It Will be Okay: Trusting God Through Fear and Change

It Will be Okay: Trusting God Through Fear and Change (Little Seed & Little Fox

Whether we like it or not, growing up brings change. For many children, this conjures fears that are sometimes real and sometimes imagined. How can kids learn that even when they face new and unfamiliar situations, they don’t have to be afraid?  

Little Seed and Little Fox are facing changes and brand new circumstances—and they don’t like it one bit! Through this unlikely friendship, children will discover that no matter how new or fearful their circumstances, God is always with them. The whimsical art by Natalia Moore will put a smile on kids’ faces and put their minds at ease. Just as Little Seed and Little Fox learn to trust that the Farmer is good and kind, children will also learn to trust God. 

Written by New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst, It Will Be Okay will help kids discover that the end, it really will be okay because we have a God who is good and kind and always with us.

Children will love the rhymes in the book that help to teach a valuable lesson on trusting God when we are afraid. New situations are always scary. Included with the story is a page with 10 Scriptures to Memorize with Your Kids. Along with an amazing story are the beautiful illustrations that capture your eyes while the story captures your heart. God can be seen in the farmer who was watching over little seed and little fox even when they couldn't see him..  In a world of uncertainty, constant change and chaos, a message children need to hold tight to is the truth that God is good, He is kind, and He is always watching over those in His care, even when we don’t know it.

I received this book for free from booklook bloggers for an honest review; all thoughts and opinions herein are that of my own.

Thief of Glory: A Novel

A boy coming of age in a time of war…
the love that inspires him to survive.

For ten year-old Jeremiah Prins, the life of privilege as the son of a school headmaster in the Dutch East Indies comes crashing to a halt in 1942 after the Japanese Imperialist invasion of the Southeast Pacific. Jeremiah takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings when his father and older stepbrothers are separated from the rest of the family, and he is surprised by what life in the camp reveals about a woman he barely knows—his frail, troubled mother.

Amidst starvation, brutality, sacrifice and generosity, Jeremiah draws on all of his courage and cunning to fill in the gap for his mother. Life in the camps is made more tolerable as Jeremiah’s boyhood infatuation with his close friend Laura deepens into a friendship from which they both draw strength.

When the darkest sides of humanity threaten to overwhelm Jeremiah and Laura, they reach for God’s light and grace, shining through his people. Time and war will test their fortitude and the only thing that will bring them safely to the other side is the most enduring bond of all.

This book takes place in an interment camp - a place of abuse, death, and little hope. I loved the character development. This was a haunting book to read. A well crafted story.

*I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.

Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas

In a Drought, It's the Darkest Cloud
That Brings Hope

It's 1954 and Perla Long's arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle.

Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor...until he meets Perla. She's everything he's sought in a woman, but he can't get past the sense that she's hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla's unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.

I love how the author used the theme of grace and forgiveness throughout the book.Is forgiveness so unattainable that Perla and Sadie will never find peace? Will they continue to run away from the past and find themselves to be outcasts wherever they go? "Miracle in a Dry Season" carries a strong message about the need to forgive each other and ourselves. It is a deeply moving story which pulls the reader in and holds their interest through the final chapter. I highly recommend this book! I really enjoyed reading this book. For being a debut novel, it was wonderful!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. 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.”

Woman of Courage

Take a three-thousand mile journey with Amanda Pearson as she leaves the disgrace of a broken engagement and enters the work of a Quaker mission in the western wilds. The trip is fraught with danger, and Amanda is near death before reaching her destination. Among those she meets are an Indian woman who becomes her first convert and a half-Indian trapper who seems to be her biggest critic. But love follows her into the wilderness and will determine the course of her future. You are sure to enjoy this historical romance adventure from New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.

Amanda Pearson leaves the disgrace of a broken engagement and enters the work of a Quaker mission in the western wilds. The three-thousand-mile trip is fraught with danger, and Amanda is near death before reaching her destination. Will those she meets help her reach the Nez Perce mission station?

I found the story interesting and liked that the faith elements were very strong. Woman of Courage is well written and the characters are wonderful. Wanda Brunstetter writes with authority about Quaker Faith, Missionaries, Indian Tribes and customs, and The US during this time. I learned so much in this book about Quaker Faith and the lives of the Indians during this time in US History.

Thank you to Handlebar for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.