Gravel Road Musings

Feeling Stressed? Overwhelmed? Critical? Guilty? Upset? Restless? Take a moment, pick up this book and read a page or two and I would bet you will find something to calm your heart. Count your blessings, read some Scripture, ponder an inspirational quote, or just look at one of the beautiful pictures scattered throughout the book. I just quickly read through this book and various quotes and sayings stuck out to me. I am planning to write a few down that I would like to display on my clipboards in the coming year. There are ten chapters and each chapter is further subdivided into sections. There are very few sections that are more than two pages. There are Bible verses, there are short sections taken from Max's other books, there are strategies for coping with the challenge addressed in the book and always each chapter ends with a journaling section of thought-provoking questions. Let me share a few things with you that stuck out to me: C elebrate God's goodness A sk G...

The setting is just prior to the Revolutionary War, Lady Elizabeth is the daughter of a Tory who treats her with contempt. He escapes in the night, leaving her to fend for herself. I don't want to say much more because it would give the story away too much. This was the second of Laura's books that I have read and I liked it better than the first one. Lady Elizabeth who goes by Liberty has courage and strength and is willing to take risks for the good of the cause she believes in. She believes God is able to protect her. And, of course, Noble Rynallt is all that is desired in a hero who sweeps in. He's a Patriot but rescues a Tory and saves the day. There is, of course, more to it than that, but I can't give away too many spoilers. As far as depth to the book, there was some, but I didn't walk away really inspired. I was impressed with Liberty's courage in the face of danger and her strength of character that allowed her to do menial work even though she...

My Story of Captivity, and my Fight Against the Islamic State At the risk of exposing my ignorance on world events, I don't recall ever hearing about the Yazidis until I read this book. As best as I can understand them, they are/were a minority religious group in Iraq. They were viewed by ISIS as less than the least and completely expendable and mere property. This book has a bit of the history of the people of Kocho and the story of Nadia and the genocide of the Yazidis by ISIS. It's an awful story of men being killed and women being taken as sex slaves and viewed as property nothing more. It blows my mind how someone could use another human being in this way, but I don't doubt the accuracy of the story at all. From what I have understood of ISIS, I can believe they would treat women this way. This is Nadia's story of her capture, escape and her current work as a human rights activist and also working to bring those men to trial. Why the title? Because she ...

This is the Valerie's debut novel. She is an award winning writer and a senior travel editor for Southern Living, so she is very familiar with writing stories. This was a very well-written book that I did really enjoy. It's hard to find authors that can tell a fascinating story that has a good moral and isn't all roses and kisses and money. However, the title here is a bit misleading, in my opinion. Isaac is an employee of Jack McLean. Jack died when the tractor he was driving disappeared into a sinkhole. Isaac became a mentor/father figure to Jack until his mysterious disappearance a few years later. The sheriff was a dead beat and really didn't conduct an investigation, but it always bothered Pete as to what happened to Isaac. In a search for him, he stumbled across Dovey, a girl from the hollow, meaning she was poor and their people kept to themselves. And that is, to me, what the book is really about, a young, fresh-faced friendship/romance between Pete and ...

Tactical tools for intentional living Is anyone needing a last minute Christmas gift for that lady who is always rushing here and rushing there, mostly overwhelmed, and always wadded up with 50,000 things to do? Stop right now and go buy her this book. If she can ever force herself to sit down and read it and then get up and follow it, she will thank you for for ever. First off, let me start by exclaiming over how beautiful this book is. It's just like the title, simple. But it's also just pretty like that. A nice thick hardcover, with thicker than normal pages that are bursting with lots of beautiful photographs or sometimes just a full page dedicated to a profound sentence or two. It would make a great gift or even a coffee table display. Now about the meat of the book. Emily looks at ten areas that can be simplified: space, style, meals, schedule, finances, hospitality, technology, self, motherhood, and faith. With each of these she offers helpful tips on ways to mak...

Practical Principles to Make Your Marriage Great 1. Thou shalt be selfless. 2. Thou shalt have no strings attached. 3. Thou shalt continually communicate. 4. Thou shalt make conflict thy ally. 5. Thou shalt avoid the quicksand of materialism. 6. Thou shalt flee sexual temptation - online or otherwise. 7. Thou shalt forgive thy mate - 490 times and more. 8. Thou shalt romance the home. 9. Thou shalt begin again and again. 10. Thou shalt build a winning team. So there you have it. This book was full of practical tips for making your marriage work and be great. A few things that stuck out to me and/or convicted me, I can't change my spouse. I can only change me. And the sooner I accept my spouse the way he is, the happier I will be. Expanding on this a bit: if I focus on his negatives, they will increase in size and unforgivability (yes, I think that might be a new word), but I believe that if I focus on his good points, his negatives will shrink and become miniscule. ...

Orange Pear Apple Bear Apple Bear Orange Pear Orange Bear Apple Pear Pear Bear Apple Orange There I think I should write children's books. After reading one book like that above few sentences, I'm pretty sure I could do it?  Or how about this? Have you seen my duckling? Followed by a blank page or two showing the duckling hiding. Then Have you seen my duckling and so on and so forth until the end of the book where of course the illustration shows the duckling reunited with its mother. I'm not sure what I would write about. Maybe I could write a book called "Have you Seen my Sanity?" and on the no word pages, I could have a picture of a hidden brain for the children to find. If that's too scary, how about Goat, Goat, Cow. It would go something like this: goat goat cow, baa-baa-moo. horse, sheep pig, neigh-baa-oink. That idea isn't original with me. I saw it in a book called Chicken Chicken Duck. Another idea might be Snow. Snow is white. Snow ...

A Modern-Day Slave, An International Art Dealer, And The Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together. The Incredible True Story That Inspired Millions He was a black man born to sharecroppers. Sharecroppers were still basically owned by "the Man". He kept track of what they made taking care of cotton and he kept track of what they bought from his store and somehow at the end of the year, there was also a debt to "the Man."  This is the life Denver Moore was born into, though his was even worse as he was the son of a sharecropper and then there weren't even records kept, he just lived and worked there with no chance of a better life, until one day he decided to ride the rails. He lived homeless, he lived in jail for the next many, many years. He was born to lower middle-class parents. His grandpa also had black people working his plantation, though he treated them a bit better. He grew up and became an international art dealer, living high-end and making milli...

A gay son's journey to God. A broken mother's search for hope. Wow!! This is quite the story, a bit graphic maybe for some, especially younger readers, but very much a God work. At first I was a little disturbed by the details of his sinful life, but then I realized he was also pretty detailed about his new life in Christ as well. And knowing the depravity that he had dropped to makes the story all the more amazing. The story begins with Christopher "coming out" to his parents. His mother Angela is used to manipulating and controlling and this is the final straw. She is in a loveless, disconnected marriage and decides to commit suicide after a last visit with Chris. Instead, she finds Christ and starts reading the Bible and praying and her husband joins her. Chris, in the meantime, continues down the path of sin: homosexuality, drugs, etc. until the law catches up with him. His parents try to stay connected to him, but he rebuffs their efforts. Finally jail t...

Advent: what it is and what does it mean? I'll be honest, I'm not really sure. I know it has to do with Christ's birth and involves the four Sundays before Christmas. So let's see what Wikipedia has to say:  Advent  is a  season  observed in many  Christian churches  as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the  Nativity of Jesus  at  Christmas . For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from three different perspectives. "Since the time of  Bernard of Clairvaux  (d.1153) Christians have spoken of the three comings of Christ: in the flesh in Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and in glory at the end of time." [2] The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming. Practices associated with Advent include keeping an  Advent calendar , lighting an  Advent wreath , praying an A...

I got this devotional to go along with the Book that Dannah wrote called The Power of Modesty for Tweens. I didn't read through the whole devotional, but was pretty impressed with how it is set up. There are seven weeks of devotionals, five days per week. Each week is set up to go along with a chapter in the book. While you can do the devotional alone, it is recommended to do it with the book. Each devotional is a two page spread, with a little over a page being reading and then there are some journaling exercises as well. There is also a Bible reading to go along with each day. Some of the journaling jobs include: "Write a confession of any lies you have told lately." And then a part where you ask God to give you a desire to tell the truth. Or taking some time to write some personal goals. A lot of the journaling parts have multiple little designs with lines in them, so both mom and daughter could do it if they wanted to. At the end of every week, there is a two-pa...

When to say yes How to say no to take control of your life Where do I start with this book? It was excellent, let's start there. While, for the most part, I don't feel like my life is out of control, it was good to hear confirmation that sometimes saying no to something good is not bad. Even if we feel guilty, it's not wrong.  That was probably a key piece for me. Another thing I really liked about the book was the section on boundaries with children. Allowing children to be able to say no without fearing a loss of their parent's love enables them to be better equipped to have good boundaries when they are older. This doesn't mean the child is allowed to run wild with no discipline, to me it means that my child is allowed to not want something without me threatening not to love them. I don't know if that makes sense or not, I'm still not sure if I fully understand all of how it works. But it does seem that a child who was controlled and manipulated...

Brenda is the lucky winner.  Please be patient with me in getting the book out. We are leaving for the weekend. Thanks to all who participated!! A faithful husband, three blessings of children that God has given to us. A Christian school close by to send them to. A small church body of believers who love the Lord. The health to be able to get out of bed this morning enjoy a warm cup of coffee!

So way back in 2011, Dave and I had this conversation about pie. And the challenge went forth to make 50 pies, all different, no repeats. Well, I made it to the teens somewhere and I don't know what happened, but something did because that is where it stopped. I made pie since then just not in an intentional manner to create 50 different kinds of pie. But the other week I tried a new pie crust. Believe it or not, it actually didn't really shrink much. That is amazing for me. It involved odd steps that I was not used to like freezing my shortening and grating frozen butter into the mixture, then refrigerating, then rolling out the crust and then refrigerating again. Line the pie with tinfoil and fill it with beans and back at a normal temperature for 45 minutes. All things I hadn't been doing, but you know what? I ended up with a very delicious pie crust that pleased me greatly. There was a small shrinkage, but not much. That simple act reminded me once again of the Pie ...

A One Month Creative Journal If you are looking for a nice gift for someone, look no further. This is a pretty, hard cover journal that would make a lovely Christmas present. It's on the smaller side, so you could stash it in your purse if you find yourself waiting in the car a lot or keep it on the coffee table to enjoy with a good cup of coffee in the morning. Okay, depending on how personal you get, the coffee table may be too public of a location to store it, but you get the idea. I love the cover because I think it looks just a bit old-fashioned, vintage-style in a modern sort of way. Ha, go figure that out. You can start the book whenever. There are no days of the week marked, just Day 1, Day 2, etc. In reality, you could pick this book up one day and then wait a week or two to pick it up again, nobody's going to care. You probably could do the days in a random order as well, though if you do, please do not tell me, it would drive me crazy to do that. But the import...

This is the second book in the series "Apart from the Crowd." They are about the "wallflowers" of society, those who stand along the wall because they don't quite fit in with "in crowd" of society. This book was definitely out of the ordinary. Most books I read about society from the late 1800's is all about protocol and fashion and etiquette. Males and females rarely talk and it's all teas and social events. Not this book. It was a highly entertaining read. The romance between the color blind Harrison Sinclair (meaning he wore some very odd colors and styles together) and Gertrude, the companion to the wannabe fashion designer, Mrs. Davenport is the main thread through the book, but the conversation is very interesting. It doesn't feel quite real to life, I mean would people really have attempted to make a bustle out of half a bird cage? And would Mrs. Davenport really have gotten away with her multiple thefts which she later would m...

Ah yes, this was just what the doctor ordered. I've wanted to review Dorcas' last book or two and was always too chicken to ask, but this time I threw caution to the wind and said, "Yes, I want to review your book." And I'm so glad I did. It was the perfect book for this stage in my life. Short, easy to read chapters that can be picked up and read whenever and wherever. They are guaranteed to either make you laugh, smile, cry, or or just give you that ah-ha feeling that someone else experiences life like that too.  I could quote from pretty much every chapter something that struck me in one of those ways, but I really want you to go buy the book so I won't do that many spoilers. I only want to give you a hint of what is to come in the book. First off, isn't the cover beautiful? I can dream of a kitchen table like that with the apple pie still steaming and the tea pot, or coffee pot more likely, full to the brim and a beautiful arrangement of flowers ...

As I've said before, I'm not generally big into mystery suspense books, especially if it involves murder etc. But Dani Pettrey does a superb job of writing that makes me hang on to the edge of my seat. It definitely makes middle of the night feedings almost fun and I can for sure stay awake. This is the third book in the Chesapeake Valor series and it better not be the last one because the book ends on a cliff hanger. There are two main threads running through the book. A group of friends are all involved in investigation work of some sort, either independently, with the FBI or with the local police. A couple are investigating a coach's murder and another couple are trying to figure out what big terrorist threat is coming to the US soil and how to stop it in time. Combine that with sightings of a long-lost friend who's working undercover and you have a really good story. And while the one terrorist attack does get stopped, there's another in the works and that...

This is a little almost pocket sized book filled with some very helpful information for tweens. It's also got a fun, catchy looking cover as well as pictures and illustrations throughout the book that it make it fun and easy to read. It's been awhile since I've been a tween to know on the reading level, but the words are simple and easy to understand, so I think it is suitable for a young girl. I think Dannah has hit on some very powerful truths in this book. Modesty isn't about being covered from head to toe as much as it is dressing to glorify God and not draw attention to ourselves. As a Mennonite, we have a style of dress to adhere to, but that doesn't guarantee modesty. I have seen our "modest" dress look much more immodest than someone in a skirt or even pants. There's so much attitude that goes into how we dress and who we seek to portray: God or ourselves. Dannah offers seven truths to being a Secret Keeper Girl: 1. You are a masterpiece...

A Role-Playing Game for Adventurous Couples And since this is a family friendly blog, I'm not gonna say too much about this game, if you get my meaning!! I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested it, but it is definitely all about the sexual side of marriage. I guessed as much, but thought there might be some other things included as well. There are three sets of cards, Who, (which to be honest, make no sense to me at all, though there innuendoes in about every description) Perhaps that is where the role playing comes in and you try to pretend to be somebody else, which sounds tiring and stressful to me, but I'm not much for acting either. I hate the game of Charades, so.....  Then the What and Where are pretty self-explanatory.  There is also an envelope for leaving the cards for your spouse to find  and a little notepad to add a few details. For those looking for some variety, this might be the game for you. I definitely think it has potential to spice up you...

This is the book I was talking about in my last blog post. If you are afraid of the future, anxious about all the what ifs in life, then you need this book. It's so true Some Whatif Monsters like to hang out, and fill up our heads with worry and doubt. They are sneaky and quiet and quick as a blink, the words that they whisper can change how we think. Jonathan James heard those words full of dread and all those "what ifs" got stuck in his head. What if it's hard? What if you're bad? What if they laugh and make you feel sad? What if it's yucky? What if it's icky? What if Mom yells because you're too picky? What if you lose? What if you're last? What if you're slow and never get fast? And then the tune changes. "But what if you're wrong?" asks Jonathan James What if I climb to the top of that tree, and I never slip or skin up a knee? And what if baseball is nothing but fun, and I end up hitting a tripl...

The Million Little Pieces That Make Up a Life If you've never read Melanie Shankle, you need to go do that. Now, just go to Amazon and order it. Or borrow it from the library or something. Only do this if you enjoy humor and little nuggets of truth all mixed up together. Only if you enjoy exaggerated stories and life lessons intermingled. She has written four books now: Sparkly Green Earrings, The Antelope in the Living Room, Nobody's Cuter than You, and now this one. And it looks like she has a devotional coming out entitled Everyday holy, scheduled to release in March of 2018. I haven't read Nobody's Cuter than You and I'm not sure how I missed it, but anyway. Melanie seems to have a flare for the dramatic. I am not sure what she would have been like to parent, but her books are a lot of fun to read. Interestingly enough, she portrays herself very much as an introvert. I find that interesting, because her writing screams extrovert, center of attention, but I...

So after my last post, someone said to me, I didn't know you had so many fears or something to that effect. Ha, if they only knew. That probably only touched a small portion of them. I was thinking of doing a series on the fears we can have. Fear of losing someone close. Fear of illness. Fear of being a bad parent. Fear of being a bad wife. Fear of failure. Fear of success. The list could go on and on.  I was looking through my October pics to find a picture to put on here, because hey pictures are nice. I wasn't really looking for anything that went with what I was going to write about and then I saw this picture. Acorns. Tiny little round guys with funny hats scattered all over the ground this time of year. I wonder if they have fears. Do the look down from the branch they are hanging on and freak out over how far it is to the ground? Do they cling to the tree a little longer because they are afraid to take the leap or the drop?  And once they hit the ground, do...

Remarkable Stories of God's Love and Redemption Aaron and Elaina look at a number of women who played a role in furthering along God's plan of redemption for humanity or who simply accepted the redemption that Jesus offered to them and then I'm sure they went on to make a difference in their world. Women like Jochebed, who if she hadn't hid Moses, who would have led the Israelites out of Egypt? Zipporah who, with her quick thinking, saved Moses' life by circumcising one of their sons? Rahab in protecting the spies? The widow of Zarephath and her obedience and care for Elijah. I'm not sure quite how all of the women they listed played a role in redemption, but they all had something to offer, something significant enough to be mentioned in the Bible, even if only a verse or two. Consider the Syrophoenician woman: we don't even know her name. Aaron and Elaina call her the believing beggar and that is appropriate. She is the one who went to Jesus plea...

While I know the contents of this post can be highly controversial, generating controversy is not the purpose for which it is written. If you want to state your opinions, this is a free world and you may do so, but remember it is also a free world and the next person is entitled to their own opinions. Today is Logan's two month well child check. It is also the day he will get his first set of immunizations. As a nurse, I gave hundreds, probably thousands of immunizations. I never batted an eye, I never saw a reaction, I never worried about anything.  Today I'm a mom and I'm taking my child in to purposely have pain inflicted upon him for the greater good of his health and all of a sudden I feel anxious. I worry a little, how will he react? I fret and start wondering if maybe I should wait another couple months. Then I remind myself, I'm a nurse, I know reacting to immunizations is very rare. I know starting him young is good so he can't remember them. I know...

More than 1,100 new palettes with CMYK and RGB formulas for designers and artists I must admit this book is well beyond my knowledge level. If I'm actually trying to design something, I tend to randomly grab colors and throw them together. Let's face it, my design work seriously lacks as well. But this book is really cool. There are over 200 pages of color combinations. Each page takes a group of five colors that match and Jim displays them in bright, light, dark and muted hues. In the middle of the page are the CMYK and RGB formulas for each color in each hue for that page. Along the side edge on every page and on some pages the top and bottom edges as well are little rectangles of the colors. This is to help with comparing colors against another work or design. Plus it makes the book pretty to look at when it is closed. I don't see myself using it a lot for graphic designing because I don't really enjoy that kind of thing. However, if I do need to design somet...

Let your brokenness be turned into abundance Broken, something none of us like to be, but if we want to love and live and love and live well, we must be willing to be broken. It's going to happen. We live in a fallen world. Ann explores the idea of giving in the midst of that brokenness to be the gift, to Gift It Forward Today. I won't pretend to act like I understand all that Ann says because I don't. Some of the concept feel more poetry than prose, more ideal than real. I don't doubt that they have application, but it feel beyond me to fully grasp. However, there was plenty in this book to be grasped. I thought it was going to be a daily devotional book with daily ideas of how to give it forward today, but that's not at all how it's set up. There are key selections from her book, "The Broken Way" and they are somewhat set up that you could read a page a day and get something from it, but I found that several pages would run together on the sa...

7 Decisions You'll Never Regret 1. Seek God, not Sin 2. Fear God, not Men 3. Love God, not the World 4. Believe God, not the Deceiver 5. Obey God, not your Feelings 6. Worship God, not Comfort 7. Serve God, not Self In a little gift sized book, Dennis Rainey gives the secret to fully serving and surrendering to God. When we choose God first and foremost, the rest falls into place. That is not to guarantee life will be easy, but if we place God first, it will be doable. At the end of each of these chapters, Dennis gives Life Skills, ways to put the chapter into practice. For example, how to grow in faith from the chapter on believing God, be intentional about Bible intake, with suggestions on what to read and do. Search, discover, write and apply every day. Recall the big and little things God has done for you. Obey what you know. Read books and mine hearts. Evict unwelcome house guests. Some of these were in my own words. I liked this aspect of practicality that com...

October 23, two months since Logan joined our family. Two months of learning how to handle life with two littles, of laughing and crying, of rejoicing and being a bit at my wits end. I like to think I've learned a little in these two months. I've got lots of reading done both for myself and to Amber.  Daddy meeting Logan. Sorry, you can't really see Logan's face.  Big sister meeting Logan. She was way more excited about giving him his puppy stuffed animal than she was about actually meeting the baby, I think.  Holding Logan. One thing I've learned is I'm not a professional photographer and as much I aspire to being one, practicing and reading up on how to take professional looking pictures isn't high on my to-do list. So I'm trying to be okay with my less than professional looking pictures.  Grandma Glick and Logan at 5.5 weeks old. We flew to New Jersey for Dave's oldest niece's wedding. I was a little stressed, but it went ...