Gravel Road Musings

  Proven Practices for Community-Based Outreach Ministry And on a completely different note, let's talk about this book.  "Say yes unless you have to say no." This is the guiding principle at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana.  And this is the premise that this book is based upon.  After reading this book, I want to go out and do all the things and make all the difference. I want to shake people and say, "Wake up, we can make a difference right here, right now, let's do it."  But on the other hand, this book challenges my comfort zone. It pushes me to think outside the box. They started with Biblical counseling for who ever needed and today they have 5 campuses with something for everyone: rehab for men and women, schools for children, an institute with all kinds of classes for the community, a seminary, counseling and the list could go on and on. It is fascinating to hear how they have made a difference in their community and a challenge to see what each r...

  That picture encapsulates what the book is about: romance with all the fictional ups and downs. It's chick flick supreme reading, but also funny and clean.   Despite all that, I'm left asking the question: what is God trying to teach me here? I have been reading light fiction at a rapid rate, partly because I have review books that I am very far behind on reviewing, partly because I have been taking a little more time to read, and partly because I am enjoying the break from the hard stuff of life.  But the last two books I have read have really talked a lot about forgiveness and how important it is in a Christian's life. And it leaves me wondering, is there something I need to forgive in my own life, someone I need to forgive so that I can move on?  It's a challenge to think about.  "Forgiveness is never deserved. It's a gift. If you earn a gift, it's not a gift anymore - it's a wage. The way I see it, if people deserved forgiveness, then there is rea...

  Global Search and Rescue Book 3 I debated getting this book, but since I had the first two, it felt like I should continue the series #bookwormproblems.  And I'm very glad I did. This book was one of the best books I've read by Susan May Warren in awhile. It was action-packed and kept me skimming ahead to make sure everything was going to be okay. I think one of the things that I really liked about this book was it was a husband and wife dynamic, as broken as that was. There's something about reading about a couple working out their difficulties and making their relationship work that I love so much more in a novel than just boy meets girl and they live happily ever after.  You meet Hamilton in the other books in this series, but this time you get a glimpse into his past in the form of his wife that no one seemed to know about, but when a 10 year old daughter showed up on the scene big questions were raised in Ham's mind. Signe, his wife, is on the run, but from what ...

  The Edge of Belonging is Amanda Cox's debut novel and it's a good one. I am up for reading anything she writes. Rich, emotion-filled prose that pulls you and makes you cheer every character on, especially the down-trodden ones. It was such a good story with such good underlying themes, the greatest being the difference that love can make in a person's life. And I'm not talking the romantic kind of love though there is that in the story as well, but I'm talking a deep love that loved the seemingly unlovable, the love that breaks down barriers and makes a person feel like a person. There was just so much richness to the story, it pulled you in. It did address some difficult topics as well: domestic abuse and foster care were both touched on. And while I am an advocate of foster care, this story revealed some of the system especially in older children.  A few quotes from the book. This one is from a grandma to a younger person regarding pain. "It's not about...