Reading, Writing & Pondering

In Love and a Little White Lie by Tammy L. Gray, January Sanders is living in a cabin on her aunt's land in Texas after following her boyfriend to a new state and then going through a break up. January's mom was an atheist and taught her to be a skeptic of faith. In spite of that, her Aunt Doreen helps her get a support staff job at Christ Community Church.
January is a likeable girl and I loved following her story through Love and a Little White Lie. Jan, for short, seems to go through very real struggles that could be faced today in this realistic contemporary novel. I liked how God used her to be an answer to prayer for several people around her in spite of her skepticism and struggles. It was interesting to see her eyes open to the guys around her--both Cameron and Dillon. Both her faith story and her romance story seemed so realistic. This book also left readers with a lot to think about in how people of faith relate to the world both within the church and those outside of…

A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham tells the story of Agnes Pratt, or Miss Aggie,  a school teacher in the small town of Penance, South Dakota. Miss Aggie ran to the Midwest from a secret she discovered about herself when she lived out East. Miss Aggie felt the secret would keep her former sweetheart James Harris from loving her or wanting her. Then James gets a job as a doctor in her little town after her dying mother reveals where Aggie is living. Is everything Miss Aggie thought true--would that secret really hinder their relationship?

As a whole, I enjoyed reading A Life Once Dreamed. I enjoyed Fordham's first two books so I was looking forward to this one. If I wasn't familiar with the author, I know I would have been drawn to the beautiful, rich cover design. I liked the people in the town of Penance. I did feel a little frustrated with Miss Aggie at times and how long she felt she had to keep her secret. I could understand why she felt she couldn't share it initi…

Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason is the second book in the Danger Never Sleeps series--and just as fast-paced and riveting as the first one.

Journalist Sarah Denning is held hostage by the Taliban and then sent home after being shot in the rescue operation to recover. At the same time, she finds out her brother has committed suicide and it doesn't sit well with her. Former Army Ranger Gavin Black is set to help keep her safe and home and work with her to find the truth.

Acceptable Risk kept my interest from the start to the finish. The mystery in the book was interesting and the relationships were intriguing. I sometimes didn't like Sarah's rebellious attitude but I could understand it in the context of her life. I thought Gavin was a swoon-worthy caretaker for her. I appreciated the difficult conversations the couple had in this book. Even though it wasn't easy for Sarah, she made an effort to talk about her hard things with him. In return, he respected her enough to…

Have you ever grown a plant from seed? If you have, you know that it takes a little time to sprout, grow up tall, and produce either fruit or flowers. In Gracie's Garden by Lara Casey, we join Gracie, Joshua, and Sarah to see what they do while they wait for the garden seeds to grow.

Gracie's Garden is a fun book teaching children about growing tomatoes and other things in the garden. The children learn how it takes time for a seed to grow but it is worth it in the end. Actually, it is more than worth it, the children see that miracles abound when seeds grow and the children follow the growth of a seed from planting to harvesting. Both the story and the illustrations are both beautiful and fun in this book. Gracie's Garden is written for children ages four to eight. If readers have the internet, there is an on-line activity book included with this purchase that is free for download. Also, on the backside of the dust jacket is a Garden Giggles poster that is fun for young …

It sounds like telegraph notices were some of the best communication of the time when it was used. I didn't know much about being a telegrapher, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it and reading Jennifer Delamere's new release, Line by Line.

Alice McNeil is a topnotch telegrapher who works at a well-regarded company. Douglas Shaw also works at the company as an ambitious junior director. It doesn't take long for the two of them to become friends although it appears that they have vastly different goals for their lives. Then something happens to shake them both up to see what really matters.

I truly enjoyed this first book in the Love Along the Wires series. Line by Line was interesting in that I truly enjoyed reading about the way business was conducted at that time as well as how the people of that era utilized the technology of the day. I found all of the backstory to be quite interesting in the way Delamere wrote the book. I also enjoyed watching the relationship …

With the pandemic, I have struggled at times with some fear and anxiety-like many Americans. Befriending Your Monsters by Luke Norsworthy looked like a good read to face those struggles with so I selected this book.


Befriending Your Monsters is divided into three sections: Meeting Monsters about the types of monsters that Norsworthy discusses in this book. The second section is The Three Universal Monsters: Comparison, More and Success. He also explains how and why these can be monsters in a Christian's life. The third section is entitled A Monster Friendly Life in which Norsworthy gives readers three principles for dealing with the monsters in their own life.


I was looking forward to reading Befriending Your Monsters. I think there is some good information in this book but I struggled with the format. It felt like a collection of sidebars to me and the information seemed disjointed in its presentation. He does point out that these monsters are in our lives to teach us something. I…