The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall

Mattie's sweetheart for many years Gideon broke off their engagement without an explanation of what was really happening to him. After three years of seperation, circumstances throw them back together again, but will Mattie be able to find it in her heart to listen to Gideon and try to learn the truth of what happened three years ago. Much has happened to both of these people, but does ether of them know the other person all that well?

I really enjoyed reading this book. Cindy Woodsmall has such a lovely way of writing about some of the ordinary day to day things that occur in an Amish community. This is a lovely, easy to read story about love, forgiveness and trust. It also has a lot of references about cakes since Mattie has her own bakery and makes cakes for many special occasions. Just reading about the cakes makes me hungry. At the end of the book are a few recipes for some cakes that sound wonderful. I just might make a cake or two soon.

This book was provided to me to read and review by WaterBrook Multnomah’s blogging for books.

The Road Trip by Jo Lynn Crozier

Imagine this, a woman named Liz wakes up too early in the morning with a terrible headache. Liz makes her way to the kitchen to get a hot cup of coffee. Heading back to the dining room to enjoy her cup of coffee and quietly visit with the Lord Liz hears a voice telling her that "My plan for you is ministry". Liz gulps and asks if He knows who He is talking to, as if the Lord would ever make a mistake. The Lord tells Liz that she is going to take a road trip with Him and Liz is excited to join the Lord on this trip. Liz is about to find out that the trip will be in a motorcycle sidecar with God as the driver.

The trips along the way take us to fantastic places that will open your eyes to so many of our basic beliefs and how God has given us so much and what He expects from us in return. These trips introduce us to angels, people, animals and even insects who will give you occasional humerous looks into the Lord's plan for all of us.

The Road Trip is a book that I recommend to everyone. The story is fun to read and inspires us to appreciate the fact that God is everywhere and always there for us.

This book was provided to me to read and review by Emanuel House Publishing.

An Amish Wedding by Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman

An Amish Wedding by Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman

Three Amish wedding stories in one book. The three stories follow the background and planning for the weddings of three couples. The first story is A Perfect Secret by Kelly Long and follows Rose and Luke as they deal with "secrets" from their past that effect their present lives. The second story is A Perfect Match by Kathleen Fuller and tells us about Naomi and Zeke as they deal with Zeke's fear of his own marriage becoming like his parent's and Naomi who must deal with a man from her past who abandoned her. The third story, A Perfect Plan by Beth Wiseman is about Priscilla and Chester. Chester is concerned that Priscilla is too concerned about having everything being perfect for the wedding of her dreams.

 

I really enjoyed reading the three stories. Each story intertwined with the others since the setting for the stories is in the same place with the same families but written by different authors. It was interesting to read about the various traditions within the Amish community, especially as to weddings. This really is a very sweet book and I will read it again. I highly recommend it to anyone intersted in the Amish and especially weddings.

 

This book was provided to me to read and review by BookSneeze.com.

Sunrise on the Battery

Mary Lynn and Jackson Scoville have worked hard to achieve what they consider to be success. They have a beautiful home and life in Charleston, South Carolina with their three daughters. Their girls go to the best private schools and they all shop at high end stores and wear designer label clothing. Soon all of their hopes to belong to the best social circles will be open to them, but is that what they really want or need? Mary Lynn has found herself being drawn to Christ and wants Jackson and their girls to also become more aware and welcoming to God in their lives also.

At first I was drawn into the book but kept waiting for something to show me that these people were like any of the people that I know. I could not identify with parents that controlled every minute of their children't lives and by doing so, took away a lot of the choices that most teenagers are able to make for themselves. They seemed to be so tightly controlled, especially by their father, that there was no room for mistakes, a valuable learning experience for most people. I found it odd that a car was given to the oldest daughter who was only 15 and she was told not to get a ticket or the car would be taken back to the dealership. Of course she promptly got a ticket and the car was taken away. Personally, I would never have given a car to a teen that young and expected anything good to come of it. Every child needs rules, but they also need limits in what they should be able to do with new freedoms. The father was so utterly controlling, that he really didn't seem normal in any way. Then when he accepts God into his life, he goes completely in the other direction and does a really convincing portayal of a person who has completely lost it. Although at times I could almost see a hint of what this story was trying to tell us, it just annoyed me too much reading about all the nuttiness of Jackson and Mary Lynn to a lesser degree. Since there is a message contained in all the antics of this family, this book may be something that some people would enjoy reading.

This book was provided to me to read and review by Thomas Nelson via Booksneeze.com