Gravel Road Musings

  Kim Vogel Sawyer has a talent for writing in a style that I love and always want more of. This book was no different and I read it in a matter of a couple of days. Of course, being on vacation certainly helped me be able to read it faster.  Fanny is an indentured servant on a river boat. Indentured servant is a nice term, basically she was a slave. She finds a chance to flee because she knows that her master is not going to give her her freedom when her time is up. I don't want to give a lot of spoilers, but there is, of course, the happy ending and the suspenseful moments before you reach the happy ending that keep you on the edge of your seat. But there's something I want to focus on and I hope I don't give away any spoilers in doing this. There is a point, towards the very end of the book, when Fanny's freedom is once again endangered and she is not sure she will remain a free person physically. It is at that point that she realizes something very profound. She rea...

  So taking a sharp turn from my last review, let's talk about a fiction book. And yet, I can find some similarities in this book. This book is about several hurting women. It is a sequel to "Bringing Maggie Home" and I highly recommend you read that one first. I did and while I think this would have still been a good book on its own, it would have raised so many questions that were answered in the first book.  A single mom who raised her daughter on her own, a daughter who has always wondered what it would be like to have a dad, and a grandma who was plagued by a secret she held for 70+ years. That's the premise of "Bringing Maggie Home" and while some of those questions are answered in that book, a lot remained for this book, "Unveiling the Past." And one thing that was impressed in this book is you can always have access to a Father, your heavenly Father, if you are willing to avail yourself of his help. This book focuses about evenly on Meghan ...

  If you are familiar with Robin Jones Gunn,  you know she is a prolific writer and you might quickly dismiss her as a complete romance writer. Before you do, I recommend you read this series. This is the second book in the Haven Makers series and I am hoping there are at least three more coming. This is the series that I have been looking for. I would love to see more Christian authors take normal life and write books about it, not books where there is always a happily ever after and you can tell from the first chapter what is going to happen, but books that are real and true to life and encouraging to read. The Haven Makers or Daughters of Eve as they interchangeably call themselves are a group of five women who do life together. The focus of the first book was on Emily and the focus of this book was Jennalyn. The others are Sierra, Christy, and Tess. These ladies get together whenever they can and they are learning to be honest with each other, to trust each other, and to h...

The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic Gary Beikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient Courage for Battle, Faith for Crisis I really knew nothing about the Vietnam War when I started this book. I did know it was a controversial war in the US, but other than that, not much. Gary is a Green Beret medic, committed to the Montagnard people he was there to protect. They became his friends and he loved them. When April 1, 1970 dawned and the siege of Dak Seang began, Gary was all in. Even though he was badly injured himself, he persisted in being dragged around in the midst of the battle, to help others who were injured. What he saw and what he endured was unimaginable.  This is not a spoiler, it's in the prologue of the book. But this doesn't end up being Gary's biggest battle, he has his own internal demons to fight and they are determined to win. I don't want to give more of the story away, but to say this, Jesus gave him the answer to his hurts and struggles, but...

It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to review a hardback children's book and I jumped at the chance to do so now. I just feel like you can't have too many good quality children's books in your library. This is a sweet book about a little boy who thinks he is too old for his mom's kisses and too big for his dad's hugs. It's humorous as the mom and dad come up with animals and how they hug or kiss. The boy really doesn't want hugs or kisses like that, so of course, he decides that he isn't too old or too big for kisses and hugs from mama and papa. My daughter also wasn't a big fan of getting a kiss like sloth or a hug like an elephant either, so it was fun to read it to her and tease her a bit with it. I think the story is really cute and the theme of family and love is right on. I wasn't as big of a fan of the illustrations, especially of the people. The illustrations of the animals were cute, almost whimsical even...

An Unforgettable Story of Profound Brokenness and Breathtaking Grace Wow!!  I'm not really sure what else to say about this book. I want to talk about it, but the concepts are a little hard to explain, so I kind of want to just say, read the book. And yet, I know that not everyone is going to like it, but I just thought it was so good and healing even for me to read. I know that might sound weird, but let me see if I can explain a bit without totally messing up the storyline. Terry had a tough, tough childhood. Raised by parents who carried a boatload of hurt and brokenness into their marriage and parenting, Terry never knew if he was going to be loved or beaten. The stories he told of his childhood are heartbreaking. I don't want to give a lot of details, because I don't want to give away the story, but here's one example: enemas whenever he was sick. It didn't matter what kind of illness, an enema with the bathroom door wide open was the consequence. Ridicul...

A Neurosurgeon's Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know. Glioblastoma has a 100% mortality rate or does it? There are those few unique cases, but mostly when Dr. Warren sees that tumor, he used to think, "I've seen the end of you." He knows how the disease is going to play out, what is going to happen and the ultimate result of that diagnosis. But now, at the end of the book, he realizes there is more to the story and maybe this is just the beginning. Dr. Warren is a Christian and a neurosurgeon and so he wrestles. How do you pray for a patient when you know the end result, when you know the prognosis is death? How do you pray with a patient when you know there's no hope? Dr. Warren is wrestling with this and then tragedy strikes him personally and he has another battle to fight. The stories were fascinating and the struggle was real. Dr. Warren had a chaplain friend he called Pastor Jon (he was an amalgam of hospital chaplains, all represen...

The Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1895 is the historical event this book is built around. Laurel, the main female character, has been bossed by her five older siblings and told she may not leave their widowed mother to get married, that it is her responsibility to provide care to her in her dotage. Her mother, at this point in time, is perfectly able to care for herself, but the siblings laid down the law. Now Laurel thinks that snagging a rich man would be the answer to her problems. And that is about all the plot specifics I am planning to give. But what about character? This book flips point of view from Laurel to the potential rich suitor to a poor, honest, hard-working young man to a black man and it shows the growth of character throughout the book. Laurel discovers that racial prejudice and social classes are very much alive and thriving in 1895 and she must choose how this all will affect her life. I thought Kim Vogel Sawyer did an excellent job at developing the character...

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...

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 ...

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...

Fight fear, gain confidence, and find yourself again. "Faith is confidence in a future that doesn't match the present reality."  That quote from the book sums up, for me anyway, the basic premise of the book. Rachel finds herself the mom of seven kids and I would say she also finds herself stuck, stuck in financial bondage and stuck in a repeating cycle. It takes courage to break free from that and embark on a new journey and Rachel provides encouragement to moms to do that hard thing.  But she also encourages us not to do it alone. Welcoming others into our circle is the brave thing to do. It can seem so easy, but letting other people see who we really are can be really, really hard. Rachel went through a time in her life when she wouldn't let people inside her house, when she kept the garage door closed because of the stuff inside that she was afraid to let others see. Doing that just lets the cycle keep repeating. Rachel encourages us to name that thing we...

 3 Years, 365 questions, 1,095 conversations What do you like that most other kids don't? What is your favorite thing to do during the summer? If you could start today over, would you? Who do you want to be like when you grow up? If you could do something crazy with your hair, what would you do? This is a sampling of the 365 questions to ask your child. Some are thought-provoking, some are insightful, some are funny, and some are purely hypothetical.  I think the concept is great: it could be a fun way to engage your kids in conversation. And while the conversation could start out funny, it could potentially lead to deeper conversations and better relationships. At least that is the idealistic version I see. The realistic version recognizes that keeping up with the questions could be a challenge in and of itself. I have a three year old and an almost one year old. I don't think I will be using this book right now. Most of the questions are way beyond her comprehensi...