Archive | June 2019

Lessons In Love by Belinda Missen

Jun13

A Voyage Of Discovery

Lessons In Love by Belinda Missen is the most charming and amusing contemporary tale about second chances and love. I absolutely adored it.

Belinda Missen has created a wonderful set of characters that are likable and realistic. They are not perfect but have character flaws that make them human and easy to empathise with. The characters bounce their dialogue off each other in most amusing verbal volleys.

There is an air of lightness and love over the whole novel. It is a love that encompasses, that cares and that is delightful to watch with its tentative steps.

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The Accidental Missionary: A Gringo’s Love Affair With Peru by David L Winters

Jun12

Trust God And Smile

The Accidental Missionary: A Gringo’s Love Affair With Peru by David L Winters is the true account of the missionary life of David Bredeman and his family. For seventeen years they faithfully served in Peru after David Bredeman was called to go there. “God’s calling on my life grew stronger every day.” It is always important to have ears that listen and a heart that obeys God. “Jesus opened my eyes and my heart.”

In Lima David Bredeman found his life partner as she was part of the Bible school. After marriage they spent a few years in America before returning to Peru with their young family.

Living in Peru the Bredemans faced challenges of climate, culture and terrorists but “God’s spirit sustains us as we minister.”

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Sunflowers Under Fire by Diana Stevan

Jun11

Of Bravery, Courage And Resilience

Sunflowers Under Fire by Diana Stevan is an epic historical tale based on the life of the author’s grandmother in the Ukraine. The book covers the period 1915-1928. It is both fascinating and horrifying as well as being totally absorbing.

Life was hard in the Ukraine with World War I, civil war between the whites and the reds and communism under first Lenin and then Stalin. The peasants had it incredibly hard being shunted from pillar to post and back again. They had very little and what they did have, the army took from them. It was a time of great hardship.

Diana Stevan’s grandmother was resilient. She was a survivor and incredibly brave. Life was hard, food was scarce and healthcare poor. People died and families had to continue living without their loved ones.

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All Manner Of Things by Susie Finkbeiner

Jun10

Don’t Duck And Cover

All Manner Of Things by Susie Finkbeiner is a heart-wrenching Christian historical novel focusing on a family affected by war. The action is set in 1967 during the Vietnam War but families are still reeling from the Korean War. I do not normally cry over books but I cried over this one. It is beautifully written and I ‘felt’ included in the family as the book is written in the first person from the point of view of eighteen year old Annie.

The novel is a microcosm for the macrocosm of American families affected by war. It is a close knit family and community that laughs together, lives together and cries together. In some ways life in 1967 was far simpler but in many ways it was so much harder.

War hurts. It hurts civilians. It hurts the forces and it hurts God. “I can’t believe that God created us for all this death and destruction… War wasn’t His idea.” The reader becomes acquainted with the thoughts and fears of both the servicemen and those on the home front as part of the novel is in the form of letters to and from Vietnam to various family members. The servicemen were brave young men who ‘did it afraid’ as they answered the call to serve their country. “You gotta just look to God… When I get scared, it’s about the only thing I can do.” God was alongside those serving and those at home at all times, even if He seemed silent. He never left His children alone.

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