What We’ve Been Reading – May 2019

What We’ve Been Reading – May 2019

by | May 31, 2019 | What We're Reading

Roseanna’s Reads

Audio 

I’ve had this one sitting in my Audible library for a while but hadn’t yet gotten to it. Last summer I read and loved Bob Goff’s two books, Love Does and Everybody Always. When I saw that his wife, Maria, had published a book as well, I knew I wanted her perspective on their crazy, love-filled ministry of a life. 
In Love Lives Here, we get Maria’s perspective on what it means to live a life ruled not by fear or regrets or minutia, but by love. While Bob is jetting off to Uganda, changing the world, she’s usually at home, building their world and maintaining it. I loved getting her POV on what it really means to make a home for a family to always want to come home to, and how important it is to love the people right in front of you, all the time. I’m much more like Maria than Bob, so I found this book so edifying!

For My Bookclub

This month’s book club pick is A Secret to Die For by Lisa Harris

I have somehow not ready any Lisa Harris before! Which I had to remedy. =) I really enjoyed this story and had no desire to put it down once I’d started it. It was fast-paced and jam-packed full of action, with some unexpected twists and surprises. I admit there are times when I read romantic suspense and feel like the romance part is just tacked on and/or weird, but that wasn’t the case with this one at all. The characters had known each other in college, so there was already that “remember when?” aspect to their relationship, which I always love. And the suspense! Oh my gracious. This book has me seriously contemplating building a bunker and becoming a prepper. ? (I’m only kinda kidding.) I love it when a story is that real!!

For the Interview

I’ve discovered it’s oh-so-much nicer to interview someone when I’ve read the book(s) we’ll be talking about, LOL. So before my interview with Johnnie Alexander this month, I spent the weekend with two of her novellas. They were very different, but I enjoyed both of them so much! 

First was her selection in The Erie Canal Brides Collection. I absolutely loved the concept of a postmistress for a character, and the fact that the climax tied back in with that theme–so brilliant! To top it off, her heroine brought to mind my Culper Ring Series (she hadn’t read these or anything, but it was a super fun coincidence for me!), almost combining Winter from Ring of Secrets with Julienne in the free novella A Hero’s Promise. It was so much fun to revisit themes from the abolitionist movement, but in a setting I’d never explored!

Match You Like Crazy is, by contrast, a contemporary romance set on a tropical island. A perfect beach/vacation read! It was super fun, cute, and unique. Had me wanting to dive beneath some turquoise waters and dig my toes into the sand for sure!

With the Kids

Several years ago, we read The Candymakers by Wendy Mass as part of our homeschool–it was the fun Friday read. Well, when we heard there was going to be a sequel, we were SUPER excited and promptly pre-ordered it. This was one of the only books my son was eagerly awaiting the arrival of, LOL. But for some reason or another, we never actually got around to reading it together. So we decided to remedy that! 
In this book and the first one, we follow 4 very unlikely friends through some outlandish adventures that involve mysteries, spies, special talents and abilities…and lots and lots of candy. 😉 So. Much. Fun! (And for fans of Wendy Mass’s other books, some beloved characters make cameos as these 4 go on their road trip!)

Rachel’s Reads

Hi folks! I am super excited to share my current reads with you. You may know me as Bookworm Mama as well as being Roseanna’s Assistant! I LOVE books and sharing my love of books with others! Here is what I’ve been reading this month…

Audio

I love listening to Rachel Hauck’s books on audio. Her narrator, Lisa Larsen, captures the story with feeling and emotion. I’m only about halfway through at the moment and it is so good!!!
With a beautiful Victorian house at the center of this story, this split-time romance, filled with secrets and trauma and pain…Will be sure to wrap its arms around you. I love the way that Rachel Hauck weaves the past and the present together in a meaningful and memorable way.

For Fun/Review

FINALLY finished the completed version of The Number of Love. WOW…y’all…And I’m not just saying that because I’m writing this ON Roseanna’s blog…but this is seriously her BEST! I’ll be reviewing this on my blog soon. You can pre-order your copy today!
If you don’t know what this book is about…Margot DeWilde is a codebreaker in Room 40 during The Great War. She thinks in numbers. She is an unusual heroine, but the way that Roseanna wrote her, I could FEEL her. Seriously…just go order it, you won’t regret it!
Folks…I made a grave mistake the other night. I started reading a Jody Hedlund book…at 11pm…Oh boy. I got VERY little sleep that night, let me tell you. And unfortunately, I’ve been pretty busy during the day, so, I’ve been up late EVERY NIGHT trying to finish it. I’m almost done. But you should be very proud of me that I actually took the time and did DISHES and LAUNDRY this week…Typically, when I crack the pages of a Jody Hedlund book…all school and housework goes out the window!

With the Kids

Are you ready for a terrible truth? I have never read this book…Well, not that I remember anyway. And I decided to start this with the kiddos and so far they like it! Of course, we are only about 1 chapter in so far lol!
For the summer, we are going to use THIS cleverly constructed reading calendar for the kiddos. I am so excited to spend time reading with them this summer. My oldest, just finishing 1st grade, has gotten a really good grip on reading and LOVES discovering new books.
Thoughtful About . . . Community

Thoughtful About . . . Community

by | May 30, 2019 | Thoughtful Thursdays

Last week I talked a bit about how God often speaks to me through what I call “themes”–ideas that keep coming at me over and over, from different directions. The one I focused on last week was “Being Complete.” But another topic has been popping up all around me too.

Community

It’s a word that can reach near or far, mean “close to home” or extend all around the world, right? Maybe we mean our physical neighbors–the community in which we live. But we could also mean like-minded people, wherever they are. 

There are certainly plenty of negatives with technology and media–but one thing I love about it is that it allows us to build communities with people we might never meet in person. For me, that means other writers, readers, knitters, and Christ-followers. Maybe for you, it’s gardeners, or genealogists, or tea-lovers.
Regardless of the “what”, these things we love are part of us. They’re part of who we are and what makes us tick, what drives us through each day. They’re part of our identity. And when we connect with other people who share that love, that can be powerful stuff. 
We build friendships.
We learn.
We share.
We invest part of ourselves.
We grow.
We edify others.

And sometimes this takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it? I’m occasionally shocked at the tight-knit communities that spring up around something like a TV show or comic book. These are people who are truly passionate about it–who go to conventions, buy or create costumes, post on forums, speculate, argue, cry and laugh over the latest installment. Why? Because it matters to them. And because they love communicating with other people who feel the same way.

As my husband and I work on all our different endeavors–writing and publishing, editing and designing, blogging and filming and building our companies–we realized that what we want to do isn’t just to find an audience. We want to build a community. A group of people who all partake of that common thing they love (where the word comes from). A group of people who believe in standing up and doing. Who know that stories change the world. Who want to be–and are–the hands and feet of Christ. Who want to build something for Him.

But how do we do that? Sometimes it’s pretty simple–you walk across the street with a plate of cookies or you join a group on Facebook. But sometimes it’s hard–because it doesn’t just mean speaking up, it means reaching out. A community isn’t just a bunch of people all shouting their opinions, right? It’s a group of people doing something together.

As an introvert, it’s hard for me to get outside myself sometimes. Hard for me to really feel like I’m a part of things. So these thoughts of community can be stretching. And yet, once I am a part of something, I will cling to it with loyalty and love, fighting to preserve it and build it up. Which is, I think, what the members of a community should do.
But sometimes we also have to pause and ask ourselves: which communities deserve our time? Our energy? Our money? Our attention?
I’m truly blessed to be part of some amazing communities. Readers. Writers. Believers. And I pray that, even though we’re a community spread all around the world, we can be one that builds each other up. That edifies. That teaches. That shares. That serves. Each other, but also the world around each of us.
What communities are you part of? And how do they shape your days?

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Word of the Week – Truffle

Word of the Week – Truffle

by | May 27, 2019 | Word of the Week

Okay, when I say truffle, I mean the chocolate. Period. At least in terms of things I’d like to put into my mouth. ? But I am, of course, also aware of the fungus sold for ridiculous amounts of money that answers to the same name. And I’ve wondered why these two very different foods share a name.

Truffle, the fungus, most certainly came first. It dates as an English word from the 1500s, taken from French, which is in turn from a Latin word meaning “edible root.” Truffles have long been considered a delicacy in Europe, and both dogs and pigs have been trained to hunt them (as seen in The Lost Heiress–the one time I used the word truffle and didn’t mean chocolate, LOL.)

So where did the confection version come from? Apparently, these delightful chocolates were invented in the 1920s and given the name truffle because they resembled the fungus and were a special treat.

Hmm. Not sure I approve of the connection, LOL. But I definitely do approve of the confection!

Thoughtful About . . . Being Complete

Thoughtful About . . . Being Complete

by | May 23, 2019 | Thoughtful Thursdays

God speaks to us in a lot of ways. For me, He often speaks in what I call themes. Ideas that keep popping up over and over, in a variety of places, coming from all sorts of people. When I notice these recurring themes, I know it’s time to pay attention–and to dig a little deeper.

One of the themes that has come at me from all side lately is completeness.
It started with studying Philippians in our Bible study. In Phil 1:6 we see this:

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

I’ve read this verse countless times. But I think I’d always read it as “will complete it in the day of Christ.” As in, when we’re finally with Him, we’ll finally be complete. Perfect. Whole.


But that’s not what it says. It says until that day. Until that day, He will complete the work in us. Why? Because the work, the completeness, the fullness, the perfection is in regards to doing His work here on earth. It’s not about achieving heavenly perfection someday. It’s about going out EVERY day and serving in His name. This is completeness in Him. This is wholeness. This is perfection–another translation of the Greek telos used in this verse.

It’s a concept we have a hard time wrapping our hearts around, because we are always keenly aware of what we’re lacking. We’re not smart enough or strong enough or energetic enough or nice enough or wise enough or…

But He is. All we have to be is willing enough. Willing enough to step outside ourselves, outside our comfort zones, and say, “Change me, O Lord. And use me to change the world for You.”

As we were discussing this verse in Philippians, I was reminded of Paul’s benediction to the Corinthian church in his second letter to them (II Cor 13:11):

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Become complete. The more literal translation would be, be restored or be made whole. Paul’s prayer that he leaves people with often has something like this in it–he bids them all to be WHOLE in Christ. Individually…and as a community, as a church. This wholeness, this restoration is tied to unity and living in peace with one another. What more pointed call could we receive to #BeBetter and treat each other with the same love He extends?

I’d already been pondering these things, pondering community and self and Church and the work of God in all of these, when a friend read this verse over me and my husband, from Hebrews 13:20-21 (another benediction):

20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

These verses sum up all I’d been piecing together. And here’s the really goose-bumpy part. As I was listening to her message, as soon as she said, “I have a verse for you guys,” I got that feeling. You know the one–that one that says, “Pay attention.” And I thought, “This is going to have something to do with completeness.” Then she read those words, and I just got a chill all over me.


Because YES. This is exactly what I’d been thinking. This completeness, this wholeness, this perfection isn’t MY completeness, wholeness, or perfection. It is God working IN ME so that I can work FOR HIM. 
He will equip us. He will enable us. He will fill in all our gaps and holes, polish out all our flaws. Not to make us prettier or even sturdier–to make us able to do what He needs us to do.
And He will do this NOW, and every day, until we’re with Him. Toss aside that old saying “God isn’t finished with me yet” and replace it with a new saying: 

“God completes me each day.”

Word of the Week – Ostracize

Word of the Week – Ostracize

by | May 20, 2019 | Word of the Week

No one wants to be ostracized, right? It’s a banishment, or a more metaphorical exclusion. Either way, not good.

But it has a looooong history.

Ostracize actually comes from the Greek word ostrakon–a piece of broken pottery. See, back in the day in Athens, someone who was deemed dangerous to society but who hadn’t committed a crime could be officially banished. The votes were cast on these pieces of broken pottery, and if there were enough gathered, then the person was ostracized–cut off and cast out. Interestingly, this could only be done to men…because women weren’t citizens.

The word has been retained pretty much unchanged all this time, entering into English in the late 1500/early 1600s.

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