Giving the blessing of unconditional love and acceptance

As Jacob was blessed by Abraham, so we all yearn to receive the blessing of our parents.  It is also natural for us to want to "pass on to our children more than we received.  This book can put into words what you missed as a child as well as provide practical, hands-on ways of communicating unconditional love and acceptance to your children and loved ones." (p. 5)  Please don't get me wrong.  I had a wonderful childhood and felt the love of my parents.  However, part of human nature is doubting our true worth and competing with siblings, if there are any.  If possible, I want to eradicate any possibility of my children's doubts they they are loved and truly treasured by their parents, regardless of what choices they make in life.  The world tells us otherwise.  This book equipped me with five specific tools to counteract what the world is telling my children.  If I have made the book seem as if it is only written for parents to use with their children, I need to clarify.  While that is the focus of the writing, these principles enrich and bring healing in  all intimate relationships such as friendships, parents, or your spouse.  We all, whether adult or child, want to know we are treasured by someone. The Blessing will tell you how to accomplish that through five different venues:  meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value to the individual, dreaming with and believing in him or her about a very special future God has for him/her, and a commitment to bestowing the blessing.  Using Biblical truths and stories of Jesus' life on earth, Trent paints us a vivid picture of the changed lives that are a result of such a blessing.

Why should we bless our children and others?  As Mr.Trent explains, it allows them to develop intimate relationships when they are older and it "lays the foundation" for a genuine and fulfilling relationship with God that can survive the rocky teen years".  We need others, but especially our children, to feel that unconditional acceptance with us, as parents, rather than seeking "counterfeit blessings" in the world through money, drugs, poor choices in friends, cults, or even success.  If you missed that blessing in your life from parents or grandparents of other significant adults, the book also contains helpful information in overcoming that hurt and not allowing it to define who you are or passing the same lack of blessing on to your own family.

How I wish space allowed me to explain deeper each of the five components of the blessing.  This book is a must read for all parents but I highly recommend it to anyone who works with children be they Sunday school teachers or public school teachers or counselors.   I also feel this book would be helpful to those who may have had a rocky childhood and may find it difficult to be loved or to love unconditionally.

The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley is a reprint.  It has been updated  by Trent with ideas and questions that pause you to think about how to apply what you have read as well as rich Internet resources.  The Blessing is available on amazon.com, christianbook.com or your local Christian bookstore.

Do you want to be happy? Enemies of the Heart: dealing with greed, anger, guilt, and jealousy even if you choose to refuse it exists

How many times has something slipped out of your mouth that you couldn't believe you said or did something that was totally "uncharacteristic" of you?  For me, it is far too often.  I may have thought it, but did it need to be said?  Luke 6:45 says that ........for his mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.  So, is my mouth the problem or is my heart the problem?  I think you can see from the scripture that it is my heart.  Was I born this way?  No.  I could pretend that everything is okay, as most of us do, but eventually the "real" me (who I am inside) will surface.  Every thought, deed, and word that comes from me originates in the heart.  Doesn't that mean that I should take the time to  make certain my heart is as it should be?  Originally published in 2006 as It Came From Within, Enemies of the Heart  by Andy Stanley caused me to examine my heart to determine its health (not in the physical sense but in the spiritual sense).

Things may have happened to us in the past that may give us every right to be anger, jealous.....But do you want to stay that way?  How long are we/you going to allow those events to have power over you and control who you are?   Even if you don't see any of these four enemies of the heart glaring in your life, this book will allow you to see bits and pieces of them in yourself, making your heart less than what God would have it to be.  If you have a weak physical heart, you immediately see a doctor to see what needs to be done.  Allow Andy to be the "doctor" of your spiritual heart and he will point you to the path of healing, whether you need an "immediate transplant" or just a bit of exercise. 

However, once you see those bits of "poison" in your own life, there is hope.  Andy doesn't leave you there.  Change won't happen overnight.  It took you/me years to get where we are.   The last two thirds of the book is devoted to confronting those undesirable traits and overcoming their power in your life.
Andy writes just like he preaches:  straight up, to the point, encouraging, confronting in love, in everday language.  Even though I have listened to a number of his sermons both in person and via the Internet, this is the first of his books I have read.  It won't be the last.  Andy doesn't dance around the Truth and his illustrations are pointed and personal.  He is able to grab the reader's attention and keep it from the beginning paragraph to the end of the book.  I"m typically not a non-fiction reader but I very much enjoyed reading this book.  Did it sting a bit?  Of course!  But who wants to become stagnant and not grow in their faith and become all God wants you to be?  Any change and growth is uncomfortable a bit but definitely worth it.

Enemies of the Heart is availabe June 21, 2011 from Amazon.com, christianbook.com and your local Christian bookstore.

The Daughter's Walk: a woman's suffrage story

Just before the turn on the 20th century, when woman's suffrage was at its infancy, Clara Estby must join her mother to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City in order to save her family's farm.  Her father has recovered from diphrheria but he cannot find enough work to pay the mortgage.  Clara's mother, Helga, agrees to make the walk, advertising the new reform dress for the sponsors which shows a woman's ankles, for the sum of $10,000.  In leaving with her mother, Clara must resign her position at Stapleton home and will most likely not be able to find employment once she returns.  Several poor decisions and illnesses prolong their arrival to NYC but the Estby women are not typicaly women of their day.  Will they make it in time to save their family?

Returning to their home in Spokane, they find that tragedy has struck.  Plans for the future hang in limbo and Clara must find work.  Through her job as a secretary and her employers, Clara seeks to find a place of belonging and to fill the emptiness in her heart.

Based on a true story, The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick tells the story of an independent woman paving the way for women today and her time away from her family after she is told some of the family "secrets".  The end of  each chapter leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen to Clara next.  I literally flew through the almost four hundred pages.  I grieved with her mother and felt like I was right there with Clara every step of the way.  The author does an excellent job breathing life into the historical characters and making the history come to life during a time of American history I know very little about.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.  However, don't expect a story that is filled with examples of the family's faith in God.   You won't find it.  God is mentioned in the book but almost as a brief afterthought which was somewhat of a disappointment. 

This book is available on Amazon.com and christianbooks.com.

Beyond All Measure

Shortly after the Civil War has ended, Ada is penniless and all alone.  Her mother died years ago of consumption and her father has recently passed away, leaving Ada with no home, no prospect of marriage, and nothing to live on. Ada boards a train in her home of Boston and travels to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee to become a companion to Lillian Caldwell.  The only skill Ada brings with her is her ability to make hats like her mother did.   Ada is determined to open her own business as a milliner in order to have the funds to return to what is familiar to her and live a life that does not included playing the part of a servant.

However, Ada didn't consider that she might actually care for Lillian nor did she dream she might meet someone who could change her plans.  Wyatt Caldwell, Lillian's nephew, is probably the best looking man Ada has ever seen.  What man would put his dreams on hold to come to Tennessee to make sure his aging aunt was well taken care of? However, Ada has been betrayed so many times that it is difficult for her to trust.  Can Ada let go of her past and learn to trust both God and Wyatt?

The author, Dorothy Love, attempts to weave the story of two people who carry pain from their past--Ada's from her father and ex-fiance, Wyatt's from the Civil War.  However, I do not feel that the character's struggles are well developed enough to allow the reader to truly empathize with either.   Most of the book is a nice easy-going story about the relationship between Ada and Lillian and Ada and Wyatt.  Scattered throughout the story are peeks of the conflict between Ada and her father and her perceived "ruining" of her life.  It was a  good story but not one that I would want to pick up again.  Most of it was quite predictable leading the reader with little reason to read past bedtime which is what I would have liked to have seen.  Although written as part of a series, this book easily stands alone.

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love is available on Christianbooks.com and on Amazon.com.

Til Death Do Us Part?

The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble opens at the turn of the 20th century in New York.  Olivia Stewart and her mother receive news that Olivia's sister, Eleanor, has died before her arranged marriage with Harrison Bennett takes place.  The marriage between the two families will benefit both and the elder Mr. Bennett will not consider fulfilling his end of the bargain if there is no daughter to marry.  The Stewart's money has all but disappeared through the years and the Bennetts are quite wealthy.  Can Olivia step into her sister's place and rescue the family by marrying Harrison?

The perplexing events surrounding Eleanor's death leave the family baffled.  Eleanor drowned and yet she was terrified of water.  What would have convinced Eleanor to have been anywhere close to water?  Olivia intends to find out before committing to the arranged marriage.

Olivia travels west to Mercy Falls assuming the name of Lady Devonworth,  to discover what happened to her dear sister.  She strongly suspects that the young Harrison Bennett had something to do with her untimely death.  However, before she can even set foot into Mercy Falls, someone pushes her overboard and she is rescued by none other than Harrison.  Olivia seeks shelter in the coastal lighthouse and develops a quick friendship with the tenants, Katie and Will Jersperson and their daughter Jennie. 

Within days, another tragic event takes place when the lighthouse tumbles in a fierce storm.  Olivia welcomes the Jespersons into her home for as long as it takes to rebuild the lighthouse.  However, there is no money to rebuild.  Olivia determines to help and decides a Lightkeeper's ball is just the thing.  She will invite her set of friends who think nothing of traveling the 3,000 miles to a party during the social season.

Can Olivia get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her sister's death?  Is Harrison who he appears to be?  Could Harrison even consider a marriage with Olivia when he finds out she is Eleanor's sister?  Will Olivia find the faith that seems to be missing her in life?

The Lightkeeper's Ball is the third in the Mercy Falls series.  Even though it is a series, I found  that the author made it very easy to pick up the characters and dive right in to their lives and the sequence of events made me want to keep reading until the very end.  The book can easily stand alone.  I also found a lot of myself in Olivia--not so much the conventional lady but interested in things that many "ladies" would not have bothered with nor been interested in during her time period.  I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This book is available on christianbook.com and on Amazon.com.

Can a heart and soul mend?

Hannah Lapp left her Old Order Amish home of Owl's Perch, Pennsylvania several years ago in disgrace and fled to Ohio to begin a new life.  Only months before leaving Pennsylvania, she was engaged and happy.  But a horrible night changed all that.   No one believed she had been attacked.  Not her fiance, not the bishop, not even her own father.

Hannah found what she was seeking in Ohio when she was united with her father's twin sister who had been shunned many years back and was living in the Englischer's world.  She also found love and a new family when she met Martin Palmer who had recently been left raising his niece and nephew when his sister deserted them.  Between the Palmer family, her work with a doctor, and nursing school, Hannah's life was full and complete.  Or was it?

A fatal fire in Owl's Perch makes it necessary for Hannah to return to Owl's Creek and face her past.  However, she never expects that past to include her once fiance, Paul.  Can Hannah find the forgiveness she so desperately needs to be able to allow her soul to mend so that she can move forward with her life?

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall, is the third in the Sisters of the Quilt series.  It follows When the Heart Cries and When the Morning Comes.  The preceding titles are given because I found it somewhat difficult to pick up in the story in the middle of the series.  Mrs. Woodsmall does provide a glossary of main characters from books 1 & 2 and it is something I found most helpful and necessary to refer back to on a regular basis as I found it challenging to keep up with all the lesser significant characters' names and connection to the main characters.  I also found some parts of the book to be difficult to follow as the sequence of events did not always connect as I thought they should. 

I have very much enjoyed all Amish fiction that I have read through the years and  I'm certain that this series would not be an exception.  However, I would recommend that, even though the book can be read as a separate entity, that the reader begins at the beginning of the series rather than in book 3.  When the Soul Mends is available from Amazon.com and through christianbook.com.

Plain Proposal

Miriam Raber has loved Saul Fisher for what seems like her whole life.  She can picture their Amish life together in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as husband and wife, with a family of their own.  However, Saul may have other plans.  He wants more than what he feels the Amish life has to offer him.  Both Miriam and Saul are in their rumschpringe so have the opportunity to experience some of the outside world before joining the church. 

Since his mother's death, as the oldest child, Saul has lovingly cooked for his "ill" father and siblings.  Saul would like nothing more than to go out into the world and become a chef.  The opportunity is there.  He has an offer to learn the craft.  However, he does have feelings for Miriam.  As those feelings grow through the summer, will Miriam be willing to leave her Amish life behind?  Miriam has an uncle who has chosen the Englisch ways so she is aware of the lonely life of being shunned should she choose to leave the Amish faith.  

Woven into the blooming love between Miriam and Saul is the story of Miriam's cousin, Shelby, who has come to visit for the summer.  Shelby comes from the Englisch world.  Her parents are recently divorced and she has recently broken up with her boyfriend.  Shelby comes to Lancaster a very sad young lady.  She misses electricity, air conditioning, and some of the activities of the outside world but also finds some comfort in the simple life her relatives live.  Will she find joy and meaning to her life in the strange surroundings of her distant family?

Plain Proposal is part of the Daughters of Promise series by Beth Wiseman.  Even though part of a series, each novel can stand alone.  It is an easy read and will take you to a place where life is much simpler.  Plain Proposal is available at your local Christian bookstore and on Amazon.com.