Of Stillness and Storm

Hello World,
The last day of 2016, so many memories and emotions for this year.  Some incredibly funny, others sad, but through it all God our Father has carried our sweet family through each day.  The best part,  God continues to carry our family and guide us.  He is constant and unchanging, giving us a love that will never cease.  Was your past year filled with His love?

Of Stillness and Storm by Michèle Phoenix is about a missionary family living in Nepal.  Their once bright and sunny future as missionaries has been diminished by a husband who leaves for weeks to trek into a remote tribe, while the wife and son are left by themselves.  While Lauren (the wife) finds ways to cope with the struggle it is their son Ryan who starts feeling the effect of the struggling family.

This book is achingly open to what can happen in a family that gives their life to missions.  I'm not going to lie to you dear readers, this is a broken story and a must read for every Christian.  It brought into clarity how important praying for our missionaries and for their relationships.  Why it is crucial to have checks and balances in the family and why it is so critical for families to be intentional.  As well as to understand where priorities lay and the importance of having a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.  This book convicted me on so many different planes.  READ THIS BOOK!  Thank you Ms. Phoenix for your openness.
*I received this book through booklookblogger for my honest opinion.

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Ephesians 5:25

    èè

An Uncommon Courtship

Hello World!

So I am on my Holiday break, it's a beautiful thing to be able to relax, deep clean, go through old clothes and pick up quilting again.  My husband Todd has saved t-shirts over the years that I would like to make into a quilt for him.  I also have pajama pants for my kiddos to make.  Drew was my first one and he loves his Olaf flannels.  Are you doing anything fun this week?

An Uncommon Courtship by Kristi Ann Hunter brings sweet Adalaide and Trent together.  These two have been placed in a predicament where the only option they have is to get married.  Stuck in a loveless marriage is the last place that Trent wants to be in, but he knows that God will take care of him.  Adalaide has survived her whole life by being a wallflower, how will she ever be able to live in the same house with a stranger.  Will these two learn how to love, or will this marriage continue to be a sham.

This book,  I had to review it.  Seriously, I've been sitting on it for the last four days because I know it's not coming out until January 3rd, but good gravy it was so good!  I even re-read TWICE.   Set in the regency era, I can't help but love reading about the etiquette, dukes, counts, and dresses.   Now for my die hard regency fans, it doesn't stay fully true to the era, but for me the story and character build made up for that.  I absolutely loved Adalaide and Trent, I love how they put their faith in God even when mistakes were made.  It was the perfect read for me, and hopefully, it will be perfect for you too.

*yo peeps, this book was given to me by netgalley for my honest opinion.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) 

The Captive Heart

Hello World,
Merry Christmas to you all, I pray that the Lord blesses you and shines His glorious face on you.  This year in particular as been just an amazing year for our family and I'm truly blessed by you dear readers.  Thank you for following me and for reading the Jesus Book Girl Blog.  Someday I hope I can meet each of you if not here then with our Father in heaven :)

The Captive Heart is about Eleanor Morgan a nanny fleeing England because of her employer.  What she hopes to find is a new beginning with an upstanding Charles Towne family, but God has other plans for her.  Samuel Heath meets Eleanor the day he marries her and brings her home to his daughter.  Both have their burdens to carry and with the threat of war coming closer will they be able to rely on God's grace and possibly see His will in the unexpected?

This book definitely packs a punch and had me guessing to the very end.  The story of Eleanor Morgan was intriguing and kept me on my toes with each new twist and turn. The detail in the story made for a beautiful picture in my mind.  I also loved how Ms. Griep stayed true to the time period.  This is definitely a book I enjoy reading on a lazy day and can fully immerse myself.  So dear readers if you're looking for an action packed Christian romance set during the Revolutionary era, this is the book for you.

Isaiah 9:6(ESV)

6 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon[a] his shoulder,

    and his name shall be called[b]

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Lost Girl

                                   

Hello World,

So, I'm pretty sure I nailed this book cover :)  The hair, the floating, and I think Canon our dog just adds to the picture lol.  I just came home from my husband's work party and while we were driving back home we talked about how our move to Texas has blessed our sweet family.   Sometimes the most unexpected changes are the best ones.  Have you had anything unexpected happen to you that was good?

Lost Girl by Chanda Hahn is the story of a small girl with amazing abilities.  All she has to do is remember her abilities...  Wendy can't remember part of her life, but there's an organization who remembers her and wants her back.  Peter has been given a great responsibility in taking care of a group of boys, but he can't let go of the one girl that he truly lost.

So this book is for all you Peter Pan fans, and for all you ladies out there that wished Peter Pan grew up :)  This is really an incredible twist to a timeless tale and I loved reading every single second of it.  I loved seeing characters that I've read and of course seen on movies come to life in a new way.  Each one was familiar, and Ms. Hahn did a great job at keeping those characters true but in today's modern time.  If you love a good read with a little fantasy, romance, and suspense you definitely need to read Chanda Hahn's Lost Girl.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

—Romans 12:16

Upcoming books

Live release party for Lost Girl by Chanda Hahn and all the books I'll be reviewing in the next couple of weeks :-)


For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

—1 Corinthians 12:13

Lost Girl Release Party

Hey Everyone!

I wanted to let you know that one of my favorite authors is having a release party and give away live now!  Please go ahead and check out Chanda Hahn's new book Lost Girl.  Being a blogger I get free books all the time, but she is one of the very few authors where I go and purchase her books.  Yep, every single one of her books :-). So go check out the release party!

¨)

✷¸.•*¨)✷¸.•*¨)✷¸.•*¨)  

(¸.•´✷ (¸.•´✷ NEW RELEASE, PARTY & GIVEAWAY! ✷

Lost Girl by Chanda Hahn is LIVE tomorrow 12-13-16!

Come help us celebrate the release at the DOUBLE release party with Ben Hale & Chanda Hahn! Lots of fun and prizes to be won! PLUS, don't forget to enter the rafflecopter! (ALL LINKS BELOW)

JOIN THE RELEASE PARTY: https://www.facebook.com/events/338912379809541/

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/27d014c717/

GET LOST GIRL HERE:

Lost Girl is the first book in a brand new series, The Neverwood Chronicles.

If you like fairytales, you will LOVE Lost Girl!

✷Amazon➙ http://getBook.at/LG

✷Nook➙ http://bit.ly/LG-Nook

✷iBooks➙ http://bit.ly/LG-iBooks

✷Kobo➙ http://bit.ly/LG-Kobo

✷Smashwords➙ http://bit.ly/LG-SW

➙Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/LG-GR

Gilt Hollow

    

Hello World :)
I'm really kind of enjoying this enacting the book covers.  Note to self red lipstick goes on everything but it doesn't come off anything.  How is your Saturday morning going?  Are you doing well?  What's the weather like outside in your area of living?

Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon tells the tale of Ashton Keller.  Accused at the age of 14 of murdering his friend, he has waited four years to exact revenge out of those who testified against him.  Returning to the town that betrayed him; he trusts no one, especially the best friend who abandoned him when he went to juvie.  Willow Lamott, has carried the burden of being Ashton's best friend, she has been adamant these last four years that Ashton is innocent and has payed the price.  In this gritty novel these two must learn how to forgive before it's too late.

Wow!  This book was a stay up late and finish kind of book.  The characters pull you in and the author knew how to bring emotion to the book.   Ms. Lagdon does an amazing job, her thriller/suspense romance is on point and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  For my Christian readers this is what I would consider light Christian.  There are hints of forgiveness, and God's grace but it's not going to be the kind of book that's in your face Christian.   So there won't be any Bible verses or a salvation message.  On that note, because it's a thriller/suspense romance it's darker then what I would normally read, but it fit.  So, if you like the gritty, and a darker romance novel this is the book for you.

*Yo peeps this book was given to me by BookLookBloggers for my honest review.

John 1:1-31 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

For the Record

Hello World!
Well today I thought how much fun it would be to enact pictures of the book covers.  Well here is the Bre style, if you look at the top it's slightly different then the cover :)

I had fun taking the picture and I'm excited for the future of this.  Today I took a personal day from work to recoup from this last week of Lone Star Ballet's Nutcracker.  My sweet daughter is an angel in it.  We are absolutely loving it, but those late nights sure do take a toll on this ol' lady.  Thankfully, I did a lot of sitting while my daughter danced and I was able to read Regina Jennings "For the Record".

For the Record introduces us to Joel Puckett and Betsy Huckabee.  Both characters are stalwart in wanting to remain single.  They are focused on their own desires and achieving them.  They don't have time to think about romance let alone the unexpected happenings that bring them together.  Will these two vivacious people find love, and solve the town mystery?

This was a fun book to read and the perfect one to be able to while away the hours as my daughter dances :)  I loved that Joel Puckett held on to his integrity and belief in God even when he had people out to get him.  He was truly the dashing deputy to me, and reminded me very much of my husband who has the very same qualities.  I love that Betsy was an honorable woman of God, even if she didn't fit the mold of her community.  These two together and the town that brought them together made for a great read.  If you're wanting witty characters, an amazing back drop, as well as a tale that involves God's plan for them you definitely need to read this book.

*Yo peeps I received this book through Netgalley in hopes of my honest opinion.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

—Romans 12:9

A little love

So,  lately I've had it on my heart to memorize 1 Corinthians 13.  Can I just be honest with you world?  It is hard, I'm horrible at memorizing but God has really burdened me with it.  So I'm going to put it out to the world to accept the same challenge.  Would you be interested in doing this with me?  I have a feeling that more then ever we need to remember the Word of God.  We need to wrap it around our minds and place it in our hearts.  If you are interested, go ahead and comment below or private message me on Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter (phew that's a lot lol).
Here's the chapter for you all!

1 Corinthians 13English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes:

The Heiress of Winterwood

Hello World,
Oh boy!  This week will be crazy.  As a musician I've come to the realization that Christmas is busy, full of concerts, Christmas Eve services, and ballet :)  I love it, I love playing for people and I love making music.  My body on the other hand takes a beating.  I am constantly short on sleep, but that's ok because as long as I have vitamin C and D as well as a good chiropractor; I am golden.  How's your Christmas season looking?

The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah E. Ladd is a story about Amelia, a young lady who desires to fulfill her dearest friends last wishes by taking care of her young daughter.  The baby's Father has just returned from a stint at sea and Amelia has a plan to keep the child, but is God's plans for her or her own desires?

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It was fast paced and it had an interesting take on Christian romance.  Ms. Ladd is a weaver of tales and it's always so refreshing to read her books.  You always get adventure, mystery and romance, but along with that you get a story that keeps you wanting to read to the very end.  I enjoyed Amelia as a character and I understood where she was coming from.  Ameilia wanted to love and care for a child of her best friend who past away and desired God's will in her life.  It reminded me of Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose".   If you love a story with twists and turns, you will love this book :)

*Yo peeps I received this book by Thomas Nelson so that I could give an honest review.

Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart's desire.

Psalms 37:4