(To win this book and two more that will help you start 2012 off right, check out the New Year’s Prize Pack information below my review.) At our home, we’ve had an extended holiday celebration. Our final set of visiting family leaves this morning. I’m sad to see them go but excited to get back to the normal-and-necessary routines of school and writing work—and blogging, too. Most of the books I review here at Read. Write. Pray are new or not-yet-released. But I want to start this New Year with a review of a book that released on January 1—three years ago. I missed it back then but am grateful to have read it now. The other day, I bought a special dessert for my husband. Because I love to bake, I don’t normally buy desserts. But our family was celebrating a special event in my husband’s life, and I decided to purchase a rare treat as a way of honoring him.  The surprise was not the purchase, however. The surprise came in my husband’s unexpected gratitude. He thanked me several times—not for the dessert itself (although he loved it), but for taking time to celebrate him. His gratitude blessed me. And his surprise made me realize how often I take him for granted. Routine is (for the most part) easy, or it wouldn’t become routine. But a large part of marital joy comes in little packages: the surprise desserts, the private celebrations, the picked-you-up-a-movie and more. And sometimes we need a reminder. In The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man–On Purpose and With a Plan, popular speaker and author Kathi Lipp gives readers that reminder: three weeks’ worth of practical tips and thoughtful encouragement wrapped in wisdom and tied with a bright bow of humor. She shares with engaging candor about her own marital bliss and blunders, preparing the way for readers to examine their own. The book’s user-friendly format makes a great match for busy wives whose marriage relationship could use a refresher. The Husband Project moves from foundational principles (including a helpful section on adapting the projects to whatever unique situations readers may face) to day-by-day project instructions to a planning/overview sheet and glossary. The projects themselves range from the simple (praising your husband in front of other people) to the more involved (planning a B & B experience at home). No, the author doesn’t suggest you wrap yourself in Saran and meet your husband at the door (although if it works for the two of you, I’m sure she’d approve). Instead, she sets forth a challenge to allow God to change your marriage by changing you. She also encourages you not to go it alone but...

UPDATE and WINNERS: Wendy Leech‘s name will be entered into the drawing for the Starbucks gift basket (be nice to her, Larry, there’s still hope). And Virginia Smith wins my review copy of The Me Project! Thanks, all, for your kind posts and comments! Welcome to a special WRITE blog tour post and some bonus information about The Me Project, reviewed here earlier this week. Do you need extra motivation to pursue God’s great plans for your life? Make sure to check out author Kathi Lipp’s “Three Super Simple Kick Starts: Living Your Dreams.”   And don’t forget to enter the Deluxe Starbucks Coffee Gift Basket giveaway at the bottom of this post, too! Leave a comment on this post on or before February 28 if you’d like to enter. I’ll draw one name to win my review copy of the book and another which will be entered into a pool to win the gift pictured below. (US addresses only, please.) Make sure to include your email address linked or stated in the comment. And if your browser won’t let you leave a comment, please e-mail me so I can include your name in the drawing. (Click “contact” link to the right of this blog).  The Me Project – 21 Days to Living the Life ?You’ve Always WantedPublisher: Harvest House Publishers ISBN-10: 0736929665, ISBN-13: 978-0736929660Release Date: February 1, 2011Paperback: 224 pages, Retail: $12.99 Book Summary (San Jose, CA) Has that rush to make (and break) New Year’s resolutions already waned? According to Daniel Pink, author of ?Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, taking small steps every day will not only help you stay committed to your goal, ?but will also help you ultimately achieve that goal when obstacles come up. Author Kathi Lipp wants you and your friends to live out those dreams—and have some fun along the way. As women, we forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets ?in the way. To-do lists replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules. This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman. Finding...

She had me at the title: The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted (Harvest House, 2011).  Wait a minute! What’s a self-centered title like this doing in the Christian living section? It’s not all about me, is it? The short answer: Kathi Lipp‘s book is all about me (or you) because it helps readers explore the desires God’s implanted in our hearts. And that makes it a great match for life as he intends it. Author Lipp, a retreat and conference speaker already known for The Husband Project and The Marriage Project, presents a warm blend of transparent humor, practical advice, and godly encouragement in a power-packed volume. As she explains it, The Me Project is the book she’s always wanted to write, “a 21-day guide for dreaming some dreams about your life and then setting some goals to make one of those dreams a reality.” Its existence, she says, flows from her desire to assist others in pursuing the specific plans God has for them. I especially loved The Me Project‘s concentrated focus. The author’s suggestion of what she calls a 50/50 journal allows readers to list multiple goals and pick one to achieve over the next twenty-one days or more. She encourages them to seek God about this goal and then pursue it with time hard work, imagination, and accountability. Lipp lays out the twenty-one days as both chapters and “projects” with help ranging from a brief explanation to creative ideas to a brief prayer. I haven’t had this book long enough to test it out, but I appreciate the fun way it helps readers break down goals or dreams into bite-sized, achievable pieces.  Do you have unfulfilled dreams or goals? Read The Me Project  and look at yourself—and the plans for which God’s designed you—in a new and achievable way.  ALSO: Check out my WRITE post this Friday for a bonus article by Kathi Lipp and the chance to enter a special blog tour giveaway that includes some great...