Book Reviews

Book Review—A House With Holes

January 9, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Book: A House with Holes
Author: Denise Mast Broadwater
Genre: Christian Memoir, Marriage
Release Date: October, 2019

NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS.

Seasoned renovators Greg and Denise Broadwater dream of owning and restoring a historic home in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. What follows are six years of unimaginable challenges and successes concerning the renovation of their condemned 1920s Charleston Cottage, their place in a transitional neighborhood on Congress Street, and their thirty-year marriage.

In a community that struggles to feel like home, alongside normal stressors of full-time work and family weddings, the heightened tension taxes the Broadwaters to the brink. Nothing is left untouched in their hundred-year-old cottage full of architectural and historical details, from the rotted floorboards to the hole in the roof and the knob-and-tube wiring that causes a fire. But through Denise’s fascinating memoir, A House with Holes, the Christian author and therapist shares how she and her craftsman-architect husband strengthened the holes in both their home and their relationship during this wearying time in order to survive and thrive.

Using Broadwater’s counseling experience, marriage principles have been woven seamlessly into the text, demonstrating ways to maintain relationships in the midst of struggles. Reflective questions close each chapter so that readers may ponder their own relationships with growth and understanding.

My Thoughts:

When I look at books that are available for review, one of the first things I look at is the genre. I really enjoy memoirs. When I saw that A House With Holes was not only a memoir but also a book about marriage, I was quite intrigued. The topic of the memoir is unusual, as well. How many stories have you heard about restoring old houses? This one happens to be in Charleston, which is not a common setting, either.

Denise Broadwater, a counselor, and her husband shared a dream, a dream of owning a house in Charleston, South Carolina. In order to afford one, they had to buy the type of house that most of us wouldn’t look at twice—a small cottage with a leaky roof and rotting floors. Because of local regulations, the house needed to be restored to its original condition, a project that took much more time than the couple had expected! Along the way, they experienced many challenges, such as a brick through a window, a raccoon in the kitchen, and walls or floors missing at times. Every so often, Denise reached a point where she felt like she couldn’t take any more—and to tell the truth, I’m not sure I would have been able to handle the conditions she was living in!

Throughout the book, Denise includes sidebars with advice for marriage. Each of these is quite thought-provoking, and would be good for me to go back to and ponder often. One that especially spoke to me talked about regulating our response to triggers. The advice she gives is very good! Many chapters also end with several questions about relationships, helping me, as the reader, to search myself and find ways to improve my marriage.

I could identify with the author in so many ways! One in particular that stood out was when she exclaimed to her husband, “When does this ever get better? Over thirty years, and we are still fighting the same battles!” We haven’t been married that long, but I find myself struggling with some of the same things I always have! I am happy that I had the chance to read this book, and recommend it to anyone who likes to read advice for marriage in the context of a person’s life story.

About the Author:

Denise Mast Broadwater is a licensed professional counselor in South Carolina, treating anxiety, depression, life adjustments, and marriages. She began her career as a family therapist working with at-risk families and youth. Previously, she was an elementary teacher in private education. She is a wife and the mother of three children and recently became a grandmother. She enjoys rowing at the gym, cooking new recipes, sewing quilts, and blogging at Life Lights Blog (emptynestmarriage.com) and Charleston Renovator Blog (www.freedmanscottagerenovation.blogspot.com).

More About A House With Holes

Marriage comes with the struggle of making life work—but with a promise of home, a place to rest, to be who we are in all our mess, to feel loved and accepted in the truth of who we are. Opening up our mess means adjusting to our anxieties, habits, and struggles.

We all know marriage can be tough. Marriage requires commitment and flexibility, allowing for each spouse to develop his and her own gifts, to work together through challenges, and to communicate in a way that draws the couple closer through any issues that arise. The same can practically be said for renovating a house—especially an old house.

In A House with Holes: One Marriage Journey in a Charleston Renovation, author and therapist Denise Broadwater shares the challenges and successes of the restoration she and her craftsman-architect husband embraced after their purchase of a 1920s Charleston Cottage that was slated for destruction. Oddly enough, the project began to mirror the ups and downs of their empty-nester marital relationship.

Through this intriguing memoir describing the architectural style and details of their historic home on Congress Street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, Denise shares her struggles and disappointments during the six-year upheaval. They lived with open holes in the floors and roof, wild critters, and in an old neighborhood that was unsure of their intentions. As her attitude changed with her living situation, Denise discovered her marriage rising to meet the challenges they faced and this struggling community opening to become a place of belonging.

“All marriages have holes—that’s a given,” Denise says. “The holes are places you disconnect: a container for selfishness, for disappointment, and for addictions as people try to find alternatives for unmet needs. Intimacy opens up the holes. Growing means making small movements toward each other, coming together to reduce friction.”

Principles and questions about marriage have been worked seamlessly into each chapter so that readers can “shore up” their own relationships and grow in understanding while

vicariously watching the progress of the Charleston Cottage through the eyes of a seasoned DIY renovator.

The Broadwaters’ experience of doing life in the midst of a major house renovation demonstrates marriage recovery, and her expertise as a counselor shapes lessons for married people everywhere in an honest, easy-reading, and relatable telling.

I have read more than my share of books about relationships, but A House with Holes is refreshingly different. Reading this book feels like binging on a Netflix series because you have to see what happens next. Denise is a therapist who has an in-depth understanding of relationships, and she has invited you to have a front-row seat to view what it took to create an amazing marriage while undertaking an almost impossible renovation.

—Dr. Larry Wagner, PhD, professor of counseling,

Columbia International University, Columbia, South Carolina

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here. (Scroll down the page to see the stops.)

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Product Review—SchoolhouseTeachers.com

January 8, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

For the past three years, ever since I joined the Homeschool Review Crew, we have had a subscription to SchoolhouseTeachers.com. This year, again, we were given the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership. I spent about three hours one afternoon exploring the courses that are available on this website, and barely scratched the surface. There are so many resources here! It’s almost overwhelming. To use it properly, you would need to know what you want, and then search for that, specifically, then branch out into the fun things that you find.

We’re taking our summer holiday right now, so we haven’t been doing much school during this review period. I did find a few fun courses to do. Mr. Imagination loves cooking, so we started using Sue Gregg’s Whole Foods Cooking Lessons Archives. Her cookbook is divided up into 14 weeks of lessons. Lots of topics are discussed; it was a great chance to teach all the children about why I like to soak our grains before we eat them. There are several lessons involving grains, and then the course moves on to beans, and then animal protein. We haven’t gotten very far in this yet, but I like what we have used! The lessons include the printable recipe, and a series of pages showing every step of the recipe in photographs. My favorite feature, though, is the Talking Food Pages, where she teaches the why behind her choices, such as soaking the grains, or using real butter rather than margarine.

Another course we started is American History in Picture Books. We’re working our way through American history right now (we have been for the past two years because we have found so many wonderful books to read!), so I didn’t start at the beginning of this course. Instead, we jumped to Unit 6, which is scheduled for Weeks 22-24 of this 58-week course, and read the books I was able to come up with for that unit. The focus was on Lewis and Clark, the War of 1812, and the Erie Canal. I definitely want to continue using the book recommendations in this course to supplement what we’re already using. These are my favorite type of picture books!

I also bookmarked two geography courses, Trek to the Holy Land and Beyond, and Everyday Explorers Australia Archive, which also covers New Zealand. These look really fun—I’m hoping I can work in time for some geography this year! There are also two more cooking courses in my bookmarks tab. They look fun, too. I like the thorough lessons plans that are included. Each course is broken down into daily lessons, with all the information you need to teach, every day, and boxes to tick off so you can keep track of what has been accomplished.

You can put together a complete curriculum for your whole family from SchoolhouseTeachers.com. They have courses for every subject—Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Art…you name it, they have it—and for every grade. The courses are easily searchable by grade or by subject, as well. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time looking, as it’s so easy to get off onto rabbit trails, with all the fun courses there are. And then there is the World Book library, which I haven’t even looked at yet….

We also enjoy the video library. There are video courses for every subject. Our favorites, of course, are the history ones. Some of my boys ask, occasionally, if they can watch a Drive Through History movie (we wish there were more available, but enjoy the ones that are there), or a Torchlighters movie about a hero of Christian history. In the past three years, we’ve watched some of those several times.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is truly a great resource for the Christian homeschooling family. I’m hoping to utilize it more fully this year than I have in the past—we’ll see if I can remember to do that!

A good many other families are also using SchoolhouseTeachers.com right now, and describing their experiences. Find their reviews by clicking on the banner below!

Online Homeschooling For the Whole Family {SchoolhouseTeachers.com Reviews}

Book Review—Volition

January 2, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I was scrolling through Facebook a few days ago, and saw a post from my favorite author, Chautona Havig. She had suddenly decided to pull out a manuscript from many years ago, rewrite it, and get it published—in three days! I offered to help her with proofreading. I had absolutely no idea what the book was about, and was quite startled when I started reading Volition (What kind of a title is that, anyway? It gives no clues about the content!). This was a sci-fi, time travel book! I don’t read that kind of book; sci-fi doesn’t interest me at all, and time travel is so unbelievable I have quit reading those books, too. Well, I had offered to help proofread, so I kept on…and on…and on. I couldn’t put this book down, and I loved it!

Andi had enough drama in her life to suit anyone, with a suicidal roommate. She also has a wonderful, loving family and is looking forward to her wedding in six months. Then, she wakes up in something that looks like an airplane and discovers that she has been abducted by people from the future to be somebody’s wife. (They intended to rescue her roommate.) What will she do now—especially when she sees what will happen to her friend after she’s out of the picture? If she goes back, an innocent person will be doomed to death; if she stays, she will never see her family again.

This book will really make you think. There are several important themes that are touched on. Andi has to grapple with her faith and who God is. She also has to work through what God says about divorce, and about marriage—and how to do marriage! I really appreciated the study of marriage and divorce that is worked into this story. Even though this is the kind of story that I don’t believe is possible, it’s quite the engrossing story and a great vehicle for conveying truths about God and life. If you read this book, you won’t soon forget it!

I received a free copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. The link to buy the book is Esther’s affiliate link.

WARNING: The story opens with an attempted suicide.

Buy a copy of the book here.

Book Review—Crown

December 24, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

About the Book

Book: Crown
Author: Nancy Kaser
Genre: Christian Non-Fiction, Biblical Marriage
Release Date: August 20, 2019

NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS.

Whether you’re in the honeymoon stage or celebrating your fiftieth anniversary, you have never before been in this season of your marriage. Your family dynamics, finances, health, emotional state, location, ministry, employment status—all the factors of your life—are in a perpetual state of transition. As a married woman, you are continually wife-changing. The Scriptures never change, but they can always be freshly applied to every season of marriage.

Crown is a resource that combines solid Bible teaching, humorous and humbling tales from the author’s own marriage journey, and dozens of compelling stories from real women just like you. Based on Proverbs 12:4, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,” Crown includes concrete Scriptural truths and real-life examples that will equip you to be the excellent wife God created you to be. Complex issues such as biblical roles within marriage, physical intimacy, communication, forgiveness, and home management are all addressed with candid honesty, encouragement, and biblical substance. In thirty wife-changing lessons, you will be instructed, challenged, and motivated to walk in obedience to God’s beautiful design for marriage.

My Thoughts:

I have read quite a few books about marriage. They are always inspiring, but I rarely think about them after I have finished. A friend of mine reviewed Crown a few months ago, and her review made me want to read it—it sounded great. When the chance came up to review the book myself, I grabbed it, just because of her recommendation! I now know firsthand why she gave the book such a glowing review. This is one that (I hope) will stay with me for a long time.

Nancy Kaser has divided her book into 30 wife-changing lessons. These are grouped into six sections, so the reader is intended to study one topic a week. These topics are Yield, Help, Smile, Order, Gift, and Increase. She begins the study with the need to lay a foundation on the Word of God, and be yielded to Him, and then goes on to the practical, daily life things. She ends the study with several chapters about keeping our eyes fixed on our heavenly bridegroom. All the way through, she keeps the focus on Jesus, and refers to the Bible frequently. This book is based on the Bible!

I would say that the topic that I think about the most, after reading the whole book, is Smile. What I took away from it is to delight in being with my husband. Greet him with a smile and show him how special he is to me! I also appreciated the encouragement in the Order section. Nancy points out that our primary sphere, as Christian wives, is the home. Keeping the home in order and running smoothly is the Lord’s work! If you know me, you know that I like to be at home, keeping things going here. Another thing she points out in this section is that our home is the bridge between our family and the outside world. I was thankful for the affirmation that this is a good thing. Another thought that keeps coming back is from the Increase section. This is the quote that I keep mulling over: “I have been to more than one Bible study where the first question asked after reading a passage of Scripture isn’t “What do you learn about God in this passage?” But rather, “How does this apply to you?” This thought has been challenging me as I read my Bible the last several days.

There is only one thing I found in this book that I didn’t agree with 100%. In chapter 3, she is talking about the permanence of marriage, and discusses situations where it may be all right to divorce. I agreed with everything she said except for one sentence in which she states that a believing woman who is abandoned by an unbelieving husband is free to remarry. Other than that one statement, I wholeheartedly endorse Crown. Every wife should read this, probably more than once. I just finished a quick first read through it, and now I plan to go back through and read it as it is intended, a lesson a day, five days a week for six weeks. (That’s what I should have done for the first time through, but didn’t open my review copy till three weeks before the review was due! Oops.) And, if you want any further proof as to how I feel about this book? I just ordered two print copies, one for myself and one for a friend.

About the Author:

Nancy Kaser is a passionate pastor’s wife and veteran missionary. For over twenty-five years, she has taught women’s Bible studies, provided biblical counseling, and been a dynamic women’s conference speaker. Based in Southern California, Nancy teaches literature and history classes at The Writtenburg Door. She and her visionary husband also lead short-term mission trips with the Calvary Chapel movement and run a child-sponsorship organization.

More From Nancy:

Closing the church door after my seventh counseling appointment that week, I was overcome with the realization that every appointment had been relatively indistinguishable. The women I counseled from our congregation were generally unsatisfied, disappointed, and disillusioned with their marriages, and some were downright rebellious in their role as wives. The same anxieties, the same troubles, (and the same sins creating the anxieties and troubles) came up in almost every meeting. Though these church ladies may have been well-versed in the scriptures, no one had taught them how to live out biblical principals in their everyday lives.

As a pastor’s wife, I wished I could meet with every married lady in my church and offer practical discipleship with this hope: that a glorious, fulfilling, and God-honoring marriage—to the same guy she is married to right now! —is absolutely possible through obedience to God’s word.

Crown – 30 Wife-Changing Lessons is a resource that combines solid Bible teaching, humorous and humbling tales from my own marriage journey, and dozens of compelling stories from real women just like you. Based on Proverbs 12:4, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,” Crown includes concrete, scriptural truths and real-life examples that will equip you to be the excellent wife God created you to be. Complex issues such as biblical roles within marriage, physical intimacy, communication, forgiveness, and home management are all addressed with candid honesty, encouragement and biblical substance.

Whether you’re in the honeymoon stage or celebrating your fiftieth anniversary, you have never before been in this season of your marriage. Your family dynamics, finances, health, emotional state, location, ministry, employment status— all the factors of your life—are in a perpetual state of transition. As a married woman, you are continually wife-changing. The scriptures never change, but they can always be freshly applied to every season of marriage. In thirty wife-changing lessons, you will be instructed, challenged, and motivated to walk in obedience to God’s beautiful design for marriage.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here. (Scroll down the page to see the stops.)

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—All is Bright

December 19, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Book: All Is Bright (Christmas Lights Collection 2019)
Author: Kari Trumbo, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, & Chautona Havig
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 17, 2019

NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS.

Four of your favorite contemporary romance authors join festive forces to bring you the fourth-annual Christmas Lights Collection.

Kari Trumbo- Merry and Dashing: Merry hates Christmas corporate greed. Jacob loves finding the perfect gift for everyone. When Scrooge and Santa volunteer at a local thrift store together, will the mix be Holly Jolly?

Toni Shiloh- I’ll Be Home: What could be worse than being laid off right before the holidays? For Starr Lewis that would include returning home jobless, single, and, oh yeah, just in time to attend her sister’s wedding on Christmas Eve… to Starr’s ex-boyfriend. In the midst of it all, her brother’s best friend soon has her wondering if she can take another chance on love.

Cathe Swanson- Season of Change: Charlea’s ready to sell Serenity Hill, but Drew is back in town, 15 years after their dream date ended in disaster, helping her mother and daughter turn the old commune into a commercial Christmas wonderland. Between poinsettias and sleigh rides, angst and romance collide in this Christmas second-chance romance!

Chautona Havig- The 12 Dates of Christmas : When Reagan runs into Alex, her high school nemesis, he is stunned to discover that’s how she saw him. It’ll take twelve dates and a lot of forgiveness on both sides to even hope for a Christmassy-ever-after.

Brighten your day with these four heart-warming novellas today!

My Thoughts:

As with all the other Christmas Lights collections, there were stories included that I liked very well, and some that I didn’t enjoy quite so much. With two of my favorite authors included in the collection each year, though, I don’t want to miss out on this collection!

The first book in the collection is Merry and Dashing, by Kari Trumbo. To be honest, I didn’t get much out of this one. Merry hates Christmas because of the greed and commercialization of the holiday. Her mother suggests that she do some volunteer work because Merry spent almost all her time at home by herself, so she went to the local thrift shop. Between that and her work as a web designer, she got to know Jacob. Could he help her learn to enjoy Christmas?

Toni Shiloh’s I’ll Be Home is next. I’m sorry, but I didn’t finish this one. I simply struggle with this author’s style. If you enjoy sweet romances with lots of kisses, you’ll enjoy this.

I believe that Season of Change, by Cathe Swanson, is my favorite in this collection. There is a romance in it, but it’s so low-key that I didn’t even pay much attention to it till late in the story. Other elements were much more important. I found the interactions between Charlea, her mother, and her daughter, the stresses between them, and how they resolved their issues, very well-done. I loved the setting of a lot of the story, too—a former hippie commune on which Pamela, Charlea’s mother, was the sole remaining resident. I really like Cathe’s writing style, and the thought and care she puts into her books. She spends the time to really make them shine.

The last book in this collection is Chautona Havig’s 12 Dates of Christmas. Reagan came home from her job with a film company, to spend a month with her family. Who should she run into on one of her first days but Alex, her nemesis in high school! She agrees to a date with him—only on condition that he apologize for something he did to her in high school, which means he has to remember something. Between both of them working through the offenses he caused (unknowingly for the most part) back then, and her challenges getting along with her older brother now, there are a lot of little gems about forgiveness in this otherwise fluffy book!

About the Author:

Kari Trumbo: Kari Trumbo writes swoony heroes and places that become characters with detail and heart. Kari loves reading, listening to music, singing when no one’s listening, and curling up with a fuzzy blanket, a book, and a hot cup of tea by the wood stove. She loves her make-believe people almost as much as the real thing. You can find out more about her and her worlds at karitrumbo.com

Toni Shiloh: Toni Shiloh writes ethnically diverse characters that could be your best friend. She writes to understand the Lord more and shares her lessons with her readers. Visit her at www.tonishiloh.com.

Cathe Swanson: Cathe Swanson, the author of the Great Lakes and Glory Quilts series, enjoys gardening, sewing, papercrafting, and kayaking on the beautiful Wisconsin rivers. As a child of the 60’s, she’s having fun writing about hippies and the Jesus People movement in her new Serenity Hill series.

Chautona Havig: Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com

More From Chautona:

Christmas in “The Christmas City”

I wrote most of 12 Dates of Christmas in Noel, Missouri, otherwise known as “The Christmas City.” That’s kind of funny, because Noel isn’t pronounced No-ell. It’s “Nole”—rhymes with pole. As in North.

By the time I’d finished, it was almost time to leave the little town and head home after nearly six weeks with old and new friends. I had to say goodbye to memories I might never visit in person again, and it was difficult to imagine.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I wrote a super-short story. It’s just over seven thousand words (including a bit of history behind different people, places, and things in the story), but it captured things near and dear to my heart—my mother’s house, the church I’ve loved for so many years, town traditions, and now characters I’m not sure I can let go of.

In fact, I am considering writing a full-length novella next year for the fifth-annual Christmas Lights Collection next year! I think Rob and Lissa deserve to have their full story told.

As my thanks to readers who purchase or read the collection on Kindle Unlimited, I’m offering this short story, “A Noel Christmas,” FREE. Just send me your receipt or a screenshot showing you’ve completed the collection and it’s yours. Visit https://chautona.com/bonus for more information or just zip an email to any of the authors in the collection. We’re all happy to send it on.

We all hope you have a very meaningful Christmas this year—one that offers bright spots in your days. May God richly bless you now and in the new year.

Kari Trumbo, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, and Chautona Havig

P.S. If you read the short story, do let me know if you think I should turn it into a full-length novella/novel. I’d love to know your opinion.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here. (Scroll down the page to see the stops.)

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Christmas on Breakers Point

December 12, 2019 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Book: Christmas on Breakers Point
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Contemporary Fiction, Christian Romantic Fiction, Christmas

NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS.

One man’s last Christmas wish might change two lives forever.

Mallory Barrows has one last Christmas with her uncle. She’s determined to make it the best one he’s ever had.

She knows when she asks what he wants as his final gift, it won’t be a tie or a new mug. He won’t need those where he’s going, and he’s quite happy about that.

Mallory just didn’t think he wanted a miracle wrapped in paper and tied with a shiny red bow!

Christmas on Breakers Point is the introductory book to the Independence Islands Series.

My Thoughts:

Sometimes a book surprises me with the depth of thought that is contained inside it. When I think of Christmas fiction, I usually think of a light, fluffy romance. Christmas on Breakers Point does not quite fit into that description. Yes, there is a romance included, but it is certainly not the main point of this story.

Mallory received the call just before Thanksgiving: Uncle Bud was nearing the end of his battle with cancer, and he needed her to be with him during his final weeks. She unhesitatingly dropped her job and took off for the Islands to care for him. Her next question: What could she do for a Christmas gift for him? He wouldn’t need a tie or a mug, that was sure. When he asked her for a miracle, though, what could she possibly do?

Mallory did her best, speaking God’s words into the life of her friend who needed the miracle. What had turned Joanie away from Jesus, anyway? Or, was Uncle Bud right, that she had “lost faith in her faith”? How could Mallory tell her the truth she needed to hear, in such a way that she could hear it? Would the miracle happen in time, before Uncle Bud’s expiration date arrived?

In this book, Chautona has tackled some pretty tough topics. Is social justice incompatible with being a Christian? What about environmentalism? Can someone passionate about these issues live for Jesus, as well? Or is it one or the other? When church people don’t seem to care about underprivileged people, does that mean Jesus means nothing? Lots of toes will get stepped on in this book!

This story is the introduction to a new series (I think I saw that there will be 30 books in the series eventually, by a number of different authors!), all set in the Islands, which are off the coast of the Southeastern states, I believe. It will be interesting to see how the books all fit together!

One last little detail I enjoyed: My husband and I spent our honeymoon in the Outer Banks, and one thing I remember noticing there was the sea oats that grew along the dunes. They are mentioned in chapter 4—just a fun little thing for me!

WARNING: Uncle Bud uses the word blasted several times.

About the Author:

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More From Chautona:

The book opens with a phone call that goes like this:

Her phone buzzed. Without taking her eyes from the page, Mallory Barrows fumbled about until her hand closed around it. The book held her bound in ropes of suspense as the villain slipped into the party unannounced—unseen. While she followed him around the edge of the imaginary room, her thumb swiped, tapped, and answered the call as if on autopilot.

Even as Mallory said, “Hello?” her breath caught. The guy had found his prey.

“Mallory, honey?”

Without a second look, she dropped the book and sat up, feet planted firmly on the floor and all attention on the call. “Is it time?”

“’Fraid so, darlin’. Doc says it’s a matter of weeks or a month or two. And I promised.”

“I’ll be there Friday afternoon.”

Just days after I wrote those lines, I woke up to a message from my sister. “Call Mom.”

I called. Mom said, “I need you to come.” That was Thursday. I walked into Mom’s house on Saturday evening and our lives changed forever.

I don’t know if God prepared me for this change by having me write that scene just days before, but I have to say it felt like it! Everything went crazy for over a month as I tried to wrap up my mother’s affairs in Missouri, I had to try to finish three books in a time of upheaval and turmoil. No, it’s not the same as trying to help a young woman reclaim her True First Love so she could reclaim her first earthy love. It isn’t the same as starting a whole new life and a new business. But… oh, how it felt like it.

Another parallel in the story and my life was how Mallory struggles to try to get Uncle Bud to eat. I did the same thing for most of my time in Missouri. Mom struggled and hard just to swallow and just wanted to eat. So, while I was writing, I worked hard to come up with a recipe that Mallory might use to convince Uncle Bud to eat something. The result were these Coconut Lime Cookies. I hope you love them as much as Uncle Bud did.

Coconut Lime Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups white flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup sugar

3 oz room temp cream cheese—cubed

½ tsp vanilla

Zest of 1 lime (key limes may be preferred)

½ cup (1 stick) melted butter (warm)

1 egg

1 TBS milk (whole is the most delicious… and half & half is even better)

1 TBS lime juice (again, some may prefer key limes)

½ cup powdered sugar (reserved for rolling cookies in)

Directions: (oven preheats to 350)

Stir together the first five ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside

Stir together sugar, cream cheese, and lime zest in a large mixing bowl. Cream butter in. Repeat with egg, milk, and lime juice, one at a time. Make sure your ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Add dry ingredients slowly. Mix well.

Roll dough into approximately 1” balls. Roll each ball into powdered sugar and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for approximately 11-12 minutes until lightly golden.

Before you eat, close your eyes and imagine yourself beneath swaying palm trees with warm sand between your toes. Merry Christmas!

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Book Review—Made for Brave

December 11, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 4 Comments

About the Book

Book: Made for Brave
Author: Alyssa Galios
Genre: Christian Memoir, Widowhood, Cancer
Release Date: November, 2019

NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS

From the testimony viewed over 100 million times on the internet:

“I am so sorry I have to deliver such awful news.” Shaking his head, the doctor muttered, “You are both so young.”

A young woman in her twenties with a future and a plan for her life comes up against a tragic nightmare when her handsome and otherwise healthy husband is suddenly diagnosed with a rare inoperable cancer. As her husband’s beliefs grow stronger, Alyssa’s dreams evaporate, and her faith slips away when the worst happens.

Experience soul-searing pain and miraculous moments of joy in this poignant true-life account. Journey with Alyssa as she grapples with life and death, faith and unbelief, disappointment and hope in a search for answers that takes her beyond grief to peace and a surprising new love.

Along the way, you’ll find answers to the questions you may be asking in your own life:

Where is God when it hurts?
Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?
Can God make something good come out of bad?
Does true love ever strike twice?

Made for Brave is a striking example of how God can create overwhelming good from even the worst of life when we choose to partner with Him.

My Thoughts:

This is an incredible story. So many times as I read it I had to wipe away tears. I don’t remember exactly why I signed up to review Made for Brave, but I’m glad I did. What a triumphant story!

This book is absolutely amazing. I can’t begin to comprehend the agony of watching someone you love die a horrible death, slowly. I have experienced sudden death of a child, but nothing like Nick and Alyssa went through. Nick’s attitude of thankfulness and love to God as he neared the end of his life reminds me of my father’s testimony as he died of cancer. The last part of this book, where Alyssa is able to use what God has given her to help others, is very encouraging. If we allow Him to, God can use experiences that feel terrible, for our good. In fact, in chapter 13, Alyssa discusses why evil exists at all, if God is all love. I highlighted a lot of that section—I want to remember the conclusions she came to. Her discussion about grief and “getting over” hurts and loss is well worth reading, as well.

Who should read this book? People who like to read about what God can do to transform a person’s life. People who need encouragement that God can use painful experiences for good. People who struggle to know how a good God could allow bad things to happen. And, anyone who loves to read a true love story—there are two of them in this one book!

WARNING: Chapter 1: darn, dang. Chapter 2: dang, twice. Chapter 3: dang. Chapter 7: dang. Chapter 8: oh my gosh. Chapter 14: darn proud. Chapter 15: Holy cow. Chapter 20: darn. Also, two or three times after Nick died, Alyssa felt that he visited her. I’m not sure what to do with those experiences; they don’t quite fit in my theology! (Just warning anyone who wouldn’t want to read a book that includes such a thing.)

About the Author:

Alyssa Galios is a writer, speaker, social media influencer, and coach. Founder of the #MadeforBrave movement and CEO of the Made for Brave Company, Alyssa is known for helping countless people create better lives through faith, family, and fitness. Her life story has been featured on sites like Yahoo News, Christian Post, Fox News, HuffPost, and Viralized. Alyssa and her husband Jay run their business out of their home north of Seattle, where they happily raise their daughters. For more information, visit alyssagalios.com.

More from Alyssa:

Some people come into your life as bright as shooting stars. They zip across your horizon then, all too soon, drop back into the blackness. Though you can no longer see them, you are forever changed by their brilliance. This is just as it was with Nicholas Magnotti. Six beautiful years changed the person I will always be.

Before my strapping, young and handsome 25-year-old husband got sick, I missed a large part of the point of living. I was a workaholic mainly; a worry wort often; and I got really good at playing the comparison game. As such, I spent the first three years of our marriage living in selfish fear. Nick’s presence in my life taught me something I won’t ever forget… It taught me that every single moment counts and that what we do in love for others is the only thing that truly makes a lasting impact. And, eventually, the strong faith he exuded through his trials would cause me to question and rebuild my own faith.

The day that I said yes to a blind date with a gorgeous man I had never met… the God of the universe set into motion a series of miraculous events that I couldn’t have possibly ever predicted. He didn’t cause the bad parts of my story. Not at all. But, He saw those parts, from way off in the distance and game-planned so that it would all still work together for good and for His glory. You’ll be amazed at all the good He was able to create. And, the craziest part? He is so not finished yet.

Made for Brave: A Journey Through Devastating Loss to Infinite Hope is an uncommon love story and, at times, a harrowing journey but, more than that, it’s my true life journey that I know I have been called to share. I hope you will walk it with me and come away knowing you have always been made for brave, too.

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Product Review—Thinkwell

November 19, 2019 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I have never requested a math curriculum to review before. We have been using the same curriculum for math ever since Esther started school, 15 years ago, and I have been very happy with it. Lately, however, I was thinking about what to have Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Diligence do for math next year, and coming up with nothing I felt like they would be able to do. Then, I had the chance to review a math course from Thinkwell, and decided to have them do the diagnostic tests. We were offered one year of either their 6th to 8th Grade Math, or their High School Math; there are 20 math courses altogether. After I scored these tests, we watched the solutions for some of the problems that Mr. Intellectual got wrong, and he liked the way they were taught. Both boys were happy enough with what they saw of this course that we decided to request it, and they will use it for their main math course next year. They have each spent a week and a half working with it this month, so we could see how it works in order to write the review. (We normally spend a much longer time on a review item, but we were not given access to this one until two weeks into the review period, and then those two boys went to stay with friends several hours away and help on their farm for a week and a half.)

Mr. Intellectual chose to do Geometry. His results in the diagnostic test indicated that he could do either Honors Algebra I or Geometry. He is just finishing the Algebra I course with our normal curriculum, but he hasn’t done Geometry before, so he thought that sounded interesting. He’s really enjoying it, and says he is learning things already, even from just the first chapter, Fundamentals of Geometry. Here is a screenshot of the titles of the other chapters in this course:

Mr. Diligence has just finished his 8^th grade math, and his diagnostic test results indicated that he was ready for Algebra I, so that is what I chose for him. He is doing well with this course, too. Here is the table of contents for his course:

Each chapter is broken down into a number of subchapters, and a subchapter tends to be one day’s assignment. Here are the subchapters for the first chapter of Algebra 1:

Clicking on a subchapter title takes you to the actual lessons—here is the first one.

The student is to work his way down the page. First, they watch the video lectures, in order (and Mr. Diligence quickly discovered that, for the lecture to show that it had been watched, he had to go back to the original screen to load the next one, instead of just going from one to the next).

There are worksheets to go along with each lesson; what works best for my boys is to print the worksheet before starting the lesson, then do the exercises that go along with each lecture before going on to the next lecture.

After watching all the lectures, doing the worksheet and checking it with the answer key, they do the “Thinkwell Exercise.” This is an assessment with multiple-choice answers. There is an option to print the exercise so it is easy to work the problems on paper, and then choose the correct one on the screen. One of my boys likes to do that; the other does them mentally, most of the time! Each question is graded immediately. The correct answer is given, and whether you got it correct or wrong, an explanation is given as to how the correct answer can be found.

At the end of each subchapter there are two review worksheets, and then a quiz, which can be taken as many times as the student wants to, and each chapter has a test at the end. The test can only be taken once, but there is a practice test which can be taken as many times as you want to.

The lectures average 2-5 minutes long. The teacher discusses his topic thoroughly, and to the right of the screen are several text boxes illustrating what he is talking about. He also writes on a whiteboard to illustrate his points. His voice is quite nice to listen to—something I appreciate! The boys have found it a bit hard to hear, though, either because it is on the quiet side or because my old computer’s speakers aren’t the best anymore, so they use headphones. That seems to solve the problem (and cause less distraction for others in the room!).

I found it fairly easy to figure out how to use these courses. This sidebar is very useful in going from one page to another. The daily schedule can be found in the Resources tab; quizzes and tests are on the Assessments tab.

To see how my sons are doing, I found that I can log in to their account and click on “My Grades” at the top of the screen. It shows me at a glance how well they have done with the Thinkwell Exercises. I have encouraged them to do the exercises a few times if they are struggling with something.

I am quite favorably impressed with what I have seen so far of these courses! It looks like just what we have been needing. Mr. Diligence commented that he finally understands one of the concepts taught, which is something he had been doing in his 8^th grade math but didn’t understand. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to let them try a different teaching style. If you have children who are struggling with their math, it may be worthwhile to try out Thinkwell. They have quite a range of courses available—look at this list! They offer a 14-day free trial, and diagnostic tests. Either of these would be a good way to determine if this math course will work for your family.
Thirty people are reviewing this company; read more reviews by clicking on the picture below.

$6th to 8th Grade Math (Pre-Algebra) and High School Math (Algebra to Calculus) {Thinkwell Reviews}$

Book Review—Goldtown Beginnings Series

November 5, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

When we were offered the chance to review the first two books in Susan K. Marlow’s new Goldtown Beginnings Series from Kregel Publications, I jumped at the offer. We have read a number of her other books; I reviewed her Circle C Stepping Stones series a couple of years ago, so I knew my younger children would be excited to get these. Sure enough, they were! Little Miss (age 4) was thrilled when she saw them the day they came in the mail, and she spent a lot of time studying the pictures. She also made sure she was on hand to hear the stories each day when I read the books aloud!

Book 1, Jem Strikes Gold, 8-year-old Jeremiah has a problem. Every week, he and his 6-year-old sister have to deliver pies for their mother, who bakes them for the restaurants and gold miners in Goldtown. That wouldn’t be a problem, but the rich boy in town likes to cause trouble for them—and one day most of Mama’s pies are ruined! Then, Strike-it-rich Sam comes home from a prospecting trip with a golden dog. Jem hasn’t found any gold in his claim, but will Pa and Mama let him keep the dog? And what will Jem do about the pie problem?

Jem’s Frog Fiasco, book 2, presents Jem with an altogether different problem. A café owner wants Jem to catch frogs for him. This sounds like an easy way to make some money! The problem with this scheme, though, is that Mama wants Jem to take care of his younger sister Ellie, and when he is mean to her because she makes it hard for him to catch the frogs, she runs off and hides. Can he find her?

I liked almost everything about these books. As with Susan K. Marlow’s other books, these do well at attracting young readers. They are very simply written, but very interesting. They appeal to the 6-8-year-old range especially, but as I said before, my 4-year-old loved to hear them read aloud. The 10-year-old enjoyed them, too. The one thing I noticed that I didn’t like so well was Jem’s exclamation, “Roasted rattlesnakes!,” used 2-3 times per book. I liked the way Jem tried to please his parents. He loved his little sister, even though he was annoyed with her, and admitted his wrong in not watching over her as he should have. I also liked that the stories, though fictitious, are set in a real place and time—the California goldfields during the Gold Rush. Just by reading the story, we learned how gold is panned and that it was rare to actually find “color.” This is a series I will be watching for, so I can buy the rest of the books. We were all happy to have received these books!

On the author’s website, there are downloadable activities to go along with each of the books. These activities include language arts, history, and geography projects, as well as just fun things like mazes. There are also coloring pages to download. When Little Miss learned about them, she wanted one immediately! I made her a coloring book with the pages, which are simply the illustrations from the book. If you have beginning readers in your home and need more books that they can read, that will catch their interest, check out the Goldtown Beginnings Series! The learning activities that are available would make an easy way to get some other learning in, as well.

Jem Strikes Gold & Jem's Frog Fiasco {Kregel Publications Reviews}

Product Review—Creating a Masterpiece 2019

October 22, 2019 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

About a year and a half ago, Mr. Imagination began asking me to buy him an art course. He wanted to learn how to draw better. I bought one, but it wasn’t what he had in mind, and he only did the first couple of lessons. He keeps drawing, though, just figuring things out on his own. When the review of Creating a Masterpiece came up, I asked him if he was interested—oh, yes, he very definitely was! So, we signed up and were given a one-year subscription to the online Drawing Program. We had hardly any of the materials needed, so he couldn’t get started for several days till the pencils came, but as soon as they arrived, he was off.

Each lesson is presented in a series of several short videos, with the teacher, a lovely, grandmotherly-type woman, showing each step of drawing a particular picture. Mr. Imagination (age 7) and Little Miss (age 4) both loved watching the videos and drawing the pictures. I loved that they could do the lessons on their own! With a new baby in the house, I don’t have time to sit down with them for art lessons. They were both able to come up with some very good artwork, for their age. Little Miss liked the picture of the pumpkins so well that she drew several more later, without watching the videos. She frequently requests to do an art lesson.

This was the first lesson they did, a cartoon-style giraffe. Even Mr. Sweetie did this one! They were told they could draw just the head and neck, or more of the body if they wished—just have fun. Mr. Imagination drew the entire giraffe. I love his picture!

My children have mainly focused on the pencil drawings, both regular pencils and colored pencils. Because we have no ready access to art supplies locally, I ended up ordering the vellum paper we needed for charcoal drawings from the United Kingdom, and it took awhile to get here. (For those who live in the United States, it will be easy to obtain the supplies; she has links on her website to exactly the items she recommends.) Mr. Imagination hasn’t tried much with the charcoal yet, but I expect him to before too long. He did do quite a few of the other drawings—we had quite the display on our living room wall for awhile, till he took some down to send to a grandma!

Here is an assortment of the other pictures Mr. Imagination drew. I like the wide variety of techniques that are taught with just pencils! The one with white pencil on black paper is a seal, by the way.

I am highly impressed with Creating a Masterpiece. The lessons are presented very clearly, with each step explained and shown. The teacher’s voice is easy to listen to, and it is obvious that she loves art, which is inspiring. I think I could even draw a nice picture by using her lessons! If you have a child who wants to learn to draw, I highly recommend this course. It can be used by all ages, from preschool, as Little Miss has proven, to adults who want to learn how to draw better.