This summer I was given the opportunity to read and review these two beautiful books. Worthy Publishing provided review copies of the books and the press release text that you'll find at the bottom of this review.
He Knows Your Name - God knows your name, and Cottrell ties this to several aspects of the concept of worship - surrender, faith and trust, fear, forms of worship, etc. Cottrell says, "Worship is saying to God, 'You matter more than anything in my life.... I submit to what You are and what You are doing in my life." (pg 149) Points are made with Bible stories as well as personal stories. Extended introduction by Beth Moore. The book is lovely - hard cover, easily could be used as a gift book. Quotes, questions and prayers accompany each chapter. I had planned to give my copy away, but I couldn't keep myself from highlighting various points. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Power of an Ordinary Prayer - This book opens with a beautiful blessing that addresses family, spiritual victory, service, etc. Then each chapter addresses a part of the blessing with personal stories and Scriptures. Smith does a great job of clarifying that the blessing isn't some sort of "magic spell" that gets the speaker everything he/she wants. But it can connect readers to God's desire to love and bless his people. This, too, would make a great gift book for encouragement. There's space for readers to respond to the ideas in each chapter. I think the blessing itself is my favorite part. It would be beautiful on a book mark or plaque or other gift items. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Thank you, Worthy Publishing, for the opportunity to review these books!!
GRAMMY AND DOVE AWARD-WINNING RECORDING ARTISTS
PEN TITLES WITH WORTHY PUBLISHING
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – June 11th, 2013—The Worthy Publishing Group rounds out its Spring/Summer
2013 list with two gift titles penned by award-winning singer/songwriters Michael W. Smith and Travis Cottrell.
Smith’s book
The Power of an Ordinary Prayer (Worthy Publishing,
9781617951923,
July 2013, $14.99, hardcover) explores the heart of prayer and its
power to transform your world. The beautifully-designed,
hardcover gift book inspires readers to pray blessings over their loved
ones, and in return discover the abundant joy and peace that can be
theirs through the power of this simple blessing.
Dove-award winning artist, Travis Cottrell’s 144-page gift book entitled
He Knows Your Name (Worthy Publishing,
9781617951916, July 2013, $14.99, hardcover), looks at those surprising times and places when God proves his radical love. With
a remarkable introduction by NewYork Times
best-selling author Beth Moore, Cottrell reminds readers that God is
the hope, strength, and deliverance they desperately need in every
circumstance—especially those moments when it is least expected.
“These books, written by award-winning recording artists, come on the heels of our success with
titles from contemporary Christian music artists Laura Story and Nichole
Nordeman,” says Jeana Ledbetter, Vice President of Editorial.Within the past year Worthy Publishing
has struck a chord with readers with the release of Grammy-award winning songwriter Laura Story’s devotional,
What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops?
(Freeman Smith, 9781605873220, March 2012, $11.99, trade paper) along with Dove-award winning artist Nichole Nordeman’s
Love Story (Worthy,
9781617950513, August 2012, $16.99, hardcover).
“It seems we have found a niche transforming best-selling recording artists into widely read authors,” Ledbetter continues.
Worthy is also scheduled to release Big Daddy Weave’s devotional
Redeemed (Worthy, 9781605875224, August 2013, $11.99), based on the song recently awarded “Song of the Year” at the K-Love Fan Awards on June 1st.
Michael W. Smith
is a multiple-time Grammy and Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter,
having recorded more than twenty-two albums and written numerous hit
songs.Smith has written several best-selling books, including
Old Enough to Know and
Friends are Friends Forever. He and his wife, Debbie, have five children and live in Nashville.
Travis Cottrell
is a Dove Award-winning recording artist and songwriter and has been
the worship leader at Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live conferences for
fifteen years. He also serves as the Worship Pastor at Englewood Baptist
Church in Jackson, Tennessee, where he lives
with his wife, Angela, and their three children.
Worthy Publishing Group
(www.worthypublishing.com)
is a privately held, independent voice in Christian and inspirational
publishing, based in Nashville, Tennessee, comprised of three divisions.
Worthy Books publishes a boutique list of trade titles across a broad
spectrum of genres, including current events,
biography, fiction, devotionals, spiritual and personal growth, and
specialized Bibles. Ellie Claire is a line of gift and paper
expressions, and Freeman-Smith is a value-priced, impulse book imprint.
or 
or 
for fantasy lovers. 
this year.
, 
), the Roscoe Riley series (
), and Stink and Judy Moody books (
, 
).
) - and they now have some early reader books out, too (
). For older girls, I also liked 
, 
, and 
.
and 
from Tiger Tales. These board books are enchanting. When I received my review copies from Tiger Tales this fall, these were the books I had to examine first. They are primarily black and white. Each page has one additional color in a shiny metallic finish - gold, red, green or blue. Each page says "Hello, ____" with the animal/bug's name and then two words for what the critter is doing - "chew, moo" for example. My eye was immediately drawn to the color scheme of these books and the flash of metallic color. These are my new "go to" books for new babies.
and 
to new baby boys. This year we sent one to a new baby named Luke - his father loved getting to say, "Luuuuke, I am your faaaather."
and 
.