Reading, Writing & Pondering

   As we close out July 2026, The United States has celebrated it's 250th birthday.  From Sea to Shining Sea : 50 Daily Devotions from Traveling to Every State in America  is a Christian devotional devotional book that celebrates all fifty states of the United States. This is an especially great year to read this devotional.  From Sea to Shining Sea  has devotions that are designed for short, meaningful reflection, blending faith, Scripture, and real-life travel experiences from across the United States. Each of the fifty readings begins with a travel moment that the authors experienced that coincide with the state featured in that reading. The authors have traveled to all fifty states and have been married 60 years. The travels are from various times in their lives and feature various landmarks and historical interests in the states.  Along with the travel stories, each reading   connects that experience with a brief Scripture passa...

  I have been looking forward to Robin Jones Gunn new book, Tea with Elephants so I was excited to have an advanced copy. I got it in the mail and started reading right away! I read and treasured every bit of this book. Fern and Lily have been friends ever since they met in Costa Rica while doing volunteer work. Together, as young girls, they dreamed of traveling the world and the good that they could do. Then life happened. Lily got married young and had two children. Fern took an internship that led to a job in publishing and has been working ever since. Then several years later, Fern's father and mother-in-law gave Fern and Lily tickets to Africa to go on safari. This is the story of their trip--as well as the challenges in their lives that they left behind. I read Tea with Elephants quickly as I could not put it down. I enjoyed The Sister Chicks series. This series is along those lines as the start of the Suitcase Sisters novels begins. I enjoyed the camaraderie of Lily and Fe...

  I have followed Sean Dietrich on Instagram for a couple of years. I wanted to read You Are My Sunshine since it came out last fall. I am glad I started my year with this couple's adventure. In You Are My Sunshine , I followed Sean and his wife, Jamie, as they went on a big adventure--riding their bike and recumbent trike on the Great Allegheny Passage and C & O Canal Towpath Trail. The book starts out with a bit of marital history so the reader knows how the couple decided to make this journey, then goes into the journey and ends with a bit of marital history to complete the story. I enjoy Sean's humor on his social media Instagram page. While this book isn't entirely humorous, there were a few places I laughed out loud. I mostly pulled for this couple to make it through this really long bike/trike ride. There were also some serious places in You Are My Sunshine where he shared stories about people they met on the trail who face life challenges and sti...

  Wouldn't it be fun to be gifted a trip to Italy? In Lauraine Snelling's latest book, The Florence Legacy , Breeanna Lindstrom has always dreamed of taking a trip to Italy to see "the David." Breeanna had trips planned with her writing friends a couple of times in the past but they fell through. Then her friend Jade passed away and left Breeanna and her friends in the writing group the money to finally take the trip. Pierre-Rene Dubois is a widower with a dream of opening a coffee shop that will specialize in helping veterans. He is Breeanna's neighbor's brother-in-law--and he speaks several languages. Before leaving for her trip, Breeanna and Pierre meet and then work together to make sure Breeanna can speak some of the language she will need on her trip. Besides the language lessons, there are some sparks of interest between the two. But can they make a relationship work with all the two have going on in their lives? The Florence Legacy is a character driv...