Sticks and Stones - a book review

 

The story opens when Rachel Flynn, an assistant prosecuting attorney, receives a letter telling her that a body is going to be recovered at a construction site in her city.  The anonymous writer states that the death was an accident and has chosen to write to Rachel because they know she will understand because of an article that was written in the newspaper that included Rachel being key in solving another murder that involved Rachel's brother.  

As the story progresses we learn that the "accident" happened 25 years prior to this and that the person who died was the neighborhood bully.  Rachel receives not one, but three letters.  When she received the first one, she went directly to Sgt. Will Pendleton, a dectective on the police force.  They work closely to find and interview the people who were kids in this particular neighborhood 25 years ago.  Those interviews are how the story is developed.

After Rachel's daughter McKenna was born, Rachel began having strong feelings about whether something was right or wrong.  She began calling them "hunches", and later on she began to call this a gift that God had given her to discern things that others were missing.  

I found the book to be quite good. I read the majority of the 248 pages in one day because the plot was moving so swiftly. I learned more about people who are bullies and why they do the things they do.  I learned more about how violated and desperate it makes the victims who are being bullied feel, as well.

From My Journal

 TODAY IS:  January 29, 2024

AROUND ME: Inside the home it is nice and cozy...outside the ground is white again and the snow is still pouring down.

I AM PONDERING:  how quickly the words of one person can spread across the internet.  I'm also pondering how important it is that our words be full of grace.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:  this Scripture, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:6

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING:  The Gospel's Power and Message by Paul Washer, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner and continuing on with this year's devotional Refreshment for the Soul by Richard Sibbes.  

I AM THANKFUL FOR:  my pastor who preaches the whole counsel of God expositionally and how God works through His Spirit and questions that I have are answered in the sermons that our pastor preaches.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN:  always check my ingredients before I start a recipe. I know that it is an elementary rule of cooking and baking, but sometimes when I clean out my cupboards I do it a bit too thoroughly. 

FROM THE KITCHEN: I came across a recipe that I think would be fun to try just once...it's called Cottage Pie Baked Potatoes.  But then I think about the Cottage Pie recipe that my friend Lauren sent me from Scotland and it gives me second thoughts.  I will let you know next week which I decided to do.

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It's such a blessing to be able to wallk up to a sister in Christ and say, "I need you to pray for me" and share a burden that's on my heart.

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER: "Help me to take lightly this world's judgments and to take seriously your call and your cross."  Elisabeth Elliot

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Laundry, ironing, plant care, catching up on a bit of correspondence and do some reading.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Be Encouraged

 

Baked Halibut with Crispy Panko

 

(Picture courtesy of the internet)

I was looking through the freezer the other day and found a Halibut fillet that my brother-in-law had given us a while back.  It was some that he had caught when he was at his home in Alaska.  Neither Strongheart nor I had ever eaten Halibut before (at least that we could remember 😀) so I went to the internet to find a way to fix it in the oven.  This one turned up and sounded good, so I gave it a try.  We both really enjoyed it!  Thought I would share it with you.

Baked Halibut with Crispy Panko

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup chicken stock, or as needed

2 (8 ounces) fillets halibut

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

Stir together panko bread crumbs and melted butter in a bowl until well combined.  Set aside.

Drizzle lemon juice over fillets; season with salt and pepper.  Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over each fillet; press bread crumb mixture into mustard.

Bake fish in the skiller in the preheated oven until fillets flake easily with a fork and topping is browned, about 20 minutes.

The Things Memories Are Made Of

 Anyone who has read here for any length of time knows the love and admiration that I have for my grandparents and that my parents, my two brothers and myself lived in the same home with my paternal grandparents.  I thought it would be fun to share a bit with you about the home I grew up in.

This eight room brick farm house was built in 1886 from bricks made there on the property.  This is what the front of the house looked like when I was growing up there.  Eventually, all of the pine trees were cut down because they became so full that they blocked the walkway.

I have always enjoyed this picture that was taken from my grandparents bedroom looking out onto the front porch.

This is a side view of the house and part of my brother's vegetable garden.  

When we were kids growing up that space was our grandma's flower garden.

She was still working in it when she was in her 90s.

This is an aerial shot of the main area around the house that was taken many years after I'd grown up.  In the foreground (if you click and enlarge the picture) you can barely see the foundation of the original barn that I remember as a kid.  It was a bank barn and I loved that place!  My brothers and I would have fun climbing up the ladder up to the hay mow.  So fun.

The little building to the left of the picture was the original milk house for the bank barn.  It was made of cinder blocks and is where the milk cans were washed up and prepared for delivery to the milk plant.  The building on the right was the old garage before it was taken down.  It had an attic to it and I loved to go up there and snoop around when I was little.

I can't remember exactly how old I was when the farm went "modern" but I was still fairly young.  My grandfather and dad were the first ones in that area to actually have electric milkers.  When they were in the bank barn the milking was all done by hand.  But with building the new barn, silo and building on the right for parking farm machinery, came electric milkers, an actual milking parlor and the big milk storage tank that someone from the dairy plant would come in their big tanker truck and pick up all of our milk.

This picture of Daddy and Grandpap is one that was taken by a photographer for the Dominion Post, the Morgantown newspaper.  There was an article about the modernization of dairy farming done about our farm at this time.  I loved to go down there in the milking parlor because it was always so nice and cool.  I was such a tomboy and would much prefer being with Daddy and Grandpap over being cooped up in the house.

Here the cows are being brought in for milking by my dad on a horse.  

When I started junior high and through high school, that became my job.

Every day after school I would come home, change my clothes and head out to the pasture to bring them in for the evening milking.

I loved it!

And here's the man who is responsible for all of these wonderful memories that I carry with me today.  This was taken probably months before he died of a heart attack.  He was such a hard worker and I dearly loved him.  

He was all crippled up with rheumatism, but he never complained.

I have lots of stories to share about growing up with him and Grandma,

but I will save those for another day.

Thank you so much for allowing me to share with you what some of my most precious memories were made from.

How Does God Change Us? - a book review

 

How Does God Change Us? by Dane Ortlund is a condensed version of his prior work, Deeper, Real Change for Real Sinners.  I actually read Deeper a year ago and when I picked this current book up off the book table at church, I didn't realize at the time that it was a condensed version.  I truly enjoy the writing of Dane Ortlund and knew it would be a good read.  I'm so glad that I did.  My copy is now highlighted in different colors of markers and underlined in ink.  It's a rich book, even though it is less than 100 pages.

The book is divided into nine chapters that are about five pages long each.  The one thing that the author stresses from the beginning is that this is NOT a SELF-HELP book with nine easy steps to going deeper in your relationship with Christ.  

I think one reason the book spoke to me so deeply is because I was a part of a church for 20+ years that was rather legalistic.  It focused more on the outward than the inward when it came to our walk with the Lord.  

In the chapter titled "Union", on page 33 we find these words, "Your salvation in the gospel is far deeper, far more wondrous, than walking an isle or praying a prayer or raising a hand, or going forward at an evangelistic rally.  Your salvation is to be united to the living Christ Himself."  Please understand that I am not standing in judgement of people who come to Christ by the above mentioned ways, because there are some people who have been truly converted by one of those means.  But what I am saying is that when I was in this legalistic church, I saw many people supposedly come to Christ who didn't darken the doors of the church again because there was no true conversion at the time of their "profession of faith".  

In the chapter "Embrace" the author speaks of how with true conversion there is this embracing of us by Christ.  

One thing that was so hard for me to wrap my mind around when circumstances brought about a move to a different part of the state and a different church, was the fact that the "performance based" way of Christianity that I had been sitting under for so many years wasn't what walking with the Lord was all about.  Page 45 of this chapter on "Embrace" speaks perfectly of this subject... "The wrap around category of your life is not your performance, but God's love."

Along those same lines in the chapter titled "Supernaturalize", page 82 is this quote, "Authentic Christianity is not simply doing mechanically what God says, but enjoying God."

I have copied down so many quotes that I could share...and you may see them from time to time, but for now, I would like to close this review with a quote by John Newton.

"Looking unto Jesus is the object that melts the soul into love and gratitude." 

You may have already guessed this, but I highly recommend this short read...as well as the longer version Deeper...Real Change for Real Sinners.

From My Journal

 TODAY IS:  January 22, 2024

AROUND ME: We've had our coldest night of all last night.  Our morning temperature at 6:37 is 1 degree F.  Brrr!  I'm thankful for the warmer temps that are forecast for this week.

I AM PONDERING:  God's mercy and faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that it is because of His great love that we are not consumed for His compassions do not fail...they are new every morning.  May His Name be praised!  

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:  

This is January's bulb plant of the month. 

 As you can see, the Hyacinths are almost finished,

as well as some of the Daffodils.

There are actually a couple of Crocus in bloom too in the middle.

But I have certainly enjoyed their beautiful pops of color during this time of winter.

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING:  The Gospel's Power and Message by Paul Washer, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner and continuing on with this year's devotional Refreshment for the Soul by Richard Sibbes.  

I AM THANKFUL FOR:  A warm home on very cold days and colder nights, being able to stay at home when we have 14 inches of snow, Strongheart's insight in always preparing ahead with cutting firewood and his desire to take care of us.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN:  "Winging it" isn't always the best policy when it comes to my making up recipes. 😀

FROM THE KITCHEN:  I want to try a new recipe this week...just haven't decided which one yet. 

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  

 

The view of the woods behind our property

and watching the birds at the feeders. 

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER: "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisified in Him. " John Piper

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Laundry, ironing, cleaning the kitchen window and washing the valances for that window.  Once that is completed then I can put all of my plants that go on the shelves in that window back that I rescued from the cold temperatures of this past week.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Prayers Answered by Crosses

 

Prayers Answered by Crosses

John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow

in faith and love and ev’ry grace;

might more of his salvation know,

and seek more earnestly his face.

’Twas he who taught me thus to pray,

and he, I trust, has answered prayer,

but it has been in such a way

as almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour

at once he’d answer my request,

and by his love’s constraining pow’r

subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel

the hidden evils of my heart,

and let the angry pow’rs of hell

assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with his own hand he seemed

intent to aggravate my woe;

crossed all the fair designs I schemed,

humbled my heart, and laid me low.

“Lord, why is this?” I, trembling, cried;

“Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?”

“‘Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,

“I answer prayer for grace and faith.

“These inward trials I employ

from self and pride to set thee free,

and break thy schemes of earthly joy

that thou may’st find thine all in me.”

Be Encouraged

 Do you ever ponder how the jobs that you find before you make a difference? Growing up the only thing that I ever wanted to be was a wife and a mom.  Those were my two goals in life.  God so graciously gave me both of those and threw in a lot of other gifts in the form of jobs as well.  Two of those were teaching teen girls in Sunday School and also teaching in the Christian school that our two children attended.

I still serve the Lord as the maker of our home.  It's one of the greatest gifts that He has given me after salvation.  I so enjoy taking care of Strongheart and caring for our home and preparing our meals. 

We moved to our current location 24 years ago in order to be here to help our parents.  My dad passed away in 1982, but my mom was still living as well as Strongheart's parents when we made the move.  It's a move that we have never regretted.  It was a joy to be able to help them.

I came across this quote by Elisabeth Elliot that I thought truly puts life and our "jobs" into perspective.

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Colossians 3:17

Seasons of Sorrow ~ a book review

Seasons of Sorrow by Tim Challies is a book that I would highly recommend for a number of reasons.  

Tim Challies is a veteran Christian Canadian blogger of 20 years.  He's a soft spoken and kind person, even when the Holy Spirit uses him to bring conviction.  It comes from his humility.

Seasons of Sorrow is about the pain of loss and the comfort of God...just as the front cover of the book states.  The loss that Tim and his wife suffered occurred when God called their 20 year old son Nick Home to be with Him.  He was at college playing a game when his heart failed and he could not be revived.  Nick also left behind two sisters, one of whom was there at college (in the US) when Nick passed from this kingdom into the next one.  He was engaged to be married as well, leaving that young woman behind as well. 

The book is divided into four seasons.  It begins with autumn, progresses to winter, then to spring and lastly to summer...the one year anniversary of Nick's passing.  The reader is taken through the valleys, the pain and suffering, the emotions that kept the author so frail.  But it also takes the reader through the deepening of Tim's relationship with the Lord as he goes through each season.

I learned about things that bring comfort to someone who is hurting as a result of losing a child and I learned about things that, even though said by well meaning people, really don't bring comfort to the hurting.

God is indeed triumphant in this book...in the life of Tim and Aileen, and the girls...as I read about how a father's perspective is focused in such tragedy.

From My Journal

TODAY IS: 15 January 2024

AROUND ME: It is currently 15 degrees F. which actually is warmer than when I went to bed last night.  At 11:00 last nightit was 9 degrees F.  But it is nice and warm inside our home!

I AM PONDERING: The goodness of God.  Last week Strongheart and I listened to the daily devotional by Sinclair Ferguson on the revelation of Jesus Christ.  He referred almost daily to the hymn "Our Hymn of Grateful Praise".  On Friday afternoon we lost power around 4:30 due to high winds.  When it hadn't come back on by 9:30 that night, Strongheart got out the generator and started it up to take care of our two freezers and our refigerator.  We continued to use candles for lighting because our generator isn't large enough to take care of everything.  I went to bed that night telling the Lord that I knew He understood...that He was still in control and He knew what we were going through.  I woke up Saturday morning with still no electric but my first thought was, "Father, I know You know what we are going through.  I know You are in control and to You I lift up this, my hymn of grateful praise."  We continued on with our day resting in His providence.  We spent the morning reading and doing what odd jobs around the house we could do without electricity.   We ate lunch and around 12:30 the power came back on!  And once again, I offered to Him my hymn of grateful praise.  It is so much easier to live in the freedom of trusting in His goodness and mercy than it is to spend our days fretting.  May His Name be praised!

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:  This hymn:

• For the beauty of the earth,
  For the glory of the skies,
  For the love which from our birth
  Over and around us lies—
  • Refrain:
    Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
    This our hymn of grateful praise.
• For the wonder of each hour,
  Of the day and of the night,
  Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r,
  Sun and moon, and stars of light—
• For the joy of human love,
  Brother, sister, parent, child,
  Friends on earth and friends above,
  For all gentle thoughts and mild—
• For Thy church that evermore
  Lifteth holy hands above,
  Off’ring up on every shore
  Her pure sacrifice of love—

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING:  Chasing Shadows  by Lynn Austin;  The Gospel's Power & Message by Paul Washer;  The Rare Jewel of Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs; and continuing to use Refreshment for the Soul, which is the dovotional with the writings of Richard Sibbes.  It's SO good.  The month of January has been based on the heart...currently the tender heart.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:  Men like Paul Washer who have a heart for God and who share the TRUTH of Scripture and the Gospel.  This book was a gift to me by a dear friend Melanie and one that is deeply appreciated.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN: I enjoy oak furniture...and our kitchen cabinets are oak,  our hutch is oak, as well as our table and chairs.  I've been trying each week to do some major cleaning task in each room of the house.  Last week I decided to try the new cleaning product for wood that I had ordered.  I must say that it worked the best of any wood cleaning product that I have ever used in the past including Murphy's Oil Soap.  

I also used the stainless steel cleaner by the same company and now my sink and stainless steel appliances shine!

FROM THE KITCHEN:  We've been eating a lot of soup these days.  I enjoy trying different recipes.  We've recently enjoyed another butternut squash soup recipe, as well as a chicken pot pie soup, and then what we refer to as "Get Well" soup.  I make it with some of the Italian sausage that Strongheart made, and tomatoes, carrots, corn, onions, garlic, and cabbage.  

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  Caring for these lovelies.

With our temps dipping into the single digits at night it's necessary to take the plants out of the windows.  I snapped these pictures last night after giving them the shelter from the cold in a nice warm kitchen.

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a Christmas gift from our daughter and 

son-in-law that had different bulbs in it.

The amaryllis is now beginning to open up and I love it!  

Looking forward to the middle opening up completely.  

It will have three bloom on it.

The name of it is Rock N Roll.

This Hyacinth is in the pot for the month of January.  

It just opened up this week.

There are three total in the pot with Daffodils!  

I'm looking forward to seeing everything in bloom!

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER:  "The Father ordains salvation, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies salvation.  In other words, there is no Christian life without the Spirit.  The Christian life is purely theoretical if there is no operation of the Spirit.  Everything that we experience of God is the working of the Spirit.  That is true at conversion, as the Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and Christ's saving offer.  And it is true of our growth."  Dane Ortlund How Does God Change Us? (page 79)

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY: Laundry and note/card writing, plus a little ironing.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Be Encouraged

 

The Invincible Miss Cust - a book reveiw

 

The Invincible Miss Cust,  from the historical fiction genre, is based on the life of Aleen Cust who was the first woman veterinary surgeon.  

Although Aleen was part of an aristocratic English family in the latter part of the 1800s where girls were expected to be brought up to prepare to run a household,  Aleen was always more comfortable outside with the horses.

The story opens in Tipperary, Ireland when Aleen is six years old and challenging her three brothers to a race with their horses...which she wins.   Her father was a land agent and obviously during this time was not well liked by the people.  When he died, Aleen, her brothers and sister moved back to England along with their mother.

Aleen's dream was to become a veterinary surgeon from the time she was a child.  She had a love and knowledge of animals that was far beyond her years.  Any time that Aleen would approach the family about her desires she was put down because of the shame it would bring to the Cust name.  Her mother was a woman of the bedchamber for Queen Victoria, and her brother Charles was equerry to King George.

Orlando Cust, the brother whom Aleen was close to and understood her desires, died suddenly and in his will left money to Aleen with the stipulation that it was not to be joined with the inheritance she would receive from her father's death.  His was to be separate.  Aleen chose to use that money to enter training to become a veterinary surgeon.  She first had to attend university for a year in order to enter the Royal College Veterinary School.  This was a time when women had just been able to break into the field of medicine as nurses and doctors.  A woman veterinarian was unheard of.  

Aleen is admitted into the RCVS and excels in her studies for the three years required, but when it came time to graduate, the college refused to allow her to sit for her final examinations that would grant her a certification as a veterinary surgeon.  Through many different circumstances, she worked with a veterinarian in Ireland for many years before the college granted her the right to sit for her final examination in 1922.  

I enjoyed learning about Aleen Cust and all of the obstacles that she incurred to become the first woman veterinary surgeon.  One thing I admired greatly about her is that even though her family totally wrote her off as a member of the family, she contined to send them cards and notes at birthdays and holidays.  She was definitely a woman of perseverance.  I also enjoyed the relationship she had with her close friend Dorothy and felt her pain when Dorothy was killed in an accident.

At the end of the book there are a few pages titled, "Author's Notes".  In these few pages Penny Haw explains what was fact and what was her own imagination when it came to writing the novel.  All of the things that I enjoyed about Aleen Cust were fact, but I found the parts that the author left to her own imagination rather unkind to the character of Aleen, regarding her relationship with the veterinary surgeon she worked for in Ireland whose name was Willie Byrne.  To me, it took away from the "pureness" of Miss Cust's character.  It was based off of "rumors" and as the author put it, "the precise details of their relationship were known only to them.  The version offered in this book is largely the product of my imagination."

While I enjoyed the majority of the book, I could not wholeheartedly recommend the book as a wholesome read because of the way Miss Cust's relationship with Willie was presented so indiscreetly.  

From My Journal

 TODAY IS: 8 January 2024

AROUND ME:  We have just been up a bit and enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal with bananas and cinnamon.  Strongheart is reading as I am typing.

I AM PONDERING: The workings of God through His Spirit as He works in my life.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:  Working puzzles with Strongheart.  

This first one we worked in a matter of hours.

It's of Nantucket, 500 pieces and quite enjoyable to work!

This one took about four days.

It's of Bookshelves, 1,000 pieces and took a lot of patience! 😀

I actually chose this one because we both love books and I thought it would be easy to put together!  😂 Little did I realize how many of the same titles were included over a number of several shelves.  It was a challenge, but we persevere here at this house.

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, which will take me a bit to get through. Puritan writers seem to do that for me...so rich in wisdom and knowledge...but this is a book that I make it a point to read once a year.  It's such a rich book!

Refreshment for the Soul is a compliation of Richard Sibbes' works done in a devotional style, which is the devotional I will be using this year.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this one!

I AM THANKFUL FOR: the beauty in nature that God allows us to enjoy.  We've had so many different variations of weather this past week but as I type I am enjoying beautiful white fluffy snow resting on the evergreens, and white hanging on fiercely to leafless branches in the woods behind us.  Such beauty He has allowed us.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN: Last week I mentioned about the pie crust on my "Christmas pie" that I made to take to a friend's home for dinner on Christmas evening and how a saw would have been easier to cut it with than a knife!  Well, I have learned from my mistakes.  At one point last week I made a turkey pot pie and had the flakiest pie crust ever!  I went by my tried and true method rather than trying to do as the lady on YouTube did.   

FROM THE KITCHEN:  I tried a new recipe for butternut squash soup.  It contains butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions, and an apple...all cut up in 1 inch pieces, placed in the crock pot with some seasonings and cooked on low for several hours.  Then pureed it in the blender and it was delicious.  There's still a bit of it left, which we will have for lunch.  Not sure about dinner yet.

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  

 This Christmas gift from our daughter and son-in-law.

The first pot pictured came right before Christmas.

The second pot came last week.

Then in February, another one will come.

I'm excited to see the Amaryllis open up.  

It's red and white (Rock N Roll).

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER:  "Darkness is a result of disinterest in God, rebellion against Him, and unwillingness to do what He says.  There is but one message that shines light into such darkness, refreshing hearts and minds: "Behold your God!"  Alistair Begg

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Launder the bed linens, give the living room a good clean and do the kitchen floor.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Be Encouraged

 

Reading Challenge

 Do you have books sitting on your bookshelves that you have accumulated over a period of let's say...years?  Would you like to get them off the shelves, into your hands, and read?  Then perhaps you would join me in this reading challenge that my friend Barbara shared over at her blog today.  I've never participated in a challenge although I love to read.  In 2023 I read a total of 50 books...just three short of the goal I had set for myself.  However, I have several books in the bookcase that I have had for quite a while that I have not read yet.  So, I decided that this particular challenge would be a good way to get them read.

My Reader's Block has a reading challenge called 2024 Mount TBR that looks like fun to me.  Each level (number of books you accept as a challenge) is named after a mountain.  Since this is my first time trying a reading challenge, I decided to go for Pike's Peak, which is 12 books for the year.  I'm fairly certain that will definitely help me weed out some books on the shelves.

If you are interested in this fun challenge you can find the sign up form here.  Hope to enjoy your company as we read together.

Heaven and Nature Sing ~ a book review

 

Heaven and Nature Sing by Hannah Anderson is an Advent devotional.  I knew I would enjoy this book because I have read several of this author's works and have enjoyed and learned much with each one.  Heaven and Nature Sing was no exception.  

Reading an Advent devotional is such a wonderful way to prepare our hearts for the Christmas season with meditating on Christ's first coming.  I've read a variety of them but this one is definitely just what it says...a devotional or reflection.  

Hannah Anderson is a pastor's wife in a rural church in Virginia.  Her pastor husband, Nathan, does the art work in each of her books.  The illustrations are beautifully done and fit perfectly with each day's reflection.

The thing that I enjoy so much about this author is her giftedness of being able to take nature and combine it with lessons from daily living to bring out the meaning of Scripture.  All of her books are filled with Scripture and once again, this one was no exception.

I thoroughly enjoyed using this as my Advent devotional this year and would highly recommend it as a good source of encouragement for anyone.