Book Review: Dawn Comes Early

I have so many good things to say about this book!  Margaret Brownley pens another great tale.

Kate Tenney steps off the train into Arizona Territory in 1895 to make her way as a single, female rancher.  She answers an ad sent out by the ranch's current owner, a stately older woman who is looking for an heiress.  The qualifications are for a woman of good character, willing to learn the ranching business and to remain single forever more.  Kate is sure she fits all those conditions, and welcomes the new challenge.  However, Kate didn't count on being rescued by Luke Adams.  She does her best to put her focus on the task at hand, but much to her dismay finds feelings she thought she could ignore for the rest of her life.  Obviously her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as heir to the ranch.  Kate must weigh all the choices, and then decide if she's willing to trust God to have a hand in her future.

Margaret Brownley does an excellent job of ending the story in a different way than you would imagine.  Let's be honest: you pretty much know the end of the story whenever you pick up a Christian romance.  And maybe you can guess the end of this story, but there are definitely enough surprises to keep you engaged until the very end.  The story is delightful and the characters are smile-worthy.

Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book as a part of their blogger program called BookSneeze.

Book Review: Heart Echoes

Want to know a sure-fire way to hook me into a story?  Start it out with a natural disaster.  I can't look away from any natural disaster.  Tornado, hurricane, earthquake...yep, any of them will do.

Heart Echoes starts out with Teal Morgan-Adams driving home from work in downtown LA.  And then a massive earthquake turns her world upside down, and her perfect existence begins to crumble.  Her 15-year-old daughter Maiya sets her heart on finding her biological father, even though she has a fantastic home with her mom and stepdad, River Adams.  Teal had hoped that secret would remain buried forever.  She has never told anyone that tidbit of info--not her family, River or even Maiya's father.  Maiya's prying leads to a mother/daughter trip to Teal's home of Cedar Pointe, Oregon, a place that Teal has managed to avoid for most of her adult life.  Will her already-strained marriage survive the distance and the secrets she'll be forced to face there?

This book was a good read.  Sally John is pretty incredible at capturing the heart of how a woman would feel in such a situation.  I myself have never experience any of these things--an earthquake, a child out of wedlock, a teenager who is acting out because of the void of her biological dad--but I seemed to know just how Teal was feeling throughout the story.  You are on her side from the very beginning, and although she doesn't always make the best choices, you will find yourself wrapped up in the story of how Teal will put everything back together.

Warning: this is book #3 in the Side Road series.  That is a bit of info I did not have when I signed up to review this book.  You might want to start with Ransomed Dreams and Desert Gift before you tackle Heart Echoes.  However, it was a pretty good stand alone book too.  Props to Sally John for making the story fairly contained.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book as a part of their blogger book review program.

Book Review: A Sound Among the Trees

In my old age, I am coming to like historical fiction more and more.  I realize it's just that: fiction and not fact.  But I know there are elements of true history in each story and I find it fascinating.  However, A Sound Among the Trees deals with an aspect of history I have a hard time with, the Civil War.  Such an ugly time in American history. 

Marielle Bishop is a new bride in a very old house.  She's transplanted herself from the desert of Arizona to move into her new husband's home in Fredericksburg, Virginia and is soon led to believe that the house she's moved into brings misfortune to the women who live there.  It all traces back to Susannah Page, a young woman who is rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, thus a traitor to her Virginia home.  Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn't believe it's Susannah who haunts the house, but the very house itself that holds a grudge toward it's tragic past.  Marielle must sort through history, superstitions and folk tales to make peace with the sacrifices she's made for love.

There is something compelling about a family who has lived in one house for over a century, passing it down from generation to generation.  It's not surprising that ghost stories bloomed over all the years.  The characters in this book are real enough that it is imperative that you find out if the story has any reconciliation or not.  I commend Susan Meissener for not only drawing you into the modern lives of Marielle and Adelaide, but into the historical life of Susannah Page as well.  The heartache of Susannah as she witnesses the awful aspects of war are as real as the desire of Marielle to make her new life work.  The readers feel the need of Marielle to reconcile history to chart a good course for her future.

Historical fiction lovers will love this book, and so will the rest of us.

This book was sent to me by WaterBrook Press in exchange for an honest review, as a part of their Blogging for Books program.

January Report Card

I tossed around the idea of tossing out the monthly report card, since I have not set forth any measurable goals that need to be measured.  But I like the idea of looking back and reflecting on the past month; it makes me feel like I'm living life intentionally and not just letting (too many) things slip by.

This month was marked by two major things that I'm sure you're sick of hearing about: starting my new job as nursery director and the start of MOPS.  Both are going extremely well.  I'm settling into the routine of sorts that the nursery will require, and I actually enjoy it.  The longest days are Sundays when I have to be there all morning, but even those fly by in a flurry of activity.  Last Sunday was the hardest, since I had to cover two services almost by myself; at the last service one of the nursery workers took pity on me and helped me out, which was good, because it would have been 12 toddlers on one, and they very well could have staged a coup and overthrown the nursery. 

MOPS started off great.  We have a total of seven moms and so far we all seem to get along.  I look forward to each of our meetings and hope that other moms get the word and feel confident enough to join us.

We're in the process of buying a house, which means we'll be moving soon.  No date yet, but hopefully in April or May.  It could be as early as March, which would be fine by me.  You all know the energy that moving takes, but I'm really excited about this one, because Lord willing we won't be moving again for a long time. 

I've been mulling around the idea of making rag quilts for my girls, and my dear friend Tawnya has inspired me to make it happen.  She made one for her boy, and so now I'm actively starting to seek out fabric for them.  She gave some really good ideas on finding fabric, and I'm excited to start the hunt.  If any of you have any green, pink or purple (solid, prints, whatever) fabric laying around, feel free to send it my way!

And that's where I am at the end of January.  I still don't really have any hard-core goals ready, which maybe is my goal for February.  I really do want to live life intentionally, and I'm the kind of person that needs a plan in order to do that.  Money Saving Mom sets a great example on goal-setting, but the most interesting thing she's been talking about lately is implementing new habits.  Off the top of my head, I can think of a few habits I'd love to have, so I think in February I'll really map them out. 

Stay tuned.

Book Review: Beyond Molasses Creek

Don't worry: this book is in no way controversial or worthy of any "kind" hate mail.

Ally Green has spent her life as a flight attendant, traipsing across the globe.  But now she's 60 and her father has died and it's time to come home in order to put his affairs in order.  This is not as easy task, simply because she's been running for so long.  Back in the Lowcountry, Ally is forced to reconcile her past and her relationship with Vesey Washington, who still lives across the creek.  As Ally deals with things she would just as soon forget about, a young woman on the other side of the world manages to escape her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal.  Sunila's ticket out is a mysterious sketchbook, which tells her that there is more to her story than she's been told, and it's finally time to seek out the truth.  These three lives are deeply intertwined, and a story of faith, freedom and friendship waits for them on the banks of Molasses Creek.

This story is refreshingly deep.  I do love my easy reads, but it is also nice to settle into a meatier story.  These characters are rich and captivating, as are the stories they explore.  The stories hover around the stickier issues of modern-day slavery and the caste system that abound in Nepal and the uglier civil rights issues that lurk in American history.  Ally is white and Vesey is black, and their friendship dates back to the late 1950s, so from the very beginning their relationship was fraught with complications. 

I really enjoyed reading Nicole Seitz.  She reminds me a bit of Charles Martin, another great author, but it might be because her stories are also set in South Carolina.  I love living in Colorado, but Nicole makes me wonder what it would have been like to grow up over there instead of here.  I would have liked to see her reconcile the characters with God a bit more; it seemed like she would, but then the story was over.  Not that it took anything away from the story, but it's like she started to, and then the story simply went another direction.

This book is worth your time.

Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book as a part of their blogger program called BookSneeze.

Stirring the Pot

Apparently I've started 2012 by ruffling a few feathers.  And it has pushed my little peacemaking heart out of its comfort zone. That last book review on The Resignation of Eve did not make a few people happy.  Honestly, I'm a little shocked that people other than my faithful family and friends even read what I write.  Not only did they read it, but they felt they had to respond.  Not sure if I should be thrilled or more censored in what I say.  I think I may have learned a few lessons, though.

Lesson #1: When you say that you like something, yay!  People love it and probably think you are clever and witty.  When you say that you dislike or disagree with something, then you better be ready to prove why you have the credibility to say something about it.  Interesting.

My comments about The Resignation of Eve have made me feel like I should have gotten a degree in...something before I was allowed to say anything about it.  I've been called into question about my background and bias.  So here it is: I was born and raised in the church.  I attended Christian high school and graduated from a Christian college with a degree in Bible.  I currently work in a church, both in the children's ministry and the women's ministry.  Therefore I believe that I have some credibility when it comes to discussing a.) the workings of a church and b.) what the Bible has to say about the workings of a church.  I've never written a dissertation on 1 Timothy or anything like that, but I do have 16+ years of interacting with Biblical truths under my belt. 

Lesson #2: Not everyone who reads what I write has the same worldview as I do.  What I don't know is if that means that I shouldn't write my true opinions about something because someone else will probably be offended.

That seems to be where most of the arguments are coming from.  I was called "unfair and biased" for saying this book was written from a secular worldview.  I stand by that statement.  I read this book as someone who works with women's ministry and who has a Biblical worldview.  The conclusions in this book do not come from a Biblical worldview.  They simply don't.  I do not believe we should look to the world to tell us how to run the church.  They don't understand; it is foolishness to them.  I believe if we did, then we'd have a soft place where everyone can feel good about themselves and all the decisions they feel are best for them.  The church is not about making people feel good about themselves.  It is about drawing people closer to God, through worshiping together and Biblically-sound teaching that tells the truth, whether people are comfortable with it or not. 

Maybe my comments would have been more well received if I had said something nice about the author.  Here it is: Jim Henderson is a great writer.  I read every single word of his book, because he is very good at writing.  It's the conclusions that I take issue with. 

The point of my review was I would never, ever take that book to my church leadership and tell them to use it as a springboard when addressing the roles of women in church.  It would spring them right into the pool of the world.  I truly believe this book will do more to fuel the fires of discontent and division than it will to bring any church together, giving women who look to the world to show them what their role should be a reason to feel justified in their attitudes.

I get extremely passionate when someone tries to represent Christianity without representing the Bible. It's impossible.  But this book tried to do just that.  It let the experiences of women dictate the conclusions, and not once did it look to what the Bible has to say about the issue. There are too many people out there who claim to be Christians without knowing what Christianity is all about. This book and most of those women are a classic example. The WORLD says that women should be equal in every aspect. The BIBLE points to the fact that while men and women are equal in their value and worth, God has very different plans for the two different genders. One is not worse than the other; one is not superior to the other. But they are different. And anytime someone tries to say that there should be no difference, then I know they are not coming from a Biblical worldview.

I know the women in those stories were real.  I know that most of them had not so good and downright horrible experiences with their church leaderships.  I'm sorry for them.  They should not have been treated that way, and only the Lord can heal their hearts and help them to trust leadership again.  But those handful of women do not represent the whole of the church today, nor prove any points about any perceived errors in leadership.

One of the author's closing statements was "maybe God's ways aren't our ways."  So true.  Except the conclusion of this book pointed to the ways the world would have the church run.  And something tells me that that is probably not God's way either. 

I stand by my review.  I'm not sorry I threw the book in the trash (which I probably did too soon, since I can't pull it out to quote specific passages.  I did that mostly because I'm trying to get ahead of the clutter in my house, and one of my goals is to throw out things as soon as I decide they should be thrown it.  It wasn't done out of spite; just because I wanted to get rid of the clutter.)

Book Review: The Resignation of Eve

The title and subtitle of this book sound intriguing: The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam's Rib Is No Longer Willing To Be the Church's Backbone?  Even the description on the back of the book is compelling: Jim Henderson spoke with women around the country about their role in church and came to believe that and epidemic of sad resignation is developing as women feel overworked and undervalued in the church.  Because of this, many women are discouraged and some are even leaving organized church altogether.  Some are even walking away from the faith.  The Resignation of Eve is a field report on what women have to say, both positively and negatively, about their experiences in the church.  Their stories should give church leadership a view into the hearts of women, and they should react accordingly in order to prevent a mass resignation.

That is my paraphrase of what the back of the book says.  That is NOT what this book is actually about.  This book is about how the church is run by male leadership, and how sad and unfair that is to women.

Yes, this book is filled with stories of women and their accounts of their experiences in church.  However, the vast majority of them are just snipe-fests on how women are appalled that they cannot be senior pastors or elders in their church.  There are a couple of stories (as in just two, I believe) of women who don't have a problem with male leadership and even find it comforting.  The author's position on that is that these women have been indoctrinated and essentially brainwashed into feeling this way, and clearly that proves his point that some women are resigned to their positions in church.

There are quite a few things that I find offensive about this book as a woman.  First, more than once the author and the women in this book allude to the fact that women's and children's ministries within the church are clearly the lesser of all the ministries.  They say that if women want to lead then they are pushed aside into women's and children's ministries, rather than serving in the more important role of senior pastor.  Second is the idea that any woman who supports male leadership has simply and sadly been indoctrinated.  That tells me that, as a woman who supports male leadership, I must not have an original or intelligent thought in my head. 

This book, this author, and the women in this book have missed the whole point of leadership.  If they are truly going to use Scripture to find out about their roles in church, why do they keep missing Mark 10:44?  As if the only acceptable leadership position is the role of senior pastor.  And if there is anyone in the church who is serving in a role other than the senior pastor, then they are clearly not in a leadership position.

This book was not written from a biblical perspective; it was written from a secular worldview.  But let's go with that for a minute; even then, this author misses what even John Maxwell, the great leadership guru has to say about leadership.  And that is you can lead where ever you are.  You do not have to be labeled "top dog" to be considered a leader.  And if you're waiting for that label, then you probably aren't cut out for leadership anyway.

This book reminds me a lot of American Idol.  You know, early in the season during the audition rounds when so many well-meaning, earnest kids come on and sing their little hearts out.  And they sound terrible.  And so the judges try to gently tell them that they should pursue other things.  And then the kids get spitting mad and use all sorts of words and gestures to show how much they disagree with the judges assessment.  Their parents have told them that they are amazing singers, so what would these professionals know?  Well, this book is just like those parents to all bossy women who feel they aren't being listened to.  It will fuel their fire and make them feel like they are right, even though the Bible clearly says otherwise.

I am throwing this book in the trash.  As a book lover, I hate to throw books out, but I can't think of a single person I would want to read this book.  I don't want it on some random book shelf in a thrift store either.  No one should read this book.  And this author should not be writing for Christian audiences either.  He is clearly not on the same page.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book as a part of their blogger book review program.