When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad

I LOVED this book! First of all, it is a fascinating story in which the heroine becomes a “Hello Girl,” a switchboard operator in the first days of the telephone. Hannah is notorious for refusing to follow rules, and Hello Girls have so many rules to follow. But because of the sudden death of her parents, Hannah, being the oldest, has to find a job that will make enough to support herself, along with her two sisters. Second, it is a precious love story. Yes, it is somewhat predictable, but doesn’t make the journey boring!

In the beginning of the book, a handsome lawyer comes to tell the girls they cannot stay on their family farm. But as the story evolves, maybe this slick young lawyer isn’t so bad after all. He tries to make amends, and show the girls he isn’t so bad, so he comes to help them move. But for stubborn Hannah, it seems like another way to get them off their farm. Can Lincoln show Hannah he is actually a kind man, and not heartless?

Hannah makes it through the school for switchboard operators with flying colors! But can she follow the silly rules? No talking to the operator next to you, even if there are no calls. No scratching your nose or touching your face without permission. Sit with both feet flat on the floor at all times. Can Hannah make it?

I was thrilled with this book from beginning to end, and can’t wait for the second “Gregory Sisters” book to come out next year!

I received the book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

The Artist’s Daughter by Alexandra Kuykendall

I loved this book from the very beginning. Sometimes it’s not that interesting to read about someone else’s life. But this one was a quick read. I started it in an evening and didn’t stop until it was half over. Alex has had tragedy in her life. It was hard for her to get through. But with God’s help, she learned to get past her past, and live a full life.

It’s so sad to read of Alex’s trials with her father. Being from a wonderful family myself, I cannot imagine feeling so rejected and unloved. But as life goes on, she learns to deal with it. Having a great husband and kids, a loving mother, and friends to support, she finds love in other places. Most of all, she is able to know that her Heavenly Father loves her, even if her earthly father was a great disappointment.

I really loved this book. It shows so much emotion that women face, and although my circumstances are very different from hers, I could still relate to many of her emotions and insecurities. It really encouraged me, and it was a great read!

I received the book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

 

Joni & Ken: an Untold Love Story

This is an incredible, memoir-style, encouraging book. Written together by Ken and Joni Tada, it encompasses many years of their amazing life together. If you thought marriage was tough, be ready for a reality check for in these pages you will be acquainted again and again with tragedies that threaten to sink all those in its wake.

Joni’s life has always been anything but normal so why should her marriage be any different? From the time they started dating, Ken and Joni both knew it would be difficult. They knew it would be hectic. They knew it would be overwhelming. They also knew it would be worth it.

Their story makes Jesus seem so close and so personal. It is precious. It is priceless. This book will put things in perspective, and offer hope. It will challenge you to a closer walk with the Lord. A must read!

I received the book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Accidental Pharisees by Larry Osborne

I was greatly helped and convicted by this book. It talks about the greatest sin, pride, and how it affects even the “best” Christians. The author warns Christians against comparing themselves to others, and “accidentally” believing they are somehow better.

A few points that really stood out to me:

“Most of our most heated disputes are not about matters that, when we get them wrong, will send us to hell. Granted, many are about important things – very important thing s- but it’s a stretch to call them eternal.And that’s why it’s also a stretch to think that God approves when we let our pursuit of theological uniformity escalate to the point that it tears apart his family or closes up the Bible.”

- It’s not up to us to make sure everyone else fits our definition of following Christ.

“‘Hate the sin, but love the sinner.’ It’s usually applied to our relationship with people outside the faith. But it also needs to be applied to our fellow believers…”

- We need to learn to be kind, and practice grace with our fellow believers, instead of judging every little mistake! Does God do that to us? No. He is so merciful, and we are so unworthy.

“Following Jesus is not a race to see who can be the most radical, sacrificial, knowledgeable, or quickest to burn out. It’s not a contest to see who’s willing to take the hardest road.”

- We are all made differently. On purpose. By our Creator. He has given us different gifts, abilities  and desires. He wants us to do different thing. We are all members of one body, but we are different parts. Just because a fellow church member doesn’t share my passion for one area of ministry, does not mean he is a lesser Christian.

I would greatly recommend this book. It’s a very powerful wake-up call to help us truly follow Christ, and not become a Pharisee, accidentally.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

Taylor’s Gift by Todd and Tara Storch

This story begins as a heart-wrenching tragedy and ends with hope. In March, 2010, the Storch family was on a skiing vacation when 13-year-old Taylor had a horrible skiing accident that ended her life. As the family grieved, they made the life-changing decision to donate her organs. This story follows four other families and their battles with different diseases and health problems. When Taylor’s organs were donated, these families got new life!

When the accident takes place, the grief is completely overwhelming to say the least. Tara, the mother couldn’t eat for several days. She sobbed and vomited…for days. Even after several days, she would awaken screaming for her daughter. This went on around the clock for weeks. Friends and family were there 24/7 to care for her, Todd (Taylor’s dad), and the other children, Ryan and Peyton. I couldn’t stop the tears either as I read through these chapters. I cannot imagine feeling like 1/5 of me was forever gone.

Todd worked through his grief by getting busy. He helped to organize a memorial for Taylor at her middle school. But the biggest thing was starting Taylor’s Gift, a foundation started to increase awareness of organ donation. This foundation helps to link people to their own state, and to learn how they can register to be an organ donor.

The website Taylor’s Gift has a lot of pictures, products to buy, and stories about others who have benefited from organ donation. Click here to see when the Storches met Patricia, the precious lady who received Taylor’s heart.

Through this foundation, the Storch family found a new purpose and a new hope. The book definitely did its job. Taylor will never be forgotten, and I am forever aware of the beautiful gift of her organs, that her death brought forth.

A great book… but only if you feel like crying.

Available April 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

 

Eva, Sweet Eva

Eva, sweet Eva

 

• 20 Months old in a few days
• Has learned about 10 new words this month, including “no.” She can whine, too. “NoooooOOoo, MooooOOmmmy.” Other words are yes, good girl and uh-huh (with a whole-body nod)
• Can get out of bed by herself, which Jackson nor Timothy learned to do
• Looks funny when she tries to give kisses
• Loves to sing (in bed instead of falling asleep)
• Throws her head back in despair, and sometimes her spine just can’t hold her up… when she doesn’t get her way. Also throws herself in the floor sometimes (oh dear!)
• Loves to climb (see below)

She’s our cutie pie and we all love her! She keeps us on our toes, on our knees, and in a constant smile!

Jesus Is ___ by Judah Smith

This book was incredible! Jesus is your Friend. Jesus is grace. Through each section and chapter, your eyes will be opened to how simple it really is to live for Jesus. Not that it’s easy, but it’s simple. He made it simple when He died for you. He took care of the payment for your sin, freeing you to live life to its fullest!

I was so convicted as Mr. Smith talked about the badness scale we keep in our Christian lives and even our churches. We label others as sinning, you know, the really bad sinners. And we label ourselves as just “messing up.” It’s so wrong! It’s prideful to think Christ’s blood covered us easily, but it would be so hard for it to cover “those really bad sinners.” Really eye-opening. We pride ourselves on being “separated” when Jesus clearly spent time with sinners. He loved the sinners without immediately trying to tell them how bad they are. They became changed because they met Jesus, not because they were separated from.

One of the things that really stuck with me was him talking about his marriage. The author said that his wife was so wonderful and that their marriage was so great because of her. He said he had never thought, “Hey, I could cheat on her and she would forgive me!” No! Her faithfulness and love for him had drawn him to want to be faithful to her, not take advantage of her goodness! He said he was not being faithful to marriage; he was being faithful to a person! And when you meet Jesus, you want to be faithful to Him! When some find out about grace, they think, “Oh, so I can do whatever I want and God has to forgive me.” God will always forgive. But once you really meet Jesus, and you meet grace, you will want to be faithful to Him. Mr. Smith said, “I’ve learned that unless its too good to be true, it’s probably not grace.”

Throughout this book, I was helped and challenged. The only thing I thought could have been presented differently was the gospel message. It seemed weak to me. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” was quoted in a different version, and that was basically all. There was no mention in this section about any of the famous Romans Road Scriptures. I just thought it could have been handled more thoroughly. Toward the back of the book, there was a little more about “falling short” of the glory of God. However, this book was basically written to Christians, and the weak gospel presentation doesn’t change the great thought of the book!

This was a completely fresh view of Christianity. The Bible never changes, and neither does the truth within its pages, but over time, men change what it means, and how it lived out. This book did away with some of the “rules” we Christians have come up with over the past several years, and gave me a truer view of who Jesus is!

I highly recommend this book! There are some things that I would not completely agree with, but those things don’t taint the message presented in Jesus Is___.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Love in a Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews

This is a Biblical fiction novel that supposes how the lives of Hosea and Gomer may have gone. From God’s command to Hosea to take a harlot as his wife, to the coming home and healing of Gomer’s heart, this book is a beautiful story of God’s unconditional love for Israel… and for us.

I love to read Biblical fiction! It’s exactly what we do when we teach Sunday School, teach the truths given in the Bible, and also suppose how that person may have felt. How did Jonah feel when he was inside the whale? How did Abraham feel when he was ready to sacrifice his precious son? The author does a wonderful job in Love in a Broken Vessel, in describing how Gomer’s life may have been. Horrible. Lonely. Vile.

Hosea was hand-picked to show Israel how God still loved them. Because God gave him a special love for Gomer, although she continued to live in her old ways. The Bible doesn’t give a lot of detail of Hosea’s home, and his children. But it is an amazingly beautiful story! Tears streamed down my face at the precious ending!

We are all broken vessels, but God chose to love us anyway! A great read!

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

29

For my birthday this year, my hubby really surprised me! For a few months, he would sit on the laptop and not let me come near. I got a clue and guessed right, although I didn’t really know until my birthday! He made a beautiful blog book for me. It had my entire blog (minus the posts where I popped on to say I was too busy to blog!) complete with pictures. It was so pretty and thoughtful!

The very last page of the blog said that my husband took me to the symphony for my birthday, and out for a day of shopping! Score big time! I have wanted to go to the symphony for all our married life. {I know it’s not really that long!} I was so happy, I cried!

I was thrilled!

We went to Cincinnati’s Music Hall on Friday, Feb. 22nd.

It was so beautiful and dreamy! We sat in the Gallery in section O and I was surprised how well we could see!

The conductor was also the violinist who did the solos. It was amazing to watch him play. Then for the last two pieces, he conducted. I just love to see professionsals in their element! Of any kind!

The last piece was by Mendelssohn. It was incredible! To see about 60 stringed instruments in perfect sync! I was amazed!

Me and the man who is so good to me!

Inside the Hall. It was built in the 1800s, and is SO amazing.

The cute bag I bought in the gift shop:

 

It made me love and appreciate classical music even more. So much so, that I’m implementing it in home school this year. Just to introduce the kids to it, and help them to respect it. We will play a piece and do a special activity along with it. And read books about the composers. I hope they will love it!

After the concert was over, we had a wonderful lunch at Red Lobster, and did some major shopping!

I love my husband and am so thankful for him. It’s always nice to get away and spend time together without answering 20-questions-a-minute!

Here’s to being 29… forever!

Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell

Adventure, romance, and suspense! This novel has it all! Set in 1813 London, it has all the propriety of “society” life that always intrigues me. The heroine, Lady Wexham is French, and waiting for Napoleon Bonaparte to fall so she can return home to the France she loves.

When Lady Wexham’s butler takes a bad fall, and is unable to work, he recommends his nephew Rees for the job. The nephew is capable in his duties, but something about him keeps Lady Wexham suspicious. Little does she know that he is onto her spy work for the French! She soon comes to be watchful of him as well, and the story takes many surprising turns!

Along the way, the two inevitably fall in love! But in order to pursue their love, one must become a traitor to their own country! How will it end? Will Napoleon fall? Will they both be safe as they do their dangerous work?

I loved this book, and highly recommend it. You will not be able to put it down!

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.