Combining my blogs

In an effort to keep things a bit simpler for myself, I am combining my book review and recipe blogs into one new blog: Her Creative Side.

I am hoping that this will help my audience grow, as well as give me more opportunities to review for some other companies. Many companies have asked for posts not exclusive to one subject (only book reviews, or only recipes). By combining my 2 blogs, I hope to remedy this!

The new blog is still under construction as I transfer all of my old posts and begin making new ones. I'm hoping this will also give me a place to share some of my other crafty loves, especially digital scrabooking!

If you were a follower of either of my old blogs - Our Favorite Recipes or Chapters and Chocolate - please begin following my new blogging home!! If you haven't been following, please do!! Just click on the "follow" button in the right hand sidebar!

You will find tags on the sidebar of Her Creative Side to narrow down my posts by subject, if you're only interested in reading certain posts.

Thanks for your patience as I work out the bugs! And, thanks for reading all the posts I do write!

To visit Her Creative Side, click here.
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Tags: new blog simplify organization keeping life simple book reviews simplifying life creative side

When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall

Cindy Woodsmall’s very first novel, When the Heart Cries, is a success! Cindy wrote a book that kept me reading until midnight, which is a highly unusual occurrence for the mama of two young toddlers!

When the Heart Cries tells the story of young Hannah Lapp, an Old Order Amish girl who accepts the proposal of Mennonite Paul Waddell. Because of their conflicting traditions, the engagement is kept secret with Paul planning to work at the family farm to win Hannah’s family’s acceptance of him and their future marriage.

However, before any of these plans have a chance to take place, Hannah suffers the unthinkable and must endure, not only her own personal pain and guilt, but also all of the guilt and restrictions of her strict Amish father and community.

Like Beverly Lewis’ The Secret, When The Heart Cries is written in a more contemporary setting. However, the modern backdrop didn’t seem as obvious to me; so despite my dislike of more contemporary settings, I enjoyed the entire book.

I could not put the book down. I had to keep turning the pages, feeling deeply for the characters, and hoping for a good ending.

If you decide to read this book, be sure to have books 2 and 3 on hand as well! When you finish When the Heart Cries, you won’t want to be waiting around for book 2, When the Morning Comes, to arrive at your door!

In fact, it took quite a bit of willpower for me to write this review instead of first grabbing When the Morning Comes! :-)

Congratulations to Cindy on her first novel, which is a wonderful read. If the other two books in the Sisters of the Quilt series, When the Morning Comes and When the Soul Mends are as good as book one and you enjoy the Amish genre, you won’t be disappointed in this new author!!

323 pages from Waterbrook.

Recommend: YES
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Tags: Cindy Woodsmall When the Heart Cries Christian fiction Amish fiction book reviews Old Order Amish Sisters of the Quilt Waterbrook Press Random House

A Primer of Baptist History by Caswell A. Reeves

Our pastor recently published A Primer of Baptist History. I don’t usually curl up with a history book, but I have spent a lot of time with this book and wanted to recommend it!

In our pastor’s own words, his greatest desire is “that the Lord may use this work in an overall way for education and encouragement of Baptist people who have forgotten or are unfamiliar with their Baptist heritage.”

And that, “perhaps, with God’s help, some readers will regain or reclaim their Baptist distinctives once again.”

A Primer of Baptist History, written for the average person, is easy to read and understand. The book begins by identifying and defining Baptists, beginning with John the Baptist, and works its way through to the Baptists of today.

In chapter 6, Pastor Reeves examines the lives of several men, including Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, who are often highly esteemed in Baptist circles and leaves the reader to decide whether or not these men were “friends” or “foes” to Baptists.

Chapter 10, another of great interest to me, takes a serious look at Protestantism and its effect on Baptists today.

I would greatly encourage you to get a copy of this book for yourself or your pastor!

358 pages from Emmanuel Baptist Publications.

Recommend: YES
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Tags: Caswell Reeves A Primer of Baptist History Pastor Reeves Baptist history book reviews Emmanuel Baptist Press Emmanuel Baptist Publications John Calvin GARBC Newington, CT Emmanuel Baptist Theological Seminary Heritage Baptist Church Baptist heritage Protestantism KJV Martin Luther Michael Sattler John the Baptist Baptist church history Baptist church baptism Biblicist Local Church

The Secret by Beverly Lewis

*Edited*

I’m not sure exactly what I think about this book! The Secret, Beverly Lewis’ newest book on the shelf, seems a bit different than most of her others.

Some of Beverly’s books are written in a more contemporary setting, but because the characters are mostly Amish, it’s hard to tell what time period they are in. The occasional mention of a neighbor picking them up in a car, or the use of a phone, is about the only reference to the modern world.

The Secret seems to have a dual main character – Grace Byler, a young Amishwoman and Heather Nelson, an Englischer. Because an Englischer seems to be an integral part of the story, the book is peppered with references to Twitter, iPods, email, and texting – not something that appeals to me when reading.

However, that being said, Beverly still knows how to write a story that draws you in. I had to keep reading “just one more chapter” to find out the secret!

Grace's Mamm is acting strange. No one understands what is wrong and Grace is becoming concerned. One day, Mamm just leaves. No one knows where she is; no one hears from her. Grace feels her Daed knows something, but won't reveal any secrets. Where could Mamm be?? What could be so awful in her life that she would leave her family so suddenly?

Heather Nelson has just lost her mom to cancer. She herself has just been told that she now has the awful disease and must begin treatment. Heather refuses to admit something is wrong or go through treatments that only left her mom more sick and weak. Determined to find a more natural way and some peace, Heather arrives in Lancaster.

By the end of the book, you will know the secret, but, if you’re like me, you’re going to feel like the whole secret wasn’t told!

I have my suspicions, but I have to wait until book 2 is released! The Missing won’t be available until September. Oy! Such a long time to wait….. even with pre-ordering!

If you enjoy Beverly’s books, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in The Secret. I just generally prefer books pre-WWII, so the setting was the only thing I didn’t really like. Even though I know The Missing will very likely be filled with more modern references, because of the characters, I am still anxious to see the rest of the secret revealed!

352 pages by Bethany House.

Recommend: YES
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Tags: Beverly Lewis The Secret Christian fiction Amish fiction book reviews Seasons of Grace Bethany House Publishers

Has it really been that long?!!

Have I really been gone almost two months?!!

Our family has finally packed, moved, and unpacked! We are settling quite nicely into our new home.

Although several boxes still need to be unpacked, sorted, and organized, I have actually taken some time to RELAX and finally READ after several months of being almost book-less! :-)

I have several reviews written and scheduled to be posted. Also, my mailbox has been quickly filling with several wish list requests from paperbackswap. So, my bookshelves are sagging once again!

I am thoroughly enjoying being DONE with the stress of moving and selling! For the everyday stress that is now left, my greatest stress reliever is opening a good book and savoring either Lindt or Dove chocolates...mmmm!

So, a new review (on Beverly Lewis' The Secret) should be posted in a day or two, once I get all of my links edited. Several more reviews will follow...

Thanks for your patience during my absence!

Happy Reading!

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Tags: book reviews

Absent for a few weeks...

I just wanted to inform my readers that I'll be absent for a few weeks. We're moving!

So, between packing and getting our internet back up and running, I'm not going to have any fun reading time! :-(

I JUST finished reading The Secret by Beverly Lewis and am very anxious to let you all know my thoughts! However, that will have to wait...

Must pack and move and settle first!

Once we're settled, I have a STACK of books awaiting me! I should then be able to get on a more regular reviewing schedule!

Thanks for your patience! I'll be back as soon as I can!