Trisha and I became acquainted with Kasey Van Norman through our literary agent, Jenni Burke. We not only share an agent with Kasey, we share a publisher as well. Kasey’s first book, Named By God releases today from Tyndale House Publishers. As new authors,we reached out to Kasey and told her that we would be happy to review her book and help promote her book release. That day is TODAY!

Honestly, it was more of a kind gesture…I had no idea what to expect with her book.

A few weeks ago, Kasey sent us the digital version of the book. I downloaded it and before I even opened the first page, the sub title captured my heart. Named By God: Overcoming your past, transforming your present, embracing your future.

There isn’t a subtitle that fits more closely with what our RefineUs community is about. The book itself is just as good as its subtitle. If you’ve ever been haunted by your past; frustrated with your current circumstances or questioned God’s involvement in your future, this book is for you! This book is a powerful reminder that our past can be forgiven. Our hearts can be transformed. Change is possible. Healing is what God does best. God has named us and set us apart for a destiny that is far beyond what we could ask or imagine.

As a gift to our readers, Kasey sent us 3 signed copies to give away. Here is how you can enter to win:

1. Leave a comment below and let us know your name.

2. Copy and paste this to Twitter: Enter to win a FREE SIGNED copy of @KaseyVanNorman’s new book Named By God from @justindavis33 http://t.co/SIXxAHR9

3. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can share it on Facebook by clicking HERE

On Friday, we’ll pick 3 winners and send you a free book!

Even if you don’t win, you can buy Kasy’s book on Amazon. You can also check out her WEBSITE.

In 2008, Trisha and I sat in Pete Wilson’s living room visiting with he and Brandi for the weekend. Our families had been friends for several years and he and Brandi were instrumental in the restoration of our marriage. We had been out of ministry for three years and had no aspirations about going back into ministry. One night as we sat and talked around the fireplace, Pete made a promise to us. He said, “God is going to call you back into ministry, and I promise I will do anything I can to help you follow that calling.” Trish and I thought he was crazy. He has followed through with that promise over and over again!

Four years later, I have the honor of not only doing life with one of my best friends, but serving as a pastor at the church he leads, Cross Point Church. He has done so much to encourage, uplift and help Trisha and me, we wanted to do all we could to help him launch his new book, Empty Promises today.

I love this book because it gets to the heart of something we all struggle with: Looking to other things to bring us the contentment and satisfaction that only God can provide. 

We are  giving away 5 AUTOGRAPHED COPIES of Empty Promises this week!

Here’s how to qualify for the giveaway!

1. Leave a comment with your name and where you live. We’ll randomly select the winners on Friday.

2. Tweet, Facebook or Email this: Win a signed copy of @pwilson’s new book, Empty Promises from @justindavis33: http://tinyurl.com/bpqfrku 

That’s it…its that easy! (Let us know in the comment that you’ve shared the post)

Even if you don’t win the book, you can order the book through Amazon by clicking HERE

You can check out the video trailer for the book by going HERE. 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to read and review the book Sons of Grace. Then last week, I sat down with the author Mark Hughes and discussed the book, the concept of grace and how he avoided divorce in his own marriage. You can check out the interview here.

The book is a collection of stories of grace, redemption and second chances. It points our heart to the Cross and reminds us of our own need for grace.

Today, I’m excited to be giving away 5 copies of the book Sons of Grace. All you have to do to enter is leave your name in the comments and what city you live in.

If you want to enter multiple times, and increase your chance to win, then like this post and let us know in the comments.

If you want to triple your chance of winning and you are on Twitter, then copy and past this to Twitter:

Enter to win a FREE copy of the book Sons of Grace from @justindavis33 and RefineUs: http://bit.ly/A1Dpmt

We will decide on the five winners on Sunday and ship you the book on Monday.

So enter to win…where are you from?

A few weeks ago, I shared with you a review of the book, Sons of Grace. If you love redemption stories, then the book is an awesome book to read. You get a front row seat with ten different men as they encounter Christ and His grace. As a person that loves second chances, this book reminded me of how thankful I am for grace. I had an opportunity to chat with Mark Hughes, the author of Sons of Grace and we wanted to share that with you today. Enjoy!

We will be giving away 5 copies of the book next week.

What is the last book you’ve read?

Every few months, we get emails from different publishers or literary agents asking if we would be willing to review a book that their author has published. We only say yes when the book is something we are interested in or could be a resource for you.

A few weeks ago, we got an email about a book called Sons of Grace. Honestly, I had never heard of the author, Mark Hughes, (author of Buzz Marketing) but the title of the book intrigued me. The request wasn’t for us to review the book or promote the book, but simply asked for our address so they could send me a copy of the book to read. I agreed and a few days later, received the book in the mail.

Redemption is a story only God can write. That is what makes redemption so beautiful…it is God’s thing. He is the master of redemption. He is the author of grace. As I started reading Sons of Grace, I was captured by the story of redemption. Not just one story, but 10 stories.

Sons of Grace is a book of stories. It is a collection of personal encounters with Jesus that redeem and restore in unmistakable ways. Hughes allows nine men to share their story of grace and second chances. The stories are not only compelling, but they remind me of my own need for grace.

A gang member that is serving a 50 year sentence in prison for murder, turned himself in after he felt God speak to Him and now serves as a pastor in prison. There is the story of a guy finding Christ after being in the Mafia. A former drug addict. A father that is angry with God because of the loss of his son.

The best way I can describe this book is: real, raw and redemptive.

What I loved as well is that Hughes shares his story in the final chapter. He didn’t murder anyone. He hasn’t served time in prison. He was a successful business executive and author, but a lousy husband. In fact, he almost lost his marriage because he was so in love with himself. His story of grace and life change hit home with me.

After reading the book, I got really excited about partnering with Mark and his team to help get the word out about this collection of grace stories. Next week, I’ll be interviewing Mark and sharing that with you.

Today, I’m excited that Mark and his team are allowing us to  give away the PDF version of Sons of Grace. 

No strings attached. Completely free!

Download Sons of Grace Here

Today’s guest post comes from Amy Bennett. Amy connected with RefineUs and has been a huge encouragement to us. She released a new e-book yesterday entitled, Entangled.

You can follow Amy on Twitter: @amyjbennett

You can find her blog and download her new e-book here: Permission to Peruse

“It’s just…”. We say this all the time to rationalize all kinds of things.  If you’re on a diet and you want dessert, you say, “It’s just one piece of cake.”  If you’re on an exercise plan and you don’t feel like going one day, you say, “It’s just one day, I can get back on track tomorrow.”  If you’re out with friends, you might say, “It’s just one drink.”  You see the picture.  Rarely is it just anything.  Those small things turn into habits and before you know it, you’ve blown any resolve you had at the start.

After saying “it’s just …” more times than I can count, six years ago I found myself in an emotional affair with a coworker. It started with something like “it’s just lunch with a friend.”  It quickly moved on to “it’s just a daydream; I’m allowed to daydream.” Before long, I was saying all kinds of “it’s just”s. “It’s just a poem.”  “It’s just a song.”  “It’s just a conversation.”  “It’s just lunch.”  “It’s just a text message.”
I didn’t wake up one day in an emotional affair.  The progression was paved with excuses and justifications.  We have to be viligent and aware of when we’re saying “it’s just …”.  It’s likely we’re on roads we never thought we’d travel.

I’d love to share more about my emotional affair and so many things God taught me through the healing of my marriage in my new eBook, Entangled.

On March 5, 2009 this comment was left on our one month old blog:

I hope you publish a book or study for couples from this. It would do many of us so much good….

We were living in Indianapolis at the time and were writing a series of blog posts called 8 Things that Destroyed Our Marriage and 8 Things that Restored Our Marriage. I remember reading the comment and sharing it with Trisha and we just laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was so far from any reality we could ever imagine.

A few months later, we moved to Nashville to go on staff at Cross Point. We knew that God called us back to the local church and we were honored to be a part of an amazing church like Cross Point.

God continued to use our blog and give us a heart for the marriage that is hurting and the marriage that is just existing. The leadership team at Cross Point continued to cheer us on and support our heart for RefineUs. So many of you have been a part of this incredible journey as well. You have read our posts; you have sent us emails; you have offered encouragement; we have had over 15,000 comments left on this site in the past few years. This community has shaped us and our belief that there is hope for every marriage.

About a year ago, our pastor Pete Wilson really challenged Trisha and me to consider putting a book proposal together. He wrote about our story in his book, Plan B, but he felt like God could use us beyond how we were currently allowing Him to use us. So we began working on a book proposal. Over the next several months God continued to lead and guide us and challenge and expand our vision. From February of this year to August, Trisha and I and our friend and agent, Jenni Burke worked on a comprehensive book proposal that would capture the heart and soul of our story and the desire we have to help marriages move from ordinary to extraordinary.

On Thursday, we had the honor of sitting down with our three boys in our dinning room, and signing a contract to write our first book. We are so excited to be partnering with Tyndale House Publishers on our book Destroying Ordinary: From the Marriage You Have to the Marriage You Want (working title).

The book is scheduled to be released in February 2013.

This blog post is simply a thank you note. Thank you to our church family for loving and supporting us. Thanks to so many of you that have encouraged us on this journey. Thanks to so many of you for seeing something in us before we ever saw it in ourselves. Thank you for making RefineUs a place where anyone can come and find honesty, transparency and grace. We are so excited to share this journey with you as our story continues to be written.

I (Trish) am so excited to share with you a book that has really impacted my life. What makes this book even more special to me is my good friend Angie Smith is the author.  I have had the opportunity to get to know Angie through a Bible study at our church. She is a woman I deeply respect.

Her new book What Women Fear is raw and honest about her own personal journey and struggle with fear. She will have you laughing and crying and in the end confident that with Christ, you always have the power to overcome your deepest fears. If you struggle with fear or insecurity, you need to read this book.

I have the honor today of talking with Angie and Jessica over at {in}courage today about chapter 2 of her book.

Check it out HERE

Since 2009 Justin and I have found ourselves at the center of what the Christian world refers to as Marriage ministry. When we first shared our story we had no idea how desperate people were to find hope and healing in their own marriages.  This experience caused us to trace back the steps of our own healing process and ask ourselves,”How did we survive this?” As we started this process it ignited a passion in us to help people find not just a “marriage ministry” but a ministry of hope.

Two years later we are still passionate about being a ministry of hope and believe that we are who we are today because of God’s amazing love and His amazing people. Justin and I found healing because other couples were willing to be vulnerable and share their own stories of an affair. Some couples stayed married others didn’t but each of them had found healing regardless of their marital status and Justin and I were DESPERATE to learn how and why!

Through blogging we have been blessed to come into community with some really amazing couples that share our passion to help people find hope through their own story. The Beall’s, Clayville’s and Markley’s have been some of those couples we have been able to learn and grow from. It’s not an “affair club” but rather a community bonded by a shared experience of losing everything only to find that even in the deepest, darkest pain, God was, is and will always be enough.

I know that you could probably name one or two people close to you that are going through a painful time in their marriage. Even though I’ve experienced the pain of an affair it doesn’t mean that I am an expert and know all the right words to say or when to say them. In fact, sometimes I feel lost and frustrated that I don’t have the capacity to share what I know in my heart and head with words from my mouth.

I am SO EXCITED that my dear friend Cindy has taken the time to do just that in her new book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust is Broken.

Cindy’s hope and prayer for this book is that it will be used as healing balm to a deep wound. In her book she is painfully raw not for shock value but rather for TRUTH value. An affair is shocking! The pain of an affair never gets old and if it ever does… Lord help us. Cindy speaks truth that comforts and validates a pain that is often times so overwhelming it can take your breath away. Cindy’s book says BREATH. This sucks, hurts and seems unbearable but Jesus IS ENOUGH.

Regardless if you are a friend, parent, or pastor this is a book that I believe every Christian should own. There’s no formula or 5 happy hops to a better marriage but it IS a book of hope. It is a book that if you are the person giving comfort it will empower you to understand their pain. It is a book for those that are in deep dark pain desperate for hope. I pray that you not only buy the book but that you have it on hand to share with others.

We are giving away a free copy of Cindy’s book. To enter, leave your name and location in the comments. We’ll select the winner on Friday. Even if you don’t win, you can purchase the book HERE.

I’m really honored and excited to be giving away 3 copies of Ian Cron’s new book, Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me. This book is a memior of sorts that goes back to the time in Ian’s life when he learned that his dad was employed by the CIA. The way that this book speaks to my own issues with my father and the wounds that I have experienced in my life was very helpful and healing.

I’m pumped to be giving these copies away. Here is all you have to do to enter to win.

1. Tweet this: I’d like to win a copy of @iancron’s new book Jesus, My Father, the CIA and me from @justindavis33 and RefineUs.org

2. Leave a comment and let me know you’ve tweeted it or if you have Facebook, just like the page and let me know.

I’ll be announcing the winners on Sunday. Happy Giveaway Friday!

If you don’t win, you can buy Ian’s book at Amazon by clicking HERE: