Book Review: Where Treetops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, and Sarah Sundin

About the book: 

The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime

Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America's involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In Cara Putman's White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements---until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail's brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin's I'll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete's friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he's no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer's Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, "Merry" to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that's precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God's providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ's birth and His plan for a future?

My Thoughts: I like romance, and historical fiction, particularly war time history, and have long been a fan of both Tricia Goyer and Sarah Sundin (Cara Putman was new to me) - so this was looking like a sure thing.  I was not disappointed.

Three novellas centered around three different siblings written by three different authors was a great concept, and one that worked well.  Though there was a slightly different feel to each story, they still felt cohesive.

If you're looking for a book to read to put you in the Christmas mood, look no further!

My favourite?  Tough one, but I'd say I'll Be Home for Christmas by Sarah Sundin.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: Treasury of Bible Stories by Kelly Pulley

About the book: Children ages 4-8 will be delighted by these rhyming Bible stories pairing spiritual truths with playful illustrations.

Featuring lyrical stories full of lighthearted moments, this colorful collection of Magnificent Tales is perfect for reading out loud. As families read these stories night after night, they will make memories together while learning about the Bible.

My Thoughts: I love Bibles, especially children's Bibles.  We have several and The Jesus Storybook Bible is likely my favourite, but this one is quickly becoming a close second.  

The first time I read this to my 6 yr old son and 9 yr old daughter, I literally read over 100 pages and they still weren't done - but my voice was!

It's difficult to rhyme, nevermind rhyme with accurate theology, but this storybook Bible pulls it off.  There's even a list of animals from a-z in the creation story which I thought was a tremendous feat on it's own, but even more so with the rhyming verses.  

The artwork is completely engaging and fun as well.

This Storybook Bible will be well used in this household, that's for sure!

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

From Pinned to Practice - earring display

Finally, another episode of "From Pinned to Practice"!

I've always had a major earring sensitivity.  Nickel free doesn't cut it, it's gold or white gold only for this girl, which makes for some expensive earrings and not very many of them to choose from.  I even tried stainless steel and sterling silver, to no avail.  One day I emailed a local jewelry maker and asked her if she had any ideas of another material I could use that wouldn't break the bank.  She had two ideas and so I purchased two pairs of earrings from her, hoping one of the options would work.  Turns out, they both did!  The titanium was the best so I decided to stick with that.  I then proceeded to send her all of my cheap earrings and replace the hooks with titanium ones - I was so excited to get them back and have earring options!  But then the problem was - how to display them?!  Especially the longer ones that get a bit tangled if you just throw them in a container.

So, I turned to Pinterest.  And found this.....

and this....

and this....

I was recently out on a girls weekend with my best friend and I had mentioned this idea to her.  With a little bit of prompting by her, along with a generous offer to use her just purchased blue burlap, I picked up a cork board (Hobby Lobby) and 3 charm necklaces (Joanne's Fabric).  When we got back to the hotel we decided to do a bit of crafting!  I asked the guy at the front desk if I could borrow his scissors and we quickly cut the right amount of blue burlap.  When I returned the scissors I thanked him for lending them to me, he thanked me for returning them, and I asked to borrow a stapler!  After completing the project, I returned the stapler and he asked if we needed any paper clips! Ha ha.

When I got home, I mounted it on the wall (came with double sided "tape"), hung up the necklaces with a few tacks, inserted the earring hooks into the chains, and voila!

I love it!

Book Review: Before Amen by Max Lucado

About the book: We all pray . . . some.

We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. When the marriage is falling apart. We pray.

But wouldn't we like to pray more? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency?

Yet we have kids to feed, bills to pay, deadlines to meet. The calendar pounces on our good intentions like a tiger on a rabbit. And what about our checkered history with prayer? Uncertain words. Unmet expectations. Unanswered requests.

We aren't the first to struggle with prayer. The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance too. In fact, prayer is the only tutorial they ever requested.

And Jesus gave them a prayer. Not a lecture on prayer. Not the doctrine of prayer. He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Couldn't we use the same?

In Before Amen best-selling author Max Lucado joins readers on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer, offering hope for doubts and confidence even for prayer wimps. Distilling prayers in the Bible down to one pocket-sized prayer, Max reminds readers that prayer is not a privilege for the pious nor the art of a chosen few. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and his child. Let the conversation begin.

My Thoughts:  Like all Lucado books, I found this to be a quick, yet thought provoking read.  Somehow Lucado is able to hit home with solid truth, without coming across as a heavy book on theology (not that those don't have their place!). This is a book written to a large audience, to anyone who simply wants to talk to God as a child does with his dad, because that's what prayer is.  Nothing in this book is revolutionary, or even anything new, but it's a simple reminder of things we know but have maybe forgotten.

Lucado sums up, and then unpacks, the Lord's prayer into short, pocket-sized prayers.  Father, you are good. I need help.  Heal me and forgive me. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Some of my favourite quotes from the book....

If prayer depends on how I pray, I'm sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, and if the One who hears the prayer is my Daddy, then I have hope.

The storm was bad, but the pilot was good....everything changes when you know the pilot.

The moment you sense a problem, however large or small, take it to Christ.

Jesus will heal us all ultimately.  Wheelchairs, ointments, treatments, and bandages are confiscated at the gateway to heaven.

Confession is not a punishment for sin; it is an isolation of sin so it can be exposed and extracted.

More than a hundred times, either by imperative or example, the Bible commands us to be thankful. If quantity implies gravity, God takes thanksgiving seriously.

Prayer changes things because prayer appeals to the top power in the universe.....The phrase "In Jesus' name" is not an empty motto or talisman. It is a declaration of truth: My cancer is not in charge; Jesus is.


Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy