Like Dandelion Dust

"Like Dandelion Dust" by Karen Kingsbury

I am reading more and more of this authors books, thanks to my parents, and continue to like her. Many of her books, this one included, have been made into movies. This book is about a boy who is caught in a custody battle. He was adopted as an infant and is now 4. His biological dad just got out of prison and found out he had a son and wants him. His adopted parents will do anything to keep him, even take him and just disappear. This book makes you think, what would you do if one of your children was to be taken from you? To what lengths would you go to keep them, would you break the law? Running throughout this story is a lesson in faith. "I can only believe that we-like children-are in the backseat however long the journey lasts. God is driving, and we must trust that in the end, if we stay with Him, He'll get us safely home." So hard to trust but really it is the only way to go. Jesus is the only one who sees and knows all so why don't I trust Him?

Shame

"Shame" by Greg Garrett

This is one of my favorites. It is just so real, so heartfelt. The writing is unique, like you are inside the mind of the main character, almost like you are reading his journal. It is about a man who is caught up in the monotony of his life and how he thought he would have amounted to more than just a farmer. He begins to question every decision that he has made that led him up to this point in his life. Complacency has set in and with his 20th high school reunion coming up, an exhibition basketball game with his old team and his high school sweetheart newly single will he choose a different life? Who hasn't gotten bored with life or thought about how things might have been had you made different decisions? This book pinpoints how all our decisions make us who we are and how to be thankful for whatever life you have. "It's never to late to do the right thing, to make the right choice, to correct the mistakes of the past." Such good words, it is never to late. We can always decide to stop making the wrong choice and decide on the right one, always. "But at some point even the greatest of heroes has to put his feet back on the ground and take his own faltering steps, to live and breathe and love and make mistakes like any ordinary human..." Even those we look up to make mistakes and have to take their own steps and live life just like we do. We are all just human. "I want to do what is right. I've wanted that all my life, but I am so tired of doing what is right for everyone else and wondering if it will ever be right for me." I know that I grow weary of doing right by everyone else and then I have to remember that the only One I should be doing right by is Jesus and then I will be doing right by everyone, even me. "Words are not the most important things we offer those in pain. It's standing behind those words. Being there. Not giving up." It is really easy to say words and really hard to stand behind them. Most of the time words can not fix things but being with someone can. Words are meaningless when you don't stand behind them.

A Very Special Delivery

"A Very Special Delivery" by Linda Goodnight

Another freebie for the Kindle. This was a feel good book with a happy ending. It was a light read but I enjoyed the way God's truths were presented. It is about a woman named Molly who has seen how fragile life can be and thus she has become a recluse. A stanger takes shelter at her home during a severe snow storm and restores her faith in God, herself and others. "But, honey, you can't keep living in fear this way. Fear is the oppostie of faith." I don't know anyone who hasn't stuggles with fear, some more than others. I am always reciting the verse that God does not give me a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind. Faith in God overcomes all fear. "A gift without sacrifice is not much of a gift." The truly wonderful gifts to receive are the gifts that came from the heart, the ones you know took sacrifice. The best being God dying on the cross for us, talk about sacrifice. "See those mirrors on your truck? God doesn't have those. Some people do, but God don't. He never looks back at what you've done, only forward to the good your're doing now. There's no Reverse in God's Kingdom." What a great way to look at God and remember He casts our sin as far as the east is from the west. I need to strive to do the same with the people I love, hold no record of wrong, don't look back but only to the good they are doing now.

Fools Rush In

"Fools Rush In" by Janice Thompson

Alright this was another free book on my Kindle but at the end of the book I found out it was the first in a series. So I guess that is how they get you hooked, give you the first book for free and make you pay for the others. This was such a fun, light hearted book. I love weddings (and I've coordinated a few), what girl doesn't? The family in this book just makes you laugh and not take your family so seriously. Bella Rossi is thirty and just got handed the families wedding planning business. She decides to do themed weddings and her first is a country one. She knows nothing about country music but finds true love, appreciation for her family and their differences, confidence and humor through coordinating her first successful, not without mishaps, wedding. "Funny how one event can change absolutely everything." Bella's life changed from this one wedding but I know many lives that are changed due to some tragic event. Makes me want to take this day for all that it is worth. "Compromise, it was the stuff relationships were made of. Good relationships, anyway." Compromise isn't easy when you are stuck in your ways but it sure does make life easier. I have learned it with my husband, with my children and even in my friendships. "You never know what new roads He has for you unless you open yourself up to the possibilities." New roads are scary, I don't like change too much but it helps me to remember that God goes before, with and after me. New roads can't be all that scary then.

Sisters

"Sisters" by Kathleen Thompson Norris

This book was free for my Kindle! And yes, I actually liked it, bonus. It was about two sisters and their differences and their similarities. Their mother died in child birth and they were raised by their father. It is about loss, expectations, romance and marriage. This book is not a happily ever after book and that is probably why I liked it. It is not a typical romance novel by any means. One sister marries too young and finds herself in a marriage without love. The other sister marries to please her father. I appreciated the honesty in this book. Some reviews said this was the most depressing book they ever read but I just found it to be honest and more like life instead of a fairy tale. So if you like happy endings, be warned, don't read this book.

This Side of Heaven

"This Side of Heaven" by Karen Kingsbury

I have read books by this author before and really enjoyed her. She is real and honest about life but truthful about God's promises. This book is about a grown son who has made some poor choices. He has put his life on hold waiting for a settlement from being hit by a drunk driver. His parents are disappointed in him but they do not know all that their son has strived for. And sometimes we have to settle for the good, This Side of Heaven. This book took a turn that I didn't expect which I liked. It also opened my eyes yet again to never judge someone till I know the whole story and to actually take the time to listen. So often I pretend I am listening yet I am dividing my attention with a task also. I want to be a intentional listener, going deeper than just words. Don't miss the opportunity to listen to your loved ones, you never know when it will be to late.

Understood Betsy

"Understood Betsy" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

By the reviews many woman read this book as little girls. I didn't read it when I was little but after reading it I can't wait to let my girls read it when they get a little older. It is about a little 9 year old girl who is an orphan and three old aunts take her in. She lives with them in the city. They are always worried about her yet are very loving. Due to all the attention and all the worry she is a very frightened girl. She is skinny and thinks she is going to die. She is afraid of everything. Her aunt becomes sick and she has to go live with other family. This aunt lives on a farm with her elder parents. Here the girl is made to take care of herself, something she has never done. It is a story about how she finds out all the things she can do and how she isn't fearful of the world around her but finds it all so exciting. I really enjoyed this book for its simplicity. It was also quite humorous. "YOU aren't any grade at all, no matter where you are in school. You're yourself, aren't' you? What difference does it make what grade you're in!" "She had always thought she was there to pass from one grade to another, and she was ever so startled to get a little glimpse of the fact that she was there to learn how to read and write and cipher and generally use her mind, so she could take care of herself when she came to be grown up." This is what school should be, learning to use our minds so that we can take care of ourselves when we are grown up but I think it is often of just getting work done to move on to the next thing to pass and get to the next grade.