Farewell, Friend

A few nights ago, I learned a friend of mine had died recently.  Her daughter and granddaughter came to my house to tell me, and it was so sad to hear.  My friend Jean had been ill for a long time, but she always managed to get over it, and get healthy again.  Not this time, not this time.  😦

Her daughter said she had said she was ready to go meet Jesus, and I’m happy to hear that.  Jean and I talked a lot about being born again, salvation, and Christian living.  I bought her a bible, too, as she said she didn’t have her own.  I had it engraved with her name on the cover, too.   It’s extremely important to be born again, and then to live your life FOR Jesus, instead of yourself,or even to the whims and preferences of others.  Live for Jesus, no matter what your family and friends say.

I sent her family a bouquet of FTD Classic Beauty flowers, and a sympathy card.  Jean, you sure are missed. I wish I could call you tonight, and just say hey, and hear the smile in your voice.   I wish we had talked more often, and I’m sorry I was so selfish and lazy to put off visiting you in the hospital.  What a dummy I was.  Jesus, please tell her I’m sorry I was so lazy.

Flowers for Jean:

Moon Drop Grapes!

If your grocery store sells these weird grapes, buy some!  They’re seedless, and they taste like regular purple grapes, just a little sweeter.  You’ll be able to spot them easily because of their long shape, almost like an eggplant or a sausage.

MOON DROP GRAPES!

Review of The Rose of Winslow Street

The Rose of Winslow Street, written by Elizabeth Camden, Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; Original edition (January 1, 2012)

This book was interesting and well written, but it did lack the emphasis on Christianity and a relationship with Jesus that I’m used to finding in other Christian fiction/historical fiction books.  The two main characters did pray, and mention was made of God, but the most telling piece of the spiritual side was the reverence Michael Dobrescu had for what was discovered, near the end of the story.  I’m thinking Elizabeth must be Catholic or Episcopalian.

Besides that, I did like the descriptions of the characters, I could identify with one or two of the persona, or at least comfortably imagine what they were like, if they had been real people.  The romance between Michael and Libby was overboard as far as the proper boundaries of Christian fiction romance, and I did feel uncomfortable with some of the thoughts of Libby.  It was a bit much, and I can’t really recommend this book for anyone under the age of 21, and not for anyone who isn’t married.

This book dealt with a very sensitive issue, and I wish Elizabeth had perhaps talked about the help available today for that situation, and compared it with the social ostracizing that surely occurred back in the time period of this story.  There was another issue that was part of the main character, Libby, which was handled well, but not enough details were given, so I had to ask the author what this disability actually was.

All in all, MOST of the book was good reading, and well structured, but I am hesitant to categorize this under “Christian” fiction/romance.