Remember & Return by John MacArthur

"Remember & Return" by John MacArthur is a 31 day devotional about rekindling your love for the Savior.  Like any book that comes out of Grace to You this is a very meaty book not an easy read.  It makes you really think and dig into the scripture.  It is a really good devotion on remembering our first love in Christ.  Each day has a verse, a devotion, and a daily challenge.  This was breath refreshing devotional about not focusing on self but on the Lord.  I highly recommend this devotional.

I was given this book for free from Baker Books and was not required to give a positive review.

Home by Elyse Fitzpatrick

"Home" by Elyse Fitzpatrick is about us longing for heaven and the new earth.  I really had a hard time reading this book as it seemed to be repetitive for me.  Also the author made me feel like I should be discontent with my life here on earth.  Don't get me wrong I look forward to heaven and the new earth but we are supposed to be content with where we God has us according to scripture.  But there was some parts I did enjoy. I also did agree when the author brings up that life here is going to be and is hard but we need to remember this is not our home.  So on that note I will recommend this book but just know it was a hard one for me to read.

I was given this book for free from Bethany House and was not required to give a positive review.

The Tunnels by Greg Mitchell

"The Tunnels" by Greg Mitchell is about the tunnels people used to escape the Berlin wall and how documentaries about them was hid by the media.  This book was interesting and boring at the same time.  I really liked the how it gave us stories about people who escaped under the Berlin wall and the stories of the people who helped them escaped.  But the book was written in such a dry way that it was hard to read.  Plus it almost seemed like the author was shocked that the media or our president hid things from us.  Seriously the media as always done that and same with our presidents, nothing new there.  I do recommend it if you like these type of true stories of escape but be warned it was boring.

I was giving this book for free from Blogging For Books and was not required to give a positive review.

The Zigzag Road to Happy by Anita Heavens

"The Zigzag Road to Happy" by Anita Heavens is a novel about the adventures of a teenager named Nicola in London.  Nicola's story is really her trying to find happy in life whether it be friends, boyfriends, or what ever else that she wants to try.  Her life is not that of a wealthy high society girl its that of a poor girl from a dysfunctional family.  Her story does take turns that you expect but then portions you don't.  It was good book but just had some very slow points for me which is why it took me awhile to read it.  I recommend it but be warned for me at least there was a few slow points that took me awhile to get through.

I was given this book from NetGalley for free and was not required to give a positive review.

My life in 2016 In Review

Well I decided to do a year in review for 2016 for my life.  Please don't take this as a brag as my year has had its ups and downs just like any other.  Just really wanted to point out the boring of this weirdo's life.

1.  My oldest spread his wings and flew the coop (1200 miles away).  He is doing very well even with the normal ups and downs of being an adult.
2.  Lost a job but got another one and I am so much more relaxed now.
3.  Financial more stretched but the Lord has provided.
4.  Parents lost their home in a bad fire.  But praise the Lord they and their landlord were ok.
5.  Married for now over 16 years and still going strong.
6.  Read over 125 books this year which was more than my goal (yes I read that many I am a speed reader)
7.  Did not lose very much weight but I am stronger and have slimmed down some.  (please don't tell me that muscle weighs more than fat as that is not true a pound is a pound just a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.  If you don't believe me then look it up for your self.)
8.  Some of my medical issues have stabilized more this year than in years past.
9.  Started to get to back into my art.
10.  Youngest son is doing better with his homeschooling (still rough at times but that's normal even public or private school kids have tough times)
11.  Turned 39 this year and looking forward to turning 40 next year.  I don't hide my age as I believe age is just a number.  Why do I say that I have met teens that act more like adults and have met older people that act more like toddlers.  It is all in how you act.
12. Lord showed me to be who he made me not to be a cookie cutter of those around me just to fit in.

And best of all the Lord is still on His throne no matter what is happening in the world or in my life.

The Pattern Artist by Nancy Moser

"The Pattern Artist" by Nancy Moser is a novel about English housemaid Annie Wood and the adventures she ends up having after coming to America with her wealthy mistress in the early 1900's.  Annie's story is very interesting as she starts out as a wide-eyed young woman looking for adventure and finds it in more ways than one.  This is a very good story with a strong lead character in Annie.  I really enjoyed how the story progress over time and we see that our pasts can effect our future or others in ways we could not imagine.  We also see how woman were treated by society at the time which was not always good.  We even have a small section of the story that includes the titanic which added a little more history to the story.  I highly recommend this book as it is such a good one that I got physical copy of it just for my bookshelf to be able to re-read it again.

I was given this book from Net Galley for free and was not required to give a positive review.

Spy of Richmond by Jocelyn Green

"Spy of Richmond" by Jocelyn Green is the fourth book in the Heroines Behind The Lines Civil War book series.  This was interesting book but since I had not read any of the other books I don't if I was missing some information on the main characters.  For most of the book I was able to easily follow the story but then near the end another character pops up and I got confused on the past of this character.  Her story might have been in a previous book but since I have never read them so the last part of the book got muddled for me.  Other than that it was a very interesting well wrote historical fiction that I really enjoyed.  I do recommend it but I will say I believe you should read all the books in the series in order since it does seem like a book that was built on from other books.  But I may be wrong on that point.

I was given this book from Moody Publishers for free and was not required to give a positive review.