Hopeful by Shelley Shepard Gray was a great book to read. I loved this book but I figured I would because I have loved the other books I have read by this author. In this book you follow along with Miriam as she tries to help the person that she has had a crush on her whole life win over one of her friends. I felt bad for her throughout the whole book but I also knew how she felt because I have felt like her. I didn’t really like Mary Kate in the beginning but by the end of the book I understood why she acted the way that she did. I have to say that I loved the ending of the book and I can’t wait to read more books with these characters. If you love books about the Amish than I know you will love this one as much as I did.
About The Book
Return to Sugarcreek, Book One
In the Amish town of Sugarcreek, love comes in many forms. But will it come at all for Miriam?
Miriam Zehr has worked at the Sugarcreek Inn longer than she cares to admit. The restaurant is a favorite of town residents as well as the many tourists who come to taste the famous Amish fare. Though she always tries to have a smile for every customer, deep down Miriam knows something’s missing: a family of her own.
Miriam has never felt particularly beautiful, especially because she’s always been a bit heavier than other girls her age. When Junior, the man she’s pined for all her life, suddenly seeks her out, she’s thrilled to be noticed . . . until she realizes he’s only asking her to help get the attention of Mary Kathryn Hershberger, her pretty friend.
If Miriam helps Junior court Mary Kathryn, she’ll get to spend a lot of time with him, but she might lose him in the process. Are these few stolen moments worth a lifetime of sacrifice? Is Miriam right to even hope for the life she dreams of?
About The Author
Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Learn more about Shelley at: http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com
I love this series because I have fallen in love with the characters but I do have to say I haven’t been overly excited about the endings. Even though things do get wrapped up to a certain point I was still left with questions and wondering what is going to happen next. This one you follow along with Bethany as she lets go of the man she thought she was going to marry and realize that the one she is meant to be with is the one who is always around her. You also have the return of her brother so that takes the story in different directions that I didn’t think it would go. I can’t wait for the next book in this series because of all the unanswered questions that were left in this book.
About The Book
Book Two in the Inn at Eagle Hill series.
Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher delivers her trademark twists, turns, and tender romance in this delightful and exciting visit to the deceptively quiet community of Stoney Ridge.
Twenty-year-old Bethany Schrock is restless. Her love life has derailed, her faith hangs by a thread, and she is spending the incredibly hot summer days wading through a lifetime’s accumulation of junk at the home of five ancient Amish sisters. About the only thing that holds her interest is the spirited and dangerously handsome Jimmy Fisher—and he seems bent on irritating her to no end.
When the sly old sisters and a guest at the Inn get Bethany involved in running the local soup kitchen and starting a community garden, she suddenly finds herself wondering, Shootfire! How did that happen? Despite her newfound purposefulness, a gnawing emptiness about a childhood mystery continues to plague her. Encouraged by Jimmy Fisher, she will seek out the answers she craves—and uncover a shocking secret that will break her heart, heal it, and point her to love.
About The Author
Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, includingAmish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your mobile device! Download the Free App! http://bit.ly/10Tygyi
Shadowed By Grace by Cara C Putman was an amazing book. This book takes place during WWII to and I think that made me like this book even more. I love the time period and I also loved learning about a different part of WWII that I hadn’t ever know about. I had a hard time with how it just abruptly ended but I usually have a problem with endings of books because I get so caught up with the characters. The one downside to this book is that towards the end I found that I was bored and just skimmed some of the pages because I felt there was more detail than needed to be in the book. I am glad I read this one and it is one of the few that I will keep in my collection of books.
About The Book
She found peace in a time of war.
Desperate to save her dying mother, an American woman accepts her newspaper’s assignment to travel to Italy where she takes photographs dangerously close to the front lines during World War II. But Rachel’s real motive in this journey is to find the father she never knew, an artist she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her mother need to survive at such a desperate time.
In her quest, Rachel becomes involved with what will become the Monuments Men effort to save great monuments and works of art from the Third Reich. Soon enough she will find more than she ever imagined—in war, in love, and in God.
About The Author
Cara C. Putman graduated high school at 16, college at 20, and completed her law degree at 27. The best-selling author of more than a dozen books, Cara is active in women’s ministry at her church, teaches graduate courses at Purdue University, practices law, and is a homeschooling mom. She lives with her husband and 4 children in Indiana.
Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher is celebrating her newest book, The Calling, by giving away TWO iPads, TWO Kindles, and TWO Nooks!
Two grand prize winners will receive:
An iPad
The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Four second place winners will receive:
A Kindle Fire HDX or a Nook HD—winner’s choice!
The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th. All winners will be announced February 10th at Suzanne’s blog.
Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Suzanne’s blog on the 10th to see if you won one of the great prizes! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)
I was reading a blog post last week by the SITS girls and they listed 28 prompts for the month of February and as I read through the prompts I saw a few I wanted to write about and this was one of them: What made you smile this week?
I chose this one because I am a firm believer that laughing helps relieve stress and for me when I smile I am usually laughing. I am going to share a few things that made me smile from this past week.
My little brothers son is starting to smile and it seems that I am one of the few who can always get him to smile and laugh.
My grandma when we went shopping decided that she was going to make flour go all over me because she acts like she is a teenager. The bag had a hole in it so she pressed on the bag and flour when all over me.
Just watching people made me smile because I don’t think people realize all of the crazy & weird things that they do.
I loved watching people get offend when they read the hoodie that I was wearing and see their reactions to it. I was wearing this hoodie because I love the song and I love the hoodie: (FYI: I got the hoodie here if you want to pick one up for yourself)
I watched this YouTube video that makes me smile every time I watch it. The ending is the best part of the video and it makes me smile just thinking about it.
Those are a few of the things that made me smile this past week.
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