Reading, Writing & Pondering

  I have always enjoyed Angel stories so I was excited to read Entertaining Angels by Anne Neilson. This book is beautifully illustrated with Neilson's angel paintings. There is a ribbon bookmark and the book would make a lovely gift book. Entertaining Angels starts out with a forward written by Roma Downey who played the angel, Monica, in the hit series Touched by An Angel when it was on television from 1994-2003. I have never watched much television but this was one of my favorite programs so it was fun to see this forward--which includes a picture of the author and Roma Downey together. There are 35 stories in the book that is based on the Bible. At the beginning of each chapter there is a Bible verse that pertains to the story. Each of the stories is uplifting. Some of them were based on encounters that could have been angels. Others involved people helping others as an earthly angel. I enjoyed them all but I did hope for a few more heavenly angel stories. At the same time, I...

 The Pour Out Your Heart Prayer Journal by Lois Krogh is a lovely book from Crossway publishers--a Christian publishing company. I make that point because this is a book aimed at those who follow the Christian faith. There are Bible verses and places to study the Bible as well as places to journal your prayers in this book. The hardcover is truly lovely and has a quality classic book feel. The book is divided into sections beginning with one called How to Use this Prayer Journal that explains how they intended the book to be used--although it is your book and you could do things a bit differently. The next section is Daily Gospel Truth which is where you can jot down your favorite verses or hymns as "the place to begin your time in prayer with a reminder of God's grace and mercy" from the book. They have a list of suggested verses at the back of the book. This may work for some Christians as many prayer through the Bible verses and hymns. I also think writing things down...

  Prayer Journal: 30 Days on Peace by Erika Allen is a nice prayer and Bible study journal made beautiful by the artwork of Ruth Chou Simons. I truly love the floral cover and embellishments throughout this book. The cover also has a linen feel to it, which is quite nice. The pages are off white and heavy for writing with various pens. This may even be a book to do some art journaling in if that is your thing. The study is intended to last 30 days and focuses on peace as the title suggest. The book focuses on Bible verses related to peace and are intended to guide readers to peace with God, other people and within themselves. No doubt this is a timely book for many who need this in their lives after so much going on in the world the past couple of years. I like that these books are also a nice size ( just under 6 by 8 inches) and about a quarter of an inch in thickness so they fit well in your Bible or Bible case if you wish to travel with them to a coffee shop or what have you. Th...

  Honestly, it has been awhile since I have revisited some of the faith classics. The Heart in Pilgrimage by Leland Ryken is a good book to revisit many of the Christian classical devotions. Physically, The Heart in Pilgrimage is a beautifully bound book with the feel of a classic hardcover book. It measures a little over six by nine inches in size and is 3/4 of an inch thick. The gold writing on the burgundy cloth cover and rich, creamy pages, with a ribbon marker makes it truly lovely and it would make a nice gift for the right person who would treasure it. The Heart in Pilgrimage includes fifty devotionals from historic authors such as Augstine, John Calvin, Jane Austin, Charles Spurgeon, Brother Lawrence, J. I. Packer and many other classic faith writers throughout the years.  Each one includes a reading from the classic writer as well as some commentary from Ryken and ends with a Bible verse.  The book does start with an introduction and Ryken explains why he include...

  I have always enjoyed Sarah Young's books. Many times they make me think and we have also used her children's books when I was homeschooling my son. We went through Jesus Calling and another book following that one. The readings in those books are all from the perspective of Jesus talking to the reader. What I like about Jesus Listens is that it is from a prayerful perspective and Jesus listening to you. In the introduction, the author says that she hopes that the daily prayers to Jesus in this book would be just a starting point. She hopes that they will invite the reader to share their thoughts and feeling as well as other things happening in their lives. She says she hopes that the prayers in the book will be just the start of conversations with Him. I like that idea. Sometimes written prayers don't quite fit your own situation and this invites the reader to make it their own. There are 365 daily readings that all start with a Bible verse, then the prayer to Jesus and ...

  I have been looking forward to Sundown , the third book in the Sky King Ranch series, by Susan May Warren. If you haven't been reading the series, you could read it as a stand alone but I think it would be better enjoyed as part of the series since many characters from the first two books are in this one. There are also characters from other Susan May Warren books in Sundown , which is also fun. Tae has been staying at Sky King Ranch following plane crash. She has been healing and also helped nurse Colt Kingston back to health following his last mission with Jones, Inc. where he received some serious injuries. Now Colt and Tae must work with other family members to figure out how to solve a problem and possibly save the world.   As a whole, I enjoyed Sundown . Like the other books in this series, there is a lot of action and some romance in between. I enjoyed the story for the most part. I especially like how the Kingston father of them all, Barry, helps them figure thi...

  Do you like to compete? Honestly, I don't really enjoy it but I think a lot of people do. The World's Longest Sock by Juliann Law is a story of a competition to knit the world's longest sock. The World's Longest Sock is a nicely made and illustrated book, suitable for gift-giving with a dust jacket, measuring almost 9 by 11 1/2 inches and 32 pages long. It is fun story about two people trying to win the world record for the world's longest knitted sock--in different parts of the world. Initially, they aren't aware of each other. Then when they find out about the other one getting the coveted title, they start competing furiously. The World's Longest Sock is a fun story and could create some interesting conversations with children.   I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this book are my own.

Many little ones like watching cars and trucks and seeing them work in real life. Wreck the Halls by Melinda Rathjen and illustrated by Gareth Williams is a board book aimed at children under five who enjoy watching cars and trucks. It is a fairly small board book at about six inches square with thick cardboard pages that make it easy for little ones to look at on their own.  Wreck the Halls is kind of a silly book and it does sort of give human qualities to the cars and trucks along the lines of  the Disney's Cars movie. I think this book could be fun to read with little ones. At the same time, I do think it may lead to some questions or explaining for little realists who wonder about talking cars--or maybe it will just inspire them to use their imagination more. It would be a good book for families who celebrate Christmas without focusing on the religious aspect of it or families that don't mind some books without the religious aspect. Wreck the Halls focuses more on the ...

  Is your family a fan of VeggieTales? Mine is! Joy to the World from VeggieTales is a cute board book aimed at children ages two to five years old. This book is a good size for little hands to hold themselves at 20 pages long and measuring about six inches square. It is also a fun book to read aloud. It is a little silly as you might expect from a VeggieTales book, which makes it fun if you are Veggie fans. At the same time, there is a good message at the heart of Joy to the World about what the real meaning of Christmas is all about. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

      With simple words and brightly colored illustrations, Patricia A. Pingry tells the Christmas story in The Story of Christmas board book. This book is fairly small measuring about six inches square and 22 thick cardboard pages long so it is also a good size for little ones to look at on their own--as well as a good book to read aloud to them. This book is meant to introduce preschoolers to Jesus and the Christmas story and I think it does a good job of doing that. It would also make a good gift book for little ones. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  I have heard so many good things about this author that I felt compelled to try Joanna Davidson Politano's new book, The Lost Melody . The Lost Melody starts out with Vivienne Mourdant's father passing away and her talking about a life of more freedom as a result However, that was not to be. Unfortunately, she also finds out she is to care for a patient at Hurstwell Asylum that she had no idea about until her father passed and she is left to care for her. As she tries to figure out who the mystery woman is, she is unfortunately drawn in to the asylum herself. Now she is trying to figure out her own situation as well as who the mystery woman is. With books, I think timing plays a part in how much the reader enjoys it. I have been looking for lighter reads lately and this wasn't a light read at all. The Lost Melody was much heavier than I expected in its storyline. I do have an interest in music as a piano player so I should add that the title also drew me in along with t...

  Have you started reading Christmas books yet this year? A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson is my first one. I enjoyed this novella and the guaranteed happy ending that I was looking forward to. Sometimes you just need a book that is a sure thing in the "happy ending" department. A Quilt for Christmas starts out with Vera Swanson moving to a new town to be near her daughter and her family--only to have them unexpectedly move away elsewhere after he got there. Vera now feels along and is dreading the holidays. Then she meets her condo neighbors--starting with little Fiona when Fiona's mother turns ill and Fiona looks for help for her mom. Fiona stay with Vera for a bit and likes Vera's quilt. She would like Vera to make one for her mom for Christmas. . .and Vera agrees to try but she needs help to finish it in time. She puts up a sign to form a quilting group--and not only ends up with a quilt for Fiona's family but several new friends too. For the most par...