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Deep inside of the grumpy old man called Ove is a very sad heart. Bit by bit, over a lifetime of disappointments, he’s grown a thick crust. He’s not up for any more hurts–all he wants is to die in peace. Yet it seems he cannot even do that. Because the people around him can’t …
Continue reading “A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman, 2014, Sceptre”
What does Romance have to do with Love, anyway? I chose The Key to Love because I wanted to read a light romance as a get-away from tough times this year. Thank you, Revell, for choosing me as a reviewer and sending me a copy. The title and cover promise a sweet love story, with …
Continue reading “The Key to Love, by Betsy St. Amant, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing)”
Ed’s Hopeful Journey is a short novel, prequel to Something I Haven’t Told You, and takes place five years earlier. Do you like a grumpy man trope? Like in A Man Called Ove? If so, you might like this. If you read Something I Haven’t Told You, you probably noticed the self-centered, sour nature of …
Continue reading “Ed’s Hopeful Journey, by Pearl Ada Pridham, 2024, Winged Publications”
The River Queen plunges readers into the scenario of American rivers a hundred years ago, when travelling theatres on luxurious boats brought entertainment to cities and towns along their routes. It sounds so fun! The story features pirates, smuggling, and amusing and dastardly characters of all sorts. Marijuana, then called muggles, was starting to come …
Continue reading “The River Queen, by Stephenia H. McGee, 2023, The Vine Press, Ebook”
Today would have been my dear Sid’s 80th birthday. Maybe we’d have put on a party. He sometimes said he’d like to have a big birthday party, but we never got around to doing that. His life was cut short in 2020 by cancer. But Sid left a godly legacy in words and songs for …
Continue reading “A tree is a tree is a tree… by sid fredericksen”
Family What’s your family like? Do your family members RESPECT one another? Or do they need an ‘attitude adjustment’? RESPECT is important in families, including God’s family, the church. But respect is earned by behavior that is WORTHY of it. Good behavior is worthy of respect. Bad behavior is not. Some Bible verses about behavior …
Inspiring and Thought-provoking The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip features an indomitable woman, who through her generous spirit of love, instigated and inspired many others. Woven into the story is the poignant history in the late 1970s of the immigration of a large group of Laotian refugees to Kansas City. The author cleverly pieces into …
Forgiveness–a theme of humanity Forgiveness has always been a human theme. From the story of Adam and Eve on, the need of forgiveness has been central. The moment we err, that little elf called ‘conscience’ whispers in our ear. When we ban him from our presence, we suffer consequences. So does everyone around. As humans, …
Continue reading “The Forgiving Hour, by Robin Lee Hatcher, ebook edition 2016, Robinsong Inc.”
An unfortunate legacy in the family tree Her family tree yielded a legacy she never expected. An unfortunate genetic disorder called fragile X syndrome, manifested in her dear little son. Could this be true? Too scary to believe and accept. This dual-timeline novel alternates chapters between Talie’s story in the recent past in the U.S.A., …
Continue reading “the Oak Leaves, by Maureen Lang, 2007, Tyndale”
I met Patricia Bradley in a small Zoom conference for writers last month, and she kindly offered to do a critique for me of the novel I am working on. What an honour! Now I’m excited to be reading her latest novel that just came out. I chose it out of several books that Revell …
Continue reading “Standoff, by Patricia Bradley, 2020, Revell(Baker Publishing Group)”
On the ancient traditional Chinese calendar it’s New Years Day today. On our Western calendar it’s February 5th, 2019. The old Chinese calendar goes by a different system altogether, so Chinese New Year falls around this time every year but not always on February 5th. This photo of koi fish was taken by me at …
Continue reading “Happy Chinese New Year!”
It was quite a chilly morning as we stepped back out of the ‘bunk house’ and walked toward the pick-up truck to head out into the hills that day. October in the Chilcotin is cool and crisp and when there’s a little frost at night the trees glisten like hundreds of candled Christmas trees as …
Continue reading “From Trees to Pulpit in the Chilcotin Valley”
My Dad would be 110 years old today. He was born in Alliston Ontario, on a family farm, the first of six children. Being the oldest son, Dad was expected to do a lot of the farm work. School was considered secondary. He went when he wasn’t required to work, and made it through grade three. …
Continue reading “Tribute to my Dad”
This morning my husband read to me from the book of Acts, chapter 5, the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. This incident took place not long after Jesus ascended to heaven and his followers had been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. At that time all the believers shared with each other …
Continue reading “Listening Prayer”
This summer I had two surgeries. First in July a couple of suspicious areas were removed and a D & C was done. They discovered that I had the beginnings of endometrial cancer, so I had to go back to the hospital for a hysterectomy in August. Just when I was starting to recover from …
Continue reading “On the Mend”
