Book Review: Promises in the Dark

Promises in the Dark
Walking Those in Need without Losing Heart
by Eric McLaughlin

New Growth Press
Christian , Religion & Spirituality
Pub Date 14 Oct 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Promises in the Dark through New Grove Press and Netgalley:



This book is a great tool to strengthen the readers heart and encourages them to Persevere in God's Calling to walk with those in need.





The Author Eric McLaughlin M.D is a missionary doctor in Africa.  He understands how working with those in the most need can lead to getting burned out or to Cynicism, that is unless we find the path to persevere, a path the Lord provides.



In this book the readers will find a resource that shows how to find both calling as well as hope and showing the readers what is in the tension between a difficult present and God’s promises of renewal, how to cope with despair and futility, the importance of the suffering God for those who suffer, and how the manifestations of God bring life into a world that is dying.


I give this book five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Blue Cloak

The Blue Cloak
by Shannon McNear

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Barbour Books
Christian ,
True Crime
Pub Date
 01 Mar 2020



I am reviewing a copy of The Blue Cloak Through Barbour Publishing and Netgalley:


The True Color series is fiction that is based on strange but true historical crimes...


The story begins in 1797 where Rachel Taylor is living a rather mundane life at the way station her family runs around the Wilderness road in Tennesse!



When Rachel attends her friend's wedding, she finds herself watching it dissolve in horror as the groom Willey Harpe and his cousin becomes murderers on the road, and they end up dragging their family along with them while they declare war on humanity.  The Harped will not be stopped, but Ben Langford is on their trail, because their latest victim was his cousin.


How many more will they murder before there is peace on the frontier again?


Find out in The Blue Cloak.


I give The Blue Cloak five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: What God's Word Says About Bullying

What God's Word Says about Bullying

The Bible Promise Book for Kids

by Janice Thompson

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Shiloh Kidz

Children's Nonfiction ,

 Christian

Pub Date 01 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of What God's Word Says About Bullying through Barbour Publishing Inc/Shiloh Kidz and Netgalley:

This important book deals with an important challenge that far to many kids face today, that is bullying.  This book shows Children what the Bible says about Bullying and in doing so I believe helps the child.

The book points out too that bullying is a choice, and that a student, or anyone else for that matter,can choose not to take part of bullying in any form.  That stepping away from bullies is an important and necessary choice.

The importance of having compassion is also addressed.  The importance of friends is also addressed.

Janice Thompson reminds us too that hate is not a word God wants us to use when it comes to people.  

This book covers twenty three topics related to bullying in a clear and concise way allowing for Children to get a good grasp of what is being said.

I would recommend this to families,with Children in School, and those who deal with children, because I find it to be a great encouragement to stop bullying, and to understand the importance of not standing by doing nothing, when you see a classmate bullied.

I give What God's Word Says About Bullying five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Shepherding Women in Pain

Shepherding Women in Pain

Real Women, Real Issues, and What You Need to Know to Truly Help

by Bev Hislop

 Moody Publishers

  Christian 

Pub Date 07 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Shepherding Women in Pain through Moody Publishers and Netgalley:

Sadly deeper emotional scars are often hidden from family and friends.

Bev Hishlop reminds us that loss is loss, whatever the circumstances.  She points out that all losses are bad, but they are all bad in different ways.  We are reminded too that no two loses are ever the same.

We are reminded too that the result of not feeling physical pain can be self destruction.  Hishlop goes on to point out that pain is the gift no one wants, but none of us can do without.  It is pointed out that  the ability to feel physical pain actually is a God-given means of preserving life.

We are reminded too that Forgiveness should not be confused with reconciliation.  It is reminded too that forgiveness is best understood as a process, a process that takes time.  It is pointed out too that being able to forgive is a sign of strength, not of weakness.

This book covers everything from Physical Abuse, Disability, Grief Loss, eating disorders, infertility have all become  part of a day's work for women and men in ministry to women.   Despite this though many are not prepared to deal with these issues.

This book is a great resource one that is designed to give leaders and care givers greater understanding, insights for shepherding, and referral resources, Shepherding Women in Pain is a compilation from contributors who have expertise and experience with women on the given issue.

I give Shepherding Women in Pain five out five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: That Way and No Other

That Way and No Other

Following God through Storm and Drought

by Amy Carmichael

 Plough Publishing

Plough Publishing House

 Christian  ,  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 03 Mar 2020 

I am reviewing a copy of That Way and No Other:  Following God through Storm and Drought through Plough Publishing and Netgalley:

Amy Carmichael was born on December.16, 1867 in Ireland.  She was the first child of Catherine and David Carmichael.  Her family owned the mills in the Coastal Village of Millisle.

In 1859 a Christian revival took place in the area affecting David and Catherine, and later there children as well.  From a young age Amy remembered that after the nursery lights were turned low, and she was alone she’d smooth a spot on her sheets and say “Father, please come and sit with me.”  At bedtime she would absorb the songs and stories sung to her, and read to her.

Like her Mother, Amy had a love for all living things. One of her first memories of feeling fury was when she had was when she saw a child torment a frog.

At the age of twelve Amy was sent to a boarding school, but soon financial difficulties hit the family, and Amy was sent back home from school.  On April.12.1885, David died of Pneumonia, he was fifty four.  Amy was seventeen, and she helped her Mother by homeschooling the younger children.  Amy started gathering local children in her family’s home on Sunday afternoons, and in 1888 she oversaw the construction of a metal hall for outreach to Belfast’s Mill girls.  Despite having no money for the project she believed in the power of prayer, and The Welcome was built, and is still in use a hundred and thirty years later.

When she was twenty one Amy moved to England joining a mission to Manchester factory workers.  She took a room in the slums, but her health suffered because of it.  In the months that followed as Amy was rebuilding her health she talked about mission work with Wilson.

Amy Carmichael had left everything she had known to become a missionary in India.  When a seven year old little girl named Preena, a victim of Sexual Slavery threw herself on to the protection of the newcomer.  Amy Carmichael struggles with whether or not she would be able to relinquish a religious vocation to become a nursemaid.  But as she pictured Jesus washing his disciples feet, her questioning was answered.

With a team of Indian Women, Carmichael founded Dohnavur, a community of households that provided for hundreds of girls who otherwise would have likely been sold into Prostitution.

Amy Carmichael has inspired generations of activists and missionaries.

I give Thar Way and No Other five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Mother to Son

Mother to Son
Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope
by Jasmine L. Holmes

InterVarsity Press

IVP
Christian
Pub Date 24 Mar 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Mother and Son through Intervarsity Press and Netgalley:


In this beautifully heartfelt and since book Jasmine Holmes shares these beautiful letters that she has written for her young son.  She tells her son that he was her redemption, and that he is the next step in his legacy.  She reminds him too that he is the son of parents who are trying to make a difference in the Church.  And she reminds him, as well as we the readers that Children are not meant to be the shadows of their parents, Jasmine reminds her son, and us that Children are created with individual worth and value before the Father, that children are not meant to bloom in the shadows of their parents.



Jasmine goes on to remind her son that he is a black boy, and that there are times people will react to him differently because of the Color of his skin.  She reminds him too that she's not saying these things to Jade him, and he reminds him not to live his life ruled by fear. 


Jasmine reminds her Son's that first and foremost they are Children of God.  She reminds her son's that they are made in God's image, and that in fact they are black on purpose, as well as that they are God's beloved Son's. 


This heartfelt book reminds Jasmine's Sons, that they are unique gifts from God, that they are very much loved.


In this series of letters Jasmine deals with everything from the political climate, to personal racists attacks, and so much more wanting to remind her son that when he is old enough, that these are not okay, it does not mean he won't get through them by the Grace of God.



I found Mother to Son, Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope to be a profound and heartfelt book, one that could open up discussions on Idenity and hope!


Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Becoming Sage

Becoming Sage
Cultivating Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Midlife
by Michelle Van Loon
Moody Publishers

Christian
Pub Date 07 Apr 2020



I am reviewing a copy of Becoming Sage through Moody Publishers and Netgalley:


In this book we are reminded that Maturity isn't a fixed destination but does in fact describe a growth in Christlikeness in every area of life, and through every season of life.


For generations many of us have learned to talk about Church as a destination.  But people growing in Spiritual Maturity realize that Church isn't meant to be a destination but a launch pad towards spiritual maturity, spiritual growth.


This book points out too that Becoming Sage means that we realize we in the body of Christ are not meant to grow alone.


The book points out too that Friendship isn't a reward for our discrimination, or a reward for finding one another out.  It is however the instrument in which God reveals beauty in others.


The author goes on to describe Becoming Sage is a journey away from the mirrors of other people’s perceived expectations about your life and toward the discovery of a true sense of purpose born out of communion with the One who created you.



Becoming Sage reminds us that the ministries geared towards those in the first half of life, atevimportant, more resources need to be placed into Ministeing to those in the second half of life.


I give Becoming Sage five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Forgotten Child

The Forgotten Child
by D. E. White
HQ Digital

General Fiction (Adult) ,
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 27 Sep 2019


I am reviewing a copy of The Forgotten Child through HQ Digital and Netgalley:


Eleven years prior Holly's brother and his Girlfriend were killed.



Holly has tried her hardest to forget the traumatic events of her past.  She turned her back on her crime boss Father and making a new life for herself and her son far away from the notorious Seaview Estate.
After a car accident, when she regains consciousness Hannah is confused by the strange child in the back seat of her car, she suddenly finds herself drawn to everything she had tried to escape from.


While already struggling to deal with a violent ex husband, and now she finds herself having to face long buried secrets as well.  She has spent the last eleven years trying to get away from the estate, but someone will stop at nothing to see her return.

With events that began eleven years ago coming to a head, Holly must protect both her life and her son's.


I give The Forgotten Child three out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: Holy Guacamole

Holy Guacamole
A Glorious Discovery of Your Undeniable Worth
by Carrie Stephens
Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Shiloh Run Press
Christian , Nonfiction
(Adult)
Pub Date 01 Feb 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Holy Guacamole through Barbour Publishing/Shiloh Run Press and Netgalley:

Have you ever felt alone, down and out, or perhaps you have wondered what God can do with someone like you?


Everyone has times when they feel far from great about their lives, their relationships, their jobs. 


It may feel as if at times you are being pushed to the side, shelved.  Overlooked and unimportant to everyone.


Sometimes you feel as if you are not important.  You feel as if you are like an unwanted side of rice and beans.


But what if you discovered that you were more like the fancy tableside Guacamole, the kind that is wheeled to the table and made for you.


This book reminds us that God made us on purpose, a purpose that can release God's flavors and colors into the world.




We are not here by accident,  nor have you been served up as an unwanted side dish   The God of creation created you.  He was not waiting for you to become some better version  of yourself.  He can use you as you are.



I give Holy Guacamole five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Jane Austen Society

The Jane Austen Society
A Novel
by Natalie Jenner

St. Martin's Press

General Fiction (Adult) ,
Historical Fiction
Pub Date 26 May 2020


I am reviewing a copy of The Jane Austen Society through St. Martin's Press and Netgalley:




Immediately following the Second World War, a Unique but like minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable in the small English Village of Chawton.




A century and a half prior Clawton had been the final home of Jane Austen, and was now the home of a few of Jane Austen's distance relatives, and there diminishing estates.  With the threatening of the last of Jane Austen's legacies threatened, this group of disparate individuals come together to save the house, and what is left with legacies.  This group of people include a laborer,  a young widower, a doctor, and a movie star amongst others.   The group of people couldn't be more different, but they are United in there works, and words of Austen. 


Each member of the group endures there own quiet struggle with loss and trauma.  Some of this loss and trauma deal with the most recent world war, and others are from the past.


The Jane Austen Society is a powerfully moving novel  that deals with the big and small tragedies and triumphs in life, as well as exploring the humanity that is found in us.



I give The Jane Austen Society five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: Clean Getaway

Clean Getaway

by Nic Stone

Random House Children's

Crown Books for Young Readers

Children's Fiction

Pub Date 07 Jan 2020



An unexpected trip with Grandma starts with the big spring break trip that got cancelled.


Grandma is not conventional, never has been, and this trip isn't going to be conventional either.


Using Grandma's most treasured possession the Green Book, it holds history, memories, and most important, the way home.


What you shouldn't bring is a Cell Phone, and you should avoid your Dad at all costs, even when your Grandmother starts acting stranger than normal.


This book is set in the backdrop of Segregation history of the American South, where an eleven year old boy will learn that the world hasn't always been welcoming to kids like him, and he will learn that things, and people aren't always what they seem, thay includes his Grandma.



I give Clean Getaway five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Book Review: Death On the Page

Death on the Page

A Castle Bookshop Mystery

by Essie Lang

 Crooked Lane Books 

 Mystery & Thrillers 

Pub Date 10 Mar 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Death on the Page through Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley:

Shelby Cox is a Thousand Island bookstore who finds herself sleuthing the murder of true crime writer who may have been murdered due to digging into a murder case that should have stayed shut.

There are a lot of stories in Thousand Island New York, and Shelby Cox carries them all in her bookstore, lately though the Bayside Books Co-Owner Shelby Cox life is more investigation than it is inventory.  True Crime Writer Savannah Page ends two successful nights of book signings with an overnight stay in Blye Castle.  Savannah is there to research the murder of Joe Cabana, a Prohibition era mobster who owned the Castle and was found murdered in the Grotto.

Savannah soon becomes a victim of murder herself, when her body turns up the next morning, at a secret passage at the bottom of the stairs.  Shelby Cox does not want sleuth another murder, but she can’t help but wonder how the killer could have made it to the Island during the night and she’s not lacking suspects either.  Liam Kennelly whose Savannah’s fiancé and who argued with her that night is one of the suspects she has in mind.  And there’s Matthew Kessler the towns caretaker who was just cleared of his wives murder. 

Can Shelby manage to keep regular store hours, elude the police chief, and gather the clues she needs to solve the murder, without risking her freedom and career?

I give Death on a Page Five out of Five Stars! 

Happy Reading

Book Review: Follow Me

Follow Me

by Kathleen Barber

 Gallery, Pocket Books 

Gallery Books

 General Fiction (Adult)  ,  Mystery & Thrillers 

Read an Excerpt

Pub Date 25 Feb 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Follow Me through Gallery, Pocket Books and Netgalley:

I would recommend this book to readers sixteen and older due to rough language, and subject matters.

Be careful what you share with your followers, be careful what you post.

Everyone wants more followers, until they follow you home

Audrey Miller has a new job at the Smithsonian that many envy.  A body by reformer Pilates, the apartment door with a lock that has been broken, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram Followers who are there to bear witness to it all.  Audrey who has just moved tinWashington D.C, Audrey busies herself with trying to impress her new boss, interacting with her ever growing online fan base, and staving of a creepy upstairs neighbors with the help of the two people she knows in town, the ex boyfriend she can’t stay away from, and one of her Sorority sisters, with a high powered job and a mysterious past.

The faulty door at Audrey’s place is the least of her security worries.  Without her knowing it her move had brought her perilously close to someone who had been stalking her social media profiles for years from her first blog on Wordpress to her most recent Instagram story.  The man is no longer satisfied with stalking her online, so he searches the dark web to find out how he can make Audrey’s his and only his.

I give Follow Me four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: T-Minus

T-Minus

by Shannon Greenland

 Entangled Publishing, LLC

Entangled: Teen

 Teens & YA 

Pub Date 06 Aug 2019 

I am reviewing a copy of T-Minus through Entangled Publishing and Netgalley:

This book T-Minus 

She’s the daughter of the Female POTUS, and she’s about to face the longest day of her life.

She only has twenty four hours to save her Mother before terrorists assassinate her.  The only problem is now her Father and brother are missing as well .  This goes deeper than anyone realizes, the only problem is only someone on the inside would know how to make the entire first family disappear.  She can’t trust anyone so she must uncover what the conspiracy is so she can stop these madmen.  What they didn’t know they picked the wrong person to terrorize.

Her name is Sophie Washington and she will not be a victim.  No one is going to take her family down.  But the clock is ticking.

I give T-Minus five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Book of Lost Friends

 The Book of Lost Friends

A Novel

by Lisa Wingate

 Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine 

Ballantine Books

 Historical Fiction 

Pub Date 07 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Book of Lost Friends through Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books and Netgalley:

Lisa Wingate does it again, creating a powerful novel, set in dual times, that leaves you feeling as if you are there amongst the characters.

Based on the actual Lost Friends advertisements placed in Newspapers by Freed Slaves after the Civil War, during the reconstruction period, once again Lisa Wingate’s brings voices from the past to life, though this is a fictionalized account the Lost Friends advertisements placed in Newspapers were very real.

This book takes place in both 1870’s Louisiana, and 1980’s Louisiana.

During the tumultuous aftermath of the Reconstruction, in Louisiana 1875, three young women unwillingly set off as companions on a dangerous quest, Laivina, the pampered heir to a plantation that is now destitute, Juneau Jane, Laivina’s freeborn, creole half-sister and  Hannie Laivinia’s former slave.  They each carry private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas.  They follow dangerous roads with ruthless vigilantes as well as soldiers still fighting a war they had lost a decade before.  For Laivina and Juneau Jane the trip is one for inheritance out of financial desperation.  For Hannie who was torn from her Mother and eight siblings before the end of slavery it may answer the question she has been agonizing over.  Could her family still be out there?  Could they find hope in the limitless frontiers of Texas?

In 1987 Louisiana, Benedette Silva has landed a subsidized job at a poor rural school, a job she hopes will help pay for her large college debts, But when she lands in this tiny river town that is out of step.  The people of Augustine Louisiana do not easily embrace new comers with new ideas.  And Benny cannot even begin to imagine what life is like for her poverty stricken students, many of whom come to school hungry.  But in this setting amidst snarled oaks and run down plantations, lies the history of three women from a century prior, and there stories just may change everything.

I give the Book of Lost Friends five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Thief of Lanwyn Manor

The Thief of Lanwyn Manor
by Sarah E. Ladd

Thomas Nelson--FICTION

Thomas Nelson
Christian , RomanceP
ub Date 07 Jan 2020



I am reviewing a copy of  The Thief of Lanwyn Manor through Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley:



This book is Set in Cornwall England in  the year 1818:


Julia Twethewey needs a distraction so that her broken heart can heal, after her cousin invites her to Lanwyn Manor she is eager to accept, to get as far away from.the man who broke her heart as she could.  Lanwyn Manor is located at the heart of Cornwall's mining industry, soon as a guest Julia is swept into this intricate world.  Before long Julia realizes something dark is lurking in the ancient hls of Lanwyn Manor.



Issac Blake is the younger son of a respected minor who is determined to keep his Father's legacy alive despite the careless attitude of his older brother.  In the Hope's of saving their livelihood and the people around them  the brothers approach  the master of Lanwyn Manor  with plans to bolster the local mining industry.   Issac cannot deny that he is attracted to the man's charming niece.  But his brother intends to court the beautiful visitor, and Issac knows his place.


After tragedy strikes, mysteries arise, and  valuables end up missing, Issac and
Julia find themselves pulled together in a series of strange circumstances.  Despite their best efforts to follow social standards, there hearts belong together.


I give the Thief of Lanwyn Manor five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Fifth Avenue Story Society

The Fifth Avenue Story Society
by Rachel Hauck
Thomas Nelson--FICTION

Thomas Nelson
Christian , Romance
Pub Date 04 Feb 2020


I am reviewing a copy of The Fifth Avenue Story Society through Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley:



An unexpected invitation to join the fifth avenue story society gives five people in New York a chance to rewrite there own stories.



Lexa is an underpaid executive assistant deserving of a raise, and a promotion but her both seems to be determined to keep her underpaid, and under employed.


Jett is a literary professor as a broken heart as well as the nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phillips Roth , may have been a fraud.





Chuck.is an Uber driver who only wants his ex wife to let him see his kids.




Ed is an aging widower who lost the love of his life early in there marriage, so he wants to write the story of the love of his life.




Coral is the queen of the cosmetic industry, who broke off her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmothers multimillion dollar empire.



At first the five New Yorkers believe that the anonymous invitation is some kind of practical joke, because no one seems to know where the invitation comes from.  No one heard of the Fifth Avenue Story Society before then, and none of them really want to bare there souls in a room full of strangers.


Despite their questions though, they all come back  every week, there curiosity getting the better of them.  In the old library week after week these five people discover the stories of their heart, and the kind of friendship and love that helps heal broken hearts.


I am reviewing a copy of The Fifth Avenue Story Society, five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Inconvenient Memories

Inconvenient Memories
A Personal Account
 of the Tiananmen Square Incident
and the China Before and After
by Anna Wang


Purple Pegasus

Biographies & Memoirs ,
History
Pub Date 15 May 2019


I am reviewing a copy of  Inconvenient Memories:  A Personal Account of the Tianamen Square Incident through Purple Peagasus and Netgalley:


I was not quite twelve when the events of Tiananmen square took place, I'd watch them unfold on the news programs, probably not thinkinking much of it, because it seemed like a world away from my home in Northern California, but as I grew older I started to get a better idea that they were fighting for something important, something that we took for granted.


In 1989 Anna Wang  was coming of age amidst the Tianamen Square Protests.  She was one of the lucky ones because she was working for Cannon, at the time, everyday she would have to travel between her Grandmothers commune style apartment, that was falling apart, to an extravagant office just steps from Tianamen square.  Traveling Bejing's buses that were always overcrowded where the social and economic equalities were laid out before her eyes.


Anna Wang was sent to Tianamen square on a daily basis because her Japanese boss worried how these protests would effect his business, she would take pictures so her boss could analyze the situation in Tianamen square.


Told from the perspective of a woman from China'emerging middle class Inconvenient Memories is an eye opening story of the events that took place in Tianamen Square in 1989.


I give Inconvenient Memories five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: When God Rescripts Your Life

When God Rescripts Your Life

Seeing Value, Beauty, and Purpose 

When Life Is Interrupted

by Jaci Velasquez

Nelson Books

Thomas Nelson

Christian

Pub Date 

08 Oct 2019

I am reviewing a copy of When God Rescripts Your Life through Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:

At a young age Jaci Velasquez's career sky rocketed her to stardom, she then had a thriving marriage.  But suddenly her both her marriage and career crashed down.  She lost her reputation, her career, her record label and even some of her most cherished relationships.  She had to redefine herself not as a Christian music darling or a broken young woman but as a beloved child of God. Today, she has a resurrected career, and a better definition of herself, as a Child of God, and the Mother of a child with autism.  She talks about the ups and downs of her life and career  as well as the ups and downs of mothering a child with Autism.

Jaci Velasquez was a super star in the Christian Music industry in the 90's and early 2000's but fell from fame, lost her marriage, her career, and became a single Mother, this is not a story of loss though, it is a story of redefining her life in Christ.

I give When God Rescripts Your Life, five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Writing Joy On My Heart

Writing Joy on My Heart
A 6-Week Bible Memory Devotional
by Jean Fischer
Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Barbour Books
Christian
Pub Date
01 Apr 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Writing Joy On My Heart: A 6-Week Bible Memory Devotional through Barbour Books and Netgalley:


In this book we are reminded that though life is strewn with obstobstacless the Lord is there to help us if we seek his guidance.

On week one day one, the various authors of this devotional remind us that "Life’s path, your journey from birth to death, is strewn with obstacles intended to steal your happiness. Satan will deliberately put roadblocks in your way."  We are faced with obstacles but we are also blessed with joys.


This book reminds us that to discover true joy.
, we should start small.  Notice the little things that make us happy.


We are reminded too that learning to trust Jesus means putting him first.   In order to trust God, you first need Faith. 


This six week devotional would make a great edition to your personal Bible Study time.


I give Writing Joy on My Heart five out of five stars!


Happy

Book Review: How to Be A Praying Girl of God

How to Be a Praying Girl of God

by Compiled by Barbour Staff

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Shiloh Kidz

Children's Nonfiction 

Christian

Pub Date 01 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of How to Be A Praying Girl of God through Shiloh Kidz/And Barbour Publishing Netgalley:

 This book reminds us that it is important that we never stop Praying.  We are reminded to that the reason we should constantly pray is that we should constantly pray because God is our Father, and that he loves us so he wants that relationship with us.  

Young girls are reminded to that God really wants to hear everything the good and the bad in our times of prayer.  

If you are looking for a devotional, that will help the young girl in your life grow closer to God, then I would highly recommend How to Be A Praying Girl of God!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Why Writing Matters

Why Writing Matters

by Nicholas Delbanco

 Yale University Press

 Nonfiction (Adult)

Pub Date 17 Mar 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Why Writing Matters  through Yale University Press and Netgalley:

Writing matters, but why does it matter? 

Nicole’s Delbanco reminds us that “So somewhere in some distant place and time some someone made a mark on stone or wood or ice or clay or sand and somebody else understood it and the process of writing began.”

This book is the newest in Yale University Press Why X Matters series.  Distinguished writer and scholar Nicholas Delbanco tackles important questions about the discipline of writing.  Delbanco draws from his own experiences with mentors, John Updike, John Gardener, and James Baldwin.  Delbanco in turn went on to teach such rising stars such as Jesmyn Ward.  The author focuses on questions of influence and the contradiction that simultaneously moves us towards imitation, but also originality.  A contradiction in itself.  

Why Writing Matters is part memoir, part literary history, as well as part analysis.  This unique book will resonate with students, writers, writing teachers, and bibliophiles.

I give Why Writing Matters five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!