Book Reviews

Book Review—Eve in Exile and the Restoration of Femininity

February 6, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

I wrote this review for our book reviews website, but it will be awhile till it is published there, so I decided to put it here for a couple of months first. This book is good.

Wow. Eve in Exile is an amazing book. I’ve rated it as one of my top ten for the year. I had never even heard about it before my daughter heard of it from a friend and got it while it was free on Kindle. I was in the mood for a nonfiction read at that point, so downloaded it onto my Kindle (we share accounts), and started it. I could hardly put this book down! No, it’s not a mystery or even really a story, but it certainly caught my attention and held it.

There are four sections to this book. After the introduction, which discusses the confused, muddled-up mess women find themselves in today, in which people don’t even seem to know what gender they are, the first section talks about two different ways women react to this mess. Some women virtually live a pretend life, trying to go back in time to when things were different. Others spend their lives chasing after fulfillment in the ways society tells them they will find it.

The second section was fascinating to me. It traces the history of feminism from the earliest roots of today’s movement, in the mid-1700s, to the present. It was amazing to realize that, from the very earliest days, the feminists were trying to destroy the family structure. They hated marriage, and they hated that men could have sexual freedom, while women had to deal with the consequences. That, of course, led to birth control and abortion. Another point that stood out to me was the constant anger and discontentment among the feminists. They were never happy with what they had, but always wanted more and more. One quote I marked says, “Whenever someone begins issuing demands to the universe about what is owed to them, we ought to be dubious. This is fundamentally at odds with biblical teaching on what is an obedient (and effective) response to injustice.” The author goes on to point out Christ’s reaction, and how He told His followers to respond, when things were not done fairly to us. After you read this section, you will never think of the feminist movement in the same way again.

The third section is the opposite of the second one—it is positive! What are we, as women, designed for? What is our role? We are to subdue and fill the earth, be a help to our husbands, and glorify God! Another quote: “Eve was created to help, not to be the commander in chief. Adam was not brought into the picture to be her sidekick, and she was not brought into the picture to live an independent life….” These four chapters are full of amazing thoughts. I appreciated this quote, which concludes this section, as well: “It’s worth noting, since conservatives have been known to miss this, that nowhere in Scripture are women, as a group, required to submit to men, as a group. Women are commanded to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord, nowhere are we required to submit to “men.” The author finishes with a couple more sentences about the beauty of true submission.

Section four, then, gives practical ideas for carrying out our role. Throw yourself into your job—caring for your husband, children, and home! Determine that you will learn to be good at what you have to do anyway, and challenge yourself “to use the task that’s been put in front of you as a way to learn more about God and the breathtaking world He has put us in….”Change the world by making the good attractive! Be the glory of your husband, and in doing that, bring glory to God. Wow. So much to live up to, to think about and put into practice.

I was blown away by the wisdom in this book. It is one I believe every Christian woman, married or single, should read. Reading this book has opened my eyes to some of the ways I have been affected by the culture that surrounds all of us, and given me a renewed vision for my life as a wife and mother. This is a book I want on my shelf in print so I can share it with other women! If you are discouraged or discontented with your role as a Christian woman, read this book and be encouraged.

WARNING: The author is quite frank about the sexual revolution.

Buy your own copy here.

I received no compensation for this review. I simply appreciated the book so much I wanted to share it. Links may be affiliate links.

Book Review—The Three Faces of Nellie

December 19, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Book: The Three Faces of Nellie
Author: Robynne Elizabeth Miller
Genre: Non-fiction, Historical
Release Date: November, 2016
Publisher: Practical Pioneer Press

Whether you love her, hate her, or love to hate her, Nellie Oleson is one of the most recognizable literary figures of the 20^th century. But Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House on the Prairie series in which Nellie appears, had a secret. . .Nellie wasn’t a real person! Instead, she was a composite character created from three girls Laura knew in childhood: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Estella Gilbert.

The Little House character of Nellie Oleson is one-dimensional: snobbish, selfish, and thoroughly unpleasant. But what about the real women behind Laura’s creation? They were an intriguing mix of the not-so-nice and the unexpectedly redeemable. In short, they were human.

Discovering the true stories behind Nellie, Genevieve, and Estella has been a fascinating journey. All three ended up on the West Coast at one point. . .true westward movement! One was widowed twice, one ended up divorced, and one died way too young. Two only had one child, and one had three, though she outlived her youngest by a very long time. There’s even some “Nellie-like” drama in there: Embezzlement. Lying on censuses. Shady land deals.

But there are some beautiful things, too. . .like the enduring love of a husband after his young wife died. Or the rare closeness of a mother and daughter who shared their lives as adults. Or the strength of a young widowed mother who not only cared for her son, but headed out west, in true pioneer fashion, while she did so.

Laura Ingalls Wilder did a masterful job of creating the character of Nellie Oleson. But the three real-life women behind that iconic character are, in my opinion, infinitely more intriguing.

My Thoughts:

I have loved Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books since I was about six years old. My dad read the series to us a couple of times while I was growing up, and I believe I was only six or seven when I began reading them myself. Now, I’m reading them to my own family for about the third time. Any time I see a book about the “story behind the story” of Laura, I’m interested. When the opportunity came up to review The Three Faces of Nellie, I jumped at it.

For the rest of my review, go here.

About the Author:

Robynne Elizabeth Miller is a speaker, writing coach, and author of multiple books, articles, and essays. Her larger projects include From the Mouth of Ma, Pioneer Mixology, The Three Faces of Nellie, and Nonfiction, Memoir, or Fiction? Dissecting the Works of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Robynne speaks nationally at writing and historical venues and teaches at writer’s workshops and conferences. She also serves as the Board President of Inspire Christian Writers, as well as their Director of Leadership, and leads two Northern California critique groups.

She holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Westmont College and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction and Fiction from Ashland University.

She lives with her wonderful British husband and the youngest of their four cheeky children in the snowy woods of the Sierra Nevada mountains. When not writing, Robynne loves singing, felling trees, and making bacon from scratch.

Guest Post from Robynne:

Nasty Nellie Oleson. One of the most iconic literary characters in literature. Whether you loved her … or hated her … or loved to hate her, she probably left a lasting impression on you. At least if you were a fan of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder like I was growing up!

As a young girl, I loved Wilder’s tales of wagons, prairies, and grand westward adventures. Strangely, growing up didn’t change my love for all things Little House one tiny bit. But I did become deeply curious about the real life people behind some of the more fascinating Little House characters.

Namely, Nellie Oleson.

As I began to research Nellie, I learned a ton of interesting things. She wasn’t one person, for example. Laura Ingalls Wilder wove three girls she knew in childhood into one composite character for her books. One of the first “Nellie’s,” Nellie Owens, did have a brother named Willy, but did you know that he went blind from two separate incidents, one in childhood and one in adulthood? And did you know that all three of the “Nellies” ended up on the west coast at one point? Talk about true westward movement! One married a man who eventually went to prison for embezzlement, one did some shady land deals, and one shouldn’t have been a “Nellie” at all.

I suppose I was hoping for a good, old-fashioned redemption story. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the mean girl in Wilder’s stories grew up to work with orphans or rescue unwanted animals? Alas, that’s not exactly what happened. But the stories of these three women were fascinating all the same.

I hope you have as much fun discovering the real stories behind the famous Nellie Oleson as I did!

To purchase your copy, click here.

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I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Book Review—Comfort and Joy

December 5, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Book: Comfort & Joy
Author: The Christmas Lights Collection: Alana Terry, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance, Cozy Mystery, Suspense, Christmas
Release Date: October 16, 2018

The third-annual Christmas Lights Collection is pleased to present: Comfort & Joy–four Christmas Novellas. From contemporary romance to cozy mystery and suspense, this diverse collection celebrates the comforts and joys of Christmas.

My Thoughts:

This is the third Christmas Lights collection. I’ve enjoyed all of them for the most part, although I’ll have to admit I struggled with this one to a certain extent.

Alana Terry’s Frost Heaves begins the collection.

For the rest of my review, go here.

About the Authors:

Alana Terry: Pastor’s wife Alana Terry is a homeschooling mom, self-diagnosed chicken lady, and Christian suspense author. Her novels have won awards from Women of Faith, Book Club Network, Grace Awards, Readers’ Favorite, and more. Alana’s passion for social justice, human rights, and religious freedom shines through her writing, and her books are known for raising tough questions without preaching. She and her family live in rural Alaska where the northern lights in the winter and midnight sun in the summer make hauling water, surviving the annual mosquito apocalypse, and cleaning goat stalls in negative forty degrees worth every second. You can find her at alanaterry.com

Toni Shiloh: Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. You can find her at tonishiloh.wordpress.com

She spends her days hanging out with her husband and their two boys. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the president of the ACFW Virginia Chapter.

Cathe Swanson: Cathe Swanson lives in Wisconsin with her husband of 32 years, and the long Wisconsin winters are perfect for writing and reading books! Cathe enjoys writing stories with eccentric characters of all ages. Her books will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again. You can find her at catheswanson.com

Chautona Havig: Amazon bestselling author of the Aggie books and Past Forward, Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave desert where she uses story to connect readers to the Master Storyteller.

Guest Post from Chautona Havig:

Why Do So Many Christians Love to Celebrate Christmas?

“We don’t celebrate Christmas because we were ordered to celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We were never commanded to celebrate His birth.”

Something about that statement didn’t sit well with me, but I was honest enough with myself to admit that it might be because I happened to love Christmas, and the idea of not celebrating it didn’t sit well with my twelve-year-old mind.

No, I didn’t go in for the Santa thing. I never had. As later my children were taught to say, Santa wasn’t “invited to our family celebration.” But still, the family, the joy, the music, the spirit of the thing moved me.

So, I did what I always did when I didn’t understand something. I asked Dad. “Why do we celebrate Christmas?”

If I recall correctly, Dad took a sip of coffee and watched me for several long seconds before he said, “What is Christmas?”

Ever the teacher, Dad had to put on his Socratic robe and make me work for it. I answered. “What we call the day Jesus was supposedly born. His birthday.”

“Okay. So, we celebrate Christ’s birthday on Christmas—on Christmas.”

“Yes.”

He gave me that slight smirk that always meant something good was coming. “And what did God do when His Son was born?”

Dad stumped me there. I blinked. “I don’t know.”

“He sent out the biggest birth announcement ever known to man—a star, angels, music.” Then Dad continued his leading questions. “He…”

I got it. “Celebrated the birth.”

“Yes.” Sometimes Dad was a man of few words.

But I couldn’t be satisfied—not yet.

“So, why do we give presents to each other if it’s Jesus’ birthday? Isn’t that backward?”

“Isn’t all of Christianity backward to the fallen mind?” When I didn’t answer, he smiled again. “What does Christ say about doing things for others?”

It wasn’t word-for-word Scripture—not even close. Just as he would have prompted again, I remembered Jesus’ story of the man who was fed, clothed, and given a drink. “When you do things for others, it’s like you’re doing them for Jesus.”

Dad shrugged then. “Maybe it’s just justification for continuing a beloved tradition, but it brings me joy to give you gifts. And Christ had something to say about how fathers love to give good gifts to their children.”

That brought me back to the original question.

“What about the fact that we’re told to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus? We aren’t told to celebrate the birth. Does that make it wrong?”

This time, Dad’s jaw hardened. I saw it twitch, and prepared for a blasting. After all, I had kind of argued with him. I hadn’t meant to, but I could see how it might be taken that way.

“Chautona,” he said, “don’t ever put rules on yourself that God hasn’t. We may not be commanded to celebrate Christ’s birth, but we aren’t forbidden, either. We have God’s example to emulate, and we have this truth.” His voice gentled when he saw he’d startled me. “We would never have been able to celebrate Christ’s death if He had not been born. If that’s not a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is.”

What does all that have to do with Christmas novellas (or “noellas” like I prefer to call them)?

Well, people ask me all the time. “Why do you write so many Christmas books? Why do these Christmas collections? Why focus so much on the birth of Jesus and the trappings of cultural Christmas when it’s inferior to the “big thing”—the Resurrection?”

Dad’s answer is mine. Because it points to it. It draws attention to it. And because Christmas is one time of year—the only time of year in which you can walk into almost any building in America and still hear praises sung to God at some point. They slip in between love songs about giving away your heart at Christmas and rocking around Christmas trees to “Jingle Bell Rock.”

And even the more “secular” versions that aren’t an outright praise to God like “Silent Night” or “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” sometimes throw in Jesus anyway because they can’t quite leave out, “Merry Christmas” in some place or another.

So maybe our Christmas books are inferior to what “Easter” books could be. Maybe they are. But if Christmas trees, caroling, and “ghost stories” keep Jesus at the forefront of someone’s mind in October, November, or December, then I think that’s a pretty cool thing.

Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming.

To purchase your copy, click here.

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To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

I was given a copy of this book by the authors. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Book Review—The Vintage Wren

October 18, 2018 by NZ Filbruns 5 Comments

About the Book

Book Title: the Vintage Wren Volume 1
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian / Fiction / General / Romance
Release date: May 25, 2016 (still in progress)

The Vintage Wren is a serial novel released in episodes on Amazon. However, subscribers can get FREE weekly installments (a chapter in length) delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday(ish—life delays it now and then). To sign up for weekly installments, click HERE.

My Thoughts:

I have been reading The Vintage Wren ever since the first episode was released. At this point, I’m looking forward to each chapter as it lands in my inbox each week, so I can find out what Cassie is up to now. We’ve made it to the beginning of April by this time! The January volume sets the stage for Cassie’s journey, as she begins to discover how much she has considered to be disposable. She also begins a relationship with a new boyfriend, while Joel, who has been her friend for many years already, continues to be a friend while wishing he could be more. And, as in almost all of Chautona’s books, there are gems of truth to make you think about your own life. One of my favorites in this book was, “It wasn’t the first time in recent weeks she’d arranged her decisions to play fast and loose with the truth.” That’s a challenge—to make sure I always live honestly!

I highly recommend this series if you want something different. If you sign up for Chautona’s newsletters using the link above, you’ll get a new chapter from the series every week! And, I believe that the January volume will be free for a few days soon, so click the link to purchase the book at the bottom of this page. If it isn’t free, check again Friday or Saturday, download it to your Kindle and see if you like this kind of story.

The Author’s Synopsis:

The Vintage Wren is a serial novel released in several chapter episodes. Volume One contains the first four and a half episodes in one full-length novel.

Cassie Wren. Legal assistant. Convenience queen. Thrifter extraordinaire. If there was a “green police” she’d be a fugitive from eco-friendly justice.

But when a friend’s teasing feels like a challenge, Cassie accepts it. The result? One year. Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred sixty-five days–of green.

It seemed simple enough. Cut back on paper plates, plastic forks, and straws. Easy peasy. But when her competitive side wars against her desire for convenience, Cassie finds it’s not so easy to be “eco-friendly” and “Cassie-friendly.”

January Shopping for Cassie’s annual New Year’s Eve party sparks an innocent comment that Cassie can’t forget. So, during their New Year’s Day goal planning session, Cassie’s friends tease her about her lack of eco-consciousness, and Cassie determines to change one new thing in favor of the planet every week. For a year. Even if it kills her.

She’s confident it will.

Cassie’s first month includes eradicating the extraneous paper, glass, plastic, and metal from her life. However, she finds that it’s not quite as easy as she thought. Paper and plastic cover everything manufactured or packaged–even water, produce, and restaurant food! Glass is great, but you can only have so many “reusable jars,” and metal reduction means her hair may end up a nightmare of uncontrollable frizzies!

She doesn’t even want to talk about her water reduction plans.

But it’s not all been bad. She’s saved a lot of money, has prospects for a new business, her impromptu blog is gaining traffic, and she even has a new boyfriend. Add to that, a few great friends who keep her going when things get rough, and the realization that there are only eleven months to go, and Cassie just might make it.

Now only if her car would cooperate and make it, too!

About the Author:

The author of dozens of books in a variety of genres, Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert where she uses story to nudge her readers to the feet of the Master Storyteller.

Guest Post From Chautona Havig:

How Writing about Cassie’s Eco-Challenge Has Changed My Way of Living

I didn’t think it through—not really. I mean, how hard could it be? All I had to do is give Cassie my own reactions to things like giving up straws and having to use tote bags at the grocery store. I just needed 52 simple things she could change in her life—one new one for each episode.

Piece of cake.

I should have known better. I don’t do things halfway when I get into them. Yes, I’ve discovered that Cassie is more like me in some ways than I ever imagined. And as I’ve researched things for her to freak out about, I’ve done a bit of freaking out myself. Certain questions and thoughts won’t go away.

For instance, in 2017 1.26 BILLION dollars were spent on plush toys. Just plush toys. Stuffed animals. And I don’t know how many weren’t purchased. Those are just the ones that were. That’s… a LOT of stuffed toys. If each toy cost 20 dollars (and we all know most are half that or less these days), that’s 63 million of those toys purchased and brought home.

In one year.

Shampoo, conditioner, and laundry soap bottles. Not sure why this one bothers me as much as it does. I think, actually, it’s the huge amount of water as much as it is all the plastic.

Look, we no longer have eight females in our house. But we do still have four there at all times—five on breaks. That’s a lot of shampoo bottles every year. A big portion of both laundry soap, shampoo, and conditioner is… water. We pay for a big bottle (lots of plastic and water) and to ship that to us—either because we had to have it shipped to a store for us to buy it or we had to have it shipped to our house.

I am paying extra for water that I could add myself at a fraction of the cost.

And the things go on and on. The lake that almost disappeared in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan because of how much water it takes to grow and process cotton.

See, the thing is, I’m not a green nut.

I don’t think it’s as easy to “destroy the planet” as we like to say. I do think, much like we do with our bodies and such, that we can reduce the quality of the world around us, however.

And while I’ll never jump on Cassie’s bandwagon—certainly not for life, I have made a few changes in how I do things. And as time goes on, I find myself making even more.

Like what, you ask?

I’ll tell you.

Here are three small ways I’ve changed how we do things in our house.

I started buying Dropps. They’re an automatically-shipped laundry pod. Each one is tiny—just a little smaller than the average “pod” and a whole lot cheaper. Also, there are no extra dyes or other things that are supposed to be bad for you and the planet.

I don’t really care about that. I just care that they work. And they do. And they’re cheaper than my Tide.

I got a shampoo bar for my birthday. I thought it would be like washing with regular soap—especially after I started rinsing my hair! It freaked me out. One idea down the drain… I thought.

But no, after the second or third use, it still felt weird while wet, but it dried beautifully, and I didn’t need to use additional conditioner. It’s in the bar or something. I even tried the old way again to compare after-shower tangles. Identical.

Dryer balls. Those felted wool balls really do work! A wonderful reader of mine sent me some, and it made my day! My youngest daughter and I are now trying to work with felted sweaters to try to turn them into dryer balls—or maybe even into sheets! (although, I think the balls bouncing around also kind of pound the clothes into submission or something. “Sheets” might not work, but I’m tempted to try it!

Look, you’ll never find me standing in front of a case in a mini-mart, freaking out because I want a Coke and can’t justify it. That’s not going to happen. But if I can choose a reasonable alternative to what I already do, well… it’s time to consider that.

There you have it. Three ways my life has changed since writing Cassie’s crazy story.

Click here to purchase your copy.

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To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Ties That Blind

August 22, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Title: Ties that Blind
Author: Chautona Havig
Release date: August, 2018
Genre: Suspense

My Thoughts:
I have enjoyed the Sight Unseen series since I read the first book a couple of years ago. The premise of the story was quite intriguing—what would it be like to wake up one morning and not remember anything? Then, as the story continued through the second book, with another person experiencing the same thing, the mystery deepened. What was causing these losses of memory? Was it a freak accident, or was something more sinister going on? For nearly a year, I had to wait for the third book to be written!

Ties That Blind tells Simon’s story. He, like Ella in None So Blind and Vickie in Will Not See, also woke up with no memories—but he was also accused of murder! Did he kill his wife? He can’t remember. If he did, why? And if he didn’t, who did, and why? And what is really going on behind the scenes? Simon teams up with Ella and Vickie to try to figure out what happened to them and if they can prevent it happening to anyone else as they continue to rebuild their lives.

Once again, Chautona Havig has put together a wonderful story. There is suspense and danger, along with people growing in their faith, and a bit of romance as Vickie both learns more about Jesus and His love for her, and deepens her relationship with a man who knew her before her “episode.” There are funny bits here and there, as well. I loved this book, even though (or maybe especially since) it was torturous reading it little by little as it was written!

I have one warning, though: Do not read these books out of order. They build on each other and you will not understand or enjoy Ties That Blind as well if you have not read the first two books.

I was given a copy of this book by the author, and chose to write a review. All opinions are my own.

The Author’s Synopsis:
He may not be the only person in the Rockland area to wake up without a memory, but he might be the only killer…

Simon Prescott, the latest victim of spontaneous amnesia in Rockland, is under suspicion of murder. The evidence, though weak and circumstantial, points only to him. He’s confident he didn’t do it, but there’s no way to prove it. Grieving for a wife he doesn’t remember, Simon refuses to allow his family in, refuses to cooperate with police, and is heading straight for the pokey if he doesn’t figure out something and fast.

Enter: Ella Weeks and Vikki Jeffries. The previous two victims are determined to help him, and with jail time looming, Simon capitulates. But what Vikki and Ella find as they work through Simon’s life reveals astounding and rather chilling evidence of a bigger scheme than any of them could have imagined.

They’re on the verge of total discovery, but the closer they get, the less confident they are that they want to know.

About the Author:
The author of dozens of books in a variety of genres, Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert where she uses story to nudge her readers to the feet of the Master Storyteller.

Guest post from Chautona:

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN, ANYWAY?

“So why is this series called ‘Sight Unseen’ if it’s about people who lose their memories? Why the vision references?”

I can’t pretend I wanted to answer her question. She isn’t the first to ask, and I doubt she’ll be the last. I tried to explain.

Look, it’s a valid question. Originally, the first book was called From the Cinders, and if it had remained a stand-alone book, it still would be. But when I finished with another person waking up to no memories and a hint that something sinister might be behind it all, I had to change it to fit two books—no, three!

Recall. Rewind. Refresh. I liked those titles. But that still didn’t give me the name of a series. I kept studying. Tried again.

I read what would become None So Blind three times in a row, if I recall correctly. And as I read it, a theme emerged. Ella Weeks hadn’t been blind to her faults even before her memory loss. Even her husband hadn’t been, despite his obvious love for her. But those around her had been blind to her awareness of those faults—to her silent cries for help in overcoming them.

WILL NOT SEE EMERGED WITH A SIMILAR THEME.

Vikki had a past that she hid from and refused to acknowledge. And even as those around her drew closer to provide support, she still managed to block out all that she found frightening—even physically shutting down and shutting out life.

So, when it came time to plan the final book in the series, the one that would now tie together everything that had happened, I knew I wanted something that also fit with the other titles. And one night it came to me. Ties That Blind. So often our ties to people blind us to their faults—to the destructive influences they have in our lives. And Simon Prescott will learn that lesson in a rather lonely, horrible way.

THE SIGHT UNSEEN SERIES REMINDS US OF WHAT PAUL SAID IN CORINTHIANS.

Now we see through dark glasses… we can’t really make it all out. But with the Lord, when we’re truly with Him in eternity, we’ll see things as clearly as we do when we are face to face.

And that’s what faith is all about, right? It’s the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” When we “buy in” to the Lord Jesus, we’re taking it all in faith. We’re trusting in Him, “Sight Unseen,” just as the characters in this series do with every element of their lives.

I hope their journeys bless you as they have me as I wrote them.

Click here to purchase your copy.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Breath of Heaven

July 2, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Title: Breath of Heaven
Author: Alana Terry
Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction
Release Date: December 9, 2017

My Thoughts:

I have a problem with Alana Terry. Her books draw me in so thoroughly that I end up not being worth much until I finish them. One thing I really appreciate about some of them, such as the Orchard Grove books that I have read, is the realism. Breath of Heaven is the kind of story I can imagine happening to me.

Katrina and Greg have only been married for six months. Their honeymoon was spent on the trip from Southern California to eastern Washington State. Their first six months have been spent learning to pastor the small church that seems to have more than its share of gossipers who love to mind other people’s business. Now, Katrina feels more alone than she has ever felt in her entire life. I could identify, to an extent, with her, in her struggles adjusting to marriage. I remember how hard it was, that first year after we got married, to learn to live with someone so different from me. This author has described the conflict very well! I’ve never been a pastor’s wife, but Katrina’s experiences felt very real in that area, too.

When a rather nosy, bossy woman in the congregation decided to “help” Katrina gain a skill she didn’t have, I realized what was going to happen long before Katrina allowed herself to see the danger she was in. For chapter after chapter, I had to keep turning pages to find out what would happen—would she do the right thing, or give in to yet another person who wanted her to act a certain way, as she had been doing all her life? Would she ever be able to regain what she had at the beginning of her marriage? Or would the church drive an irreparable wedge between herself and Greg? And would she ever be able to trust anyone enough to share what was happening inside of her?

I loved Grandma Lucy when she appeared again, as in the other Orchard Grove books. In fact, I had just started to wonder when she would show up, and then, after another short chapter or two, there she was. She’s great! Mrs. Porter, on the other hand, was very annoying. I did end up laughing at her once, though, the Sunday afternoon that she came to visit the young couple. Poor Katrina, though, ended up terribly embarrassed.

If you love books that sound like real life, that you can relate to, and that keep you turning pages, try the Orchard Grove books. These are not necessarily easy, comfortable reads, but they are thought-provoking and clean. I am really enjoying this author.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author’s Synopsis:

She hasn’t fallen out of love with her husband. She just can’t stand his church.

Nobody told Katrina being a pastor’s wife would be easy. But she never imagined that the stress she and her husband would face from his new job could so easily destroy their marriage.

In spite of her mother’s disapproval, Katrina marries a pastor whose job immediately plucks her away from her music, her symphony, and the city life she loves and plants her in the small town of Orchard Grove, Washington.

If she knew going into her new life that she’d be sacrificing her music career for a congregation full of gossips and backbiters and that the pressure of her husband’s new job would turn him into someone she hardly recognizes anymore, she might have reconsidered marrying him in the first place.

Unfortunately, it’s too late to do anything about that now.

Or is it?

About the Author:
Alana is a pastor’s wife, homeschooling mom, self-diagnosed chicken lady, and Christian suspense author. Her novels have won awards from Women of Faith, Book Club Network, Grace Awards, Readers’ Favorite, and more. Alana’s passion for social justice, human rights, and religious freedom shines through her writing, and her books are known for raising tough questions without preaching. She and her family live in rural Alaska where the northern lights in the winter and midnightsun in the summer make hauling water, surviving the annual mosquito apocalypse, and cleaning goat stalls in negative forty degrees worth every second.

Guest Post from Alana Terry:

I used to think being a pastor’s wife would be glamorous. Now I know better!

Although I’ve loved the different churches where my husband has been called to serve, being a couple in full-time ministry can definitely take its toll on a marriage.

Breath of Heaven is a novel in my Orchard Grove Christian women’s fiction series, which deals with real-life couples facing real-life issues. In Breath of Heaven, two newlyweds are thrown into the world of church politics, and the honeymoon period is quickly over.

I wrote this novel to give an inside peek at what it’s like if you’ve never been a pastor’s wife as well as to offer some hope and encouragement to women who know the stress of being married to someone in full-time ministry.

Click here to purchase your copy.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Love, Amy

April 27, 2018 by NZ Filbruns 3 Comments

About the Book

Title: Love, Amy
Author: Amy Young
Genre: Memoir
Release Date: June, 2017

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Love, Amy! It is quite an unusual book, but a great one. Amy Young subtitled her book, An accidental memoir told in newsletters from China. She compiled ten years’ worth of the newsletters she wrote from China, with tips for people who write newsletters after each year. I found these tips very interesting, as well as the letters themselves.

Please go here to read my complete review.

I received a copy of this book as a gift from the author. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions given here are my own.

The Author’s Synopsis:

She came to China with a lesson plan. What she found was a new sense of purpose.

Amy Young traveled to China in the mid 1990s to teach English to educators. But she never expected the profound way they would enrich her soul. With the influence of the enchanting country and its extraordinary everyday people, Amy extended a two-year assignment to nearly two decades far away from home.

Starting shortly after her arrival, Amy shared her stories and her unique perspective through a series of letters. Her nine years of correspondence demonstrated a country going through growing pains: from political unrest to the SARS epidemic to budding prosperity. Amy battled language barriers, cultural faux pas, and invasive mice with nothing to lose. She even fought for her life with a potentially deadly illness, unsure if she’d survive to share her tale.

Throughout her journey, Amy drew strength from God and came to appreciate the beauty and power of an ordinary life lived well.Love, Amy: An Accidental Memoir Told in Newsletters from China is one woman’s deeply moving journey of self-transformation. If you like humorous anecdotes, immersions in Eastern culture, and honest stories that aren’t afraid to dig deep, then you’ll love Amy Young’s heartfelt tale.

About the Author:

Amy Young is a writer, speaker, and advocate for embracing the messy middle of your one glorious life. Author of Looming Transitions, Twenty Two Activities for Families in Transition, and The Looming Transitions Workbook, she also created the blog The Messy Middle (www.messymiddle.com), has been a part of Velvet Ashes, (an online community for missionaries) from the beginning, and contributes regularly to A Life Overseas. Amy enjoys nothing more than being with her people, wherever they are in the world. She also enjoys cheering on the Denver Broncos and Kansas Jayhawks. After nearly twenty years in China, she returned to Denver and much to her shock, discovered she enjoys gardening.

Guest Post from Amy Young:

The tug for a life that is “Anything but Boring”

When I was in college the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Sarah Plain and Tall changed my life. You’ve probably seen it and been moved too. Sarah, a spinster by the standard of her day, moves from Boston to the fields of Kansas to consider marrying a widower and help him raise his children and work his farm. Her brother could not understand why Sarah would move from so-called civilization to the middle of nowhere. But the longing she felt for her life to matter resonated deeply with me.

I was in the liminal space between adolescence and adulthood. Like Sarah, I knew I could stay where I was and live a good life, but I wanted more. And so I moved to China.

Our world is one that loves big, change-the-world stories. I love them too. I remember reading The End of the Spear, the story of Jim Elliott and his friends who were martyred for their faith. I also lost myself in the stories of Gladys Aylward, William Carey, Lottie Moon, and Amy Carmichael. I remember reading about a missionary that had some worm pulled out of his stomach that was the size of a large snake. Disgusting! Fascinating! All for the gospel! The life of faith was exciting and God was on the move all the time! While it is true, the life of faith is exciting and God is on the move, it is also ordinary, boring, disappointing, and confusing. When I started compiling the letters I wrote from my days in China, I was embarrassed by what “first year Amy” said. She was so clueless, so uninformed, so willing to display her lack of cultural knowledge. I wanted to put my hand over her mouth and ask her to please pipe down because she did not really believe what she was saying. But she did, “first year Amy” could not know what “fifteen year in China Amy” knew.

These change the world stories I love? Turns out they have been more sanitized than I realized without showing the cultural and ministry progression that must have taken place.

Even now, knowing what I know, part of me wishes my newsletters contained miracles and throngs coming to Christ because of my work. I thought throngs and miracles were what a “real” cross-cultural worker would do. I thought that would show that my life mattered, like Sarah’s when she moved to Kansas. Don’t we all want our lives to matter? I believed that mattering was measurable. By compiling and writing this book the lesson Love, Amy has taught me is that too often we confuse size with significance. I still hear the whisper that says, “Amy, really? You wrote about the cultural beliefs that influence standing in line and you think that is worth people giving of their prayer, money, and time?” Part of me is reluctant even now to publish these letters because they are common. In truth, I am happy with my life and the contributions I have made. Of course I have regrets and wish I’d handled certain situations differently. But if all we hear are the spectacular stories, we can miss the gift our beautifully ordinary lives can be.

Who made it into the Gospels? A widow and her two mites. A boy and his few fish. She is described as offering out of her poverty. His common lunch was used to feed more than he could have imagined. Jesus did not tend to elevate those in power or those who seemed impressive.

My first year, a fellow teacher in China told me, “You’re lucky you’re still in your first year. Wait until your second year and you have told all your stories. You’ll have nothing to say in your newsletters.” Isn’t that the heart of what we fear—that we will have nothing to say with our lives? The secret to combating this fear is not that secretive. Show up and be present. Taken individually, these letters don’t add up to much, but put them together and much to my surprise, month after month I wrote an accidental memoir.

As ordinary as it is, I do have to say, life in China was anything but boring! If you love memoirs and want to hear stories that will make you laugh or cringe (and sometimes both), join me on a college campus in China.

Click here to purchase your copy.

Product Review—Carole P. Roman

March 27, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Most of the time, when I review a product, it is digital. That makes the rare occasions when we are sent a physical copy of something quite special! Our most recent review is one of those; we were sent three books from the Carole P. Roman books and collections. Out of a long list of possible titles, I chose two about American history and one about Kenya. As soon as the books arrived in this house, they were being read—and reread! A couple of weeks later, Little Miss is still loving them!

I had never seen any books by Carole P. Roman before, so I enjoyed being introduced to some great new resources for our family. These are lavishly illustrated books, with text on one side of each two-page spread and a picture on the other. Many of the illustrations are full-color drawings; some I noticed were drawings inserted into a photograph. I liked all of them!

The first book I chose is If You Were Me and Lived In…Colonial America. Through the eyes of a young boy, this book tells about the reasons that the Pilgrims wanted to move to America. You will imagine traveling on the Mayflower, and surviving the hardships of the first winter in the New World. The main events of that time are touched on, but the main emphasis is on daily life. We are learning about Jamestown right now, and will be studying the Pilgrims next, so this book was a good fit.

The second book I chose was If You Were Me and Lived in…The American West. I chose this one because of our study of American History, although it will be a good while until we reach the Oregon Trail. This book mainly describes living conditions on the trail, as if you were a child traveling in a wagon train. A number of the pictures appear to be photographs of a scene, with pioneers, or covered wagons, or a log cabin, added. I really like the effect this creates. One detail I did have a question about was the dates given; the child in this story traveled in “The Great Migration of 1843”, after a relative who had gone to California for gold told the child’s parents about Oregon.

Our last book is If You Were Me and Lived In…Kenya. I chose this one because we have friends who were missionaries in Kenya for several years. I found this brief introduction to the people and country of Kenya to be very interesting. Several words and names that are commonly used in that country are included; thankfully, the pronunciations are given! Foods and games are introduced, as well as wildlife and an annual celebration. My boys did notice in one of the pictures that the children were not holding the cricket bat the same way they do when they play; they said their friend who is a cricket fanatic would have a fit if he saw that picture! Otherwise, I thought the book was accurate.

I wouldn’t mind having more of these lovely picture books on our shelf for reference. They are a good supplement to history and geography, and Little Miss loves just looking at them; in fact, I had to get one back from her to check on something just now as I was writing this review! She has the two history books with her at the moment and is making up a story to go with the pictures. In fact, she just informed me that she can read some of the words! In the Colonial America book, there is a picture of a boy holding a lobster. Her interpretation of the text beside it? “A spider is getting a boy to eat.” Maybe these books are good for developing imagination, as well as imparting information?!

One more thing…I noticed this afternoon a note in the back of the Colonial America book that there are additional resources available on the author’s blog. I took a quick look at what was available for the books we have. There wasn’t a lot yet, but for each of our two history books there were a couple of pages of study questions. The books are great on their own for younger children; the questions would help with creating a mini unit study for older children.

Product Review—Home School in the Woods

March 21, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I’ve heard a lot about Home School in the Woods over the years. For awhile, we bought timeline figures from them, but that’s the only product of theirs that I’ve used. When I was offered the chance to review a few items from their Á La Carte collection recently, I decided that a couple of the products would fit in nicely with our history study for this year. Everything in this collection is in the form of downloadable PDFs, which is nice for those of us who live outside of the United States (saves postage and time!). Since we have a couple of good printers, this type of product works very well for us.

The first product we used was The Jamestown Replica. We are studying American History this year; Mr. Intellectual is using a high-school level course, and I’m doing an elementary-level course with the other three boys. Because we start our school year in February, Jamestown is one of the settlements we study early-on; Mr. Intellectual covered it a week or two ago, and we’re reading books about it right now for the younger ones, so this model fit in very well. I had to buy some card stock to print it with, and was thankful to figure out a way to make heavy cardstock go through our printer! Mr. Diligence colored the model, and then Mr. Intellectual cut it out and put it together. He has always enjoyed putting models together, and Mr. Diligence has always enjoyed coloring, so that worked well.

This model seems to be very historically accurate, from what we’ve been reading. It’s nice to be able to see what the books talk about. Mr. Intellectual had a hard time fitting it together right, and was quite frustrated—and then he read the rest of the directions! Apparently, it is made correctly, contrary to his first conclusions, but he didn’t follow directions. It ended up looking good, though.

Our other product for review is the game, High and Dry. It is intended to teach the meanings of various nautical terms and sayings that come from sailing days. There are three packs of cards to print and cut out for this game. Each card has a term and its definition. One pack is general geographical and seafaring vocabulary, one is specifically sailing terminology, and the other is sea sayings. We had a lot of fun with that one. Where did “groggy” come from? Or “skyscrapers?” And why did a neighbor of ours in Cheviot often say, “Shivers!” as an exclamation of surprise or shock? We found out, playing this game!

We made a couple of minor changes to the rules to make the game work better for us. Before starting to play, I read aloud all the cards we were going to use for that round. Otherwise, no one would have been able to answer very many of the questions. Because we have four boys that I wanted to play, since they are the ones doing history, I read all the questions, and didn’t play myself (there are four playing pieces supplied with the game). We ended up allowing Esther and Simon to help the two younger boys, because they had a lot of trouble remembering the definitions. They got some, and we always gave them a chance to get the answer before letting the big ones help. Our other change was to use two dice instead of only one, because the game got too boring when it lasted a long time.

We probably won’t end up playing this game very often, but I will pull it out when we study the days of exploration or the ocean. It’s a good way to learn some of the terminology from those topics. The younger boys enjoyed seeing some familiar places on the map used for a gameboard, from our study of Christopher Columbus.

It was hard to choose which two products to review! There are a number of other ones that look like good resources to supplement our studies. For example, I sort of wish I had chosen The Progress of Faith From Europe to the Colonies Timeline. That would have been a great thing to add. Maybe I’ll end up buying it, since these products don’t cost much.

Book Review—Fine Print

March 12, 2018 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

About the Book

Name of book: Fine Print, book 3 in the Meddlin’ Madeline series
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Historical, Mystery
Release Date: March 15, 2018

My Thoughts:

I’ve been enjoying the saga of Madeline Brown ever since the first book came out a couple of years ago. In Fine Print, she is back again, investigating another mystery—but with a twist this time. Previously, she saw things that made her curious about something, and started investigating a man’s character on her own. Now, Edward Gastrel has asked her to investigate something for him—not someone’s character this time, but…. Read the rest of my review here.

I received an advance reader’s copy from the author and chose to write this review. Links in this post may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther if you chose to buy through them.

The Author’s Synopsis:

Budding detective, Miss Madeline Brown, has gained quite the reputation for “meddling” in the circa 1900 city of Rockland. With two successful “cases” under her belt, it was only a matter of time before she found something new to interest her insatiable curiosity.

This time, however, the “curiosity” found her.

Challenged by Edward Gastrel, to prove her deductive prowess, Madeline embarks on riddling out the puzzle of a journal left to him by his grandfather. If she can decode the contents, the local gentleman may find himself in the possession of something quite valuable.

As usual, however, things aren’t as they seem, and Madeline finds herself in a race against more than time and ambiguity.

About the Author:
Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert where she uses story to point readers to the Master Storyteller.

Guest Post from Chautona Havig:

Denny’s. “America’s Diner.” It’s also my “office away from my office away from home.” Most nights I write at our local prayer house. But on Wednesday nights for a few hours, and then all night on Saturday, I sit in booth 14 and write.

It was a cold, frosty Wednesday night. With thoughts from Bible Study still swirling in my mind and heart, I ordered my loaded baked potato soup and began brainstorming with my writing and podcasting buddy, April.

She left around midnightish—as usual. And another evening regular began chatting.

Look. I like this guy. He’s a fascinating conversationalist. We have a lot of fun talking books, movies, politics, history, computers… He’s even given me a great idea for a book (without meaning to, but still).

But… that night, I needed to get a bunch done on Madeline and didn’t have time for chatting. So, when he started talking about his evening, I wanted to bang my head on the table. I kept repeating, “People are more important. People are more important. People are more important,” over and over in my head.

I can’t tell you how often this has happened at Denny’s. Employees stop to chat. Regular diners stop to chat. This guy starts a long conversation and always on nights I can’t afford to spend… chatting!

But everything shifted in an instant.

The man said something—what, I can’t remember—and my brain started churning.

I asked a question.

He answered.

The next thing I knew, he’d moved into my booth and began firing questions at me. Suggestions. Most of what he suggested wouldn’t work with the story, but he had no way of knowing that. Still, every time he did I got a new idea. And I’d ask a question. He’d answer, suggest. I’d counter—ask or answer. Ideas blossomed and exploded into seeds of even more ideas.

And right there, at two o’clock in the morning, with Angela the wonder server keeping me in fresh glasses of Coke, Fine Print went from not only my favorite of the Madelines (thus far) but also became much more exciting.

The whole thing taught me a couple of lessons. First, I always say that people are more important than the “stuff” I do. Sometimes, that’s not so easy to live. But the Lord is always faithful, like He did that night, to remind me that it sometimes helps me, too.

Second, sometimes a mid-book brainstorming session is just what I need to keep my excitement high. And, if that means a “wasted” Wednesday night in booth 14, then I’d say it’s worth it.

Click here to purchase your copy.