Decades of Loss, an Unsolved Mystery, and a Rift Spanning Three Generations Hazel DeFord is a woman haunted by her past. While berry picking in a blackberry thicket in 1943, ten-year old Hazel momentarily turns her back on her three-year old sister Maggie and the young girl disappears. Almost seventy years later, the mystery remains unsolved and the secret guilt Hazel carries has alienated her from her daughter Diane, who can’t understand her mother’s overprotectiveness and near paranoia. While Diane resents her mother’s inexplicable eccentricities, her daughter Meghan—a cold case agent—cherishes her grandmother’s lavish attention and affection. When a traffic accident forces Meghan to take a six-week leave-of-absence to recover, all three generations of DeFord women find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof. Meghan knows she will have to act as a mediator between the two headstrong and contentious women. But when they uncover Hazel’s painful secret, will Meghan also be able to use her investigative prowess to solve the family mystery and help both women recover all that’s been lost?
My Review:
This book is a story about 3 generations of the DeFord woman. Their relationships are complicated and have been for years. They gather together at Hazel DeFord's home to make a scrapbook in honor of her 80th birthday. As time goes by a box of old photos are found that may contain the answers to help them understand each other better.
This book is about how the past can shape your future if not dealt with and can also affect future generations. I enjoyed reading the book.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review.
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The Return (Amish Beginnings)Paperback– August 1, 2017
Beautiful and winsome, Betsy Zook never questioned her family's rigid expectations, nor those of devoted Hans, but then she never had to. Not until the night when she's taken captive in a surprise Indian raid. During her captivity, Betsy faces brutality and hardship, but also unexpected kindness. She draws strength from native Caleb, who encourages her to find God in all circumstances. She finds herself torn between her pious upbringing and the intense new feelings this compelling man awakens within her.
Handsome and complex, Hans is greatly anguished by Betsy's captivity and turns to Tessa Bauer for comfort. Eagerly, Tessa responds, overlooking troubling signs of Hans's hunger for revenge. When Betsy is finally restored to the Amish, have things gone too far between Hans and Tessa?
Inspired by true events, this deeply layered novel gives a glimpse into the tumultuous days of prerevolutionary Pennsylvania through the eyes of two young, determined, and faith-filled women.
My Review:
I really enjoyed reading this book.It has some historical value of the Amish who first came over in settled in America. Some worked with the Native Americans and tried to show respect for them and their land. Others didn't care and tried to stir up issues which only caused more problems.
This story centered around two young ladies who were both in love with the same man. When the one he loves is taken captive by the Indians he is filled with rage. As time goes by the anger changes him. He begins to make plans to marry the other young woman when the other young finds her way back with the help of a Indian friend. Read the book to find out what happens to the two young and the man they both love. I would recommend this book to all who enjoy reading Amish fiction.
I received a copy of this book in exchanged for this review.
Are you too focused on the “right” ways of worship, work, and family life? Learn about the dangers of quiet legalism in Kendra Fletcher’s new book, Lost and Found. Kendra, homeschooling mom of eight, had it all “right,” until it all fell apart. In the course of eighteen months, Kendra found her baby in a coma, ran over her five-year-old, and nearly lost her eight-year-old to a septic ruptured appendix. Lost and Found is the story of how God used those events to transform her family’s self-righteous religion into freedom in Christ.
{More about Lost and Found}
Lost and Found: Losing Religion, Finding Grace (New Growth Press, February 2017) The “right” homeschooling philosophy. The “right” brand of theology. The “right” meal-planning, home-managing, keep-it-all-together parenting.
Kendra Fletcher, homeschooling mom of eight, had it all “right,” until it all fell apart. In the course of eighteen months, Kendra found her baby in a coma, ran over her five-year-old, and nearly lost her eight-year-old to a septic ruptured appendix. Lost and Found is the story of how God used those events to transform her family’s self-righteous religion into freedom in Christ.
Fletcher’s debut book is the gripping true story of how God used suffering to save her family from empty religion. As wave after wave of crisis hit, the Fletchers discovered that getting religion “right” wasn’t a good substitute for a living relationship with a loving God. Through their suffering, they learned about misplaced identities and false hope, and they threw themselves wholly into the arms of Jesus—where they found the grace they needed.
Fletcher, a well-known writer and conference speaker in Christian homeschooling circles, addresses the quiet legalism that so easily infiltrates Christian communities and exposes the dangers of focusing our hopes on the “right” ways of worship, work, and family life. More than a memoir, Lost and Found invites all of us to give up the things that hold us in bondage and find our value, worth, significance, hope, and identity in Christ alone.
My Review:
This is the story of a family that had a form of godliness but denying the power of it. On the outside they look like they were doing everything right. They homeschooled their kids, dressed modestly, and associated with only those that fit into their religious circle. But they lacked in relationship of the heart with the Lord.
When they start having major crisis in their family they start questioning God and their relationship with Him. As they continue to question the life they were living and the people in their inner circle they felt hopeless and alone. As they kept searching and questioning where their faith stood they found God's love that is based not on outward appearances but of the relationship of the heart with Jesus.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray begins a new series—The Amish of Hart County—with this suspenseful tale of a young Amish woman who is forced to move to a new town to escape a threatening stalker.
After a stalker went too far, Hannah Hilty and her family had no choice but to leave the bustling Amish community where she grew up. Now she’s getting a fresh start in Hart County, Kentucky…if only she wasn’t too scared to take it. Hannah has become afraid to trust anyone—even Isaac, the friendly Amish man who lives next door. She wonders if she'll ever return to the trusting, easy-going woman she once was. For Isaac Troyer, the beautiful girl he teasingly called “The Recluse” confuses him like no other. When he learns of her past, he knows he's misjudged her. However, he also understands the importance of being grateful for God’s gifts, and wonders if they will ever have anything in common. But as Hannah and Isaac slowly grow closer, they realize that there’s always more to someone than meets the eye. Just as Hannah is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding a new love, more secrets are revealed and tragedy strikes. Now Hannah must decide if she should run again or dare to fight for the future she has found in Hart County.
My Review:
Hannah and her family were living a happy life in Ohio were she met a Englisher by the name of Trent. After a couple weeks she knew that they could no longer be friends and she put an end to their relationship. Trent did not take the news well and began stalking her.
Her family moves away but Hannah isn't the only with a secret. While the family struggles through having to move away from their home they find it easy to put The blame on Hannah. The family soon learns that to overcome their secrets they must trust the Lord and the new friends he has placed in their lives.
I received a copy of this book in exchanged for this review.
“I felt torn between two worlds. Each with its own mystery. One more captivating than the other, but the other more real and breathing.”
It took Lauren and her husband ten years to achieve their dream—reaching primitive tribes in remote regions of Nepal. But while Sam treks into the Himalayas for weeks at a time, finding passion and purpose in his work among the needy, Lauren and Ryan stay behind, their daily reality more taxing than inspiring. For them, what started as a calling begins to feel like the family’s undoing.
At the peak of her isolation and disillusion, a friend from Lauren’s past enters her life again. But as her communication with Aidan intensifies, so does the tension of coping with the present while reengaging with the past. It’s thirteen-year-old Ryan who most keenly bears the brunt of her distraction.
Intimate and bold, Of Stillness and Storm weaves profound dilemmas into a tale of troubled love and honorable intentions gone awry.
My Review:
This is a story of a missionary family. It goes back to how the parents met and how they got to where they are now. This book shows us what can happen to families in missions or other ministries that foundation is not solid on the Word of God. The expectations put on the family by the husband or other's members of ministry can destroy a family. If the family is not kept Christ centered the family members can be hurt and even destroyed.
In this story the father had his mind so set to his own rules with little thought to his wife and son. It was also noticed that he was not lead by the Lord in some obvious ways. This lead to a distant wife and son who took no pleasure in the life that was thrust upon them by Sam (husband, father). The one you end up feeling the most sorry for is the son who starts to be neglected also by the mother due to the distraction of a man of her past.
I received this book in exchange for this review.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Pray A to Z: A Practical Guide to Pray for Your CommunityPaperback– November 15, 2016
Pray A to Z: A Practical Guide to Praying for Your Community will help you topically organize your prayer requests and lay the burdens of your community at the feet of our Heavenly Father. Whether you are praying for a friend's adoption journey, a neighbor's bankruptcy, or a family member's cancer, this book will give you Bible verses, prayer prompts, and prayer starts to guide you through praying for even the most difficult issues that affect the people you know and love. Perfect for either individual or group prayer, Pray A-Z will help you experience the peace that comes from communicating with God.
My Review:
This is really a simple book of prayers on a variety of topics. It is not a book that goes deep into the subject of the prayer topic but it is a starting point. I thinks this book would be great for a new believer that is learning the concept of praying and how to apply the word of God to the prayer need.
I would encourage anyone who is struggling to develop a life of prayer to get this book and learn how to apply God's Word to your prayer life.
by Beverly Lewis(Author) Years after her friend Gloria's family was expelled from the Old Order church, Leona unexpectedly hears from Gloria and endeavors to convince her to rejoin the Amish church, but Leona's fiancee has his reservations about her mission.A Compelling Story of Friendship from the Top Author in Amish Fiction Leona Speicher got the "sister" she'd always dreamed of the day Gloria Gingerich and her family moved to Lancaster County Amish farmland. The Arkansas newcomers seem to be everything a devout Plain family should be, and Leona can't help comparing Gloria's engaging young parents to her own. Leona's cousin shows a romantic interest in Gloria around the same time as Gloria's older brother expresses his fondness for Leona--it seems likely the two young women will marry into each other's families, remaining close friends for life. Thus, Leona is shocked when the Gingeriches suddenly pack up and disappear after being expelled from the church for reasons no one will discuss. Despite Leona's pleas, Gloria goes with them, leaving more than one broken heart behind. When Gloria unexpectedly contacts Leona after a silence of several years, Leona makes up her mind to persuade her friend to return to Lancaster County and the Amish ways. Leona's fiancee, the deacon's son, is alarmed when Leona decides to go after Gloria. Will Leona's dearest wish lead to her own undoing? My Review:Beverly Lewis has always been my favorite author for Amish fiction. This book centers on 2 Amish girls that come from very different families. As their friendship grow they become more like sister. Just what Leona always dream for was a sister(Gloria) to fill her lonely days. But out of the blue Gloria's family leaves the Amish community. Leona waits for a letter from her best friend that never comes. Finally years later a letter comes asking for help.The main point of the story is to consider the cost of living a christian life. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review.
