Gravel Road Musings

  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, ...