The Centurion

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

This book was exactly what the doctor had ordered!  Ken Gire did a phenomenal job with this story.  The characters, the plot, being in the military and the battles on and off the field were all very realistic.

Lucius was the Centurion who was present during the crucifixion of Jesus and said, "This man truly was the Son of God."  From that day on, he could not shake that image of Jesus on the cross, the words He spoke and the quake afterwards.

In the crowd of people he recognized a woman, but could not place exactly where she was from.  Before he could remember, he was drawn unto her.  When he remembered, the attraction grew that much more.  He remembered her story and wanted to know more about her and her Jesus.

Sworn to duty, Lucius had to endure battle after battle.  But he felt like he could do it all especially when he had Mary and her Jesus at his side.  Lucius soon had to wrestle with what happens when he limited Mary and Jesus into what HE perceived them to be.  

When it is all said and done, Lucius must find out for himself, whose side he is truly on.

How To Study Your Bible

I purchased both the book and workbook.

                          

                   



These books went in-depth on how to study your Bible using the Inductive Study Method.

It's not that far off from how I study the Bible anyways, but there were some, let's keep it real, many elements that I just didn't get.  Now, this very well, be solely because of my learning style.  I need to see it close up and in person, I need to be conveyed verbally so that I can keep going over it in my head until I get it.  Here, I was reading it over and over again and yet I was getting more frustrated and confused.

I will add a couple of the steps to my current method of study and hopefully one day I can revisit this method in the future.

Check out my youtube channel and see the Inductive Bible study playlist for the days I studied Colossians 1.

***
3-Star
I just couldn't get deeply into this book.   A lot of it I just couldn't understand. 

The End of the Magi

What a beautiful story!

Life for Myrad started off on shaky ground.  Once he was adopted by Gershom, he had a sense of purpose and knew exactly what his future would entale.

After his father was slain for his believes, Myrad finds himself on the run, alone with nothing but the things he had taken for the journey and the dream he had shared with his father.

Myrad is being persued by soldiers at every turn.  He is not sure who he can trust.  He met a traveling merchant, Walagash and those journeying along with him in his caravan.

Myrad mission is to find out more about this dream, seek revenge for his fathers death and keep the calendar of the coming Messiah.

Will revenge be all what it is cracked up to be?

*****
5-Star
I enjoyed the journey of what we now know as the Wisemen.  I was left wanting to know more!

Counted with the Stars

Connilyn Cossette is an awesome author!  She has a way of carrying you along the journey with each of her characters.

Kiya was sold into slavery by her father due to his indebtedness.   Not sure which is worse, to be enslaved by a stranger or a friend of the family.

How could this be when she was set to marry the man of her dreams.  Would he be her knight and come rescue her once he finds out?

Kiya is enslaved to a cruel mistress, nothing like her husband Shefu, who is kind and caring about all those employed by him.

Kiya befriends another slave, a Hebrew named Shira and her brother who she had already met under less pleasant circumstances.

Freedom has come for the Hebrew slaves.  Kiya though Egyptian, finds herself fleeing Egypt with her friend Shira and her family.  Kiya brings along her mother and brother.  They all find themselves witnessing miracles and having a change of perspective on their gods.

Will Kiya have a life with Yahweh or is she just using Him to flee from her mistress?

*****
5-Star read!!!

I loved this book and Kiya's journey of faith and love.

When Through Deep Waters

AMAZING READ!!!

If the caps didn't tell you how much I loved this book, well nothing else would.😁

This book is takes you thru a mothers greatest fear and the turmoil that goes with it.

The unthinkable has happened to Alicen McCaffrey.  How could this happen when she had all things in her life finally going the way that she thought they should.  She had the house, the marriage and the child, what more could she ask for?

Tragedy strikes and Alicen retreats to friends, Louise home in the town where she had spent most of her summers.  As she try to deal with her loss, she agrees to outpatient therapy.

Alicen has a lot on her plate since her insensitive mother has showed up along with memories of her grandmother and that of a little girl no one can see or hear except her.

Alicen finds out the hard way that she is not alone with carrying a burden so heavy that it will only take a higher power to help alleviate the burden.

*****
5-star read!!!

I felt as I was looking in the mirror most of the time in regards to this book.  I felt things, I re-lived things and I felt a small release by the end of the book.

This book deals with trauma, loss and your faith.

Let me know your thoughts if you have read this book or if I persuaded you to give it a try.

THR3E

Whoooaaaa!

This is a psychological thriller.  If are looking for something that is straight suspense or even a thriller without the "mental" characteristics, then this is not your book!

Kevin Parson lost his parents at a young age and had to move in with his aunt Balinda.

To say that he lived a sheltered life would be an understatement.  His childhood was far from normal and a secret that he wanted to keep well hidden.

On his way home one day from graduate school, he receives a phone call, from a man named Slater, that would change his life forever.  He was given a riddle with 3 minutes to solve it or to call the media to confess his sin before his car would be blown up.  This starts this crazy whirl wind of riddles to be solved, things being blown up and even a kidnapping.

Slater controls Kevins every move and tells him who to contact and when.  Samantha, Kevin's only childhood friend, is allowed to assist him figure out what sin that was so bad that it needed to be confessed to the whole world.  

Read this book to figure out which sin he needs to confess and to find out why Slater has targeted Kevin.

****
4-star read!

I really liked this book.  It was so Criminal Minds, but not on the side of the BAU. It was from the perspective of the UNSUB.  I loved trying to figure out the why and what caused these events that had taken place in Kevin's life.

Sons Of Encouragement

I read this book as a buddy read with my Sis, Nay.  This book contained five stories of lesser known men in the Bible.

AARON:

Aaron along with his brother Moses were sent to Egypt to give a message to Pharaoh from God. Aaron did not have the strength and faith as Moses, but became High Priest of God's people.  This position did not come easy for Aaron.  He suffered much guilt because of how he allowed the people to pressure him into creating a "golden calf" for the Hebrews to worship while Moses was up on the mount.  Aaron learns to deal with this guilt and look to God for the strength he needs to fulfill his purpose.

This story moved soooo slow.  I almost DNF'd it.  It was very hard to read this story because of the drag.  I kept thinking I can't wait to finish this story and that I hoped the rest of this book was not like this.  

CALEB:

Caleb was the other part of the dynamic duo (Joshua and Caleb) that brought the Hebrews to the promised land.  I truly did not care for this story.  Joshua was insecure and Caleb had to boost him up and be his cheerleader.  It just read so differently than in the Bible.  I guess that's why it's called fiction, but it was a big no for me.  Francine was still stretching out this story way too long.  It left me to believe that she was struggling writing from a man's perspective.

JONATHAN:

Francine has shown great improvement in the story.  I really liked the friendship and brotherhood between Jonathan and David.  She kept her script close to the Bible for this story.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

AMOS:

I LOVED this story.  Amos reminded me so much of Jonah.  He had a message to deliver to people  that he cared not to be around nor did he care that much for their fate.  I love that Amos started out as a shepherd like David.  For 10 years Amos delivered God's message warning the people of their impending destruction if they did not repent.  The people would listen, wait, and return to their ways because what was being said, had not come to pass.  So much is still true today.  We will receive a message and if the results don't come fast enough we resort back to doing "us."

SILAS:

This was my favorite story of the book.  Silas was a scribe that followed the disciples and wrote their encounters with Christ.  He dealt with much loss after having watched his friends die and he himself beaten for being friends with Christians and a follower of the Way.  In order for Silas to move forward he had to deal with his hurt.  The best way he could do so, is to do what he does best, write.

****

4-star read!

As you can see I did give this a 4 star rating.  It was only because I really enjoyed the last 3 books and that made up for the feelings I had in regards to the first two books.  I remember kept saying to Nay that it had to be her first time writing in man's perspective or these books were her early works.  I am glad that I did not DNF the book and that I got to the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Blessed

This book lived up to its genre...suspense and thriller.




This book made me feel as if I were in the twilight zone.  It starts off with several characters at different times of their lives and how by the end of the book their lives intertwine.  It was almost too overwhelming at first, because I found it hard to keep up with the characters.

This story is about humans vs meta humans.  It really reminds me of X-men.  People having supernatural powers and those that want to profit off of them or exploit them.

Catori, is a young girl when she found that she and two of her close friends, Aleah and Michael, were different.  They could do things that others could not do.  Their families raised them together and made certain that they had a relationship with God.  In seeking out more information about their children's condition, the parents found a scientist named Simon.  Simon was found too good to be true, and you know what they say about that!

The story goes on weaving in and out of several characters lives and how their lives path lead them to Catori.  The book left off as a cliff hanger, and I was still wanting more.  I am looking forward to getting and reading the next book.

****
4-Star read.

This book may be a trigger for some as it did trigger just a little for me.

Child abuse is a hard thing for me to accept and understand.  Tho, this book covered it up really well.  Meaning it drew me in not as a parent or adult harming a child for something that they did or didn't do.  ***(SPOILER) It triggered for me some because children being tested or "experimented" on all because a scientist was getting off on torture.***  

Kingdom's Dawn

A very good Middle Grade read!

This story is about a young boy who finds out that the only life he has ever known would not be the life he would live in the very near future.

Leinad (16 years old), never understood why his father kept insisting on training him with the sword, when they were nothing but farmers.  He obliged his father, tho questioning him sometimes, but the answers would always be, "you are  being prepared to serve the King."

This King, was never seen or never came to check on his people.  He never saw guards or even a palace for this "so-called" King.

Leinad and his father took in a little street girl, Tess, who was very smart, but lacking in proper verbal skills.  (she reminded me of the Character Eliza from, My Fair Lady).  She was being mistreated by a woman who took her in.  Leinad's father, Peyton purchased the girls freedom and she stayed with them learning proper etiquette for a young girl.

Life would flip for Leinad and Tess after Peyton is seen with the Dark Knight.  Their lives go from having a family, living on a farm and knowing love to running for their lives, depending on "themselves" and fighting for a King they have never seen. 

*****

5-Star

I thought it was really good and easy for a youth/teenager to understand.  I look forward to reading book 2 in this series!

Hester on the Run

Unfortunately, this book has hit up against several of my triggers.  I completed it anyway in hopes that what I was being set up, like in a suspense novel.  But not so!

This book is about a woman Kate who up to finding a Native American baby in a field/pasture was barren.  She had all the motherly instincts, but no children of her own.  She found this newborn baby and took her home to her husband, Hans.  He was instantly attracted to the infant.

Raising, Hester brought on many different opinions, especially those from Hans' mother and others in the community.  Kate didn't care, she was finally a mother.  She noticed a change in her husband, where as when she needed things in the past, he considered it  a sin.  Now, Hester was to be dressed nicely and have all things he wanted for her, things that he wouldn't even allot for his own wife.

Kate became pregnant after 9 years of hoping and praying.  After giving birth to her first born, a son, she noticed an even  greater change in her husband.  He would ignore his own son and continue to dote over Hester.  Kate would tell him about his behaviors, he would change, but he would revert back to giving Hester all of his attention.

Eight kids later and a life changing accident changed their lives forever.  All of Hans children were growing older, and so was Kate's once beautiful lean figure.  After having 8 children in 9 years, her body never recovered or was allowed to gain back her "before pregnancy" body.  It didn't matter to her, she was happily married, a mother and just so happened now full figured.  It disgusted Hans, but he was smart enough to not speak it outlaid to her.  Now he did love his wife and their children, but no one in the home received the attention, love and affection the way that Hester did.

Life flipped for this family.

Hans remarried, his wife, Annie was nothing like Kate.  In fact, she was very sinister.  Hester went from a loving home to pretty much being a servant.  Annie was cruel and Hans was a coward and a creep.  After others called him on his behaviors, he realized that the feelings he had for Hester where not fatherly, but that of lust.

Hester had to make a choice.  Would she stay and accept the abuse, only staying because of what she was taught (Honor thy mother and father) or escape and find her own way through this thing called life?

***
3 - Star

I know I am being very generous with this rating.  This book triggered me in following 3 ways.

-  overly bashing of curvy woman
-  pedophilia
-  child abuse

Unfortunately, these things held the story together.  Tho it  disgusted me, it would not have been a storyline without these things.

Now, could it be that I am just not that learned in the Amish way and that these things are acceptable?  I don't know and if that is true, I don't EVER want to read another Amish book again!  I so badly want to see how she fairs in the rest of the trilogy, but I don't want to take the chance of being triggered again.  Therefore, this book will be removed from my collection.  

The Fall of Lucifer

Created beings from the one and only Yehovah.  Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer are brothers, brothers for eternity, until feelings of not being enough enters the heart and minds of one angel.  

Everything created by Him is loyal, devoted and worships only Him.

Literally, everything was perfect until Yehovah wanted to create another race, man.  Man was to be made in his image with the ability to replicate.

See how fear, envy, jealousy and refusal of repentance can not exist in the same place or presence of perfection.

***

3-Star Read!!!

This would have been an amazing read except for all of the fluff and the fact that this book had new characters every couple of pages.  This is book is FULL of, actually an over kill of, synonyms.  The story however, I thoroughly enjoyed and found myself in tears while reading it.

harvest of gold

This is part two of an amazing duology by Tessa Afshar.

Sarah has always dreamt of traveling to the place of Christs' birth, Jerusalem.

Her desire to travel may be hindered by some unexpected news.

Darius battles with his emotions.  He wants to understand why he can't say or actual fully love his wife or the God she serves.

In Darius' quest to "guard" Nehemiah in Jerusalem, he finds himself at a crossroads.

Will Darius surrender his heart willingly or continue to allow it to grow cold?

*****

5-Star read!!!

I seriously need a part 3!  I loved this book even more, I could barely put it down.  It had the right amount of laughter and seriousness mixed in with a lot of faith!

harvest of rubies

This is part one of an amazing Duology written by Tessa Afshar.   After I read part two, I will only one book left of hers to read that I own.  Once I finish reading it, then and only then, would I purchase her newest book. But this book right here, I absolutely loved it!

Sarah was not the typical woman.  She was not into the fru fru that comes with womanhood.  She taught herself to read and write many languages and became a scribe much to the dismay of her aunt.

Her cousin Nehemiah picked up on her strengths which led her to becoming the Senior Scribe for the Queen.

Being married was not something Sarah saw herself as being, well until it was forced upon her.

Learning to become a woman, a friend, protector, defender and wife all will prove to Sarah that maybe she also (like the Queen Esther) was created for a time such as this!

*****
5-Star read!!!  I absolutely loved this book.  I agree with Nay, this is by far one of the funniest books written by Tessa Afshar.

Mind Games

This book was an amazing, 5-star read!  This book was chosen by Nay and myself to buddy read for the month of February.   

This book had Nay and I, going back and forth with our commentary and trying our hand at being a Profiler.  This book kept our attention from the beginning to the very end, even tho we didn’t agree with the “why” or the murders reasoning behind his heinous acts.

We both thought we were in an episode of criminal minds, it was just that good...well until the reasoning, lol!

Kaely Quinn is the daughter of a serial killer turned law enforcement officer and then becoming a Profiler.  She has a unique way of finding her perp.  Not with many real friends, Kaely leads a pretty lonely life.

Someone is out to get her, but who?  Who can she trust when no one is willing to step outside the box of how and what they were taught.  Her new partner, Adam is no different than everyone else, until he gets to see her in action.  Will Adam give her the break she so desperately needs or will he keep her at arms length and let others dictate to him how he should be towards her?  She has a murderer to catch, because her very life is depending on it. Who will all be in her corner?

Until the next read, be blessed!

Living Lies

Nay and I chose to read Living Lies for our March buddy read.  I have to say, that this book gave me all kinds of feels!  

Natalie Walters touched on a part of my life and many others who have experienced some type of trauma.  Depression, Anxiety, Suicide and PTSD affects MILLIONS of Americans each year, with over 50% of suicides, stemming from people who suffered from major depression. I’m so glad authors are bringing more awareness to something that is crippling many, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS!

Lane Kent, a widow and single mother, blames herself for things out of her control.  However, her father holds her lapse in judgement over her head daily for political gain.

In one of her weakest moments, she is frightened into a gruesome discovery.  Deputy Charlie Lynch, her towns newest Deputy, unsure of what he just witnesses, response to a scream and back into the lady that caused in worry moments before.

The murder of a young girl cause suspensions to rise and fingers to point into the direction of a decorated Vietnam Veteran.  Lane learns that people are not who they seem and that she should never give up on those that she care about.

Lane learns that we all are placed here on purpose.  With Purpose.  But will she learn it before it’s too late?

I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading Part 2 in this Harbored Secrets Series.

Until the next read, be blessed!

broken, the woman who anointed Jesus's Feet

I have to admit that when I first took this book out of the box from christianbook.com I was not a happy camper.  I felt some kind of way, like I paid entirely way too much for this book, considering the book only had 102 pages.  Well, after reading this book, I can honestly take those feelings and toss them in the nearest garbage can.

This book is the third book in a novella collection.  The books are independent, so you do not have to read them in order.  The cover is absolutely stunning, but the spine was a no-go for me.

Now, this book is well written and I rated it as a 4.75/5 star read because of the nature of the circumstances and the triumph.

Tirzah is a third generation harlot.  Something, she swore she would never be.  Life always have a way of flipping on you.  She knew to stay out of sight as a child from her mother and her company.  Then one day a man came into both of their lives and heart.  Unfortunately, because of some circumstances, that relationship had to end, leaving them both devastated.

One day, while out in the market, Tirzah met Claudia who just happen to be cripple.  The girls were fast friends and became sisters for life.  Claudia leaned on her faith despite all the bad she has gone through and shared it with Tirzah.  However, Tirzah had a hard time believing when her life was constantly flipping on her.

The day had come she swore that would never be for her.  She only saw that she needed to survive,  not only for herself, but for Claudia as well.  Claudia heard about Jesus coming and wanted to meet him.  Tirzah would do anything for her friend, even take her to see the man that performed “miracles”.

Jesus has performed all sorts of miracles for people.  Tirzah, took her friend to Him with her small faith and witnessed the miraculous take place in the life of her friend, but Jesus was not finished just yet!  This is a must read for those who like to put a limit on who Jesus can touch and heal and how He will do it!


Until the next read, be blessed!

The Captive Maiden

Melanie Dickerson has done it again.  Another Teen Fiction that I would without a shadow of a doubt let my teenager read!

Simple retelling of the classic Cinderella.  This book is a cross of the Disney and the movie, Ever After versions of Cinderella.  BTW, I absolutely loved both versions.

Surely, you know the Disney version, right?  Okay, so let us start there and expound on that.  A wealthy young girl (Gisela) left in the care of step mother (Evfemia) and her two step sisters (Contzel and Irma).  Once loved by her father, now tormented and treated as a servant in her own home.  As a child servant, she dreamt of life away from her home and the evilness within it.  She longed to live inside the Hagenheim Castle and being married to remaining eligible Prince, Valten.  What girl has not dreamt of  being the Princess she was destined to become?  Well, a chance passing, then a chivalrous act lead to all things #teamfairytalish!

Now you know, this book would be incomplete without a villain or in this case villains.  The villains are always someone who is overlooked, jealous of your status, envious of all you do or what you may have, or even someone who wants to see you fail so that they may gloat.  Regardless of how you try, they will never stop.  After poison attempts, being locked away, being sold, beaten, conspired against, kidnapped and being lied to, good has to prevail right?  This book has all of that, along with horses and a sprinkle of Jesus!  So, if you are in need of a good and light read (of course from an adult’s perspective) this is it.

Side note: Fairytales always end with the girl gets the guy, they fall in love, marry and live happily ever after.  I would like for more fairytales to end with strong women who will be okay even if they don’t get the guy, just saying!

Until the next book, be blessed!

Christmas in Winter Hill

My reading schedule did not go as planned as to how many books I was to read for the month of December.  However, I was able to get in some good reads, such as this book, finishing it only 8 days prior to the new year.

Well, it's impossible to "not like" Christmas when you have an inquisitive 8 year old daughter.  After accepting a new position as City Manager, Krista and her daughter Emily moved to the small city of Winter Hill. 

Upon driving into the city, Krista and Emily are greeted with the sign, "Home of Christmasville."  Krista has many qualms that keep her from being festive and full of the Christmas Spirit.  However, Emily is determined to find out her mom's hang-ups and pray for something only God could deliver, a MIRACLE!

Will Krista's daughter and new friends bring back to Krista the true joy of Christmas or would a scandal prove to her again,  that this time of the year is nothing but a huge disappointment?

I look forward to reading more from Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall.

Until next time,

         Be blessed,

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Y'all!!!

I am now also a blogger, Yay!!!

I am super excited to be able to launch and share this new extension of Quilting, Beauty and Books.  

This will be my attempt at sharing with you all, in word format, my reviews related to quilting products, beauty products, and Christian books (Fiction and Non-Fiction).  Here, I will also share with you what I am studying and what I have learned from the Word of God.

I will try my best to keep each post short and sweet to respect the time that you share with me here on my blog.

So, staying to true to my word, that's all I have for you on today.

Please subscribe and leave comments down below.

Until next time,
         Be blessed,