book review: Love in Disguise, "Moonblood" and Submerged

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a great wholesome novel with enough mystery to keep my attention and not too much cheesy romance or faith tossed in. I love well written Christian novels (though previously read too many that were just poorly written vehicles for sharing christianity). I love that you don't have to worry about the language or finding other inappropriate material.  The author writes well, and developed an interesting story and characters.  It was a quick read, but satisfying.  My only criticism would be that it is a smidgen unrealistic that the strong christian man would fall in love with the flouncy Jessie who is in every kind of place she shouldn't be and talking to all kinds of unsavory characters.  But I did enjoy it and would recommend it and definitely be willing to read more by this author.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


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Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl was an enjoyable read. It is a fantasy story about Prince Lionheart and Rose Red and other funcharacters such as Eanrin, the poet who is a man bit also a cat! There is a great deal of symbolism in the book, I felt, taking our Christian beliefs and expressing them through his fictional adventure.  There are "dragons" who are humans who have been changed into scaly dragons due to their choices and who can be saved by belief and repentance to the Prince of Farthrestshore. There are themes of repentance and sacrifice as well.  The names are a bit over the top but the story was enjoyable. I didn't realize until I had finished that this was the third in a series so I don't think it is necessary to read the others first, though I imagine they do help one understand the places and characters more. I recommend this book to those who  enjoy fantasy.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.


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Submerged by Dani Pettrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Submerged by Dani Pettrey was an excellent book. It was suspenseful with an interesting historical mystery, romance, and faith. Though a "Christian" novel, it was not cheesy or poorly written as some tend to be. I thought it was well written and researched. Several characters are strong Christians who discuss their faith but one doesn't feel like the novel is just a method of pushing Christianity. While it is the first of the series, it definitely has a satisfying conclusion and stands on it's own. It is obvious who the next novel will be about but don't feel like you have to run out and buy it to feel fulfilled.  I would definitely recommend this book to readers who like suspense and mystery (and even romance without it taking over the book!)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.


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Book Review! Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord

Faithful Families: Raising Your Kids To Love the Lord by Dave  Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I Loved this book!  There is honestly not much in it that is new and earth shattering, but it is one of those books I think I will keep and reread regularly to make sure I'm on the right path in our parenting journey! The main points of the book are so simple with regards to raising your children to be faithful; things like be an example, prayer, reading and memorizing scripture, etc.  However, it was well written and an excellent reminder of our role in our children's lives as Christian parents.  The author reminds us of our great responsibility in raising our children and with examples from his own family life as well as other families discusses what we can do to fulfill that responsibility.  It is not a long book, but is a lifechanging book for me.  I love that he emphasizes the importance of the husband and wife's relationship as a role model for kids, and he includes an entire chapter each on the importance of the mother's role, and the father's role.  I had recently been looking for some Christian parenting books to get myself back on track with regards to discipline, and laughed and hit myself on the forehead (duh!) when he sums it up in one word: Consistency! While there is that small part on discipline, the majority of the book focuses as the title says, on raising our children to love God.  This book is definitely staying on the home screen of my Nook, and I may just have to buy stacks of them to add to baby shower gifts!  I will definitely be rereading and hopefully finding more by this author.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.


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Book Reviews: My Own Worst Enemy and The Messenger

My Own Worst Enemy: How to Stop Holding Yourself Back by Janet Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm really liking this book, My Own Worse Enemy.  Now to be honest, I don't really feel like this subject is something I struggle with. That said, I really enjoyed the book, the author's style of writing, and her perspective on the stories of women in the bible.  She intersperses her own journey with stories of other women she has worked with and stories of women in the bible within each chapter. That was my favorite part of the book,  reading her comments on each Biblical woman and her story. She brings out cultural bits that I'd never known or thought about.  Even if you don't struggle with holding yourself back, I would recommend it as a Bible study.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher for review.


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The Messenger by Siri Mitchell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 This book was historical fiction set when the English were trying to keep control of the rebelling colonies in America. I enjoyed the book and would recommmend it as an easy fun read.  The main character Hannah is a Quaker, though she struggles with some of the beliefs and decisions. Her twin brother, who joined the rebels, is captured and the family refuses to visit or help him as that is the position taken by the Quaker church. She is unable to abide by this decision and with the help of another colonist, Jeremiah, gains access to visit him in exchange for carrying messages to the prisoners in hopes of helping them escape.  It was enjoyable and I appreciate reading books that help bring history alive as this one does.  While not overtly Christian, Hannah does struggle with her Quaker faith, and though Jeremiah doesn't profess Christianity, he shares some thoughts with her that show his spirituality.  There is no over-used romance in the story either, which I appreciated as well, as i don't really enjoy romance books. A fast worthwhile read.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.

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book review: Crazy Dangerous

Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a fairly fast moving teen level book that I enjoyed as an adult. It follows teen Sam Hopkins' journey through several bad choices and there consequences which then lead him to save the girl and the day! The first part of the book seemed a bit unrealistic to me, as the "bad" gang at school quickly does an about face and, rather than beating him up, takes him into their group, shows him where they stash cars and teach him how to steal cars as well. There is some violence in this book, as he is beaten up several times and someone in the book is murdered. However it does use these situations as teaching moments to make good choices. It was a good read with a fairly surprising ending!


I recieved a copy of the book from the publisher in exchanger for my honest review. 


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Fabric Cash Envelope System Wallet

I was reminded recently I never got around to posting photos of my second attempt at a wallet for the cash envelope system...

 There are zipper pockets on both sides of the outside (I added 2 to mine, one on each side, one would probably be enough). It closes with a button and elastic.

Here you can kind of see how I constructed it. Both sides of the main piece (the part laying down on the couch) have 3 envelopes each for cash, and the piece I am holding in the picture has slots for credit cards on one side (last picture) and more envelopes on the other.  Those could easily be interchangeable (i.e. both sides for credit cards (though if you are truly a Dave Ramsey fan, you probalby don't want to carry them anyway... my husband and are I cheaters!), or both envelopes, depending on how many you want to have. My wallet currently has 6 on the main piece (so if this is enough for you and you don't want credit card slots, you could omit the center all together) and 3 on the inner piece with 8 credit card slots. 

As you can see, I goofed a bit on my measurements due to extra thickness with interfacing... so my inner piece is a smidgen wider than the outer piece, but I  plan to fix that on any others that I do... As for labeling the envelopes, I've planned to either use fabric glue, little rectangles of muslin and a fabric marker, or possibly printing out my categories on fabric transfer paper... haven't really gotten around to that part yet... 

Book Review and GIVEAWAY!!

Giveaway is over! the winner is 

Shannon! Thanks!


I'm so excited I get to do a little Giveaway on my teensy tiny blog! But first the review...




As One Devil to Another by Richard Platt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was a nod to C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters. It is written in that style, of a mentor demon to his nephew trainee who is on his first assignment. It is interesting as a fiction account, but even more so as a thought-provoking look at how Satan attempts to pull us from God! Many different areas are looked at, including our pride and ambition, television, internet, among others.  It definitely made me think about how these things (internet was especially convicting for me!) pull our focus from God and make it easier for the devil to do his work, as we lose our "real" connection with people in exchange for a false sense of community.  The only negative I have is that I just finished it up a few minutes ago and am confused about the ending; I feel like I need to go back and reread since I must have missed something... But I would definitely recommend this book!


I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.




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The publisher has graciously provided me with a free copy for someone! (well actually, a certificate for a free copy, redeemable, I believe, wherever this book is sold!) 

Just leave me a comment below telling me what your favorite book is to enter! (one entry per person, US addresses only).

Book Review: Your 100 Day Prayer

Keep an eye out Tuesday for another review and a GIVEAWAY!!!


Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God by John I. Snyder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't worked through the whole book yet, but have actually to start over and follow through ever day! But I have done enough i feel for a review. I really appreciate this book due to some circumstances in our family life, and the idea of deliberately focusing on an issue in prayer daily is exciting! I'm not sure that this book is quite what I expected but it is still a valuable tool I'm excited to put to use!  The book contains short devotionals of about a page each, and a prompt to prayer encouraging one to focus on an area or idea, such as dealing with the shock of the request one is praying for, or asking God to reveal what He is teaching through the circumstance.  I like that each devotional is short, allowing you to do it quickly in the morning and continue to pray and meditate on the idea through the day. It is short enough that it can be a supplement to an additional study without being overwhelming. There is a space for notes for each day as well. I'd recommend this book if there's a request (and who among us doesn't have something?!) that you need to truly focus on and bring to the Lord.

I recieved an e-copy of this book from the publisher for review.


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