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Two sisters, Dionne and Phaedra, live with their mother, Avril, in Brooklyn, New York.  Because of their mother's depression and her struggle to make a living as a single parent they are sent to live with their Grandmother  in St. Johns, Barbados. Naomi Jackson in The Star Side Of Bird Hill writes in detail about what happens to two teen-age girls as they face death and violence.What happens is unexpected and at times, very sad. For example, while in Barbados, Dionne and Phaedra will hear the most horrible news about their mother. The way both sisters handle the situation is extraordinary. Maybe too extraordinary? Such news must work on the inner soul of a  person for a long while. Then, the father, Errol, comes along with a new lady friend. He just ups the level of stress in the lives of the sisters and the grandmother. Sometimes people come to rescue the ones they love and end up almost destroying them. I was struck by how quickly reality can slam into our lives. Sometim

Guava Tree "The church hall doors remained open behind Clotel and Dionne; the sweet stink of the  guava trees, which were planted when an ugly woman named Cutie died and left her small fortune to the church, wafted inside." google.com/search?q=barbados+guava+tree

After a great tragedy, Michael Hunter arrives in Hope Harbor, Oregon to remake his life. He meets Tracy, a cranberry farmer, Grace, a young woman with family problems, Anna, a recluse, and Tracy's Aunt Nancy among others in the town. The cranberry farm is suffering. Cranberry prices are down. At the same time, Tracy and other town people are facing very hard struggles in their personal lives. Irene Hannon's Hope Harbor shows that life is an adventure. God's plans aren't always the same as our plans. Michael thinks he's just going to deal with guilt over his wife's death, an aneurysm. However, he finds himself helping Tracy with manual labor on the cranberry farm. He also helps her to talk openly about her husband, Craig. Craig died a tragic death too. Then, there is another unexpected problem that arises. In this instance, a whole family is in turmoil. I liked the fact that the author writes about anger toward God when horrible circumstances happen in

http://www.bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com Closed until June 13     "Michael Hunter stared at the hand-lettered sign on the Gull Motel office, expelled a breath, and raked his fingers through his hair. Not the welcome he'd been expecting after a mind-rumbling thirty-six-hour cross-country drive to the Oregon coast. And where was he supposed to stay for the next three weeks, until the place opened again?"

Although she loved writing, it was rare for Benilde Little to sit down and write without fighting feelings of depression. In Welcome To My Breakdown , she writes about the early years when she was bullied at school. Then she becomes one of the many grown-up daughters who choose to care for their parents as they age. She loves her mother deeply. She cares for her mother as her heart condition worsens. At the same time, she cares for Ford and Baldwin, her children, and husband. Through all of her pain, she never gives up writing. She hangs in there and writes and publishes quite a few novels. Baldwin tells her mother to write out her depression. This memoir tells how to keep going when the energizer bunny inside you just wants to give up and throw in the towel. It's not about what's going on in our life. It's whether we keep going and attending life's demands. facebook.com/BenildeLittlePage

Hard trials that come our way build us up. They don't tear us down. In Stronger by Clayton King, there are traits of character listed. We become more vulnerable, humble and strong and really give our hearts to worship during struggles in our lives. The author, Clayton King, after thirty years of his life had passed, and during one of the saddest moments of his life, the death of his mother became a 'new' man. It's deeply touching to read about the author's parents, their illnesses and other problems. His personal experiences made me look at situations I had gone through in my own life. His journal entries are also an important part of the book. These entries are at the very beginning of the book. Here is one. "I can grow bitter or I can become better." Throughout Stronger , a bit about Hospice Care is mentioned. I am now more aware of the way this system works with family and friends.  Who knows what the future will bring?  www.claytonking.com  

Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses says it well: "'Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.'' "I have to teach my girl and my little guy, who just started kindergarten, to be proud of their heritage. I have to encourage them to immerse themselves in black history, both in and out of the classroom, so they understand why some history books....." http://www.adailyrhythm.com

Carlyn Kearney is a woman who must remake herself in the Christian novel, The Innocent by Ann H. Gabhart. This because her husband, Ambrose, is a missing soldier. Her only companion is her dog, Asher. When she is evicted from her home by Curt Whitlow, she moves into the Shaker community. I felt very sorry for Carlyn. It's never easy for a woman to try and make a new life anywhere. There are new friends to meet. These friends are strange to her because she doesn't understand their way of life. The Shakers don't believe people should have pets. So, Carlyn has to give Asher away. Reading about a woman who had to give up so much really upset me. Like in real life, one trial led to another trail. She had to totally lean on God. I grew tired of reading about Shakers. It almost made me not like this Christian Fiction novel. It seemed more like a novel about this religious sect than a murder mystery.

"It had been the first day since Jason's advance that it was remotely easy to move about the streets again, but with all the action now focused in the city's center--and Menelaus and his party locked down in the Akra --there was a strange feeling of freedom in the southern quarter."

Kregel  Publications The Grecian empire's ruler, Antiochus, has come to change the life of  people in Jerusalem. This situation causes discord between families and friends.  There are Honiah, Eleazar, Jason and Meir on Judah's side and on Greece's side there is, Sarpedon and Appollonios. At first, their leader, Antiochus, used subtle brainwashing of the masses. Finally, an all out rebellion happens with the Maccabees and Greece. One goal is to make Judah give up the laws of  life taught in the Torah. For example, they should no longer worship one God but worship idols like Zeus Olympios. Like any time of civil war, this is a complicated period. People change allegiances as quickly as they change their garments. It reminded me of America's Civil War during the Nineteenth Century. It's brother against brother in one household.  Day of Atonement by David A. deSilva brings alive a time of brutal revolution. It is a time when people show courage and loyalty to

"Jason came at last to his bedroom, swung open the double door, and entered. He looked to the left at his own bed, the sheets and blanket still perfectly stretched out from Niobe's morning service. It beckoned to him as the Pool of Siloam beckons to the hot, dusty travelers that pass through the southern gates. He walked over to it, but only grasped a corner of the blanket that sat folded at the foot of the bed, allowing it to trail behind him as he walked to the alabaster chair on his terrace." bibleplaces.com/poolofsiloam

Not only are the short stories fun to read in Capital Crimes London Mysteries Edited by Martin Edwards, t here is also an interesting introduction about Vintage classics. This anthology of short stories is set in the city of London. My favorite two stories are The Little House by H.C. Bailey and The Silver Mask by Hugh Walpole. Both have something I like: a cat and Art.  I also liked reading the biographies of the authors. These short biographies are at the beginning of each chapter. H.C. Bailey had a heart for children who suffer abuse. Hugh Walpole was known for writing psychological suspense, and there is more to learn about Arthur Conan Doyle. He felt happier about his historical fiction Now I have a strong interest in British Mystery Classics. I have visited Scotland Yard once again with excitement. poisonedpenpress

It is highly wondrous to believe that Christ lives in us. This is the journey Eric B. Johnson takes us on in Christ In You. In nine different chapters, he shows different ways Christ shines His Light within us. One way is through faith to see His Kingdom beginning now while still believing the fullness of the Kingdom will come at a future time. If faith is used today, there is the possibility to see that miracles still happen today. No miracle look the same in any one person's life. The believer must hold on to whatever way Christ chooses to work in his or her life. I see it as asking God for the daily strength to help us accept whatever way He chooses to answer our prayers. The author tells about his Grandfather's death. He asks The Lord to allow his Grandfather to live twenty more years. Not a huge request if you believe in God's power to sustain life. However, his grandfather dies much sooner. Eric Johnson and family do not lose faith. They endured the trial. Th

THE night is dewy as a maiden's mouth, The skies are bright as are a maiden's eyes, Soft as a maiden's breath the wind that flies Up from the perfumed bosom of the South. Like sentinels, the pines stand in the park; And hither hastening, like rakes that roam, With lamps to light their wayward footsteps home, The fireflies come stagg'ring down the dark. Paul Laurence Dunbar poemhunter.com/paul-laurence-dunbar/

Vicksburg in June 1863   http://www.visitvicksburg.com/explore/civil_war/sesquicentennial/ "She hadn't heard from Ambrose since Vicksburg in June 1863. Over two years ago. But she had no proof he was dead. The army said missing. Missing wasn't dead. Ambrose might yet find his way home."

September 15, 1865 "When she saw the two men riding down the lane toward her house, Carlyn Kearney lifted the shotgun down off the long nails that held it over her front door. One of the men was a stranger, but the other one was not. She needed to keep a gun between her and that man. Not that she intended  to shoot between her and that man. Not that she intended to shoot anybody, but she wasn't about to let Curt Whitlow know that." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

It is good to learn that the Kingdom of God is an experience we can have "here and now." According to these two authors, Smith and Stonestreet, we don't have to wait until the future to experience that joyful type of living. I have always believed that the abundance of  prosperity and peace will not be experienced until we die and hopefully join Jesus in Heaven. I'm use to thinking about the Great by and by. However, the beginning is now. I also found it interesting to learn  that Christian college students may change their way of thinking after taking a course of study at a university. Christian ideas it seem are gently pushed aside or forcibly removed by professors who are not Christians or hold very liberal ideas. Therefore, political ideologies held before college might change after a student enters the college doors. The subtitle of Restoring All Things really sticks in my mind. " God's audacious plan to change the world through everyday people.

"Mr. Cynster has offered me the position of amanuensis , assisting him with his collection, his library, and his interests in those spheres." amanuensis " one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript." merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amanuensis "The moment--filled with a nascent emotion she couldn't name--hovered between them." nascent  budding.  merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nascent

  Enjoyed the historical side of the novel. Learned so much about China and California while in California. Will not forget reading about the 1906 Earthquake in California. Felt very sad about the discrimination against the Chinese people. Then, felt very moved by the way the Chinese treat their History. Historical artifacts are very dear to them much like the sacred graves of Native Americans. These particular artifacts, two in number, were hidden inside the root ball of a Cypress tree. There is a seal and another artifact made like a kneeling camel, but it is a giraffe in pink marble. Two or three men Robert Wu,a scholar and a History Professor, and an old friend of the Chinese named Billy O'Flynn become deeply involved in keeping the artifacts hidden. Learning more about the origin and translating the three different languages on one artifact is exciting. Really, great fun reading about Fifteenth ce