Gravel Road Musings

Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World Are you looking for close-knit friendships, for that bosom friend that Anne of Green Gables longed for and found in Diana? Are you just hoping it will drop in your lap with no effort on your part? Well, you are in for a real surprise, but this book will help you learn to cultivate the qualities of friendship in your own life so you can be that friend that you want someone to be in your own life. It will also help you to reach out and take the initiative to make friends. In full disclosure, I started to read this book with a bit of bias. I struggle to fully connect with Sally--she seems so idealistic and so perfect in her motherhood that in my struggling, bumbling attempt at motherhood, I feel pretty imperfect and unqualified. But I thought adding in her daughters, this might be a good book. And I was right. I did appreciate this book. There were a lot of good thoughts and good ideas that I would like to incorporate into my own life...

As a lot of you know, I like goals and lists and checking things off. This year, I was trying to have a weekly check-in with my journal so I could set tabs on how I was doing. I was also setting some smaller, monthly goals in my planner. Well, let me tell you how this week went, it didn't. At all. I did some laundry, kept the kids alive. I won't even say I kept them happy, this morning was probably the worst morning yet, it was chaotic around here and by 10:30 I seriously regretted not taking up my mom's offer to come and get the kiddos for the day. My week has consisted of ibuprofen, some sinus medication, salt water gargles, honey water, echinacea, anything that I thought could possibly help. If you see splatters on your windows in your houses, it was just me hacking out a lung again. I know, that might have been too much information. I read light fluffy books and wrote book reviews and kept thinking I should blog and thought what do I have to say? Plus I should ...

This is the second in the Sunrise at Normandy series and there's one more coming. The first book, The Sea Before Us, features Wyatt Paxton, this book features Adler Paxton, and the last book will feature their youngest brother, Clay. The stories are set during World War II, basically climaxing on D-Day, though there's more to the story afterward as well. Adler is an Air Force Pilot who has a lot of learning to do and a lot of mistakes to be forgiven for. But after going his own way nearly cost him the life of his good friend, he had a wrestling match with God and, in effect, they both won. Adler was willing to start doing things God's way, willing to be the wingman, willing to be second, but it didn't come easy for him. And some unexpected news from home drove him solidly to his knees once more. Violet wants to be a missionary, but when it comes right down to it, she too realizes her reason for being a missionary was not a good reason. I love the one thought that ...

Be Transformed by the Power of God's Word General Editor: Warren Wiersbe A big hardback Bible with two satin ribbons showed up at my door today and I feel quite blessed. The opportunity of having a Bible is huge and one I take so often for granted and getting one for free is an even bigger blessing. Now, will I use that blessing or let it collect dust on my shelf? I opened the Bible and my first thought, in all honesty, was "oh the font". The font for the verses seems a bit hard to read at first glance, but I thought even after flipping through the Bible a bit, it got easier as you got used to, but it does seem very full on the page. And that's pretty much the only negative thing I have to say. There are a few key things I would like to mention about this Bible. There is an introduction for each book of the Bible that is there to point out vital themes, the background to that particular book and anything else of importance. There is also a book outline that ...

8 Commitments of Couples who Laugh, Love & Last Okay, so I think I will read anything that Kevin Thompson writes. I can't really describe what I like about his style of writing, but it really works for me. I read his first book, Friends, Partners, and Lovers and I thought it was one of the best books on marriage I had read. Then I read this book, Happily  and think that again. I'm not sure if it's the way he presents the information or what he says or how he says it, but I walk away from these books with a fresh view on marriage and renewed determination to make my marriage the best it can possibly be. I have had other books on marriage do that as well, but these rank at the top of the list for me. There aren't a lot of anecdotes in the book, but there are a lot of lists and I can resonate with that. This is how it should look, this is how it shouldn't and I can grab a hold of that concrete wisdom better than an abstract principle that I'm not sure ...

Life is Best with a Friend Like You I have one word to start this review: adorable.  If you love well-done pictures of animals playing together or in funny poses together, then this is the book for you. Warren Photographic does an amazing job of capturing the playful and cuddly side of animals, mostly dogs, cats, and rabbits, but there are a few other varieties in there as well. All of the animals are pictured against a white background just like the cover picture of the book and it just really works well for this book. On the opposite side of the picture is a quote featuring an aspect of friendship such as unity, respect, compassion, peace etc. There are seven different sections with quotes following those themes. The people quoted vary widely from the Proverbs to Mother Teresa to Stevie Wonder to Bono to Vincent Van Gogh to Abraham Lincoln to Barak Obama and many more. If you like the Blue Day books, as I call them, by Bradley Trevor Grieve, then I think you would also ...

Letting Go Of Your False Self to Uncover the Person God Created Pruning open? Do you know what that means? I didn't before I started this book and I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on it yet, but I have a little understanding. It's a gardening term of opening up the tree or the shrub from the center, the process of subtracting to make it more beautiful, stopping and looking and evaluating how best to trim and prune to produce the best and most beautiful results. Now take that "pruning open" concept and apply it to your life and what do you get? My first thought is pain, pruning is cutting and that sounds painful, but it is also the secret to a fulfilled life. The first thing, for me at least, is to recognize my true identity, in Christ, and get rid of the rest. Michelle takes you on the journey of finding identity in God, not in accomplishments, of sitting and resting without having to produce something and then to the deeper pruning of getting rid of the ...

Ireland 1798, 1916, and present day. Ashford Manor in County Wicklow. How does it all come together?  Kristy weaves a fascinating story of Ireland's quest for freedom. Using history and a lot of imagination, some strong characters emerge who were willing to stand strong and tall in the midst of hard times. Both rebellions were doomed from the start, I believe, but it shows the Irish strength of character in fighting for a cause. 1798: Maeve and Eoin stand strong both in life and death 1916: a lady of title is willing to risk it all Today: a castle holds the secrets to the past. That's not a lot of information to go on, but it was a good read. This is the first Kristy Cambron book I read and I would like to read a couple more before I decide if she is an author I want to follow and read everything she writes. This book was written in all three time periods in alternating chapters. Normally, I do not like that because there is generally one time period or one character I ...

The teddy bear, or is it a teddy dog, sits on the table with a badly bruised and oozing nose made of yarn. "I wonder what Dad will say when he sees the bear." The chocolate angel food cake was eaten and enjoyed for dessert. "I wonder what Dad will say when he comes home and sees we had chocolate angel cake food." (This whole angel food cake is a struggle because it doesn't look at all like an angel) "Mom!" resounds from the bedroom where all were supposed to be sleeping, "My finger's bleeding." And so we assess the injury, a possible picked at hangnail, stick the required band-aid on it, because I don't want to risk more blood on the sheets than necessary. "I wonder what Dad will say when he comes home and sees my band-aid." And as I think about all this concern about what will Dad think, I wonder to myself, what does my Father think about my attitude or the way I handled that situation. I whine at Amber to stop whin...

Raising relational kids in a screen-driven world In an age where screen time is replacing face-to-face time, Gary and Arlene bring us the timely reminder that screens do not teach our kids common courtesies. Addressing 5 A's that children desperately need: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention, they reveal a startling new world where these things have been replaced by the screen. Nobody has time for eye contact or even common courtesies anymore. Why? Maybe because they never learned it. I didn't find this book to be so anti-screens as it was anti-what it is doing to our children if left unchecked. It's easy to use a screen as a babysitter, but what is that replacing? Is it replacing the time when you could discuss with your child their day or you could teach them some basic kitchen skills while you prepare supper together? I was reading this book one afternoon when the evening stretched out long before me and I was thinking about how I co...