A Garden in Paris~by Stephanie Grace Whitson

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."

~ 2 Chronicles 5:17

After her husband's death Mary Davis finds herself wondering about the past and feeling overwhelming emotions of fear and regret. After a motto inspires her to take charge of her life she finds herself in Paris trying to reconnect with a part of herself that she has kept hidden for over 25 years.

Mary's daughter Liz has never really understood her mother and has always been very close to her dad. After the death of her father the gulf that has always existed between them seems to widen. Stunned by her mother's sudden change in plans leads Liz on a path to truly seeing her mother but will this realization bring them closer or serve to push them apart?

This story was great. Another "reading vacation" to place that I eventually want visit.

Next on my reading agenda~ A Hilltop in Tuscany~ by Stephanie Grace Whitson. This is the sequel to A Garden in Paris, and since this book didn't really resolve I am jumping right into the sequel :)

Letter Perfect~ by Cathy Marie Hake

"Be confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

~Philippians 1:6

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, and if you traveled that you didn't get stuck in too much traffic. My Thanksgiving was nice, but a little hectic. Since my family's store opened this week my Mom and I did not have as much time to prepare for the meal as we would have liked, and of course we had family coming from out of town. So the day before Thanksgiving after working until 8pm we all cleaned the house and then started cooking. Our family got in at about 11:30pm so we stayed up with them finished cooking and went to bed at about 1:15am. Thanksgiving day we got up and cooked until around 2pm when we ate and the spent a couple of hours cleaning up which we actually had been doing all along but still things managed to accumulate. But still it was nice to spend time with family and to reflect on just how very blessed we are. So all in all it was a good, but busy holiday.

Now on to the book. Letter Perfect is the story of a woman named Ruth who never seems to fit in with polite society. After the death of her Mother she travels west to California to met the Father she has never known, fulfilling her mother's dying wish. I won't tell you much more, but the book is funny. All of the messes Ruth gets into, whether being clumsy, or speaking with out thinking are great. The story also has the element of mystery and suspense with a little romance. This book was a fun read and I really enjoyed it as a break from reading all of the texts for my grad. school paper. Speaking of which I had better go and attempt to finish it :)

Next on my reading agenda~A Garden in Paris~by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Finding Faith by Denise Hunter

"Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned . But what do You say? This they said testing Him that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote in the ground with his finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
~John 8:5-7

I have to be honest. The first time I attempted to read this book I stopped because I thought it was too sad. But due to a current lack of book buying funds and a delay in a book shipment I decided to give the book another try. I am so glad that I did. Don't get me wrong, the subject matter is very intense and emotional but the writer weaves the story in such a way that once I gave it a chance I couldn't put it down. The story deals with the stories of two women dealing with trust, forgiveness, lies, and the very emotional subject of abortion. So give it a chance I think you will enjoy it.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real~ by Neta Jackson

"He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
~1 John 2:9-11

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real is the third book in the Yada Yada series. These books are wonderful. They really caused me to examine my own prayer life. The group of mis-matched women who met at a women's bible conference decide to keep up the prayer group after they leave the conference and their friendship brings changes to all of their lives that none of them could expect. This book make me want to have a prayer group of my own. I recently got my mom to start reading the series and she is hooked. We are going to try to start up a prayer group, so I will have to keep you posted and let you know how it goes.

Next on my reading agenda~ Finding Faith~by Denise Hunter

An Echo in the Darkness~ by Francine Rivers

"Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
~Matthew 10:27-28

Last week I finished "Echo in the Darkness" by Francine Rivers. This book is #2 in the Mark of the Lion series. I could not put this book down. Since I haven't had a lot of free time lately I looked forward to reading it every night before I went to bed. The book continues the story of Hadassah, Marcus, Julia, and Phoebe as they all cope with what happened in book one. Marcus, Julia, and Phoebe each react differently to the relationship that they had with Hadassah. And when a woman in veils comes into their life none of them realize that it is the same person they all believed was dead.

The third book in this series is "Sure as the Dawn", which I read this summer. This book tells what happens to Atretes. Anyway, this series is fantastic and on my list of favorite books, so read it! You won't be disappointed.

Next on my reading agenda finishing~ Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real~ by Neta Jackson