Gravel Road Musings

  Stories of Grit and Grace from the Front Lines of the War This is definitely a contemporary book written just a few months after the war with Ukraine started. Kyle and his wife had adopted a son from Ukraine a few years prior and so there is a connection with Ukraine that a lot of us would not have. I enjoyed the stories,but didn't feel like there was really that much front-line stories.  A lot of stories seem to either go back years or focus more on the war that started back in 2014.  The most interesting story to me was following his journey across the border and how long it took to cross over as an immigrant.  I'm not quite sure how to describe this book. I enjoyed it, but it didn't quite have the front lines of war that I expected and maybe that is more because I expected more tales of close escapes or of hiding in the basement for weeks before being rescued. I had to remind myself that this book was written so soon after the war started that there a lot of sto...

  This has got to be one of the best books I've ready by Jane Kirkpatrick. I try to read as many of her books as I can as they come out because I enjoy the historical aspect of them. I learn about women I would never even have heard of without reading her books. This is the story of Mollie Sheehan and her husband's work among the Indians.  It starts out with her childhood. Her father had a definite grief disorder and couldn't bear to part with Mollie as she grew older. This led to some real struggles on Mollie's part, but I had to admire Mollie's respect of her father even though he was super stubborn and obstinate and unreasonable.  I also really enjoyed reading about positive Indian and white relations. So often we hear about the wars and the condescension toward the Indians, so this was very interesting to read about the positive interactions where they treated each other as equals and tried to embrace the American Indians with their culture rather than trying to...

  The No-Fail, Stress-Free Guide to Organizing Your Home It was a good time to read this book as I was in the middle of my own decluttering project. For me, I didn't find it to be anything super new or super eye-opening. Reading about the organizing personalities was interesting. I am a nothing out, more detailed organizer and I definitely live with everything out, less detailed organizers.  Shannon also gives a list of clutter personalities and while I really couldn't identify with any one in particular, it was interesting to read about. I think I would identify most with the wishful thinker and maybe some memory keeper in there as well.  The biggest takeaway for me from this book were the routines. Establish daily, weekly, or monthly routines or habits that keep the house looking organized with minimal effort. I also could use some help on the electronic decluttering. For me, I love organizing and so it is not an overwhelming thing for me. Because of the nature of my wo...

  The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy I'm interested in any book that talks about books. I can spend as much time reading about books as I can actually reading books. So, I really enjoyed this book. Jennifer explained well what I have tried to do in my own reading life, though I think she does a much better job of it than I do. There are so many opinions out there of what books you should read or what books are helpful, etc and my goal is to learn something from every book I read. Do I always accomplish this? No, I don't and some books do seem to be pure fluff, but most books can teach you something.  Jennifer showed how different books she was reading aloud to her children helped her in an area of her life where she was very fearful. For example, reading The Railway Children helped her to realize that, even in the midst of hard things, by living for a greater purpose and living with a clear vision can help to overcome the fear of expectations and str...

  A treasure hunter's search for a missing Faberge egg.  Nick spent his life treasure hunting, all the while leaving behind his greatest treasures of all, his wife and daughter. Now he is on his death bed with one more treasure to pursue and he wants his estranged daughter to be the feet that he can't be anymore.  The story was an interesting dual timeline, flipping back and forth between early 1900s Russia and the present day search for the Faberge egg. There was some intrigue and suspense, but overall the book was not an over-the-top read for me.  I found some of the story line a little confusing at times, not quite making sense of how the events had played out. Perhaps if I reread it, it would make more sense.  But there was redemption and reconciliation and that is always a plus for me in any book.  "The value of an object comes from the one who sculpts it - the one who crafts it with care and skill and, who breathes creative life into it. The master cr...

  -All the wild ways to die could never compare to how she really lived.-  This is not my normal style of book--something with this title would have been passed over without much consideration, but the plot sounded interesting and so I read it and I'm so glad I did. Meet Clara Kip: an older lady dying of cancer at a hospice center, but she is bummed. She wanted to die in Sao Paulo, Brazil, not in Kansas City. Nevertheless, she is still full of life, even as her body threatens to give out on her.  Meet Aidyn Kelley: a young, aspiring journalist, who is a little full of herself and quite sure she is capable of more than she has been given to do. But she has been taken down a notch and is tasked with writing an obituary for an old lady, something that is below grunt work in her mind.  This book is their story. While the bulk of it comprises only a week, it is a story that will draw you in and keep you turning the pages. Mrs Kip dispenses so much wisdom in this week, wis...

  Daily Inspirations to Go Get What God Has Given You A 90-day Devotional divided up with some key words like Now, But, Look, Go, Dress, Confidence, etc., each reading focuses on one of those words. At the end of each reading there were three questions to ponder and a prayer. Questions like: "What is hindering me now? What is an idol in my life now?" or "In what ways will you align your heart with God's Word today?" I think these devotionals were well thought through and the questions thought-provoking, but I struggle with these kinds of books. This does not reflect on the author, but for me, when I need to read these books quickly to write a review on them, I lose the meat of the devotionals and I get disinterested rather quickly. I think if I had taken the full 90 days on this book and read it for my devotions with the purpose of getting out of it what I could this book would be really good.  I would definitely consider gifting this book as I think it has a lo...

  Paying Attention to What Matters Most in a World that's Pulling You Apart This is such a good, good book. What will it take for us to wake up and really live life?  Wake up to the resurrection and let it squelch your fears.  Wake up to the safety that is Jesus Christ beside me. Wake up to the power of Christ that can smash the idols I hold fiercely tight. Anjuli shares through personal anecdotes her journey to being awake and it is her desire for each of us to be awake and to live each moment and to walk the journey with Jesus. It's hard for me to put into words exactly what this book meant to me. I quoted it extensively in my journal and it is the desire of my heart to lay down my idols and let Jesus take control of my life, to live in the power of Christ's resurrection to overcome my fears and monsters.  "I am not a statue. I am a human. Don't worship me, be with me. My identity, importance, and worth aren't found in being a good mom, wife, daughter, or fri...

(I can't get the image to upload) Simple, Romantic Ways to Speak the 5 Love Languages This book was a bit disappointing when it came in the mail. I'm not sure what I expected, but quite a bit more than a 5x5 book with 70 pages in it. I really like Gary Chapman and his writings and thought this might have some fun, useful stuff in it and I think it might. I haven't read through the whole thing yet.  It is divided into six sections, one for each of the love languages and then an extra section for recording what you tried and for listing your own personal ideas. Each love language has about 21 ideas that you can do for your spouse to show them you love them. Ideas include: intentionally thanking them, encouraging their hobbies, play a board game together, go out for coffee, leave surprise treats, light a fire for them, give them a massage and so on.  It's a cute little book with some good ideas, but not necessarily anything too out of the ordinary either.  I received this ...

  Surrendering Perfect and Discovering Beauty Amid the Rubble Mikala just wants life to be perfect--she has it all mapped out exactly how she wanted it to go, exactly how she envisioned her life to turn out. But it has all gone badly awry. Married to a drug-and-alcohol dependent husband, her world comes crashing down at her feet. And once it unravels her, Mikala learns to stand up and to really live the life she has been given, to really live relying on God to give her the strength. When her husband goes away to rehab, Mikala doesn't know how the story will end and she is tired of holding it all together. She can't just put all the blame on her husband, she has to learn how to give up her perfect life and embrace her ordinary life. This book is the story of that journey. It's the story of learning to embrace the "sunset moments" as Mikala calls them. "Because even on the darkest and hardest and saddest of days, beauty appears. Often where I least expect it. A...

  A Realist's Guide to Believing in the Goodness of Life At first glance, this book looks like it will be a feel good, happy-go-lucky book where everything is sunshine and rainbows, but it's not.  "Patching together a joyful life takes far more effort than submitting to the soporific lull of cynicism. Cultivating happiness takes grit, determination, and a good sense of humor. It's a lot of work."  And that is true. Joy doesn't sugarcoat life-she recognizes and acknowledges the hard and shares stories of her own hard, of her own struggles to be happy.  Her chapter titles indicate that she understands the struggle: Flounder Well, Befriend Sadness, Be Like Mr. Collins, etc. Joy understands that life will be difficult, but she also understands that God is there with her in the struggle and He will help her through it. I really enjoyed this book. I was challenged to accept what comes my way in life, to sit with the sadness, to flounder well in the uncertain times, ...

(I can't get the picture to upload for some reason) What I've Learned on my Unexpected Journey This is the life story of Gary Chapman, the person responsible for making "The Five Love Languages" a household word. He has written many, many books on the love languages and I have found them useful and helpful in my own relationships. This is a small book, divided up into different segments of his life. There's a section on his early years, his school years, his marriage, career etc. There's not a lot of overlap in each section, so in that way the book could feel disjointed as far as understand what all was going on his life at one time.  I enjoyed the book because I enjoyed reading some of his other books. It was interesting to hear how his own marriage struggled and prevailed because, without knowing it yet, he was putting the love languages to practice.  If you don't know who Gary Chapman is the book might seem a bit dry. There's not a lot of flair to t...

  I just finished this book and I am not even sure how to begin processing what I read. I will read anything that Erin Bartels writes and this book is no exception, but it is raw. It is also triggering as it deals with rape and suicide so I would recommend caution if those subjects are hard for you. About halfway through reading, I flipped through to the back, because that's what I do when I get impatient to know what is going to happen, and I happened up the author's note. Erin, herself, had been molested as a girl of nine and this story is her journey to processing her own story. I don't know how much of the story is Erin's story, but for me the story changed at that point. It was no longer a good story, the depth, the emotion, the journey became much more real and alive at that point. While, I can't relate to the journey that Kendra needed to take, I was pulled into the story and my heart broke for Kendra and for all the Kendras out there who have suffered in sil...

  7 Disciplines for the Believer's Life "Discipline is the whole-hearted yes to the call of God." "The way to increase their faith was to get busy and do what they were supposed to do...." These are a couple quotes that stuck out to me while reading this book. Elisabeth took seven disciplines and explained how each should be surrendered to God.  The discipline of the body involves eating healthy food, getting exercise, getting enough sleep etc.  The discipline of the mind involves thinking. What does it really mean to think on things, to think something with the mind of Christ? This was a challenging one for me as I realized that I don't often just really, really think about things.  Then there's the discipline of time. There is always enough time to do the will of God. The book was challenging and thought-provoking. It's a fairly small book, only 150 pages, and yet there is so much in this book. How surrendered am I to Christ in the seven areas Elis...