The Hidden Flame by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke

The Hidden Flame takes you back in time to the early church. You can feel the heat of the day and the cobblestones under your feet as you walk through the streets of Jerusalem with Abagail. She is a quiet, unassuming, gentle lady who has two suitors vying for her hand in marriage. The history of the early church comes alive. You feel Abagail's joy and pain as she experiences celebration and hardships during the growth of the early church and the beginning of persecution of the followers of The Way. I love the way Bunn & Oke show the traditions and daily lives of the Jews using both fictional and Biblical characters.

This narrative explores the lives of the early believers in ways I'd never thought of. Who were the families of Ananias and Sapphira? Were they angry at God and Peter for the death of the couple? What about Stephen's family? Were they proud of his sacrifice or confused by what God had asked of him? As the authors explore these questions in this fictional story, they present many truths and make the characters come alive.

The Hidden Flame is the second in the Acts of Faith series. I haven't read the first book The Centurion's Wife but do plan to pick it up soon. However, it is not necessary to read the first in the series to be able to follow the story in this book. It was a book that was hard for me to put down. I'll be looking forward to reading more in this series!

*Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book for me to review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Psalm 138:8

"The Lord will accomplish what concerns me: Your lovingkindness and mercy, O Lord, endures forever:

Do not forsake the works of Your hands."

~Psalm 138:8

Sense and Sensibility Insight Edition

Having never even glanced at a Jane Austen novel, I was afraid that reading this book would not be fun. Yet I found myself caught up in the story of two sisters, one levelheaded(sometimes hiding her emotions) and the other very dramatic. This is a tale of sisters who struggle to learn what love is truly about and of their unending loyalty to each other.

What made the book interesting to me were the notes added by the editors. They included Historical and cultural details, information on Jane Austen's life, references to Sense & Sensibility in films, an unscientific ranking of the novel's most frustrating characters and themes of faith drawn from the novel or Austen's life. I actually caught myself laughing out loud as I read some of the side notes. The comments helped lighten the tone of the book and made it painless and even fun to read. If I were homeschooling my daughter, I would definately use The Insight Edition! If you are a die-hard Jane Austen fan or a novice like me, this edition will show you why Sense and Sensibility is considered a classic.

*Bethany House supplied this book free of charge as part of their book review program. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen

When Olivia fled from her home in fear, the last thing she wanted was to know Lord Bradley’s secret. After all, she had enough troubles of her own. Yet the knowledge she acquired from her unintentional eavesdropping afforded her the job of the silent governess. She had found a refuge from her troubles until she could discover what had happened the night she ran. Had she killed her own father?

As I began reading this book, I failed to read the back cover. When I did read it, I was not shocked to discover that the author, Julie Klassen, is a fan of “all things Jane”. You can definitely see the influence of Jane Austen in her writing. I enjoyed her style of writing, the story is well written and very entertaining. Her characters are richly developed and leave you wanting to know them even better. Olivia learns that the event of intentionally losing a bet as a child was not what truly estranged her from her father and Lord Edward Bradley discovers the truth of his birth. Klassen cleverly shows her readers the power of living in truth.

*Thank you to Bethany House for supplying this book free of charge as part of their book review program. I received no monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Lent = Spring!

As Ben and I sat at McDonald's today, I happened to remember that it was Ash Wednesday. So, I started to explain what little I knew about Ash Wednesday and Lent to Benjamin. Basically I explained that those who practice lent put ash on their foreheads as a sign of repentance and compared it to Mordecai's fast in the book of Esther and how he covered himself in ashes to show his grief. Then explained that the people give up something for 40 days to help them remember Jesus' sacrifice of dying on the cross so that they would be ready for Easter morning.
Benjamin's immediate response was, "Can I do that?" I asked what he would give up and he started a long list of electronics - T.V., games, computer....and I said "Wait! You don't want to make it too hard, forty days is a long time!" What was I thinking??? I'm not sure why my first impulse was to discourage him. After all, sacrifice is part of the lesson, right? Right? What exactly is Lent anyway???

Soon after that, Ben ran off to play on the playground. I began wondering how in the world we are going to practice Lent since I know little to nothing about it?!? Then Amy W. called. "Oh!", I thought with relief, "someone who knows about lent and can help me!" When we talked, she handed the phone to Jay and he graciously explained Lent to this Baptist girl. (All mistakes are my own, not Jay's! So, correct me if I get this wrong.) Lent literally means Spring. Oh! I get it (maybe...). Spring, renewal, reconciliation. A time of listening to that still, small voice. Jay called it a time of re-examining, the focus being not on what you give up but upon learning about Christ's ministry and death on the cross. Like Advent is preparing for the celebration of Christ's birth, Lent is preparing for the celebration of His resurrection Whew! I can do this!

At Jay's suggestion we started today by reading in Matthew 4 about the temptation of Jesus. First thing Benjamin noticed was that Jesus fasted for 40 days too! (okay, not sure I get the count of 40 days - it's actually 46, I think, but we don't count Sundays?? Where is Jay when you need him?? LOL) We talked about how important it is to know scripture so that when we're tempted we can respond like Jesus did. We also discussed that if Satan would tempt Jesus, he will tempt us too. I'm always amazed at what Ben picks up on as we study the Bible together. So, as we give up what Ben calls electronics, together we'll be spending that time learning. It may be tough. I will only be using the computer to do the book reviews I need to do to keep that commitment or for research that I need for school. (Ben also approved me blogging about Lent. ha!) No T.V. - Ben assured me that the Olympics weren't that big of a deal. I can't wait to see what Ben and God teach me in the next 40 days!

Sewing 101

Each time Ben sees me sewing he begs me to teach him. So, when I saw a paper card sewn online, I decided it would be a good Valentine's Day project and beginners sewing lesson too.

I couldn't help but think of Tim the Tool man Taylor and his cry "more power!" on the old sitcom Home Improvement. Ben loved switching back and forth between a zigzag and straight stitch as well as changing the stitch length. Many times. On the same card.

At one point he forgot to lift the sewing machine foot off the material and I told him to "lift the foot" I didn't realize he was - lifting HIS foot. Oops. My fault. We had to stop and go over the names of the machine parts.

He was actually very careful and good with the machine. I, on the other hand, discovered that it was MUCH easier to watch from behind a camera. It kept me from taking over or correcting every mistake and from being so uptight about those little fingers being so close to that fast moving, sharp needle.

Here's a sampling of the cards. I've really got to learn to take better pictures.


These were a little too girly for his taste, but were some of my favorite. He was very particular about which fabric to use for each person.

This transformer card is a good example of his use of the different stitches and lengths. He really loved moving those knobs and back stitching!

He very excitedly told me "I love sewing! What if I got to do this for my job? That would be fun!" So, I had to look it up. A male seamstress is actually called a sartor, seamster, or tailor. So, there you have it. My little sartor. Happy Valentine's Day!

Buried Alive

The book Buried Alive is the extraordinary, true story of Roy Hallums. He was a retired U.S. Navy commander working as a civilian in Iraq. The Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Company provided security for Roy Hallums and his co-workers as they worked to supply food for the American Army in Baghdad. Yet, one of the security team was actually a traitor who arranged for the security gate to be unlocked and led a gang of men into his office.
Mr. Hallums is kidnapped and moved from place to place until he reaches a small farmhouse. He is held captive in a small concrete hole underneath an Iraqi home. As this traumatic story unfolds, you hear not only of his mistreatment, but also of his wisdom as he deals with each situation. Roy Hallums was held hostage for 311 days enduring beatings, filthy conditions, bad ventilation, and a great deal of abuse. His family was not even aware he was in Iraq until his capture. The book does a good job of telling the story of both his and his family’s experience.
Buried Alive is not the type of book I usually read, and I actually considered handing it over to my husband for review. I’m glad I didn’t. I was amazed at Mr. Hallum’s ability to keep up with dates and his recall of details. It was shocking to hear how his family was treated during the events. It seemed as if the government considered them the enemy rather than victims. This well written volume gives you a good grasp of what it is like to be under terrorists control and how to respond. Even though Roy rarely mentioned faith, his example of taking each day as it came is a good example of living out Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

* I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ti-Fam: Witch Doctor's Daughter

Benjamin and I decided that reading "Ti-Fam: Witch Doctor's Daughter" by Ruth Harner would be a good idea tonight since he is studying Haiti.
I'm telling you, this story is intriguing! My kids have all heard the story before, yet as Ben and I began reading, his teen-aged brothers immediately sat down to listen. Nathan was in the back of the house yelling "read louder so I can hear!" and soon came in to hear the story. Aaron would scold me when we'd look at the pictures, "let me see too!" Obviously, I'd forgotten exactly how captivating the story is. I would love to know if Ti-Fam has been aware of how far reaching her story has been.
They really should consider marketing the story in book form rather than just as a flash-card story, or better yet, make another book telling of the challenges they have faced during this current crisis. Hearing how God has used this crisis to bring others to Him, now that would be fascinating!

THANK YOU!

We are deeply grateful for all who have committed to helping Benjamin in his efforts to raise money for Haiti. When he began, we thought it would be great for him to raise a few dollars. Now, he will be earning over $25 an hour for Ti-Fam's mission. Is that not amazing?!!? It is all because of you and your generosity and we thank you! There are even 5 children helping him, one is 3 years old. How awesome!!

Because of the response Benjamin has gotten, we've decided to allow him to have his own blog. Please follow his blog to see what he is reading, learning, or whatever else comes from his active 7 year old imagination. I will also be a guest blogger there to keep you informed. His blog is at http://benjamin-sonoftherighthand.blogspot.com/ . Feel free to share his blog with others who may be interested.

Tomorrow I will be listing first names of those who have made pledges on his blog. If I inadvertently miss you, please let me know. We would like to have a complete list of donations so that Ben will be encouraged. Also, if your blog is private, please e-mail and let me know who you are!

Ben is so excited - and we are too. THANK YOU!!!

Homeschool Help

Note: The following is a blog by my 7 year old son, Benjamin.



This is what it looked like in Haiti before the earthquake. It looked better before the earthqake, but then after the earthquake it looked very bad.

After the earthquake, they are handing out plastic tents for the people to sleep and live in until they can get help. This is the Baptist Haiti Mission where Ti-Fam went.

Even after the earthquake, people were praising and thanking God for those who didn't die. These people had lost family members, moms and dads died, so the kids need help. Would you help me raise money so I can help them? I will be reading books one hour everyday so we can raise money for Haiti so the kids won't be lost and they will have people to take care of them and so they will have plenty of food to eat. Would you please help me by sponsoring me? You can pay so much for each book I read for the next 3 weeks. Or whatever you want to send. We will give the money to Baptist Haiti Mission. All of the money will go to help with the earthquake. Please pray every day for God to take care of every single person in Haiti, especially the kids that are hurt. Mom and Dads too for them to find their kids. The End

For those who are just beginning to read this blog, the story of Ti-Fam is in my previous blog. I would really appreciate you helping Benjamin in his project. Whether with a donation, or with words of encouragement. More information to follow later tonight. Thank you