book review: "an amish love" by beth wiseman...

Three stories are wrapped into one book, all taking place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In “A Marriage of the Heart,” Abigail Kauffman can’t believe that Joseph Lambert isn’t as taken by her as the other men in the community. In an attempt to get back at him, she tells her father Joseph tried to kiss her. Outraged that Joseph would try to take advantage of his daughter, Abigail’s father demands a marriage between the two. When an old friend comes to visit Joseph, Abigail learns of her husband’s past, putting their growing love to the test.

Ellie Chupp loses her sight in a car accident in “What the Heart Sees.” This same accident kills Christopher Miller’s fiancée and he leaves the community, angry that the one responsible wasn’t punished. Five years later he returns only to find out his sister is engaged to the man who was driving the car. Can Christopher learn to forgive as Ellie has done?

In “Healing Hearts,” Naaman Lapp decides he needs to take a break from his family. After thirty-one years of marriage, Naaman leaves to visit some family, not knowing when or if he’ll return. Levina doesn’t understand why her husband left and is further confused when he returns eleven months later. The Amish faith requires her to forgive but can she truly forgive Naaman? When a sheriff comes looking for her husband, Levina wonders if he returned on his own or came seeking refuge. Can she trust him again?

Out of the three stories, “A Marriage of the Heart” was my favorite. I liked how even though each story was written by a different author, all mention characters from the others. I felt like there was too much background with “What the Heart Sees.” It seemed to me that the story kept building and building and then quickly ended with Christopher asking Ellie on a date at the very end. The story seemed to be more about each of them separately and their internal struggles than their growing relationship. “Healing Hearts” was my least favorite of the three but not for any specific reason. This made for a good read and I overall enjoyed it.

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and all opinions are my own.

year in review

There are just a few hours left in 2010 and I always like to reflect back on the year. This week I've talked about the concerts I've been to this year, songs that impacted me and books I've enjoyed.

So looking back, I started reviewing books this year and have read fifty-eight books! I've had the opportunity to read some great titles and there's still a stack in my room waiting for me.

I've made some progress with my writing by having some other blogs use my work. I have no idea what will come out of this but believe for God to continue to guide me. One of my goals for 2011 is to have one of my novels published (fingers are crossed).

I've had the chance to try some fun recipes and am looking forward to tackling some harder dishes next year. I love being able to mix together different ingredients to create tasty creations (I have a new cookbook just waiting for me to look through).

I'm hoping to delve more into creative projects next year. I follow a blog called "Today's Creative Blog" that offers daily do-it-yourself ideas. There are two on my list to try: desert lotion bars and sugar scrub.

I've done it once before but I'm wanting to read the Bible through next year. I've tried several times since then but end up falling so far behind that there's no way to catch up. Yet a new year brings a fresh start.

My pastor gave us a verse for next year and I'm very excited about it. Ephesians 3:20: "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--" (Amplified)

year in review: books

I've covered music so now we're moving on to books. Thanks to discovering the amazing world of book reviewing, I've been able to read some amazing books...for free (to get started, try out Thomas Nelson and Tyndale House). I did a prior post listing all the books I've read this year but here are my top five:

* "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan

* "Plan B" by Pete Wilson

* "Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado

* "Dining with Joy" by Rachel Hauck

* "City on Our Knees" by Toby Mac

I've surprised myself for only one fiction book to be on this list. All of these books are ones I'd definitely recommend if you're in need of a new read :-)

year in review: movies

I've seen quite a few movies this year but there are only a handful I'd watch a second time or more. I know there are more for this list but here are a few...

* Toy Story 3 - I love the humor in the movie! I feel like most of it was actually geared toward adults or maybe I just find random things to be funny. My brother got the dvd for Christmas and we watched it again the other night. Since we have a similar sense of humor, we laughed at the same things but again, maybe that's just us. Out of the three movies, I like the third the best.

* Despicable Me - this movie was just fun. When I went to see it, it was mostly kids crammed in the theater but I still enjoyed it. I think Agnes was my favorite - she was absolutely adorable and yes, I laughed at the "It's so fluffy" line :-)

* Letters to Juliet - I wasn't sure I would like this movie but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it has some cheesy moments but it was cute.

* When in Rome - again, I don't know if it's just my sense of humor but I laughed a lot when watching this. And since I was at home, I didn't have to worry about others hearing me :-) There were times when I felt Beth was just being too wishy-washy but still, a cute movie.

year in review: songs

Several songs have become my theme songs for this year. Some were released this year and some just finally meant something to me. The one that stands out to me is "With Everything" by Hillsong United. Oh my. This was the song at youth camp that was THE song. It was the one that stirred all of us up - especially when the bridge hits - and I get chills even now. SUCH a good song!

Francesca Battistelli's whole "My Paper Heart" album is amazing but "Beautiful, Beautiful" would have to be my favorite (the acoustic version is very cool). "Behind the Scenes" became a soundtrack for me this year because I love the message. It talks about how God is working in our lives even when we can't see evidence of it. "Someday Soon" makes me smile - I look forward to being able to live out the lyrics when I get married someday :-)

I'm not a huge country music fan but I really like Rascal Flatts. Their song "Unstoppable" is about, to me, not giving up even when everything inside of you wants to quit. It's about refusing to go back and continue moving forward. I also finally heard their version of Matthew West's "The Day Before You" this year and it's pretty amazing too.

Some Honorable Mentions would go to "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon and"Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar (we actually used this in our Easter program at church). I've also discovered OneRepublic this year and "Passenger" might be my favorite.

There are way more songs I could list that have impacted me this year but these would top the list...

year in review: music

In just a few days a new year will be upon us. I always like to reflect on the past year, looking at things I wanted to accomplish (and did) and things I didn't do but will work that much harder on for the coming year. I also wanted to reflect on things that have influenced/impacted me this year. Today I'm looking at music. This year I've had the amazing opportunity to not only be introduced to new music this year but I've finally seen people in concert I've listened to for years.

The latter occurred when I went with some friends this summer to see Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin together for their "Hello Tonight" tour. I saw Toby a few years ago when he was a part of Winter Jam but this time not only was I seated much closer (thank you Alicia for the awesome seats) but since it was just him and Chris Tomlin, he had more stage time. It was a very cool concert and the highlight was definitely when he walked past our row and my brother freaked out :-)

Some new-to-me artists I've seen this year are all thanks to Dave Barnes. I've been listening to him for about three years but finally saw him in concert this year (again, thank you Alicia). He often has friends of his with him and I've become fans of all of them. I love Dave because he's so real. Not only is he a great songwriter and singer but he's absolutely hilarious (if you've never been to his comedy show, go). Ben Rector, Drew Holcomb and Steve Moakler are the others I'm just now listening to because of Dave. Ben is just amazing. My favorite song is "Moving Backwards" (which I posted about the other day). I love the fact that the first time I heard it was live. I remember he began singing and I looked at the people I was with, a look of amazement on my face. Drew Holcomb has more of a folksy sound but what I love is that his wife sings with him. Together they are amazing. They sang "Baby It's Cold Outside" (Christmas tour) and I loved it!! Steve Moakler is hard to describe. He has this intenseness (I'm not sure what the right word is) about him. My favorite song of his would have to be "All the Faint Lights."

It's been sooo much fun being introduced to new music this year! We'll see what next year holds...

christmas

Christmas 2010 is almost over. I'm back home after spending the day at my grandparents. All of the presents that were once under the tree have now been opened. The tree doesn't look quite the same without colorful boxes underneath. While some of the gifts I received were things I had asked for, others were surprises. It's been a good day. Tomorrow marks the last week of this year and we'll soon be welcoming in 2011. I don't want to ever forget why we celebrate Christmas. I don't want to ever place more emphasis on the things I hope to get than on the One whose birthday we celebrate. And to top it all off, we had a white Christmas this year. It's been a while since we've seen snow in my corner of the world on Christmas and it was like adding sprinkles to a cupcake - the perfect final touch. I'm looking forward to next year. It's going to be full of amazing things...