The reluctant Entertainer

True hospitality is not about being perfect, cooking a fancy meal, or spending a lot of money. Rather, it's about an open door and an open heart. Popular blogger Sandy Coughlin offers a simple but savvy approach to help women break free of the anxieties that keep them from opening their homes. Emphasizing the forgotten goal of entertaining - connecting deeply with others - she shows how women can use the gifts and talents God gave them to reach out in love.

We just don't have the space to entertain anyone but ourselves, and honestly inviting someone into our tiny home is an embarrassment to me. I am a reluctant entertainer. Through this book, Sandy offers encouragement and ideas to help women break free of the fears that keep them from practicing hospitality. This book is full of meal ideas, party ideas, conversation starters and reassurance that it is okay that we are not all Martha Stewart. The heart of the book resounds with the message that people don't care if you or your house is perfect; they long to connect to others just like you do ( friendship is what is important). This book was such a blessing to me and an encouragement.

"True hospitality is not about being perfect" but rather about "an open door and an open heart." This book encourages women to let go of perfection and just enjoy connecting with people. This is an invaluable resource for your home.

I received this book compliment of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

Within My heart

Widow Rachel Boyd struggles to keep her ranch afloat and provide for her two young sons, though some days it feels as though her efforts are sabotaged at every turn. When her cattle come down with disease and her sons' lives are endangered, she must turn to Rand Brookston, Timber Ridge's physician and reluctant veterinarian. While Rachel appreciates his help, she squelches any feelings she might have for Rand--her own father was a doctor and his patients always took priority over his family. Rachel refuses to repeat the mistakes her mother made. But when she's courted by a wealthy client of the local resort, she faces a choice: self-sufficiency and security or the risk inherent in the deepest of loves.

It's mostly about letting go of the past, letting go of guilt, and allowing ourselves to be happy in the present. This is a sweet historical western romance that's bound to cause a few tears, but with an uplifting message of hope. I couldn't put this book down. It was very well written

I received this book compliment of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

The Vigilante's Bride

Emily McCarty has found herself in quite a predicament. Aldersgate Home For Girls in Chicago where she grew up has decided they needed her room to house 6 new girls. Miss Beecham, the director, made the decision that she would be transported out west in reply to a Chicago Daily Tribune ad for a bride. Much to her discontentment the arrangements were already made, the school already received the money; everything was taken care of. Unfortunately, the only thing Emily knew was his name and that he lived in Montana.

Bart Axel is a very wealthy rancher, but not an honest one. He's made most of his money swindling honest people out of their land, cattle and anything else in order to make a buck and gain the potential for making even more money if the railroad decides to buy the rights to the land. He's even been accused of killing his last wife, but no one has been able to prove that except to say the "accident" seems suspicious. However when he learns he is about to gain an 18 year old wife, he is more than content with his latest conquest.

Luke Sullivan has spent most of his life as an orphan being raised by Miss Molly. Now for the past few years he has joined Grant Stuart’s vigilance committee in order to keep law and order on the open ranges. Whenever cattle are stolen or breaking the law occurs, the committee is the one to deal the swift hand of justice. When Luke Sullivan learns that his family had been swindled out of the land in a bad game of cards, courtesy of Bart Axel, Luke is going to settle the score once and for all.

Upon seeing Axle's banker in Montana taking his latest "treasure" back to the ranch, Luke finds that this is the time to settle the score. However when he learns that the "treasure" is the mail order bride for Bart Axel on the stage, he isn't about to let this one go.

I really enjoyed Yvonne Harris's first historical romance. The Vigilante's Bride is fast-paced and kept me flipping the pages as fast as I could. The author provides a great balance of romance and adventure. While the book is set in the Montana Territory in 1884, the author does a great job of helping you relate to the characters as though they were in the room with you.

I received the book, The Vigilante's Bride by Yvonne Harris, compliments of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

In Every Heartbeat

Imagine growing up most of your life in an orphanage? Imagine that each time parents came looking for a child to adopt, you were not the one that they were looking for?

For Elisabet Conley this was her life. She spent time growing up in an orphanage at a time when most people came looking for strapping young boys that they could put to work, so hers was a time spent lonely and searching in desperation for a place to fit in. She did when she made friends with Bennett Martin and Pete Leidig, both boys in the same place as her, friends she made in the orphanage.

Pete Leidig is a cripple missing a leg that was ran over by a trolley when his parents needed money and sent him out to sell papers. Now missing a leg, his parents didn't know what to do with him so they had him sent to the orphanage as a way of solving a problem.

Bennett Martin is a muscle bound boy whose hopes and dreams in life is finally finding a place to fit in. He has always had a fondness for Elisabet or Libby as the boys have affectionately named her. Yet her caring and compassion seem to be only for Pete. Perhaps she feels overly protective of him due to his injury.

Yet when all three find themselves in the same college thanks to the orphanage sponsoring all three, each one has a goal in life to seek. For Libby it's becoming a writer, Pete wants to be a minister and Bennett, wants to join a fraternity and just have fun.

In Every Heartbeat brings a part of American history to life. It’s was not something that a woman did to have a career as a writer. And abuse behind walls make it almost impossible to prove. The three are bound by a friendship of all being the oldest at the orphanage being all three were eighteen years. Libby's parents were killed when she was young, Pete's parents threw him out at the age of seven and he fell beneath the wheels of a trolley while delivering newspapers and lost part of his leg and a foot. Bennett was just left on the streets to grow up and he never knew his parents as the other two remembered theirs

Just how will the trio survive the challenges that each will face in light of the coming World War. Will they seek what they hope to find or will this be the force that drives them apart? Find out by reading Kim Vogel Sawyer's latest novel, In Every Heartbeat

I received this amazing book compliments of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review .

Love's First Bloom

Ruth Livingston is the only living daughter of her father Reverend Livingstone, whose mission in life is to help those that society deems unworthy of help. Caught in the turbulent times of 1800's his life's mission is to help those women and young girls that have been caught up in prostitution, however when one of them is murdered suddenly, the city begins to cry out for justice and right now the only person who was with her last was Reverend Livingstone.

Trusting his daughter Ruth with Lily, the child of the murdered prostitute, he sends her away under the pretense of being the so-called prostitute in need of help along with her toddler child. She leaves her father behind hoping that he will be found innocent of all charges so she can return once more to her home and leaving her assumed life behind her.

It is hard for us to understand the trials our loving God sends us, but how would our faith grow without them? Delia Bloom weaves a beautiful story of faith in God and how God uses negative experiences to bring us to a better time in life. I truly enjoyed Loves First Bloom by Delia Bloom. I hadn’t read anything from Bloom prior to this. i would be interested in reading more by her.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Bethany House Publishing for the purpose of reviewing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

City On Our Knees

Based on the hit song by the same name, the book is a compilation of stories of people who have stepped out in faith to minister to others and make a difference in their communities and, in some cases, around the world. While some of these featured activists are quite well known in the Christian faith (such as John Wesley and George Mueller), there are many other stories of those who you've likely never heard of. The stories range from the 1800s to present day, and cover a wide range of ages, backgrounds and circumstances. The common denominator is a desire to make a difference in the name of Christ.

The book is filled with stories of hope and acts of kindness in making a difference in helping orphans in Africa, victims of sex trade worldwide and so many more. This book is a beginning in a journey of what we might all be a part of.

The author has his own prayers scattered throughout, along with verses from the Bible that fit each story. I will end this review with his:

Prayer of Hope.

Dear loving God,
Help us to remember, when we begin to lose hope,
that all the darkness in the world
is just a speck in Your light,
a light that fills the universe.
when pain and confusion invade our lives,
Let us not rely on our own resources.
Instead, lead us to seek answers on our knees.
Lord, show us Your way,
Lord,lead us to Your destination.
We thank You for being our beacon of hope,
A beacon we can always see, if we will only look.
Amen.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Book Reviewers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."