Gravel Road Musings

Happy Birthday Cheryl and Dad. I started this post a few weeks ago now. It was one I had thought about writing, but wasn't sure if I should or not. It's one of those not-so-pretty posts, one that delves into sadness and tears and such like. I was prompted to start it after reading my friend Jennie's  post  on Cheryl's upcoming birthday. I had forgotten Cheryl's birthday was coming and that in itself made me sad. But just reading her post and then reading the comments, I was struck all over again with the reality that Cheryl is really, really gone and there is nothing I can do to change that fact. In my heart I know she is so much better off, the grief is still there. I still want to go back to those days of stopping off at J and Cheryl's house to hang out. Having another couple that both you and your husband relate to is not something to be taken for granted. It's more rare than you would think. It just feels like there are so many special people in ...

December is just around the corner and the busyness of the holidays can take away from the meaning of the season. I found a photo challenge that I am going to try to do for the month of December and I am inviting you all to join me. I have a list that I downloaded from some printables I bought that I will post and each day you need to take a photo of that item. Now if you don't have a photo of that item, which I don't of all of them, then you can post a picture of something else. The goal of this is to take the time to stop, look, and capture the feeling of the season. I want to enjoy each day and sometimes I can get so caught up in my list of to-do's that I forget to stop and pause, so this photo a day challenge is to make me stop and pause. And, I am going to endeavor to post my picture on a daily basis, possibly with some thought that stuck out to me during the day, if my brain computed anything worth sharing. I'm not sure if you can do this or not, I will have t...

By Dr. Kevin Leman and Jeff Nesbit The Worthington Destiny This is the third book in the series and I think some things would have made more sense if I had read the first two. The book was still very good and very well-written, but just would have made more sense if I had read the first two first. It's the story of the rise of the first female President, which I find a bit ironic considering our recent election. I'm guessing some of that played into the story line for the authors as well beings the book is brand-new. The book is classified as contemporary fiction. I am not sure that it is Christian. God is never mentioned. The Bible is a time or two, but the principles the Worthingtons lived by seemed to be Bible-based. It was a paraphrase from Luke 12:48 and it was this, "To those who are given much, much is required." There is also a theme of forgiveness and doing the right thing no matter what that runs through the book. In some ways the book has stronger...

I think I must be getting older. Yes, I know that's a given. I'd like to say I'm getting more mature too, but I can only hope on that one. But the reason I said I must be getting older is this, we are nearing the end of 2016, about 35 more days to go and I find myself evaluating my year, looking at my life, considering what I want to change in 2017. I find myself almost struck with a frantic feeling of both there's so much I want to do in 2016 yet and there's so much I want to change about myself in 2017. I can almost feel overwhelmed with the thought of it all. In 2016 yet, there are Christmas gifts to DIY, fun food to make, some bucket list things I'd like to do for Christmas, some traditions that I'd like to think up and start making a pattern in our family. One of them has been established in our family, but then we moved up here and it became very difficult. Since the first year we were married, I believe, we have gotten take out or gone out to eat ...

I haven't posted a book review in over two weeks, I must be lazing off!!! Actually, I had two books going at once and also read a non-review book in between. Not that I think anyone missed me or anything. But just to be clear, I am back and have about six books to review in the next few weeks. Okay, "All the Pretty Things". When I started this book, I loved it. I thought it was an amazing story and it is. Edie was born to an alcoholic father. She rarely saw him sober, but she loved him and enabled him until his dying day. She missed that father figure in her life and attempted to salve that wound by working hard at everything she put her hand to except her marriage. She was raised in rather extreme poverty. Her parents divorced and both remarried, but divorced again. She was abused as a child, though it became a repressed memory that came out through recurring nightmares. She was introduced to Jesus and would often respond to altar calls to make sure she was saved. Sh...

I'm not sure what to write here. This is a story of gangs and a big cartel against law enforcement. Add to that a few moles in the law enforcement and you have the makings for some plans to go seriously awry.  It is definitely suspenseful, but it's not really my kind of story. Which is a little hard to believe since I read the book in 2 days. But this is not the kind of book I would want a steady diet of. I find myself looking behind doors and freaking out of the dark and imagining the worst after I read stories like this. Nancy did a good job of writing. It was interesting, just not really my style. There are a few things that I want to take away from the book.  One is your past can go with you and affect who you are today. Mercy, the heroine of the story, had a father who left her mother for another woman. Her mom turned into an alcoholic, dependent, whiny person. This caused Mercy to lean on no one and open up to no one, especially God. Faced with losing those she loved...

With Simple Childlike Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen Written by Riley Banks-Snyder with Lisa Velthouse This is an amazing story. It feels so much unlike my teen years that I can almost find it hard to believe and yet it is inspiring and impressive because it all began with a 13 year-old girl and her dream to go to Kenya. And for five years in a row they went bringing school supplies, hygiene kits, etc. to those who needed them. They helped establish a school and were working on buying property to establish a safe house and maybe teaching classes. The building was equipped with an apartment that Riley hopes to make her home someday with her husband Graham. At 14 years old, Riley and her family established a non-profit organization called Generation Next. They established this basically so they could get donations from department stores who wouldn't donate without being able to write it off for a deduction. The non-profit grew into more than they ever expected. In the m...

This book is full of some of my favorite verses. Liz takes apart each verse word by word or phrase by phrase so that it is easy to understand. Each verse  is printed in the NIV version, but she quotes numerous versions throughout the chapter which give different word pictures to help better understand the verse. This is fairly small book that can be quickly read, however I do recommend taking the time to memorize the verses, at least a few of them, I don't know if I will memorize them all, but I want to write them out, at least parts of the verse, so that I can have it on display to think about. Like I said, there are a lot of favorites in here that I have memorized already. Just a few examples of verses: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus....

I've been working on reading through the Bible in year. I've done this before possibly from front to back, but also with a little Old Testament, a little New Testament, and a little Psalms and Proverbs mixed in. This year it was front to back. I have to be honest, the Old Testament prophets got a little much. I apparently did not inherit my dad's love for these books of the Bible. That makes me a little sad. I'm sure I could cultivate that love though. There were definitely nuggets of gold that I found throughout these books, but I am enjoying the New Testament now. So we all know the story, a rich man comes to Jesus and wants to know what to do to have eternal life. Now here's the first thing I see and I actually didn't even notice this until right now when I'm hammering out this post. He came running to see Jesus. He was excited. We run when we are either scared or excited. Yes, I know people run for the sheer pleasure of running, but I can hardly be fri...

Eight Women who Refused to Give Up. Evangeline Booth Fannie Crosby Virginia Asher Emma Dryer Mary McLeod Bethune Nettie McCormick Sarah Dunn Clark Amanda Berry Smith Eight ladies, few names I recognized when I started the book, but each totally committed to God and sold out for His purpose. Did they make mistakes? Yes. Did their families and marriages suffer? For some of them yes and that can bring up a different dilemma that I won't discuss here. Did they make a difference in the world around them? Absolutely. We all know Fannie Crosby, the blind hymnwriter who wrote many, many songs in her lifetime. Emma Dryer was influential in helping to get the Moody Bible Institute started. Nettie McCormick was a wealthy good friend of Emma's who contributed financially to many, many good causes in her lifetime. Sarah Dunn Clark and her husband started Pacific Gospel Mission, a place I visited when in Chicago helping with street meetings. Amanda Berry Smith helped a...