Christmas Is Here...

 

We have a smaller tree but it sure is covered in ornaments. We had a few additions this year so it was really fun to decorate with new things. 

Secrets Book Review

Picture Credit

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn is the first in the Glenbrooke Series. When I first requested this book I didn't realize that it has been published for quite awhile. I have also never read anything by Robin Jones Gunn, not even the Christy Miller series. In any case I had no idea what to expect.

Secrets is about Miss Jessica Morgan and starts off as her escaping from something and hiding her identity in the small town of Glenbrooke. After being in a car accident, a young man named Kyle enters her life. Kyle is first to rescue her from the car. Kyle is a strong Christan man and Jessica has nothing to do with God. As Jessica's identity becomes an issue with her new job as a teacher she must decide what the right thing to do is, even if it's the last thing she wants to do.

The author also added in a trip to Mexico that Jessica ends up going on, not necessarily by choice. Kyle happens to be going on this trip as well and her eyes are opened to how great God is. I liked this part because it reminded me of a trip to Mexico I took. In the end it is quite obvious that God has been in control the entire time.

I enjoyed this book, though not my favorite. It is very predictable even though it is trying to hide a secret. Her secret really isn't as big a deal as it is made out to be and thus was a tad disappointing. In any case it was a light enjoyable read.

Robin Jones Gunn website has a lot more information where you can read about all the books she has written.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

Me Being Auntie!

 I mean how cute?!

 Do you see this face? I love it so much.

 He just stared at me.

 Mommy and Cora

 This is the first little niece. She is a doll and has the sweetest smile it melts my heart. 

 Cora and Daddy

 The boys.

 Hanging out.

 His expressions are adorable.

 Exploring.

These are all of my good friend's kids but I am Aunt Michelle. I have other nephews but I got to see these three all in one day!

A Change of Fortune Book Review

 Picture Credit

A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano is set in New York 1880 and is about a young woman by the name of Eliza. At the start of the book you find her entertaining children as their governess and soon find out she is hiding her identity. Someone has stolen her money and title and she is going to make things right once again. In steps Mr. Hamilton Beckett who is quite amused with Eliza's attitude and keeps running into her at the oddest of times. While Eliza is pretending to be someone else, she also has turned her back on God. During the course of the story, which is rather jam packed full, God shows her that He had a plan the entire time. 

I love the cover of this book, it is one of my favorites for the year. This is Jen Turano's first novel and for being a first novel it was a delightful read. I enjoyed the story line and the characters and the setting. I can't wait to read more from this author because I know the writing will get better with each book. The only thing that I didn't like that I noticed while reading was the immense amount of dialogue in certain parts of the story. I understand that the reader needs to know what is going on but this conversation was pages long. It made things hard to follow at times because the conversation was so random and the story covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. This was a fast book, meaning one minute you are here and the next you are jumping over here.The author does write with a great deal of humor and made me smile on more than one occasion.

In any case I still enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from Jen! This is the first to four books in a series called the Ladies of Distinction. She has written Gentleman of Her Dreams which you can only purchase the eBook edition.

Stop by Jen Turano's website.



"I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for this review"

Personal Update

Sorry everyone, I have really been slacking in the blog department. Life have been extra busy for me these past couple weeks. I am taking a college class that is only four weeks long but super time consuming! I have to pack an entire semester into four weeks so that is what I have been working on in my spare time.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! We had a party at work this past weekend and I baked eight pies which were delicious. I have taken a few pictures of our Christmas decor at home but have yet to post them. I thought way ahead this year and have had all my presents bought, wrapped, and under the tree for a couple weeks now. The only difficult thing with buying things early is I kept thinking about other things they would want but couldn't buy because I had reached my spending limit.

After my class is over I am hoping to blog more than I did this past year. Each year I have had this blog I have progressively written blog posts but still I wish it was more.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

The Fiddler Giveaway Results

Congrats to Diane E, you are the winner!! Diane has a great blog herself and often has giveaways as well. Check out her blog over here!!

I have emailed the winner and she should have her book in the mail soon!

I was not planning on having the giveaway end today but I had a lot of technical issues that I didn't realize unit this morning. This was also the first time I have used Rafflecopter so I apologize for the confusion.

Thank you everyone who entered and commented and followed my blog! I hope to have another giveaway coming in the new year!

The Fiddler Book Giveaway!

Picture Credit

  I have read many of Beverly Lewis books but The Fiddler is now one of my favorites.

 I am loving the new "book trailers" and they have one for this story! Click on watch video and it should pop up. 

Also head over to Beverly Lewis Website to see what else she has been writing.

Check out my review for The Fiddler.

 Picture Credit

 In order to participate in the giveaway just enter through Rafflecopter below. It will be open from Monday December 10-Monday December 17th.The winner will be announced on the 18th and I will send out the paperback copy of The Fiddler to the winner!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lone Star Trail Book Review

Picture Credit



Lone Star Trail by Darlene Franklin is the first to the Morgan Family Series. I have read another book further along in the series, and they can all be read separately as far as I can tell and still make sense. Each story has new characters and a differnt story line. There is a difference though while all in the same series, the authors are different. The other book I read in this series was written by Susan Davis.

Lone Star Trail focuses on the lives of Jud and Wande and their adventures in the new area of Texas. Wande is German and is an immigrant who is discovering a new land. I like how the author uses a lot of German words with their conversations in the book. That may sound silly to comment on but that is a lot of work for an author to go to and find out what was said and how to write it out. It takes a little bit longer to read because of the differences with the writing though. Wande and Jud meet and their lives are thrown together in the rest of the journey, as I'm sure you can imagine.

This book was really hard for me to get into and finish reading. I don't know why but the characters themselves and the story line were so dry to me. The story line has been used, you can read the back of the book and know what is going to happen almost. Not to say that Darlene is an awful author, I just did not enjoy this book as I do others.

Check out my other review in this series.

Also check out MoodyPublishers.com


"I received this book for free from Moody  Publishing Group for this review. This is my honest opinion of the book."

the god of me-final week in gods at war Bible study

picture credit

The god of me was definitely a week that really hit home. This is what every idol revolves around-myself and what I want. I treasure my personal time and tend to stay at home and not talk to people.

Whichever god wins the war-wins control over us.

We often think that we are the center of the world. Why is this happening to me? Why can't my day go better? I need this. How many times do you think about yourself during the day? Is our personal success the most important thing to us? Is it not what we think about daily, do get as far ahead as we can or get a better job to make more money to get things that we want. 

Will I worship God or myself?

We learned this week about a man who was scared of God. I had personally never had this idea that God would be considered scary. I was brought up seeing God as a friend or father, not someone who is mean or awful. In turn, this man acted out in his hatred toward God. He got involved with the porn industry and started producing his own and hiring models. Over a matter of years, God put a group of people in his life to open his eyes to see how God is loving, and not someone who wants to ruin people's lives. 

The man mentioned something about how he views his past and said "I loved me a lot more than my wife". He loved himself so much that all he wanted was to make himself "happy" with porn or creating it for other people. These addictions that we have revolve around us and what we think we have to have. 

Eventually this man's life was completely changed, and while he lost everything that his money had gotten him, he felt peace and had started a relationship with Christ. 

What is it going to take to stop worshiping these false idols?

Kyle ended the study saying, "choose this day who you will serve".

Something that everyone mentioned after this god of self was how much we value our time with family or personal time. We fail to reach out to others when it's on our time or when we have a day off of work. Rest and family are important, but so is reaching out to others and being involved.

This was a really great study and even though we finished the videos, we each chose something that has become an idol in our life and decided to keep journals on what we need to work on. In order to fight a battle like this it's helpful to be held accountable, so with the journals and group meeting we will be holding each other accountable for what we need to work on.

This is a great study and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Deadline Book Review

Picture Credit

Deadline by Randy Alcorn is a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down simply because the concept of heaven and hell is dealt with in a new way. Jake is the only survivor to a car wreck and discovers that the wreck might not have been an accident. Jake goes on a search to figure out who and why someone would want his friends to die and it takes your mind on quite a journey.

I really like this book because it makes you think of heaven and hell with a very different perspective. While reading I was a little confused with some parts, which is partly why I couldn't stop reading it. It is a very thick book and really makes you think. I have read multiple of Randy Alcorn's books, but never realized until now that this was his first book that he wrote. I highly reccomend this to anyone, though it does discuss a lot of issues.

"I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah publishing in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion of the book."

Betrayal Book Review

Betrayal by Robin Lee Hatcher is a historical western novel set in a ranch in Wyoming. Julia Grace has had a rough past with memories that seem to creep into her mind every day. Being a widow with a ranch and cattle to take care of hasn't been easy for her over the winter and the cattle will need to be moved.

Hugh Brennan happens along Sage-hen ranch in need of rest and time for his horse to heal. Hugh offers to help around the ranch in exchange for food and a place to sleep at night. Julia takes him up on the offer and they end up driving the cattle after a few mishaps. That isn't where the story ends as someone is trying to take Julia's ranch, no matter what the cost.

This novel is actually the second in a series the first called Belonging which is about Hugh's sister. I hadn't read Belonging and Betrayal can be read as it's own novel. Hatcher also has a new book to the series planned called Beloved which follows the life of Hugh's other sister.

I liked how the viewpoint in the story started with Hugh and his strong faith in the Lord. This isn't my favorite book written by Robin Lee Hatcher but it is still a sweet story.


"I received this book for free from Zondervan Publishing through their Booksneeze program. This is my honest opinion of the book."