La Belle Design

  If you love deep, touching, heartfelt stories that include history and a beautiful faith story, you won’t want to miss this book. It’s based on the true story of a man named Rindy in Cambodia. I’ll be honest: there were times it got so heavy I had to put it down to process my thoughts. I never knew the people of Cambodia went through so much in the ‘70s and ‘80s. There was great darkness surrounding Rindy from the time he was a young boy until he was an adult. As a mom of four, I can’t imagine my young child facing the responsibilities, loneliness, torture, hunger, and emotional distress that he did. And yet, because the darkness was so great, the threads of light shone more brightly through at different points in his life until they culminated in a beautiful tapestry of hope, salvation, and future ministry opportunities. This book is long but worth your time. Not only will it remind you that there is hope in the darkest of places, but it is also a word of warning for us. The peo

  Joy wrap up : In wrapping up the study on joy , I want to clarify that when we find our joy in heaven, it is not that we are joyful because the streets are made of gold, or the gates are made of pearls (Revelation 21:21), or any of the other beautiful things that are there. We are joyful because we will finally be in the full presence of God. He is our treasure. Revelation 21:3 ESV - 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. For now, Christians have the Holy Spirit inside of us as a deposit and guarantee of what is to come, but in the end, we will be fully with God and no longer have the separation of our sin nature making it difficult to fully commune with him. 2 Timothy 1:14 ESV - 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Corinthians 5:4-7 ESV - 4 For while we are s

  This is the Titus Arch. A triumphal arch in Rome near the Colosseum. It was built in 81 A.D. by Titus‘s older brother, Emperor Domitian. It was to represent Titus’s defeat of Jerusalem and the removal of the items from the temple. It’s a beautiful piece of architecture that represents something awful. Not only man destroying other men, but man raising himself up as if he were worthy of worship like a god. But that’s not the end of the story: Philippians 2:9-10 (ESV) 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him (Jesus) and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Read all of Psalm 8 to see what our mighty and majestic God has given us, His people. Psalms 8:4 (ESV): “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” It goes on to speak of the honor He has given us. God must do the raising up of man. It is then His glory that is reflected on us. This i

This is the second book in the Bookish Romance Series by this dynamic writing duo— Erica Dansereau and Britt Howard ! These two have found a way to showcase each other's talents by writing books that make you laugh, cry, and draw nearer to God. You won't be disappointed with Blind Date with a Book Nerd! In this second chance clean/Christian romance, Ava Fox and Dawson Hayes reconnect after seven years. She’s an editor for a publishing house and he’s a computer programmer/app designer. I love the push/pull of their relationship as they fight their inner battles while trying to figure out where their relationship is heading this time around.  Set in NYC, most of the story is centered around Dawson’s app, Blind Date with a Book Nerd. The app itself is so creative and fun it left me wanting to see it in real life (not for a date, because I’m happily married, but they did an amazing job of fleshing it out!). Despite the weighty topics, there are plenty of lighthearted moments to