"All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality -- the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape."
Sheila Walsh, former co-host of The 700 Club, and her own talk show Heart to Heart with Sheila Walsh, she is a featured speaker of America’s largest woman’s conference Women of Faith, and she is the author or co-author of many inspirational books.
In her latest book she shares her own story and uses lessons from the Bible to help other women find a new degree of trusting God. Helping them to see that God is always with them and that He has charted their path.
In twelve chapters she covers things such “The Hunger to Belong”, “Why the Pain?” and “Trusting God with Your Journey”. She delves into the Bible stories of Joseph, Lot, Tabitha and Gideon, plus many others to illustrate how trusting in God can deeply alter your life.
This book would make a great Bible Study as it would open up conversations on how people feel this book helped them to be more trusting and to share their own stories. While reading it by myself, I felt the continuing urge to share with others. I also had one troubling concern throughout the book and that was Sheila’s view on her depression and not being “normal”. There are countless numbers of people in this world who have been or are now being treated for depression, including me. This idea is the main topic of her story. Depression is an illness that can be treated in many ways, like almost any other illness. I feel I may not be “normal” because, in addition to being treated for depression, I am handicapped with my right side paralyzed. Who sets the definition of ‘normal”? I felt by the end of the book she gets past this “normal” attitude and knows that GOD loves us all just the way we are, flaws and all, and that by trusting in Him our journey will be just as He had planned.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sponsored by: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/ This feature has been taken over by Sheila whose blog is "One Person's Journey Through a World of Books". I have learned so much from J. Kaye that I'm sorry to see her leave this feature but I know Sheila will be a great host!!!
FINISHED LAST WEEK
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Blue Water by A. Manette Ansay
Sprinkle With Murder by Jenn McKinlay
Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh
This first book in this new series gives us a fresh baked "who-dun-it" that will have you craving for cupcakes from the first page to the last.
A cupcake bakery, "Fairy Tale Cupcakes", is a dream come true for Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura. They are excited about their first big order of 500 cupcakes for a wedding until Mel sits down with the bride. She puts any "bridezilla" you have ever seen on television to shame. When Mel goes for a follow up meeting she finds the bride dead with a one of her cupcakes in her hand, she then becomes the number one suspect. Mel knows she didn't do it and she has to find out who did, to keep herself from being arrested and to save their business.
Add into this mixture Angie's seven brothers, a crazy competitor, and their best friend Tate, who happens to be the groom and you have the recipe for a great cozy mystery.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from The Berkley Publishing Group a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The first leg of my journey of reading books that use Wisconsin as a backdrop introduced me to A. Manette Ansay. She grew up in Port Washington, Wisconsin. She was a piano player and even went on to study music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. In 1984 her entire life changed as she was crippled with a variety of health problems. She was misdiagnosed with MS, by then she was bedridden and had to live with her parents. By 1987, she was able to get around in a wheelchair. In 1988 she realized she needed a job she could do sitting down, and committed herself to writing. In 1994 she found out her first book was to be published and soon thereafter it was chosen as a selection for the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. For the first time in her life she was making money. Money that allowed her to pursue alternative medical treatments, as she was in a great deal of pain, starting to have problems with her kidneys, and difficulty breathing. It was determined that her health problems stemmed from the fact the her body lacked the hormone progesterone, which could be treated. She has written a book about her struggles in a book entitled "Limbo" which has been added to my list of books I want to read. Today she continues to write, is a guest professor at a variety of colleges and has a wonderful daughter. http://www.amanetteansay.com/wordpress/
Now the books:
Vinegar Hill takes place in a fictional Wisconsin town of Holly's Field loosely based on Ansay's hometown of Port Washington.. This is where Ellen Grier and her family move in with her in-laws after her husband loses his job. It didn't take long for Ellen to realize that not only did her in-laws not like each other, they really hated her. She became a slave to her in-laws and her husband. They believed in an angry and unforgiving God and that the wife is to be completely submissive to her husband. After years of living a life that would break any woman's spirit, she discovers a family secret that gives her the strength the move on with her life.
This was a hard book to read because of the content. The writing is top-notch and you find yourself almost lost in this family's dysfunction.
Sister is set in the fictional Horton, Wisconsin, a rural town with strong ties to the Catholic faith. Abigail looks back at her life as she awaits the birth of her first child. She realizes that until she can come to grips with her past her future will never be secure. Growing up Abigail and her brother were tormented by their father as he believed in the very different gender roles. The woman's place is in the home and the man ears the money. Her mother, a true Catholic housewife, always looked the other way. Abigail was always her brother's protector but the stress with his father forces him to leave and he basically disappears, which drives Abigail to a nervous breakdown only to be saved by her devoutly Catholic grandmother. Still tormented by her brothers disappearance Abigail finds herself questioning everything she ever believed about her family, her faith and herself.
This is a truly moving story. Growing up in the Catholic faith I understood some of rigidness of the story. This story will touch your heart in the last pages as Abigail's mother tries to explain their life.
Blue Water set in Fox Harbor (again fictional) where everyone knows everyone else business. This is the story of Meg Van Dorn and her husband Rex whose son is killed by a drunk driver as his mother drives him to school. Of course Meg knows the drunk driver, she was one her best friends growing up. After weeks of trying to continue their lives in Fox Harbor, they rent out their house, sell everything they can, cash in retirement accounts and buy a sailboat and set sail in the Atlantic. No matter how far they go they cannot escape their monumental loss, especially with Meg's brother engaged to the drunk driver's sister. After months at sea, Meg needs to return home, not only for her brother's wedding but to work out the dislike she is feeling for her husband. The trip home changes everything.
I really liked this book, and after reading the Question/Answer section in the back of the book and checking out the author's website I found out that the sailing part of this book was partly autobiographical. I also liked how the drunk driver was a female, a mother. Most often this type of crime is showcased with a male in the role of drunk driver. Doing this added a different perspective to the story.
Okay, that was the first part of my journey to read 15 books that use Wisconsin as the setting for their stories. I hope you will check out these books and stayed turned for portion of the trip.
I am so thrilled to have received this award from Beth at The Crazy Life of A Bookoholic Mom. Thanks Beth!!! I started this blog to share all the books I love to read, give my opinions about worldly things and basically keep myself busy. It has been so much fun, and I am so glad other people like it. (Most of my family doesn't get it :) Yesterday I received my first cozy advanced copy and this award, it feels like Christmas.
Now I am supposed to tell you 10 things about ME.
1. My family is the most important thing to me.
2. I used to work on a construction crew building houses and pouring concrete.
3. My favorite band of all time is STYX.
4. I love old Christmas movies, (Holiday Inn, The Bells of St. Mary's, The Bishop's Wife, etc)
5. I used to sew most of my family's clothes and loved to quilt.
6. My parents used to own a tavern and we lived above it. I went to sleep every night as a teenager listening to the music of the juke box coming up through the floor.
7. I get claustrophobic in many small places.
8. I am addicted to PACKRAT on FACEBOOK.
9. I am hooked on high school basketball.
10. I survived a horrific accident, was hospitalized for 75 days, and it's a true miracle that I am alive, with only my right side partially paralyzed.
10A. My real name is Lori, but my husband as always called me Dolly and Cas comes from our last name.
I am also supposed to pass this on to 10 other bloggers, but since I am so new to the blogging world I have chosen six, two who have really helped me figure out this blogging thing and four to blogs I have discovered and really enjoy.
I have been a member of my church for almost 27 years. I have been a part of many circles, fundraisers and committees. I have taught Sunday school, was even Sunday School Superintendent for a few years. I baked for bake sales, made quilts for craft sales, served at dinners, made tickets and posters, designed and managed the church website, and was Church Treasurer for over seven years.
In all that time I never joined The Reading Group, which is one of the groups sponsored by our woman's group, the United Methodist Women (UMW) even though I love to read. I always thought this was a bible study group that met during the day, while I was working and just didn't fit into my schedule. It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I was the Communications Coordinator for the UMW in our conference that I found out what the Reading Group really was all about. I was editing an article submitted for the newsletter (which was the main job of the Communication Coordinator) about The Reading Group and was I surprised.
The purpose of the Reading Program is to encourage United Methodist Women members:
--to expand understanding of
and participation in God’s mission;
--to increase sensitivity to all human beings
— their needs, interest and concerns;
--to encourage critical thinking about
issues facing humanity today;
--to grow in understanding of Scripture
as it relates to Christian faith in contemporary life;
--to enhance self-knowledge and to act
from that knowledge;
--to strengthen involvement in local and
global Christian mission.
United Methodist Women recommends a diverse range of books with the intention of broadening exposure to a variety of concepts. United Methodist Women does not intend that readers accept each word or idea contained within each volume. Some books you may agree with. Some you may not. Either is all right. United Methodist Women cares and wants you to be a knowledgeable and caring Christian about current issues.
For 140 years, members of United Methodist Women and predecessor organizations have been involved in mission that includes prayer, study and action. The Reading Program is a study opportunity, but it should
also lead to action.
The Reading Program has four different plans depending on the number of books you want to read. So when I was called last month by a woman from our church who I truly love, respect and admire and was asked to join The Reading Group how could I refuse. I read over 100 books a year and she was just asking me to read 4 (1 from each category set up by the program).
Education For Mission
Nurturing For Community
Social Action
Spiritual Growth
Today I finished by first book. The Shack by Wm. Paul Young which falls under the category of Spiritual Growth. (review in post below) I will keep track of my UMW Reading Group books along with my other challenges in the right hand column. I will also review them here on my blog so hopefully you will be enriched my their content too, but they will be true reviews. Just because they are Christian reading material chosen by a group for reading does not mean they are automatically good reads. If they are not "my cup of tea" I will tell you honestly.
WOW What a story!! I have heard a lot about this book, either you hate it or you love it. Well, I Love IT!!
It is very hard to review this book because I think part of the joy in reading this book was that I didn't read any reviews, didn't even read the back cover before reading this story, so I could read it with no prejudice one way or another. I don't even want to tell you the plot, the characters or setting, except from the title you know the main character is the "shack".
I think people may hate it because of all the hype and their expectations are too high. I will tell you the book deals with a family tragedy, you would never wish on anyone. The story is a little mind boggling in places and hard to wrap your head around, but the message is clear. It does get a little predictable at one point but it doesn't take away from the story in any way.
Is this the best novel ever written, of course not, but it is a book that can change the way you think about your relationships with your family, your friends, people you hardly know and your relationship with GOD. Some of the answers in the book may give you a new point of view and different perspective to the age old question "Where Is God in a world that has so much pain?"
If you have this book on you To-Be-Read pile move it a little closer to the top. If you have been thinking about buying this book or getting it from the library, please do. Will this book change your life? I can't answer that but I think you will be glad you read it. I am so glad I read this book.
