Walking back to Happiness by Lucy Dillon

           Juliet's hiding from her feelings about the recent loss of Ben, the love of her life. If Juliet didn’t have to walk Ben's loyal dog, Minton, she'd never leave their half-finished house. Then her mother asks Juliet to take the elderly lab, Coco, along for the walk. One dog leads to another, and soon Juliet's the unofficial town pet-sitter. When she takes on a lonely spaniel, and gets to know its attractive owner, she realizes that her emotions aren't as easy to handle as her canine charges.

            Walking Back to Happiness is a story of love, life, loss, family, friendship and new beginnings. Walking Back to Happiness is a true testament of how life is a roller coaster and we cannot always have total bliss. We need to have a few bad times in order to grow and live. I liked the way the author has Juliet work through her grief and loss with her family, and her new friends gently urging her along, even though she did not see it at first. The dogs Minton, Coco and the rest truly capture your heart as well.

            The emotional component of this novel was very realistic and heartfelt. It was not a simple, "watch her get over loss of her husband and move on to someone new" kind of book. It was very honest and often heart wrenching but ultimately hopeful and life affirming. Anyone who has had their life flipped upside down can relate and be inspired by this wonderful story of hope and survival amidst life's worst situations.

            I recommend this story and I love that she uses dogs as characters which always find a way to lead people together & making their lives brighter.

 

 

Deadline by Randy Alcorn

            

This book attacks the concept of political correctness and the hypocritical quicksand of "moral relativism" by weaving a tale of suspense and intrigue into the everyday life of a liberal newspaper reporter. The book hooks you from the beginning, with a story about three friends on a typical Sunday afternoon watching football and tossing a coin to see who will drive to get the pizza at halftime. The coin lands and stays on its side! All three pile into the car to go get the pizza. On their way back, there is a terrible accident.

             Deadline is a gripping page turner about three best friends from boyhood through their days in the war are caught in a car accident on a rainy day in Oregon as they drive home from a pizza shop. The story picks up with one of the three, Jake, the reporter, awaking in the hospital and finding out that it was no accident.  Thus begins a journey during which his popular beliefs about life, meaning and morality are challenged in a very personal way.

            Randy Alcorn navigates through several modern issues with interesting characters, a  well-written story, and provides enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested  a look at life through Jake's eyes and his changing perspective. Whether you believe in Heaven and live with an eternal perspective or not, this book is a great read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a mystery and wants to know something about absolute truth. The story was in the details. I was completely taken by surprise.

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis

Every Friday, a postcard. Every Friday, a love poem. Every Friday for sixty years.

Forever Friday is well written, full of hope, laughter, and wonderful banter between characters. The beginning pulls you in and the ending leaves you feeling wonderful.

This novel tells a delightful story, a story that inspires us to renew our love and to deepen our relationships. A simple love story, intertwining the joy of new love, the challenge of enduring love, the hope of renewed love, and the joy of lasting love into a beautiful and complex tapestry.

Forever Friday invites you to travel back in time to the early twentieth century Texas Coastal Bend where a young couple—Gabe and Pearl Alexander—are swept up in a miraculous love. As the heartwarming, pulse-quickening story of their relationship develops through Gabe’s poems; the Alexander’s reveal a new way to consider what it means to be truly devoted to each other. Could the secrets of their love affair, laid to rest twenty years ago, hold the key to one man’s future?

This inspirational tale will not disappoint. Spanning generations and transporting readers across time, Lewis’s delightful characters highlight the importance of genuine relationships while reminding us all to appreciate the loved ones in our lives.

Forever Friday is an encouraging story about making marriage last for a lifetime. I like reading the story from four different viewpoints and covering a wide span of time. It’s a sweet story that I highly recommend.
 

I received copy of book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group through their Blogging for Books program for my review.

A Covenant With My Eyes by Bob Sorge

    

          A Covenant With My Eyes is for men and women, who are seeking an intimate relationship with the Father, this book will challenge you to guard your eyes, by understanding that the eyes are the main gate where we get information. It is better to fight the enemy that is outside the gate than the enemy that is inside. Matthew 6:22-23 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
         
          This book sounds a bold call to the highest consecration in our sexuality. Get ready for a unique book that is apprehending, prudent, and empowering. This book extends an invitation to actually make a covenant vow before God with our eyes, based on Bob’s own experience with Job 31:1.        
         
          This book is so much more than clever insights and good ideas. It is not just another book on purity. It mines an ancient spiritual truth and brings it to light with force, grace, eloquence, and revelation. Each chapter has thought provoking questions for discussion.

           Reading this book reminded me of a quote from Bubba Stahl:” Your eye looks for what your heart is looking at. Your ear is tuned to what your heart listens to. Set your heart on The Lord today.”

I received e-Book from the Bob Sorge website for my review

Dandelions on the Wind: The Quilted Heart Novella One by Mona Hodgson

Tattered relationships and broken hearts, like a quilt, can be pieced together by God’s love.

 

        

Dandelions on the Wind

by Mona Hodgson is a sweet, romantic story of two hearts grieving from loss and what it means to find love and hope again. A well written and touching story filled with true-to-life characters and fascinating historical details. Dandelions on the Wind is a heartwarming story of second chances in the turbulent days immediately after the Civil War

                                                                           
             Ms. Hodgson did a great job of creating an enjoyable story in this short novella. I liked the characters and overall setting of the book set during the Civil War and looking forward to reading the other Novellas in the series.

             Overall this little novella was an inspiring book, with lessons on grace and forgiveness throughout the book.  Short and sweet, a well-paced story, bringing us to a lovely conclusion, a great book to read away the afternoon on the patio.

            I received a free copy of this eBook from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing through their Blogging for Books program for my review.

A Bride for All Seasons: The Mail Order Bride Collection

It all started with an ad in a mail-order bride catalogue . . .

Here are the stories of four couples who owe their wedded bliss to creative editing by The Hitching Post publisher. This charming bouquet of novellas introduces you to four Hitching Post Mail-Order Bride Catalogue prospects in the year 1870, all eager for second chances . . . and hungry for happiness. Year in, year out, they’ll learn that love often comes in unexpected packages.

1.      “And then Came Spring” by Margaret Brownley

Mary-Jo has traveled halfway across the country to meet her match, arriving just in time for his funeral. Returning home seems like her only option until her would-be brother-in-law proposes a more daring idea.

2.      “An Ever After Summer” by Debra Clopton

Ellie had no idea she’s not what Matthew ordered. And what’s wrong with being a “Bible thumper” anyway? She’s determined to show him she’s tougher than she looks—and just the girl he needs.

3.      “Autumn’s Angel” by Robin Lee Hatcher

Luvena would be perfect for Clay if she didn’t come with kids. But kids are a deal breaker, especially in a rough-and-trouble mining town. ­ The trouble is, there’s no money to send them back . . .

4.      “Winter Wedding Bells” by Mary Connealy

David’s convinced he’s not long for the world. He needs someone to mother his boys when he’s gone—nothing more. Can plucky Irish Megan convince him to work at living instead of dying?

            This collection of four novellas by four different authors was a delightful read. The common thread of all four mail-order bride stories are tied together by the common matchmaker, Melvin Hitchcock of The Hitching Post, a mail-order bride catalogue with the highest rate of successful marriages. None of the couples that were matched up in this book got what they expected because Melvin edited their letters. This makes for some intriguing twists in these entertaining tales.

            This book is fun and entertaining a great summer read. There are also three discussion questions for each novella in the back. This would be a great discussion for any Book Club.

            I received copy of eBook from Thomas Nelson Publishers in their Booksneeze program for my review.

Let go of performing

Daily Reflection: What gifts and passions can you use to glorify God?

Kingdom life thrives also in the beautiful ordinary, not just when we’re doing ministry or working at a church.

If you’re a writer, let God use your interests and abilities to grow His kingdom in you and through you. That doesn’t require that you write only about Jesus or put a fish symbol on your manuscript. It means that you write as one who lives for and in another dimension.

If you’re a businessperson, don’t bow your knee to fame, money, or making a name for yourself. Instead, excel in your area of expertise so that people can see what good, true, and beautiful business looks like.

If you’re a musician, architect, stay-at-home mother, or the guy with the burrito cart in Pioneer Courthouse Square, the kingdom of God is here and is inviting you to collaborate with what God is doing in your real world.

You have the necessary permission slip. You can let go of performing and achieving and striving. You can invite the life of God to rise up all around you. You can sing it into your everyday world.”

Excerpted from This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley