To Tame a Cowboy

 

Jody Hedlund continues the story of the McQuaid family in the Colorado Cowboys series. 

Brody's past haunts him. He is broken and hurting. Savannah is a sweet kind hearted girl, seeking to find her place. She runs from her families ranch, desiring to be a veterinarian. What she finds is Brody's brokenness. Brody and Savannah's characters grow beautifully.

This story is about finding God's forgiveness and healing. A tender story to wrap around your heart. I read Wyatt's story, but this one can be read as a stand alone.

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher, through Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What Remains True

 

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle takes place in Antler Creek North Carolina. Merry Anna Foster becomes enchanted with the small town as she drives through, takes a job and settles in after a nasty divorce. 

Adam Locklear, a rodeo bull rider, makes plans to get to the finals. He is estranged from his parents because of his career choice, as they don't approve of his bull riding. Five year old Zan changes Adam's life and his relationship with Merry Anna.

This story is about new beginnings and relationships. Nancy Naigle has a way of communicating a Christian message as her characters face unexpected challenges. 

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Happy New Year!

 

Merry Christmas

 

"I thank God for Christmas. Would that it would last all year. For on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, all the world is a better place, and men and women are more loveable. Love itself seeps into every heart, and miracles happen...". ~ Peter Marshall

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

John 3:16-17

What to do this Christmas

   

  What To Do This Christmas

This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Find the time. Forego a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Appreciate others. Be kind; be gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Deserve confidence. Take up arms against malice. Decry complacency. Express your gratitude. Go to church. Welcome a stranger. Gladden a heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it once more. Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of its true meaning --- with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself toward the core of life. Then, only then, is it possible to grasp the significance of that first Christmas --- to savor in the inward ear the sweet music of the angel choir; to envision the star-struck sky, and glimpse, behind the eyelids, the ray of light that fell athwart a darkened path and changed the world. 

                                        Author Unknown

Joy to the World

JOY to the World! the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart, prepare Him room,

And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

JOY to the earth! the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ,

While fields and floods,rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

HE rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Detours

 

When Pharaoh let the people go, "God did not guide them by the road towards the Philistines, though that way was the shortest.... God made them go round by way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea" (Ex 13: 17, 18 NEB).

The direct route would save time as well as wear and tear on the people, but God had something infinitely more important than economics in mind--He wanted the people to be able to sing the song of praise of chapter 15--"The Lord is my refuge and my defence...my deliverer. He is my God and I will glorify Him; He is my father's God and I will exalt Him" (Ex 15:2 NEB). They sang this song because they had firsthand experience of God's power and deliverance. Pursued by all the chariots and horses, cavalry and infantry of Egypt, they had passed through the Red Sea in safety and seen the enemy drowned. They would have missed this glorious lesson if they had taken the short road.

When we are puzzled by delays and detours, let us think about the great purpose of life: to glorify God. The lessons He wants to teach us "in the wilderness" are priceless means of providing us with a song we could not otherwise have sung: "In Thy constant love Thou hast led the people!" (Ex 15:13).

~ Elisabeth Elliott