Christmas day December 25th,2016


                                               God gave us his son to come as a babe
                                                  in early morn long ago in a stable
                                                       Shepards came bearing gifts
                                                       wanting to see the new King.

                                                   In awe all looked on this tiny one
                                                       as the sun began to rise
                                                           Mary now a Mother
                                                      And Joseph gazed at the babe...

                                                          Thank you God above
                                                              for sending this "true Love"
                                                                   to show the way
                                                                we can find our way home.

                                                       

Hot Chocolate by Laura V. Hilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hot Chocolate by Laura V Hilton
Cocoa Tanner's husband is murdered and she soon moves from chicago to Grand Rapids Michigan. She wants to depend only on herself and make her dream come true to have a coffee shop, She named it "Common Ground". catchy name. Life is good.
she has a three yr old daughter that she wants to make a living for them without anyone's help,not even God.
Bill James lost his wife and twins in a car accident and now makes work his # one priority to keep the memories away. When the Common Ground opens close by his work he likes to stop in each day for some "Good coffee". He is the first customer and soon Cocoa runs and puts her arms around him and smiles jubilantly making Bill smile too. WOW what a beginning.

Come read the story of how these two who needs no other, soon learn to depend on one another. Bill has a daughter and the two little girls soon become fast friends.

Thank Laura for another wonderful story to read and enjoy...


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For the Record (Ozark Mountain Romance #3) 
by Regina Jennings (Goodreads Author) 

Paula-O Osborne's review 

Dec 13, 2016  ·  edit

it was amazing

Read from December 03 to 06, 2016

Series Ozark Mountain Romance,book #3 "For The Record"-by Regina Jennings


This is a wonderful story with characters you are going to learn to love as they ramble around in the town of Pine Gap in Missouri.
A new deputy has come to town and everyone has to take a gander and check him out, including the town reporter Miss Betsy Huckabee.
Betsy lives with her brother and his family after her parents died and she feels she has too many chores in the home -when she would rather be out and about gathering news to put in the paper that her brother owns and she does some part time work for him to make up for her room and board.
She has dreams of living in the city and needs to save monies for her dream, she makes up a fictional hero in the new deputy and turns in articles to newspaper far off in Kansas hoping no one in their little town will ever see them. She is elated when the newspaper likes them and ask for more.
The deputy has a secret that he hopes never gets out and when he finds Betsy writes for the newspaper he tells her nothing must be said about him. He moved from Texas and wants no one to know where he is now.

In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar


I enjoy reading Bibical fiction books and Tessa does a great job with research making us love the characters she creates from the ones found in the Bible.
Everyone knows the story in Hebrews about Ruth and Boaz....

These two in this book made me see them in a new way. After all..the people that walked the earth so many years ago were just like you and I, this story shows us they were human too.

Ruth had a difficult life with her family , one (Grandfather) made her life enjoyable -their bond was quite close and she was devastated when he died and left them.
soon after she married Mahlon and became close with her mother-in-law Naomi. He loved Ruth and taught her many things while they were together but times were hard in those days and their lives together were so different then what we know now.
Both he and his brother became ill with fever and when they died and the grief was so hard for Naomi and her daughters-in-laws,that she decided they should move back to Israel. Along the way she wanted the girls to return to their families and not go further but Ruth chose to stay . This is when we have her voice "Ruth insists upon staying with Naomi. "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you," Ruth tells Naomi. "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."
After the journey they settled on lands of Naomi's husband and each day Ruth would go out and glean from the fields to help them live. Boaz had many fields and was a wealthy man in those days and when he saw Ruth working -he told his workers to leave some behind for her.
When Naomi saw that both Ruth and Boaz seemed to care for one another she wanted them to be together and she told Ruth to go lay at his feet and uncover them. once he saw that she had done this he knew she wanted him for a husband and he was pleased.
Reading the story of the love that these two shared is a wonderful story,Thanks Tessa for sharing your talant with us.


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Mattie's Pledge by Jan Drexler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

this is a series"Journey to Pleasant Prairie" book #2, Mattie's Pledge written by Jan Drexler

I like reading about prairie stories but Mattie was a challenge, she was always searching never content. Jacob Yoder was an old friend that she has known from childhood and she trusted him. He was the one constant that helped ground her.
Now the family is moving again to another amish community in another state across the prairies.
She has always dreamed of going west ...farther west.
This book will take you into the mid 1800's amish lifestyle. Times are tough and the trip west is very rough. On this journey Mattie will meet a charming english man who is a sheep in wool clothing if you get my drift. He charms Mattie with tales of the West each time they happen to meet, trying to entice her to leave her amish community and go with him.
I enjoyed learning from Jacob about the sheep he took with them on their journey and the
tenderness he had with the children. Mattie stole my heart and I yearned for her to find happiness and to lose the wonderlust she always seemed to have....life took many turns for her until she knew in her heart of hearts that she would always be amish,she could not leave her family and then to be content.

Thank you to Jan for a wonderful story, I read and reviewed with my honest opinion .
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.


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Vow Unbroken by Caryl McAdoo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series Texas Romance,Book #1 "Vow Unbroken" by Caryl McAdoo


Susannah Baylor has had to be strong since she lost her husband ...she has a large Cotton crop to sell so she will have monies for her family to live on another year, seeds to buy and lands needing planted again in the spring She is "Hopping mad" when a man tries to cheat her after promising a good deal then leaving her high and dry as how to get her full wagons to market.
But they must go...she sets out with her young nephew and daughter , stopping at a friends house on the way. The friend tries to talk her out of it ...she cannot go alone on this dangerous mission -then when sees she is going one way or the other. She is told go see Henry and hire him to go with her. Well if would not hurt to have a man alone so she does and lo and behold ,after some talking ,he decides to help her.
This trip along the Trace takes many turns ...some comfortable and some not so comfortable. Along the way Susannah and Henry get to know one another much better.
Henry had lost his Mom not long ago and Susannah can see that his mother taught him many things because he is a gentleman in every way.
This story is quite the adventure and you are going to love meeting this couple and the little girl that is quite mature for her age. I know I did.

This was a new author to me but I will definately look for more of her work as I read many books. I am hoping to meet these characters again as I look for more Texas Romance books by Caryl McAdoo.


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Amish Wanderer by Laura V. Hilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amish Wanderer written by Laura V Hilton


a little about this author:

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as the Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Birdhouse. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press’ Quilts of Love series. Laura is contracted for another three book Amish series set in the Jamesport area, with the first book, The Amish Firefighter, planned for April 2016. She has self-published a Christmas novella, Christmas Mittens. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer and blogs for Putting on the New and Seriously Write.

My thoughts after reading,
Bethany feels as if the world is passing her by and she will never get to be a "Frau".
There have been many things happening in the life of her family...A brother was killed in an accident and her mother is in a state of grieving,she wants no holidays or birthdays remembered.just let the days go forward with work and little enjoyment.
Next, her father has problems and is hospitalized , they think he is getting dementia when many strange things were done with his knowlege.
The family is devestated.
One morning when she goes out to do chores she finds a young man asleep there. Soon she realizes it is someone she knew before , He had left the community, Silas. Ah she had such a crush on that boy,now wonder what is going to happen with him at their home looking so "Bedraggled".

Bethany wants to Love and be loved -to have a home and family of her own. She has a secret too and wants to leave the community before "Hen" gets out of jail and wants to do what he has done before to her...she is frightened and not sure how to make him stop hurting her. She feels many in authority just keep telling her to be submissive and it confuses her.
BUT
Silas is different and she knew him from before and feels OK around him, she is wondering if he might feel the same about her and he might be "The One".
Silas has problems of his own and is scared to try and have a relationship with Bethany and stay in this place, His family was abusive and he had left it hoping for a better future.
This story about Silas and Bethany is one of Love and forgiveness.
This story has many a twist and just when you think you know what will happen, it moves again in a different direction.
After reading this book,I am sure you will want to read more of her.


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