What a wonderful middle grade story! A young girl has lost hope until she meets Wild Thing, the white Arabian who cannot be tamed. This is a story of redemption, forgiveness and the love of God and family. Easy to read, with tons of horse facts throughout and some definitions along with a ‘horse parts’ picture. It made me remember with fondness my horse stage in my middle grade years. I give “Wild Thing” 5 stars. This is only book #1. I think there are 8 in the series.

Book Review for “Wild Thing” Middle Grade Christian Fiction

Book Review for “An Accident of Birth”

I was given a copy of “An Accident of Birth” by the author in exchange for an honest review. I loved the story line of this book. A great Dystopian theme. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been “fleshed out” a bit, especially some of the secondary characters. Sometimes adding more length to the book is ok. More background story may have helped as well. I would read more of this author. This is his first published work and I am sure that his story telling talents will only get better. Due to a rape scene I don’t recommend for under the age of 17. I give this book 3 stars.

Release of Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown 9/24/013

Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown
Funtown is a place of every child’s dreams and Mr. Topper’s world of merry-go-rounds and magic is the place they want to go. But all that glitters is not gold and Funtown is not what it seems. Who is Tinker and what can he do to help? Jayde and her friends must find Tinker and the truth about Mr. Topper to free Funtown.

For ages 8 and up.

You can get it here!

http://www.amazon.com/Toppers-Fabulous-Funtown-Tinker-ebook/dp/B00FEHD2B8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380118226&sr=1-1&keywords=Mr.+topper%27s+fabulous+funtown

Book Review for “The In-Between: Embarrassing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing” Non-Fiction

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I try to read at least one non-fiction book per month along with my fiction. Sometimes they end up being informational, but dry. This one is not. It’s a good read as Jeff’s writing style is that of a true storyteller. This book is full of true life stories, his own and some short stories of others. The book invites us to look at the waiting times in our lives in a different light. I found it very though provoking and encouraging. I recommend it for everyone, especially young adults fresh out of high school or college. I am giving it a strong 5 stars and will be reading more from this author.

Book Review for “Unforgiving Ghosts” by Candi Ann Little

I liked this book. Good Christian romance. A woman going through the hardest time in her life bolts and runs, only to find out that she needed to face her issues head on. It was a little slow for me and I had some trouble connecting to the characters. Over all a good read. I give this book 3 stars. I wouldn’t recommend for under 16 due to some sexual references.

What Do We Do With Rejection

Rejection…we’ve all experienced it at one time or another. Sometimes it was intentional, other times we may have only perceived rejection when that wasn’t the intent. But it all feels the same. As a writer, I have had some of my work rejected, criticized and sneered at. I have to admit it hurt much more than the ‘in crowd’s’ rejection in my school days. Even in the fleeting moments when I was part of that crowd, there always seemed to be something lacking in me that others would point out (my curly hair when straight was in, my love for books, my bushy eyebrows, etc). What do we do with that rejection? I used to tuck it away, sometimes daydreaming about ‘being someone’ great and showing them all how wrong they were about me. Sometimes it would creep back out in the dark hours of night and haunt me, it’s amazing how even at thirty or forty, some cruel words or actions from your childhood can keep you up at night.
Now I give any rejection I feel to God. My strategy wasn’t working, obviously. He knows rejection…”He was rejected by men”; I even rejected Him for a season. One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 1:6 “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” His work made us acceptable and accepted. If God accepts us, does it really matter what anyone else thinks? I have noticed that the more I know Him, and accept His love, the more confident I become, and the more confident I become the less rejection I feel. Oh, sure, it is probably still there at times, but I don’t feel it. It doesn’t affect me. I’ve also come to realize that everyone isn’t going to like me, or my art, or writing, etc. (I know, big surprise!), just like I don’t enjoy every book, piece of art, pair of shoes, etc. For those that are just being mean, well…first of all I tend to think ‘they’ll reap what they sow’, and more frequently I pray for them. The rest are probably had no intention of making anyone feel rejected.
As a writer and crafts-person/artist, I have to be especially careful when someone is trying to give constructive criticism. My stories and creations are like my children and sometimes I feel like that mother bear protecting her cubs. But if I ignore all healthy criticism, I will be the only one enjoying my work. We also have to be careful about how we feel about God’s ‘corrective criticism’ I hesitate to even use that word in association with God. He truly never criticizes. But don’t be fooled, He does correct and chastise. Aren’t we His work of art? He wants others to enjoy us as well.

Worldly Love

Worldly love is backwards. Yep, backwards. When we love someone in the natural the more we get to know them, the more intimate we become, the more comfortable we get. The good side is that we can be ourselves. The bad side is that familiarity breeds disrespect. We love our parents, spouses, sibling, children and friends. Most of those we spend at least 18 years living in the same home! We have seen “the good, the bad and the ugly!” Because of that we begin to take them for granted, maybe loose respect and lots of times judge them on their faults, frailties and failures. Hopefully we continue to love (after all love is a CHOICE). God spoke to me this week and said, “Don’t love Me like you love them.” I got the reason why, because worldly love is very shallow and I know He wants more. But I was stumped. Finally I asked Him, how do I love You different than I love my family. (This is where the backwards part comes in), He said, “get more intimate with me”…after that I had the whole “WHAT???” going thru my mind. In His vast patience, He explained. In drawing closer to God, thru prayer, praise, His word, fellowshipping, etc. we get to know Him better. This however can never breed disrespect! There is no “bad and ugly” with Him only the “GOOD!” The more we know Him, the more we respect Him, stand in awe of Him, and the more we want to discover and know about Him. The great part is no matter how long we know Him, we never really know Him. There is more to find out, and we can still be ourselves! In the world, we begin to finish each other’s sentences; can pretty much predict the next word and behavior. Not with God. When you think you have Him figured out, He’ll do something AMAZING! I have decided to do what He has asked, to get to know Him better, but also to try and love “them” the way I love God.