Scripture and a Snapshot - Joy, Peace, Hope

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

~Isaiah 9:6-7~

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

~Romans 15:13~

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Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Cookies

This post contains affiliate links.

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane, and at Pictoral Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

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Recent Reads - The Rebel Bride

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The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear - Union soldier Joshua Wheeler suffers a devastating injury at Chickamauga and is taken prisoner by the Confederates. Along with other wounded soldiers, he is billeted at a home nearby rather than being transported to Richmond. Pearl MacFarlane is loyal to the Confederacy despite her family's staunch opposition to holding slaves. She is still reeling with the news that all three of her older brothers lost their lives in battle when her cousin shows up with a wagonload of wounded Yankee prisoners and she is pressed into serving as a nurse. Soon the modest farmhouse she shares with her ailing father and younger brother has become a field hospital. Her initial reluctance and resentment at being forced to look after the enemy is tempered by her father's gentle admonition that the Good Book says they are to be kind to their enemy.

Pearl works hard to keep the soldiers fed and cared for with the meager resources they have, and finds herself spending extra effort looking after a couple of the men that have serious injuries. She patiently redresses Josh's amputation wound and does all that she can to help him recover. When he is finally on the mend and able to start getting up and around, Josh knows that his oath to the Union means that he should make every effort to rejoin his regiment, yet his conscience will not let him leave the brave Rebel girl without protection or help. And indeed there is more than just his conscience compelling him to stay near Pearl for as long as he can.

Joshua wins the trust of Pearl's younger brother, Clem, and the respect of her Pa; and as her defender and helper, he also wins Pearl's trust and friendship. Both question their loyalties and their perceptions of the enemy side, but as much as Josh wants to stay with Pearl, he knows their divided loyalties will prevent it. Is there any chance that she would consider him? Is there enough common ground that they could be together?

This compelling story explores the complexities of the loyalties on both sides of the War Between the States, and the characters are very realistic as a result. Pearl and her family are staunchly opposed to owning slaves, which sets them apart from many in their own community, yet they are fiercely loyal to the Confederate cause. Josh and many of the Yankees have misconceptions about the views of the Rebels, and Josh realizes that fighting to force an end to slavery will be a hollow victory if the freed slaves have nowhere to go in a society that won't accept them. Although a fictional story that focuses on the developing romantic relationship between the two lead characters, it also invites some deeper thought about the ordinary folk that found themselves caught up in this conflict that had so many facets.

From the publisher:

Can Love Form Amidst Tensions of War?

During the clash between Union and Confederacy, quiet Tennesseean Pearl MacFarlane is compelled to nurse both Rebel and Yankee wounded who seek refuge at her family's farm. She is determined to remain unmoved by the Yankee cause -- until she faces the silent struggle of Union soldier Joshua Wheeler, a recent amputee. The MacFarlane family fits no stereotype Joshua believed in; still he is desperate to regain his footing -- as a soldier, as a man, as a Christian -- in the aftermath of his debilitating injury. He will use his time behind enemy lines to gather useful intelligence for the Union -- if the courageous Rebel woman will stay out of the line of danger.

Join the adventure as the Daughters of the Mayflower series continues with The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear.

Other books in this series: The Mayflower Bride, The Pirate Bride, The Captured Bride, The Patriot Bride, The Cumberland Bride, The Liberty Bride, The Alamo Bride, The Golden Bride, The Express Bride (Coming in 2020: The Blizzard Bride, The Chisholm Trail Bride)

Book Ten in the Daughters of the Mayflower series.

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

©2008-2019 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

What I'm Reading - December 9, 2019

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! Although the Book Date link-up happens weekly, I haven't been keeping up with a weekly schedule, so I kind of post these whenever! I also haven't been reading as many books lately. Too busy! So in the past couple of weeks:

I finished reading . . . 

Undertones by L.S. Popovich - Dane, a giant anteater, plays guitar in an all animal jazz band, and while trying to find his kidnapped girlfriend, he winds up taking on the mob-like criminal underbelly of his town. (Read my full review HERE.)

I'm currently reading . . .

The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear - a new installment in the Daughters of the Mayflower series, this one is about a young woman in Tennessee forced to open her home to wounded Union soldiers during the War Between the States. Can there be anything between this Confederate girl and a Yankee soldier?




Penny For Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber - The latest in the Verity Kent series from one of my favorite authors! Got through the first half of it very quickly, but had to slow down in order to work on books for review and school.

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - Didn't quite finish this collection of short stories about a Quaker family, which is for the Lit class I teach. We're starting on our next selection, but all of us have a little left on this one. I hope to finish it soon!

Next on the stack... 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Church With No Walls by Noah Cleveland (started, but temporarily shelved)
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (also temporarily shelved)
The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

  

 

On my blogs recently . . . 

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - Great Joy
Wordless Wednesday - Family Dinner
Scripture and a Snapshot - Prepare the Way
Monthly Bookshelf Review - November 2019
A Song for Giving Grateful Praise
Share Four Somethings - November 2019
Recent Reads - Undertones


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving Week and Back to Class
Virtual Refrigerator - Snow, Perspective, and Retablo
Happy Thanksgiving! (A History Lesson)
Counting Holiday School Days (at Heart and Soul)

What are you reading?

©2008-2019 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Great Joy

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

~Luke 2:8-20~

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©2008-2019 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Wordless Wednesday - Family Dinner

This post contains affiliate links.

We celebrated my husband's birthday with dinner out at Iron Age, a Korean barbecue place where you cook your own meat! Good food and lots of fun with the "extended" family!

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane, and at Pictoral Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

©2008-2019 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Prepare the Way

His (John's) father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

 because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us -

to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace."

~Luke 1:67-79~ 

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I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea Scribble Pad; and at Seeking Sabbath, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2019 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.