Reading, Writing & Pondering

These Nameless Things by Shawn Smucker tells Dan's story. Dan was once held captive and tortured on a mysterious mountain. He made it out alive--but he left his brother behind. As the book begins, Dan lives in a small community of escapees. Then memories start coming to the surface for each of them. Those memories all connect them to each other.  At the same time, a wounded woman shows up at Dan's door. The peaceful existence they've all been living doesn't seem to be so peaceful anymore.  What does it all mean for Dan? Smucker's prose in These Nameless Things is beautiful. This story helped me reflect on forgiveness, shame, grace, and dealing with our own failings.  I picked this book up to start reading it and struggled to put it down. While the story was quite compelling on its own, I had to think to figure out what was actually going on. It is a sort of allegory. As a reader, I could see how the evil one was moving but it is a different story when we are ...

Did you know that there is only one prayer in all of Proverbs? In The Prayer of Agur , Jay Payleitner talks about this prayer and the rest of the proverb written by Agur. The Prayer of Agur is a small book with a big message. I spent most of last week reading through this book in the mornings. I enjoyed looking at the 30th Proverb from his perspective. Payleitner breaks the Proverb down in to sections and gives the reader insights into both the writer and the wisdom from this Proverb. In the back of the book, he also includes a complete NIV version of the Proverb and discussion questions for each chapter. I think The Prayer of Agur would be a great book to use for Sunday School or small group to study together. I did enjoy the author's insights although I think they could be expanded on within a group context. He talks a lot about discovering your sweet spot in life and being where God wants you to be. He makes that sound fairly easy in the book but I think as we live life...

The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse was my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I truly enjoyed following Peyton's adventures. Peyton Cabot is fifteen years old. Set in 1947, Peyton's father is a troubled vet who suffers a tragic accident. Peyton is a good kid but his school year is interrupted and his life is a bit off keel--especially with Lisa, the girl of his dreams. When his father was fifteen, he rode his bike from St. Augustine to Key West, Florida. Peyton decides to retrace his journey himself. I enjoyed getting to know Peyton and following his adventures in The Key to Everything . He truly seems like a swoonworthy young man that would be pretty appealing to me if I were a young woman. He faces some hard things in this book. While I admired him for those things, I really admired him for how he lived his life and his basic principles. He truly seemed like a likable character. His dad was struggling quite a bit but the story explains s...

I absolutely adore The Great Farmapalooza by Jill Roman Lord. This board book has it all: rhyming verses, brightly colored fun illustrations, flaps to lift and it gives kids a glimpse in to life on the farm. This book is as fun to read to children as it is for them to listen and read with you--lifting flaps along the way. The rhyming verse s offers kids a glimpse in to farm life with a look at cows, sheep, ducks, chickens and more. At the same time, the words a positive and uplifting and also talk about God's love and creation. The Great Farmapalooza helps young children (ages 5 and under) learn what sounds farm animals make--and it reminds them to be thankful for the little things every day. Whenever you can get kids involved with flaps to lift, it just adds to their reading fun and excitement. This book has 11 flaps to lift--which is quite a lot for a board book. The book itself is high quality and sturdy and measures approximately 8 inches square. As with many other BH K...

Do you feel like you need a change? Is life feeling stale? Are you stuck? Are you in the middle of a transition and wondering where to go next? Reinvent : Start Fresh and Love Life! by Beth Jones is a practical guide for navigating the changes you want or need to make at any stage of life. Reinvent is divided in to two parts. The first part, Start Fresh, has four sections and focuses on four reasons to reinvent your life. The second part, Love Life!, invites readers to ask four questions to reinvent their life: What do you want? What do you have? What will you do? and Why will you do it? For each question, that author has 3 to 5 chapters to help guide the reader as they seek to answer the questions for themselves. Each chapter is full of valuable information and a lot of good questions to ask to get to the answers to make the changes that are needed. Reinvent was one book that I was especially looking forward to this year. There are a lot of changes in my life and I am trying ...

During this time of a pandemic virus that has the potential to steal your breath, breathing becomes especially precious. Breathe Again by Ed Newton is an especially relevant book to read now. In Breathe Again , Newton discusses the Breath of God and how it pertains to living at this time on earth. Newton talks about how breath relates to our spiritual life today: how it creates life, how it connects, how it revives us, how it saves us, how it inspires us, how it guides us and how it prevails in our life. Throughout the book, Newton shares and studies Scripture with the reader to see how breath relates to the Christian life today. He also shares a lot of personal stories from his own life. In the back of Breathe Again , there is a study guide with questions included for each chapter and plenty of space to write. Breathe Again is a relatively quick read and study. It would be a good book for a small group or a Bible study to use and I think the reader would get even more out of ...

I read Joyce Meyer's book, Healing the Soul of a Woman , and found it to be so helpful. Meyer has been through a lot of difficulties in her life that she shares with the wisdom of one who studies the Scriptures. Overcoming: A Soul-Healing Journal would be great to either use alone or along with that book on your own soul healing journey. She writes a beautiful introduction in this journal sharing a tiny bit of her journey and why she wrote the book and how this book could help you. In the Overcoming journal , Meyer has 23 guided journaling lessons to use to help facilitate your healing journey. Some of those include: What is a Healthy Soul?, Stand Up for Yourself,  Roadblocks to Healing, and The Blessings of a Healthy Soul. As I have looked through the journal, I like her mix of Scripture and questions and activities to do that help to guide the reader to find healing in their heart and soul. This journal has a gorgeous leatherflex cover and the beauty continues throughout th...

Planted with a Purpose by T. D. Jakes is a small book with a big message. I think it is so hard to keep strong in our faith during the difficult times of life, but Jakes reminds us that those are precisely the times that we most need to keep looking to God. Planted with a Purpose is about 4 1/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches--which is a great size to slide in to your purse, book bag or brief case. This book may also be the dose of encouragement that a friend or family member needs during hard time so it would be a nice little gift book. The main message is that when we go through times of waiting or crushing and things are really difficult, God is still with us and He is using those times to grow us and make us more like Him. Jakes further says that God will use those times and bring us bigger blessings at the end of them. Planted with Purpose is the first book that I have read by Jakes. I liked his references to how God grows us like growing vines and trees because I am a gardener and a...

In her new book, At Love's Command , Karen Witemeyer tells the story of ex-calvary officer Matthew Hanger and his group of mercenaries known as Hanger's Horsemen in Texas. While trying to do good works together, one of them takes a bullet and needs a doctor. Dr. Josephine Burkett earns the respect of the men as she performs surgery and removes a bullet. Not long after, her brother is abducted and she calls on the Horseman to help her. Matthew and the other men come to her assistance although things don't look quite right from their angle. What is going on? I have read several of Witemeyer's books before reading At Love's Command . I enjoy her style and I like that she adds bits of humor within the story. Looking at this picture of Matthew on the cover makes it easy to picture how a lady of the 1890s could be attracted to him. He also has a nice smile on the little picture posted on the spine of the book. I especially liked that the Hanger's Horsemen were do...