La Belle Design

When studying the Bible, I recommend putting away (or ignoring) the notes in a study Bible and not looking at the internet or other sources for the answers in each section you’re studying until you have done all you can to see what God is teaching you in it. This is why I encourage and teach with inductive Bible studies. This type of study encourages you to find your own answers through observation, interpretation, and application rather than the author of the study telling you at the outset, “this is what the text means.” This allows God to speak to you personally and you may see things you would never have seen. Much of God’s word has such depth of meaning that you could study the same set of verses many times and each time God may show you something different that He wants you to see and apply. When we study God’s word, we always want to study it to know Him better. Our secondary purpose is to learn how He wants us to apply what we learn by living it out. My preferred way to s...

  Faded Jeans and Pfannkuchen by Storm Shultz is a sweet faith-filled romance that will make you want to read all of Storm’s books. The Dolly Parton references, animal mischief, Alaska vibes, and German cooking all give this story its unique and fun flavor.  Storm has a way of touching on real-life difficulties from a Christian perspective that shows you how God can work in seemingly hopeless situations. She also excels at crafting unique settings that draw you in with fun, food, animals, and the outdoors.  Jolene has just returned home to Alaska from Nashville where her music dreams didn’t take flight, much to her mom’s disappointment. As se’s searching for her purpose, her life becomes entangled with her best friend’s handsome brother, Noah. This book highlights friendship and sweet romance alongside complicated family dynamics that had me rushing to the end to see how it all worked out. Like all of Storm’s books it left me satisfied and looking forward to her nex...

Some Melodious Sonnet by Jennifer Q. Hunt is another one of her beautifully written Christian historical fiction books with romance. This one takes place in the 1830s in what is now northwest Georgia but at the time was Cherokee land. The story centers around the Christian missionaries to the Cherokees and their work to keep the state of Georgia from claiming their land. After attending finishing school, Cairstine Mackay moves to help her brother at her father’s mercantile store in the Cherokee lands and soon meets Jeremiah Harrison, who she clashes with every time they see one another. Jeremiah has moved there to help with the legal aspects of the missionaries and Cherokees and is awaiting the arrival of his bride to be, a recent widow.  In true Hunt fashion, Jennifer takes this simple sounding story and makes every moment count with twists and turns, emotional ups and downs, peril, and realistic Christian characters who grapple with how to handle their situations in a Chr...