Review: A Bride's Rogue in Roma, Texas by Darlene Franklin

I have had the AWESOME pleasure (and yes, it was a pure pleasure) to read a number of great books lately.

A Bride's Rogue in Roma, Texas by Darlene Franklin is one of them.

Sometimes the next step that God asks us to take has to be on pure faith. Uncertainty causes us to hesitate, but the still small voice sends us forward. So it was with Blanche.

She takes that step of faith and joins Ike on the steamboat, beginning a new season in her life.

Most times that step requires us to release where we are, so we can travel forward. It's not always easy, as we see in this story.

I enjoyed reading A Bride's Rogue in Roma, Texas and I think you will too.

Backcover:

Blanche Lamar has inherited a steamboat from a father she’s never met. As she struggles to adjust to her new life she finds an unexpected ally in Ike Gallagher. She and Ike both want to find a way to make the steamboat profitable but are at odds on how to accomplish it. Can they learn to live in faith, or will their future happiness sink in a river of overwhelming devastation.

To purchase this book from Amazon, click here and help support this blog.

Blessings,
Ginger

Review: Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Joanne Bischof's debut novel Be Still My Soul made me want to read more about Gideon and Lonnie. It's a touching story of how two people are forced into a marriage, though they barely know one another let alone feel love. We see, Lonnie--a shy, young woman--become strong, and we see Gideon--a selfish, angry man--learn to take responsibility for his actions.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Backcover:

Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns.
Pretty Lonnie Sawyer is shy and innocent, used to fading into the background within her family, and among the creeks and hollows of the Appalachian hills. Though her family is poor and her father abusive, she clings to a quiet faith.  But when handsome ladies’ man and bluegrass musician Gideon O’Riley steals a kiss, that one action seals her fate.

Her father forces her into a hasty marriage with Gideon—a man she barely knows and does not love. Equally frustrated and confused by his new responsibilities, Gideon yearns for a fresh start, forcing  Lonnie on an arduous journey away from her home in Rocky Knob.

Her distant groom can’t seem to surrender his rage at the injustice of the forced matrimony or give Lonnie any claim in his life.  What will it take for Gideon to give up his past, embrace Lonnie’s God, and discover a hope that can heal their two fractured hearts?

Gideon only ever cared about himself. Now that Lonnie is his wife, will he ever be worthy of her heart?

 Link to purchase.

Blessings,
Ginger

I is for Indecision

Indecision

Should I or shouldn't I? I can't decide.

Eat chicken, or beef, or a salad?

Read or watch tv?

Our lives are filled with decisions. We make small, seemingly insignificant decisions all day long. What to wear, what to eat for breakfast, whether to drink water or tea or soda.

But then comes the moment when we must choose between two equally good things, or between two equally bad things. 

On the season finale of Hawaii 5-0 last year, one of the characters had to choose between saving his wife or saving his cousin (who he was close to). He chose his wife and sent someone else to save his cousin. We found out at the beginning of this season, his cousin was saved, but not his wife. He had a moment of indecision. 

Most of our "moments" are not that life-altering. But they could be. Have you ever considered it? Just five more minutes sleeping could mean you race to work, causing an accident behind you (which you may never see). Or perhaps that five minutes means you avoid an accident. Too confusing? I think so.  :)

And sometimes our indecision is our decision. If you don't know who to vote for in the coming election--the lesser of the two evils, IMO--and don't vote because of your indecision then you have decided. You have decided to let someone else choose for you who should run this country.

I am prone to indecision. I waffle back and forth for a long time before I remember God is waiting for me to ask his opinion. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." A source of guidance that can be trusted.

Do you struggle with indecision? Leave me a note and I will pray for you.

Blessings,

Ginger