Married to the Cloth

I have always loved Terri Blackstock's books. They never get old, and are ones you want to reread. I think "Emerald Windows" is still my favourite, maybe because of the art aspect of the book. Distortion,is the second book in the Moonlighters Series, and it keeps you guessing. Terri always adds an element that strikes the heart of your faith. What hse calls "heartfelt fiction". A" husband’s lies can have deadly consequences. When Juliet Cole’s husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack. Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers’ demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband’s dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, t...

Here is a quick review before I head off on the next trip. This book is an encyclopedic resource of all things Lewis. Ever wonder what the name of that evil king was? or what exactly Turkish delight is? Colin Duriez has compiled the fictional, nonfiction, and real life CS Lewis factoids into one compendium. This is a deeper and larger book than Louis Markos' A to Z CSLewis, with more information and references. We have been going through Prof. Markos' course on CS Lewis, and this book has been an excellent resource for the course. "A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of C. S. Lewis’s death, this complete guide covers all of Lewis’ works, from his literary criticism to Narnia C. S. Lewis’s work is widely known and regarded, but enthusiasts are often only aware of one part of his work—his children’s stories and his popular theology; and yet he wrote so much more, including science fiction and literary ...

Friend Me by John Faubion This book was quite a thriller from the first page to the last. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and to write a lot, would spoil the book. I took it to bed to read. I DID NOT go to sleep, I stayed up and read the whole thing. This has not happened in quite some time. :) "Scott and Rachel’s marriage is on the brink of disaster. Scott, a businessman with a high-pressure job, just wants Rachel to understand him and accept his flaws. Rachel is a lonely housewife, desperate for attention and friendship. So she decides to create a virtual friend online, unaware that Scott is doing the exact same thing. As Rachel desperately tries to re-create a friendship with a friend who has passed, Scott becomes unfaithful and is torn between the love for his wife and the perfection of his cyber-girlfriend. But neither realizes that there’s a much larger problem looming…" Who is behind the virtual friends? What lines are okay to cross and when is it too far? John Fa...

We are running rather slowly here. The Flu hit 5 out of 8 of us. Which meant discovering gluten-free ways of recovering. (Byebye, Saltines!) I did not read book one in this series before being given Princess Ever After to review. Which did not ruin the experience of the book, but I now want to get the first book. In the country of  Hessenberg, we find a nation struggling for independence, so you have the political intrigue and the fate of a nation at stake. To this stage is brought Regina, a 29 yr old who has not sought romance or relationships, is thrown into a royal role and is facing an uncertain future. It is like an grown up version of Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway, with several twists. Regina is not worried about getting her hands dirty. Her hard working lifestyle, including car restoration,  steels her and helps her in dealing with  political opponents or  paparazzi. But will this strong-willed girl submit to Some One else's plan for her life?...

A Road Unknown by Barbara Cameron, is the story of Elizabeth, the eldest of 9 children. Elizabeth, feeling resentful over being expected to help with the younger children and the house, runs away from home.  She becomes roommates with a college student, gets a job, and begins to makes a life of her own. As much as she might think she is looking out for her self, her life has given her a heart to serve and care for others. Between these choices, both good and bad decisions, Elizabeth's life takes shape. I grew up in the beginnings of the home school movement, my parents were writers for the teaching home and other publications. My mother even wrote a book on home schooling. I grew up surrounded by large families. Large meaning more than 8 kids, 5-6 was average. As a mother to six children, I have striven to keep all the children in child roles. Too many of my friends grew up never wanting to have children from their experiences. So I could relate to this story. I lo...

I am busy preparing for the next Holocaust Reconciliation project. As we go through the arrangements for concerts, dinners, and hotels, please keep us in prayer. Pray for our health, wisdom and the financial needs of the trip, also for the families that encourage us to go. This trip I will be doing something a little different. I am cooking a Passover Seder dinner for 120 Germans. The theme of Passover is freedom from slavery and bondage. The Holocaust has not only etched deep scars, it has bound people with fear, hate, unforgiveness, mistrust.... It is our hope that we will minister to the hurting and see those held captive released. A Tour Of Roses http://www.improbablepeople.org/missions_roses.html  Thousands of roses, dozens of concerts and many tears have been shed over the last 5 years. We will have 5,000 roses for this trip. I am so excited about this project! It is never easy but it is always worth it.

While we were living in Baltimore, I began reading Amish fiction. S's job at NASA at the time meant each month he had a full week off. We explored as much of the surrounding areas, states really, as we could. I loved driving up into Lancaster and visiting the quilt shops and ordering a slice of shoe fly pie, sampling the chowchow that was served at almost every big barn style restaurant. My mom still makes pickled beet eggs as a special treat. I was given a copy of Hopeful to review, and guess what?! there is a contest! Hopeful by Shelley Shepard Gray is the first in the Return to Sugarcreek series, takes place in the Amish town of Sugarcreek, not in Pennsylvania but in Ohio. ( The author just happens to live in Ohio and has sampled Amish fare first hand, which adds to the authentic feel of the story.) In the first book of the series we are introduced to Miriam Zehr and several of the town residents. She is not the beauty of the town. She is a plain girl in more than one ...