Griggs and is centered upon a single question: Have you ever loved someone that you never had? Promises, commitment, and the scars of past psychological wounds pervade this quiet yet emphatic story of love, betrayal, redemption, and hope. A singularly moving read, Griggs is an author with a genuine talent for storytelling.

Messages are abundant in Promises Beyond Jordan. Beginning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Atlanta, to Birmingham, Alabama and back again, is the tale of integrity, commitment or lack there of, love, hope and redemption. "Have you ever loved someone that you never had," opens chapter one and is the catalyst for this story.

George Landris is the dreadlock wearing, spirit-filled, eloquent speaking pastor of Wings of Grace Faith Ministry Church. Theresa Jordan is a minister's daughter and the fiancé of Pastor Landris. She is selfish and often times her behavior is inexplicable. In the mix we have Bishop Richard Jordan (Theresa's father), his wife Beatrice and Lena Patterson. These three individuals have kept a long held secret from Theresa that seeks to destroy the family unit. However, they believed that harboring this secret was the right thing to do in hopes of creating a normal childhood for Theresa.

Nine days before his wedding Pastor Landris takes off for Birmingham, Alabama without informing Theresa as to why. During this fateful trip Pastor Landris is reunited with an old friend that fuels Theresa's insecurities. Theresa's insecurities cause her to loose her faith and she too has a secret that must be kept. During Pastor Landris' trip and upon his arrival, we are left wondering about the identity of this mysterious individual and why he will not reveal this information to Theresa. The answers to these questions are answered within the nine days leading up to the wedding and beyond.

Sometimes life brings trouble and offers little to no solutions and God's answers are not easy to understand. Promises Beyond Jordan demonstrates the adage of faith, being true to yourself and honoring a commitment once it is made. The sermons, church members and other church related activities are as entertaining as they are real. This is very good Christian fiction read with enough drama to keep you captivated.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves

Maddy Potter will do whatever it takes to gain custody of seven-year-old Katie. Friends have long encouraged her to put away the widow's weeds she has worn for the last seven years, but Maddy has vowed to never marry again. So she hires a proper gentleman to court her and leave her at the altar. Such a plan will provide the necessary respectability to see her through the adoption hearing in four weeks. When he arrives, however, Clayton Kincaid is too handsome and too potent for her comfort, making her wonder if the citizens of Pepper Cloud will believe he is sincerely interested in her.

Clay suspects that this honoring of a family debt is actually nothing more than another of his mother's matchmaking schemes. He arrives in Pepper Cloud a day early to catch Maddy unprepared. He finds her modeling a daring dress for a dressmaker, revealing her passionate nature. Clay agrees to court her for a few weeks, but refuses to allow her dictate every move he makes. Moreover, he has never met a woman so obviously immune to his charms. Furthermore, he worries that Barrows House might be an unfit place to raise a child. He certainly will not repay a debt of honor by compromising a child's future.

Author Winnie Griggs pens an engaging historical romance in WHATEVER IT TAKES. Maddy's eccentricities make her character sparkle, from her poker playing to her unorthodox housemates. Further, Maddy has long worn her widow's weeds as a shield of protection, but Clay's arrival blows away her carefully built walls. Indeed, Maddy's proper appearance conceals a marvelously free-spirited heroine, who has touch the right of touch of hoyden to make her truly interesting. Clay longs to release the slightly naughty woman from her self-imposed strictures. He also conceals a weakness that makes this powerful hero all too human. His sincere concern for Katie's well-being likewise brings his character vibrantly alive. In addition, the fun secondary cast brings the background to life, especially the Pepper Cloud Propriety Police. Indeed, rich characterizations complete with endearing vulnerabilities and emotional depth, will inevitably capture reader's hearts. Light hearted and entertaining, WHATEVER IT TAKES comes highly recommended.

In 1894 Pepper Cloud Missouri, widow Maddy Potter plans to never remarry. Instead, Maddy is a do-gooder always rescuing some needy person or animal. Her latest charge, seven-year-old Katie, gets inside Maddy's heart so she wants to adopt the child, but knows a single woman has no chance of approval. She concocts a plot to insure her success because she believes that a female engaged to marry will persuade the adoption board into believing a man is there to take care of the child.

Maddy hires a gentleman to woo her, propose, but jilt her at the altar. Her friend sends her brother Clayton Kincaid to act as Maddy's beau. Clay thinks that Maddy is another of his mother's matchmaking ploys, but after seeing her in a revealing dress, he agrees to her whirlwind courtship idea. As Maddy and Clay fall in love, he doubts that her home is safe enough to raise a child. Even if it costs him his heart he will insure that Katie is protected.

What makes Winnie Grimes latest tale more than just an enjoyable late nineteenth century Americana romance is the eccentric cast who bring to life the era as few novels do. Maddy is a delightful character using the armor of widowhood to fend off males and to enable her to live an off-center lifestyle. Maddy's bunkmates (human and animal) provide the means for the audience to see the depths to Maddy's soul. Clay has flaws, "debts", and concerns that turn him into a caring person. Sub-genre fans will win with the amusing with a serious underlying theme WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Harriet Klausner

Maddy Potter has been widowed for seven years and has vowed never to marry again. However, she want to adopt little Katie. One big hitch: the proper ladies of Pepper Cloud, Missouri don't approval of her being single raising a child, so she needs a husband fast. Enters Clayton Kincaid...he owes Maddy a debt of honour for Maddy saving his sister from a mugging. So he agrees to act as a fiancé, to see here through the adopting hearing. Only, Clayton, the handsome, most sought after bachelor in New Orleans might be overkill - will the citizens of Pepper Cloud really believe he would be interested in her???

Worse, Clayton is not to be dictated to by Maddy. He has agreed to go along with the charade, but is concerned about the child. Replaying the debt will not be done by putting a child in an uncertain future, making him just another alpha male rake.

Naturally, both are drawn to each other, but Maddy has spent seven years convincing herself to remain true to the vow to her dead husband.

Winnie Griggs weave charm into her engaging character...making Maddy, Clayton and all the secondary character so memorable. Her writing endows her Maddy and Clayton with emotional depth, heart-warming characters...they are very human, vulnerable and endearing.

Fans of Linda Lael Miller and Pamela Morsi will adore Griggs!!

I discovered Julia Havey on the eDiets website and was curious to learn what helped her lose 130 pounds. I was expecting another book full of insane advice and bad food choices. Imagine my delight when I read that her approach STARTS with building a foundation of Positive Energy! Imagine that she not only tells you her story, but she tells you how you can do it too! I was up on my exercise bike within ten pages of reading this book, and I'm sure that it pushed me to a new level of fitness.

If you have ever wondered why you can lose weight, and then you gain it right back, you should buy this book. She talks about non food rewards and setting up attainable goals. I actually BELIEVE that Julia used these methods to lose her weight and that she STILL uses them to keep her weight off.

Finally, SANITY!

Thank you Julia, you have blessed the overweight who long to live a healthy lifestyle! A million thanks from a woman who really loves this book!

Julia's new book is something I wish I would have found 15 or 20 years ago. This book goes into great detail about discovering yourself in order to lose weight. I read the first one and also did the lifechanger and over the last 14 months have shed 176 pounds with the help of Julia Havey. This book is the last thing you will ever need to find lasting weight loss....I could not put the book down. With its easy to follow meal plans, motivational advice, and easy three step plan, it is a no fail program that anyone can follow. After trying at least 20 different "diet programs", I found Julia Havey. I urge everyone who has as little as five pounds or as much as 200 lbs or more to read this book and follow her advice. Beleive me, it WILL BE the last program you ever go on..IT WORKS...and its easy!!On a scale of 1 to 10...its a 20!!! Dont hesitate...Order it today..It will change your life forever...It did mine!! Thanks Julia!

I found Julia's book very inspiring and motivating. Julia provides sound advice and real life examples to help you gain control through self motivation. She shows you that you can be in control of the choices and decisions that help you achieve your weight loss goals. Julia goes beyond weight loss and helps you learn to set personal goals and then gives you motivating tools that lead to success.

Although this is a very attractive book with good size beautiful detailed pictures of birds, I was disappointed to discover that even though it is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it is not really " comprehensive ". For exanple it does not mention ospreys at all which nest in good numbers in my area. It briefly mentions bob whites which nest in my area, but there are no pictures of this bird or feeding information. There are many similar ommisions and some of the feeding information is limited and not always creative. For a newly published book of this type, I expected it to be " more state of the art ".

THIS BOOK IS EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. I KEEP IT BY ME WHEN I AM WATCHING THE BIRDS AT MY FEEDERS OR IN MY YARD. A VERY EXCELLENT BOOK.

Margaret Barker and Jack Griggs work on this book is excellent. The feederWatcher's Guide to Bird Feeding is very well organized and informative. The book content is useful not only for the experienced bird feeder, but the novice as well. I love the bird photographs and having the opportunity to view a snapshot other bird feeding sites across the country.

I would give this book five stars for the info and three for the layout.

The herbal remedies discussed here are very useful, starting with the info on what herbs to use for cleaning your house and what kind of indoor plants to use to purify the air you're breathing. The herbal remedies on skin care and several health issues can be found in most herbal books. However, I thought that the chapter about cleansing was very interesting, as it leads to a cure (prevention, actually) for the common cold.

A note: Despite the title, and although it's written by a witch, spellcrafting is not discussed in this book. At least not in the usual way...

Barbara Griggs has done a fantastic job with this book: an herbal primer for home use. It has four main sections (herbs in the home, in the kitchen, beauty care, and health concern remedies). Although the book does a great job introducing the reader to different herbs and their effects, parts of the book of confusingly written. Also, she devotes only 2 pages to describing how to prepare all the types of herbal remedies (including one short paragraph on tinctures and a miniscule one on herbal wines). I had hoped that she would provide enough information on those aspects, but I had to look elsewhere.

Overall, I think Ms. Griggs' book makes a wonderful introduction to the art of healing with herbs. It's title is misleading, though. It has nothing whatsoever to do with withcraft.

This is a wonderful book. In reality, it is a combination of all the "folk" magic passed through families for generations. I have used many, many of the recipies, and ideas in the book.
Thanks Barbara and Barbara for all your research!!
~blessings )O( moonlight to all~

With so many birding field guides available these days, birders suffer from a veritable embarrassment of riches when it comes to selecting which volume(s) to take into the field. Even in the face of still competition, this still fairly new guide put together by the American Bird Conservancy has many strong points to recommend it. First, the illustrations are, for the most part, gorgeously painted and well-printed. Second, there is adequate emphasis on key identification field marks. Third, the book is small enough to be easily carried in a jacket pocket or field guide pouch. And fourth, although no single field guide can really be said to include "all the birds," this one comes close enough, and even features some special sections and illustration plates showing "accidentals" that occasionally show up in North America.

If there is a key problem for potential users of this guide, it is that its authors have daringly attempted to create a new way to organize the presentation of the many hundreds of species included. Rather than follow the taxonomic approach typical of other field guides, the authors have organized in part in accordance with habitat and geographical area. For novice birders unfamiliar with the way it's "usually done," this may prove quite convenient. For experienced birders, however, this distinctive organization will likely prove the source of headaches rather than added convenience.

The other problem with this and indeed, any field guide that is more than a year or so old is that ornithologists are constantly lumping and splitting species. With its 1997 publication date, the book is recent enough to have included some important "splits," including the California/Black-tailed gnatcatchers and the California/Canyon towhees. However, there are more recent changes that have occurred since 1997, including the newly recognized Gunnison sage grouse and the splitting off of Arizona from Strickland's woodpecker. Hopefully, the publishers of *All The Birds* will employ a periodic updating regimen to keep its readers current with regard to what is or is not considered a "real species."

Ultimately, the field guide that most avid birders will continue to carry with them in the field always is the *National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds of North America*. As a second and perhaps more portable reference, however, *All The Birds of North America* might be a good book to bring on one's field trips, as well.

Being an avid birder, this is by far the best book to take into the field. Its new design makes it extremely quick to find the bird simply by looking at its basic shape and behavior. My favorite part is how it organizes its warblers into Eastern, Western, wingbars, no wing bars, etc. Although it doesn't have as many versions of species as the National Geographic guide, it is much more field worthy being smaller and easier. Being an advanced birder, when I say easier, I do not therefore limit it to the beginner. Every birder must admit he or she has problems with certain birds. This field guide is superb at every kind of bird (particularly difficult ones like gulls, warblers, etc.). The illustrations are the most beautiful and accurate I have ever seen. The section at the beginning with computer generated images of extinct birds is very interesting (and helpful, too if you happen to find a remnant flock of Bachman's warblers). It is much more up to date and has better illustrations than Peterson (not to mention that this has maps on the same page). It beats Audubon by having illustrations instead of photographs, more plumages of species, and the descriptions and maps on the same page as the bird. It surpasses Golden with it's better illustrations and easier to understand format. It does, however, lack some important plumage variations in certain birds (i.e. the ruff). But next to everything else it is the most superb guide I have ever used.

I have been interested in birding for about ten years, and own several other bird guides, and have examined closely several more. As you might imagine, most guides share quite a lot in common. If I were using a field guide to simply look at a backyard bird, I might equally well use my Peterson's Guide or my NGS Field Guide to the Birds of North America. All three of these guides have good art and organization, and are very usable. I think this is the best guide for FIELD use for several reasons: 1) The size and shape easily fit in a normal pocket. 2) The weather resistant materials the book is made of. 3) The way birds are grouped, by similarities in behavior, habitat, and appearance, allows for easy comparison and rapid identification of a species. The authors have obviously put a lot of thought into the design and organization of this book and it has a lot to offer both the beginning and advanced birder.