Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall
What a great read! This was a definite twist on the typical Amish romance. This book was very hard to put down, because I was so wrapped up in the story line that I wanted to know what was going to happen to each of the characters. This book teaches a great lesson on acceptance of yourself and how even though we all have blemishes on the outside what matters is whats on the inside. I would definitely recommend this book and will be looking for more books by Cindy to read in the future. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Friday, February 11, 2011
While The World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
While The World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry is about a Birmingham bombing survivor who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement. I am not a big history fan when you have to read about it in the history books, but I really enjoy reading eyewitness accounts of history. This book made different events that took place in Birmingham come alive for me. Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.
Friday, January 28, 2011
An Amish Love by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, and Kelly Long
An Amish Love by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, and Kelly Long is a great combination of three novellas. Each of the stories is about different aspects of Amish relationships. The first novella A Marriage of the Heart is about an unlikely marriage and how the couple falls in love. The second novella What the Heart Sees is about a blind Amish woman who thinks she will never find love. The third novella Healing Hearts is about an Amish couple who has gone through some difficulties in their marriage.
This is a great set of stories. They are easy to read but very enjoyable. I found myself rooting for the different characters and hoping that they were able to overcome the struggles they were going through. The stories were entertaining and I found that I learned a few things from them and how to deal with different situations as I read about what they were going through. The stories are definitely inspiring, especially What the Heart Sees, because it’s written about Ellie who is blind and the different obstacles she has to deal with and how as a blind person she is able to overcome. I would definitely recommend this book to others. BookSneeze® has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review.
God Loves Me More Than That by Dandi Daley Mackall
Dandi Daley Mackall does a great job teaching children of God's love in her book God Loves Me More Than That. The book has great rhymes and is good for those children who are learning to read. I really liked the book and will definitely read it to my little one when he gets here in May. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick
In his book Sun Stand Still (What happens when you dare to ask God for the impossible) by Steven Furtick we are encouraged to use our faith audaciously. Steven uses the Bible story of Joshua and how he prayed that the sun would stand still and it did. He encourages us today to pray with the same faith that Joshua had because we serve the same God. God is willing to answer our prayers if we have faith that he will. This book is not only an easy read but very enjoyable, encouraging and challenging. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own and I highly recommend reading this book! I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
Friday, January 7, 2011
It's all in the name.....
As most of you know Matt and I had a girl's name picked out but couldn't decide on a boys name that we both liked. We had a list of about 5 names that we were playing with but couldn't really find one that we were completely happy with. After our ultrasound yesterday morning 1/6/2011 I was in tears because God had clearly given us a girl's name but we had a baby boy who didn't have a name and Matt and I both being stubborn and of course wanting the best for our son couldn't seem to agree on a boys name that is until God revealed it to us.
Since Matt had to go to work right after our ultrasound (which was done on a dinosaur of machine since the nice machine was broken and we somehow didn't get the message, that's another story) we drove separately. During the ultrasound I broke down in tears and couldn't seem to stop crying, I think the reality that I'm going to actually have a baby in my arms in a few months, hormones and lack of sleep were the right combination to make me a blubbering fool. I actually had planned that after the ultrasound I was going to go shopping and get some baby clothes for our new addition, since I couldn't get the tears under control that all changed, I'm sure my hubby was grateful that I didn't go shopping, especially for baby things without him. As I was sitting in my car trying to calm myself down enough to drive I was praying, I may at this point even have actually been talking aloud to God in the car. I can't remember exactly what I said, but something along the lines of "Thanks God, you gave us a girl's name but we have a baby boy who needs a name." I also remember thinking well at least we have his middle name picked out, now we just need to find a first name we agree on. We had decided when we first found out that we were pregnant that if we had a boy we would give him the middle name Leeman after Matt's grandfather and if we had a girl she would get the middle name of Grace after Marilyn who along with her daughter Theresa is the whole reason Matt and I even know each other (again, another story in and of itself.) As I said those two names to myself I was thinking too bad there isn't a male form of the name Grace, and then the name Grayson popped in my head, it had to be a God thing because I don't remember ever hearing the name before. I was like well that's a cute name, too bad I doubt Matt will like it. We have completely different tastes or so it seemed for any of the other names we came up with. After driving home (I was still a wreck) so bad in fact that when I called my mom to tell her that her first grandbaby would be a boy she kept asking me are you ok? Are you sure you're ok? Just because I kept crying, I just told her that the reality of everything was setting in and I would be fine.
So when I arrived home and made a posting on Facebook I started looking through the Baby Name Book, trying to find a list of names I could put in the Google document that Matt and I had shared so that hopefully we could find a name for our son. I was able to come up with a few and put those on our list. I never realized that choosing a name was so difficult. After having little sleep the night before and my emotional break down, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I took a nap and when I got up my consuming thought was still trying to find a name for our son. I really liked Grayson and Matt actually seemed to like it to, although we had about 4 other names still left on the list. I couldn't seem to commit to any of the others. After an email from my mother in law, with a list of names that she liked (a few of which were on our list) but again none that I could say yes that's my son's name, I replied back to her email with the list of names that we were trying to pick from and (unbeknownst to me at the time) there was a great debate going on at her house between my sisters-in-law, my mother in law and our friend Travis. Matt and I were talking on the phone because his work day was over and somehow we finally came to the conclusion that we were going to use the name Grayson or at least we thought so, but weren't 100% sure. I then remembered back to something our dear friend Becky had posted on my Facebook wall about how God would show me the name, and I remember sitting in the parking lot staring at the fence in front of me thinking about the name Grayson, about this same time, Matt got a text from his sister Courtney that said loving my little man Grayson, or something like that and we both finally knew that God had given us our son's name. The best thing about it is, it's unique (at least I think so) This child has an awesome heritage, and God has given us the perfect name for him. So excited to start on getting the nursery ready and the registries, since we had been waiting to know the gender before we did anything. Now there's a lot to do and what seems like not much time, but praise God He has taken care of everything and will continue to do so!
(If you actually read all my rambling, I commend you. I've still had little sleep and because of eating potato chips before I went to bed I woke up dry mouthed and originally got up to drink some water. Which lead to me sitting in front of the computer, and then typing up this Blog.)
Since Matt had to go to work right after our ultrasound (which was done on a dinosaur of machine since the nice machine was broken and we somehow didn't get the message, that's another story) we drove separately. During the ultrasound I broke down in tears and couldn't seem to stop crying, I think the reality that I'm going to actually have a baby in my arms in a few months, hormones and lack of sleep were the right combination to make me a blubbering fool. I actually had planned that after the ultrasound I was going to go shopping and get some baby clothes for our new addition, since I couldn't get the tears under control that all changed, I'm sure my hubby was grateful that I didn't go shopping, especially for baby things without him. As I was sitting in my car trying to calm myself down enough to drive I was praying, I may at this point even have actually been talking aloud to God in the car. I can't remember exactly what I said, but something along the lines of "Thanks God, you gave us a girl's name but we have a baby boy who needs a name." I also remember thinking well at least we have his middle name picked out, now we just need to find a first name we agree on. We had decided when we first found out that we were pregnant that if we had a boy we would give him the middle name Leeman after Matt's grandfather and if we had a girl she would get the middle name of Grace after Marilyn who along with her daughter Theresa is the whole reason Matt and I even know each other (again, another story in and of itself.) As I said those two names to myself I was thinking too bad there isn't a male form of the name Grace, and then the name Grayson popped in my head, it had to be a God thing because I don't remember ever hearing the name before. I was like well that's a cute name, too bad I doubt Matt will like it. We have completely different tastes or so it seemed for any of the other names we came up with. After driving home (I was still a wreck) so bad in fact that when I called my mom to tell her that her first grandbaby would be a boy she kept asking me are you ok? Are you sure you're ok? Just because I kept crying, I just told her that the reality of everything was setting in and I would be fine.
So when I arrived home and made a posting on Facebook I started looking through the Baby Name Book, trying to find a list of names I could put in the Google document that Matt and I had shared so that hopefully we could find a name for our son. I was able to come up with a few and put those on our list. I never realized that choosing a name was so difficult. After having little sleep the night before and my emotional break down, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I took a nap and when I got up my consuming thought was still trying to find a name for our son. I really liked Grayson and Matt actually seemed to like it to, although we had about 4 other names still left on the list. I couldn't seem to commit to any of the others. After an email from my mother in law, with a list of names that she liked (a few of which were on our list) but again none that I could say yes that's my son's name, I replied back to her email with the list of names that we were trying to pick from and (unbeknownst to me at the time) there was a great debate going on at her house between my sisters-in-law, my mother in law and our friend Travis. Matt and I were talking on the phone because his work day was over and somehow we finally came to the conclusion that we were going to use the name Grayson or at least we thought so, but weren't 100% sure. I then remembered back to something our dear friend Becky had posted on my Facebook wall about how God would show me the name, and I remember sitting in the parking lot staring at the fence in front of me thinking about the name Grayson, about this same time, Matt got a text from his sister Courtney that said loving my little man Grayson, or something like that and we both finally knew that God had given us our son's name. The best thing about it is, it's unique (at least I think so) This child has an awesome heritage, and God has given us the perfect name for him. So excited to start on getting the nursery ready and the registries, since we had been waiting to know the gender before we did anything. Now there's a lot to do and what seems like not much time, but praise God He has taken care of everything and will continue to do so!
(If you actually read all my rambling, I commend you. I've still had little sleep and because of eating potato chips before I went to bed I woke up dry mouthed and originally got up to drink some water. Which lead to me sitting in front of the computer, and then typing up this Blog.)
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul
In her book Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball, Donita K. Paul tells a charming tale of a mysterious ball and how the unusual characters use it to set up couples. This book was very creative, and a fun read. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to friends who are looking for a light read during the Christmas season. The story was unlike any I had ever read before and although a little predictable was an easy and relaxing read during a usually hectic season. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
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