Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback 

Age Appropriate For: All Ages

Best for Ages: 15 and up

Description: Do we know who our King is?

At thirty years of age, Jesus launched his ministry with the words “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Yet even before then, his life pulsated with the mystery and revelation of the kingdom of God—still the most critical and yet misunderstood component of the Christian faith and the life of anyone who desires to follow Jesus.

In this electrifying little book, author and speaker Rachel Starr Thomson argues that King and kingdom are inextricably interlinked: to see one is to see the other. In her lyrical, accessible style, she guides readers through Jesus’s early life as chronicled in the gospel of Matthew—an ancient book that bridges Old and New Testaments and reveals king, and kingdom, within their prophetic and historical context.

Every day, millions of Christians pray “Your kingdom come.” Let this journey with Jesus deepen your understanding and practice of those words as you see Jesus in a whole new light, and with him, discover the astonishing reality of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Thomson is one of my all-time favorite authors. I've been impressed with her writing since reading her Seventh World Trilogy. While her fiction is masterful and some of my favorites, her non-fiction is quickly becoming an auto-buy for me. I was offered a chance to be part of the advanced readers for this book and I jumped at the chance.

Thomson has, for a while, shared her thoughts on Matthew in the form of blog posts. For those who have followed that series, this won't be new material. However, I haven't followed it as faithfully as I would like and it's been a long time since I read the beginning. So reading this was a delightful journey.

There were a lot of wonderful insights in this book, but I wanted to pretty much highlight all of Chapter 14. It was a powerful chapter on a passage of scripture that I too struggled to understand. Perhaps you might have already realized some of the things that Thomson points out about the temptation of Jesus. However, I'm sure that there are many things in this gem of a book that will touch your heart.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

"Salvation is not simply a matter of escaping the world after death. It is holistic, and it is now (and also later)."

"Jesus is Son of God become Son of Man, eternally blurring the lines of separation between God and humanity."

"If Jesus had hinged his identity, his belief that he was who God said he was, on an outcome in his circumstances, then not getting that outcome would have had the potential to destroy his identity."

I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the fun Scavenger Hunt to celebrate the release of Fanny's Hope Chest. 

Here is where everything was:

Cloth napkins set ~ Singing in the Rain

Dish set ~ Beyond the Literary Horizon

Quilt - Little Blossoms for Jesus

Towels ~ Kelsey's Notebook

Teas set ~ Tower of the Plains

An electric mixer ~ Resting Life

Salt and pepper shakers ~ Living outside the Lines

Spices ~ Life of Heritage

Baking pans ~ Showers of Blessings

Cookbooks ~ Abigail Harris

Box of recipes ~ Kate the Author

Measuring cup set - Read Another Page

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback | Audiobook

Age Appropriate For: 13 and up for some medical and social situations

Best for Ages: 15 and up

Description:   Too often we believe that our stories don’t matter. They do. This the power of a life story unfolding over time. Amy Young quit her job, packed up her belongings, and moved to China to teach English, initially for two years. She anticipated making cultural faux pas, trying new food, seeing God at work, and growing in her knowledge of language and culture. What she could not foresee, though, was nearly dying, experiencing political unrest, taking a job that involved traveling around China, training hundreds to live and minister in China, witnessing the craziness of SARS, or experiencing multiple medical situations. Join Amy, a natural storyteller, as she shares her life in China letter by letter.

I love reading personal memoirs but I haven’t really searched out a lot of them. I stumbled across this book while searching Amazon for books about writing Christian Newsletters. I enjoyed her book Enjoying Newsletters as an author that sends out newsletters. When I finished that book, I was excited to learn more about Amy.

This book chronicles Amy’s life in China from the late ’90s to the 2000s as an English teacher. She went to China to teach English, but also to share her faith. Using the newsletters she sent her supporters, we get a glimpse of life as an English teacher as well as the changing face of China.

Many events like 9/11 and SARS are events that I remember watching unfold. It was interesting to get a look at what it was like in China at the time, not just what the news was reporting. Also, Amy did a wonderful job of showing the good and the heartbreaking parts of the culture. Her love and compassion for the people and her fellow workers was evident in how she writes.

I also apricated reading about a woman who was passionately living her life for God as a single woman. It’s obvious she also loves her family and her family seems to support her. It’s nice to see that too.

I highly recommend this to those who want to learn more about China, those who enjoy memoirs, and anyone who likes to read about real people serving God.

My dear fellow authors, Amanda and Jessica who have books on singleness. We are doing a Valentine's giveaway of three paperbacks!  

 Here is 

Enter HERE

Can't wait to see if won the paperback? Grab a copy of:

Waiting for fo Isaac by Jessica Greyson

Wedding Score by Amanda Tero

Fanny's Hope Chest by Sarah Holman

Welcome to the Hope Chest Scavenger Hunt! This is to celebrate the release this weekend of Fanny’s Hope Chest.

 Here’s how to play:

1.     Grab the full list of items to search HERE

2.     Find the hidden item on each blog (list below)

3.     Go to Tangled up in Writing or The Destiny of One and enter the giveaway with your completed list. (see below)

4.     Tell your friends about the scavenger hunt

5.     Watch to see if your name is drawn on February 16^th for 1 of 5 prize packs

Blogs:

Tower inthe Plains

Read Another Page

Little Blossoms for Jesus

Resting Life

Kate the Author

Living Outside the Lines

Singing in the Rain

Showers of Blessings

Life of Heritage

Kelsey Bryant Author

Abigail Harris

Enter the giveaway HERE

About Fanny’s Hope Chest:

How old is too old for a hope chest?

When Ellie starts a new job as a home health aide, she doesn't expect to meet a woman in her eighties looking for her hope chest, nor a house as messy as Ellie's own emotional state. But as she cleans up Fanny's house, she begins to wonder if Fanny's hope chest might hold the answers to her questions about disappointed dreams and holding on to hope.

That is, if she can face both the mess and her own heart.

Get it for $0.99 before the price goes up! 

Sometimes, life feels more complicated than you know it should. Of course, my sister, Rose, often teases me that I think I'm trying to be the first Vulcan. For those of you who have not watched Star Trek, this is an alien race that puts aside all emotion and are determined to be ruled only by logic. There is some truth to this. I often think I shouldn't feel things as keenly as I do and often don't even realize how much I'm pushing my feelings aside. 

Why am I bringing this up?  Life is in a steady rhythm right now. Work, writing, home, and everyday life. In one way, things are pretty normal. Yet, on one level, the last couple of weeks have been hard. Today, was the fifth day in a row I've had a headache for the majority of the day. It's also been a time when some of my dearest friends are struggling or lives are changing. Sometimes, that causes me to feel emotional, even though I call myself names for it. 

Here is a look at some of what the last few weeks have held for me. 

My study of the Pslams has been balm for my soul, as well as convicting. I'm currently in Pslam 4 while I'm working to memorize Psalm 3. It has meant a lot to me. I studied it last week when I was feeling down and it fit how I felt so perfectly. 

You aren't alone if you have a fulfilling life but still long for that gold band on your left hand. 

You're not alone if you love your life but still feel like there's a missing piece.

You've chosen principles over pleasing your own desires. While it might feel like it, you're not alone. 

That friendship you value but it hurts sometimes because you wanted it to be so much more? Dear friend, you're courageous and brave and not alone.

You cry into your pillow and wonder if God's forgotten you, even though you know deep down that He hasn't. You're not alone.

You and wonder if you're the only one who gets angry or discouraged because there isn't that special someone in your life. Let me tell you now, you're not. 

You may think that you are alone in your single state, but you are not. There are many of us. You are not alone. Today, let us stand together.

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback | Audiobook

Age Appropriate For: All Ages

Best for Ages: 13 and up for mildly difficult situations.

Description:  The Goyer home--with two parents, eight kids, and one eighty-eight-year-old grandmother with dementia--is never without noise, mess, activity, and, often, complaining. And it's not just the kids grumbling. After adding seven children in less than six years through adoption, the Goyer family decided to move out of survival-mode and into unity- and growth-mode. They decided to tackle the impossible: a grumble-free year.

With grade-schoolers, teenagers, and a grandmother who believes children should be seen and not heard, plenty of room exists for flunking the challenge. Add to that seven children being homeschooled together in close quarters, and what could possibly go awry?

In The Grumble-Free Year, the Goyers invite readers into their journey as they go complaint-free and discover what it looks like to develop hearts of gratitude. They share their plans, successes, failures, and all the lessons they learn along the way, offering real-life action steps based in scripture so that readers get not just a front-row seat to the action but also an opportunity to take the challenge themselves and uncover hearts that are truly thankful.

I started listening to this book on Scribd right before the world seemed to start coming apart due to Covid-19. God used the upheaval and this book to address the grumbling that had snuck into my life. This lesson proved even more valuable as I tore my calf muscle and couldn’t walk for a few weeks.

While I don’t have the privilege of being a mom or wife yet, I felt like I could relate to Tricia Goyer easily and quickly. I too like to plan and come up with creative ways to accomplish my goals. I felt like understood how Goyer thought. There were so many moments that I laughed or cringed because I saw myself in what she was doing. Even some of the parenting blunders I could totally see myself doing someday.

Goyer’s honesty about the ups and downs, the victories and defeats made this book a joy to listen to. The narrator brought the story to life and I really felt that I was riding along with her family for the journey.

Aside from the honesty, I think the thing that helped me the most was the chapter on grumbling styles. While it wasn’t a completely new way for me to see it, it was a much-needed refresher course. It helped me to see some things that I really needed to work on.

This book is about one family’s journey to grumble less. It is also a wonderful book that will help spur you on your way to rooting out of your own life. I know it helped me.

I highly recommend this for every Christian who wants to grumble less, enjoys non-fiction written in a personal style, and likes books that you can laugh over and be convicted by.