Reading, Writing & Pondering

Shannon Adair leaves her confederate state of Virginia with her father, Rev. Delaney Adair as he accepts a call to preach in the gold rush town of LaCeour. Rev. Adair is determined to go where God has called him to go and to be used wherever that may be. However, Shannon isn't so sure that God can use her in this uncivilized area of the old West.   At the same time, Wells Fargo driver Matthew Dubois, has taken some time off from driving the stage coach to working in the office so that he can also nurse his ailing sister, Alice, back to health. Alice is a widow with a young son named Todd. Matthew soon finds that Alice is in worse shape than he thought. Will he be able to return to driving stage coach?   Without giving too much away from the plot, I enjoyed Robin Lee Hatcher's latest historical tale, Heart of Gold, set in the old west. I was immediately drawn into the character's lives and felt like I was in the midst of Grand Coeur. I especially appreciated her depict...

The Jesus Calling Devotional Bible offered me a devotional and a Bible rolled into one product that I could have on my e-reader device. I really liked that idea.  I am also a fan of easy-to-read Bible versions. This devotional Bible is offered in the New King James Version. I was already familiar with that version so it was easy for me to like that aspect of this Bible. I was also familiar with Sarah Young's book, God Calling, but I had not read Jesus Calling. In both cases, there has been criticism of Sarah for making a presumption of what God or Jesus would say. I have talked to several Christians that have found these books to be very helpful even though I understand that criticism. For me, I found Sarah's words to be helpful as well. In this Bible, Sarah responds to various prayers that people might pray on various topics such as fear, worry, suffering and other scenarios that Christians throughout the ages have faced. It seemed to me that she stuck with Scripture in her ...

The sub-title to this book is Real Stories. Changing Lives. That phrase sums it all up in a nutshell. This is a book of testimony after testimony of real people who went through all sorts of challenging experiences but in the end realized that they needed to give their lives to Christ and live for Him. I Am Second includes stories are from names that you will recognize such as famed singer and song-writer Michael W. Smith and Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton. Other stories may come from names you won’t recognize but the all of the stories are well-written and compelling. They tell about people who have gone from living for booze, drugs, sex, money and the things that the world has to offer and coming up empty to knowing that only God can fill them. All of the stories offer hope and encouragement to those who end up putting God first in this me-first world we live in--"Becoming second means recognizing God is first." When I received this book, I was not familiar with this movem...

In book 3 of the Songbird series, Jade Benson has been busy holding down the fort with her vintage shop business, the Blue Umbrella, while raising Max Benson's son, Asa, for 3 months before Max comes back home from rehab. Once Max gets home, Jade and Max work to heal their marriage. Max faces an opportunity to learn his family's law firm and coach high-school football in Texas. At first, Jade doesn't want to leave Whisper Hollow to go somewhere unfamiliar. Then God speaks to her heart and she listens. Together they all face a fresh start in Colby, Texas. But there is one more secret to be uncovered. . .and Jade wrestles with how to share that news with Max. I recommend this book to anyone facing fears. I have faced a few of my own and that is one of the things I appreciated most about this series. . .the characters learn to face fears, each in their own ways. They have some mistakes and they continue to make mistakes but ultimately they learn to trust God. I love that a...

Smitten,Vermont is a struggling community when the town's largest employer, Smitten Lumber, closes up. Four friends get together and decide to turn Smitten, Vermont into a romantic getaway and honeymoon destination by capitalizing on the town's name. Natalie, Julia, Shelby and Reese are all good friends who love their community and want to see it thrive. The faith of a young girl also helps the 4 friends, as well as others in the town, see what faith in God can do. As all four friends work together to help the town grow again, each of them finds their own true love as well as increasing their faith in God. The four stories of Natalie, Julia, Shelby and Reese are all wound together to create one unified story. Each story is written by one 4 real-life friends and popular Christian fiction authors: Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, & Diann Hunt. As I read the book, I thought the stories all flowed seamlessly from one to the other. It was a light, relaxing read...

Jade finally thinks she is in a safe place. . .she is happily married and the owner of 2 successful vintage boutiques. Then the drama begins. . .Jade picks up her mother-in-law, June, from the airport and takes her home to find her father-in-law with another woman. . .Jade's mother is dying from leukemia. Jade, after a few miscarriages, discovers that her husband already has a son--with another woman and she knew nothing about it. Jade, June and Jade's mom, Beryl, decide to hit the road and head back home to where Jade grew up in Iowa. . .It is there where June and Jade come to terms with the challenges in their marriages and where Beryl comes to live out her last days in this touching story. This is book 2 in the songbird series and if you haven't read book 1, I would encourage you to do so before this book. This is one series where you really need to read them in order to truly understand and appreciate the story. I picked this book because I live in Iowa, not all that ...

The Sweet By and By is a story mostly about Jade. Jade chases her dreams and owns a vintage shop after college. She has also hooked one of the area's most eligible bachelors, Max. Together, they have a pact to leave the past in the past and make their life together about moving forward. . .but does the past really stay in the past or are there repercussions in life as we move forward from our past history? Part of this story is set in Prairie City, Iowa, not far from where I live. Prairie City is where Jade grew up and there are flashbacks to this location throughout the book. I liked that aspect of it. I can't honestly say I enjoyed all of the drama of this story. This book seems to be a rather sad tale but life is sometimes just that way. In any case, I am planning to read on in the series and see how the whole story unfolds. This is the first book in the songbird series. I checked this book out of my local library for this review.