Be Still My Soul

Yesterday I finished reading Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof. Keeping up with my record from Sunday, I read this book in just over 24 hours :) It was so good!! I was actually surprised with how much I liked it.

Gideon walks Lonnie home one night and she lets him kiss her. Big mistake. Her father saw it happen and forces them to get married! What?! Lonnie moves in with Gideon and his entire family. His parents have enough mouths to feed as it is. So Gideon decides they're going to set off on their own. Lonnie is made to leave the only place she's ever known, to live with a ladies' man who doesn't want her around. And that's where it gets interesting. As if that whole beginning part weren't enough!

While not an action, a comedy, or even a "romance" like we'd usually think of, I couldn't put this story down. Filled with heartache and trials of life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this book tugged at my emotions and made me feel like I knew the characters.

Be Still My Soul was Joanne Bischof's first book, and also the first in the Cadence of Grace series. I am really looking forward to reading book two, Though My Heart is Torn, and book three, My Hope is Found, coming mid-October!

Seasons

I got this idea from my best friend, Debra Dawn :) She posted some beautiful images of the different seasons and asked what her readers' favorites are. I am curious to know yours! Do you prefer fall, winter, spring, or summer? Or maybe you can't choose just one favorite.
 

 









I told Debra that while I do have some things I like about each one, they also each have a downside. Here they are, in my opinion:




 






Downside to spring: rain, bees.
Downside to summer: hot.
Downside to winter: cold, getting a cold.
Downside to fall: it ends too soon.

 

 





  
As you probably figured out, fall is my favorite :D




Tell me yours and let me know why, and what do you like/not like about the other seasons?
 

Five Minute Friday - Last

On Fridays, a bunch of us take a word prompt from Lisa-Jo Baker and write for five minutes on that topic. We don't worry about whether it's perfect, or what people will think of us for "speaking" what's on our minds. We just write.

This week's word is Last.

GO

"Last time I did this..." "This is the last time I do this for you!" "I don't want to go last!" "Save that for last." "I didn't think it would last this long..."

Last can mean a lot of different things. It can be good or bad. There are things I won't put last, like God, my family, and my friends. There are things best saved for last, like dessert, or good news.

I do know that God wants us to think of last differently than the world does. The world thinks that because we aren't trying to become celebrities or have a bunch of sexual relationships or become super rich that we are coming in last. Often it seems that the world thinks we should put ourselves first and God and others last. That's not how I want to do it, though!

Stellar Kart's song Finish Last sums it up well:

I am running in this race and I am pressing onwards towards the finish line

You have promised me a better life far beyond this world

Far beyond this place and time

I want to finish last, last in the world's eyes

No matter what I do, I will be first in Your eyes

That's it for today. Check out other bloggers' thoughts on Last here. To find out more about Five Minute Friday and how you can join in, click the button below. Won't you join us? :)

Five Minute Friday - Small

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker and her rapidly growing group of fellow bloggers who like to write for five minutes every Friday without worrying about it being just right. No backtracking, no editing.

This week's word is Small.

GO

You've heard tons of people say it - standing beside the ocean makes you feel small. Makes you realize God's power and enormity and the size of the earth and how you are to the world as those little tiny grains of sand you are currently standing on. It may be a bit cliche, but it's totally true.

Other things make me feel this way. Not small as in insignificant, just small as in God is so awesome and big and it makes me even more ecstatic to know that He cares about me even while He's got ALL these other people to care for, too!! 

Looking at a huge field of flowers, standing in a crowd of people, flying over farms and cars that look so tiny from way up there. Great big pine trees, let alone redwoods (which I'd love to see someday!), the northern lights, big ships... So many things can make you feel small.

And yet, God really does care for you. He cares for him and her and you and them and everyone. Don't forget that :)

To read more bloggers' thoughts on Small, click here. To find out what Five Minute Friday is all about, how it got started, and how you can play with us, click the button below!

It Happened At The Fair

SO excited to tell you about this one :) Deeanne Gist is one of my most favorite authors, and this one was my favorite of hers so far! It Happened at the Fair took me by surprise. Even reading the back of the book, I had no clue what I was in for. I totally fell in love with the two main characters. They're so real and funny and have real-life problems that I could absolutely relate to. Cullen is a farmer whose real talents lie elsewhere. Della is a teacher for deaf children. They meet at the Chicago World's Fair. And I don't want to give away any more than that!! You need to read it! :)

 

I'm really really looking forward to Deeanne's next novel, Fair Play. 

You can find Deeanne on her website and her Facebook page.