Book Reviews - A Lineage of Grace & A Place Called Blessing

As my life has become busier since the arrival of my daughter, I've found there is little to no time for reading....or that long, hot bath with scented salts and candles.  *smiles*  BUT, in December I found time to take TWO long, hot baths with scented salts and in the new house a "canned light" above the tub.  AND, I read the following books...

A Lineage of Grace:  Five Stories of Unlikely Women Who Changed Eternity
by Francine Rivers



http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Grace-Stories-Unlikely-Eternity/dp/0842356320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325621660&sr=8-1 - Find it at Amazon here.


While not typically "into" romance novels, my cousin loaned me the book by Francine Rivers so I thought to myself, "What the heck, I might as well read it." While I didn't find the literary quality of the book to be incredible, I did enjoy the read. It helped me see the Biblical stories in a modern and easy to understand way.

I appreciated the actual Scripture passages included after each story. Granted, Rivers takes liberties in imagining things which may have been, but you are aware it is in story form and with those Scriptures available to read as well,so you can easily see for yourself what is factual.

Overall, this book helped remind me that God uses HUMANS - people who make mistakes but who have a heart that seeks after Him. Because the book is in story form - I understood the awkward situations these ladies were in much better.

Since the book respectfully mentions intimate things, I would not recommend this book for younger ladies. But, they are Biblical facts.  I had forgotten how clear and descriptive the Bible could be about....s-e-x.  *smiles*


A Place Called Blessing:  Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins 
by John Trent and Annette Smith



http://www.amazon.com/Place-Called-Blessing-Hurting-Begins/dp/0849946182/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325621797&sr=1-4 - Find it at Amazon here.

My Mom gave me this book for Christmas.  It was a super easy read.  Very simplistic writing style.  Truthfully, it seemed more along the lines of a Reader's Digest story than an actual book.  At the end I was left thinking, "Nice story, uhm,  that's it?  Did I miss something?"  But yes, I did enjoy the it overall.  *grins*  Perhaps if I were familiar with Trent's other book - The Blessing - I might have "caught on" a bit better.

The story is an example of the love, forgiveness and acceptance that only God can give.  The book seemed real-to-life and as though you were listening to someone give their personal testimony.

And there you have it!  My December reads.  Perhaps I will find the time to read more during January - while I fight boxes, final remodeling projects AND the never-ending concussion!  Oh wait....and then there's my beautiful toddler who so wants to be potty trained.  *BIG grin*

Grace and joy to you...

Kitchen Uh-Oh...What To Do?

Ok...here is a sneak peek at my new kitchen.

But then here is how it looks with the range hood light...ON.

Uh, see it?  The wavy, nearly basket-weave look?  Yeah.  Great tile job, eh?  See how many of the tiles "sink" on the right side.  Oh, and some on the left.    AND...several tiles already have cracks in them!  This job is only about 2 months old.  What should I do? 

Hairline cracks in this pic are just left of center.

Where the tiles are is where we tore out a window.  The hole was filled with plywood.  When the contractor came by to bid on the tile job, he had no problem with our "wall."  (Sheet rock on the left and the plywood, used to be window on the right.)  He said he would level it and there wouldn't be a problem.

Now these few weeks later - obviously, there is a problem!  To take the cake, we hired the top guy in our area off of Angie's List!  We paid more than we should have because of his ratings.  This is certainly annoying to me.  *sigh*

What should I do?  Wait, I already asked that.  *smiles*  But really...any ideas?

Christmas Music Link

Has it SERIOUSLY been over a MONTH since I've been blogged!?  Could it be the new house, self-induced concussion or Thanksgiving that slowed me down?  Put 'em all together and, yeah.

But to make up for it, here's something FREE for you! 

Look what I discovered while hangin' out on the world wide web today....a Christmas music link!

http://soundcloud.com/joshua-messick1/carol-of-the-bells-god-rest-ye?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fjoshua-messick1%2Fcarol-of-the-bells-god-rest-ye

You can buy Josh's CDs at http://www.joshuamessick.com/.  Nice!

Birthing Pumpkin - Is this creatively cute or imaginatively innappropriate?

Yes it's Halloween time, and there are lots of cute pumpkiny-fall things out there.  We're not big into Halloween at our house, and with a move there's not even a pumpkin peaking around my porch!  Horror!  *winks*

My cousin had this pic up on his Facebook and I just had to steal it.  Being a mom who obviously has given birth, this just struck me.  Honestly, I couldn't decide if it was hilarious or horrible? 

At first I looked closer to figure it out what it was.  Then I giggled.  Then I said, "Ew, uhmmmm.?" with my eyebrows raised, nosed crinkled.

Gotta give props for being "one of a kind" to the creator(s) of this lady-kin.

What do you think?  Please, leave me a post with your reaction.  I'd love to see if you're laughing or loathing.

Kitchen Inspiration

After hours of pouring over the internet looking for kitchen inspiration...here are some of my favorites!  Our newly remodeled kitchen has some finishing touches still needed - oh, and most importantly, it must be lived in!  *smiles*

Vintage.  White and grey.  Wood.  Stainless.  Industrial.

Hope you enjoy these pics, AND you get a general idea of what MY new kitchen looks like!  (To a more homey and budget scale, naturally.)

Heavenly Child

My Heaven baby was due this week.  Today I'm remembering and missing my baby.  I don't think you ever get over losing an unborn, no matter how far along you were. 

I'm remembering the positive pregnancy test, how I told Daddy, the belly pics on the beach in Hawaii, the nausea, when the bleeding started and then that dreaded moment when the doctor kept looking, and kept looking at the ultrasound.  The silence, the polite facial expression.  Evidence, without words, that my baby was in Heaven.

I got to "hold" my baby for 12 weeks.  Now Jesus will hold this child until I get to meet them in Heaven.  A great place to wait, don't ya think?

I love you, my little unborn, my Heaven child.

Some New Site Discoveries

During our new house remodel, I have basically been away from the internet.  Too busy with contractors, color and style schemes, I sadly gave up the blog/online world.  But, now after packing up more dishes, I've had a few moments to sit and surf!

Look at some of the sites I've discovered in the last 15 minutes...

http://www.thisismykea.com/

Awesome ways to personalize that wonderful, awful IKEA furniture!  I'm always wanting better quality, but always loving their prices.  Do I hear an, "Amen!" out there?  *smiles*  Between and rock and a hard place here.  (Vintage or antique, honestly, is so much better.)

And this cute kids decor and accessories site.

http://www.littlebabycompany.com/



And this clothing company we've just found...

http://www.hm.com/us/department/KIDS

Top - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/01P333

Long-sleeved top with printed design and appliqué at front and a roll-edge neckline.

www.hm.com

Scarf - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/01RSBI

Knit scarf with stuffed animal head on one end.

www.hm.com

Anyway, it's impressive how a few minutes online will get your imagination and creative juices flowin'!

Maybe these sites are old news to you - but for me - inspiration.