All Things New by Lynn Austin

I read this delightful book by the Christian author Lynn Austin. It was a very well written,thought provoking book.

 

The book follows the lives of Lizzy a young slave women who is fearful for the future of her family  following the Civil War, she longs for freedom but wants a better life for her children, but will the be safe from the Southern men who are bitter from the war?

Eugenia Weatherly lost her husband and oldest son in the war and is left with nothing but a run down plantation with no slaves to help run it and a son who is bitter from the past. Will Eugenia be able to forget the past and embrace the future?

Josephine Weatherly is nothing like her Mother, Eugenia, and is tired of the bitterness that the war has left in every-ones lives . As she learns more about the people she once thought of as merely slaves she realizes that maybe her anger towards God over them losing the war is ill placed.

This was a wonderful,well written book and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

I just finished this delightful book by the Mother/Son writing team Charles Todd and really enjoyed it. I am a huge fan of the Bess Crawford and Inspector Ian Rutledge by them and was delighted to read this wonderful stand alone novel.

Lady Elseph Douglas is use to the finer things in life, thanks to being born a daughter of an Earl, but it isn't until the outbreak of World War 1 when she finds her true calling as a Nurse. But what will her Cousin do when he finds out she is doing nursing? And what will Lady Elseph do with her growing feelings for young Scotsman when she is promised to another?

Although this book is not a mystery like Charles Todd's other books,I found myself enjoying this book as it was rich in historical detail and had a sweet love story.
Even though Charles Todd are not Christian writers there is no objectionable content in this book nor in any of the other books I have read by them which is partly why they are one of my favorite mystery writers.

All in all this was a great read and I highly recommend it.

The Next Target

I recently read "The Next Target" by Nikki Arana. Let me start off by saying that this is one of best Christian books that I have read in a long time! I really felt like the author Nikki Arana really did a fabulous job of plenty Christianity,suspense and real life situations into the book.
The book is about Austia who is  witnessing to the Muslims in her community despite the danger it put her in.When one of the young Muslim girls she brings to Christianity is killed because of her conversion it is only a matter of time before her conversion is traced to Austia.
This gave a realistic portrayal of a women who is trying to witness to the Muslims and the danger that is involved,but it is also a story about trusting God no matter what.

I really,really enjoyed this book and liked the fact that it had a lot more involved than just a love story (which the love story is there but it is a very minor part of the book). I really felt like Nikki Arana did a great job at helping you see the Muslims through God's eyes and realize the sacrifice they make when they convert to Christianity.

The fragility of life

"So teach us to number our days,that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" Psalms 90:12

I was reminded again of the fragility of life.I am sure most everyone has heard about the deadly shooting in Colorado at the midnight premier of the "Dark Night Rises" in which 12 people were killed and numerous were wounded. Reading about it this morning broke my heart and made me realize how here many people were going for a fun entertaining night,they were not doing anything dangerous and yet because of one man's choice,12 of those people did not come out of that theater alive.
I do not personally know any of the people who died in that theater and yet it could of easily have been any of us.I have countless friends who went to see the movie when it opened.Something like this just brings death all the closer. It makes you realize that we need to make each and every day count.

Please vote for Sweet Sisters!

My family own a gluten free bakery and are applying for this grant through Chase that will give $250k to 12 small businesses to help them out.If we get over 250 votes we will have a chance of getting one of those 12 grants.So that is where you come in,if you could be wonderful and go vote for our company,Sweet Sisters in Stewartsville,Missouri we would really appreciate that.:)

To vote all you have to do is go to www.missionsmallbusiness.com and log in which is super easy as you do it with your facebook,after that you look up Sweet Sisters and then vote,super easy and very much appreciated!

Interrupted: Life Beyond Words

I recently read "Interrupted: Life Beyond Words" by Rachel Coker,I was able to read it through netgalley which I just discovered (thanks Amanda!).
This book starts out with young Allie Everly who is taking care of her terminally ill Mother.Allie's life changes drastically when her Mother dies and she is sent off to live with a women who loves her and longs to make her feel at home,but Allie does not want a new Mother and she struggles with accepting her adopted Mother's faith.As Allie grows up and life changes because of World War 2 she comes to terms with her adopted Mother and realizes that her friend Sam is perhaps more important to her than she thought,but will he come home from the war and will her young faith survive whatever God throws in her path?

I must say that I was really impressed that this book was written by a 15 year old home-schooled girl,she did a great job and I look forward to reading her future books.This was a simple,sweet read.Not a very complicated store and fairly predictable,but it was refreshingly innocent and is exactly what you would hope a 15 year old would write about.
I would highly recommend this book and hope some of you will check it out!

"Cuts like a knife" Book review

I just now finished "Cuts like a knife" by M.K. Gilroy.This is his debut novel and I have to say that I am really looking forward to his next book which is due out in October.
This books is about Detective Kristen Conner who is good at what she does and yet is dealing with anger and hurt over her Dad's death a year earlier.Her whole career is put on the line when a serial killer comes to Chicago taking out successful women for no apparent reason. When Kristen learns that she is the next target things get exciting!

I would give this book a 5 star rating.It was one of the best books I have read in a long time.The book was exciting and interesting without being creepy (I was even okay with reading it at home by myself,which is a big deal for me).
I really liked the authors writing style,it was down to earth and realistic.The main character,Kristen,was believable,funny,down to earth and was someone most of us can relate to.She deals with anger issues,feelings of not being good enough and other emotions that most of us have gone through.
The book also has a wonderful cast of secondary characters which helped make it all the more interesting.
I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series due out in October!

School and Kindles

Well I am officially signed up for classes.Yesterday I was at MWSU for most of the day and it was a long drawn out day in which I learned nothing and had to do pretty much everything myself.The only benefit being that I actually met a wonderful girl,Lindsey, who I have heaps in common with and will hopefully run into while at school.
Really though,the rest of the day was a complete waste,I did not even get to meet a Professor from my majors! I did have to go to the Math Department so I could get signed up for my math class and let me tell you,all of the professors looked grumpy! Or maybe it was just me being grumpy because being at the math department was the last place I wanted to be.:)
The best thing about my day was being told by a parents I am super organized and they wanted their son to be my study buddy,I thought that was flattering and I do try to be organized because the school certainly is no on the ball.

I am hoping to get a Kindle before too long,Chris wants to get me one for my birthday,but I *think* I can hold out until Black Friday so we could get a better deal.I guess it all depends on if I am able to review books like Amanda has been doing,if BookSneeze or one of the other companies allows me to review for them then I would be in a much bigger hurry to get my Kindle.:)

School

I am out of school for the summer,so here is to hoping that I will actually get on here more often.*smile*
Of course in a little over a week Aunt Dori and the kids will be coming out so I am thinking that quite possibly things will be crazy all summer.
I was going to take an online College Algebra class to finish up my Associates,but after being in it for less than a week I realized I was in way over my head and opted out to take an easier math class at MWSU once I transfer.

Speaking of school,I sign up for classes next week and am not looking forward to it.The signing up for classes thing I am okay with,the sitting around half the day listening to the school give their spiel about how awesome they are,etc is what I am not looking forward to.I went to this thing with Chris 2 years ago so it will be a deja vu and one I am not looking forward to.I have all of my classes figured out so it will hopefully go quickly and efficiently without any problems.
I am a bit nervous about starting school up in the Fall.I am hoping working full time and taking 18-19 credits will mesh well and will not leave me overwhelmed.

Of laptop and kindness

So I am typing this blog post on my brand new laptop! I cannot give you many of the particulars about what kind of features my laptop has on it,beyond the fact that it is an HP,is Quad Core and has a finger scanner that fascinates me to no end. So now I can be all the more lazy and I no longer have to type my password into my email,FB or this blog,because all I have to do is swipe my finger across the reader and presto,I am signed in!
The laptop is my birthday and anniversary present from last year,albeit a bit late.Better late then never though,right?:)

So my thought have been going in the direction of our interactions with other and how they reflect or fail to reflect the Lord.Sometimes it is hard being the bigger person and turning the other cheek when that is the last thing we want to do,but God never said following Him was going to be easy and in our humanness doing the right thing is often times the last thing we want to do.
I have been reading several secular books and the way the often portray Christians is really sad,because they are either really stupid and only cling to religion because they know no better or are doing all sorts of horrible stuff in the name of Christianity. It is really sad that is the way many people view us. I know some great people who are Christians and I know some not as great of people who claim to be Christians as well.Just because people claim to be following Christ does not mean their actions with always be Christlike,I know my actions are oftentimes lacking.I think too often,even in my own life, the quote from Gandhi can be applied to me,which is “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” May I be ever working on that in my own life.


So in closing here are a few quotes that I really enjoyed and hope you will enjoy too.
Do not forget small kindnesses and do not remember small faults.
Chinese Proverb
A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing.
John Tillotson
The less people speak of their greatness,
the more we think of it.
Lord Bacon
Let us believe neither half of the good people tell us of ourselves, nor half of the evil they say of others.
J. Petit Senn

Goals

Apparently it has been far to long since I have written,being that I forgot my login information and everything.:)
Life has been a whirlwind of activity here lately and I am not sure it shows much promise of slowing down anytime soon. In a few weeks I will be done with finals and everything (hurrah!),but will be taking College Algebra  (boo!) this summer so I will be done with my Associates. This Fall I will be transferring to a 4 year college and am planning on double majoring in Political Science and Sociology.
Chris has had a lot going on this year as he switched majors from Conservation Wildlife to Nursing,got into the Nursing program and will be starting that in the Fall.So Lord willing we will both be graduating from college in Spring of 2014.:)

It will be interesting to see how juggling working full time and going to school full time works out,but I really am wanting to finish my degree and I am going to try my hardest to make it work.


This C.S. Lewis quote shares perfectly how I am feeling right now.