Gravel Road Musings

How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today The 60's are often known as the hippie generation, but what we don't often hear about is the Jesus Revolution that came at the end of the 60's and into the 70's. This was totally new information to me and very interesting. Greg Laurie, pastor today of one of the biggest churches in America, was once a hippie. But when drugs, sex and free living didn't bring him the peace he was looking for, he surrendered his life to Christ. He became involved in the work of Calvary Chapel and at age 19 basically was put in charge of his own Bible Study/church. The book is written in a very informative and yet interesting and captivating style. I had no problem hanging on to the end. What I most liked about the book was the emphasis that is placed on Jesus. It's not about making the church acceptable and a fun place to be, but it's about preaching Jesus, preaching the Bible. I have never at...

Filled with informative stories and legends, many of the traditions that we blindly participate in at Christmas are unpacked and the real meanings unfolded in this pretty little hardcover book. It would make a fun little Christmas gift given early in the season so that many of the stories could be read before Christmas. Perhaps new traditions would be put in place as the real reasons are discovered. I was surprised at some of the history that was revealed in this book. Some of it is the stuff of legends and a bit fantastical maybe, but a lot of it was very interesting and insightful.  For instance, I learned what Boxing Day is. I had no idea, but it is a day for giving, stemming back metal boxes that were placed in churches on December 26th. These metal boxes were first brought to the British Isles by Roman soldiers who kept the money they earned from gambling in them. And somehow these boxes found their way into churches as a way to gather special offerings on the Feast of St....

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found...." Guilt, grief, regret, shame, and secrets meet grace, forgiveness, and second chances in an exceptional novel.  I have become a little disillusioned with some of the fiction I've been reading and its predictable plots, but this book leaves me wishing for more. Yes, it has the guy meets girl and the predictable ending, in a way, but it is filled with so many deeper things. A decade has gone by and the guilt and grief, regret and shame have only continued to hound at the doorsteps of three different individuals. Another couple is at loose ends and only coexisting because they too don't know how to go on together anymore.  Everyone is reunited by a wedding and a celebration of life. Tucker has been told that some things need to be spoken aloud so that he can really find and accept forgiveness  and the ability to fully go forward and live life. He gains the coura...

A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life Well, I feel like I should be decluttering my house rather than writing this book review. Joshua gives detailed room by room to-do lists, if you will, for how to get rid of clutter and stuff in your house. Ten years ago, he took on minimalism and hasn't looked back yet. I really enjoyed the book and now I find myself looking around and thinking of all the things I should or want to get rid of. It's probably not all feasible, but reading this book just days before I am planning to clean up and clean out our office/storage/sewing/hobby/whatever it needs to be room and I feel inspired and defeated both to get going on it. I know there are things to throw out and definitely ways to organize to take up less space, but I also know I love my hobbies and projects.... This book gave some good ideas. I don't consider myself a true minimalist. I like decorations, books, memorabilia, etc. but I do like simple. I like clutter...

This book is the first book that I did not read first. I listened to this book for the first and only reading so far, something I don't think has happened before. We all sat on our daughter's bed and listened to Daddy read the story. Of course, as soon as it was finished, our daughter immediately wanted it read again and was quite disappointed when that didn't happen. This was a book I let her pick out of a few options and she was so excited about it coming in the mail. Written by the popular singer, Michael W. Smith, G-Daddy to 14 grandchildren and Mike Nawrocki, co-founder of the popular Veggie Tales is whimsical bedtime story about a little puppy getting ready for bed. It's all rhyming verse, which endears a story to me immediately, and goes through the basic bedtime routines, brushing teeth, saying prayers, a story, and a lullaby. The puppy's friends look on until they are needed. It's just a cute, fun story. The pictures add to the whimsy of it. You c...

Waking up to God's Goodness Around You "Ordinary places and average people remind me of everything I'm pretending not to be." But isn't most of life made up of ordinary moments? And that is what Shannan points out. Called to leave her dream farmhouse in the country to move to the city on the wrong side of the tracks, (You can read more of that story in her first book, Falling Free) Shannan and her husband Cory are looking to reach out to the people right there, their neighbors. It's not about success in the big things, it's about faithfulness in the little things, in the mundane, in seeing what's around them and reaching out. Cory is a chaplain at the jail and so they see the brokenness of the inmates, but they also see the difficulty that is the life of the incarcerated set free. They see how hard it is for them to find jobs, to find housing, to find someone who believes in them, to live free from addiction, to build or restore relationships. ...

Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God's Grand Story "Holy sexuality: chastity in singleness and faithfulness in marriage." This definition is repeated multiple times throughout the book. "This term holy sexuality is meant to simplify and disentangle the complex and confusing conversation around sexuality. The truth is that God's standard for everyone is holy sexuality: chastity in singleness and faithfulness in marriage. Different expectations for different people are not only unfair; they're unbiblical." Christopher Yuan is a Christian who struggles with same-sex attraction. He and his mother wrote a book together called "Out of a Far Country" which gives the story of his journey through the gay lifestyle and his conversion to Christianity, along with the journey of the mother who prayed for eight years for his salvation. Now Chris is back with a book about what the Bible has to say about sexuality. First off, Christopher helps ...

One Marriage, One Family Under God This book is the novelization of a movie and is based on true events. Darren and Heather Turner, a couple committed to God and country and each other, but when life throws them a curve ball they are a little unprepared to handle it. Darren is a Army Chaplain and sent to Iraq for 15 months. Heather holds down the fort at home and gets involved with support groups etc. for army wives, especially the group that provides support after a wife receives news of the death of her husband. All this is done while living on pins and needles, always wondering when the knock will happen at your door that rips your life apart. So while I'm not a proponent of war, the substance of this book is very, very good. Regardless, we are in a spiritual war where Satan is waiting to trip us up and destroy us and our families. And in this book, he was using the scars and the battle wounds worn internally on Darren to do it. And he nearly succeeds, but not quite. And...

I realized something this week and it's kind of bothering me. I think I'm a "No" mom. A asks me if she can do something like her water paints or play with her train, things that will make a mess or cause a fight with her brother and my reaction is "No, not now, it's too close to supper, to bed, to naptime. L will just fight with you." And on and on go my excuses. Why? I mean really, how hard would it be to let her? So I don't want to deal with the mess, but which is actually messier, cleaning up the chocolate milk that was spilled about 20 seconds after I poured it or helping her get some water so she can paint a picture? Or how about this, letting her get out the play food box that keeps both children entertained for hours versus just saying no? Let me add this, letting her get that food box out was a great decision. I was able to sew for about 2.5 hours yesterday after their naps. That's pretty much unheard of and I was so very happy and bles...

Set in the year 1908 in Jersey City, this is the fictional account of an historical event. I am learning I like historical fiction and the sometimes obscure history that comes to life in books like these. Granted, the historical component of the book can sometimes be a side glance or an after thought, but still there is history to be learned. Doctor Rosalind Werner was orphaned at age 10 from a cholera epidemic. Now, she is desperate to create safe drinking water for everyone. And this is the fictional story surrounding the real Dr. Leal and George Fuller and their work on chlorinated water. They actually tested chlorinated water on the population without the public knowing. It's interesting to me because now it's just normal for city water to have chlorine in it. So enough of spoilers, I don't apologize for it either, because I like to know what's true and what's not when I read the book. Sometimes, like in this book, I will stop in the middle and go back and...

This is book number six in the Montana Rescue Series and from what I gathered, this is the last book in the series. I think this is the third one I read, so you don't have to read them in order to get the story being told, but I'm thinking there would be some things that would make more sense if you did read them in order from the prequel through book six. This book, Wait for Me, was a little over the edge for me. The whole book took place in less than a week and was pretty much full of sappy love scenes (nothing R rated) and full out running away from the bad guy. I don't like to give spoilers, so I will just say I found it a little hard to believe that everything that happened in this book could actually happen to a person and they all would survive. I think, for me, this book seemed a bit unrealistic and a little too much romance.  But I haven't tried to survive in the wilderness and I know the fight for survival is definitely strong, so I don't want to say ...

This is the third in the Under the Northern Skies series and I am really enjoying this series. It's about a family that immigrated from Norway, first Rune and Signe and their children, then Rune's brother and sister, Ivar and Nilda, and then finally Rune's mom. To me, this series is book about real life. Bad stuff happens. When Rune's family gets there, they are shocked and dismayed at the conditions they are subjected to, but it gets better. It's a lot of hard work, but fun and laughter also come. This third book is more about Nilda than the rest of the family. Honestly, if you read the second paragraph in the description of the book, it sounds like this is a love story. Here it is: The only thing missing from Nilda's life is love. But though she has two suitors--a quiet schoolteacher and a handsome lumberjack--Nilda feels hesitant. A terrifying experience in Norway has made her cautious where men are concerned. When she thinks she sees the man in question...

I stood there folding laundry while my chatty daughter stood beside me, peppering me with questions. Maybe not even question so much as this. "Mom?" "Yes, dear." "...." "Mommy."  "Mmhmm" I've digressed to just a mumble hoping against hope a three year old can catch a hint that I have had enough questions for the day, my brain is begging for some silence and my patience is hanging on my the merest of threads.  Then again, here it comes, "Mom?" "Yes." "Always choose joy."  Oh wow, it hits me, coming straight out of the blue like that. Yes, it is her sheep verse we call it and we have been learning it for over two weeks now, but why now? Why would she pop it off now when I am folding laundry and trying to be grateful for the extroverted daughter who doesn't understand yet the "need" her introverted mother has for silence. It's been several weeks since that episode by the dryer, but it k...

Putting Overwhelmed in its place in a Do-All, Be-All World I read a lot of books, especially and mostly to review, so my library of books, or should I say my boxes of books continues to increase. It's a sad fact that I don't own near enough bookshelves to display all my books. And so the thought keeps niggling at my mind, "You need to get rid of some." Along with that, was the realization as stated in the last book I read that you have to read a lot of books to find the true gems and that brings me here. You may wonder what all that was about, but it's this. This book is that gem. This book is the book that will not be downsized and removed from my boxes or bookshelves. This book is staying and it's probably a book I should put in a list to reread every couple of years. I've also started a book journal this fall and this was one of those books that didn't have even a full page of quotes. Basically, you just need to read the book. This is a book a...

The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life This was a pretty gift-sized book, meaning it's smaller than your average book, filled with fun little chapters about books and reading. In many ways, I would almost call it a collection of essays, because I feel like you could pretty much pick up any chapter and read it as a stand-alone. Now maybe if I tried that, I would disagree with myself, but that is my opinion at this point.  The chapters are short and can easily be read in just a few minutes.  There is a chapter dedicated to how to decorate your bookshelves, a chapter to quotes from the acknowledgements section of books, section Anne encourages you never to miss reading, and there's a chapter on the ways your reading style changes over time. One of the most interesting and intriguing ideas Anne mentioned was having a library history, a way to go back and see all the books you ever borrowed from the library. I find that a fascinating idea. She does encourage everyone...

How God Displays His Power to Ordinary People Taking the prayers of seven Biblical characters: Eliezer, Hannah, Jonah, Habakkuk, David, Daniel and Mary, Michael provides a formula maybe for a good prayer life. Let me start with a quote from the chapter on Mary, a prayer of praise for the way God was blessing her. And in reality, in her day and culture, blessed is probably not the way most people would have described her life. And yet, she gave thanks and praised God in the midst of that. That says a lot for Mary and I think it says a lot for her parents as well, especially since Mary is believed to have been a pretty young teenager. "Show me a person whose prayer life is focused on magnifying the Lord, and I will show you a person who is contented and full of joy. Show me a person whose prayer life is consumed with glorifying God, and  I will show you a truly happy person. Show me a person whose prayer life is focused on seeking the righteousness of God, and I  will sh...

Ha, this book was so the opposite of the last book I read. This book was fluffy and fun and did not require any brain stretching. Two people, desperately needing money are looking for a treasure and, of course, they find each other.  There was more to the story, but that is the gist of it. There were a couple pages of some good solid advice from the grandma who was in and out of dementia and I will write some quotes from her at the end, but mostly it was the story of the hunt for the treasure and excerpts from the journals that guided them to the right spot. Now, I don't want to give away any more spoilers about what, if anything, the treasure contained. I will say the reading was easy, not extremely thought provoking, so it was a nice read while exercising or around my children because I didn't need to concentrate. If I had anything negative to say it was that the book was a little too romanced focused maybe and too concerned about how the romance books did it and how th...

Raw is the first word that comes to mind when I think of how to define this book. Wrestle might be the second word. You get the feeling that author is wrestling with the title of this book most of the time he is writing it. He's fighting cancer, his wife's having surgery, his insurance company tries to cancel his health insurance, friends are fighting their own battles, and he's trying to figure out a God who isn't following the happy Gospel so many modern Christians are ascribing to. I'm not even really sure how to describe this book in a few succinct sentences. Part of me wrestled with the fact that Dr. Crabb still seemed to be wrestling with this issue at 70 plus years of age. I mean aren't we supposed to have life figured out by then? And the other part of me appreciated the raw honesty that he expressed in the words of this book as he himself wrestled with who God is and how to define His Sovereignty. Basically, I would say read the book. It's def...

52 Encouraging Reminders of How God Cares for You I am not sure why I requested this book except I have read one of Holley's books and just really, really liked it and so therefore, I thought getting one more devotional book would be worth it to read Holley's words. And you know what? I think it was.  This book was filled with hope and encouragement, maybe bordering on a too-good Gospel, but I also felt it was fairly accurate as well.  When you are looking at a book on encouragement, you aren't necessarily expecting discouraging comments and it is really hard to get both sides of the coin in one book. Names and descriptions of God make up the titles on each daily reading: Author, Counselor, Friend, Shepherd, Comforter, Instructor and on and on.  There is a Bible verse to go along with each day as well, as well as a little story to get you started. "He is not a God of soul starvation but of salvation. He is not cutting portions; he is passing out extra helpings....

Chick flick supreme, but a good read. I say chick flick because it had the happily ever after, girl gets guy or guy gets girl, everything always works out and everybody is lighthearted and happy. And yet, the book isn't just full of happy moments. There's some really tough stuff to deal with in this book as well. I don't want to give away too much about the book, but Phylicia (Phee) is the oldest of three sisters. Jo and Britt are the other sisters and they have just lost their mom to cancer. They were a close, loving family and they are devastated. On top of that, their Dad goes AWOL and moves to Florida and pulls a few fast moves that leaves the girls wondering who their dad even is anymore. So three girls, all in their 20's, take on a huge project. The spokesman behind the project is "the man" for Phylicia, of course.  But I don't want to focus in on that. Phylicia had a lot to fight against in this book emotionally. I have discovered that grief...

So after reading what felt like quite a bit of deeper, inspirational reading, I have a few fiction light reads to review this week and it's looking like fun. Along with that will be a book by Larry Crabb, which I don't expect to be light reading at all. But anyway, it's fun to just read for fun without trying to mine the truths out of it. Which is exactly what this book was. I have learned to like Diann Mills and her FBI investigator stories. This one was a bit of a different twist than her normal. A female FBI agent is kidnapped by the innocent party, partly because she was handed his daughter by the child's kidnapper and partly because he realized she was an FBI agent and would be able to help him. So the story was worked from a little different direction than normal. Of course, the "kidnapper" was the good guy and he was a widower and so everything all worked out in the end of course, in that regard!! But, the story didn't quite end up the way I...

True Stories of the Dogs We Rescue and the Dogs Who Rescue Us This book is a compilation of 36 dog stories. Most of these dogs were dogs that were rescued, either from the side of the road, a foster dog system, etc. The stories then go on to show how they helped their owners, either by just being a companion when they most needed one, saving their lives in a literal physical sense, or just being a big help in alerting them to trouble, etc. I found the stories quite interesting: the lengths people go to save dogs that have been abandoned. I don't think I had any idea that there was such a thing as a foster dog system. I especially liked the stories of the dogs who were active physically in protecting their owners or the dogs who overcame their own fear when it was to help their owners. While I am not a dog person, as in kissing and petting and hugging and having a dog in the house, etc. I was a little saddened that people would just abandon their dogs to their own fate, what...

Discovering God's Unexpected Blessings in a Desert Season I feel like there's something I need to be learning right now. Yesterday, I posted my review of "Silencing Insecurities" and to me at least, this book is great one to read next. This is a journey to more fully know God and to be more fully known, a journey to intimacy, strength, and blessing that comes only by walking first through the desert with God at our side. Allison recounts her desert experience of being couch bound for three months and the way God used that time to point out things in her life that she needed to change. She points out the blessings that can come out of the desert. Some of the best wine and grapes are grown from grapevines whose roots go deep and whose plants have had some water stress or lack of water. Where can this happen? In a desert. It was interesting to me. "Gather daily. Feast daily, Trust daily." "What sustained us yesterday cannot sustain us today...And...

Favorite quotes:  So I was going to post more than just book reviews now that the craziness of summer is over. And since all it seems to do anymore is be cloudy, rainy, and dreary, I should have lots of time. Well, here it is, almost the middle of October and I'm still waiting. In truth, I actually did write up a blog post the end of September, but I haven't the courage to post it yet. So the only person who got to see the rough draft was my sister and for now that is how it will stay. But, I did want to do a fun post about some of my favorite things, but... I have mulled this over occasionally the last couple weeks and I only get to about three or four things max and then I get stuck. So I have decided just to name those few things and call it done. This summer I listened to a lot of podcasts in the early morning hours of baking and also during nap time and I came across some really good ones, some good ones, some okay ones and some I unsubscribed to. My top favori...

Believing God's Truth about You Appearances and comparison, success and failure, approval and rejection, life experiences and trauma, roles and responsibilities, background and origin, these things can all cause us to feel insecure at times. But are you lingering in those feelings of insecurities? Are you allowing those audiences to define who you are, to drag you down and make you feel worthless?  If you are, then I think you need two things: the Bible and this book. I felt like Donna did a really good job of bringing out the insecurities we all face, how they affect us emotionally, mentally, relationally and developmentally. And then she ties it all up in the end with some really good thoughts. My favorite part of the whole book, the part that resonated with me, the part that I know I need was her chapter called an Audience of One. God is the only Person we should be worried about pleasing. He is the one who determines our self-worth. We don't need to jump on the other ...

Helping Your Child through the Tough Days Sometimes when I request a book, when it comes I wonder why. This book would probably fit in that category. I think I requested it the most because it was by Dr. Leman and I have read enough of his books to know that I like them and want to keep accumulating them. And this book did not disappoint. Yes, it is geared to your hurting child and yes the average age of the children talked about was a few years older than my two, I still feel like I gained a lot of helpful information from that book. Maybe, just maybe, if I apply a few of the things I learned, I can address some of the issues now before they become big blown up and crazy when they are middle schoolers.  One of the best quotes talking about your relationship with your child is this: "And above all, focus on improving your relationship in every way possible. If your kids are safe and secure with you, they truly can overcome anything."  And that right there is my goal f...

I have not read a lot of Terri Blackstock's book, but I am aiming to change that. I have read her "If I Run" series (definitely a good place to start if you haven't read any of Terri's books), her Seasons series with Beverly LaHaye and now this one. And I will be on the lookout for any of Terri's books, both new and old to add to this collection. When people say that a book will have you laughing on one page and crying on the next, I am generally disappointed. I don't laugh very much when reading. I can cry, but I would even say that doesn't happen that often. But this book had be definitely grinning and all out crying. To be honest, I am not sure why I cried. Without giving away too many spoilers, I think it had to do with recognizing the deep hole death leaves, no matter when it happens and when it happens relatively suddenly, it just feels harder. I'm not sure, I just know I was reading the book with tears streaming down my face and that is ...

Making your relationship matter now and for generations to come Married for 47 years, Crawford and Karen know a thing or two about marriage. Coming from very opposite backgrounds, even encouraged not to get married because of that, yet they chose to base their relationship on Jesus Christ and overcome the status quo and having a thriving marriage. Looking at them, they didn't have the best examples. Out of Crawford and Karen's parents, one was unknown for much of their lives, one had a strong marriage history and the other two had single parenting and divorce for their record. The number one emphasis in this book is having a solid relationship with Jesus Christ. That needs to be first and foremost for a marriage to thrive, for a person to thrive. Then the marriage needs to come next. It's not a book about a perfect marriage, it's a book about being real and working through the hard stuff, facing conflict head on and finding a solution to it. It's a simple ea...

A Journey through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life This has to count for one of the most unique and yet interesting books I have ever read.  I appreciate the faithful who take the time to read my book reviews. Basically, we are talking a book full of book reviews, which is quite fascinating.  Now I will admit that to read through over 20 books lists/book reviews back to back does get a bit exhausting, but that is no fault of the author at all. The book is meant to be read cover to cover or it is meant to be read in snippets based on where you are at in life and what you are looking to learn or what you need for the current situation. One of the things Sarah talk about is discernment in reading and she say this: "When I come to a dilemma of discernment, I often find that if I examine what the book produces in me - in my emotions, my imagination, my desires, my sense of what is real or true - I can quickly identify whether the book is one I want to ...

Reclaim Your Dream. Ignite Your Passion. Live Your Purpose. I am intrigued by this man, Tim Tebow. He seems unlike most athletes out there. Okay, now granted, I don't read about most athletes out there, so this is a completely unqualified comment and  may not have any truth in it.  But he still intrigues me. He is a relatively famous man and yet still seems so down to earth, so willing to converse with everybody and anybody and so committed to doing what he believes God wants him to do. He is committed to following his dreams and pursuing his passions, which is why he is playing baseball in the minor leagues right now. It's not for the money, it's because it's something he wanted to try and so he did. The theme of this book is to make the most of every moment. This is your day, make it count. Do something with it. Live it fully. He has written 12 chapters that showcase 12 areas where we need to make the day count. In relationships, say "I Love You" be...

This is the third book in Tracie's Golden Gate Secrets series.  This book takes place right after the great San Francisco earthquake and then the fires have destroyed the city. It continues to follow the lives of the three girls who met on the train while each one was bound for San Francisco, all for different reasons.  This book focuses a bit more on Kenzie and her journey to move beyond her past and her journey to learn to trust again. It's the typical historical fiction/romance. There are true players in the story that really lived in the time frame the book was written, but the main characters are, of course, fiction. I think what I really liked about this book was Tracie's portrayal of the compassion and kindness of the main character. At this point in the story, they were all fairly well off, one especially, but money was not their savior. They wanted to use their wealth for the betterment of mankind. They were willing to sacrifice their own comforts and do their ...

This is the second book in a series, I guess. They called the first book, Waves of Mercy the prequel, so however that works. Anyway, I do recommend reading the book first. You can read this one as a stand alone, I guess, but you won't get as much out of it. I had read the first book awhile ago and would have found it helpful to read again first to fully get the story again. But it's a good story. Anna was raised in a wealthy house, but had just found her real grandmother at the end of the first book. She wants to know more about God, to follow Him more faithfully, but her fiance is uninterested. Meanwhile, she has fallen in love with a young man who is studying to be a minister and not the least bit wealthy. And that is all I'm going to say about that so I don't give the story away anymore than I already have. What I really like about this book is Anna's determination to follow God and to love her adopted parents well. She is willing to sacrifice her own happi...

How to turn your overwhelming thoughts and feelings into your greatest allies. I want to preface this whole book review by saying I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist or a counselor or even that great of a listener, though I'm trying to learn to be a listener, so I am not necessarily a good one to comment on some of the aspects of this book. So just keep that in mind as you read my thoughts. I am a little divided about this book. Some of it seemed strangely weird to me and some of it made sense. And some of those things were the same things. I think I could come across here as being very confused and there would be some truth there as well. The big focus of the book is taking a You-turn when anger or shame or fear or anxiety or any other unhealthy attribute raises its head. There are five parts of this process: focus, befriend, invite Jesus, unburden and integrate. I can definitely see the value of this process. While reading the book, when things would come up that I ...

So this book provides a classic example of why it's always good to read more than one book by an author. This is the second book by Jane that I have read. The first one, when I looked at my review, I wasn't that impressed by. This book I loved. I can't explain the difference. Both books were based on true events and followed the life of a real life person, but one I enjoyed and one didn't do much for me. Anyway, this is a memoir within a memoir of Carrie Adell Green Strahorn. She wrote a two volume memoir called "Fifteen thousand Miles by Stage." This is true. Jane took that memoir and created a fictional/true character. Basically she made her a bit more personable, trying to add in real thoughts and feelings. Carrie was very happy to remain in her happy lane as she liked to call it. And truthfully, while she saw some amazing things in her life, I don't know that there are many women who are blissfully content to be moved from location to location at...

If you have a young reader who loves to tell jokes, this would be the book for them. (Keep in mind that you might be subjected to hearing these jokes as well!!)  It's a fun little soft cover book that would slide into a book bag or even a purse for a child to read while out and about or waiting at a restaurant, etc. It's filled with all kinds of jokes, knock-knock jokes, backwards jokes, one-liners, puns and etc. Yes, some of them are lame, in my opinion, but I also found some of them hilarious. The next person could have the opposite reaction. Here are just a few examples: Teacher: Does anyone know who broke the sound barrier? Manny: Don't ask me. I'm no tattletale. My teacher told me to have a good day, so I went home. The main reason for a child's middle name --  So he can tell when he's really in trouble. The jokes were all clean, no bad words, which is a very nice thing. So you can relax and only worry about being driven a little crazy by a...

Because your life would be better if you did So this isn't really a title you would expect to find on a Christian bookshelf, is it? Quit church? Huh? You mean like don't go anymore? No that is not at all what this book means. If I'm completely honest, I'm not entirely sure what the whole "quit church" means, but I definitely get the pieces of our life we should quit.  And I think the big meaning is to not just show up at church on Sunday morning, consider your duty done and then check out. Chris wants you to be fully engaged, to consider yourself an owner of the church. Owners take much more responsibility for their business than an employee does. A few things we should quit: Quit Expecting to Wake up in Heaven. In other words, life isn't perfect, church isn't perfect, so get over it and make it the best you can. Be loyal Quit Giving Your Money Away.  What? Well, think about it, that money isn't yours to begin with, so start thinking of i...

This is a novella written about a thirtyish widow and her son. They have inherited a beach side cottage in the town of Seaside. The mom, Wendy, has full intentions of getting the cottage ready for sale and selling it. They have a lot of debt as her husband had been very sick with cancer before he passed away and Wendy feels she must have her corporate job in Ohio to make ends meet. Jackson, her son, loves the town and feels like he is being given a fresh start. And then, of course, there is the knight in shining armor, who also lives in the town. To be honest, I didn't realize this was supposed to be a novella until I sat down to write this review. That helps my feelings with this book, because one of my biggest issues is that the story was too short. To get from start to finish, everything moved along very fast and was focused too much, I thought, on the romantic end of it.  The other thing that I didn't like about this book is it feels like I read it before. The story lin...

I feel like all I have done recently is write book reviews. And if I'm honest with myself, all I have done on here recently is write book reviews. So my feelings are not removed from the truth, at least not in this situation. I feel like I am coming to the end of the crazy, hectic summer. I had my last bake sale at Mom's and it was a good way to end, my best weekend all summer. But it feels really good to have that rat race come to an end. For those of you who wonder though? I love baking and for the most part this summer, it energized me. I will confess to a couple weeks in the thick of it feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed, but even at 10 PM as I'm cleaning up the kitchen and bagging bread, I was happy. D even noticed and commented. That's scary, because I'm suspicious that that happiness is not always present. I know it's not always present. And there's something to work on. One of these days I will try to get some pictures up and start actuall...