Harvest of Grace

The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall.  This was the first book I had read by this author so I was not familiar with the Ada’s House Novel series.   I have read books about the Amish people before. 

This is a love story of Sylvia and Aaron.  Sylvia is the oldest  of her sisters and helps her dad run their farm.  She is a very hard worker and loves taking care of the cows.  Sylvia gets her heart broken when her beau marries her younger sister.  Later her sister has twins and becomes sick, she moves in the take care of her sister and the babies.  Old feelings arise and she finds herself sharing a kiss with her sisters husband.  She knows this is a sin and goes to her father and asks to leave the farm.  At first he will not let her go but later let’s her go, she is told she must give up her share of the farm she has worked so hard for as well as have no contact with her family.  I thought this was to harsh, but maybe a custom.

She goes to work a few hours away on the Blank farm.  The Blank’s are older and need help to try and get the farm to make some money.  Their daughter was killed a few years back and their son Aaron has been away at rehab for a year.  Upon Aaron’s return he wants his parents to sell the farm, pay off debts and move with him to a town and run an appliance store.  It was nice that Aaron gave God all the credit in his recovery.   Sylvia wants them to keep the farm and give her a chance in making it successful.  As they work together on the farm a relationship develops as well as problems.  There are many other good characters in the book with struggles and the author gives you a glimpse of their lives and their faith .  I think I would like to read other books in the series to know more about the other characters.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories of strong Christian Amish women.     

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. 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."

One Call Away -A Memoir

I have to admit that once I started reading this book I could not hardly put it down.  Brenda is married to Kurt Warner who was an NFL quarter back that is now retired.  I know it takes alot for a person to be as honest about details of their like like she was.  Not judging her but at times she seemed alittle stuck on her self.  She mentions that she was always know as the "pretty one" more than a few times.  I know she had to have strong faith to endure some of the hardships that she faced but at times wondered if she would really put God first what would of been the outcome.  She and her first husband have a son Zack who is left disabled after an accident under the father's care.  When she is eight months pregnant with her daughter he has an affair.  Having a troubled marriage any way she leaves him.  She shares her struggles being a single mom, the death of her parents in a tornado, and believe it or not coping with being famous and a millionaire, as well as the miscarriages of two babies.  There were a few times when I was left hangin on story lines that didn't finish.  Like her grandmother, Chach.  She was mentioned but you never  knew what happened to her.  I also wondered about the first two children's father, but at the end she did fill us in on the children's relationship now with him.   The pictures that were added were  a nice touch to the story, I found myself looking either forward or back at them often.  I am glad that she does speak out about her faith as mentioned.  I was alittle disappointed  at the lack of references to God and His Holy Word.  She and Kurt have a foundation called "First Things First".  Together they do wonderful things like furnishing homes for low income single mothers and rock babies who have no one to love them.  The most touching part of the book  for me was when she held Daniel into the arms of Jesus.   I would recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement to go on when times get difficult.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”