The Wall: Rebuilding a culture of LIFE in America—and ending abortion as we know it
The Wall: Rebuilding a culture of LIFE in America—and ending abortion as we know it
by Kirk Walden
If you want to know more about what you can do to help rebuild “a culture of LIFE in America—and ending abortion as we know it,” then read The Wall by Kirk Walden. Written to encourage people to give of their resources—money, time, labor, and more, The Wall is informative, practical, and inspirational. Using the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the long destroyed wall around Jerusalem as a model, Walden shows how we can rebuild the broken culture as a loving people, giving options to those who find themselves in a crisis.
Pregnancy crisis centers can help in so many ways, from showing parents their unborn child using ultrasound to counseling men, encouraging them to step up to be dads. They can provide medical and physical support, abstinence and parenting education, post-abortion recovery counseling, and so much more. To provide all of these services, funds are needed, and all donations are important whether it is a small, but sacrificial donation of ten or twenty dollars or the rich person’s spare $50,000. If we create a culture that values life, abortion clinics will close their doors from lack of clients and profits. Give this book a read if you want to know more about pregnancy crisis centers and what you can do to help.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction, Social Issues
Notes: short, inspirational read about providing real choices to those facing the real challenges of an unplanned pregnancy
Publication: August 4, 2013—LifeTrends
Memorable Lines:
Our Wall is going to be strong, and we will stand on that Wall. And we will invite inside our Wall the hurting, the fearful, the desperate and the destitute. We are not going to back down. And we are not going to back up or let up.
It’s a Wall of protection for those facing the cultural temptations and battles of today, and for their children waiting to be born; wanting nothing more than to celebrate their first smiles, their first steps, and their first birthdays. Once we get started, once we take our stand on that Wall, there is no limit to what God can do with each of us.
Tilling the Truth–civic action by the garden squad
Tilling the Truth
by Julia Henry
When I met the Garden Squad in Pruning the Dead, I was charmed by this group of Goosebush denizens who anonymously take on gardening projects and accomplish them at night for the good of the community. In Julia Henry’s sequel Tilling the Truth, the Garden Squad which is led by Lily, a prominent senior citizen in Goosebush, gets involved in solving murders and uncovering shady real estate deals. At the same time, Lily is acting as the executor of a friend’s estate which includes a controversial bird sanctuary.
The main characters do not appeal to me. They seem cliquish and concerned with their own prominence. They love to eat and a lot of the book’s activity centers around food as much as gardening.
Setting is very important in this book, and the author describes the individual locations quite well. Unfortunately, the locations of the houses in relation to each other, to various businesses, and to the town center is not defined adequately, and that is a distraction for me in trying to picture the action.
Although there are many potential suspects, the investigative path is not terribly complex and not very surprising. The action scene that reveals the murderer is well-written and satisfying.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #2 in the Garden Squad Mystery Series
2. There is an addendum of interesting gardening notes.
Publication: August 27, 2019—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“She is such a miserable woman. Honestly, when she comes into my store the flowers wilt.”
“Braden was born on third base and acts like the world owes him a home run.”
But hosting a fundraiser? That felt like the seventh circle of hell closing in.
It Won’t Be Christmas Without You–white Christmas in England
It Won’t Be Christmas Without You
by Beth Reekles
Cara and Eloise are twins in Beth Reekles’ It Won’t Be Christmas Without You. The author never tells if they are identical twins or not, but they are certainly different in personality. Cara is a workaholic, driven to earn an early promotion. She feels she has always had to work extra hard to achieve grades and jobs. Eloise is a teacher and success in school and in finding her first job comes easier for her. She, however, always feels lacking in the friendship department.
This year Eloise’s world is turned upside down as their parents announce that they will take a beach vacation on what is Eloise’s favorite holiday, Christmas. Cara decides she may opt out of their traditional celebration also in favor of working. The conflict in the book revolves around the tension between the siblings as they move closer to December 25. Both of the twins become involved in romantic relationships with likable young men.
The chapters move along a timeline which is a countdown to Christmas. It was a quick read, but I never felt fully invested in the characters. I was more of an outsider looking in on the action. I enjoyed learning about some mentioned British foods: roasties, bacon sarnies, and the sweet treats of individual, packaged mince pies, Celebrations, and Roses.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to HarperCollins (One More Chapter) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3/5
Category: General Fiction (A), Romance
Notes: Contains a lot of British Vulgarisms
Publication: August 30, 2019—HarperCollins (One More Chapter)
Memorable Lines:
Wow. She’d actually done it. She’d gone for the blackmail card. Guilting her twin with her own broken heart.
But it did mean she was lacking in experience when it came to relationship problems. Like what to do when you think your boyfriend is lying to you. (Google wasn’t very helpful, when she asked it.)
The burn on the back of her forearm she’d got an hour ago was still red and angry, so she slapped a little Savlon on it. Salon would cure everything that a good cup of tea couldn’t, she was convinced.
Except Christmas.
Nothing could fix this Christmas.
Death by Jack-O’-Lantern–vets helping vets
Death by Jack-O’-Lantern
by Alexis Morgan
Ostensibly a Halloween cozy mystery, Death by Jack-O’-Lantern by Alexis Morgan is so much more. In addition to a great mystery, there is a budding romance between Tripp Blackson and his landlady Abby McCree and lots of small town activity as Snowberry Creek in the Pacific Northwest pulls together to make their Halloween Festival a success. In the midst of a murder investigation, pumpkins carved to resemble townspeople crop up all over town, produced by an anonymous artist. There are lots of supportive new friends for Abby as she tries to settle into her new town, but there are also some puzzling characters. The overarching serious questions are important ones: How can we help returning veterans with PTSD? To what extent does a person go to help and protect his friend?
Abby goes too far in her investigations, stirring up danger for herself and anger in Tripp and the local law enforcement officers as they fear for her safety. Zeke, her mastiff mix, plays a recurring role as her buddy and protector. Abby, an excellent manager and organizer, spends a lot of her time coordinating volunteers for several committees. She also loves to bake, especially for her friends, and to consume copious amounts of caffeinated coffee and sweet treats.
I enjoyed this top notch cozy mystery, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series. Kudos to the author as this story’s ending was one I didn’t see coming!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Abby McCree Mystery Series. It would be OK to read as a standalone, but I think it would be more enjoyable if you read #1 in the series first.
Publication: August 27, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
“Connie has a real talent for ‘volunteering’ people. I swear, you walk into city hall to ask a simple question about property taxes and somehow walk out in charge of a major town event. You’re even grateful for the chance to help out.”
Abby used artificial sweetener in her coffee to help compensate for the huge chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies she’d ordered. Yeah, it was a bit silly, but logic didn’t play a big part in her need for chocolate in times of stress.
She’d let Zeke outside for his usual morning patrol around the yard, but he hadn’t come trotting back in to inhale his breakfast…When she finally spotted him, her heart almost broke. He was sitting on Tripp’s front porch and staring at the door as if sheer determination would make his friend appear. How on earth was she supposed to explain to him that his buddy had been locked up in the people pound?
Molded 4 Murder–suffocation by clay
Molded 4 Murder
by J.C. Eaton
Sophia (Phee) Kimball is a full-time bookkeeper for Williams Investigations located in Glendale, Arizona. Nate, a retired police officer, moved to Arizona from Minnesota and persuaded Phee to work for his agency. Later he hired Marshall to join the group. They all knew each other from their jobs in Minnesota, but Phee and Marshall now have a romantic relationship. Phee lives close to her mother who, in league with her book club, keeps drama and gossip stirred up in the retirement community of Sun City West.
Phee finds herself drawn into an off-the-books mystery when two ladies she met on an airplane ask her to find out who is pilfering odd items in their resort retirement community. At the same time, Nate and Marshall are called in by local law enforcement as consultants when a semi-retired art teacher is found suffocated. Both mysteries get more complicated as the story progresses forming an intricate web. Not everyone is who they seem to be, and Phee’s favor to the ladies turns deadly. J.C. Eaton’s Molded 4 Murder includes quirky characters, humorous dialogue, investigators who know how to work as a team, and a lot of plot twists. It’s a cozy mystery that will leave you wanting more of the fun and action that this husband/wife writing duo dishes up so well.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone.
Publication: August 27, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
We’ve got enough sugar cookies to set an entire classroom of kindergartners spinning for hours.
You give up a lot of things when you get old. You shouldn’t have to give up your privacy.
That girl can pick up gossip quicker than a black sweater picks up lint.
The Empty Nesters–friends pulling together
The Empty Nesters
by Carolyn Brown
Having just finished a nonfiction book about the empty nest season of life, I enjoyed reading a fictional take on it. Carolyn Brown’s The Empty Nesters is a smiling, wipe a few tears kind of book. Four neighboring military families provide support for each other with retired and childless Tootsie and Smokey taking on a grandparenting role. The three other men are part of a team that frequently leaves for extended secret missions so the wives are left behind to raise their daughters.
Life is not always easy. We join their story with each of the four women at a different stage of the empty nest. A road trip in a mobile home to Tootsie’s old family home helps the women sort through various problems. The younger women have all just sent their daughters away to basic training. One mother is divorced and still has trust issues. Tootsie is recently widowed and still grieving, and the other two fear for their own family dynamics. Luke, Tootsie’s nephew, drives on the trip. He is handsome, single, rich but down to earth, and kind. These characters are people you would like to get to know from Diana who has decided love is not in the cards for her to Carmen who takes out her fury over a cheating, scumbag husband by splitting logs for hours.
You’ll enjoy the meetings of the Empty Nesters as they share with each other and support each other. Watching them work through calamities and successes makes you feel like you are a part of the group. We don’t get to know the daughters very well, but they reflect well on their mothers who worked hard to raise them right under difficult circumstances.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Montlake Romance for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction (A), Romance
Notes: Includes some mild swearing
Publication: August 20, 2019—Montlake Romance
Memorable Lines:
It might have seemed strange to someone else, but with all the recent events, his comment was a life preserver in the midst of an ocean—a simple compliment to hang on to when the stormy waters of life were sweeping over her.
“When we get old, the biggest blessing in the world is simply to be needed”
Tootsie brought out a bottle of wine from her secret stash on the top shelf of her closet and piled sugar cookies high on a platter. Meetings weren’t held in the South, especially Texas, without food and something to drink, so it was only right that the first official meeting of the empty nesters should at least have something.
Remembrance Day #LestWeForget
This also reminds us of the sacrifices of the parents who lost their children. Thanks for sharing it. I’m reblogging it as a reminder to all. This is not just another day off from work. It is a day to honor those who fought for country and freedom.
Today is the day. In Canada we call it Remembrance Day, Veterans Day in the US and some countries call it Armistice Day, but regardless of the name, it is the day we remember those who paid the price for our freedom. Whether they returned home or not, they were forever scarred. Thank you to all the Veterans, we will Remember You.
View original post 482 more words
Penne Dreadful–a delicious cozy mystery
Penne Dreadful
by Catherine Bruns
A cozy mystery about a chef whose heritage and passion is Italian cuisine? Count me in! Penne Dreadful by Catherine Bruns is filled with food references from the beginning “Italians are passionate about almost everything in the world, and food is at the top of the list” to recipes for sauce, pizza, and stromboli at the end. In between, you will find a solid plot and interesting characters.
Five weeks prior to the story’s action, Tessa’s husband, Dylan, was killed in a car accident. Tess walks around in a trance until she learns that the crash may not have been an accident and neither her husband nor her marriage was what she thought they were. Secrets and evil minded souls abound, and it seems her husband was one of them. The discovery jolts Tess out of her grieving stupor and into action putting herself and her friends in danger as she tries to uncover the truth.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Italian Chef Mystery Series
Publication: July 30, 2019—Sourcebooks Landmark
Memorable Lines:
Luigi’s V-8 engine noises continued while I filled his food dish with star-shaped kitty crunches, and then he couldn’t scramble out of my arms fast enough.
“…you don’t ever want to get on Izzy’s bad side. That broad has enough venom in her to make a snake jealous.”
That was one of the beauties about New York weather. It might be ninety degrees one day, and forty the next. Unpredictable, the same as life.
Empty Nest, Full Life: Discovering God’s Best for Your Nest
Empty Nest, Full Life: Discovering God’s Best for Your Nest
by Jill Savage
Parents, but mothers in particular, spend almost twenty years preparing their children to fly out of the nest and into the world of adulthood. It turns out that the releasing can be as hard as the preparation. There are issues of control, especially if you have boomerang kids. Mothers are good at piling guilt on themselves when things don’t work out perfectly or as expected for their kids. Grandkids are a blessing, but they come with their own set of issues. The list goes on and on.
Jill Savage, a speaker and teacher of the Bible, who has endured her own personal trials, shares Biblical wisdom and personal anecdotes to illustrate her viewpoints on various subjects related to the “empty nest” in Empty Nest, Full Life. The first half of the book is entitled “Let Go!” and discusses the problems encountered during the empty nest season. It speaks of letting go of expectations, guilt, opinions, traditions, your child’s problems, and your own idols (the things that steal your attention away from God, the things you use to identify yourself). Part Two is called “Hold On!” and within that section lie ideas for what to actually do during that season of the empty nest. Savage encourages you to grab hold of a new mission field, passions, and friendships. She encourages you to revitalize your marriage and your relationship with God.
Each chapter closes with a truth from the Bible, an action step, and a prayer. The book itself ends with encouragement for the next season, a list of questions to help you identify current or past baggage that has affected your marriage, reference notes, and a discussion guide for a leader to use in a small group setting.
My personal nest has been empty for a number of years so I am not approaching or in the middle of an empty nest crisis. I would imagine, however, that this book would be helpful for those wondering how to deal with their new found “freedom.”
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Moody Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Christian, Parenting and Family
Publication: August 6, 2019—Moody Publishers
Memorable Lines:
Expectations will get us in trouble every time. They set us up for disappointment and leave us feeling disconnected.
Studies indicate the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of twenty-five. Yes, that means that our kids are now setting their own priorities when they’re not actually fully equipped to do so.
My friend Becky says that when she’s tempted to address something with her adult son, she tries to think of how she would address it with a friend. Most of the time she realizes she wouldn’t address it with a friend at all! This helps her find self-control and pray instead.
Let’s Fake a Deal–murder in the Air Force
Let’s Fake a Deal
by Sherry Harris
You can get a fairly good look at life on a U.S. Air Force base from reading Let’s Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris. Details range from the Spouse’s Club (formerly known as the Officers’ Wives Club) with its social structure and infighting to the legal processes within the enlisted and officer ranks. Much of it is accepted as “that’s the way it is” and some if it, sexual harassment, for example, is undergoing a slow evolution.
Sarah Winston, ex-wife of an Air Force security police force commander, lives between two worlds with loosening connections to the military and strengthening bonds with her new family of friends in the town she stayed in after her divorce. She owns a garage sale business, helping others sort through the excess in their lives, and lives in a tiny apartment furnished with garage sale findings.
Let’s Fake a Deal finds a shocked Sarah being arrested for selling stolen goods at one of her sales. Not only could she be convicted of a felony, but she could also damage her boyfriend Seth’s political chances as a District Attorney. At the same time that Sarah tries to locate the mysterious “aw shucks” couple who set her up, in more ways than one, she is also investigating the murder of Major Blade whose body was found in her friend Michelle’s car. Michelle is an Air Force light colonel enduring an IG investigation, but does not even know what the charges are. The Air Force judicial system works in powerful and mysterious ways.
Ride along with Sarah in this rollercoaster of a tale that involves a lot of investigation and interviews along with some action and romance. I think you’ll like both Sarah and this cozy mystery.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #7 in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone. I have only read a few in the series and have no problem following the plot.
2. The author includes a lot of acronyms that are common in military life, but she also gives good explanations for them.
Publication: July 30, 2019—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
Going to garage sales was like finding a good partner. You had to kiss a lot of frogs before you found a treasure.
“Purple looks great on you,” I said. Way better than envy green did on me.
Maybe poor in money, but rich in family and friends. Loved. Isn’t that all any of us really wanted?
education pathways 