Archive | April 2020

The Thorn Healer by Pepper Basham

Apr18

Your Justice Or His Peace?

The Thorn Healer by Pepper Basham is a historical romance. It is the third book in the Penned In Time series but can be read as a stand-alone, however I would recommend reading the previous books first for full enjoyment. Set in the final year of World War I, fact meets fiction in this epic read.

There is the theme of trust – trust in God and trust in men. An alien intern camp in the small American town is met with fear and dislike. People distrust the Germans because of their experience in war. Prejudice is rife but not everyone should be tarred with the same brush.

Jessica is a nurse from the front who finds it hard to trust God after all that she has seen. “How can You see what is happening and so silent?” She is focused on man and not God. Her heart longs to see God but He seems absent. “If You are in the middle of all this mess, show me.”

War breeds bitterness. Bitterness will eat away at a person. “The only thing bitterness does is change you, not Him.” Feelings of bitterness need to be handed over to God. Lives need to be surrendered to God and committed to His plans.

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The Thorn Bearer by Pepper Basham

Apr18

Rescuer Of The Lost

The Thorn Bearer by Pepper Basham is a powerful Christian historical novel and the first book in the Penned In Time series.

The book is set in 1915 with some of the action on the doomed Lusitania. Actual near drownings mirror characters drowning within themselves. “She was drowning. Oh, God, where are You?” The past can be a cruel master that blinds us to God’s love. “God remained … silent… All of that love? It was never meant for me.” God is never silent but in our pain we cannot always hear Him. Lies from the enemy whisper that we are unworthy. “I’ll not have you believing the lies from the shadows.” We need others to help to point us to God and to help us to stand on the word of God and know that we are loved.

God is the rescuer of sinners and we are all sinners in need of a Saviour. “God doesn’t want someone as ruined as me tainting His Heaven.” None of us are ever worthy to stand before God but His grace and love redeem us. Because of Jesus we can come to God just as we are. He will change us from the inside out.

A major theme in the novel is forgiveness. We must forgive. Withholding forgiveness will not just hurt the other person, we will poison our own lives if we become bitter. “Your bitterness is blinding you from seeing what God can do for a person who desperately needs forgiveness.” If we cannot forgive in our strength, we must God for His.

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The Thorn Keeper by Pepper Basham

Apr18

His Love


The Thorn Keeper by Pepper Basham is a delightful Christian historical novel and the second book in the Penned In Time series. I would recommend reading book one first as this one follows on immediately afterwards.

It is still 1915 but the focus of this novel is on older sister Catherine. God has redeemed her and called her by name. Her past no longer defines her as she is a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes we fear that we are not ‘good enough’ to be used by God but “I can use you right where you are. I can use you as you are.” God uses us as He finds us and then He changes us. We do not need to clean our act up and then come. God says ‘come’ and then we will change with His love.

The novel deals with the theme of fallen women and their children. “How could anyone lay the sins of the mother on his little head?” It is horrifying to the modern reader to witness the stigma attached to unmarried mothers and their babies. A kind hearted character sees beyond the situation and offers a helping hand.

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Traitors by Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Apr15

God Knows

Traitors by Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer is another epic Christian historical novel. It is the second book in the Choctaw Tribune series which I am loving.

The action is set in 1893, concerning the Choctaw people who are still receiving abuse and being viewed as second class citizens. “God created only one race – the human race.”

Those building their lives on wealth and power go to extraordinary lengths to silence the truth. “My brother stands for truth… makes him unpopular with a great many.” We don’t need the affirmation of man. We need to speak the truth and live with a clear conscience.

Once again we follow our plucky young heroine who is ahead of the times in her thinking and actions. Not content with just writing the truth, she is concerned with tracking down the perpetrators of crime and bringing them to justice.

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