The Ebb Tide book review

I’ve been a fan of Beverly Lewis for years, but haven’t read many of her books recently. The Ebb Tide was a refreshing, full of light read for me.  Her descriptions of the ocean, and the guest house in which Sallie Riehl stayed, made me wish I was in such a place. 

The Ebb Tide explored an unusual side of the typical Amish fiction romance, and that was of an Amish person having questions about their faith, and about remaining in the Amish community for  the rest of their life.   Mrs. Lewis handled it very well, as if she had interviewed several people who had either left the Plain people, or had struggles about making the permanent commitment.

The relationship between an Amish young woman and a Mennonite young man was interesting, and tastefully done. I liked the devotion both had to God, and that Kevin was a strong male figure who kept the bible and God prominent in his thoughts and actions.

Sallie’s first step out was to be a nanny for a sweet  little girl named August, whose mother had just had Conner, her baby brother. There was a subplot in the book about Sallie trying to help Autumn adjust to her new role as big sister, not as only child anymore.  I thought the way Sallie had insight into the situation was very good, and also that she consulted her Mamm about how to help Autumn get closer to her little brother.

All in all, this was a great book, and I enjoyed picking it up each time, and kind of escaping into this wonderful world of the ocean, happiness, and new, fun discoveries. 

Thanks for writing this book, Beverly Lewis.

Her website is here:  https://www.beverlylewis.com/

Ye must be born again to get to Heaven: ROMANS 10:  [9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
[12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Lighthouse Trails Publishing

Lighthouse Trails Publishing has been a good source of information for Christians for years.

This is a small sampling of all they offer.  You can also read their booklets online, free, before buying them.

https://www.lighthousetrails.com/118-topical-booklets

https://www.lighthousetrails.com/content/10-free-catalog

https://www.lighthousetrails.com/contact-us

Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality

my review on the booklet Critical Race Theory

https://www.lighthousetrails.com/discernment-resources/2242-booklet-critical-race-theory-southern-baptist-convention-and-a-marxist-solution-that-will-not-work.html?post=1

  This booklet grabs the reader’s attention explaining creitcal race theory and intersectionality, 2 buzzwords that are sure to be heard in Baptist churches soon.  It tells how those twisted philosophies are gaining support in the Baptist denomination.  CRT, Intersectionality, and BLM basically say if you are white, you are evil.  No matter about your personal sentiments, CRT et.al immediately ascribes whites as oppressors.  ALL whites.

The booklet also explains some of the doctrines of the Black Lives Matter mission in America. It tells you about opponents of CRT, such as Ryan Bomberger, Joshua Lawson, and Abraham Hamilton.

All 3 of these political movements aspire to create a communistic society in America, that will remove your freedoms- of religion, freedom of expression, and justice, to name a few.  BLM is for abortion, is anti-Semitic, agrees with every form of LGBTQ theory, and is against capitalism.  You who own businesses or write Christian books for a living would be censored or stopped completely.

CRT and BLM reject true Christianity, capitalism, free speech, and everyone who opposes their ideology.  Marxism.  You have seen some of BLM’s work, looting and destruction.  Critical Race Theory is on the heels of them.  Same philosophy.

A Life Once Dreamed book review

This review is about A Life Once Dreamed, written by Rachel Fordham.  Her website is: https://rachelfordham.com/   Her facebook page is:  https://www.facebook.com/RachelFordhamFans/

I would recommend this book to adult Christian women who want a good, clean story about romance, careers, and friendship. The characters were well-developed, and very well ensconced in the story lines. They had an abundance of individuality, it was the best development of character identities I’ve read in a long time. Comfortably and believable. The author has a good talent for telling a clean good story, and I hope she continues to write more like this one.
Dividing this book up into 4 equal parts, I’d have to say the first quarter was interesting, here we learn about Aggie and her personality, her new life in Penance, Dakota, and a hint about her past. Just a blurry hint.

The 2nd quarter dealt with relationships, and her childhood friend
coming to work in her town, which lagged for me, and I didn’t particularly care for the length of time devoted to their on again, off again friendship-maybe-more situation. No big emotions were raised in my mind about this part of the book.

 

The 3rd quarter picked up speed quickly, and was full of life, and activity, and a new kind of sub plot, dealing with the crux of the story, in my opinion, which was how the elite treated the low born with contempt and downright cruelty sometimes.

 

 

 

The 4th part of the story was also really interesting, dealing with Aggie’s walls coming down, and her letting herself care for someone, first a mere innocent, and then, later, a man.

I was happy about the way the author never let readers know for certain how the relationships were going to finally become joined in solidarity, until almost the end of the book. Both possibilities were ok with me, and the happy ending was a good wrap up.

One disappointing element in the book was the lack of talk about Jesus, God, and the way to Heaven. There were mentions of that, but exceedingly light and brief. I hope the author will feel more at ease being more open and bold in her books about using her God given talents to tell others about salvation through Jesus Christ.   Romans 10:8-13;  John 3:16-21

Amish Christmas Miracles: 14 Stories to touch your heart and warm your soul this Christmas

I’ve just read the book by Jennifer Spredemann, An Unexpected Christmas Gift,  which is part of the book,  Amish Christmas Miracles.   This was a lighthearted, enjoyable story that I liked a lot. It put me in the mood for winter, and all things that are enjoyable about the season of good will towards each other.   Living in a hot, humid climate, it was refreshing to get immersed in this short story set in the cold months.  I almost could feel the need for a coat!  Loved it!

I liked the main characters, Janie Mischler, and Rob Zehr.  Janie seemed “real”. She felt a lot of emotions I’m sure most people feel, and she was determined to stay true to her faith, and to obey God’s direction for her.   That in itself is inspiring.  The supporting characters were interesting and likeable, even the one person who was an irritation to Rob for a while.  The way Mrs. Spredemann sketched the closeness of the Amish families made me feel good about life.  A welcome change. 

The most important part of this story about miracles was, at various times,  her focus on the fact that God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross so our sins could be forgiven.  Jennifer actually wrote the whole plan of salvation in this story, and that was MARVELOUS.  She wrote what God said, that we are to forgive each other. She went further to say,  … if we refuse to, we’re telling GOD that His love wasn’t enough for us!  I was extremely elated to read all of that and more, in this short story.  This is one of the reasons I will continue to purchase JEB Spredemann’s books, and support her work.  She’s a gifted and talented writer, and she is doing God’s work by using her talents to show people the way to Heaven.

A copy of this book by Jennifer Spredemann was provided to me by the author.

Jennifer Spredemann (formerly writing as J.E.B. Spredemann) seeks to pen compelling stories that captivate readers and bring glory to GOD. She has authored over two dozen Amish fiction titles in her can’t-put-down writing style, some of which have won awards.

She resides in Indiana Amish Country with her family on a former Amish farm where the documentary Breaking the Silence was filmed.

Title: Amish Christmas Miracles: 14 stories to touch your heart and warm your soul this Christmas
Author(s): Jennifer Beckstrand, Kathleen Fuller, J E B Spredemann, Dana R Lynn, Susan Lantz Simpson, Ashley Emma, Lenora Worth, Serena B Miller, Loree Lough, Rachel J Good, Laura Bradford, Tracy Fredrychowski, Adina Senft,
Publisher: Jennifer Beckstrand Publishing
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA   Amazon AU

JOHN 3:16-21:   [16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
[19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
[20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
[21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Amish Christmas Miracles Collection

I’m reading a story by JEB (Jennifer) Spredemann, in a collection of Amish stories titled “Amish Christmas Miracles Collection” Amish Christmas Miracles Collection will be released on November 10, 2020.

I’m about halfway finished, so the review will be coming shortly!

 

 

 

The contributing authors are:

Jennifer Beckstrand

Kathleen Fuller

JEB Spredemann

Dana R. Lynn

Susan Lantz Simpson

Ashley Emma

Lenora Worth

Serena B. Miller

Loree Lough

Rachel J. Good

Laura Bradford

Tracy Fredrychowski

Adina Senft

Mary Alford

Amish Christmas Miracles Collection will be released on November 10, 2020.