Scripture and a Snapshot - November 30, 2014

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In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered here, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy -- the Son of God... For nothing will be impossible with God."

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."

~Luke 1:26-35, 37-38~

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©2008-2014 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/

Teaser Tuesdays - November 25, 2014

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

We have used God. Like a bride who says "I do" and then ditches the guy for his money, we have married God for his money.
 We have made him a means to an end.
This is the greatest or paramount injustice, and all others stem from this.
~Look and Live by Matt Papa, page 73


"I would have walked into that church today as Penelope Hammond  and walked out as the Honourable Mrs. Gerald Madderly, and no one would have remembered me except as a footnote in the chronicles of the Madderly family."
"Quite the existential crisis," he said lightly. I nodded.
~Night of a Thousand Stars, page 13

©2008-2014 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/

Recent Reads - Waiting for Summer's Return

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Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Part of me knew I'd love this book right from the beginning, but I was still hesitant because there was also part of me that wondered if it would be too emotionally wrenching. After all, the book opens with newly widowed Summer Steadman alone and hopeless in the small Kansas town where her husband and all four of her children have just succumbed to typhoid fever. She contemplates returning to Boston, but she really has no family or ties there either, and she doesn't want to leave her children's graves. However, she would need a job and somewhere to live, as she cannot continue indefinitely at the hotel. A solution presents itself in the form of the town's miller, Peter Ollenburger, a widower. He wants Summer to tutor his young son who is recovering from broken ribs and cannot attend school, and in exchange he will provide room and board for her. Without any other prospects or plans, Summer accepts this offer and moves to the Ollenburgers' property.

Mr Ollenburger meets with resistance from the rest of the town almost immediately, and it isn't long until Summer is treated with mistrust either. The little town is a Mennonite community, and many of the members of the Kleine Gemeinde (church fellowship) are suspicious of outsiders like Summer, and are worried that she will bring trouble to the community. Summer slowly learns to care and to hope again, as she builds friendships with young Thomas, with Mr Ollenburger, and even with Thomas's great-grandmother who lives with them but doesn't speak any English. Mr Ollenburger shares his simple but profound faith with Summer and his steadfast commitment to living out his faith eventually wins over the skeptical members of the church. But just as Summer is accepted into membership, and is getting ready to move into her own little house (and just as she and Peter are starting to realize that they may love each other), another blow comes - Summer's mother-in-law begs her to return to Boston. Will Thomas's innocent prayers be answered - will Summer come back to marry his pa; will she truly be his mother?

The reason I knew I would love the story - and I did - was the setting. My own family background is German Mennonite, people from the same background as the Ollenburgers and others in this story. So many of the details were familiar to me and brought back memories of real-life stories - the German words and sayings, many of the foods mentioned, the names, and even the mentions of the Kleine Gemeinde and some of the customs. For readers who aren't familiar with the Mennonites, this would be a lovely insight into their way of life during that time period. I warmly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a touching romance with a Christian message in a well-researched historical setting.

(Book #52 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 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/

Scripture and a Snapshot - November 22, 2014

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Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit." How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog -- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

~James 4:13-17~

This is a good passage for me to remember these days, as we make plans to travel and what we want to do over the holidays, and as we are thinking about purchasing another vehicle. We need to seek wisdom and guidance from God in making big decisions and realize that things may change or not work out the way we think they will, but that we will be okay if we put God first.

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2014 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/

Recent Reads - The Counterfeit Heiress

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 The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander - I had been eagerly awaiting this latest addition to the Lady Emily Mystery series for quite some time. In this ninth installment in the series, Emily and Colin attend a masquerade ball in London and have a brief but strange encounter with a woman posing as intrepid world traveler Estella Lamar. Their friend Cecile knows Estella and exposes the fraud immediately, and the woman flees, only to be murdered a few blocks away. The host of the party engages Emily and Colin to investigate. Not only are they looking for the murderer and his motive, but they must discover whether Estella was the intended victim, and why the woman was impersonating her. And for that matter, where is Estella Lamar? More questions arise about whether she is truly traveling the world, and if she is even alive.

This is definitely a unique mystery with a rather unusual plot! The chapters alternate between Lady Emily's first person narrative and a third person account of Estella that takes place in the past, beginning in her childhood, but mostly taking place in the days when she first left her Paris home about twenty years before. There are clues for the reader in the Estella chapters but the description of her activities ends far enough in the past that there are questions about her fate and whereabouts that cannot be fully answered until Emily and Colin finally find the answers.

By the same author: Behind the Shattered Glass, Death in the Floating City, A Crimson Warning, Dangerous to Know, Tears of Pearl, A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, And Only to Deceive

 (Book #51 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 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/

WWW Wednesdays - November 19, 2014

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Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  I am well into The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander and plan to finish it by the end of the week. I hope. I recently started Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ by Matt Papa, and picked up one I'd started a couple of months ago and then kind of forgot about - Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

   

• What did you recently finish reading?  It didn't take long at all to read the novella  Bonfire Night (A Lady Julia Mystery) by Deanna Raybourn, and I found it hard to put down Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall so I read that one in just a couple of sittings! (Read my thoughts about these books HERE and HERE.) 

   

• What do you think you'll read next? Next up for fiction is Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn, and Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane for non-fiction. On my Kindle, I'm looking at Ticker by Lisa Mantchev and Star of the East: A Lady Emily Christmas Story  by Tasha Alexander. And I'm feeling the urge to start reading other Christmas themed novels too!

   

    

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading for this week's link-up.

©2008-2014 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/

Recent Reads - Tears of the Sea

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Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall - After writing historical novels that featured pirates and sailing ships, it wasn't a big surprise that Tyndall decided to write a novel about a mermaid. What I found unusual is that this one is written from a distinctly Christian perspective. Although it is a fantasy setting, it retains the historical novel feel of many of her previous pirate novels, so it's easy to imagine the story taking place right alongside the events of The Ransom or "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Perdita has been cursed to live forever as a mermaid - cursed because she is alone and longs for love and companionship. The only way to break the curse is to find a man who loves her enough to die for her, and she has the chance to find such man only once every ten years. After hundreds of years of failed attempts, Perdita has almost completely given up hope and wishes she could die. But when she rescues Savion Ryne after he falls from his ship, she has one last sliver of hope that he could be the one. Savion is the most honorable and courageous man she has ever met, but he doesn't fall for her attempts at seduction (that being the only way she knows of winning a man's love) during her month as a human, but he does genuinely care for her. Not surprisingly, Perdita falls in love with Savion and as her time on land nears its end she faces a terrible decision - save Savion and his ship's crew and remain doomed to her lonely life as a mermaid forever, or finally break her curse but watch the man she loves die.

The fantasy setting allowed the unbelievable to happen in a believable way. In Tyndall's historical novels, the circumstances and events often stretched credulity (and in fairness, most fiction does that to a certain extent - if it wasn't fantastic it wouldn't make a very interesting or exciting story, right?) but when dealing in an imagined world where there are warlocks and mermaids, and a visible battle between the forces of good and evil, anything could happen. For the most part, I thought the allegorical elements worked very well. Tyndall makes use of many of the well-known elements of mermaid lore - seductive and deceptive nature, beautiful singing, and tears that turn into pearls - and weaves them into a character that represents sinful humanity, helpless to save herself and desperate to find love and redemption. Perdita wants to be loved but goes about it in all the wrong ways. Savion is the Savior character, and although he represents Christ in many ways, he is definitely human and differs from Jesus in a couple of important ways - Savion has made mistakes and it's implied that he has made wrong choices and his being sent away from his homeland (his father is the King of Neveah - easy to figure out the representation there!) is a sort of punishment for that. Savion is on a mission to destroy the power of Natas (another obvious representation) and to save someone or something in order to 'earn' his acceptance back home, but he doesn't know exactly what that will be or when it will happen.

The book was a very enjoyable read, and a unique and insightful combination of mermaid fantasy, historical novel, and Christian perspective allegory.

By the same author: Elusive Hope, The Ransom, Forsaken Dreams, Veil of Pearls, Surrender the Dawn, Surrender the Night, Surrender the Heart, The Falcon and the Sparrow, Charles Towne Belle Series (The Red Siren, The Blue Enchantress, The Raven Saint), The Legacy of the King's Pirates series (The Redemption, The Reliance, The Restitution)

(Book #50 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 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/

Recent Reads - Bonfire Night

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Bonfire Night by Deanna Raybourn - It was rather bittersweet to read this Lady Julia Grey novella because it is the last one in the series. Julia and her husband, Nicholas Brisbane, receive the unexpected news that he has inherited a country house - but there's a bit of a catch. The family must be in residence from  All Hallow's Eve through Bonfire Night. Not having any recollection of the benefactor, they are skeptical, but since they need some time away from London they pack up and head for the country. From the moment they arrive, things seem a little odd, with the housekeeper and everyone in the village making a point of mentioning the local ghost stories. Brisbane and Julia, along with Plum (Julia's brother), and Portia (Julia's sister), are largely amused by the sometimes clumsy attempts of the locals to frighten and "haunt" them, at least until Julia's new maid goes missing and their curiosity over the motive behind all the theatrics turns to something more urgent.

The Lady Julia Grey Novellas (Silent Night, Midsummer Night, Twelfth Night, Bonfire Night) are best enjoyed if you have read the full length novels (Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Silent on the Moor, Dark Road to Darjeeling, The Dark Inquiry). As usual, Raybourn's delightfully eccentric characters deliver wry and witty dialogue in this short and rather cozy mystery. I enjoyed reading it, even as I mourned the fact that there will be no more Lady Julia Grey stories in the future. This is because Deanna Raybourn is with a new publisher, so there will be new characters and new series coming soon, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what is next!

By the same author: Twelfth Night, City of Jasmine, Whisper of Jasmine, Midsummer Night; A Spear of Summer Grass, Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Dark Road to Darjeeling, The Dark Enquiry, Silent Night, The Dead Travel Fast

©2008-2014 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/

Teaser Tuesdays - November 18, 2014

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Clutching her arm, he dragged her back to port, cursing and spitting and foaming like some mad monster from a mythical tale. "Ye know what I do with those who betray me? I make them wish for death!"

Too late, she already did.

~Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall, 44% on Kindle

I was swimming  in glory -- surrounded by its sights and sounds -- and my jaw was not on the floor where it should have been. I was rich but lived as a poor man, a guest to a feast but always hungry, like a man content to stare at stick figures while the Mona Lisa sits in his basement.

~Look and Live by Matt Papa, page 20

©2008-2014 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/

Weekend Reflections: Sunset Clouds

photo credit: Kennady

 We saw this glorious sunset on Friday evening. I loved how the sun was reflected on the clouds above it. There was also a reflection in our car window as we took the pictures.

This post is linked at Weekend Reflections.

Reflection = An image given back by a reflecting surface

Post a photo taken by you that contains a visual reflection (water, glass, metal, eyes, etc - be creative! Reflections can be found almost anywhere!) and link up at the Weekend Reflections blog from Friday 11am through midnight Sunday each weekend. Comment on other Weekend Reflections participant's blogs.

©2008-2014 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/

Scripture and a Snapshot - November 15, 2014

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

~John 20:30-31~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2014 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/

WWW Wednesdays - November 12, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. You know what I need to go read very soon? Some of yesterday's Teaser posts, and some of today's WWW posts! I had a busy day yesterday, and a lot going on today, so I feel like I'm behind in that again.

• What are you currently reading?  I haven't made much progress with The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery  by Tasha Alexander yet, but I'm working on that. Since I just finished two other books, and the other fiction I'm working on won't take me long, I'll be concentrating on that one more this week. Bonfire Night (A Lady Julia Mystery) by Deanna Raybourn is the novella I'm reading - loving it because it's another installment in the Lady Julia Grey series that I adore, but I will probably need to grieve a little when I'm finished, because it is the last Lady Julia Grey story. I also just got started on Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ by Matt Papa.

   

• What did you recently finish reading?  I finished Song of Redemption by Lynn Austin, and Robin: Lady of Legend by R.M. ArceJaeger  (Read my thoughts about these books HERE and HERE.) 

   

• What do you think you'll read next? Next up is Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn! On my Kindle, I just picked up several new things. I will probably choose Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall next, but a couple of the free titles I recently acquired look very interesting as well - particularly Ticker by Lisa Mantchev (and I've never read steampunk before) and Turn of the Tide by Margaret Skea. Also... it's about time to start reading Christmas themed books and I have a few of those in my stack too!

   

       

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading for this week's link-up.

©2008-2014 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/