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

A Voice in the Wind~ by Francine Rivers

"But he answered and said, Every plant My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind, And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."
~Matthew 15:13-14

I first read A Voice in the Wind when I was sixteen years old. I thought I would re-read it now because it has been a while and I enjoyed the book so much before I wanted to re-visit it now that I am a little more mature. I think I finished the book in about two days. This book is sooo good. It tells the story of a Hadassah a young slave girl jewish by heritage and christian by faith. After the destruction of Jerusalem Hadassah is sold to a Roman family. I don't want to give too much away so I will leave it at that. The story shows her struggles with faith and fear and the lives she touches along the way. The beginning of the book is a little slow because it sets the stage, but don't be discouraged it is well worth the effort.

Next on my reading agenda~ Echo in the Darkness~ by Francine Rivers and The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real~by Neta Jackson

I am not sure which I will finish first so we shall see :)

A Mile From Sunday~ by Jo Kadlecek

"No guilt in life, no fear in death this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry, to final breath Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his hand. Till he returns or calls me home here in the power of Christ I stand"
~From~ In Christ Alone by ~Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

I thought I would change it up a little bit and open with one of my favorite songs. This is the last verse of the song I still gives me chills thinking about all that Jesus has done for me and it is said so eloquently in this song.

A Mile From Sunday is a book I picked up from my latest raid at the local bookstore. I actually had never heard of this author before, but the cover and description of the story peaked my interest so I gave it a shot. This story was about a Religion reporter named Jonna Lightfoot McLaughlin who through mysterious clues and messages finds herself in the middle of a story that could turn out to be "the biggest story of the year". The closer she gets to finding out the truth the more danger she finds herself in. This book was a good read, and a lot different than any story I have read recently. It was nice reading about someone who doesn't have it all together, and is constantly spilling things on her shirts (I can definitely identify with that :) Anyway the sequel is set to come out in April 2007 and I am looking forward to reading the next installment of the story then.

Next on my reading agenda a re-read~A Voice in the Wind~by Francine Rivers

Calm, Cool, and Adjusted~ by Kristen Billerbeck and unforgiving~ by Kristen Heitzmann


"As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be afraid; only believe."
~Mark 5:36

I think that I will be remembered as the girl who had too many jobs. Right now I am a music teacher, personal fitness trainer, free lance musician (performing both with orchestras and contracting out for events), graduate student, and I am incharge of advertising for a college orchestra. Right now I feel as if there needs to be 10 more hours added to the day and I need some sort of caffeine iv injected into my system. However am I did read 2 interesting books lately, so I will start off with Calm Cool and Adjusted.

Calm, Cool and Adjusted is the 3rd book in the Spa Girls series. This book focuses on Poppy Montgomery a chiropractor. While Poppy may seem to be "calm , cool, and adjusted" her life is thrown into chaos with the preparation of her friend, and fellow spa girl Morgan's wedding. When her best friends lay down ground rules about the wedding, "no health talk" and she has to bring a date, Poppy begins to question herself which leads her "on a path of self discovery".

The other book I read is Unforgotten by Kristen Heitzmann. This is the sequel to Secrets which I talked about in an earlier post. All I have to say is read it, it is a great story, oh and I hope there is a book 3 coming :).

Next on my reading agenda~ A Mile From Sunday~ by Jo Kadlecek

Interior Motives~ by Ginny Aiken and The House That Love Built~ by Bateman, Downs, Sattler, and Warren

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live."
~Deuteronomy 30:19

Well, I new that October was going to be crazy, and I was not disappointed. AND IT IS ONLY THE FIRST WEEK !!! I started graduate school which I am doing through a distance program, and already the work has begun to pile, compounded by the fact that the book I am supposed to be reading is backordered and won't be here until Tuesday. I am hanging in there though. With all of the stuff going on I haven't had much time to post anything, hence the long absence, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. So here is what I have been up to....

Interior Motives was a great read. This book is a continuation (book 3) of the Deadly Decor mysteries series. This time Haley finds herself decorating the office of her therapist and friend Tedd (woman). While working there she gains a new client and a new mystery to solve. When Haley suspects foul play everyone thinks that she is being overly paranoid, however, she does have one ally in the form of her wacky older neighbor Bella who just received her...gasp...private investigator license. Anyway, the book was entertaining and a good mystery read.

I also read The House That Love Built. This book is a series of short stories about different women finding love and each story centers around a house that the woman in the first story built. The stories were cute, and I recommend them if you are busy and can only find time to read in short spurts. That was pretty much all the time that I had and this was a nice break.

Next on my reading agenda~ Calm, Cool, and Adjusted~ by Kristin Billerbeck