Reading, Writing & Pondering

Forensic Geneologist Willow Anderson's grandfather and founder of the company she worked at just passed away. Willow has a choice. Should she follow in his footsteps and keep the company going and continue his last case? Or should she call and let the case go? Willow's ex-flame, Austin McKade, is also an ex-FBI agent. Willow's grandfather had contacted Austin to help with the case before he died. Austin offers to continue on the case and to protect Willow. Never Let Go is a fast-paced novel follows Willow and Austin through some exciting adventures as they struggle to find out what happened to a baby abducted from a hospital over twenty years ago. At first I was a little frustrated with the communication struggles the couple was having. Then I quickly got caught up in the intrigue and plot of the novel. I have to say I didn't guess the ending and it kept me thinking and turning pages right up until the end. I enjoyed the romance between Austin and Willow, but I ...

I have always had a heart for reaching other people and helping them. At one time, I thought about being a missionary. . .I was sure that missionaries were extra loved and special as they did their work overseas. Shauan Pilgreen in Love Where You Live encourages us to be missionaries wherever we are and that we can all be used by God. In Love Where You Live , Pilgreen divides this book in to three parts: What Is Living Sent?, How to Live Sent, and The Hope Of Living Sent. She shares stories from her life and others about how God used people right where they are--or encouraged them to go somewhere in this country to share the Gospel with others. Each chapter also ends with practical tips. There are also places in the book where Pilgreen encourages the reader to draw pictures and to write some things to better make their own mission clearer. I truly enjoyed reading Love Where You Live . I liked Pilgreen's writing style and found myself just flying through this book anxious to ...

Shortly after I became a Christian, I had an opportunity to work at Back to the Bible in Lincoln, NE when Warren W. Wiersbe was there. It was a great opportunity for me to learn and grow and one I am forever grateful to have had. When I saw that Thomas Nelson had a new Wiersbe Study Bible, I jumped at the chance to review this one. The Wiersbe Study Bible I received is the deluxe leather binding. It has three ribbon markers, guilt edges and a beautiful leather cover with comfort print writing in the New King James Verson--which is the 10.5 point print size. It is easy for me to read without my glasses and I love that. It is an especially nicely bound and put together study Bible. I anticipate using this one for many years to come and I can see that it was made to last. The Wiersbe Study Bible features Dr. Wiersbe's historical background, themes, and practical lessons from each book of the Bible. His "Be" Series of books has been especially popular for many years. T...

Short, practical Godly wisdom is so helpful to guide our days. 100 Inspirational quotes and the Life Changing Scriptures Behind them from Joyce Meyer is full of wisdom and guidance based on Scripture for living each day in a positive, godly way. Not only is it full of solid Biblical advice, but this book is beautiful inside and out. Nearly all of the quotes and verses in the book are decorated with beautiful watercolor flower designs like the front cover. Three of my favorite quotes: Be a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser. (Based on Galatians 1:10) God is a giver, and when we give unselfishly, we are more like Him than at any other time in our lives. (Based on John 13:34) There's a difference between being busy and being fruitful, Are you busy are fruitful? (Based on Matthew 7:17-18) I like so many of these quotes and the Scriptures alongside them to meditate on that it was hard to pick three. One Hundred Inspirational Quotes from Joyce Meyer would make a great gift boo...

Do you struggle with fear and anxiety? Scarlet Hiltibidal shares her struggles with fear and anxiety and how we can turn to the Gospel to shine through those fears in her new book, Afraid of All the Things . Afraid of All the Things is divided into three sections: My fears do not define me, My fears will not defeat me, and My fears aren't forever. The whole book is mostly autobiographical with Hiltibidal sharing stories from her life that illustrate her struggles with fear and anxiety. She also weaves a lot of Scripture throughout Afraid of All the Things in and out through her stories. I struggled to get into Afraid of All the Things initially with the author's writing style. Hilitbidal is down to earth, realistic and fairly blunt about her struggles. But once I got used to her "voice," I found the book to hold my interest. I don't struggle with anxiety now like I did many years ago, but I could relate to how unrealistic some of those fears can be. I als...

If you enjoy animals or no someone who does, then this is likely to be an enjoyable book for you. Better Together: Life is Best with a Friend Like You is a fun gift book with both great quotes and great animal pictures. Better Together has an introduction and is divided into 7 sections: Friendship, Unity and Togetherness, Love and Compassion, Respect, Peace and Harmony, Diversity, and Triumph and Strength. Each section has quotes from famous people related to the topic along with a cute photo of cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and more. There are a whole lot of pictures to make you smile in this book--no need to scroll social media for them, a copy of this book has a whole bunch. I read Better Together fairly quickly but it is a good book to go through mindfully thinking about the quotes and the pictures. It would make a fun friendship gift. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes: *Wear a smile and have friends; Wear a scowl and have wrinkles. ~George Eliot *Great t...

Melody Jahansson is a baker and pastry chef struggling to get out of a rut she feels she is stuck in. Then one night a handsome pilot named Justin Keller knocks on the door of her workplace in the middle of a snowstorm. Other changes are also coming in her life that might mean the start of her own restaurant with her good friend Rachel. Melody wonders if her life is really starting to change. Justin has some issues in his life that make it challenging for him to feel he can get into a new relationship. His job is demanding and he has pledged his savings to starting a new business clear across the country. Despite the challenges, Melody and Justin decide to give the relationship a try.  And in the end they have to decide which things are most important in their lives. They also see God working and learn some new things. Brunch at the Bittersweet Cafe was a good read as a whole. I think Carla Laureano creates characters that seem real and are interesting. And then there is ...

Rachel Bishop is a chef in Denver. Not just any chef. She is a James Beard Award-winning chef who owns her own fine-dining restaurant. . .that is until everything goes wrong. Or maybe that is when everything started to go right for Rachel. The Saturday Night Supper Club is just "the cuppa tea and scone" that this foodie needed to read. Rachel is pushed out of her business after an on-line snafu with social media and a tabloid goes awry. Essayist Alex Kanin is the writer who feel responsible for Rachel's tarnished image. He vows to help her repair the damage if she wants him to--and much to her own surprise, Rachel takes him up on it. The rest of the book details their adventures both in the culinary world and in the dating world. I enjoyed this first book in the new Supper Club series. I liked that the book included realistic characters. It was clean, romantic fiction. There is some talk about God through the book, but not a lot until near the end. The characte...

Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg merges Food, Friends and Bible Study. Recipes are even included! For a Christian, I just don't see how it gets much better than this. Each chapter in Taste and See is a culinary adventure with a different location featured. The author shares her adventures as she mixes food and God together and comes up with a recipe for the reader learning and growing through each chapter. At the end of each chapter, Feinberg offers an activity to do with family and/or friends around the table. There are also several recipes that look truly delicious. I especially like that the Bible is set in the Mediterranean area so these recipes are all a part of the Mediterranean diet that I choose to do each day for my health. There are recipes for baked halibut, lamb lollipops, sour dough starter and bread, roasted figs and Brussels sprouts, and gluten free dark chocolate cookies. In the back of Taste and See , there is a list of all of the recipes for easy referenc...

I was intrigued by the title of this book, Dangerous Prayers: 50 Powerful Prayers that changed the World . I like the idea of learning about prayer from some of the world's spiritual giants through the ages. There is a table of contents that starts out Dangerous Prayers with the name of each famous person included in the book. They are in a sort of alphabetical order by last name, which is helpful. Each person is shown with a short biography, a beautiful artistic painted picture of that person, and the featured famous prayer. Some of the famous people everyone will likely know: Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., C. S. Lewis, and Charles Spurgeon to name a few. But other names are not as familiar to most of us: Jarena Lee, Lottie Moon, Sojourner Truth, and Dora Yu. However, all of the stories and the prayers are fascinating. Bibliography pages are included in the back for those that want to do more research on any of the people listed. Dangerous Prayers is even nicer than...

As the calendar changes into a new year, many of us make resolutions about having better bodies and better physical health. The New You by Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson is a new book to encourage readers to consider their health from all angles. The New You is divided into 5 parts: Small steps to the New You, Small Steps to Better Physical Health, Small Steps to Better Spiritual Health, Small Steps to better Emotional Health, and Small Steps to Better Mental Health. The authors of this book look at the health of the whole body working together to help a person feel better all the way around. Each section contains a few chapters with tips, advice and personal stories to encourage the reader to improve that area with small steps at a time--instead of biting off too big of chunks to make lasting changes. At the end of many chapters, there is a list of small steps and questions to ask yourself to make changes in your own life. At the end of the book there is a four-month pl...

Stress. It affects us all differently. In our modern world, it can hit us hard. JenWise shares her family's story of how stress affected their lives in The Bright Life. Wise is both a writer and a Bible teacher. Throughout The Bright Life she weaves her family's story along with Scripture to tell their story and to encourage the reader to avoid some of the stress pitfalls that they hit. She also invites the reader to learn how to handle stress in a holistic manner. This book is divided into forty days of readings. Each reading shares her story mingled with Scripture and ends with a page for the reader to use to reflect, to ask themselves questions and to make gentle changes in their lives: Looking Inward, Looking Upward, and Looking Outward are all short sections on that last page. I especially like Wise' style of sharing with the reader. It feels so down-to-earth and like she is speaking right along with me. I also like how there is the page of ways to reflect and ma...

God Made the World by Hannah C. Hall features brothers Clive and Ian. Together they have a picnic and learn about how God made the world and all that is in it. Each of these four board books in this series are nice thick, quality books that would stand the test of time with several children. The stories are good as they allow for family discussion and they all have vibrant illustrations. At the back of each book, there is a page called The Parent Connection. This page gives ideas on how to get started talking about the ideas in the books and some specific questions to ask to get discussions started. This whole series is great for getting basic Christian concepts across to young children. God Made Me by Hannah C. Hall starts with Ian sharing how much he loves to eat pancakes. Together, Ian and Clive talk about how they are each special and how God created them differently. God Made Night and Day by Hannah C. Hall takes us back to a summer night outdoors with the family. Cli...

Several years ago my husband and I went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We worked on our budget and paid off a lot of debt and it felt good. Then we made several moves for my husband's job and things got a little crazy. We didn't take on more debt again, but we did slack off on budgeting with repairs on our new house and other needs that we had neglected during that time. Then this past year, we just realized we were just staying sloppy in our budgeting and giving. It is time to get back on track. Beyond Blessed by Robert Morris came to me at just the time I needed it. This past week, I have been reading this book with my husband and discussing how we can get ourselves back on track again. I feel hopeful already! Morris, who is the founding Senior Pastor of Gateway Church in Texas, originally wrote a book called The Blessed Life , which I read several years ago not long after it came out. I read it about the same time we started the Financial Peace Un...

"The Past is Never as Past as we'd like to Think" is a quote on the back of We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels. This book and this quote made me truly think about the racial challenges in this country--and how my thoughts and actions could work for bettering things as we go into the future. We Hope for Better Things tells the stories of three different generations of people and how race played a part in their stories through the Civil War, the 1960s and in today's world. We read the story of Mary and Nathaniel Balsam and how they fared during the Civil War when Nathaniel left to join the Civil War and sent home a slave named George for Mary to help in the underground railroad--and more slaves in the future. Nathaniel and George faced challenges in their marriage and in the society in which they lived at that time as they tried to help the slaves to freedom. Bartels also shares the story of another generation of Balsam's as Nora Balsam falls in lov...

I you are looking for a book with adventure and intrigue, Dead Sea Rising starts out running and never stops. . .and the thing is, I didn't want it to. I wish book two was already out. Nicole Berman's mother, Virginia, is in the hospital and ready for surgery. Her dad is overseas and scrambling to find a flight home to be with his wife through the operation for a broken hip. Or maybe it isn't just a broken hip? Soon the whole family is the subject of a criminal investigation. At the same time, we read another story of intrigue set thousands of years before in the Middle Easter during the early Biblical times. Terah and Belessunu have been married for many years. Many barren years. However, soon they will have a baby to bless them. Belessunu prays to the one true God and Terah prays the the idols that he makes for the king, Nimrod. Tension is all around as the baby is born and trouble begins. Jerry Jenkins weaves the two stories in and out throughout the book. I fo...

What sort of fun could you have as a tooth fairy in training? Imagine all of the possibilities. . .Kristin Neva does just that in her new children's book, Toothella : Tooth Fairy in Training. Toothella is a cute children's book. The colorful illustrations are well done--especially since I didn't realize on the first read through that they were done by a 16-year old. They are fun and vibrant. The story written by Neva is a whimsical tale that encourages little ones to use their imagination to see all the adventures that a tooth fairy could have as she visits various children's houses. Toothella was a fun story. I think it is fun that Neva wrote her story based on an experience of exploring why the tooth fairy didn't make it to her room one night. I enjoyed this fanciful tale and would recommended it to parents with young children waiting for their tooth fairy. I received a copy of Toothella from the author. I was not required to write a positive review.

Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas by Ace Collins has all the information you need if you want to find out how a Christmas tradition began. This book details how almost any Christmas tradition that you can think of got started. Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas shares how advent began, why holly is important, the significance of the nutcracker ballet, and why we hang up stockings to name just a few of the traditions that I found interesting in this little book. Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas will be a keeper for me in our personal library for future reference. I think it would be a great addition to anyone's personal library and to church libraries. From the introduction in the front of this book through all of the traditions that are detailed, I found this whole book to be quite interesting. It is both interesting reading and a book to reference when you need to as all of the traditions shared in the book are in alphabetical...

How do you feel about God and the Christian life when things aren't going according to your plans. When your dreams don't come true, is God still kind? Good? In Remember God , Annie Downs wrestles with some hard questions in her life and she lets us get a glimpse of what that looks like. Remember God is written as sort of a memoir of Downs' year as she wrestles with God. Downs asks the question, Is God always kind, really deep down always? Downs is single and not only is she single but she is single well past when she thought she would be married if her life had gone according to her plan. This brave woman opens her heart and her life and shows us how God is not only kind but he does exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). However, initially that did not look or feel like how Downs wanted it to look. She shares how God grew her heart and soul through the year--a year with both a limp and a blessing. I am not single. I am a middle-...

For the past several years, I have been following Joshua Becker's blog. I have also read all of his books through this one. His new book, The Minimalist Home is full of great information for anyone wanting to declutter and re-focus their life. When I read Becker's first books, we were getting ready to move and I knew I needed to get rid of stuff. His encouraging books and blogs helped us pare down and make that move. What we didn't know then was that we would make 3 more moves in a short time span. Each time, we pared down a little more. We have now been in this house for three years.  . .and we were starting to pick up some clutter again after family members passed away. We knew we needed to once again declutter, which is why I wanted to read The Minimalist Home . Becker is so encouraging and clear in his method of walking you through decluttering your house that I think he makes the process enjoyable. Besides his how-to information, at the end of each chapter, Becke...