Do you remember The Hunger Games? The first time you saw it? I do. I was washing dishes in my parents' kitchen, while my dad and my little brother watched in the next room. It was that scene in the beginning. Katniss steps forward to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games.  She puts her life on the line to protect her little sis. I remember my mom turning and asking me: would I do that for my sister?  Katniss doesn't have time to decide.  Love drives her to act.  Harper from Beauty in ... Read More about Why I Loved Beauty in Hiding

They almost all have daddy issues, and they’ve all experience loss. They’ve all lost a family member somehow. They all come from pretty messed up families, and that’s probably why they’ve made their own family, over the course of the previous books in the series (which I haven't read yet).  Hearing about who Delilah used to be, it's amazing that she ended up in this family.  And a good thing, too, because growing up with no parents in the picture and under the thumb of an abusive grandmother ... Read More about Think your Family is Messed Up? Meet Delilah’s.

I didn't plan it this way. I didn't plan to read this book, this week. I didn't plan to read A Life of Creative Purpose, while wrestling with my own. I signed up to review this book months ago, put it on my calendar, and forgot about it. But God knew what he was doing.  It was the book I needed to read this week, and I'll be spending the next few weeks journaling through the reflection questions. This review has been moved to The Cafe Scholar Blog. Click here to read the full post.   ... Read More about What is God’s Creative Purpose for your Life?

Y'all, I'm mostly an equal opportunity reader, but I do have some favorites.  Ok. I have enough "favorite" types of fiction that it's easier to say what doesn't catch my interest. But I'm a history nut too, and so historical fiction is a lot of fun.  Frontier stories are some of my favorites (along with WWII or Cold War-era spy novels...but that's for another day). This review has been moved to The Cafe Scholar Blog. Click here to read the full post.   ... Read More about What is your favorite thing about a good frontier story?

I've spent a lot of hours reading in the last few days.  I've noticed that, which is strange for me.  Usually, when I'm reading, I completely lose track of time, stay up way too late, and eagerly await my next lunch break to get back into the book.  This week, that wasn't the case.  I wasn't devouring pages to find out what would happen next.  But I was thinking.  A lot.  An Unpresentable Glory doesn't hit my "favorites" list, but it was definitely thought-provoking.  Here are a few of those ... Read More about What did I think of An Unpresentable Glory?