The Destiny of One: March 2021

The Shadowfields by Mary Ruth Pursselley

1:00 AM

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback

Age Appropriate For: 13 and up mild peril and very mild romance

Best for Ages: 13 to 30

Description: For uprooted orphan Elizabeth Corrington, nothing in life stays the same for long—not even the place she calls home or the people who look after her. But when a heart-breaking rejection brings her to live with her eccentric grandfather on the magnificent Shadowfield Estate, Elizabeth discovers not only the stability she has longed for, but a world of freedom, adventure, imagination, and unexpected friendships, too.)

But rejection has left her insecure and vulnerable; change threatens her world again, a manipulative uncle has plans for her home and future…and she may not have the strength or ability to resist.

Mary Ruth Pursselley (AKA Mary Schlegel) is a talented writer who I’ve enjoyed. This novella was one of those rare ones that has the depth of a novel, vibrant characters, lots of emotion. This author seems to do an excellent job with shorter works. Though, I really enjoyed her fantasy novel I read as well.

One of the things that I love about reading indie authors is you can find sweet stories. You know, the old-fashioned kind where no one has weird problems and traumatic pasts do not always include things I would rather not read about. This story was a feel-good read, but not without it’s moments of sadness, and not without the main character going through some pain.

Elizabeth was a sweet girl, but goes through some tough stuff. Also, she is willing to stand up to people when the situation calls for it. Sweet and strong. I love those kind of girls. The secondary characters were great! I loved all of them.

The setting in England was beautiful and vivid. This author is great at painting word pictures without even using a lot of words. That’s probably why her novellas are so good.

I highly recommend this to those who like novellas, sweet historical fiction, and light reads that still have depth to them.

Scott and Sarah

Destiny and the Master's hand

11:00 AM

I've heard many sermons that compare God to a master painter. Each moment of our lives is a stroke of His brush. Sometimes, He paints with dark colors and we wonder if we will ever see the light again. Sometimes the colors are mixed, dizzying in their many shades and the quick changes. And then there are times when God starts painting with bright colors, colors that are beautiful and rich, and suddenly so many of the dark strokes, the dizzying twists, all come into focus and you can see part of the picture God is painting.

Recently, I have had one of those moments. You see, six years ago, God began a part of my painting. It started with my sister and her new friends. When I met this family, I was impressed with the godly way they spoke to and about each other. Our families became friends. We shared good times and bad. And among this family, I found a best friend.

Finding a best friend like I did, someone who understood me so easily was painted in bright colors. There was one complication. My best friend was a guy and after a while, I started having feelings for him. By the time I realized I had started to like him, we were already best friends. I prayed and decided that the friendship was worth protecting, even if it meant my feelings had to be laid on the altar.

The friendship was worth every sacrifice I made, every boundary I had to put up. God used it to paint light strokes into otherwise dark places. More than that, God used it to build character within me. Patience, selfless love, and courage were just a few of the lessons God taught me. Perhaps the greatest lesson was the one in surrender. I cannot tell you how many times I would come before God and say: "I'm here again with these feelings and hopes and I'm handing them back to you."

I by no means did this perfectly. In fact, there were so many days I wanted to share about some of the struggles I was having with my readers, but my best friend read my blog. I couldn't very well share what was going on inside my heart and protect the friendship while he was reading.

2020 was not an easy year for our friendship and it had little to do with the pandemic. A distance grew between us, one that I didn’t understand or have a bridge for. God's painting continued, but I had no understanding of what was going on. I became convinced that God was preparing to take away this friendship. I cried tears, but I again came before God and asked Him to help me be willing to give it back to him.

February 6th, my best friend came over but things were tough between us. When he asked to help me with a chore, I almost said no. After all, I had wanted to go outside to check the greenhouse because I wanted some space to think. As he started talking with the tone I knew was serious, I promised myself that I would not cry. I knew the moment had come when our friendship would change forever.

Dear reader, with three words God painted a new stroke across my life and changed my destiny. My best friend spoke three words that changed everything.

"I love you."

Yes, you read that right. Scott, the friend who I've cared about for so long, told me he loved me. We both have cared for each other for a while, but our friendship was more important to both of us than anything. There is a lot more to the story, much of which we are still exploring, but for now, I feel like this part of the painting is filled with every kind of bright and beautiful color. One of the most beautiful parts? The golden color of God's timing, which was perfect.

In one moment, I saw God's unfolding destiny and stood in awe. This is a gift from God I don't deserve, but one I have thanked Him for every day. I'm grateful that I'm starting this new part of my destiny with someone who has been a friend for so long.

In the days ahead, I plan to share more of our story and share more about Scott. He has been a big part of my life, but a silent part as far as this blog was concerned. I can't wait to share with you so many stories of how God has used him in my life. With that said, this will be changing a few things for me. In taking the time to build in this new relationship, my writing will be taking a back seat. As Scott is supportive of my writing, you can be sure that the writing won't stop forever, it will just take a pause.

Dear reader, I cannot tell you how happy I am. I know that this is only the beginning of my God's continuing destiny for my life.

Adventure Between the Pages

The Retrievers by Nicole Sager: A Book Review

1:00 AM

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback

Age Appropriate For: 14 and up for mild violence and mild scary scenes

Best for Ages: 14 – 25

Description: A race of miniature humans called to a faith of tremendous size. When the royal family of the Roden tribe of Minatchi vanishes without a trace, only Delia is left to wear the crown. Deaf since the age of three the princess prepares for a difficult reign, only to watch as her coronation day is turned into one of catastrophe. When the tribe of Minatchi disappears like their royals before, Fetch - a Bengal Retriever - faces a choice that will confront everything he knows and force him to evaluate a faith he never truly embraced. When matters quickly escalate beyond their control, the joined forces of a few will be stretched beyond their limitations, tribal loyalties, and even the border of the valley they call home. What lies beyond is more than a land of giants and untested danger...Destiny awaits the called.

When I saw one of my favorite authors had realized a new book, just before my birthday, I was so excited. I went and bought it right away. I’m so glad I did. It was worth every penny.

While almost of Sagar’s other books are in the same fictional world (she writes non-magical fantasy). This is a new world with a new race of people – people who only stand on average eight to nine inches tall.

As someone who was fascinated by the idea of tiny people when I was a kid, I ate this story up. Unlike the few books and movies I had seen/read on the subject that were a little creepy, this story was full of fun, adventure, and great morals. Sager took this very fun idea and used it not only to tell a great story but also to teach some great lessons.

The story itself had so many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to not only know what was going to happen next but also to see if the various characters would realize their God-given potential.

As with Sager’s other books, the gospel and faith were not changed, even though it is a fantasy world. It’s one of the things that keeps me coming back.

I loved both the main characters. Fetch is a likable roughish character who I cheered for and hoped he would learn a lesson. Delia was just the best. She is deaf and goes through a lot of hard stuff and grand adventures. Her faith was the best and I loved seeing her grow into maturity.

I could go on and on about this story. I love it so much! But I’ll just end this review by saying you need to read it!

I highly recommend this book for those who love kingdom (non-magical) fantasy, adventure stories, and books that have a solid spiritual foundation.

Adventure Between the Pages

When God Walked in Galilee by Rachel Starr Thomson: A Book Review

1:00 AM

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.