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Book Review–Blaze of Honor

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About the Book:

Book: BLAZE OF HONOR

Author: D.M. Griffin

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Release Date: May 12, 2026

A BLAZE OF HONOR WOULD EITHER CONSUME HIM OR ILLUMINATE THE PATH TO LOVE!

Joram couldn’t pinpoint the burning conviction in his heart, the reason honoring his father felt like the only path to a life that pleased God. He remembered the unheard prayers of a five-year-old whose mother betrayed the sanctity of family and knew well the bitterness in his father’s heart. Whatever the reason, Joram, a man of few words, lived an obedient life. He adopted his father’s wishes and desires as if they were born from his own heart, and with that came his father’s simmering bitterness and ingrained distrust of women.

Driven by a desire for Joram to achieve more than a shepherd’s humble existence, his father pressured him to excel academically, tirelessly seeking the approval of powerful figures. Joram’s life took a dramatic turn when he captured the attention of Parthia’s notorious bandit leaders.

Caught in a dizzying storm of politics and family vendettas, Joram reluctantly accepts a fake marriage, meant to bring a young woman to Jerusalem so she could marry another man. Knowing how his father felt about women, a view he adopted as his own, Joram wasn’t prepared for the transformation that would take place once he began playing the role of a husband for all the wrong reasons.

The treacherous journey, marked by near-death experiences, culminated with them arriving in Jerusalem amidst the vibrant Feast of Weeks. With his knowledge of God ringing hollow as a mere religious duty, Joram divorced his wife and surrendered her to another man, determined to honor his word. But when he stumbles upon the truth and feels the burning intensity of the Holy Spirit descend in a blaze of honor that illuminates far more than he could have ever imagined, Joram has to decide if he is willing to walk the path of love.

My Thoughts:

Biblical fiction is very much a mixed bag for me. I really enjoy some of it… and other books in this genre just don’t do it for me. For the first half or so of this book, I was quite ambivalent about it, and likely wouldn’t have kept on if I hadn’t committed to reading it. Towards the end, though, I found myself reading faster, wanting to find out what happened. 

I was quite irritated with Joram through much of the story, because it seemed like he wasn’t learning what he needed to learn. It was great to find him changing later on, though. I especially appreciated the discussions about what marriage should be. I also liked the glimpse at what it may have been like to be in Jerusalem on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

D.M. (Demi) Griffin is the author of several novels and has won multiple literary awards. Her novels in The Encounter Series won various Independent Author awards in the category of Religious Fiction.

She writes Christian Fantasy, Biblical, and Historical Fiction. She currently resides in Northern California with her husband of over thirty years. She truly believes that a book that sits on a shelf unread is like a planted seed that never blossoms. Nothing delights her more than sharing a story.

More from D. M.:

My inspiration for writing Blaze of Honor came from a simple lyric in a song. “Be careful, little eyes, what you see.” I had the idea of writing the Spirit Ignited Series rattling around in my head for five years. During my regular Bible reading plan, inspiration sucked me into the scene in Acts 2 when Peter preaches to a crowd on the day of Pentecost. I found myself wondering about the people described as coming from all over the empire. I wondered what had brought them there, and what they had heard. How could I not be fascinated when the church grew exponentially that day? So, the idea for Spirit Ignited grew. I wanted to write four novels about four men who had been in the crowd that day.

As excited as I was to begin writing those stories, other books crept into the queue before I fully developed the characters for Spirit Ignited. I was excited when the first ideas came back to me after five long years of waiting for these men to speak up and inspire me. What was even more challenging was that the stories were begging to be written in first-person from a single perspective. That was a daunting task since I had only written dual-perspective stories up until that point. And, truth be told, first-person isn’t my favorite.

But I obliged and found myself completely captivated by these men. Surprisingly enough, I did not write Blaze of Honor first. Though it is the first to be released in the series, it was the third book I wrote in the Spirit Ignited series.

After hearing the song lyric, I started to wonder about how parents, most specifically troubled marriages, affected children. Joram, a shy character, finally found his voice in my head, and together, we explored a life of unintended scars and how they shape a boy as he becomes a man.

The story’s themes of redemption, forgiveness, and grace underscore the main takeaway: honoring God through loving others. I yearn for readers to grasp this central truth, to feel the depth in the main character’s plight. The narrative delves into the heart of devotion, exploring how easily the concept of honoring God can become contorted in the labyrinth of the mind. After completing the first draft, the realization that this story, with its raw vulnerability, could only be told in the intimate voice of the first person hit me.

I truly hope readers will get as much out of it as I did when I wrote it. Stories that transform as well as entertain are my favorite kind of stories.

To purchase your copy, click here.

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February 2026 Photos

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February was a very eventful month! My last eight posts of family adventures have been of things we did away from home with Mom and my brother. Here are the rest of the pictures I have from the month, showing a few things that happened at home and the big trauma that Joe endured.

There was time for the children to play a few games with their uncle, and for him to enjoy the budgies.

On the way to church one Sunday morning, we had to stop for some cattle that were being moved down the road. What fun–we don’t see that very often anymore.

Mom did a few more puzzles, with occasional help from the rest of us. She started another puzzle the day before she left, but I don’t think it’s been touched since then!

I spent a lot of time harvesting. That was when the garden was still beautiful, before the late-summer diseases hit. I loved all the colors here in the pea/bean trellis!

Goofball came along to get some attention one day when I went to pick a few beans for dinner. She sat in the tub for a few minutes, then got out and walked away.

We hatched some more chicks. That never gets old!

One of the girls caught Grizzly in a box.

The day we went to Jim’s Hut, while he was walking along the road, Joe thought he pulled a muscle. For several days, he limped. I asked him about it several times, and he just said it hurt a little, but not bad. Then, on Monday morning, his brother startled him and he jumped. Suddenly he screamed in pain and couldn’t walk anymore. I came into the house just in time to see Elijah carrying him to the couch. An hour or so later, I took him to the hospital. The x-ray showed that the growth plate on his left femur had slipped apart, as you can see here. He was flown to Chrischurch in the helicopter within a couple of hours, and the next day he had surgery. They realigned the bone and put in a screw to hold it in place. He was in hospital for three days. Esther drove over there to care for him and bring him home when he was released.

We were all very thankful to have Joe back at home on Thursday evening! He spent the next 6 1/2 weeks in a wheelchair.

Right after Mom left, I found another slime mold in the greenhouse. That must be a perfect environment for them!

One evening, Gayle took pictures of what was happening outside. Two boys were practicing archery.

I was reading to the girls.

Kiwi Chick, Blackball, Brunner Mine

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We packed a lot into the last Saturday of my brother’s visit. All the males from our house went four wheel driving that day. I haven’t gotten any pictures from that trip, so I can’t share anything, but we ladies had a fun day. That morning a friend texted me that there was an open day at the Kiwi Creche across the river from us at Atarau. The people in charge of kiwis on the Coast collect eggs from wild birds, take them to Christchurch to be incubated, and then bring them back here when the chicks are a month or two old. They have a large area carefully fenced so that predators cannot get in, and they keep the young kiwis safely there so that they can learn to care for themselves and grow enough that stoats and weasels can’t harm them. One was to be released into that area that day, so we rearranged our plans quickly and went.

Before we got to see the baby kiwi, we listened to a talk about what the group does, and got to hold a real kiwi egg that had failed to hatch.

We watched the woman in charge weighing and measuring the baby, and then she carried it around the circle so that everyone could have a close-up look at it. After that, she tucked it into a hollow stump and covered the opening with ferns; kiwis are nocturnal.

We enjoyed seeing these water lilies. The kiwi creche is accessed through the grounds of a lodge, and it is gorgeous!

After leaving the Kiwi Creche, we had a picnic at a roadside table, and then drove to Blackball to have a look around. I had never been there before, so it was interesting to see a new area. On the far side of Blackball, we stumbled across the Blackball Mine, where coal was mined for a number of years before and after 1900. There were a lot of ruins there, and what looked like a great track to hike. We didn’t have time for that, though; Esther had started bread and needed to get home to get it out of the fridge and baked.

On Tuesday, I took the three youngest children, Mom and my brother to Greymouth. It was their last day, and with Esther and Joe in the Christchurch hospital, I wanted a distraction for everyone. We did a little fun shopping (fun for the ladies; the men went along with us). Then, we had lunch at the breakwall and watched a fishing boat go out.

Then, we went to the Brunner Mine at Stillwater and enjoyed the river and the ruins there. The paths and signs have been greatly improved since I was last there in 2018. We all enjoyed this one last fun thing before Mom and my brother left.

Pancake Rocks

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On the last Sunday my mom and brother were here, near the end of February, we took them to Pancake Rocks. Of course, Mom has been there before, but my brother hadn’t. We stopped at a picnic spot in the Buller Gorge for a picnic lunch, and after they ate, most of the group went down to the river for a few minutes.

Simon took a plate with him, to try his hand at panning gold. Are those flecks gold… or mica?

The weather was perfect for walking the track around Dolomite Point to see the blowholes.

And, there was a pretty good show! We were grateful that we could share that spectacle with my brother.

When we finished there, most of the family went to Punakaiki Caverns. Three of us were not interested in getting muddy, so we drove to the mouth of the Punakaiki River, instead, and walked on the beach.

Notice the gathering of seagulls?

It was a wonderful day–and as it turned out, the last day that Joe could walk for a long, long time. More about that in a later post.

New in the Library! April 2026

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After Dark is a gorgeous book of colorful paintings of New Zealand’s nighttime wildlife. The pictures are described with rhyming text, each page giving clues to the next page. I also added New Zealand Native Trees to the New Zealand Nature shelf; it’s the kind of field guide we’ve often wished we had handy. A Day in Pompeii describes the archaeological finds from that ancient city. It was written and published by Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand!

I recently had the chance to buy two of the Betsy-Tacy books. They quickly went to the top of my TBR stack, because I knew my daughter would enjoy them. They are delightful stories of little girls in a small town around 1900. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown is the fourth book in the series; I’m hoping to collect the others at some stage. Across the Frontier was a Bookarama find. It is a story about a boy in a Communist country in Eastern Europe right about the time that communism fell, and is quite a comparison between communist countries and England. I really liked the way the main character cared for his grandmother.

For two days this month, two of my schoolchildren were away, leaving only two here, so instead of our normal read-alouds, we chose a couple of short books to fill in. Because one of the two who were home loves animals, she chose Nobody’s Dog, which turns out to be a wonderful story of how love transformed a bully. We still had a bit of time after finishing it, so I chose The Upside-Down Cat, which is a gentle story about a cat who got lost and the people who became friends as a result. Phebe Fairchild: Her Book was one that I brought home from America last year. We have always enjoyed Lois Lenski’s books, and this was no exception. It is simply the story of a girl who had to go live with her father’s Puritan family for most of a year, and how she adapted to living in the country with them. It is set in Connecticut in the 1830s.

A few months ago, a friend gave me several Life of Fred books. I started reading them to my youngest, and she loved them so much, and I enjoyed them so much, that I started buying more when I found them secondhand. We’re on the third one now, and she is enjoying it more than ever. This is a very fun way to look at and learn math concepts.

I finally got around to reading several books that were on the shelf for a time, and then pulled off till I could get them previewed. They are good–they go back on the shelf now! I read several We Were There books when I was young, and enjoyed them. I’m delighted to have been able to purchase these recent reprints (which are again out of print), and wish I could find more. Find my reviews of these here and here and here.

Several months ago, my daughter read a book in the Our Australian Girl series and loved it, so I’ve been watching for those books. Not long ago, I found an auction with four of the four-book hardcovers, so I bought them for her. Sadly, two of them didn’t meet my criteria for the library, but I liked The Alice Stories and The Lina Stories. These are books that most girls will love. Alice centers around World War I and ballet. Lina centers around the Melbourne Olympics and journalism. Escape to West Berlin has been on the shelf for a few years, since a friend gave it to one of my boys. It is a thrilling story of life in divided Berlin–just before the Wall was built.

Occasionally, someone wants to know what sort of rock he or she has found. That’s why I decided to buy The Macdonald Encyclopedia of Rocks and Minerals. One more gap in our collection has been filled! I also bought a few more picture books. Handa’s Surprise is a delightful story of a Kenyan girl taking a gift to a friend. There are very few words on a page; the pictures tell most of the story. I have been wanting my own copy of The Librarian Who Measured the Earth for a long time. This was one of the earliest picture book biographies I read, back in Michigan when my oldest children were small. It tells the amazing story of Eratosthenes and how he figured out how big the earth is. History, geography, and geometry, all wrapped up in an engaging story with beautiful pictures!

Johann Gutenberg and the Amazing Printing Press isn’t as engaging a story, but the illustrations are wonderful and I am delighted to have a resource on hand about the invention of the printing press. Song of the River is a beautiful story of a boy discovering where the sea comes from. Not realistic, but fun.

We finally finished reading a few books that have been in progress for 1 1/2-2 years! I really liked Famous Men of the Renaissance & Reformation. Each chapter is about 1-3 people who made history during that era, and tells their story in an interesting way. The Beginner’s American History is quite similar, about the discovery and exploration of North America, and the growth of the United States, until the discovery of gold in California in 1849. We also enjoyed reading all different sorts and styles of poetry, in A Child’s Introduction to Poetry. Many different poets are introduced here.

After reading a few other books by Loreen Plett, I knew The Miner’s Song would be good. I wasn’t prepared for how good it was, though. This is an amazing story! If I didn’t know it was true, I would think a good novelist had been looking for ways to torture her characters. I was surprised by how engrossed all of us were as I read The Story of the Amistad. I discovered that I really didn’t know anything about that event! This book is a page-turner–and from the research I did, it appears to be quite historically accurate. Shelley and the Bushfire Mystery is great for girls who love cozy mysteries. To make it even better, it is set in Australia, and one minor character is an Aboriginal boy.

We also reread a lot of books that have been on our shelf for a very long time. Twenty and Ten has always been a family favorite. My youngest tensed up as we reached the climax, but she loved the ending, and had a lot to say about her thoughts on the story. All my children have loved Living Long Ago, a history of the world based around the themes of food, clothing, houses and transportation. I hadn’t read this revised version of The Landmark History of the American People, but it is much better than the original, which I read to my oldest many years ago. It’s a great introduction/overview of American history.

To borrow any of these books or others, please go to our catalog. Find out how we loan books on this page.

Jim’s Hut

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Near the end of Mom and my brother’s time here, we took them to Jim’s Hut, a spot in the bush up the river, about half an hour’s drive from us. We took two four wheel drive trucks (this was before diesel prices went through the roof!), and packed a picnic lunch.

We ate lunch on the porch of the hut, overlooking the Ahaura River. What a lovely, peaceful spot!

The boys took their uncle across the river in the cage.

After lunch, we drove back the track to where we could walk to Hamer’s Flat. I had never been down that track, so I enjoyed seeing the trees and ferns–even though it started raining and we got quite wet!

Simon stayed behind the others to keep me in sight, and stopped every time he got to a sheltered spot, to wait for me.

Mom stayed at the vehicles, so I took pictures and brought back samples of a lot of the ferns I found, to show her.

Hamer’s Flat. This was used for cattle grazing until the late 1990s.

The hut was where people slept and ate when they were caring for their cattle. It is in pretty rough shape now. Apparently, the track used to be drivable! It has slipped away a lot by now, and there is no way to drive it at this point.

Heading back up the track from the flat. I didn’t stay in that position in the line for very long! All the younger people move much faster than I do.

This picture is near the head of the track, where it is still in good shape.

After we got home, Mom tried to identify the fern specimens I brought her.

Franz Josef

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While my brother was here, my children took him and Mom to the Glaciers, a few hour’s drive south of us. Fox Glacier is now inaccessible because roads washed out, but they walked as close as they could to Franz Josef, and explored some other places around there, too. On the way down there, they stopped at a historical site in Ross, where Joe found himself in the pillary.

They also stopped in Hari Hari to explore the mosaic garden, which is full of memorials for various people.

They walked to where they could see the glacier.

A rescue was in progress; someone had slipped and gotten hurt in the river bed.

They had rented a small cabin for the night. It had a kitchen, so meals were eaten there, and five people slept in it. The others pitched a tent.

At dark, several of them went to look at glowworms. For obvious reasons, it was difficult to take pictures of the worms!

In the morning, they did some more walking before heading for home. I’m not sure where this is, but somewhere near Franz Josef.

The last stop on the way home was at a beach near Greymouth.

Book Review–God Storys

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About the Book:

Book: God Storys: Told By a Daughter of the Most High King

Author: Victorya Wright

Genre: Non-Fiction; Inspirational

Release Date: October 14, 2025

Do you have a personal mantra that guides you? Have you ever felt God’s presence so strongly that it seemed as if He was right beside you? Do you seek His wisdom when faced with tough decisions?

For me, my constant prayer is “Not in my own strength, Lord. Not in my own strength. Guide me. Direct me. Help me.” Since childhood I have experienced God’s undeniable presence, leading me in ways both profound and personal. There are moments when I turn, expecting to see someone beside me, only to realize it is His unseen nearness. When uncertainty arises, I seek clarity through prayer and my own version of the ancient Thummim and Urim – trusting Him to reveal the way forward. God Storys is a compilation of 30 true, standalone vignettes that testify to these Divine encounters – extraordinary moments that are not mere coincidences, but God-instances. May these stories inspire you, strengthen your faith, and open your eyes to His presence in your own life.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Victorya’s stories of how God worked through people who came into her life. Each chapter talks about a different person that God used for a different purpose. It is good to remember the ways God has cared for us, and to use those stories to encourage others. Part of her story is sad, as her marriage fell apart, but through that time, God cared for her and guided her. One caveat: Don’t bother with this book if you don’t believe in God speaking directly to people today. That happens in most of the stories.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Born at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles during one of the city’s largest earthquakes, I took my first breath as the building swayed and the gurney rolled – my parents recount a dramatic beginning marked by both chaos and grace. Life since then has been rich with God’s goodness, meaningful relationships, and profound learning. It has also brought seasons of hardship, loss and shame – yet grace has always abounded.  I am the mother of seven children, two of whom are already in heaven. My five God-fearing, compassionate, and well-educated adult children live in five U. S. states. My greatest joy is spending time with them and my 14 adorable grandchildren. I have spent most of my life working in healthcare and continue to serve part time in my orofacial myofunctional therapy private practice in San Diego County and beyond. I am passionate about proclaiming all that God has done.

More from Victorya:

I have been asked, “What is the purpose of this book? I believe that the answer to that question lies in the fact that you are holding this book in your hands and reading these God storys. That is not a coincidence; it is another God incidence. I do not believe in coincidence. I believe that our lives and our world are beautifully orchestrated by a very personal, very relational Creator.

This book is not about me; it is not about spiritual one-upmanship. This book is all about Him … about having a relationship with Him. I am an ordinary person; I am an ordinary Christian. I am merely His scribe writing out of obedience. Even the cover and subtitle of this book reflect God storys. I photographed the sunset from my front door before this book was ever written. The song that I refer to “The Truth”, reflects our royal relationship with Him as our King. The lock on the cover is to be unlocked as you explore your own relationship with Him, the God Who breathed life into our nostrils.

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Church Picnic and Coal Mine

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The first Sunday my brother was here, in mid-February, we were finally able to have the church picnic that had been proposed about a month earlier. We gathered at the Inangahua Swing Bridge for the picnic. The children had great fun playing at the edge of the river and on the bridge. Several hardy folks, including two of my boys, jumped from the bridge into the deep water underneath. I walked across, braving the swinging and swaying that is inevitable when several children are on it, and was amused at the warning sign at the far end.

Later in the afternoon, one of the church men took us to tour the coal mine that is up in the mountains above his dairy farm. We toured that mine several years ago, but Gayle had never been there, and we knew Mom and my brother would be interested. Because it was a weekend and the mine was not in operation, we got to drive all the way to the bottom of the pit.

Napoleon Hill

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While my brother was here, the boys took him on a four wheel drive trip over Napoleon Hill, which is only a few miles east of us. In the 1860s, there was a thriving town there–apparently until the gold ran out! I believe there was some lumbering there, as well, but the town didn’t last very long. I spent some time one evening researching the town, but couldn’t find much information. This picture is in the front of a book we have titled Westland’s Golden Century 1860-1960; it seems to be the only picture in existence of the small town.

I do not enjoy four wheel driving, but I decided to go along this time, since my entire family, plus Mom and my brother, were going. We took two vehicles: James’s Mitsubishi Pajero, and the Land Rover that Simon had just finished fixing. Some friends went along as well, with their two vehicles–a Land Cruiser and the Nissan Safari that Simon had restored and then sold to his friend. It was quite an adventure! I’ll let the pictures tell the story, for the most part. This first picture shows the house where the people live who maintain the track. They collect a small fee from each vehicle that goes on the track. The waterwheel generates their electricity.

This is a side track that apparently must be attempted each time. James only went downhill, but Simon and his friend both had to go up it, as well. This is Simon going up in the Land Rover.

Going downhill on another side track. The Safari went first, then the Land Rover, and then the Pajero. Simon stood in the track to direct James in driving the Pajero down. I was in that one. These gullies were terrifying enough going down….

When we reached this mudhole, we found the Safari stuck in the mud. Simon pulled him out, and then he went right back in…and got out on his own that time.

After awhile we came out into an open meadow, and climbed to a plateau above it for a lunch break.

Then, we had to go back up the rutted area.

At this point, I climbed out and walked around to the top of that area. I couldn’t handle seeing it, let alone being inside!

This is the Pajero, which I had just vacated.

Somewhere at the top of the hill is the Napoleon cemetery, virtually the only trace left of the town. There is a fence around the area, and a few grave mounds still visible.

We finally made it down to the level of the creek, and drove in the water for a long time.

A waterfall provided a car wash. There was so much mud on the windscreen by that time that a clean was quite welcome!

Shortly before reaching the river, we drove through two tunnels.

After going through the tunnels, the Pajero went home. Mr. Imagination had to do his paper run, and I was finished. The other three vehicles, however, stayed there to go through a number of mud holes. And get stuck. And get pulled out. And get stuck again.

I put together a couple of movies of the trip, using video clips taken by me, Esther, and Gayle.