Archive | December 2020

The Amish Christmas Gift by Laura V Hilton

Dec23

Light Hearted And Amusing

The Amish Christmas Gift by Laura V Hilton is a charming light-hearted contemporary Amish novel that will put a smile on your face. It is the second book in the Hidden Springs series but can be read as a stand-alone.

In spite of the light-hearted tone, there are the serious themes of guilt and forgiveness. Sometimes we pick up burdens that were never meant for us. We, wrongly, believe that what we have done is unforgiveable. This is a lie from the enemy. God asks us to come to Him and to lay our burdens and our guilt down. He asks us to live in His love and His forgiveness.

The leading lady is very accident prone. This creates some highly amusing moments. There are also some delightful and funny verbal volleys.

Love and friendship are important qualities. It is wonderful to see them bud and blossom.

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The Edge Of Belonging by Amanda Cox

Dec22

Longing For Family

The Edge Of Belonging by Amanda Cox is the most serenely beautiful Christian contemporary debut novel about love and family.

The novel consumed my every waking moment. Amanda Cox drew realistically flawed characters who took up residence in my soul. “It’s okay to stumble… God isn’t looking for pretty, He’s looking for real.”

We all have a past and baggage that weighs us down. We were never meant to journey through life alone. “God puts people in our lives to have and to hold.” There will always be those whom we meet and find we have an instant soul connection. There are the people God places to intersect our lives at just the right time.

The novel shows the effects that early life and traumatic events have on the whole of our lives. Trauma will send us back to a moment in time, no matter how many years have passed.

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Appalachian Roots Revisited by Nina Stacy Thomas

Dec22

Fascinating Family Memoir

Appalachian Roots Revisited by Nina Stacy Thomas is a fascinating account of the author’s life and family.

The reader becomes acquainted with the author’s family and friends. Due to the inclusion of many photos we can put faces to names enabling the reader to draw closer to those mentioned.

I love the inclusion of recipes from Nina Stacy Thomas’ grandmother, a warm and hospitable Southern woman.

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Season Of Hope by Brenda Anderson

Dec22

A Cord Of Three Strands

Season Of Hope by Brenda Anderson is a most delightful contemporary Christian novel. It is part of the Potter’s House series.

Brenda Anderson writes realistically about what can happen when we fail to put God first in our lives, in our marriages and even in our churches. The Word of God must be central to our churches. We are not in a popularity contest. We are called to be faithful not popular. We must never water the Gospel down to appeal to the masses. Church is all about hearing the Gospel and pointing others to God. “It wasn’t New Hope that changed [him]. It was all Jesus.” Churches do not change people. It is God who changes them.

Sometimes people go to churches for years but never really know God. “She was a PK, a preacher’s kid, and yet she knew nothing about God.” Our faith is our responsibility. We do not get into Heaven on the shirt-tails of another.

There are times when we feel helpless. It is then that we need to lean on God. “I feel so helpless… We can be vigilant in prayer.” Prayer is so powerful. We must never flippantly offer to pray for others and then not do it. If we offer, we must lift others up in prayer.

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