The Help Meet Wife

I recently received an Advance Reading Copy of Called for Life: How Loving Our Neighbor Led Us into the Heart of the Ebola Epidemic by Kent and Amber Brantly (with David Thomas). I was super excited to read this book - I followed Kent's story when it was in the news and prayed for his recovery. I remember watching live on TV, with tears in my eyes, as Kent walked into the hospital in America. I was anxious to hear the whole story surrounding his life as a medical missionary and the inside view of the ebola epidemic from someone who lived it firsthand. The back cover reads: "“When I knelt next to Teresa on that rainy June night outside our hospital, I told myself that everything was about to change. I had no idea the extent of that truth. But one thing has not changed: our desire to live faithful to God’s calling.” —Dr. Kent Brantly, in Called for Life Just months after Dr. Kent Brantly arrived in Liberia with his wife, Amber, and their two children, the Ebola virus erup...

Bedtime Devotions with Jesus: My Daily Devotional for Kids is the first children's devotional in the bestselling MyDaily devotional line by Thomas Nelson. It's a beautiful full color, hardcover devotional book that even includes a ribbon marker so you never lose your spot. It includes an entire years' worth of devotions for children, divided by week. Each weeks' devotion is written by a different pastor or Christian worker. Each devotion includes a Bible verse, brief exposition of the verse/theme, a short prayer, and a takeaway bite size truth. The book description reads: "Trustworthy devotional moms and dads can use to make bedtime family time, faith time. After the busyness of the day is done, before your child nods off to sleep, snuggle up to read God’s Word and daily reminders about how much He loves and takes care of us. Bedtime Devotions with Jesus is a collection of prayers and devotions written by pastors, pastor’s wives, children’s ministers, and oth...

The Wonder Of You is the latest installment in Susan May Warren's Christiansen family series. I've immensely enjoyed the previous books in the series (four other books, plus two novellas) and was super excited to read Amelia's story, after the previous book ended on a cliffhanger. Every time I finish a Christiansen family book, I don't want to put it down and leave the world of Deep Haven, Minnesota! In this book we find Amelia home from her Prague adventure and brokenhearted: "Mortified after her semester abroad is cut short, Amelia Christiansen returns to Deep Haven, certain she isn’t brave enough for the adventures she’s dreamed of. The last thing she expects is for the man who broke her heart to cross the Atlantic and beg forgiveness. Heir to a European hotel dynasty, Roark St. John has trekked from one exotic locale to another, haunted by tragedy and the expectations that accompany his last name. Amelia is the first woman to give him a reason to stop runn...

I recently picked up Detained by Don Brown to read. It's slightly out of my normal genre - I don't usually read military type thrillers. However, I do love regular thriller/suspense novels, so I figured I'd give this one a try. It's the first book of his new Navy Jag series, and I figured I might find a new series to enjoy. The story sounded intriguing: "A man and his son dreamed of America’s freedom, but the dream became a nightmare when they ended up at Guantánamo Bay. Hasan Makari and his son, Najib, both Lebanese nationals, have dreamed of the day they would experience the shining freedom of America. But when they arrive in the US, they are arrested, accused of terrorism, and incarcerated at the Guantánamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba, all on false charges. Suddenly, they face the nightmare of death by execution. Their only hope is Navy JAG Officer Matt Davis, who has been assigned to the case of his life—to defend the Makaris in court at Guantánamo Bay. Matt...

I was super, super excited to read Centralia by Mike Dellosso. I've never read any of his books before this one, but I absolutely love thrillers and thrillers in the Christian genre are an extra treat because there aren't too many great Christian thriller authors out there. I saw he'd been compared to Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. I've read one or two books by each of them and while Frank Peretti is pretty talented, I wasn't too impressed with Ted Dekker. However, I had very high hopes that Mike Dellosso could be another author to add to my "favorites" list. The premise of the book sounded amazing: "Peter Ryan wakes up on a typical morning only to find his house empty, his wife and daughter nowhere to be found. His world is shattered after a phone call to a friend confirms the impossible: his wife and daughter died in a car accident he does not remember. Haunted by faint memories and flashes of details, Peter becomes convinced that something isn’t ...