On Her Own

From GoodReads:Barbara Zook was devastated when her husband David was killed. Will she be able to raise their four young boys and manage her beloved David's harness store on her own? When harness maker Paul Hilty arrives in Webster County, Missouri, he finds himself agreeing to help run Barbara's shop. Things are going fairly well until widower Bishop John Frey comes a-courting Barbara, and Paul's jealousy takes everyone by surprise. Will Paul try to beat out the competition or end up hightailing it back to Pennsylvania? Will Barbara marry for love or be forced to enter into a marriage of convenience?

My Review: This is a romance set in the Amish Community and with a Christian bent.

I felt sorry for Barbara  when a much older bishop started trying to court her. I did not blame her for resisting his advances. I also got mad when he stated that he wanted her so she could give him more kids. The whole thing reeked of being taken advantage of. Like all things in this kind of book though things worked out. The bishop decided he liked a woman his own age better and so ended up with her. Barbra who resisted Paul (who was her own age) advances. All she wants to do is raise her kids and work in her harness shop.

She is weak from giving birth so she accepts Paul’s help. The book goes on about how he tries to win her heart and how both wrestle with their feelings for each other then finally they end up together.

I have to admit. I felt like whacking Barbara over the head and telling her to spill her guts to Paul. I mean what's the worst that can happen? Then again I am not Amish so maybe I am missing something here. Maybe in Amish culture a woman cant be as forward with a man. While reading I did get frustrated. Other than that the book was ok. If you like romance and/or Christian books you will like this book.

The Half Stitched Amish Quilting Club

This was from the publisher via NetGalley.

 

Widow Emma Yoder needs money so that she can support herself and not feel like a burden on her family, she puts up ads for a quilting class. The resulting motley crew is not what anyone expects but she believes that God brought them to her for a reason. Everyone in the class has their own problems. As the class progresses the problems come up and Emma with her faith and patience helps people to resolve them.

One thing I loved about this book was that the problems that are featured here are problems anyone could have in real life. For example a couple that comes to class has a troubled marriage and another woman feels like she does not fit in anywhere.

The plot is excellent. There are no quick fixes but rather we watch as the charecters grow and grapple with their issues. Emma uses her faith to reach out to the students in her class. It was not preachy or anything like that. It was a simple and profound faith that showed in her words and actions. This is what I like best in Christian fiction. There are some book that come off overbearing and once people find their faith all their problems are solved. That is not the case with this book. The problems are still there but with help the characters get past them.

Another thing I love about Wanda Brunstetters novels is that she portrays the Amish and the Amish faith in a positive and accurate light. There are many misconceptions that people have and it is refreshing to see someone who knows the Amish faith tell about it in her novels. I have always been fascinated by this group and Brunstetters novels help satisfy that curiosity.

Review: 21 Ways of Finding Peace and Happiness

From GoodReads:
In today's world, peace is hard to come by.
When personal desires are followed, serenity
is forfeited. By submitting one's life to God, a
peace-filled life is ensured. Maintaining peace
is a choice, says Joyce Meyer, as she discusses
how to be at peace with yourself, the importance
of having peace with God, and the paradox
that peace equals power. Joyce says peace
is one of the greatest gifts God has given us,
and is the only way to true happiness. Readers
will find 21 WAYS TO FINDING PEACE &
HAPPINESS to be a guidebook for success on
their journey
My thoughts: Joyce Myers is one of my favorite authors. I feel that her books speak to me and tell me valuable life lessons to live a better life. My reading thing at the moment is reading books on how to be more happy. It seems that this year I made up my mind that I was going to be happy no matter what. So I got some books at the library on the subject. This was one of those books.
She outlines ways to be happy that follow biblical principals. The one that stood out to me was the section that you had to pursue happiness. It doesn't just come to you. Happiness is something that you have to work on. One way to be happy that resounded with me was to pursue peace. At first I thought that I did pursue peace but as I read I realize that I do let my temper control me a lot of the times. And that robs me of peace and happiness. In it she list such things as idle talk, gossiping and other such things that can lead to loss of peace. Right now I wonder what it is safe to talk about but upon farther reflection I realize I could talk about happy things and wish people a good day and such and leave no room for drama and that in turn would bring me peace which will increase my happiness.
Like all of her books this illuminated things that I need to work on. Even if you are not a Christian I would encourage you to read this book as it has some good guidelines to follow to increase happiness.

Review: A Cousin’s Prayer

From Goodreads: Kumme to Amish country, where the simple ways of life lead to hope and healing. Katie Miler is traumatized after her boyfriend is killed in a van in which she was also a passenger. How will she find her way out of the valley of her depression? Freeman Bontrager will make any excuse to be near to Katie, hoping to win her love. But how far will he go to gain her trust. . .and her heart? What will bring this girl out of the shadows of fear, and open her heart to life—and love?
My Review: This is the second book in the Indiana Cousins series. The book can be read as a stand alone. Like the previous book before it, it focuses on one character in each book so you can see how each character grows and changes over time.
Katie is still not over the tragic death of her boyfriend Timothy who was killed in a car accident. Ever since Katie has these attacks where she has a feeling of unreality and a sense of panic and like she is going to die. Her good friend Freeman is the one who tells her it is panic attacks and helps her get over them.
Over time her and Freeman draw closer and a romance starts to brew. There is one hitch, there is a woman who wants Freeman for herself. I felt that the love story in this books was authentic and relatable. You could see where each character was coming from and it was easily to become emotionally invested in the outcome. You find yourself rooting for Katie all the way.
Like the previous book this book provided insight into the Amish lifestyle which I enjoyed. It even has some Amish vocabulary words and refers to the things that the Amish would. It also does not gloss over difficulties such as a woman spreading gossip about Katie which we can all relate to.
This is a book that I would recommend to anyone wanting to get a glimpse into the Amish way of life and for those looking for a sweet inspirational and or romance.

Review: Becoming a man of Unwavering Faith

From Goodreads:

During the course of his 60-year ministry, John Osteen combined an extraordinary love for people with a vision for ministry best described in his own words: "No limits." In this hardcover volume not only includes content from John's sermon transcripts, but also a foreword and commentary written by his son, Joel; the principles of this "no limits" faith come alive again for a new generation.
For the moments of struggle and temptation that every man faces, and the times in life when he feels surrounded and under attack, John's message is profoundly simple-those moments are precisely the time for an unwavering faith. In this book, John schools today's believers in seven qualities of unwavering faith:
1. It hears and sees what the world cannot see or hear.
2. It prays earnestly even though it has already heard the answer.
3. It is strong when there is no evidence of the answer.
4. It always says, "Go Again!"
5. It goes on when there's just a little evidence.
6. It believes for the big when it sees the little.
7. It begins with nothing but ends up doing mighty things for God.
Osteen also provides principles for those times when faith doesn't seem to be working. BECOMING A MAN OF UNWAVERING FAITH is a guidebook to stronger faith, from a man who spent a lifetime testing its limits.

My Review: If you have ever wondered what it is like to live a life of unlimted faith then this book explains how. It describes the seven things people do to get the most out of life and how to trust God for everything. People think that faith is something you have but this book also explains that faith is something that you do. It goes into depth of each of the seven steps that you do. This book was short but there is a lot of information packed in this book.

Review: A Cousins Promise

 From Goodreads:Willkumm to the Amish country, where a tragic accident and an old beau complicate the lives of two young lovers.

My Review: A friend lent me this book. I normally would not pick up Amish Fiction but I have to say I am glad I did. This book is the first book in a trilogy. It starts with a car accident and goes on to explore what happens when a normally abled bodied person become disabled.

I liked this aspect of the book. It showed a realistic grieving process while at the same time keeping with the faith and lifestyle of the Amish community.

This trilogy was given to me because all three deals with disabilities and in one book there is a Deaf person in the storyline. I haven't gotten to that book yet but if the first book is any indication I am looking forward to the next two books. I feel it is important to portray disabilities in books as they happen. Here the man who lost his leg in the car accident did not all of a sudden come to terms with it. The grieving process was accurately shown. While I wanted to slap the main character Wayne a few times the reader comes to understand that accepting becoming handicapped takes time and even with a person of supposedly deep and unwavering faith you can still make what seems like stupid decisions. In the end though one must accept what has happened and go on to live the best life possible. This is exactly what happens.

Review: And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado is one of my favorite Christian authors. He writes so fluidly and tight it almost as if God himself were feeding him words to say. He tone is never to condemn or to be to preachy but rather to convey the message that God really loves you and you are destined for better things in life.
In this book he examines the last week of Christ while explaining how it applies to real life. I have never thought about many of the aspects that he mentions. As always I have felt refreshed after reading one of his books.
I really enjoyed this book. You can see how his writing has evolved if you have read his earlier works. It is amazing to see.

Review: Bad Girls of the Bible

I have to admit it was the cover and the title that got my attention on this one. So often in the realm of Christian books we get titles that say that we need to become more Holy. This title grabbed my attention because well it had “bad girls” in the title. I had to know who the bad girls were and what their story was.

This book chronicles ten of the books bad women. Lot’s wife and the women at the well and the sinful woman among them. It gives a modern day retelling of each then gives a verse by verse commentary on what the story on the whole means and what it means for us today.

I liked this book and especially liked the way Liz Curtis Higgs added her own commentary style to it. I loved the modern retelling. It put a new fresh spin on ages old stories. I had read the stories in the bible but had not truly understood what they meant until I read them in this book. What I mean by that is that is that the lessons had not sunk in that you are supposed to take from them.

This is an easy read. Liz writing style is chatty and she added touches of humor to each story. I found myself highly amused by what she had written. Another thing I liked is that she does not talk sown to the reader but rather gives them hope. She adds bits of her own story so you can see that she is just like many woman out there today. It does not feel as if she was always holier than thou but like every person has made mistakes and was given God Grace to help other woman know that they too can find God and life a better life no matter what their background.

Even if you don’t like inspirational books Liz storytelling makes this book fun to read.Highly recommended

Review: Be a Better You

I first heard Joel Osteen on TV and when I heard he had some books out I couldn’t resist. I checked this out from the library and I was not disappointed.

If you have heard him on TV you probably know that he is a phenomenal motivational speaker. He is also the same phenomenal motivational writer.

This book outlines the seven steps that you can take to become a better you. They mostly run along the lines of be a more positive person and have passion for life. There are also other tidbits like thank people even if they do a bad service and being grateful for where you are now. He gives advice on how you can embrace where you are at right now and how you can move forward.

Let me say that I am the kind of person that distrust organized religion. I believe in Jesus and God yes but many of the followers I don’t like. Especially when we start dealing with fundamentalists. They annoy me to no end. Having said that I still liked this book so even if you not all that religious I still think this book will appeal to some of you. There are a lot of good advice in this book.

The Power of a Praying Woman

From Goodreads:

It may seem easier to pray for your spouse, your children, your friends, and your extended family, but God wants to hear your requests for your life too. He loves it when you come to Him for the things you need and ask Him to help you become the woman you have always longed to be. The Power of a Praying Woman has led countless women into deeper, more fulfilling prayer lives. Now, with a new cover, Omartian, through her knowledge of Scripture and candid examples of her own epiphanies in prayer, shows you how to:
1. draw closer to God
2. know His plans and purpose for your life
3. receive comfort, help, and strength for every day
Trust Him moment by moment with the concerns of your heart and discover the awesome power that prayer will release in your life.

This is a re-read. Every time I read it I feel that I get more out of it. I try and read it several times a year.

Ever since I was little I have been taught to pray for others. Somehow it seemed selfish to pray for myself. This book shows that not only is it good to pray for yourself but that God wants you to. It tells when you stop and take time to yourself that you fortify yourself to do what God has in store for you.

This book explains all the different areas that you can pray for yourself. It explains why those areas matter and how it can help you have a better life. The author puts in some things that I would have never thought to pray for myself for. She really puts a new perspective on how to have a deeper understanding of an effective praying life.