Chosen Vessels

~ Description What do you get when you mix two parents who grew up in the city, six kids who have always lived in the country, and add homeschooling? You get a whole lot of laughter! Homeschool graduate and author Sarah Holman shares stories about her family that range from thought-provoking to side-splitting. She shares both hilarious mistakes and heartbreaking moments in her family. In this collection of stories, she endeavors capture some of the answers to the questions people have often asked her about growing up in a conservative homeschool family as well as some of the wisdom she has gleaned along the way. Sarah invites you to open up this scrapbook of memories. She hopes that you come away encouraged, inspired…and laughing. ~ My Rating  5 stars ~ My Review Oh my, what a lovely look into the life of a sweet, caring homeschool family! I picked this book up, expecting some smiles and laughs and challenging lines, and I was not disappointed in the leas

I'm thankful for memories... ...and I'm thankful for moments.  I'm thankful for experience... ...and I'm thankful for innocence.  I'm thankful for words... ...and I'm thankful for the things that words can't describe.  I'm thankful for color... ...and I'm thankful for black & white.  I'm thankful for noise... ...and I'm thankful for quiet.  I'm thankful for sunshine... ...and I'm thankful for moonlight.  I'm thankful for answers... ...and I'm thankful for questions.  I'm thankful for people who laugh with me... ...and I'm thankful for people who cry with me.  I'm thankful for eighteen years of life and love... ...and I'm thankful for many more to come.  Happy Thanksgiving, lovelies. <3 

~ Description “... the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” ~ Psalms 91:13 Edward Prosner is going to steal from the small town mayor of Fall Springs, North Carolina. He’s got a flawless plan of action and is determined to return honor and justice to his father’s good name. The problem he faces? He needs a date for the mayor’s dinner party. Lucy Levitt is a huge romantic at heart, but with her family’s ranch and her part-time job, she has no time for dating. She believes God will place her soulmate in her life when the time is right. When the new man in town asks her out, how can she say no? The first date seems ordinary enough, but then they begin to realize that they can’t fight their dragons alone. ~ My Rating 4 stars ~ My Review A sweet lil' novella about justice, love, and God's never-failing goodness. <3  The Thief, the Damsel, and the Dragon is a charming story of small towns and big hearts, old grudges and new love, a farm gi

~ SYNOPSIS Celebrate Christmas in Hope Valley Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Whether it’s in the fictional town of Hope Valley in the early 1900s or in our lives today, nothing is more profound than celebrating God’s most important gift to the world. When God Calls the Heart at Christmas is about a celebration of faith, family, friends, and the most meaningful Yuletide traditions. Inspired by best-selling author Janette Oke and the Hallmark Channel original TV series When Calls the Heart, these twenty-five devotions not only explore “God-moments” from the series, but also commemorate favorite holiday recipes, stories, and traditions—many of them contributed by the Hearties, the beloved fans of the show. Journey with us to Hope Valley as we focus on all the reasons for this most blessed season. As shepherds and angels learned on that holy night so long ago, when God calls the heart at Christmas, you can expect a celebration. ~ REVIEW 5 star

~ Description  Boston, 2015 Two years after nearly losing her life in the Boston Marathon bombing, Annie David is still far from “Boston strong.” Instead she remains isolated and defeated—plagued by guilt over her niece, crippled in the blast, and by an antique ring alongside a hazy hero’s face. But when she learns the identity of her rescuer, will he be the hero she’s imagined? And can the long-past history of the woman behind the ring set her free from the guilt and fears of the present? Boston, 1770 As a woman alone in a rebellious town, Liberty Caldwell finds herself in a dangerous predicament. When a British lieutenant, Alexander Smythe, comes to her rescue and offers her employment, Liberty accepts. As months go by, Alexander not only begins to share his love of poetry with her, but protects Liberty from the advances of a lecherous captain living in the officers’ house where she works. Mounting tensions explode in the Boston Massacre, and Liberty’s world is sha

So, this isn't what I'd planned to post today. Actually, I didn't have a post planned for this weekend, which is probably part of the reason I'm sitting down to write something random at 7:20 p.m. I don't want to get out of the habit of posting every week, but it was either this or an overdue book review. So you're stuck with a few paragraphs of my rambles. :P Tomorrow is Veterans Day, the specific day set aside each year in the US to honor those who have served our country in the armed forces. It's also Armistice Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. And today is the 243rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps! I wrote a short story about twin brothers—Marines—which I posted on my writing blog. ( Read it here , if ya like.) So yeah, there's a quick history lesson for y'all. :P How has your week been, my friend? I worked a few days, sorted through the final edits of Behold, made plans for the 12 Days of Christmas

Do you ever read a verse from God's Word, maybe even a verse you've read many times, but it just   slams  you? Knocks you down and washes over and suddenly everything just.makes.more.sense.  YouVersion's verse of the day for Monday was 2 Corinthians 5:7. I'd already read the verse more than once that afternoon, working around it in my inbox. (I usually don't delete the notifs until the next day, to make sure I read them at least a time or two throughout the day.)  For we walk by faith, not by sight.    // 2 Corinthians 5:7 kjv At that particular knock-your-socks-off moment, I had finished homework and was clicking through a few email that had appeared in the meanwhile. I came back to the verse and my eyes landed on the words.  I read it. And stopped. Stared. Read it again.  Paul wrote to the church of Corinth that we walk by faith and not by sight.  By faith, y'all. Faith means believing that He's in control, even we wh