Book Review: To Honor and Trust by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

I am grateful to Bethany House for the program that allows me to receive free books for reading enjoyment and to review.  This book is the third in a series and I have not read the previous two.

Like other books I have read by Peterson and Miller, I found this one to be a beautiful story of His love, grace, redemption and showing how He moves and works in lives. From a broken heart to a healed heart, from broken relationships, to ones that become richer and more full, this story takes you through the phases of hardship to full circle moments that teach us about the power of prayer, the importance of honesty and remembering that it is not up to us to understand His plan for us or in the lives of our loved ones, but to accept them and encourage with love and support.  

Callie and Wes are both searching and seeking for their life paths, healing from broken pasts and trying to find their way through the circumstances that are handed to them.  

The book was moving and spoke truth, gave life and helped remind me just how much He works, moves and is present in our lives. 

Without love, I would be nothing...

I have been sitting here, thinking of a million things-the people in my life...where I have been and where I want to be...the past, today and the future...what matters and frankly, what doesn't. 

Note***this is a blog that came out of a rambling mind...

LOVE. It makes me who I am, drives most of my life and choices, it changed me, saved me, moved me...LOVE is the driving force of my life, my faith and how I want to live my life. 

If you have read my blog, you know I believe in the absolute truth of Jesus, His life, His death, His resurrection...I am a believer. The LOVE of Jesus changed my life. There is none like His and there is none that I want more than His. His LOVE changed the way I LOVE and the way I look at LOVE. 

I look at my husband, his absolute unselfish and beautiful LOVE for me and I am in awe. That extends to our children and in turn I believe they LOVE in that same unselfish way and all of this centers back to the greatest LOVE of all - the one that comes from Jesus because there is no greater and none comparable. 

I believe in LOVE. I believe it heals, forgives, offers grace, comforts, grows, builds relationships... It is the most powerful emotion and action we can give and do. I believe if we all gave it freely, without barriers and rules - life as we know would be radically different. I like to radical-and I choose to live and LOVE that way...many believe that my faith would cause me to have certain rules, boundaries - even prejudices...your wrong--if I did not LOVE, I could not be, but most of all, I could never be a light in the dark, hopeful in the hopeless, life in the death of humanity...I would not be but a shell - lost - alone - empty...

Choose LOVE. 

Book Review: Though Mountains Fall By: Dale Cramer

Thanks to Bethany House for another great book! I received this free e-book through their review program. Dale Cramer is a new author to me. I love when I get a chance to read a new book from a beloved author but I am just as excited to read one from a new author.

This book follows an Amish community and family through their time in Mexico trying to build a new community there. It shows the trials of the culture, the time period and the lifestyle they have to learn to deal with and understand. It is a story that really show how is love and forgiveness can surpass any religion or tradition and bring people separated by rules back together through loss and change. it shows how love and lessons move from parent to child and how lovingly we capture the teachings of those who we surround our lives with.

I felt this book stood well in its time period, place, culture and really gripped my heart as we watched one character grow to understand His love and grace and then lose it and a father come to a place of knowing what the true love of God is. I look forward to reading more of Cramer's books and letting the love of God work in me through the beauty of his writing.

The path we take...

I sit here today, looking at the beautiful sun shine, having felt the blistering cold wind...grateful for the beautiful day we had yesterday, and how my wonderful husband sacrificed sleep to spend the day hiking with us and enjoying the weather...

We hiked such a beautiful trail - from Craven's House to Sunset Rock....

 Filled with mossy covered rocks...

 Beautiful sunlit paths of rocks...

 It was beautiful....

 As we walked along, the kids were walking ahead, having fun, laughing about how the path reminded them of LOTR and The Hobbit...joking around about all the Smeagol holes they found that they thought he would hide in or live in...Aaron and I were walking more slow, enjoying the day and at one point stopped for a few minutes so I could have a minute of rest...(I am a little out of shape and the uphill was a little rough on this old girl)...I realized that we could no longer hear them, but not overly worried, they are 12 and 14...as we drew closer to our destination, we ran into some people and they had seen the boys so I was excited to get caught up...the problem, when we arrived at Sunset Rock, the trail had a split and we quickly realized that we had no way to know which way they went...we split up and met back up, realizing they took the path going way past Sunset Rock and decided that I would head back to the car and Aaron would forge on, searching for our children.  As we parted, I was crying, worried that the kids would not think to stop and realize it had been a while since they seen us and dark was only a short time away...as I headed back to the car, so I could drive to Sunset Rock (this way I could pick them all up) I prayed for Aaron to call...when the phone rang, and he told me they had met up I was so happy...they finally turned around because they realized they had been walking forever, hadn't seen us in awhile...We were so worried and they were rambling about the fun they had together...how much they loved the path...

My point in telling this story is this...because today I thought isn't this like life...The Father seeking and searching for His children as we forge on - enjoying what is around us, laughing and having fun with our family and friends...do we run back to Him when we realize it has been to long since we saw or spoken to Him or do we always walk away, never returning the seeking and searching He always is giving to us...He is constantly following us on our path through life...sometimes we walk together, sometimes we run ahead and eventually turn around and sometimes, some of us run ahead and keep on running.  I think as a Father, He gives us the chance to walk ahead - with the knowledge He has given us, but we must always be mindful that He is with us, seeking us out, searching for us - God desires to walk through life with us - I believe that He wants us to grow and enjoy life but we should never forget that He is there  ---- like my boys becoming mindful that they had not seen their father in a while, and turning around to find him, we must always be mindful that He is the One that we should run to, that He is there and that we should be coming to Him not just with the hard times, but with stories and ramblings of fun and the beauty around us...He delights in our happiness and in what brings us joy....

The path we walked is part of His creation, and even in the 30 minutes of being worried, I delighted so much in the beauty He created, in the wonder of what was before me - just as He delights in us - sees the beauty in us, His ultimate creation. 

 More Mossy Rocks....

 Mossy and mushroom covered logs...

 The rocky path...

   Beautiful....

One week in...

We are a week into the new year and I can already see that He is presenting things in my path to teach me, push me, make me look at myself and really depend on Him....there are things coming up that only He can work out and help me through.  At the end of every year since we have come to Chattanooga, I look back and think that I hope things go differently the next year, maybe are a little easier or "better" and I hope that we are just as blessed in the next year as we were in the last...funny how we hope for all the good we had but want it to be "better" and that it would be less of a "trial"...and I am laughing as I type this because I realize that I am kind of asking Him how I expect things to be or play out and as we all know, telling Him the plan, well usually the opposite turns out.

So, I take back my "orders" and I ask this....more of You, less of me.  Your plan, not mine.  Your will be done, even if it hurts and is hard. Most of all, teach me, help me depend on You and forgive me, because I know that I will cry, probably question, and be scared, but I will keep running to You for the comfort, counsel and provision You always give. 

I am excited for finishing James soon....to start going through Romans with some awesome friends and my husband teaching (he is my favorite person to learn from). I am excited to read through a book with a new friend and hope that relationship grows, as we grow together....

I know that even some of these hopes and excitements may not be exactly what I am imagining, but I know that He is good, He is God and there is a reason for everything that happens - even if it doesn't always make sense.  I don't think I have it all figured out-far from it, but I believe that He is giving me something to reach for.  

This year has already shown some hurts-disappointment in people that you expect more from....realizing that people you thought you had grown close to or built a relationship with doesn't really seem to care...but everything has a season...I am great full for the relationships that I have, the love that comes from them and for the strength that He has blessed them with. 

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so the the power of Christ may rest upon me.  - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Worn....but not in despair

I can't believe how quickly this year seems to have passed by.  This has, as every year has, been an experience of ups and downs, joys and sorrows and growth.  Frankly, as I sit here, I am worn out...I heard this song, and I think it explains exactly how I feel...

But, the truth is, I am seeing redemption win and I believe that my time of being worn is being used to help me grow personally---I know that when I am in this kind of place, I am always seeking to see Him and looking for Him to show up...and I have seen Him do amazing things in the past few months in the lives of others, in the way that I view the times that He has told us no after thinking that He was moving us in a new direction....I have seen Him and maybe not always in the ways that I was expecting, but in ways that I never saw coming...my walk with Him (as you can see in past blogs) has been up and down, but in all the different times, He has always been the same God that He says He is and He has never changed, let go or loved me less...I have let go, changed and loved Him less and more....but He is always constant...I want to be more constant.  

I don't like "resolutions" but I do like goals.  Since I have gotten behind on my James study, I intend to finish that and start a new one...I am excited to read and work through a book with some friends and to begin a small group with my husband leading a group of us through the book of Romans...I want to grow in my personal walk, in my walk with my husband and in my walk with other believers.  I want to become a better me....i want to blog more and most of all, in a lesson that I have recently realized I really need to do, praise Him in the good and in the bad...not every answer will be yes, not every dream will come to be, not every moment will be easy, but He is still God and there is too much good to do anything but praise Him....

I praise Him for all the good He has done this year....from providing jobs, our needs, loving us in the hard times, healing relationships that have become true and important, to bringing new friends into our lives (especially in the life in my husband), to doing mighty and amaizng things in the lives of people that matter to us and for blessing us with another year of life, love and growth.   

I may be worn, but the dawn is coming on a new day and it is easier to rise, to look to the heavens and to see what beauty lies in the future. God is still God when it rains and when the sun is high....He is the great Healer, Provider, Counselor, Father, Savior...He is more than enough for me....

Book Review: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

I was once again lucky to be chosen by Bethany House to receive a free copy of this book for review.  I have read many of Kristen Heitzmann's books and truly enjoy her writing and the way that she weaves Him into her books.  

This book was such a wonderful story - weaving the lives of two people and their past hurts, hurdles, trials and turning it into a beautiful story of grace, redemption, love, hope and acceptance.  Morgan and Quinn both have individual hurdles that must be overcome and end up doing this in an unexpected way, together.  The way that she makes them connect and realize how much they need each other at first it is thought to be for a solution but comes quickly to be for everything life has. God is woven into this story in such interesting ways, from the way that He can be used for good and evil and how evil never wins, but leaves consequences....I was kept on my toes and ended up finishing the book in one sitting.  

I love when I read something and see how people can twist and turn something so beautiful into something bad and how even in scheming and wrongdoing, God always shows that He is in control and no matter how hard evil tries to grab a foothold and sometimes even succeeds, the foothold is not successful for long and He shows up in mighty and powerful ways.