Reflections: A new year

2018 is almost gone, 2019 is about to begin, so typically today and tomorrow are days of reflecting back on the past year and dreaming of what the future will hold.  2018 has definitely been a year of huge changes for me and my family.  A year with more pain than I can remember knowing, but also a year with great joy and excitement.  A year of learning and growing and watching my family and friends do the same.  A year where my faith was tested and sometimes found lacking, sometimes found stronger than I had imagined.  A year where I asked Him and found God sufficient in all things, even when sometimes I doubted His grace.

Looking back over the last year, I can see my heavenly Father’s hand in so many things.  I can even see Him in my mom going home to be with Jesus, though I had asked Him for a different answer.  In the searching and the questions, in the doubt and the myriad of tears, I’ve found Him to be constant.  Even when I yelled because I didn’t like His answer and I was angry with Him, He never walked away. Though I couldn’t always see it in the moment, looking back, He truly has been Immanuel, God with us (Matt 1:23).  

I’ve seen Him SO often as my now-husband and I (along with some awesome friends and family!) planned a wedding in 90 days and it came off without any hitches that I know of (the bride is allowed to be oblivious, right?).  And now I see Him as we’re learning life together and what being a godly wife and husband looks like.  Getting to experience this journey with mentors, friends, and family who have walked the first few months of marriage some time ago and share their wisdom as we ask (and sometimes when we don’t ask, but really need it anyway).   

I’m so thankful for the many lessons I’ve learned this year and am still learning as the new year rings in, though some I definitely wish had been different.  Though God has used them to shape me, to grow and mold me, to strengthen my foundation in Him and show me anew who He is.

I’m not sure what I dream for 2019.  Maybe a few less dramatic changes than the past year.  Many more things to learn, I’m sure.  Hopefully some good books and good chocolate.  Time spent with family and friends.  I know this doesn’t encompass nearly everything on my heart and mind, but sometimes words on a page or screen can’t fully express the emotions.  The joys and grief, the laughter and tears, the simple smile at the end of a year and the anticipation of the one still to come.  I don’t know what all I would dream for this new year, but I’m so enjoying getting to do so with my heavenly Father and my husband by my side.      

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and remember the past year with me, a bit.  I was trying to think of what to end this blog post with and music came to mind.   There are so many songs that God has used to encourage us this year, so trying to narrow it down to just one to leave you with . . . . I think God of All My Days by Casting Crowns is a fitting one (click the title to listen on YouTube).   

I hope you all have a blessed New Year!  

My favorite books of 2018!

Soon to be Happy New Year, my friends!  I have to be honest, I've read probably around 20 books this year - which may sound like a lot to some, but for me, that's not much.  Though, I think I have a pretty great excuse, what with planning a wedding and getting married this past September and all.  :)
So, with that being said, I have a whole 4 books for my list.  This past year has been such a blur, that I could barely remember a couple of them, but I do remember really enjoying them!  And that just gives me an excuse to read them, again, soon. ;)
I read a couple other great ones, as well.  But they didn't come out in 2018, so they'll get honorable mention at the bottom, I think.  As always, these aren't in any special order.  (click the titles to read more about them)

Falling for You by Becky Wade

Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar

A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter

A Song Unheard  by Roseanna M. White

Honorable mentions:  

I've found these 2 books so encouraging 

and convicting this past year and have

come back to them several times, reading

and rereading some pages until the truth

settles in. 

Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado

Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors

What were some of your favorite reads from 2018?  I know I've still got a whole list that came out that I haven't taken the time to read, yet!  

My Review: The Christmas Heirloom

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Description:

Perfect for the Christmas season, four beloved authors bring their bestselling, award-winning talents to a multigenerational collection of romantic holiday novellas. In stories ranging from 1820s Regency England to present-day Washington state, readers will be treated to Christmas tales of an heirloom brooch passed from mother to daughter for almost two hundred years. Will the family legend claiming the brooch brings love to its recipient hold true for these women separated by the years but bonded together by the ties of family?

In Kristi Ann Hunter's "Legacy of Love," Sarah Gooding never suspected returning a brooch to an elderly woman would lead to a job . . . and introduce her to the woman's grandson. While he may be far above her station, she can't help but notice that his desire to make this Christmas special for his grandmother matches her own.

In Karen Witemeyer's "Gift of the Heart," widow Ruth Fulbright uses the family brooch as collateral for a loan from a wealthy resort owner. But the more she comes to know the man behind the stern businessman, the more she hopes for a second chance at love as the holidays draw near.

In Sarah Loudin Thomas's "A Shot at Love," Fleeta Brady's rough-and-tumble childhood means she prefers hunting to more feminine activities. She never expected her mother's brooch might be how a fellow hunter turns her attention from competition to romance one December.

In Becky Wade's "Because of You," Maddie Winslow has spent years in love with a man whose heart was already spoken for. When a church Christmas project brings them together and she stumbles upon an old family brooch, might it finally be her turn for love?

About the Authors:

Karen Witemeyer is an award-winning, bestselling author and lives in Texas with her family. Find her online at www.karenwitemeyer.com.

Kristi Ann Hunter is the award-winning author of five books, and she lives with her family in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.

Sarah Loudin Thomas is an award-winning author, and she and her husband reside in Asheville, North Carolina. She can be found online at www.sarahloudinthomas.com.

Becky Wade is the award-winning author of seven books and lives in a suburb of Dallas with her husband and three kids. Find her online at www.beckywade.com.

My Review: 4.5 stars

Anyone who knows my reading habits much at all knows that I’m not typically fans of novellas - I love longer books and the deeper stories that typically come with more page time with the characters.  But when I learned 3 of my favorite authors had teamed up for a Christmas novella collection, I couldn’t resist checking it out!  Plus, I had the opportunity to read a new-to-me author’s work, which I almost always enjoy.  With that being said, this book definitely surpassed my expectations and I quite enjoyed it!

One of my favorite things about this book is that they worked the story lines so that each author was able to write the time period and geography that suits the rest of their writing.  Kristi Ann Hunter’s story is up first and it’s set in England in the early 1800s.  Karen Witemeyer is next and it’s set in the mid 1800s in America, and so on.  I’d never read anything from Sarah Loudin Thomas, despite the fact that I was born and raised in WV, so I had no idea what to expect of her story.  It was . . . .different.  At first I was a little unsure how it was going to play into the other stories, but she wove it in quite well.  And I was so excited that Becky Wade was able to connect her novella with her Bradford Sisters series!  I also really appreciated the fact that each story, while connected to the others, was complete on its own.  None of them were left with things left unfinished to be picked up in the next tale.

I really don’t think I had a favorite in this collection, as they were all well written and fun to read!  If you’re looking for a very well done Christmas novella collection to enjoy with the season, or any time of the year, I would highly recommend this one!

I don't have much to say at the moment.  Cookies are baking, it's rather late, and my husband and I are trying to get things ready for family tomorrow.  :)  I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and a very Happy New Year! (you'll probably see something from me before then, but just in case)

Amazon  (Just as a heads up, this book is currently $2.99 on Kindle!)

Barnes & Noble

Christian Book (and $2.49, I think it was, for ebook here)