Monday, November 26, 2018

Becoming Gertrude

     BOOK REVIEW:   ''Come in---I'll get us some lemonade.''  With those words, a teenage Jan Peterson was welcomed onto her Southern neighbor's back porch and into a lifelong bond of friendship. And like her friend, Jan now opens her own life to us, offering five elements---caring, acceptance, service, hospitality, and encouragement---that lead to rich, faithful friendships. In these pages, Jan speaks into the everyday rhythms of life, encouraging, guiding, and identifying the ways we can flourish as we, too, are Becoming Gertrude to our friends.

     MY REVIEW:   I expected this book to be about friendship as friendship usually is. And it is. But there is a concept included that gave me pause: being a Spiritual Friend. I would call it being a friend to someone's Soul. Caring about them in a deeper way than we usually do. I had to think about that for a bit, and wonder why it surprised me.
     As I read through this book, I realized that being a friend is never as easy as I expect. There is incredible work in being a good friend. Not to mention sacrifice, unselfish, and putting others before yourself. Throughout this book, Jan writes of instances and occasions in her life that relate to and illustrate the chapters. Her book is enjoyable to read. I was especially impressed with her sacrifice in response to world hunger. She decided to remind herself of the problem by changing the way she cooked---less meat, making more with less, etc. While this didn't solve anything, it kept her aware and thinking about it.
     This book is not long, 140 pages cover to cover, not as tall as a full-size book, and written in slightly larger print.  It is a beautiful hardcover book---deep blue under the jacket with marbled yellow inside the cover. I felt cheerful just looking at it. :) It would make a lovely gift, or coffee table book. I was, however, disappointed that she used the MESSAGE for her scripture references. I like a bible with more substance than that one.

  I received a copy of this book from TYNDALE PUBLISHERS and was not required to write a positive review. 

Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Making of Mrs. Hale

     BOOK REVIEW:   Julia Hale ran off to be married in Gretna Green, following romance instead of common sense. But her tale isn't turning into a happily ever after. Her new husband is gone and she doesn't know where---or if he's ever coming back. Julia has no option but to head home to the family she betrayed by eloping and to hope they'll forgive her. Especially now that she might be carrying a baby from her brief marriage.
     Carolyn Miller's clean and wholesome Regency romances continue with The Making of Mrs Hale, following familiar characters as they learn how restoration can occur by finding hope and healing though a deep relationship with God. Full of rich and historical details and witty banter, this series continues to draw in fans of Jane Austen, Sarah Ludd, and Julie Klassen.
   
     MY REVIEW:   I have never before read a regency book about an elopement. It was different. Sadly, I can't say I enjoyed it as I usually do.
     Julia's marriage was fraught with difficulties---her husband always seeming to leave for unknown and lengthy periods of time. Meanwhile, her mother and brother protest most violently her remaining married to such a man. At every corner they compel her to break the match. But Julia is torn between their desires and the love she has for her absent husband.
     The story is rather slow, and feeble. Julia's story feels very pitiable, and I couldn't help wishing everyone would just let me tell them what to do. There is a strain of mystery, with someone intent on doing away with Julia's husband even at cost of harming Julia herself. However, as we are told who is behind the ill will, we only get to guess at the next steps, rather than figuring out for ourselves who the culprit is. I wouldn't condemn this book ( I realize that some books simply aren't my style ).  I really couldn't say what I would change to improve the story, it just had an underlying vibe to it that put me off.

I received a copy of this book from KREGEL PUBLISHERS, and was not required to write a positive review. 
   

Friday, November 9, 2018

White Picket Fences

     BOOK REVIEW: Privilege. The word alone can make us flinch. The notion that, for no good reason, some might have it better than others offends our sensibilities. Yet until we talk about privilege, we'll never fully understand it or find our way forward.
     Amy Julia Becker  welcomes us into her life, from the charm of her privileged Southern childhood to her adult experience in the Northeast and the denials she has faced as the mother of a child with special needs. She shows how a life behind a white picket fence can restrict even as it protects, and how it can prevent us from loving our neighbors well.
     White Picket Fences invites us to respond to privilege with generosity, humility, and hope. It opens us to questions we are afraid to ask, so that we can walk further from fear and closer to love, in all its fragile and mysterious possibilities.

     MY REVIEW:     This book is one that I really enjoyed. The author was real and honest, and did not try to hide the sometimes ugly truth of the matter. I appreciated the intent in writing it, and the many different subjects she covered. I found it to be far broader than just dealing with privilege. I found:
-teaching our children about the hard history between white and black people
-seeing people through the lens of love changes the way we value them
-and many more tenors of truth that all intertwine with her subject of privilege.
     So often, nonfiction requires much concentration (and even discipline) to get the point and bring it home. But I found this book to grab and hold my attention far better than others I've read. It was not dry or stuffy, yet the content was far from light and shallow.
     One thing mentioned here was the hard fact that even if you try to help the suffering around you, it's drops in a bucket. So much suffering, so little you can do. But I was challenged to do my part anyway. Even if I only make the smallest ripple of difference in the broad scheme of things, to that person/persons it was a wave. To quote Dr. Seuss (or Taylor Hanson, Google can't decide), "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world". Even our smallest differences are huge to someone.
     Amy Julia has written three other books: Small Talk: Learning From my Children About What Matters Most; A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny; and Penelope Ayers. I will have to look them up sometime.


  I received a copy of this book from TYNDALE PUBLISHERS, and was not required to write a positive review. 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Tyndale Filament Bible

The Latest and Greatest from Tyndale is their new Filament Bible NLT. This Bible comes with an app that allows you to scan the page number you're on, which then directs you to study guides, maps, visual aids, and more. The Filament Bible is a simple, clear Bible that allows you read without sorting through all of the features that are so handily included in the app. 

Here is a link to a youtube video visualizing the above paragraph. 

And Here is a link for a lot more information from Tyndale.