The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson

I really enjoyed this book. Merrill lives with a house full of men. She is dedicated to caring for them since her Mother died when she was a younger girl. Her older brothers have scared away the men. Then Rurik arrives in town and he is not one to be frightened away. Rurik tries to do what God would have him do and act as Jesus would toward others. An old girlfriend of his takes advantage of his willingness to always do right by others and tries to trick him or force him into marrying her. Rurik doesn't fall for the ruse but it does land him in jail. Eventually the truth does win out. It is a very good story - well written and enjoyable to read. 

The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson - Book Review

What a good book. 

This is the description from the publisher:

Being married to a saint isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Beth's husband won't be joining the family on vacation at the beach this year. He's not even joining them in the house. Instead, Rick has holed up alone in the backyard shed. Nobody knows exactly what he's up to. Maybe he's immersing himself in prayer. Maybe he's lost his mind. Maybe he's even the modern-day prophet or the saint the neighborhood artist imagines him to be. But while "St. Rick" waits for an epiphany, Beth will have to figure out what to do with herself and their teenage sons, possibly for the rest of her life.

What happens next is both uproarious and bittersweet: a peace march turns violent, her son is caught with drugs, and she embarks on an ambitious road trip that turns into something nearly surreal. Will Beth rediscover the idealistic woman she used to be, once upon a time? Can her marriage survive Rick's backyard vigil? Will anything ever be the same? And should it be?

Truthful, comic, heartbreaking, and magical in the very best sense of the word, The Sky Beneath My Feet gently tears the veil off our egos and expectations to reveal the throbbing, redemptive, and achingly beautiful life beyond and within us.

I enjoyed this book. It was neat to have a book where the main character was older with teenagers - facing difficult issues. Many books seem to be romance stories where the boy meets girl and then the story ends. It is nice to have a story that involves characters already married and dealing with life's issues. The book was very well written. Sometimes it was hard to determine what the author's point of view is on an issue --- but at the end the author does a nice wrap up that really ties the whole book together. Beth seems to be searching and trying to discover meaning in her life. I think many of us that gave up our careers to raise children eventually face this issue --- what do we do now that the kids are older and raising them is no longer our job in life. Where do we put our focus? What do we do with our time? A very good book. I recommend reading this one. 

This book was provided for free from Thomas Nelson through Booksneeze. 

Secretly Smitten: Love Changes Everything - Book Review

Secretly Smitten: Love Changes Everything by Kristen Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter. This is really 4 novelettes all rolled into one book. I really enjoyed the writing and love the story line. I just wish that each of the 4 separate stories had been developed further and the characters story line taken to a further place. I felt that each of the individual stories kind of left you hanging - looking for more info. There is a main story line that involves a mystery of how dog tags were left in Grandma's attic from a man that supposedly died 50 years ago. That storyline is continued and talked about in varying degrees throughout all 4 of the novelettes. The other 4 stories are love stories involving the mother, Anna and her 3 grown daughters, Zoe, Clara, and Tess. The book does refer to characters that we should know about from the first book in the series - I had not read the first book and there were times when I felt like a character just plopped into the book with no introduction. Still, it was a delightful book and I found that once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. 

This book was provided for free from Thomas Nelson through Booksneeze. 

The Reunion by Dan Walsh

The Reunion by Dan Walsh

A great book and a nice tribute to those who have fought for our country. There are people that often we pass right by in our daily life - they have unassuming ways about them and maybe are doing menial jobs - yet at one time these people were heroes. Aaron Miller was a Congressional Metal of Honor recipient and yet now he lives in a humble shed and is the maintenance person at a trailer park. He had suffered post traumatic stress syndrome after returning from the Vietnam War. Very little was done to help our service men at that time. He drank, did drugs, lots his family and ended up living on the streets. Eventually he cleaned himself up but not before he had lost everything that matter to him - his kids and his wife. Now years later he is clean and sober. He has found Christ (and that made all the difference in his life - it saved him) and attends church regularly. Then something unexpected happens - his buddies from the war try to find him. It leads to a reunion with lots of surprises. 

The author writes with a real depth of emotion. I had tears by the end - thankfully they were happy tears as this book has a wonderfully happy ending. Very good book and I highly recommend reading it. 

an Invisibile Thread

an Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

A very incredible true story of one woman's act of kindness and how it started a friendship that save a young man's life, got him on the right road, and has lasted 30 years. Here is an interview on the Today show with the author, Laura and Maurice. Click here. 

This was a remarkable story and shows how one person can make a difference. Often times I think we are so busy living our lives and going about getting all the things on our to-do list done - we forget that God has put us here and has asked us to love our neighbors. Neighbor isn't just our literal neighbor next door but our fellow human beings that we run into each and every day. By taking just a few minutes out of her day Laura changed the course of a young man's life. This was a very good story. Really enjoyed it. You can find out more on her website: click here

Reunion book review

Reunion by Lauraine Snelling. This was a good book and well written. I enjoyed it. This is a story about the Sorenson family. They are a very tight family --- as a matter of fact the brother and sister (both married with children of their own) live several house away from each other. One of the daughters ends up pregnant while in high school. This is quite a shock as it is against what they believe. The father is a Pastor and yet immediately the story line takes the ugly turn of having the characters start thinking that wouldn't abortion be easier and get them all out of a difficult, tight spot. Eventually the girl who is pregnant decides it is not just a bunch of cells but a baby and she can't / won't have an abortion. The part I think is not okay is that the author has the Pastor and the Pastor's wife both thinking abortion might be a way out. They go there first - instead of thinking of all the other possible solutions. Honestly this is not a Pastor that I would respect - the minute the going gets tough he puts aside his beliefs and starts thinking what would be easy for him. The Pastors I know are dedicated to their faith and put that first --- even knowing that often makes the road harder. They would have started exploring the options first and abortion would not have entered their mind as a way out. While the characters come to a faith based conclusion - it is sad to see they didn't start there and started with the worldly view - and even explored that option. 

The Guardian by Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed

The authors of this book are Pastors at The Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee. Here is a link to their website: click here 

The book is based on scripture from Revelations chapter 10 - the book takes the idea of the scroll that was given to John and then comes up with a fictional story. In Revelations an angel gives John a little scroll and he is to eat it. In the book, since the scroll is sour to his stomach, he then throws it up. The 'guardian' is someone that is a descendent of John that has been charged with protection of the scroll. Others think the scroll has power and seek to obtain it to have that power. The guardian is to prevent the scroll from falling into the wrong or evil hands. 

This was a very good book and while it has many basis in scripture it is clearly fictional. The authors come up with an end times scenario and clearly no one but God really knows when the end times are and what that will truly look like. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very well written. I think many times we don't think about or realize how Satan is truly at work in this world and that some people have intentionally or many rather unintentionally have given themselves over to his control. 

They have a second book out and I can't wait to read it.