A Scottish Biblical Ruth?

Mine Is the Night - by Liz Curtis Higgs  as reviewed by Tami.

This is the second and conclusion book in a series based loosely on the Book of Ruth from the Bible. I have not had the privileged to read the 1st book of this series - but was very glad to get the 2nd book as I love historical fiction books!

As a stand alone read. This book does just fine with out knowing all that happened in the 1st book, but does reference some things in the 1st book, and explains them - as a memory - so you are included with the character in real time with out feeling you've missed a vital step somewhere. Great Job on that Ms Higgs!

Our main character, Elizabeth Kerr - affectionately known as Bess - is the reflection of the Biblical Ruth. A recent widow, who chooses to embrace Christianity and because of that chooses to stay with and assist her mother-in-law - Marjory Kerr. Like the Biblical story, these two start out with virtually nothing but faith. And hope that God will provide all their needs. Having supported the wrong side of the war - they are labeled as rebels and are fleeing for the relative safety of the Scottish Highlands where Marjory lived as a young bride.

This time period in history where ones religion is mingled with ones political allegiance - leaves our two Kerr women with doubts as to the churches acceptance of them. (An aspect of Ruth I had not thought about...) Having supported the "wrong" side and having become widowed and penniless - the church has an obligation to see if the heresy is or has been spurned by the member... if not the member is cast out and not supported or welcomed by the church and it's members.  This all adds to the drama and suspense in the two ladies lives.

I truely enjoyed the fact that Ms Higgs included other characters - such as the cousin Anne Kerr and Michael the tailor. These add flavor and friendships that lend support to the Kerr's. And gives practice to the women in being proactive about Love and matters of the heart.

On the subject of matter's of the heart... the book is delightful in the way it shows hope and equality in a time where class and station are very much relevant and can hinder the matters of the heart more then help. As today there are many obstacles that arise when you decide you are actually in love. So with the Kerr women - all three are deeply smitten - yet do not want to fly too far in the wind of convention or society that they maybe outcast completely. Suffice to say  - love in Christ conquers all!

And as the Book of Ruth ends in a birth - so does this one... with the promise of a new generation and restoration of honor.

I LOVED this book!! And would LOVE to read the 1st one... maybe sometime. ;)

I look forward to reading another book by Ms Higgs...

Five out of Five Stars!!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Video Review



Don't forget to rank this book please...

Natural Sweetners

The Azure Standard is hosting a giveaway on Natural Sweeteners on their blog!!!
Check it out at - http://azurestandard.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaways-dont-get-any-sweeter-than.html

I LOVE Agave nectar and straight honey... we are trying to get completely off of refined sugar. It's quite a process... I have bought some Sucanat - but find the taste quite strong, unless I am cooking with it. I have not tried to make these great ideas with it - but hope to soon!

Blessings as you journey to find true sweetness without refined sugar for your family!

And don't forget to check out those great recipes from Heavenly Homemakers... Yum!

And my friends at Give Them Something Better ... Double - Vegan YUM!!

What has been keeping me busy while I wait for new books...

I am in charge of out Kindergarten 1 class at church. This Quarter I am leading out with the crafts... so every week I am looking for ideas, and dreaming up ways to make the story real for the little 3 - 4 year olds. It's fun!

Here are some of my ideas for this quarter:

Noah's Ark
You take a small paper plate, spray paint it brown and cut it in half, then staple the 2 halves together at the rounded edges. Viola! An Ark. :D

Now you take a sheet of paper and cut little paper people - I used the old according style fold and cut method to make 8 people for our Ark. Totally Biblical - eh?

Here comes the best part!
We took Baggies (the snack sized ones) and put animal crackers in for the animals on the Ark. An instant hit! Yay!!

Noah's Ark - done!

Mom - What's 'the World' ?

Book Review of "God Gave us the World" by Lisa T. Bergren

Finally!! A book I can review and sit with my boys to read. I have 3 boys - 4,5 and 8. All of whom LOVE reading... so one weekend the 2 little ones sat with me and we read this book. My 5 yr old loved it! And kept asking why all the bears looked different and why the little bear kept asking questions. Too funny as he is my question asker. While the youngest did not quite grasp the book - until I kept pointing out the photos of the different bears and asking him (when his brother was not asking questions) what the differences were between the bears and what they ate.


This is a fun book which highlights the differences and similarities between the bear families and habitats. While they are all bears, they all look and act differently. The main message in this book is that God is good and love us all no matter what we look like or eat. He made each of us special just the way we are.


I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Seek Me With All Your Heart - Review

A Review of 'Seek Me with all your Heart' by Beth Wiseman

Unlike most Amish books, this one is not set in the traditional settings of the Pennsylvania Dutch areas. But is a tale of leaving hurt and trouble, memories and pain, burdens and preconcieved notions behind and starting fresh in a new area... namely Colorado!

2 families move into the area with in 6 months of each other. Both families are looking for a fresh start... and having left behind all their support - family, friends and church - they forge ahead looking to create new friends and church family.

The 1st family, Emily Detweiler’s family, abruptly moved to Colorado after tragedy struck in Ohio. But Emily can’t get far enough to escape what happened there. Something I did not know happened in Amish communities - and yet, people are people and evil and unrestrained behavior, sadly, happens in all cultures today. Their tale is of healing, and renewing faith and hope in the future.

David Stoltzfus is not happy when his family relocates from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Nevermind that they haven't told him why. David struggles not only with this unwelcome move, but also with the fear that a health condition could keep him from living his life in full. Again, he is struggling with the unknown... the Amish way of not being too open with their children and spouses is highlighted here, and a glimpse is given to us of how the Amish deal with Medical troubles and money - gives insight to the care and community they left behind. This gives a common thread for Emily and David's character - hope... what it is and if they have any for the future.

This book is a delightful read with quirky characters thrown in to lighten and liven up the story and make it more relate-able to readers who do not read many Amish stories. Beth makes this a fun and easy read - and the heavy parts and unanswerable parts are not so oppressive that you do not see the golden thread of hope and Love from God in them.  I believe this is the first book in the series and truly look forward to any more books Beth Wiseman does.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this ebook for free through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program in exchange for my unbiased review.

Purex Crystals - and Inside View...

So, I was selected as a Purex Insider and have recieved some of their products to review.
This is what I recieved in the mail:

My first impression on how they cam  up with the idea for this type of softener is that it must be based on a salt softener, not unlike your house water softener that uses those big bags of salt.  But THIS smells SO nice!! And really does make your clothes soft too.

Meet the Lovely  -  Purex Crystals!

They smell so clean... and go straight in the wash with your detergent. and stay with your clothes till you take them out to dry. I think they add the scent that lasts for a few days.  Look out Downy!

Purex has a softener that is 92%  natural, and safe for your family, your washer and dryer and clothes!

Unlike other liquid softeners Purex does not leave any oily residue on your clothes - which can build up over time and leave your clothes looking yellow or gray. And can decrease your towel's absorbency... yes, this is why the towel's label says not to use softener. But did you know that this same oily residue can make your children's clothes and sleepwear unsafe? Well, these same oils can impair the flame retardant qualities of the fabric of the clothing. 

So far, I am LOVING this softener... and hope that you do too!

For more info and pricing please see:

 http://www.purex.com/MXTQEPZOXYOMU2800AXODMQMFIYLHZ


And hopefully I'll have some coupons to share with you soon.