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The Road To Becoming by Jenny Simmons

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Jenny Simmons, author and Christian musician, shares a period of terrible struggles in her life. During one point, it seemed like one bad day might only lead to a worse day. Without the help of hospitable strangers, Jenny and family, would not have had clothes to put on their backs or a place to stay. In one incident, their RV explodes. At another time, Jenny finds her baby, Annie, bleeding from the ears and mouth. I often gasped over these disturbing events and felt for Ryan and Jenny and the team of musicians. Then, through the simple but inspiring way Jenny Simmons references scripture in The Road To Becoming I felt myself fill up with hope and faith and the knowledge that God never leaves us, and His love for us is complete. I liked the chapter names. Each chapter title is a step in the process of making our dreams come alive. For example, there is: The Burying and the waiting . I felt especially interested in the chapter about desert life. Thought I would flip out if I did

Book Beginnings

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Add caption http://rosecityreader.blogspot.com Prologue 1926 They keep saying "the body" and Flora thinks this might make her scream and never stop. Speaking in whispers that are not quiet enough, as men do, they say it over and over. "We can't have the body simply lying in a room here." "If we put the body in the bathing pool, then it might appear to be a drowning." "But when they examine the body they'll find no water in the lungs." And so on.

Did I Do That?

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Did I Do That?

First Chapter, First Paragraph

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"When I was a little girl, I had my own magnolia tree. No one else in the world was invited underneath her canopy of waxy citrus leaves. She was all mine. My fortress, my empire." bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com "When Madge arrived in Chicago, it was an unusually windless summer day, and she could not take her eyes off the bluest water she had ever seen. She believed she was seeing the ocean for the first time, but she had heard from a woman who had heard from another woman that the ocean stirred waves as tall as trees, and this broad..."

The Congregation by Desiree Bombenon (Netgalley)

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When life becomes too difficult for the younger generation, they form a group named The Gathering and Inner Circle. In these groups are young people who have been abused by family members or church clergy. Soon, there is a plan chosen to save themselves and other young people from abuse.This plan entails thirty letters being sent out to different states. On a set date a revolt will occur. This revolution will deeply involve a huge church which has congregations all over the world. Gavriel and Josh are the ones really in charge of this move to make a change in the world. Amanda and Jake Bannon are a married couple. They are ideal at thwarting disasters. To help stop catastrophes, Amanda Bannon uses her psychic abilities. In this instance, all of these desperate and bloody take place between Rome and Chicago. I wasn't prepared for the violence in The Congregation by Desiree Bombenon. The violence perpetrated in this terrorist situation is mind boggling. I had to put the novel

The Congregation by Desiree Bombenon (NetGalley)

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"They arrived forty-five minutes later at the Hotel Hassler, located at the top of the Spanish Steps of the Piazza della Trinita dei Monti...Amanda found it exhilarating and awe-inspiring when she thought of Rome's role in history and its importance in shaping so much of the current world."(Wikepedia)

Days Of Awe by Lauren Fox (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

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Days of Awe have become a part of Izzy's life. Her life, at this time, definitely fits the Holy time of remorse and sorrow celebrated by the Jewish population. She and everyone in her family are deeply stirred by the death of Josie, a close friend of the family. Josie dies on an icy road in her car. She is a young and vibrant woman. I could feel her loss jump from the pages of the novel. In Days Of Awe by Lauren Fox, Josie's death seems to cause a compound of calamities in each characters life. Everything seems to go through rapid change. With this one person's death, it seems like the world has begun to spin out of control. Not only does Izzy deal with the death of Josie she also goes through a separation from her husband. Izzy had no idea her marriage was headed for disaster. It's just another shock to her system. I had to wonder. What must it feel like to not have known your husband was falling out of love with you? There is also the fact that your close friend

Days Of Awe by Lauren Fox

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"The morning of Josie's funeral was cloudless and knife-sharp, one of those bitter spring days that comes sandwiched between warmer ones and reminds you not to grow accustomed to good things. I was leaning against my car, face to the sun, trying to breathe, when Mark pulled into a spot near mine. I turned and watched as he got out of the car. He wore the scarf Chris and I had gotten him for his last birthday, soft dark blue cashmere, and my heart slammed inside my chest: that beautiful scarf still existed, warm as a blanket, and Josie was gone." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com Netgalley

Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran

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Usually, I love Historical fiction. So I looked forward to this one especially since it takes place in London. Weirdly enough I also like pickpockets. That's why I liked Lilah. It didn't matter that her sister, Fiona, died. I didn't think Fee and secretary school was a fit for the time and place. I liked Viscount Palmer. I enjoyed his love moves on Lilah. Still, the bantering dialogue didn't seem smooth to me. I especially liked reading about the beautiful items in the auction house and in Buckley Hall. I liked Cathy Everleigh as well. The stolen love letters and Lilah trying to match Palmer with Cathy Everleigh just fell apart for me. And again the dialogue just seemed jerky.

Wondrous Words

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http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com A medieval map of the world. oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mappemonde "We found a Flemish mappemonde that sent her into ecstasies. Why, a full hour passed before she found another reason to scold me." dactylic    pentameter is a form of meter in poetry. The dactyls, which is made of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, is repeated five times to create a pentameter line. google.com/search?q=dactylic "Your name sounds like a poem! IZZZZabellll APPLEbaum!" She trilled it. "It's dactylic!" she whispered, and kissed me on the cheek with an actual mwaaah, then moved on to hug Chris, who looked like he was being asked for directions to Neptune. planchettes   a small board supported on casters, typically heart-shaped and fitted with a vertical pencil, used for automatic writing and in seances. google.com/search?q=define+planchettes& "Scores of mediu

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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http://bookjourney.wordpress.com I finished Only with Blood by Therese Down. Now I'm reading Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran and Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

Before You Knew You Owned It by Alice Walker

Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. become a stranger To need of pity Or, if compassion be freely Given out Take only enough Stop short of urge to plead Then purge away the need. Wish for nothing larger Than your own small heart Or greater than a star; Tame wild disappointment With caress unmoved and cold Make of it a parka For your soul. Discover the reason why So tiny human midget Exists at all So scared unwise But expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/3119/Before_you_knew_you_owned_it

Only with Blood by Therese Down (Lion Fiction)

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"It was cold. Frost stopped the breath of the land, seized the breath of those who moved upon it. Winter would come early and it would be harsh. Jack Flynn thanked God for a good harvest, for the cows would need early hay. Lately, he felt more keenly the pain of rheumatism in his hands. This creeping infirmity and a cough which daily grew fiercer were insistent reminders to Flynn that he could no longer put off marriage if her were to have sons to inherit his land. The alternative of selling to strangers the land his great-grandfather had purchased over a hundred years before was unthinkable. And so, this evening in 1943 at the age of forty-three, though he would rather have faced any kind of physical test of his courage, he put on his only suit and set off on foot towards the village of Dunane and the house of Malachai Brett, the matchmaker." bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

Let's Talk About Marigolds

At my apartment, this has been the year of the marigolds. I bought two pots of yellow marigolds in the spring. One pot of them died. The second pot of marigolds is still doing well. Although I would like to have bigger blossoms.  I have heard marigolds are easy to grow. So, I decided to look up a few tips about growing these flowers. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-french-marigolds-containers-68255.html   Any pointers you might have would help. By the way, are marigolds perennials or annuals?

Wondrous Words

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bermudaonion.wordpress.com Poem of the Day: Song for the Last Act by Louise Bogan "Now that I have your heart by heart, I see The wharves with their great ships and architraves; "  Poetry Foundation An architrave (/ˈɑrkɨtreɪv/; from Italian: architrave , also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον epistylon "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture. google.com/search?q=architraves+define textramarital   " Recently reissued by New York Review Books, this once-obscure novel, about a textramarital affair between two college instructors, is enjoying a second life as a contemporary classic." readitforward.com/bookshelf/14-campus-novels-will-make-want-go-back-school/   The art of cheating on your partner using text messages. http://www.urbandictionary.com

Teaser Tuesday

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"As if it were that simple. I open my mouth to tell him I can't, but all I do is wheeze, and my head is light and I wonder if this is what dying feels like. And then I think how nice it is for Jack's face to be the last thing I see." http://adailyrhythm.com

before i go by Colleen Oakley

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Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.   --Isaac Asimov Daisy Richards has beat cancer in the past. However, after a few years, the news from Doctor Sanderson is far more difficult for her and Jack to handle. This time the cancer has spread throughout Daisy's body. She has only four to six months to live. The novel before i go by Colleen Oakley is about how Daisy, Jack, her mother and her friends react to this news. It's also about what will Daisy choose to do with the remainder of her life? This novel will break your heart and mend it again. Daisy seems like a  real person. Many times I thought, "Well, I would react the same way as Daisy in this situation." I thought this way when she bought bunches and bunches of groceries she didn't need. I could also understand when she became so terribly angry with Kayleigh, her friend. Horrible feelings about Kayleigh flew out of her mouth like birds taking flight. Dai

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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http://bookjourney.wordpress.com I finished Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson. Now I'm reading before i go by Colleen Oakley. Next I need to read Only with Blood by Therese Down.

Friday 56

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"With her squealing silenced by food, the house is quiet and I wonder for a moment how long I can stand exactly where I am, not making a sound. Maybe Sammy will just leave. Maybe she already has." http://www.fredasvoice.blogspot.com  

Wondrous Word

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http://bermudaonion.net/2015/08/05/wondrous-words-wednesday-337/ christophine (chayote) the pear-shaped fruit of a West Indian annual vine ( Sechium edule ) of the gourd family that is widely cultivated as a vegetable; also :   the plant —called also chayote squash, christophene, mirliton merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chayote eddoes a taro corm or plant, especially of a West Indian variety with many edible cormlets. google.com/search?q=eddo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 cassava 1. A shrubby tropical American plant (Manihot esculenta) widely grown for its large, tuberous, starchy roots. 2. The root of this plant, eaten as a staple food in the tropics only after leaching and drying to remove cyanide. Cassava starch is also the source of tapioca. In both senses also called manioc , yuca . thefreedictionary.com/cassava