The Sound of Rain - By: Sarah Loudin Thomas

I recently received a complimentary copy of The Sound of Rain by Sarah Loudin Thomas from Bethany House. I enjoyed this book, and the break from the normal fast paced books I typically find myself reading. This book is set in the South in the 1950s, so things move a little slower than the pace of today and the more modern settings of books.

Judd Markley is a good old, Southern boy from West Virginia, whose life is forever changed by a cave-in at a coal mine. After recovering, he couldn't bring himself to enter the mines again, so he made a move to South Carolina to hopefully join a timber company.

Larkin Heyward is good girl from a well-to-do family, whose dad just so happens to own Waccamaw Timber Company. Larkin is missing her brother, Ben, who left his family and the family business to become a missionary in the hills of Kentucky. Her heart longs to do something worthwhile, instead of simply volunteering at the local hospital and marrying a wealthy young man to take over the family business someday. George Heyward, her father, is just concerned about the future of his business.

Judd begins his career at Waccamaw Timber, and finds himself drawn to the sunshine that Larkin seems to hold inside of her. They both embark on a journey to find out who they are, and what they really want in life, and fall in love along the way. They're both greatly changed by the events of the book, and you even see their lives making a difference in others. This is the story of redemption, and being obedient to the leading of the Lord.

Honestly, I'm not really sure where the title comes into play, but I enjoyed this story, even though it took a little bit of time for me to fully get invested in it.

Blind Spot - By: Dani Pettrey

I recently received a complimentary copy of Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey in return for an honest review.  Honestly, I read the description instead of reading that it was book 3 in the Chesapeake Valor. I wish I'd paid attention, because it was really hard picking up this book without reaching the other two books in the series. 

Declan Grey is a FBI agent following several leads trying to uncover a terrorist cell on US soil. Part of his investigation leads him to a group of immigrants, so he turns to the bureau for assistance, enter Tanner Shaw. She's a crisis counselor who also has experience working with immigrants. Declan and Tanner have a history,  and apparently they're not real fond of each other, yet there's a kind of attraction between them. 

I found the story a little hard to get in to,  partly because there were so many names of people to keep straight. Also, the author used several names that could have been male or female, so that made it a little harder to keep up with. That being said, I have not read the other two books prior in the series (find them here and here), so it could just be that I didn't have a starting knowledge of the characters to not feel so overwhelmed by all the names. 

Another issue for me was that Declan and Tanner went from not really caring for one another to all of a sudden thinking of each other all the time and imaging a future together from one chapter to the next. (At least it felt that fast to me.) There were several storylines going on all at once in this book, and the last chapter felt a little rushed, even though it was the completion of the main plot. I think I would have enjoyed it more, if I had read the whole series,  but I'm not sure I'll go back and read the others now. 

Deadly Proof - By: Rachel Dylan

I recently received a copy of Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan from Bethany House. I love a suspense/mystery novel. I also have an interest in the law and court cases, etc., so this book was right up my alley.

This story is about Kate Sullivan, a lawyer who is chosen to defend numerous cases against a large pharmaceutical company. As she begins investigating the evidence, threats are made, and she is forced to accept help from a mysterious ex-military man, now private investigator, Landon James. Sullivan is seeking the truth and justice and James is seeking to reconcile with God and his friends. They help each other along the way.

Rachel Dylan writes in a way that keeps you interested even when not much of anything is going on in the story. The suspense is very exciting, and the legal side of the story is very informative without being boring. I'd say this book is very similar to reading a book by Dee Henderson (who just happens to be one of my favorite authors).

This is the start of The Atlanta Justice series, so there is a lot of background on characters and setting up for more books to come. I just looked up the second book on Goodreads (find that here) and I'm excited to see where the story is going, and I will be looking out for the next book!

The Shock of Night- By: Patrick Carr

I recently received a complimentary copy of The Shock of Night by Patrick Carr from Bethany House. This isn't normally my type of book (fantasy), but the story line sounded interesting, so I decided to try it. I tried to read this book over and over again and just couldn't get into it.

The story starts off with two men tracking down something that is brutally attacking and killing people. Next thing we know, two men have been attacked, leaving one dead and one mortally  wounded. The king's reeve, detective/investigator (?), Willet, is called to investigate the death. After questioning the man left mortally wounded, he is left with more questions and this man also dying. I didn't really get too much farther than that, but if you would like to read the full book description, you can find it here.

If you like dark, fantasy-like books, you might enjoy this one. Give it a try!

Dear Mary: Lessons from the Mother of Jesus to the Modern Mom - By: Sarah Jakes

I recently received a complimentary copy of Dear Mary: Lessons from the Mother of Jesus to the Modern Mom by Sarah Jakes.  This was my second time reading and reviewing a book by this author  (see other review here). I really enjoy the way Mrs. Jakes writes and opens up about her life in such an honest way. Especially with this book. It makes me feel like I'm not alone for feeling the way I do sometimes. This book has been a help to me, and it definitely helped me look at Mary, the mother of Jesus in a new light. 

"A mother's love is indescribable, but a mother's sacrifice is priceless. "

Being a mom is one of the scariest, most intimidating, and most rewarding things I've ever experienced. I fail a lot, but I also see small and large victories too. I'm tired, and even exhausted a majority of the time, but I'm also extremely blessed. I didn't want to be a mom, because of thought it would be extremely glamorous or even easy. I wanted to be a mom, because I wanted to experience the joy, pride, and love a baby brings. Babies also bring a lot of other things, like messy diapers, crying, spit up/throw up (and there IS A difference), etc,  but I wouldn't trade them for the world. "...Mothering is not about us, but rather about guiding and nurturing our children so they are able to walk in God's chosen purpose for their lives." Ultimately, being a mom isn't even about us. Being a mom is all about your children and their needs.

"We miss the opportunity to be compassionate when we confine people to our own experiences."

The truth is, we don't ever know what someone is going through. Even when they seem to be going through circumstance that is similar to something you went through, no experience is ever the same for someone as it was/is for you. Sometimes we can't even begin to imagine what someone is going through. Don't think just because a certain situation was easy for you to go through will be easy for someone else. How often to do we pass up the chance to be compassionate to someone by sending them on with a cliché, instead of the honesty of what we are feeling in our innermost self? Be willing to be honest with your friends and fellow mom's especially. Even super heroes need sidekicks, or fellow super heroes sometimes. ;)

"We can't be faithless and raise faithful children."

Being an example to your children. This is often where I fail. My son so going through his "terrible twos", and he's a redhead, so I'm also witnessing the redheaded temper. (I know. Hard to believe anyone that cute could be rotten, huh?) I'm trying to teach my son the principle of 'being angry and sinning not' (Ephesians 4:26). I have to constantly pray for patience, because I find myself disciplining out of anger and frustration, instead out of patience, understanding, and consistency. My son is a sponge right now. He'll see me do something once and immediately pick up on how to do it himself with most things. This is awesome, but also terrifying! Time to do a self check-up and make sure that I want my son picking up the lessons I'm throwing out to him with my actions. 

"Anxiety magnifies the size of our obstacles,  but faith gives us the power to rise above our struggles."

Matthew 6:31-34 says, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?   (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.   But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.   Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Worry is a real thing in my life. I worry about finances. I worry about meals I cook. I worry about my house being clean.  I worry about how my children will behave out in public. In other words, I'm a worry-wart.  I have to pray every morning that the Lord will control my life and turn my burdens and worries over to Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Mary is a wonderful example of a mother. She showed faith in God, by believing the angel of Lord, when he brought the news of her baby to her. She trusted God to work out things with her espoused husband, Joseph, when she told him about her immaculate conception. She knew that her Son would save her,  and that she would have to give Him up for a world that cared nothing for Him. She showed submission as she watched Jesus suffer, die, and rise again to accomplish God's plan at Calvary. She must've known that her life would be forever changed that day the angel came to her,  yet she is never once recorded as complaining about the Lord's will for her life. 

Mommas, this job is something you're called in to. It's not just something that you plan,  or the result of an "oops!" God has a plan for you and those babies. Accept His plan. Embrace it. Those of you without babies, or with older babies can still find purpose in the younger generations. I encourage you to find someone to encourage and teach. Even if it's someone with babies of their own, we need your help, prayers,  and encouraging words. 

The Reckless Love of God - By: Alex Early

First,  I'd like to apologize for my absence and delay of reviews.  I had a baby girl in October. November was Thanksgiving at our house with my family. I had my gallbladder removed in December and had a hard recovery from that,  and then there was Christmas and New Year's.  I'm also trying to transition into being a stay at home mom of two kids two years and under. (Eek!)

Jesus loves me this I know, 

for the Bible tells me so.

I received a copy of The Reckless Love of God by Alex Early from Bethany House. Even though I didn't agree with everything in this book,  I really enjoyed the eye opening view into the love of God. I got blessed by the simple,  yet profound reminder of the love shown by my Heavenly Father.

When I first picked up a copy of this book, I was confused by the author's choice of words. "Reckless" would not have been the first word I would've chosen for the title,  but on further review, I LOVE his choice of words! The word,  reckless means "without thinking or caring about the consequence of an action". God's love for us is certainly reckless. He  knew the consequence of His love would mean sending His Son to die a horrible death on the cross. The world didn't understand the significance of what happened that day on Calvary.  He recklessly gave all He had to us,  because He loved us (John 3:16). He bankrupted Heaven for us to have the abundant wealth of eternal life.

"Of all the worn, smudged, dog-eared words in our vocabulary, "love" is surely the grubbiest, smelliest, slimiest..."

 - Aldous Huxley

The word love is so overused in today's society. I'm guilty of it,  and I'm sure you are too. I will say that I love my hubby and my kiddos,  and then turn around and say I love Taco Bell. Actually,  maybe that isn't fair, because I really do enjoy their food to the point of possibly loving it. Anyway, even though I do really enjoy Taco Bell, I do not enjoy or love it like I love my family. The Lord is so serious about love, and  He wants us to understand love so much that He gave us an entire book filled with examples of His love, the Bible.  1 Corinthians 13 is known as the "love chapter", and has a list of characteristics of love. The biggest characteristic that sticks out to me is selflessness. I think we can all agree that we live in a very "me" centered society. The Lord is the best example of selfless love there ever was. He gave up His ONLY Son for a world that hates Him and denies Him on a daily basis. He loves us not expecting anything from us in return, but instead hopes we accept Him as Savior and King of our lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the author broke down the chapters and used the lyrics of "Jesus Loves Me" and expounded on the truth of those words. Read it. It will help you,  if you let it.

More Than Just the Talk - By: Jonathan McKee

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." 

Proverbs 22:6

I recently received a complimentary copy of More Than Just the Talk written by Jonathan McKee from Bethany House. Although I'm a longgggggg way from having "the talk" with my children, since my oldest is not even two years old yet. I still jumped at the opportunity to review this book. We have  a lot of teenagers in our church, and since we're a lot closer to their age than some other people in the church, we end up spending a lot of time with the teenagers, so I wanted to be prepared. 

I LOVED McKee's honest approach to having "the talk". He brought up a lot of great points in the beginning of the book on how much we need to sit down and talk to young people about sex and how the youth of our day (wow, that sounded like something an old person would say!) are bombarded by sex on a daily basis. It's being brought to them by magazines and the radio playing in the grocery store, the popular movies/books of today, and even through commercials! I'm appalled by how much sex is involved just in commercials! With our kids being surrounded by sex, why are we so afraid to approach the subject and make sure they have a Biblical foundation to why they should wait? We shouldn't. 

My parents never really had "the talk" with me, though we knew sex was definitely not allowed before marriage and with anyone not our spouse. (Heck, we weren't even allowed to be alone with someone of the opposite sex, EVER.) I'm so thankful that I grew up in an environment like that, and I feel like the Lord saved me from a lot of trouble by placing me in that family. That being said, how do you explain to someone that didn't grow up in home like that on the issues of premarital sex? This book helps answer those questions about so much more.

McKee wrote a very easy to read book about being honest with our children and I think it would make a wonderful addition to any Christian family's bookshelf.