Yet another great book by Liz Curtis Higgs

Here Burns My Candle

Author: Liz Curtis Higgs

Summary:

A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nPMBA_rgM

Author Bio:

LIZ CURTIS HIGGS is the author of twenty-seven books with three million copies in print, including: her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Christy Award-winner Whence Came a Prince, and Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist; My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland, an armchair travel guide to Galloway; and her contemporary novels, Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist, and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist. Visit the author’s extensive website at www.lizcurtishiggs.com.



This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Stress

So I was just asked by someone how do you control your stress. You can't control everything that happens in your life and what happens in life is what causes stress. They asked who is going to worry about me and my future if I don't. The entire time they were asking me these questions all I could think was God.

I wanted to say God, He will worry about your future. He will take care of you if you put all your faith in Him and find Him to be your one and only guide. Read the bible and listen to His word. Find a church and church friends. Follow what He tells you.

I wanted to say when my life was at my worst the only thing that got me through was my dependence in God. He was there for me. He sustained me when I didn't think I could go on any further. I started reading my bible. I started in John and then when I finished that book I read the first books in the new testament including John again. Then I went to the Psalms and then back to the first four books. I just read that over and over. I also started going to church regularly and attending church functions.

Then I was blessed with friends who go to my church and not the kind of friends that you are afraid will reject you when they hear your flaws, but the kind of friends that will just embrace you more and show you love. I was blessed with those friends and I only hope I show them the same christian love they show me.

Now I am not saying I don't get stressed sometimes and that I don't worry and I am definitely not saying that sometimes I feel like I am alone. But then I turn myself back to God when I feel like that and I start to feel better.

I wish I could have said all of this to the person who asked me this question because I know it would help them, but I was afraid not that they would be upset with me for saying it, but that they just wouldn't hear it. I know when I was at my lowest and people put God in front of me I would shut down until I was ready to hear it.

So anyone who reads this please pray for the person who is struggling and pray that God will work on them and they will turn to Him. Thanks.

Plus if you have any ideas on how I can help them I am open to hear it.

Not so bad

So I finished my appointment with the dentist and it was not so bad. Actually it wasn't bad at all. I felt absolutely nothing the entire time and that was nice. They started with topical Novocaine then gave me the shots of Novocaine so I really didn't feel anything. They said it would be two hours to do and it only took an hour so I was very happy with that too. I think this is the first time in a very long time that I was not terrified in the dentist office and I am not even nervous about going back in a couple weeks to finish the job. They really are very nice. I know I know you don't hear the word nice and dentist in the same sentence but really I liked this dentist and am more then OK with the fact that I have to go back.

Dentist's Ouch

So a while back I found out I was getting laid off. When I first heard the news and was given my final day at work date at first I was very sad. I am a single mom and so therefore the only income in my family and started worrying about how I was going to support my kids. But then a peace came over me and I haven't really worried since I have known I will be OK and I will end up on my feet. I am still sad about it because I like my job and I am going to miss my co workers, but I do know I will be OK. But this isn't really what I was going to write about. Now when I found out I was getting laid off I also thought about the fact that I have some dental work that needs to get done and I now I can't procrastinate because if I do I will not have insurance to cover it. So for the past couple weeks I have seen the dentist more then I think I have in years. It has been a process.

First appointment was me going to a general dentist so they could take ex rays and refer me to an oral surgeon. (Oh and of course all of this is on a time schedule because I have to have it done before the end of the month.)
Second appointment (the next day) oral surgeon to have a tooth pulled and I had some wonderful friends meet me there so one could drive me and my car home. I was put to sleep for the extraction. I am sure I was good humor for my friends afterwards.
Third appointment a different general dentist to see if they will do a bridge for me and how much all of this is.
Now today I have my fourth appointment with the same dentist I saw at appointment three and they are going to start the work for a bridge. Who knew this was such a process. I will be in the dentist chair for 2 hours. I am NOT looking forward to this at all.
I do not like dentists they hurt. But I know I need to get this done and so I will have to endure the two hours in the chair today to start the process then I have to go back in a week and finish the process. That appointment should only be about an hour.
But at least I am doing it and then my dental work will be done and I won't have to worry about the painful stuff any more(hopefully). It should be just cleaning from then on.

Three must read books

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper
The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.

Author Bio:

Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and young adult books, with more than a half-million in print. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she is currently a publicist with Books & Such literary agency.


The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love

Once a month, the six women of the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society gather to discuss books and share their knitting projects. Inspired by her recently-wedded bliss, group leader Eugenie chooses “Great Love Stories in Literature” as the theme for the year’s reading list–a risky selection for a group whose members span the spectrum of age and relationship status.
As the Knit Lit ladies read and discus classic romances like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice, each member is confronted with her own perception about love. Camille’s unexpected reunion with an old crush forces her to confront conflicting desires. Newly widowed Esther finds her role in Sweetgum changing and is surprised by two unlikely friends. Hannah isn’t sure she’s ready for the trials of first love. Newcomer Maria finds her life turned upside-down by increasing family obligations and a handsome, arrogant lawyer, and Eugenie and Merry are both asked to make sacrifices for their husbands that challenge their principles.
Even in a sleepy, southern town like Sweetgum, Tennessee, love isn’t easy. The Knit Lit ladies learn they can find strength and guidance in the novels they read, the love of their family, their community–and especially in each other.

Author Bio:

RITA Award-winning Beth Patillo combines her love of knitting and books in her engaging Sweetgum series. Pattillo served churches in Missouri and Tennessee before founding Faith Leader, a spiritual leadership development program.


Rose House

A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.
Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.
She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.
What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian’s pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.
A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life.


Author Bio:

Tina Ann Forkner is the author of Ruby Among Us. Originally from Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming, where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation’s board of directors.

"The Hope of Refuge" Book Review

This was the first book I have ever read by the author Cindy Woodsmall and I have to tell you it was an amazing book. When I got it in the mail I was very excited and then I started reading it and I could not put it down. I think I read it in one day. I love the story and the author just made you feel like you were there. I could see the hills and the Amish homes and fields. It was wonderful. I want to read all her books. This one though is definetly a must read by anyone who likes a romance and yet a little mystery.

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400073962



Summary:

Raised in foster care and now the widowed mother of a little girl, Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and Lori out of New York City toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers and a fresh start. She discovers that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, and it’s no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God–“Be me to her”– despite how it threatens his way of life.

Completely opposite of the hard, untrusting Cara, Ephraim’s sister Deborah also finds her dreams crumbling when the man she has pledged to build a life with begins withdrawing from Deborah and his community, including his mother, Ada Stoltzfus. Can the run-down house that Ada envisions transforming unite them toward a common purpose–or push Mahlon away forever? While Ephraim is trying to do what he believes is right, will he be shunned and lose everything–including the guarded single mother who simply longs for a better life?

Friends we Keep Book Review

Summary for The Friends We Keep

During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful–and wounding–women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long so for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do I foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do I do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.



Summary for 40 Minute Bible Studies

The 40 Minute Bible Study series from beloved Bible teacher Kay Arthur and the teaching staff of Precept Ministries tackles important issues in brief, easy-to-grasp lessons you can use personally or for small-group discussion. Each book in the series includes six 40-minute studies designed to draw you into God’s Word through basic inductive Bible study. There are 16 titles in the series, with topics ranging from fasting and forgiveness to prayer and worship. With no homework required, everyone in the group can work through the lesson together at the same time. Let these respected Bible teachers lead you in a study that will transform your thinking—and your life.



Titles Include:

•The Essentials of Effective Prayer •Being a Disciple: Counting the Cost

•Building a Marriage That Really Works •Discovering What the Future Holds

•Forgiveness: Breaking the Power of the Past •Having a Real Relationship with God

•How Do You Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk? •Living a Life of Real Worship

•How to Make Choices You Won’t Regret •Living Victoriously in Difficult Times

•Money & Possessions: The Quest for Contentment •Rising to the Call of Leadership

•How Do You Know God’s Your Father? •Key Principles of Biblical Fasting

•A Man’s Strategy for Conquering Temptation •What Does the Bible Say About Sex?





Cover art:







Author Bios:

Sarah Zacharias Davis is a senior advancement officer at Pepperdine University, having joined the university after working as vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of the critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife and Transparent: Getting Honest About Who We are and Who We Want to Be. She graduated from Covenant College with a degree in education and lives in Los Angeles, California.



Kay Arthur, executive vice president and cofounder of Precept Ministries International has worked with her teaching staff to create the powerful 40-Minute Bible Studies series. Kay is known around the world as a Bible teacher, author, conference speaker, and host of national radio and television programs.