Archive | December 2022

Once Upon A Winter Wonderland by Various

Dec7

Delightful

Once Upon A Winter Wonderland is a delightful collection of four novellas by four Christian authors. Each story deals with the same time period and setting but is told through different eyes. Each story perfectly complements the others. This is a perfectly charming book to read in the run up to the festive season.

A Beautiful Sight by Rachel D Russell shows how nerves can get the best of us in the lead up to our wedding. We all hope for the perfect wedding but a wedding is just one day, marriage is for a lifetime. We need to include God in our marriages. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. We need to give and receive forgiveness and remember to pray about all things. My favourite quote was: “Don’t let fear tear you away from the wonderful plans God has for you.”

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The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

Dec4

Heart Warming

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury is a charming contemporary Christian novel showing the faithfulness and the goodness of God.

We witness the power of books to impact lives when the proprietor of a bookstore has a heart for God. His store is run on kindness until a once in a lifetime natural event threatens to derail.

What we give out, comes back to us in double portions. We can never out-give God. Sometimes we feel as if God is absent. “God, where are You?” God walks beside us every step of the way. When we look backwards we can see His hand on our lives as we “move from the pain of the past to the promise of tomorrow.”

Prayer is important. “God, if You’re really there … I think I’ll just talk to you like a friend.” Prayer is simply a conversation with God as we build a relationship together. We must remember to listen as well as to talk.

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A Cosy Christmas With The Village Vet by Eliza J Scott

Dec3

Heart-Warming

A Cosy Christmas With The Village Vet By Eliza J Scott is a wonderful heart-warming contemporary novel that will swell your heart with love and kindness.

At the heart of the novel is community. It is a community that cares for all its members and looks out for each other. No one is ever left out in the cold. There are always spaces to be found around someone’s table.

The leading characters exude love and kindness. Their easy banter is a pure delight. Add in a couple of dogs and you have the perfect recipe for a delightful tale. The canine characters are as much a part of the story as the humans. We see the unbreakable bonds and the loyalty of man’s best friend.

Loss is keenly felt at Christmas when there are empty places around tables.

There are also characters suffering a different sort of loss – that of broken relationships. We witness the power of words to wound. “Words… the hurt they still had the power to resurrect.” The tongue can be more vicious than any double-edged sword.

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The Sea Glass Beach by Tina Pritchard

Dec1

Love, Life, Grief

The Sea Glass Beach by Tina Pritchard is a marvelous historical novel that captured my imagination from the start.

The reader follows the plight of a single Mum and her daughter in Ireland after the second World War. The Catholic church set up mother and baby homes which were far from loving. We witness the courage and pluck needed to keep hold of your baby.

This courage would be needed in later life too as we witness a mother who loves her daughter enough, to give her wings to fly.

A close-knit Irish community wants to squash a free spirit. The reader follows a character across the ocean to Canada for a fresh start. Here the bracing sea air and a farming lifestyle open up new horizons.

Many people face battles we know nothing about. A character has been battling grief for years. “You can be too full of grief and burdened with memories to get on with the task of living. I’ve been just existing.” It is time to learn to live again.

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