Tag Archive | Baker Publishing

All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese

Heart Warming

All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese is the most beautiful contemporary Christian novel that will leave you smiling as you celebrate the goodness of God.

The story is about the riches of life. These riches are never found in possessions or bank accounts. These riches are found in people. We see characters’ lives opening up as they realise that their true worth is found within. They are more than the clothes they wear. They are more than all their mistakes. They are all priceless sons and daughters of the King.

The main setting is in a house for older teens who have left the foster system. They are all trying to make a life, whilst carrying their baggage from the past. They “were more than the scars they wore from their pasts.”

Everyone is unique and everyone has individual talents. We need to celebrate our uniqueness and stop trying to mold ourselves into the shape of another. “Stop trying to hide what God has created to be seen.” Celebrate the gift you have been given.

 None of us know what tomorrow brings. We need to trust God and “don’t borrow worry.”

Lives are not always able to be controlled by us. Things will always happen that are out of our control. In the midst of the storm, rest in the arms of the Father. Trust His timing. “God continued to prove His timing was right on schedule. Even when that schedule wasn’t made by me.”

A character has known God but drifted away. “I spoke to the God I’d believed in as a girl.” All of heaven rejoices when the prodigal returns home.

Continue reading

The Secret Keepers Of The Old Grocery Depot by Amanda Cox

Delightful

The Secret Keepers Of The Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox is the most delightful Christian dual timeline novel that filled my soul with love.

The novel is set in present day and from 1965 working forwards. It is a story of family and love and life.

A character has been grieving her whole life for a boy who went to Vietnam and never returned. Life still kept turning and she had to learn to live again in spite of her grief. Grief never leaves us. We just need to find our way through it.

We witness the horrors of war in the lives of those who return. “How could they find normal after that? Love when they’d been baptized in hate.” Some lives buckle with PTSD and they escape through alcohol and drugs.

There is the theme of guilt. A character is drowning in it, carrying burdens that were never meant for her. “I’d become so tainted by darkness that I couldn’t feel the warmth of the sun anymore.”  It is time to let go and let God.

Continue reading

A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson

Absolutely Charming

A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson is an absolutely charming contemporary Christian festive tale that will warm your heart.

Every year I look forward to Melody Carlson’s Christmas offering, they are always beautiful and heart-warming.

All the characters are well drawn and realistic. They are an eclectic mix from a four year old girl to two ladies who are nearly seventy.

Kind hearts gather to make a little girl’s wish for her mother’s Christmas quilt to come true. We see that you are never too old nor too young to learn new skills.

The warm atmosphere has a chill at times as a hurting character has let bitterness invade her heart. Past memories, rather than warming have the opposite effect and freeze a character’s heart. What will it take to thaw that frozen heart?

Continue reading

The Extraordinary Deaths Of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Hidden Warriors

The Extraordinary Deaths Of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold is the most charming and heart-warming Christian novel that will sink into your soul. Every now and again a novel comes along that just completely swamps you with love and beauty – and this is that novel. It overwhelmed me with its love, care and beauty.

The novel shows us that “so long as we have breath, the Lord calls to our hearts.” There are no retirement plans in the kingdom of God as demonstrated by the leading lady, seventy nine year old Clara Kip. Her outlook is friendly and chirpy. Her spirit is alive with the love of God. As her body fades, her spirit becomes more alive than ever.

Age has no boundaries to friendship as we view the beautiful bond between Mrs Kip and a young newspaper reporter. Time is short but friendship runs deep.

Much of the setting is in a home for people dying of cancer. It is far from gloomy as Mrs Kip injects life and love. As she enters, “she clung to the belief that the Lord had something for her here.” We are called to serve the Lord wherever we are.

We see the dream to help those who cannot help themselves. The desire is to show the love of Jesus to all. “Show me how I can serve you today among these people.” Mrs Kip had a huge capacity for love which she spread everywhere.

Continue reading