Heart Wide Open by Shellie Rushing Thomlinson

This book is a little treasure trove of helpful advice about deepening your relationship with Jesus. Through stories and anecdotes, the author chronicles her own journey into a deeper relationship with her Lord and Savior. She has the same struggles most of us have as we strive to draw closer: feelings of inadequacy, frustration that we aren't doing enough, etc. And she mentions spending more time in the Word and prayer. These are things that are difficult for many but crucial to the process. All in all, a very thoughtful book that will be of value to many.

This book is well written and keeps the reader engaged which providing helpful tips. Highly recommend!

The author has a contest you can enter. Just fill out this FORM. The giftbasket contains:

A beautiful wallboard inscribed with these words from the Song of Solomon, "Come and awaken love and when I find him I won't let him go."
A beautiful coffee mug bearing this sentiment, "Heart you to the moon and back."
A Bird of Paradise heart shaped candle
A Heart Shaped Keepsake Box
A Red and White Chevron Design Scarf
A Heart Wide Open T-Shirt (winner to designate size)
A $50 Amazon Gift Certificate
And, of course, a copy of Heart Wide Open

Minding Molly by Leslie Gould

Molly Zook has recently lost her father and her mother and she are struggling to save the farm where they raise flowers, trees, shrubs and herbs. Her mother thinks she can best make this happen by getting Molly to marry their neighbor Mervin Mosier. Molly, however, has falled in love with an Amish man who is working in the neighborhood but whose family home is in Montana. Complicating the issue is that her best friend, Hannah, has eyes only for Mervin Mosier but thinks Molly is sabotaging her future with him. A camping trip of Molly and her friends in the Poconos only complicates the situation.


This book is #3 in The Courtships of Lancaster County series. I read the first two when they came out and was eagerly awaiting this one. Leslie Gould always keeps you wanting more. I really enjoy these books and they are full of interesting observations about the Amish but more than that, they are just a really good story! There are several more couples that need to get together in this group so I am hoping this is not the end or near the end of the series, but it's OK with me if she starts a new series as long as she keeps writing these great stories that I love to read!


This book was given to me by Bethany House for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no compensation and all opinions are my own.

Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta

This is a sort of Victorian / Gothic / Jane Austin / Bronte type of story. It is very complicated with lots of twists and turns and you spend most of the book wondering what is really going on. It is the story of Julia who has been appointed a guardian after her parents' deaths only the man is remaining anonymous. She is supposed to go to Scotland to attend an elderly lady but ends up with her mother's friend and her daughter that Julia spent much time with as a child. Her friend Elizabeth is in love with the local gentry's oldest son Henry and Julia is in love with the younger son Edwards -- all fast friends from childhood. When she arrives she finds that Edward has become a vicar since she last saw him and since her father was an avowed atheist and she had taken much abuse from clergy during her childhood, this was a deal-breaker for her. The plot thickens and thickens and yet again thickens after this. All I can say is you need to read it yourself and plan on saving a big block of time for this because you aren't going to want to put it down until you find out what happens next.


Although this is a Christian book that aspect is woven in rather sparingly in my opinion. I would have like to see at least one or two of the characters' faith in action but what was most evident was Edward's embrace of social causes.


The book was well-written but almost too suspenseful for me. I like a good mystery but it seems like the author was very miserly with her clues and information and it took a very long time to get any tidbits and then you were off in search of another tidbit to make that one make sense. And the author left the end of this one hanging so now we must wait for the next one to come out which is due later on this year. I will definitely be watching for it to arrive so I can get the next part of this story!


This book was given to me by Tyndale for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no compensation and all opinions are my own.

All Heaven Will Break Loose by Joy Dawson

In this book Joy Dawson teaches how to operate the same way the triune God / Trinity operates. She talks about getting along with each other and working as a team. She emphasizes the importance of forgiveness. All this is substantiated by scripture references and anecdotal stories. She talks about the importance of maintaining Trinity Unity even when hard times hit and life gets difficult.

The book is well written and informative and I think very helpful for groups and individuals to study.

A Match Made in Texas, A Novella Collection by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings and Carol Cox.

This set of stories was so much fun. Each one starts out at least in Dry Gulch, TX. In the first story, a very pregnant widow is sent a handyman by an anonymous friend. In the second one, the first couple has moved on and the widow's former homestead is now occupied by a former schoolteacher who is going blind. Again, the anonymous friend sends a handyman her way and another match is made. In number three, the M.O. changes a little and the anonymous friend arranges to send a homeless friend to a ranch to be a companion to an elderly aunt of a gentlemen at that location. And finally in number three that anonymous friend finds herself set up with someone she has had her eye on for a long time and hilarity ensues.


These were all well written and kept me reading way past when I should have gone to bed! I love stories by Christian authors because they don't have a lot of unnecessary stuff in them that I don't want to read. And everyone relies on God as their source. Love it!


This book was given to me by Bethany House for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no compensation and all opinions are my own.

Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman

Mariah Malone finds herself solely in charge of the family ranch after her father dies and caretaker for her grandmother and blind sister. Slade Donovan and his brother arrive and claim ownership of the ranch. Mariah, believing the evidence presented, signs the ranch over to Slade. As they wait for Slade's mother and sisters to arrive, Mariah and Slade get to know each other and many secrets about the past and about the management of the ranch are revealed.


This book was so well written that I did not want to stop reading to get on with my life. I enjoyed this book so much and was surprised to find out it is only the second book by this author. I'm now in pursuit of book one and anxiously awaiting book three (please tell me there will be more from this author)! I love reading about this time period and this book will stay on my shelf in my "favorites" section.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale for review.

Prepared for a Purpose by Antoinette Tuff

When I got this book I thought, how can they make a whole book out of an incident in the news that only took a few hours and how did they get it out there so fast after the fact? This is the story of Antoinette Tuff who was sitting at the reception desk of the school where she worked in Atlanta while the regular receptionist went to lunch. While she was sitting there, a gunman entered the room and threatened everyone in the school. Ms. Tuff spent a very long time alone with the gunman. In an unusual state of calm which she says was totally from God, she managed to talk him down. No one was injured in the standoff.

I found this book difficult to put down. I read it rather quickly. Not only does she take us through the events of the day, she gives us the testimony of her life that led her up to this point. She was dealing with some very difficult life situations on that day, but she still managed to hear God's voice and do and say all the right things to calm the gunman down. She is a true hero and a wonderful person. I am praying that all the situations she was dealing with get resolved for her.

This book was very well written. I know she had a co-author, Alex Tresniowski, but the story is her own and she was very brave to put it all out there for the world to see.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for review. I did not received any compensation for the review and the opinions expressed here are my own.