Broken Perfection..A Stained Glass Aproach

In her latest book, Stained Glass Hearts, Patsy Clairmont shares the brokenness that has touched her life. Her sharing her own pain, though not in detail of various experiences, led me to find some glimpse of sunlight in my own struggles personally , for such a time as this.
I found it to be a book that took me, as a creative type, to places of exploration as I began seeing God's creation through music, art, and other forms of creativity.
As the subtitle caught my eye with this thought, " Seeing Life froma Broken Perspective", I felt that this book would touch on many things that most , or all of us, at one time or another, could relate to - being broken, wounded, or in pain.
Ms Clairmont takes her readers into her world of both struggles that she has felt, and experienced , while at the same time in each chapter ending, into the world of a better space - one filled with a perspective of joy in music, words of inspiration from the Word of God, artistry from different avenues of color, and inspiration that takes the sting out of life's sometimes, hardest journey.
This book , if you just give a passing glance to the title, and subtitle, would lead one to think it is a book of self help. That is what I first thought, and would have put it out of my mind, thinking " just another self help guru's interpretation of life".. However, reading the first few pages, and allowing myself to think outside the box, I began seeing in my own understanding of being broken, that there is joy in the outcome, and the outing of personal pain that we all feel inside..
Ms Clairmont takes us on a journey of her own experiences, and though they are not like mine, I found myself relating in many ways, and for that very fact, I am thankful I did not put the book aside when choosing it to review.
Would I share this book as a journey to encourage another friend, in their time of brokenness? No.. because it wasn't a book that I see is useful for helping.. It is more a book, in my humble opinion, to bless those who are in the healing process , as they begin to see joy in the experiences that being broken and beautiful , provide..
Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Fatal Judgement..

Fatal Judgment is book one in the " Guardians of Justice " series from author, Irene Hannon. I have read one other from the author, and found it quite enjoyable, and suspenceful, and was hoping this was of the same caliber as her other one.

Fatal Judegement has plenty of drama, action and some romance thrown into the mix, and to some readers of her books, my opinion, though not all bad, is that it seemed a little predictory in knowing what was to come.. Her style of writing is engaging, yes, but I had found it to be almost TOO similar in the outcome of the book.

In Fatal Judgement, Jake Taylor, who is a U.S. Marshal, found himself assigned to protect a federal judgenamed, Liz Michaels. Liz , in the story , happened to be the widow of one of Jake's college good friends. And into reading the book, Liz's sister, we find out was murdered at Liz's house, and the police believe Liz may have been the actual target.

This book is turned into a very good read, with a combination of suspense with the murder investigation, as well as romance with the feelings that began to evolve with Jake and Liz. The murder details were not so graphic that readers who are squirmish about ' crime stories ' would shy away from finishing the book, and the romance isn't too sickening sweet, which does turn me away from most reading material. The Christian faith was, and is not preachy at all, in fact..even non Christians, in my thinking , would like this authors writing style.
A very good read... I recommend it, and though not required to post a postive review for www.ChristianReviewofBooks.com,
I give this a thumbs up, because it was a captivating story line.

No Safe Haven.. A book Review

"No Safe Haven," the first novel by mother/daughter writing team Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse.

It is a work of christian fiction, but to me, an avid reader of suspence, I can easily see this book, and it's story line , turning into a movie worthy of the best suspence shown on screens today. Captivating, exciting, a bit sad in the fact that 12 year old , suffers from a medical condition so rare that not much is known about its someimes " deadly" outcome.

The story line takes Andie, and her mom, Jenna, and a pilot of a small plane on a collision course straight into an Alaskan mountainside, where people are waiting to kill them for reasons unknown until you dive further into the book.

Without radio or flight communication, they are unaware of a winter storm heading their way, and so the survival that is needed means trusting in Cole, stranger who was a late arriver on board the small plane, piloted by Hank, Jenna's late husbands, soldier friend, who ended up being no friend at all.

Exciting read, especially from a new mother/ daughter team .. Looking forward to possible more books from the Woodhouse gals, at least thats my hope -
I am not obligated to post a positive review, just an honest one per the website rules.

Stand Up! and Swing your way into Big Band Praise!

Out of the blue a few weeks ago , I recieved in my email box , a request sent from someone I did not know. At first I was going to delete it, as I usually do with email I am not sure about.. But for some reason, I did not do that, and I opened and read..

OK.. so it was from someone asking me to write a review on one of two CD selections that were availiable.. After reading about the two, I chose to review the music DC project called, " Stand UP - Big Band Praise".. As i read the email from the one to share it with me, I was hesitant about the Big Band Praise part.. I am not a huge big band era follower to be honest.

But Oh how I was surprised in listening as it arrived to my home not more than a week later. I first looked at some of the song choices below, and decided that it might be an interesting musical project to listen to.. and it was, yes, a pleasant surprised as I listened not only once, but twice in the very same day.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Forever
Hosanna ( Praise is Rising )
What a Friend we have in Jesus
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus

From the very first song, " Just a Closer Walk ", I could not help but move .. It was if every fiber of my being was taken on a culinary musical ride as the promised " Big Band" swing took me right away to a place of wanting to praise in dance.

So with toes wiggling, body wiggling,and voice warbling ( not such a good singer :-( ) I sang along to the new, and the old praise songs of all time that were included in this CD project...

With every song, a different part of the big band musical instrumentation, from horns to other instruments all just seemed to flow nicely from song to song. Nothing seemed predictable to me in listening . It all was as if each song had it's own swing band orchestra, yet , in all the different types of songs that we all might know, and love, each performance was as if it was its very own Big Band leader. It was, and is a CD project that I am hoping there will be MORE OF..

I highly enjoyed this .. and for to recieve it free , just for listening to it from the comfort of my own home, and now permenant place in the car, I am most grateful that I have it in my repotoire of " fine Praise Music"..

Plain Wisdom.. A book Review

I found the book, "Plain Wisdom" to be a wonderful bit of insight into Old World Amish life versus the Englischer life . I felt like I was taken back to life's basics, including homemaking, homeschooling, and other areas of life that women today are interested in, even today.

Plain Wisdom, by Cindy Woodsmall and Miriam FLaud turned out to be a very simple read for me. I enjoyed getting to know both the authors ,as well the Amish way of life thru the pages of this book .
Miriam is " Old Order Amish "while Cindy is an Englischer . I think the success of this book is key to how they've enjoyed a close friendship for a number of years. Their lives, though different in beliefs, and customs are drawn into the readers heart as they deal with the same topics we all face in life, though they are handled differently. The same cares of life, the same worries, the same joys - but because of two customs, they are experienced in a different ' flavor' in the respective lifestyles.
Each chapter deals with an individual topic and both Cindy and Miriam wrote their own thoughts about the topics. This book is well written ,and gives good, solid advice, plus the unexpected thrill for me in yummy sounding recipes. A book that anyone would find helpful.

I am not required to write a postive review of this free book as part of the Blogging for Books free book review program.

The Corruptible..a Book

Mark Mynheir, the author of a free blogging for books reading selection, titled," The Corruptible"

blew me away as I have just finished reading the entire 340 page read. It not only kept me glued to my chair, but it kept me wondering, " whats next" in this second " Ray Quinn" mystery.

Ray Quinn, an ex homicide cop, turned Private detective, along with " Crevis", his partner, set out to look for another ex - cop , who also changed jobs, but this time as a security officer who bolted with very important ( and sensitive ! ) information.

While this book is not a book of comedy, I found myself , for some reason chuckling at the characters that Mynheir created to fill these pages.. Each one , I found endearing, charming,and exciting in their own roles within the cover of the book.

For the ex cop, Ray Quinn, a man who turned to " drink" to cure his woes, his fictionalized role seemed to grab my haert strings, as I soon began to see him as a " friend" whom I could relate to in his quest for finding the bad guy, Logan ramsey - the dirty cop we all hear about in other books of crime fiction.

I saw ,however, how the author used hard times that some sadly, find as an escape, ( Quinn's drinking problem )to weave a story of fiction, with that , but taking it to a new level in this well written ( and CLEAN ) " who dunnit" ,as the reader could envision hope, and redemption at the end of the journey.

A story WELL worth the read, as it will make you chuckle ( or at least it did me! ), make you find yourself cheering on the characters so well defined, that you will count them as your dearest friends.. Would I recommend this book, AND this author? Most certainly. I didn't realize that I have read Mark Mynheir before.. His writing is not completely different in style , as the one I read , but he carries some of the same powerful character definitions from book to book - meaning, he has the ability to draw you into the story, without realizing you are " there" ...

I recieved this books, free of charge, as a participant in the Blogging for Books, free Blogging program. I am not under any guidelines to write only positive reviews.

brick -layer? or Bricoleur? that is the question..

"bricoleur" (pronounced brik uh leyr), one who evolves the meaning of things by reinterpreting them in the context of one’s life story.