A Time To Mend

"A Time To Mend" by Sally John & Gary Smalley

A picture perfect marriage. A family that has it all together, a beautiful home and four wonderful children. But it isn't really picture perfect. Claire, the wife is tired of living the lies, she is tired of being silent. Sometimes healing begins with hurting and sometimes the truth just has to come out. I enjoyed this book. I thought it was written very well and gave lots of depth to the characters. "I'm tired of pretending things don't hurt. I'm tired of acting like I've got it all together. Of giving the impression that I feel safe and secure." Don't we all pretend? And doesn't it get old? We try so hard to appear we have it together but who really does? I think we all long to be more real and I think if we were all more real we would feel better about being real. I admit, I am so far from having it together and when I hear someone else admit it too I feel so much better. God wants us to be real and when we are real He can step in and heal. "But I realize I've tried my whole life to be perfect. And you know what? It hasn't worked." It doesn't work, nobody is perfect no matter how much we try and it is just exhausting trying anyway. Why is it so hard to just be ourselves, our messy, don't have it all together selves? "The secret your mother and I have learned is to make each other feel safe. So safe we don't have to hide anything. We can be mad, sad, happy, and say whatever we want, even if it's wrong, because we know nothing can kill our love for each other." Feeling safe to be who you are is priceless, especially in a marriage. If we can't be who we are with our spouse then who can we be our true selves with? That's the key, feeling safe to be who we are so we don't have to pretend we are perfect or have it all together. We all long for that safe place. The safest place of all to feel that is with God because He is perfect. The book has a happily ever after ending, in case you were wondering. Good read, real stuff, good advice.

A Time To Embrace

                                            "A Time To Embrace" by Karen Kingsbury

This is the sequel to A Time To Dance. After almost getting a divorce, finding their way back to each other, tragedy strikes. Can the couple who have already been through so much survive the biggest blow to their marriage yet? "The girls you're looking at belong to someone, too. They're someones sister, someones daughter. Someones mother, in many cases. Someones future wife. Why is it okay to treat them that way? That's the first lie; that a woman is merely a body." In the book the son is dealing with some pornography issues. The dad confronts his son and I love what is said. Those woman belong to someone and we are so much more than our bodies. "Because we forgot about being intimate. We stopped talking and sharing our hearts with each other. We let life and busy schedules rule our relationship, and because of that we almost walked away from a love that, other than God's, is greater than any I know." How easy it is to let life get too busy and take us away from the things and people that really matter. "It was crucial that she see the truth-that any marriage could be saved so long as both people were willing to hear God's voice above their own." Key: hearing God's voice above our own. Oh how hard that is sometimes. We are such selfish beings. We have a right to be mad, we have a right to feel what we feel, we have a right to do what we want. Soon we are hearing so much of our own voice God's is drowned out. "Sometimes love makes a mistake. Even a series of mistakes. When I married John, I promised to love him in good times and bad. No matter what happened." When bad happens we forget those vows and we forget often that if the roles were reversed we would want our spouse to love us through those bad times. It isn't easy, never is, but with God it is possible. "Pride. It's why Adam and Eve took the apple-because they thought they were smarter than God. They wanted to be like God. And it's why good couples start going in different directions and wind up believing divorce is the only solution. When really, the only solution is to grab tight to each other, forgive, and go on."

A Time To Dance

"A Time To Dance" by Karen Kingsbury

Another great one by Karen Kingsbury.  She never disappoints as far as I'm concerned.  This book is about a marriage on the brink of divorce.  The happy, Godly, have-it-all couple is falling apart and no one knows it, not even their three children.  Their lives became hectic, they each did their own thing and before they knew it they were strangers sleeping in separate rooms with not a thing in common.  "It can never be better to divorce, Abby.  Never.  That's a lie from the pit of hell; mark my words."  I think it is the grass is greener in the other pasture kind of mentality and sometimes we don't know what we have till its gone.  It divorce is from the pit of hell, Satan's way of breaking apart what God destined for forever.  "There will always be naysayers, son.  The key is to listen to God's calling.  If you're doing that, then everyone else's opinion amounts to little more than hot air."  Oh if we could only all take this to heart.  What matter is the Voice of Truth, be still and listen.  "Maybe that's why God asked couples to wait.  So they could learn to love each other.  Because over the years it would take that kind of love to make their relationship a beautiful thing."  It takes more than physical love to make it through life's trials and learning to love like that is priceless and long lasting.  "She was losing this-her family's ability to grieve together, to suffer life's dark and desperate times under the strength of her husband.  In a few months she would be on her own, forced to shoulder every major setback and milestone by herself."  Oh the strength of a family.  I do not know how I would have gotten through some things without my husband and girls.  God intends for this community to not be broken, to not be alone through trials.  "I don't care if it kills me; I want to love you like an eagle loves his mate.  Like the Lord wants me to love you.  Holding on until death makes me finally let go." "Fight for your marriages friends.  Pray for wisdom and Godly counsel; seek God and find a way back to the place where love began, a place where love can begin again."  Such a good book with such good truths.  It truly is never too late.

Unfinished Love

"Unfinished Love" by Sherry Tucker

I'm sure you have figured out that I am a sucker for tragedies.  I love the sadness and the triumph, just can't get enough.  So when I saw this book in the discount section at the Bible book store, it was mine.  It is a true story of a 7 year old boy who is diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.  The book talks about his struggle and how his family deals with this drastic turn in their lives.  This was such a beautiful book.  It is amazing what a little 7 year old can endure and with such grace.  It is also amazing the strength and hope you can have in the face of such a trial when you have Jesus.  "Ushering him into God's arms would be my last gift I could give him."  The mother of this child had such a privilege to be able to hold her child as he entered the arms of Jesus.  "Parents, please use these lessons and remember that all children are true gifts from God.  God has blessed us with the chance to mold and teach these precious souls while they are here with us.  Do not waste this chance.  Help to make them all that they can be by living your life with purpose and guiding them to do the same.  Cherish each and every moment-bad and good.  There is a reason for them all!"  Life, a gift we so often take for granted.  When I was reading this book I was grumpy about some situations in my life and just feeling discontent.  As I was reading the author was talking about how she wishes she could have just one more ordinary day, a day without the word cancer, without sickness, without doctors and needles.  I began to be thankful, thankful for the ordinary days I was living with two very healthy beautiful girls.  Thankful that I could stay home and teach and take care of them.  So thankful for the mundane.  It is truly all about perspective.

Not In The Heart

"Not in the Heart" by Chris Fabry

This was a great book!  I really enjoyed this book and mostly because it had such great dry humor in it.  It was funny yet griping at the same time.  It is a book you won't want to put down.  It is about a man who is a writer, a famous writer who is out of work.  His family is also falling apart and his sons heart is failing.  Then he gets a story of a lifetime, a death row inmate willing to donate his heart, to his son.  As he investigates the story he finds that the inmate might not be guilty at all but if he stops the execution his son will surely die.  Truman must make a choice.  (Bet you wanna read it now huh?)  "He's doing something good from the heart, making sense out of the bad.  Your son is just the recipient of the grace of God."  Gifts we don't deserve, grace.  "He just wasn't able to get the drawbridge of his heart down far enough to get across."  Sometimes we need help getting that drawbridge down, or the wall to crumble.  "His words left a bad taste in my mouth, like one of those energy bars that are supposed to give you the nutrients that you need but just leave you feeling full of oats."  That gives you a taste of the authors writing, witty and funny throughout you just have to laugh out loud.  "I try to project the image that I'm together, but underneath there is always a need to escape, to rush to some other place where the pain and trouble aren't rising like a tide, ready to engulf."  How many of us are trying to project the image that we have it all together?  I would bet every last one of us.  So why can't we be the messes that we are and let God handle the rest?  I think we all need to be a little more honest with ourselves and each other and show a little more grace too while we are at it. 

Unplanned Journey

"Unplanned Journey" by Tanya Unkovich

I picked this book up in a bargain bin at the bookstore, I just can't help myself from a tragic story.  It is a true story of a women who finds herself in a life she never planned, a life where her beloved husband is dying of cancer.  The book was written from journals that both her and her husband kept through his battle.  It is raw and honest and beautiful.  "So don't let the written word from a doctor upset you.  The only written word that we have to check is from the Bible.  He is the great and divine healer, end of story, and I believe totally in Him."  These words were from her husband trying to bring comfort after they got news of the cancer.  And I love them because yes we go to doctors for help but God has the ultimate say and often in the most trying times His word is what we have to hold on to.  "In the face of emotion, don't move, welcome it."  So often we try and get out from under what we are feeling or stuff it.  Tanya learns that the best things to do is feel it, whatever it is, and then and only then will you get through it.  "Carry the cross with grace and strength."  We all have our own crosses to carry and I pray that I carry mine with the grace and strength of Jesus.  "I am thinking about how hard it is being alone.  God made Aden and Eve for a reason!"  I love this line.  I think God made us for community and being alone is never easy.  We were made to be with one another.  "It is such a relief to actually know and experience that no matter how bad you feel, these feelings do pass and all you have to do is go through them.  Attempts to escape them one way or another leads to more pain.  Just sit and be with these feelings and get up and just do it."  Again, feelings do pass, thankfully, we just have to move through them.  "Experience is not just the best teacher, it is the only teacher.  As we look back at our trials and hardships, we realize that, rather than being tragic and destructive, our difficulties have given us endurance, resilience, and patience.  This is the direct outcome of going through trials.  This is where hope comes from."

The Bailey Flanigan Series

"Leaving"; "Learning"; "Longing" and "Loving" by Karen Kingsbury

This was a four book series and if you like Karen Kingsbury you won't be disappointed. These books are about Bailey, a daughter who has grown up and is now looking for the path God has for her. In the first book she is leaving home and spreading her wings. The second book she goes through some trials, searches for God in those trials and learns from them. The third book she longs for the promises God has given her and the final book is the fulfillment of those promises. I enjoy Karen's writing because it is so real and current. Also throughout all her books are the truths of God woven so beautifully in her stories. The final book didn't turn out quite like I had thought but it was true to life that sometimes how we see things are not what God has for us.

Ella A Life Unaborted

"Ella A Life Unaborted"

I was given this book by my friend and the author is her friend. It is an unbelievable story about a little girl who's life is nothing other than a complete miracle. The authors water broke at 18 weeks and Ella was born at 29 weeks. No doctor thought she would make it but God told Jennifer, the mother, that He was with her and to have peace. This is an amazing journey of peace in a world of unknowns, where death is at her daughters door trying desperately to get in. You won't soon forget this mother and her courage or this little girl and God's hand on her life. This story renewed my faith in a God of miracles, a God who cares and hears our every prayer, a God who works all for good. "I have said ever since I was a kid that if God hasn't taken us right up to heaven after we're saved, there must be a reason that He has us on this earth; I believe it's so that we can lead others to Him. That is the one and only reason I can logically think of that God would leave us here in this harsh world and not take us up to be in His awesome presence." And this is what the author lives by, through her trials her first thought is how can I use this to show others Christ. Read this book and be encouraged.

The Dead Don't Dance

"The Dead Don't Dance" by Charles Martin

I picked this book up at the Salvation Army for a couple of bucks. The title and cover caught my eye and I can't lie, the tragedy within the pages. I just can't pass up a tragedy, I tell myself it is because I like to see how people overcome (at least I hope that is why). I also love discovering new authors and I like this one. It is a story about love and a baby about to be born when tragedy hits. It tells about how and who and why we must rise above but also how hard it is to move on. It is about treasuring all we have, every second, every breath. It's a journey of despair but of finding the light of hope. "When you boil it down, all we got left, all anybody's got, is faith...and hope...and love. And we all gonna make it. All three of us." Those are the three things all of us have, if we choose them, and all three of them are the things that are going to last, going to get us through when we think we can't. "Cause you need to hear that there are folks in this world who got lives just as bad as yours. Life ain't fair, and welcome to earth." Sometimes self pity takes over and we think we are the only ones going through this or have trouble and we are oh so very wrong. "If God is who He says He is, then He's big enough to handle my ranting and raving. And all my questions." And I think sometimes that is just what we need to do, He understands, He hears and He loves us all the same. "I had played my best, Maggie would be proud, but I felt empty, not full. I guess that's because playing your drum only has meaning when you share it with someone else." "We scar, but in the end, we heal." We don't forget what we have been through and a lot of it leaves scars but we heal, we move on with God's grace. I loved how the character in this story found hope in the most unlikely of places and I love that hope won.

Admission

"Admission" by Travis Thrasher

This book was really good. Jake is in his last semester of college and all seems to be going his way. Then something terrible happens and his life is turned upside down. He comes back to college 11 years later to sort out the questions of the that last semester and make amends with his past, his friends and his lost love. This book was really gripping. I loved the mystery involved and the story of how lies can ruin lives. But also that truth can bring redemption and it is never to late for truth. This author is worth the read.

The Christmas Promise

"The Christmas Promise" by Donna VanLiere

The last read of my Christmas break. Another quick, fun and uplifting read. It was filled with so many good tidbits. "This story is about how a promise from one person to another shows us the true meaning of faith, remembrance, and love." A promise can be a big thing to keep and Gloria waited seven years for her promise to be fulfilled but she never lost hope. She moved from the painful life she once knew to a new town where she helps those in need and where her past collides with her future. "Maybe that's what the truth does, it beats the living hell out of us until we do something about it." Truth will have its way of finding the light. "Shame is a bully; it likes to hang around, tapping us on the shoulder from time to time; then it pounds us in the face." And God never meant for us to be filled with shame, He takes those burdens, those ashes and turns them into beauty.

Life Everlasting

"Life Everlasting" by Robert Whitlow

I picked up this book as soon as I finished the first because I needed to know how it would all end. Baxter, after falling off a cliff, opened his eyes for the first time in months. But the battle is just beginning. Sometimes it takes a battle to bring things into the light. Alexia Lindale is the lawyer who needs to find her way through the deception yet not give up on her client. "I believe the universe is in the hands of the Lord as Creator. If that's true, then there is a divine connection between sounds, words, pictures, music, and all other forms of creativity that are submitted to His authority. Our job is to find practical ways in which God can use our creative gifts to advance His kingdom on earth." How can my gifts be used by Him? How can yours? I don't think there is anything more fulfilling than using the gift that God gave you and giving it back to Him by using it for His glory. "No matter the past, the eternal future belonged to the God who lived outside time. In that future, enemies could embrace as friends; those separated by hate could enter into glorious unity." And oh what a day that will be.

Life Support

"Life Support" by Robert Whitlow

A man falls from a cliff and is barely hanging on to life. His wife wants to pull the plug to keep her secrets. His father wants him alive for money. Alexia Lindale the lawyer takes on the biggest case of her life, a case of life and death. This book starts out going right into the action and keeps you turning pages throughout then leaves you hanging at the end (but don't worry there is a second book). "Why couldn't the same mighty rushing wind blow onto these shores? Wasn't Jesus Christ the Lord of the whole earth?" I think sometimes we hear of miracles afar and believe they don't happen in our lives just somewhere else. But Jesus is the Lord of the whole earth and He does do miracles in our everyday lives, sometimes we just have to look harder for them. "Faith and the presence of Jesus is the recipe for miracles." "Jesus doesn't seek adoration because he's insecure. He receives it because he's worthy." And oh how worthy He is. "I hope people see a reflection of Jesus when they meet me. That's how God works. He uses people to show the world what He's like." I am often times not a good example to the world of who Jesus is but I continually pray that He would shine brighter and brighter in me. "As a Christian, I believe my relationship with God should satisfy me, and in many ways it does, but the link between a husband and wife is unique in the universe." Marriage is a means to holiness and that bond is incredible when the spouse is chosen by God. This book was a good read and wasn't too predictable. If you like a little lawyer, love and mystery this book is for you.

Fatal Convictions

"Fatal Convictions" by Randy Singer

A part time pastor and lawyer takes a case of a Islamic man convicted of honor killing two people because he believes he is innocent. Soon all the evidence is stacking up against his client and he wonders if he just made the biggest mistake of his life. Not only is it a fight for his career but it just might be a fight for his life too. This book keeps you guessing and honestly I didn't put it together till the very end. It kept me intrigued and interested as there were some twists and turns. "The test of faith is not just whether it helps you live well, the real test of faith is whether it allows you to die well." I know that I want to die well and I have seen death both ways. My father in law died well, knowing that he was in God's hands and so thankful for his life, his family and friends and telling others about Him till he took his last breath. Faith to its fullest is faith lived out till death. "Often, the most dangerous deception was the one that looked most like the truth." Isn't that how the devil works?

The Deepest Waters

"The Deepest Waters" by Dan Walsh

My dad bought me this book for my birthday because on the cover it said, "Walsh demonstrate that, like Nicholas Sparks, men are capable of writing romantic fiction.", and my dad knows I love Nicholas Sparks. This was a great book! It is about a couple taking their honeymoon aboard a steamship only to be separated due to a hurricane. All the women and children are rescued but the men are lost with the ship. She faces a devastating loss but must face life alone. There are a lot of twists to the story and lots of happy endings. This book is also inspired by real events and real people. "But it was the way he looked at her. She had never seen such a look in a man's eyes; it was something she had only cherished in books." Since I am an avid book reader I love this line. We read so much in books and sometimes believe it only happens there, within pages and not in real life. "But if Jesus can make my heart free, can't no man make a slave of me." We can all be slaves of something or someone but when Jesus is in our hearts we are free indeed. "My life, before discovering your love, was like a harsh journey up a steep incline, only to reach a landing and find myself staring out at the most magnificent view. Your love has been breathtaking. I hadn't lived before you came, merely existed." This is the kind of love we all search for and the kind of love God gives, freely to all. Read this book and be inspired by love, the will to live and God's miracles.

A Lineage of Grace

"A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers

Francine is one of my favorite authors and I wasn't disappointed in this book. It is five books in one, five woman from the Bible and their stories. This is taken from the back of the book: Tamar-Betrayed by the men who controlled her future, she fought for her right to believe in a loving God. Rahab-A woman with a past to whom God gave a future. Ruth-She gave up everything, expecting nothing, and God honored her. Bathsheba-Her beauty stirred the passion of a king. Her pain moved the heart of God. Mary-All eternity had been waiting for this moment. She responded in simple obedience to God's call. This book was fascinating and beautifully written. It left me wondering why I don't read the Bible like how I sped read through this book. And these woman of the Bible are truly inspiring, I can not wait to meet them one day. All of these woman are in the lineage of Christ. It didn't matter where they came from or the mistakes they made. God can use us all. This is a must read!

Just Beyond The Clouds

"Just Beyond The Clouds" by Karen Kingsbury

This story continues from 'A Thousand Tomorrows'. After four years Cody is not over his wife's death and doesn't want to let go of his brother Carl, who has Down Syndrome. Carl's teacher is helping him learn to become independent and so is at odds with Cody. The more they battle the more then find a connection. And this leaves Cody with a choice: to finally put his dead wife to rest and move on or hold on to his love for his wife and die with her. This book was also touching and left me struggling with honoring someones memory and choosing to move on. It is about seeing the sun through the rain, Just Beyond the Clouds. Letting go is something we all struggle with and as a parent there is this constant battle of protecting and letting go. I appreciated the struggle of the characters and choices they faces that were so true to life.

A Thousand Tomorrows

"A Thousand Tomorrows" by Karen Kingsbury

This is one of the best books I have read. It is the most heartfelt book I think I have read and it got me into tears more than once. I felt what the characters felt and wrestled with the choices they made. A Thousand Tomorrows is about Cody who was abandoned by his father when he was eight and because of this he vows to never love again. Ali keeps a secret from everyone but lives life to the fullest, no matter the consequences. When they meet they hide behind the walls they have built until they can no longer deny the love they feel even though there are grave consequences. This book reminds the reader that life is meant to be lived and that love can heal even the deepest wounds. It speaks of broken families and the brokenness they leave behind. It speaks of deep and sacrificial love. About not being afraid to follow your heart and reach for your dreams. I do not do this book justice in this short review but I would urge you to read it. It was a very touching story that moved me.

Stuck In The Middle

"Stuck in the Middle" by Virginia Smith

This is another free book on Kindle but beware it is the first book in a series. Joan is the middle child and her life is amounting to living with her mother and ailing grandmother and a job as the manager of a furniture store in the small town she grew up in. Her older sister is having a baby and her younger, good looking, sister has a great career. All this changes when a handsome, young doctor moves in next door. "Still, she knew the same God as Mrs. Sachs. Why, then, did He choose to be so evident in this woman's life, but not in hers?" Man I feel this way sometimes. I see God so much in other people's lives but fail to see Him work in mine. It is then that I know I need a new perspective and I need to reflect on all that He has done in my life. "You see, our God doesn't supply only what we need to scrape by. The almighty God is our Father. He loves us. He delights in delighting us. He wants to give us treats and enjoys hearing our joyful laughter in return." I have never thought about God this way. But as I look at how I love to delight my own children it only makes sense that God would love us in the same way. "I was thinking that God's life-changing power is the same no matter how good or how bad the person is who accepts Him." And that is true, God changes all of us no matter the road that we have walked. His power works in all of us no matter where we have come from or the things we have or have not done. Who we are does not diminish or increase His power. Another fun read that makes you laugh and also makes you think.

Heaven Is For Real

"Heaven Is For Real" by Todd Burpo, Sonja Burpo, Colton Burpo and Lynn Vincent

I read this book in the relaxing setting of my family's cabin in less than 24 hours. I had seen this book and heard about it numerous times. I also read the first chapter via my Kindle. I read '90 Minutes in Heaven' quite some time ago and was intrigued with the thoughts of visiting heaven. This book is a quick read and not very in depth but tells the story of a little boy who had his appendix burst and who went to heaven while on the operating table. What intrigued me the most was that Colton never died but he still told stories of visiting heaven. The little boy proceeds to tell his parents at different times his experience. He visits his great grandfather who had died way before he was born. Although this book lacked any real depth it was interesting and gets the reader to think about what happens when we die and what realities await us. Colton no longer has a fear of death because he knows what is in store. If only we all could have this same lack of fear. And he also truly felt and knew the love Jesus has for him and for all of us. If only we could all live in that reality every day.