Book review - Valeria's Cross

by Kathi Macias and Susan Wales

A very powerful book - and after reading it - I realize how grateful I am that I live in the times I do and not back in Roman times. Women were not always treated very well and had little recourse. Christians were not treated well at all and many were tortured or killed for their beliefs. This book takes place during the reign of Diocletian - one of the greatest persecutors of Christians. His daughter was Valeria and both she and her mother were Christians. Valeria's first love is killed by her father - for being a Christian. Valeria is then ordered / forced to marry for political reasons. The man chosen for her is a great military leader and a pagan. This book focuses on Valeria's choice to try to honor God through her marriage, to pray for her husband's salvation and to forgive him for the horrors he commits against Christians. A tall order! I admire Valeria for her ability to live for God and question whether I would be able to be as kind and forgiving of the man who killed many of my friends just because of their faith. How do you forgive that kind of evil? And while I could get to the point of forgiveness - going on to reconcile and have a happy marriage when the evil continues - that would be really hard.

This was a wonderful book. Very hard to put down. Very well written. The book does take some liberties as thoughts or feelings of women of this time period were not written down or documented. It does truthfully portray how Christians were martyred during this time period. Shocking to read and really 'feel' what they went through. Glad I didn't live in Roman times.

Heaven is for Real for Kids

I have been reading the longer, adult version of this book and have really been enjoying it. When I saw this book, I decided to get it to read to my youngest. Kids need to really know and understand that heaven is real! We loved that Colton's picture was at the end of the book - so my son could firmly grasp that Colton is a real person and that this really happened to him - he got to visit heaven. As a parent, I liked that there were bible verses included. We know that the bible is true. If Colton's story had had elements in it that were clearly against things taught in the bible then we would know it to be false. Listing the bible verses, helps to show that the things Colton saw could very well have happened to him and are true. This was a very good book. My son did have more questions such as what happened to Colton, why was he in the hospital, etc. A bit more on what lead up to his visit to heaven would have been nice. Overall, this was a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. Great book as a read aloud for kids.

BookSneeze® has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network book review (BookSneeze) bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Where is God? by Dr. John Townsend

I have had this book for awhile to review but I have had a difficult time getting through it. It was not because it wasn't a good book - it is very good. It was because the book hit really close to home for me. It was amazing. As our family went through some of our trials, I was asking some of the same questions - and this book really was very good. It was helpful to have things said that I knew but in the time of trouble had put in the back of my mind. One of the chapters I really enjoyed was The God of Faith When there are No Answers. Sometimes bad things happen and there are just no answers. At that point, we just have to cling to Him, knowing He is carrying us though and have faith that there is some good that will come out of it. It is an amazing book and I really recommend reading it.

BookSneeze® has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network book review (BookSneeze) bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book review - A Sound Among the Trees

This book is very well written and keeps your attention. It is a lovely story. It is a wonderful story about a new bride finding her way and also respecting the traditions and people that are part of the family she married heritage. It bounces back and forth between the present day and the past - specifically the Civil War era. The story takes place in Virginia. The family had divided loyalties with some of the members fighting on each side in the war. While the war in the backdrop, the main thrust of the story is the women in the family, their roles and survival.

It also speaks to the fact that people aren't always what we think they are. It is hard to truly know the inner feelings of another person - and it also speaks to forgiveness and the power of God to work in ones life to bring about positive change.

Book - The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason F. Wright

It only takes 17 seconds to change a life. That is the premise of this book. Cole's father decides to be intentional. Most random acts of kindness only take a few seconds. Whenever Rex, Cole's father, sees the opportunity to help someone he does it. He instills this value in his son, Cole, who then uses the lessons learned to teach high school students in a discussion group forum. It is really a good book.

While the subject is not specifically about Christmas or Christ's birth, I believe that since Christ is love this book is a great Christmas read. It is only through the help of the Holy Spirit that we can find it within ourselves to love those that seem 'unlovable'. Yet, often those are also the souls that most often need a 'seventeen second miracle' in their life. As we perform those small but meaningful miracles, we point others toward Christ.

So have you done your seventeen second miracle today?

Friendship Bread by Darien Gee

An anonymous gift - begins a wonderful journey of healing for one woman and brings an entire community together. It all begins when Julia receives a gift - a bag of starter and a recipe for friendship bread. She wants to toss it out but her daughter loves the idea - and wants to follow the directions to eventually make the bread with her Mom in ten days. At the end though Julia ends up with more starter bags and gifts those to others. Pretty soon the entire community is making friendship bread. The book bounces telling you a bit about the people who receive these bags of starter - letting you into their lives. It is a great book about friendship, healing and love.

This was a really great book. I very much enjoyed it. And the best part is that there are recipes at the end for making the starter and the friendship bread. I can't wait to try them.