Prairie Scraps

Cathy Williams was raised by strong women, a grandmother who was an African Queen and her mother, a slave.  They taught Cathy to have pride in her heritage as a “Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen,” even as she is torn from her family on a Missouri plantation and sent to work as a cook for the army.  Even as a slave and woman in the civil war, Cathy chooses to keep her strong African heritage and her identity, and refuses to allow her circumstances to change them.  Eventually, she finds herself enlisting as a buffalo soldier and disguising herself as a man.  This book shares a powerful side of the civil war, unknown to many.

Years after losing a child and the inability to have more children, Anthony and Marty, Old Order Mennonites, take a friend up on a chance to get away from their close knit community to try to heal their marriage.  Little do they know all the ways that thier one act of desperation can actually bring so many more to a personal relationship with Christ.  “Ours for a Season” by Kim Vogal Sawyer weaves in so many heart-wrenching issues of today, with God’s power to heal: a battle with cancer, loneliness, human trafficing, teen foster care issues, etc.  This story brings together people of different backgrounds and faiths, and through the wonderful healing of Christ not only heals themselves, but begins a new work in Him!  I cried. I smiled. I loved this book! All opinions from this review are my own, however, I recieved an advanced electronic copy of this book from www.netgalley.com in exchange for my review.

I have read one of the Nick Vujcic’s other books and always find myself sitting at the edge of my seat, so to speak to learn about Nick’s life without out arms and legs.  As before, Nick did not disappoint me in providing a wonderful and inspirational book!  “Be the Hands and Feet” is about God’s call to Christians to go out and share His love and word. Not only does Nick share his own advice and stories from his life and walk with God, but he shares many stories from every day people and the unique ways they share God’s love with others.  For the new Christian or even the seasoned Christian, this is a refreshing well planned and thought out guide for how to get out there and do God’s bidding.   There is so much information packed in this book that it’s a definite candidate for another read thru (which is saying a lot, because I rarely read books twice!) Even more meaningful, is Nick and his father’s heart wrenching experiences with illness and death, and how th...

It seems hard to believe in today's day, that someone would give up everything and move to Uganda to run a non-profit and personally house African children, but that's exactly what Katie Davis Majors did.  Although this seems like an act of faith that not everyone has, "Daring to Hope" humanizes the struggles that Katie goes through personally, to continue on to love and care for people in desperate need of help. Katie has personally adopted 13 girls, but after having her own personal tragedy, is painfully afraid to open herself to loving another person. Life goes on for Katie, more people in need of love and care, even on their deathbeds are sent to her.  Can she open herself to love again?  Does she dare to hope that God will provide and give her the strength to love over and over, even knowing that person may die? Uganda and Katie's organization seem so far away from my own, busy life in America, but Katie brings her story of pain and suffering into an e...

I was so excited to see a brand new book by Cindy Woodsmall available, when I was choosing books to review!  I always love a great Amish romance, and the fact that it's by Cindy Woodsmall just made my day! This is the third book in the "Amish of Summer Grove" series and definitely delivers a phenomenal story line. Arianna Brenneman returns to her Old Order Amish family, that raised her after several months of staying with her biological family.  After the shock of finding out that she was switched at birth with Skylar Nash, both are forced to swap places for a year, and get to know their biological families.  After only three months, Arianna has been able to convince her biological Dad that she needs to return to the family and lifestyle that she can relate to.  But, after gaining knowledge from the English world, can Arianna find her place back with her family?  Will her Amish family accept her new take on life, or will they try to force their wishes...

I'm on a role with reading books this year!  I set a goal to read 50 books this year and this book makes my 31st this year so far.  I might be able to reach my goal!  I've been tracking my goal and stats on Goodreads.   It's fun to see how many books I've read, on there.  I've even had some of the authors comment on my reviews! My own love of the National Parks and as an avid visitor with our vintage Airstream, I intrigued by "The Road to Paradise, (Shadows of the Wilderness #1)  To my joy, this book did not disappoint my high expectations of being able to learn more about Mt. Rainier, and come to appreciate it's splendor as well! In 1927, Margaret (Margie) Lane, a wealthy senator's daughter, escapes to Mt. Rainier, much to her mother's disapproval to study God's creation and learn from a real Park Ranger.  Ford Brayden, the ranger charged with making sure that Margie's stay is both enjoyable and profitable for the National Forest Servi...

Trey Walker Stafford, a country music star takes a break from his exciting and star struck music life to return home to face his past.  Although he struggles with his relationship with his rich uncle Sam Stafford, Trey knows he owes his life to Sam for rescuing him as an young orphan after his parents passed away. Cowboy and rancher, Sam Stafford didn't approve of Trey's country music career when he left the family home, the Double S Ranch to pursue his dreams as a singer. This rift didn't stop Trey from striking out on his own to follow his passion, but left the two at odds for years.  After achieving country music fame and fortune, Trey is now returning to the home ranch, to save Sam's life and return the favor.  As the only match for a liver transplant for Sam, Trey is needs to face his past and give his liver for the man he owes his life too. While waiting for the transplant to take place, Sam assigns Trey to make amends for the Stafford family to a nei...

  I had the pleasure of reading this third book in "The Quilted Heart" series by Mona Hodgson.  Generally, I don't care for reading books in a series without first reading the books before (what can I say, I like things in order!), but this book captivated me right from the start!  I definitely want to catch up and read the first two, but I was hooked right from the first few paragraphs!   "Ripples Along the Shore" was a finely knit fictional novel about not only the sorrow and recovery of just one Civil War widow, Caroline  Milburn, but of a whole community of Americans, set on rebuilding their lives following the divide of a country in war.  Destined to return to Saint Charles, Missouri after her spinster aunt passes away, to stay with her sister and bitter brother-in-law and family, Caroline struggles with the grief she feels with the loss of her husband to the war.   Will she find peace and purpose in what she should do now t...

I read the book, "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin on a recommendation of another direct selling leader in my company.   I was so excited that "Purple Cow" was available through our library system to check out for free!  Well, I'm here to say, that you will need to buy this book here , because you will want to really absorb this entire book.  I wanted to take in each and every word, and ended up having library fines for this book, because I just couldn't return it until I had read the entire book. I thought this book was going to give me some answers about how to run my business better.  You know, the specifics.  I thought it would tell me step-by-step how to make my business stand out above the others.  Unfortunately, that's not exactly what this book did.  However, it will change how you work and think about your business. The "Purple Cow" will help you look for ways to stand above the rest and be remarkable. You  will need to own your own co...

 I have to admit that I was fascinated about the life of Nick Vujicic and chose this book for that reason.  I was expecting autobiography, but pleasantly surprised to find this book is a devotional.  I'm not always a fan of devotional books, but this one is so different than the "normal" devotional that I couldn't stop reading it cover-to-cover when it arrived! Each chapter of this devotional begins with a scripture about a life topic.  It then has a story that Nick Vujicic relates from his own life without arms and legs, to every person in every walk of life.  Instead, of finishing with a prayer at the end of a chapter, this devotional ended with sound advice to go forward in life.  Each chapter could stand alone if you wanted to pick a particular subject, or like myself, you could read this devotional from cover-to-cover! Every chapter seemed like it was speaking directly to me.  As I read "Limitless", I had to keep looking at the cover to see if...

Again, Cindy Woodsmall delivers with a fabulous read!  I couldn't put this Amish fiction novel down.  In fact, "The Winnowing Season" which is the second book in the Amish Vines and Orchards series, is so good, that I am going out to get books one and three to get the rest of the story! Rhoda Byler has special gifts that find her often in "trouble" with the Amish community.  She is working for the King Family Orchards, when a tragic tornado ruins the orchards, to the point of the family investing in new  endeavors in a new state, Maine. Jacob King is haunted by his past, but is madly in love with Rhoda.  His past seems to be a problem that takes him away from Rhoda when she really needs him.  His brother Samuel is the steady leader of the King Orchards, but often butts heads with Rhoda.  In their new settlement in Maine, Samuel realizes that he is madly in love Rhoda, too, but won't betray his brother. Will the King brothers and Rhoda b...

 I wanted to let you know that the wonderful book I had the pleasure of reviewing and being on the launch team for, "No More Perfect Moms" is on sale for Kindle right now for only $1.99!  If you click on the picture link above, it should take you directly to the Kindle version to purchase.  Be sure before you check out that the price is only $1.99.  I don't know about you, but I definitely don't like to pay more the a couple of bucks for books, even my favorites. To check out my  review HERE , if you haven't read it yet.  I have to say this was one of my favorite books this last year!  I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't read it all, because I wanted to apply every bit of advice to my life, too!

My daughter has been reading Three Novels in Ones lately, and when "A Kingsbury Collection" by Karen Kinsbury came available to order, I jumped on it.  My daughter's books have been around 200 pages each, so, when this one arrived with well over 700 pages of three complete novels, I was a little shocked!  This book really is a great value, because it is three complete stand-alone novels, not shortened versions or just short stories. The topics that Kingsbury covers in these novels are sometimes not covered, or even well represented in the Christian community, but Kingsbury truly gives the reader a genuine look into many modern day issues.  Each of the characters in this trio of novels seem very real and authentic. In the first novel, "Where Yesterday Lives", Ellen Barrett, a successful journalist, struggles with her marriage and is called to her hometown when her father passes away.  While at home, she wrestles with making peace with her lost faith, her...

"No More Perfect Moms: Learn to Love Your Real Life"  is so packed with practical information for the everyday Mom, that I struggled to finish it.  Not because it's too long, or wordy, or uninteresting, but because I wanted to read each and every word, hold onto it, make it a part of my life and really chew on all the details from cover-to-cover.  This book is so good, that I didn't want to miss a single thing.  I wanted to read one chapter at a time, and not only process it for my life, but also implement the advice and challenges in it, one by one. Jill Savage brings to the forefront, what, for today's mom is such a struggle to recover from - the "Perfection Infection" that our society has created in motherhood.  This "Perfection Infection" is the need to compare ourselves to every other "perfect" Mom out there, and live up to that expectation.  Moms tend to look at other's perfection on the outside, but expect ourselves to ...

 About a month ago,  a good friend of mine suggested that I apply for the  Hearts at Home  opportunity to be on a launch team for founder, Jill Savage's new book, "No More Perfect Moms."  When I looked at the site and found that there were several things I had to do to qualify, I initially thought that it would take too much time to do, so I almost just clicked out of the site.  Then I hesitated, and decided, why not?   You can imagine my surprise, when I got notified that I was chosen to be on the launch team and that I could download an advance electronic copy of the book!  I've started to read the book, and am already ecstatic about the topic for this book: to get over trying to be perfect and "learn to love your real life!" Although it's too late to get involved in the Launch Team, never fear, there is still time for you to get involved in this great book! Sign up today for the  31 Day No More Perfect Moms Challen...

When I started to read this book, I had no idea that it was a fourth book in the series!  In fact, this was so well written, that throughout the book, the author, Mona Hodgson gave me hints that there was a story before this book, but I didn't feel like I missed out, either.  Well, I have to say that I was extremely curious to know what happened in the other books.  In fact, I usually don't read books out of order in series, because it gives the other stories away, but I didn't feel this book ruined the other books. "Twice a Bride" is based on Willow Peterson, a new widow and trying to put her life back together after an extended stay in the Glockner Sanitorium.  Willow sets about to follow her new dreams of being an artist, but of course, puts her life in the Lord.  Cripple Creek seems like a good place for Willow to put her roots down and recover from her love of her life's death. Trenton Van Der Veer, for the first in time in his life, has decided to ...

I rarely have books that I can't put down until I finish it, but "Be Still My Soul" by Joanne Bischof was one of those books.  I got hooked into this book so much that I stayed up late nights and early mornings to finish it. Set in the Appalachian Mountains, Lonnie Sawyer clings to her faith as her abusive father dictates her life.  Lonnie counts the days that she will be able to move in with her loving and faithful aunt.  All her plans and dreams come to a halt one night, when the local, lady's man, Gideon O'Reilly steals a kiss from her, which her father witnesses. Lonnie's father forces a marriage between Lonnie and Gideon, which in turn begins another difficult path for Lonnie.  Gideon struggles with his own bitterness and anger at being forced to marry Lonnie.  Gideon takes Lonnie away from the only home she's ever known to pursue a new beginning, but struggles to give up his resentments. Will Lonnie's quiet faith in God be enough to ke...

I've always believed and have even used some the the "normal" Christian sayings like, something good will come of anything bad, but I'm not sure I really thought through every aspect of that thought.  Ron Carpenter, Jr. brings new light to this cliche in Christianity and even takes it one step further, with the thought that not only will something good come from an enemy attack, but it is a necessity to have the enemy attack in order for God to do great things in our life. This book really made me think about how really bad moments and even people in my life were necessary to bring me to a better person and develop my own witness to others.  It was a hard thought to swallow, the thought that an attack by the enemy was necessary to grow.  I like to think as a Christian that God won't allow the bad to come in, but the truth is, when the bad happens, we are often, just a step or moment away from a huge breakthrough or moment in my life. After reading this book,...

I was a little hesitant to read this book, as it seemed a little to scary for my usual tastes.  I  enjoy a good romantic, Christian novel and the description of this book seemed to have too much mystery for me.  However, this book did not disappoint me for my own requirements for a good book: romance and Christian, too and it was refreshing to read a little bit of mystery. As a new widow, Corrie Saunders, was searching for a way to hold on to her hero husband, Jarrod, who died saving others from an Iraqi suicide bomber.  She seeks her husband at his family home, which he inherited in the Missouri Ozarks.  Many in the area feel that the house is haunted. As Corrie renovates the family home, she finds a special interest in the strange presence she feels in the house.  Many in the area feel she should give the family home back to the Saunders family, but Corrie holds on to the only thing that makes her feel close to Jarrod. Eli, Jarrod's cousin, feels he...

I was very excited to receive a hard cover copy of this book from  Waterbrook Multnomah  to review!  There is something wonderful about opening a brand new hard cover book that is just wonderful, don't you think?  On to the review - although I received a free book in exchange for my review, all opinions are mine. I feel torn about this book.  The story of three Mexican fisherman who were lost in the Pacific Ocean for over nine months without any supplies, kept me on the edge of my seat to find out their survival story.  On the other hand, although, Joe Kissack's story of his coming to know the Lord and how he found this story was interesting, I found the two stories to not align very well. I found it hard to compare the story of three men's survival and faith in God during a lost at sea story to one man's (Joe Kissack) personal endeavor to overcome his own self-induced addictions and loss in society.  To me, selfish life decisions ...