Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity.

    Holy God, when I pause to think about Your holiness, I realize I don't know You, not to Your heart, not to Your perfection and purity and separateness from this creation in which I reside. I have heard about You. I have read Your Book. I've felt Your Presence. I've heard Your prompting and guidance. I've been washed in Your Blood. But who are You, so separate from what You have created that You have no need of us, of this world, of time or space? You are self-sufficient and self-existent. You are holy, holy, holy.
    Then, I think about Your patience and the various ways that You have revealed Yourself to Your children — the Son, the Word, the Indwelling Spirit, the Creation. How You are all about overcoming the sin that separates us so that we can come back into Your presence. These are the actions of a holy God? Definitely a loving and forgiving God.
    And then I am dismayed to think of the times that I've questioned Your character and Your goodness. You who have never sinned — to have Your actions judged by a finite, created, selfish creature like me. How stupid I can be. How forgiving You are. Thank You for patience. Thank You for Your holiness, that doesn't change no matter how unholy I am. Thank You that we would be separate except for the blood of Jesus that cleanses me from sin and provides the way back into Your life. You are a holy God.
    I thank You, too, that I can be holy because You are holy. That I can be righteous because You are righteous. That I can be clean and forgiven and pure. I don't have to live in stupidity and sin. All because You are holy and unchanging and faithful regardless of what Your creation does. I praise You for being a holy God who is mighty to save. I bow before You and worship.
    Amen and amen.

Thyme for Love is a romantic mystery that is strong on the romance.  The story opens with April Love meeting her ex-fiance after eight years.  She's applying for a job as a chef. Marc Thorne works at the non-profit company she's interviewing at.  He wouldn't be her boss — until the boss turns up dead the next morning.

Ramon Galvez's death is ruled a heart attack, and life goes on for those at the His Helping Hands Ministry.  Except a variety of characters make for good suspects when April begins to question the authority's ruling.  Ramon's ex-girlfriend is top of the list.  But Ramon's gold-digging sister isn't far behind.  Then there are the folks that work at the mission — the maintenance man, the disgruntled accountant, the director of the board, two office workers, and, of course, Marc and Bob Cousins, men who are now vying for Ramon's position.

The romance between April and Marc is stalled because Marc now has a secret he won't share about what happened in the last eight years to derail his oh-so-important agenda of grad school. But as work circumstances and dating opportuntiies keep them together, April begins to see that as a couple they had deeper issues when they were engaged than she'd realized.  Perhaps it was for the best that they had time to grow up separately.

Still, she feels they can't move forward until Marc can trust her with his secrets.  Good thing she has a murder to solve while she's waiting on him.

Clean, straight-forward writing.  Easy to enjoy characters.  Simple romance.  I rarely figure out the killer in mysteries, so that doesn't surprise me.  I'm not sure I followed all the motives, though.  Why don't you give it a read, and we can chat about why the characters did what they did?

The Superlative Stream is the second book in The Dark Trench Saga, a Christian science fiction trilogy.  Marcher Lord Press puts out good fiction and this is no exception.

I had read book one, A Star Curiously Singing, before I started to post reviews, so I can't refer you back to refresh your memory.  But I had already met Sandfly and Hard Candy and knew they were seeking that singing star aboard the Deep Trench spaceship when book one ended.

Book two picks up while they are enroute.  Between the spaceship, the main characters, and the aliens they meet on a planet that shouldn't be possible, there is too much spiritual stuff going on for me to want to try to break it down. But suffice it to say Sandfly encounters the Superlative Stream.

I look forward to what he does with his new relationship in his old world, a horribly messed up and enslaved world.

Well written. Engaging. Wonderfully creative.  And challenging.  Try some Kerry Nietz fiction. 

I read Reinventing Leona on Kindle so I don't have the book spine to tell me what genre the professionals categorized this novel.  I'm guessing Women's Fiction because the heroine was middle aged and didn't fall in love during the course of the book.  I don't think it is giving away too much of the story to say that Leona grieves the loss of her husband and re-establishes her relationships with her children.

This was a surprisingly emotional read for the underlining snarky humor of the characters.  Leona has been a preacher's wife for 30 years.  The kind of preacher's wife who allowed the members of her husband's church to have way too much say in her life.  Now with the preacher gone, she's rebelling against the idiosyncrasies, the legalisms, and the poor choices the flock makes.

Both Leona's son and daughter take after their mother instead of their easy-going father  in their outlook on the congregation.  So more snarky humor comes through their point of view.

But just when I was thinking that Leona's husband must have been a horrible preacher to have been at this one church for 18 years and left no Spirit-filled, God-loving members behind, Maddie (the daughter) has a wonderful moment with the organist. Mrs. Wilkerson had given Maddie organ lessons when she was a child, but Maddie hadn't been interested in practicing.  Now Maddie is becoming a doctor.  Mrs. Wilkerson says, "I've been praying the Lord uses your hands to his glory.  And he will.  Practice and these hands will make the music of healing."

Reinventing Leona had lots of great character situations.  Bertie was over the top, as were most of the church members, but once I got into the tone of the novel, I rolled with it.  People who like slap stick comedy will enjoy this novel.

Plus, I teared up like five times.

Which just reminds me of my favorite line.  When Leona's best friend tries to convince her that she needs to cry before she drowns, Leona responds with this thought:  Dammed-up tears had ample room in her hollow chest.

Lots of character growth for Leona and her children.  I wouldn't have minded seeing another month of their lives.

Protector of my heart and my spirit, I praise You for both Your love and Your power, working together for my best in every situation. Like a missile, You are both offense and defense when it comes to protecting Your children. You are Shield and Sword. You are the Rock we stand on and the Rock that crushes, the Cornerstone the Church is built upon, the Capstone the builders rejected.

But, Prince of Peace, when I think of You as my Protector, I remember the chivalry and pageantry of the Middle Ages. You are my Fortress and Strong Tower. You are my Buckler and my Armor. My Shield. The Banner that covers me when I ride into battle. You go before me and behind me, and yet surround me. I am safe in Christ.

You are the Safe Place and the One who dwells within me. You amazing Holy Spirit. My Refuge. Holy God, nothing can touch me without Your permission. Thank You. Thank You for safety, blessing, and hope. Thank You for correction, discipline, and trials that draw me back into Your arms. Thank You for being my white Knight, my Prince, and my King.

I worship You with my words. May I worship You this day with my life. Safe in You, what should I fear? Help me to live with abandon for Jesus, my Protector.

Patty Froese is a new author at Desert Breeze Publishing and to the best of my knowledge this is her first book. 

When I started reading Pretty on Paper, I was reminded of the Harlequin romances I loved to read in the 80s.  It wasn't that the hero was rich and arrogant — Jake was well aware of his short-comings, though he was a lawyer and a workaholic.  It wasn't that there was a love scene three quarters of the way through the novel — this Christian fiction stayed on the safe side of its characters' passion.  I think it was the writing style that reminded me of the good ole days, just taking me one gentle scene at a time deeper into the foibles of Anne and Jake's relationship.

Pretty on Paper is a short contemporary romance set in small town, Charity Falls.  It has the age-old city girl/country boy theme going on, tweaked a little to question another not-so-old conundrum:  Should moms stay at home to raise their children at the expense of not using a God-given talent?  Jake says yes. He's participated in one failed marriage where neither partner made the marriage a top priority; he doesn't want to do that again.  Anne says no.  Her own mother was a career woman, and Anne didn't suffer because of it.

I think what pleased me the most about this book was how the romance developed.  They just liked each other. When the differences in their life goals surfaced, they were disappointed, because they liked each other and had hopes of seeing something deeper develop.  As much as they knew they shouldn't see each other, they both continued to find reasons to do just that — because they liked each other. They weren't cruel, selfish, or even immature.  They didn't spend the entire book spatting and then decide they were going to get married anyway.  They just liked each other. And eventually that like was strong enough to help both of them to compromise and realize they were in love.

Oh, there is a bit of mystery, too.  Anne's on the hunt to find out the secrets of her great aunt, the same aunt who recently died, bringing Anne to Charity Falls to care for her inheritance, a house, a cottage, and a little bookstore called Perfect on Paper.

Give this story a try and see what memories it evokes for you.

To the God who heals:

Lord, I can't help but think about my dad who died from cancer.  Friends gone from this world before they gained gray hairs.  Alzheimer's disease and dementia. We are all destined to die once and then the judgment.  But You are the God who said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you."
    And I know that You heal from so much more than diseases.  I have been the recipient of Your healing when You gave me a new heart in Christ, when You healed me from agreements I made with Satan's lies, when You restored relationships that I had ripped apart.  You are the Healer of our sicknesses and our sin.  You heal bodies, minds, marriages, and mistakes.  You are never too late, because the ultimate healing is standing in Your presence and knowing Truth.
    Thank You, Healer God, for wanting more for us than what this life offers. Thank You for providing the sacrifice and shedding the blood that heals us from our foulest enemy, death.  And, thank You, too, for the small mercies, the shrunken tumors, the healed bones, the bodies that You created for us that are programmed to heal on the cellular level.  You are amazing, God.  We worship You, the YHWH Rophe.

To the Lord who provides,

    I stop this day to consider the things Your hands have provided.  Stability in earth — gravity, atmosphere, seasons, ecosystems. Purpose in life — to love, to help, to serve, to give.  The assurance of things not seen by me — Life spoken into existence, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the purity of Your written Word, a prepared place in Your Kingdom. The joys of this moment — sunshine on my cheek, a lazy dog at my feet, an operating  computer, clear water in my glass. The beauty You've sprinkled on top — waterfalls and rocky mountains, girlfriends and deep conversations, a red tulip among bobbing daffodils, and ways to know You.

    Lord who provides, when I consider that You are the One who lives outside of time and space, it is no wonder that You are the God who "sees beforehand" and the Lord who "will see to it."  You, Jehovah Jireh, Yahweh Yireh, are the One who sees and then does.  You are not a God of only words because when You speak, things happen.  Stars come into existence. Waters separate from sky. Plants pop into being.  You are still the Creator God.  In Your current provision, You hold all things in existence.  You never drop the ball; You never get too busy and forget a promise. You provide to the smallest detail.

    And You provide me with hope. I have not experienced all of You and all that You have to offer.  There is more to come.  More beauty, more joy, more purpose, more stability.  There is more of You to know, and yes, even in that, I see You as the Provider, the One who brings it about.  Your Spirit will lead me into all truth.  Your Spirit will provide the clarity even as Your Son provided the Way.  You are still in the saving business, and I praise You for Your provision.  Thank You, Provider, for filling me.

    In Jesus' name.  Amen.

First the confession:  I read this book over a month ago and haven't found the time to do any reviews since.

Second, because this book came to me as a complimentary review copy, I learned how to open pdf files into ibooks.  (Just some useless information for you, but it made me quite happy.)

Third, the review.

Another enjoyable read in 2012.  Pursued is romantic suspense, and it does have some suspenseful moments. The book opens with Reggie Meyer simply having a bad day, from work issues, to car issues, to house issues.  But the trashed house is criminal and would be terrifying if it wasn't for the fact that the new guy she just met in a little, um, fenderbender is with her and offers her a place to stay — his sister's home.  Really, guys, this is Christian romantic suspense, and he is the hero, not a villain in disguise.

Bad guy ex-boyfriend is probably the one who trashed Reggie's house, but she doesn't believe he would shoot at her. She doesn't know who else would.  But someone is definitely trying to kill her.

Some readers may have a problem with professional lawyer, Reggie, allowing a practical stranger to take charge of her life.  Not me.  The author kept Reggie's disbelief at her own choices so open that I believed circumstances were pushing her to places she wouldn't normally go.

Some readers may have a problem with the lengths our helpful hero, Dylan, took to care for our heroine, a practical stranger, no matter how attractive he found her.  Not me.  He was a good guy, looking for ways to show this woman he cared.

Pursued moved from plot point to plot point as the bad guy attempts to silence Reggie, and Dylan manages to keep her alive.  Oh, perhaps there is more to Dylan than a farm boy who simply wants to make a good impression on an attractive woman.

Compelling story. Interesting main characters and a fun supporting cast. Lots of danger. If I could have asked for anything more, it would have been a deeper building of the romance.  But perhaps that isn't realistic when you are on the run for your life.  I wouldn't know.  Thankfully, I've never been Pursued in that sense.

I have had a farm boy woo me by going out of his way to be helpful, and, like Reggie, I have been pursued by a mighty God who wanted me to see His reality.  But the danger and suspense … I'll take that in my fiction, thank you very much.

[As we have been studying the Names of God, one of my friends wrote her thoughts to the Lord, and I wanted to share with you.]

     Father, God, If You indeed are the Potter and we the clay, then mold us, Lord, Elohim, the Great Creator God.  Make us into a majestic work of art — not that we may be magnified, but that You and You alone may be glorified, and honored, and revered as the Adonai – the Sovereign One – the Yahweh, the Great I Am.  And, what would we be in Your Hands,  Oh LORD?  Not a vase that was beautiful to look at but empty on the inside, not a hardened lump of clay that could be used only to bludgeon and bring injury, but rather one who is soft on the inside, pliable in Your Hands, Lord, to be molded by You into whatever You need us to be to accomplish Your will, and still hard enough on the outside to withstand the constant batterings inflicted upon us at the hands of the enemy and the careless misuse of well-intentioned loved ones.  Father, may we always be a useful vessel, a conduit through which You can pour out Your love to a hurting and needy generation, who would otherwise perish when the day of judgment comes.
Amen.