La Belle Design

  This Christian Fiction/Romance set in 1921 has many heart wrenching tender moments and much redemption. It’s a beautiful story not just of the romance that unfolds between Arilee and Adam, but also of their relationships with family and others in their community. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version and each time I began listening, I didn’t want to turn it off. The way Jennifer folded history, faith, family secrets and even church hurt in with the romance was so natural and they all intertwined into a lovely story.  It left me feeling encouraged and strengthened in my faith while pushing me to dig deeper into God’s word and look to Him for my hope. The romance was touching and realistic as Arilee and Adam work through their own failings and relationships with God.  Other key characters who added much to the plot were Arilee’s brother Davis, and her niece and nephew.  The female narrator did a good job of adding enough variation to each o...

Kindness Review from the last lesson: Romans 2:2-4 ESV - 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man--you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself--that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? This comes in the middle of a section on judging others, but it reveals an important truth about God’s kindness. What do we learn about the purpose of God’s kindness? -God is kind to us in spite of our sin and patient with us in our sin. -His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.  Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV - 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in...

When I started writing fiction several years ago, I decided my tagline would be "Writing Words of Hope." It is my greatest desire that each person who reads my books is pointed to our only true source of hope--Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. My fiction books are filled with twists, turns, and romance. But those things pale in comparison to the Word of God, where we meet the main character in all of our stories--The One who loves us with an unbreakable, unmatchable, perfect love. The One who makes all other loves pale in comparison. It's my desire that as you read my books, something in one of the characters' relationships with God resonates with you and pulls you further along in your own walk and relationship with Him. As a Christian, our walk with God is constantly changing. He never changes as He pursues us, loves us, and provides for us, but our response to Him does change and so does the way we live out our faith both outwardly and inwardly. If as Christians w...

Hear the Falling Snow is a sweet, clean romance by Storm Shultz with just the right amount of comedy that's held together by faith. I first read it last summer and it's now offered on Audible, so I've recently listened to it. The book was just as good the second time. In the audiobook I enjoyed how the voice actress handled different voices for the characters, including some with accents. She also did a great job with the male voice. It wasn't overexaggerated in a way that can cause me to pop in and out of the story, which can be a problem with females immitating males. Whatever your preference for "reading," Storm has you covered. From the start there were sparks with Adeline, a dance instructor, and Luke, who wants to be a missionary. A sweet friendship followed before anything more developed. It was perfect for them.  The story centered around Adeline attending a Christmas cooking retreat and I loved the cooking theme! Mentions of delicious Christmas tr...

  I recently read and loved Let Nothing You Dismay by Jennifer Q. Hunt.   This historical faith filled romance is beautifully written and left me racing to the end and wanting more. Let Nothing You Dismay by Jennifer Q Hunt brings together two series. I have not read either and had no problem following the story, but I loved this one so much that I will be reading more of Jennifer’s books soon. When AJ returns from the Korean War with injuries that are deeper than what the eye can see, he barely recognizes little Hope who is all grown up. Hope has her own problems she keeps hidden. Their lives are thrown together through her job and a situation he is pulled into. A tender friendship develops between them. I loved that  faith was the foundation of their friendship, and it is beautifully woven into the storyline.  The story tugged at my heartstrings with all that AJ went through in the war and the issues he had to deal with once home. It was also interesting to...