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New Year's Day is near. A time to have hope again. A new year to pray.

"The bundled-up Lydia was out on this cold, sunny Saturday morning because she needed a tree, and she wanted to have it home by the time her mother returned from volunteering at the church later today...The field surrounding the short pine was as pristine as if the Good Lord had laid down a blanket....." beverlyjenkins.net

   There are many non-fiction prayer books written and published. "Called to Pray" by Linda Evans Shepherd is one of the special ones. This book is extremely inspiring. In each chapter are personal experiences about someone in some sort of struggle. For example, there is a coughing and choking incident, a weather catastrophe, money problems, wedding problems and accidents. In these stories, there is a person who has this strong urge to pray for the one in trouble. It is like God or God's Holy Spirit personally taps them on the shoulder and says "pray now!" I liked these personal examples. I also liked the petitions at the end of the chapters. The prayers seem like ones I have needed in the past or might need in the future. The prayers are short. Although not lengthy, these prayers are also examples of praises to God, and they also point to our weaknesses, places in our lives that still need pruning. In one prayer, the person asks for God to use them in th

Carrie Ann's sister, Sarah Jane, has gone missing. Carrie Ann leaves her Confederate home to search for her. This search leads Carrie Ann into Yankee territory where her true feelings about the Civil war will become tested during 1864. In the front of the novel there is a list of "helpful resources"  and many other extra facts about the Christian novel. I had a hard time choosing A Thousand Shall Fall by Andrea Boeshaar. This is because I'm a Yankee at heart. Knowing a bit about the Civil war I did not want the novel to take me too far behind the Confederate lines. This journey I didn't want to experience became easier because of the heroine. Carrie Ann, loves her fellowman. It doesn't matter whether they are Yankee or Confederate. Therefore, Carrie Ann nurses and shows concern for both her enemy and her ally. "She'd tended to wounded Yankees as well as captured Confederates. The color of their uniforms and their skin didn't matter to her.&

August 15, 1864 Ooh, that Sarah Jane! "Carrie Ann Bell stared at her youngest sister's sloppily scratched note. How could that girl do such a scandalous thing? Running off with a lowlife peddler?" http://rosecityreader.blogspot.com

blooms of pink cactus outside Notre Dame people walking near to pray

http://adailyrhythm.com "Don't neglect your burden for others. Hit your knees as soon as you realize God has you on call to respond to a burden He has placed on your heart."