Book Review:: Redeeming Love

Wow. It's been a long time since I've done a book review! We've had a lot of things going on and it's been hard....

So without further ado, here in a VERY LONG book for you.

The tag line of this book is "A story of love that won't let go - No matter what!" Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is just that.

Angel was taken by a 'step-father' at a young age and sold into prostration as a young child (Read Chapter 1). Years later she finds herself in California working to live among the men of the gold rush. That is until a man named Michael Hosea steps into her room saying God has told him to marry her and take her away from this. It took multiple attempts, a strong faith in God's will, and an almost deadly beating for Michael to do what he believes God is calling him to do.

He takes Angel away to his farm, nurses her back to health and depends completely on God to grow their love. As her love for Michael grows, Amanda (the name he gave her for her new life) becomes fearful and unworthy. As Gomer does in the the book of Hosea, she runs back to the life she knows only to have Michael retrieve her. Unable to give Michael want she thinks he wants, Amanda runs again. This time, Michael waits for her to return on her own.

Through Biblical truths, promises and faith, this love story becomes a story of the love God has for us as well as the love we can have. A love that forgives, embraces and is never ceasing, never ending.

A modern day Hosea and Gomer.

I'm not much for love stories but this one was good. It wasn't a sappy love story, focusing only on the people. It was all about the love of God and His all-consuming heart for His people. 400+ pages of redemption, faith and the power of God. Francine Rivers wrote a wonderful story.

Disclaimer: I received this book from WaterBrook Multnomah for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Review:: The Passionate Mom

Susan Merrill is the director of iMom, a online resource for inspiration, information, ideas and insight for moms. She has been asked countless times what makes a mother the best she can be. She never guessed she would find the answer in the book of Nehemiah. Frankly, I thought she was digging kind of deep with this one but why not! The Bible has the blueprint for parenthood, right? Why not some little Old Testament book.

The Passionate Mom takes a very close look at the qualities of Nehemiah and his reactions and pro-actions to the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Merrill also takes the concept of building the actual wall into motherhood: "You are the wall and the gates, the protection from the world and the provider of training for life in the world..." She helps moms build their walls brick by brick and mortar by mortar.

There are ten bricks, ten qualities of Nehemiah, that build the wall around our children. Within the ten bricks are the mortar, the glue that holds the bricks together. For example, the first brick is perception. To be perceptive, a mom must have alertness, availability and attentiveness, the mortar. Each chapter is dedicated to a brick and mortar and guides a mom with examples, confessions and ideas on how to use it within her child's life.

The gates have a chapter all to themselves. Merrill shows you how to open and close them to test your child's readiness for the world. She gives five rules to remember when you come to a gate in your child's life. As well as ten gates that can lead to independence, that really train your child for the future. You can't keep your babies walled up forever, they're going to grow and leave, now is your chance to train them for the flood gates.

This book is so jam packed with wonderful guidance to become the best mom that you can be. Ideas that are biblically based, God honoring and actually doable! It's not a quick read. It's one that you must reflect on if you truly want to be the best you can be. If you're looking for direction in motherhood or a pick me up when you get bogged down, this is the book for you!!

Disclaimer: I received this book from BookSneeze.com for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Taking a Break

As you probably noticed it was almost a month since I last posted a review or anything for that matter.

We have had some amazing things going on in our life that I haven't had time to really focus on reading  AND reviewing books.

So...these things are still going on and will be consuming even more of my time in the next couple weeks.

We read every day, don't worry. If I come across something that is calling to be shared I will. Other than that, wait a few weeks and there will be more!