Rebekah

Hello World,
We are having a slow day today.  The snow is falling in Amarillo and it looks like a winter wonderland outside.  The kids and I are snuggled in watching movies, eating popcorn, and sipping hot chocolate :)  I love days like this and they are so very few.  I know how little we get snow in Amarillo because for the last two years it's only really snowed a lot on Christmas day.  Now my son Drew thinks that anytime it snows it's Christmas.  He asked me this morning where the presents were.  I was laughing quite a bit with that comment.  Do any of your kids have expectations when something happens like mine do?

Rebekah by Jill Eileen Smith is the story of Isaac and Rebekah.  The story is told from both of the characters point of view.  If you're not familiar with this classic Bible story it is a love at first sight beginning.  Isaac's Father sent his servant to find a bride for him from his family back in his homeland.  When they first see each other; Isaac and Rebekah love each other immediately.  What follows is a lifetime of love, tears, laughter, betrayal, and growth.   

I will admit I am not the biggest fan of fictional stories being written about factual Biblical people.  This being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the care that Ms. Smith handled the book.  She not only put Biblical references in each part, but she also explained the liberties that she had taken while writing the book.  If you feel uneasy reading fictional books about Biblical stories I suggest you read her author's note at the end of the book, to better understand where she is coming from.  After reading it, I felt much better about reading this book. 

Ok, now on to the writing.  This book is a great lifetime romance, beautiful and poignant.  Ms. Eileen does a great job at weaving a story that not only shows love, but the cracks that can happen when you place your own desires above others.  It's a story of learning to trust not only your husband, but God.  So dear readers if you love a good lifetime romance about the people who have shaped the Bible I suggest you pick up Rebekah.

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

*This book was given to me via Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.

Luke 5:15-17 NKJV
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed

I love that in this verse it says that Jesus often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  Now you might think I'm crazy, but do you want to know where my wilderness is?  My wilderness is the shower.  I lock the door and turn on the flowing stream of water and I sit underneath it.  There I have to close my eyes, there I have to bow my head (so I don't get water in my nose :).  There my worries fade, and my praises are raised to the sky.  For the few minutes of that day I am with God, in His beautiful presence, and completely adoring him.  My cares and worries are given to him, and I have peace from this world.  Where is your wilderness dear readers?  If you don't have one, find one :)

5 Days to a Clutter-Free House

Hello World,
How's life :)  We are getting down and dirty today conquering the house one step at a time and using our weapons of cleaners, sponges, and scrubs to win one battle at a time.  The kids rooms, kitchen, and living room are clean and after I write this amazing blog I will will pick up my weapons of mass cleanliness to tackle the rest of the house.  What are you doing today?  Are you tackling anything?

5 Days to a Clutter-Free House by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims is a great book to get your house back in order.  It's a book that talks about attacking your house with a vengeance to finally see the counter top that you haven't seen in months or that bedroom floor.  It's not only just your house, but also your life in general, like remembering to pick up the kids or having dinner on the table every night.  This book is meant to help you get control of the things that seem out of control.

I really enjoy books like this, maybe because deep in my bright chaotic mind there is a place that truly desires to be clutter free :)  Now to just be able to get it out of the back corner of mind to do it.  What I liked is how Felton and Sims wrote.  They didn't write like the clutter person was someone to be condemned, quite the contrary they showed the positives of being someone who seems to live life freely if not a little messy.  I didn't feel ambushed by the impossible either, I felt rejuvenated like I can finally do this and get a hold of it to maintain the house and my life.  So dear readers if you are a messy beautiful type like me and desire to put a little order back in the beautiful pick up this book.

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

 *This book was given to me via Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.

Today instead of a verse I want to be able to give you this book, so if you want this book please comment with your favorite verse.  I will draw a name from the comment names and let you know the lucky winner in my next blog.  Happy commenting dear readers!

To Honor and Trust

Hello World,
With a day of just sitting and getting better yesterday I was able to read a couple extra books that I don't normally get to do :)  So here is a special edition of my blog (probably tomorrow too).  I hope you guys have a great Thursday!

To Honor and Trust by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller is the story about Callie Deboyer.  Callie is a young lady who's parents are missionaries in Africa.  With her parents in Africa she has decided to be a governess for her grandmother's friends the Bridgeport family.  Spending the winter in the beautiful Bridal Veil Island resort she encounters Wesley Townsend.   Thinking that he is a golf instructor, she soon finds herself falling for the man.  Unfortunately, Wes is hiding a few secrets and doesn't know how to be open with Callie.  With all of this happening robberies have been occurring at the resort and Callie is under suspicion.  What is a young Christian woman to do?

Peterson and Miller are a great team and they always have a very beautiful story to tell.  I enjoyed this simple story of love and the obstacles that happen when there isn't open honesty in the relationship.  It's a great reminder to the reader that dishonesty has a consequence.  I also enjoyed the little bit of mystery thrown into the book.  So dear readers if you're looking a beautiful Christian romance with a dash of mystery I highly suggest you pick up this book :)

*This book was given to me via Bethany House a division of baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.

2 Samuel 7:29
And now, may it please you to bless me and my family so that our dynasty may continue forever before you.  For when you grant a blessing to your servant O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing.

Have you ever stopped to think about forever, or eternal?  I don't think I can fully wrap my mind around the fact that when God blesses us it truly is unending.  It's mind blowing to me that our Sovereign Lord will grant us such a gift.  This morning Todd and I prayed that we would be blessed by God and our family for generations to come.  I thin you should pray that too :)

A New Home for Lily

Hello World,
Well we are a sick house today.  Poor Todd has been sick since Sunday and then Liv and I got a stomach bug yesterday.  I'm kind of bummed because I was doing so great on keeping the house picked up and cleaned and then wham bam the house is back to it's usual cluttered self :-/  What can a sick girl like myself do :)

A New Home for Lily by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher once again tells us the adventures of Lily Lapp.  Here we find that the Lapp family has moved to a small Amish community in Pennsylvania.  Not only does Lily have to go to a new school, but also make new friends, and learn new traditions.  As she makes her way through this new Amish Community she will find in herself strength and character. Lily is still her winsome cheery self and we get to enjoy new experiences through her eyes.

I really enjoy that I can read this book with my daughter.  I also like that each chapter is like a small story in and of itself.  I don't have to worry as I'm reading one chapter to my daughter that we might have a cliff hanger at the end of it, and for that matter that Kylar (she's four) will not remember what happened.  I think parents will be pleased with the wholesome and winsome ways of this little Amish girl and children will get to see what Amish life is really like.  It is a must read, dear readers for your little girl.
Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”
*This book was given to me via Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.

Romans 5:3-5 msg
There's more to come:  we continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.  In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.  Quite the contrary-- we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.

This is just a beautiful verse to me, and I love how the message describes it.  don't ever forget that we can expect great things from God enough that we can't ever get enough containers to hold all of His generous offerings for us.  Dear readers if I can get you to understand one thing.  We have a God who loves us and loves our imperfect progress enough to generously pour into our lives through the Holy Spirit.  Don't ever forget that!

Flora's Wish

Hello World,
Well sorry that it's been a week of nothing from me, but I kind of been in a reading stump.  I have all these fabulous books to read and I just was a little tired of reading.  Maybe it was because I've been watching the Amazing Race on Hulu, that show is slightly addicting.  Anywho I am back and ready to give you some awesome books to read :)

Flora's Wish by Kathleen Y'Barbo is about the story of Flora Brimm.  Flora has the unfortunate task of saving her families plantation by marrying and having a child.  If she does not do that she loses the plantation to her cousin Winny which is just preposterous (as her Grandmother would say).  The only difficulty has been trying to keep her fiances alive!  Four fiances later Flora is desperate and takes the matter into her own hands.  What she didn't expect of a con artist or a pinkerton agent, or an adventure that would be frowned upon the society she lives in.  But right now she has a husband to catch and a plantation to save.

This, my dear readers is an adventure around every corner. You will have fun reading how Flora gets herself in a bind. You'll giggle out loud at the witty conversation and fun by plays of Lucas and Flora. You'll wonder if Will Tucker is really a con artist only out to get money, or does he truly want to be married to Flora. Either way you find yourself immersed into the sweet Southern world and into a good book. So if you are wanting a light read with sprinkles of God's love and everlasting amazing will in it you need to read this book.

*This book was given to me via Harvest House Publishers in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it :)

1 Chronicles 16:11-12 NKJV
Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!  Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

How's your quiet time going?  I find that when I'm closest to God when I'm truly seeking Him and His strength I'm in the Word daily.  I'm digging into the Bible early in the morning, before the kids are fully awake or are eating their breakfast, seeking His face and reading about His works.  My day may be horrible, but I have a calm and a Holy Spirit dwelling in me reminding me of God's perspective of the day instead of mine.  So once again I ask you, how's your quiet time going?

Cheaper, Better, Faster

Hello World,
Yesterday we took a mini-vacation to the city Lubbock.  I had a dear sweet friend who is an Auntie for one of the African Children's Choir.  It was great to see her, and to see her love for the kids. If you are interested in learning more about the African Children's Choir please feel free to click here.

Cheaper, Better, Faster by Mary Hunt is a great book of tips.  To be exact "Over 2,000 tips and tricks".  It has tips for car repair, tips for decorating your home, tips for washing your clothes, and tips for food.  I don't think there is a single thing that Mary Hunt did not cover to make your life Cheaper, Better, Faster.

I really think this book is full of common sense and sound advice.  The chapters are split up into little sections that points to helpful hints and making something cheaper.  There really isn't an area that Mary Hunt doesn't touch on.  So dear readers if you are the kind of reader that likes to save, make life slightly easier, and faster I would get this helpful book.
“Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”
This book was given to me via Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.

Romans 8:28 (The Message)
^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

I've been really enjoying reading the Bible in The Message version.  It seems to me the verses that I have read so many times are being transformed in my mind and a new understanding is being placed.  I love that there is reassurance in my waiting.  That if we don't know how to pray that God knows our hearts and understands what we need.  It's truly is a beautiful thing when you have an Almighty God working out every detail of your life and making it good.

The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow

Hello World!
Sorry again for the late blog, it has been a rather hard week :)  It's been interesting to say the least.  We have a house in Oshkosh, WI that is beautiful and it was our first home and it was simply just a great house for our little family.  When we moved we thought that it would be easy to sell, unfortunately the housing market dropped significantly.  It's been five years and the house has yet to sell.  If you can say a prayer for our family as we decide what would be the best in our circumstance I would appreciate it.

The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow is the second book in the Avenue of Dreams series by Olivia Newport.  We first heard about Charlotte in the book The Pursuit of Lucy Banning (click here for the review).  Charlotte is a maid in the prestigious Banning household during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.  Her life is secure and her son safely secret at an older woman's home.  Until the day his caretaker drops him off at the Banning household.   Charlotte's Dilemma starts the moment she leaves, does she come out and say Henry is her son or allow the Banning's to determine her sons fate?  How will she trust God or anybody else with this beautiful secret?

This book was an incredible book, but in all honesty it was a tear jerker.  I have a very vivid imagination so when I read a book where a woman around my age is put in a situation of being forced to keep her son secret or lose her job it rips my heart.  I could not possibly fathom the pain of choosing between life of being destitute or losing your son.  My heart went out to Charlotte and the life she was leading.  I also was able to see the world of a servant, Ms. Newport's detailed descriptions of being a servant in an affluent home was historically accurate and telling.  The limits of what they can do for the pittance of  pay was eye opening to me.  So dear readers if you like a good historical romance this is a book for you.
*This book was given to me via Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group in hopes of my honest opinion and I honestly gave it.
Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Matthew 6:30-33 (The Message)
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers-- most of which are never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?  What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.  People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works .  Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.  Don't worry about missing out.  You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

I have had to cling to this passage this week.  As I pray for our house in Oshkosh the reminder that God will meet my everyday human concerns is a relief.  Now to just keep reminding myself so I don't fall into despair over a house that isn't selling :)