The winner of the book giveaway is….
THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER!! THE WINNER WAS ANNOUNCED HERE!
I’m hosting another book giveaway! ONE winner will receive the new/slightly-used 23 titles listed below. IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THE DRAWING YOU MUST DO TWO THINGS:
#1. You must join my mailing list! You can join my mailing list here:
If you’re already on my email list, then you can skip step one.
#2. You must comment on this blog post to enter and LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS – IF YOU DON’T LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT, THEN YOU WON’T BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST! I need an email address so that I can contact you if you win! CONTINENTAL U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.
I’ll be drawing the winner within the next few weeks or so! 
Remember, I have the right to announce your first and last name, city and state on my blog if you win! Void where prohibited.
Watching The Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth
***Please note, this novel dealt with a very graphic subject matter. As usual, I’m posting an honest review, but, be prepared for the details that I’ll be discussing about this story. SPOILER ALERT – I couldn’t talk about this story without giving vivid details regarding what happened.
Nine-year-old Mara has always wondered who she was and where she came from. Raised by two aunts (Nanny Lynn and Elma), her life has been a strange pattern of unanswered questions. When her Aunt Nanny Lynn dies, she’s suddenly thrust into the southern town of Burl with her Aunt Elma.
In Burl, Mara’s life turns extremely traumatic when she’s raped by a red-headed teenaged bully named General. She’s raped for nine days – General threatens to kill her (and her aunt) if she tells a soul about the rape. When her disinterested Aunt Elma suddenly dies, Mara automatically thinks General has killed her aunt and she struggles with the guilt, remaining silent about what she’s endured. Mara makes a friend in Burl, Camilla. Camilla brings a slice of sunshine into Mara’s dreary life, making rhymes, trying to make Mara smile.
After Elma’s death, Mara is sent to live with the mysterious Mr. Winningham. Who is he? He’s the town’s richest man, but, is he her father, or her grandfather? Is he a relative? Due to Mara’s mischief, Mr. Winningham forbids Elma from seeing her friend Camilla any longer. Alone, Mara finds friendship and kindness with Zady, Mr. Winningham’s maid. Zady takes Mara under her wing, taking her to church, teaching her about faith. Mara gets to know Zady’s family as she continues to struggle with her unknown background. She asks questions – questions that initially glean few answers.
While living with Mr. Winningham, Mara has to go to an all-black school since she’s now living in a different district and through limited communication with Camilla and a secret radio announcer named Denim, she struggles to find the missing pieces of her tattered life.
This is probably one of the best books I’ve read all year. Granted, seeing Mara getting raped nine times was extremely disturbing – rape to a child is a hurt that affects the core of your soul, making you feel for the character, desperately wanting the crime to stop. The town of Burl in the seventies also brings life to this book. Most of the adults in this book seemed crazy to me – a bit touched in the head. Most appeared to have such deep issues, issues that made you wonder what else was going on in this town besides what was happening in this novel.
It was also interesting to see Mara, the only white person, as part of an all-black community when she moves in with Mr. Winningham. When she goes to church with Zada, she’s the only white person, and when she goes to school, she’s the only white person in the entire school. In spite of her color difference, she fits into the black community easily, making friends that help her get through her dark days.
This book was definitely a page-turner. I couldn’t put it down. Overall, a great read, but, the subject matter was disturbing, causing this story to stay in your mind for a long time.
~Cecelia Dowdy~
The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall
When young Annie Martin leaves her mother’s home, she takes up residence in her grandfather’s house. Her grandfather (Daadi Moses), lives next door to Aden Zook and Aden’s family. Aden’s family owns a diner and that’s how they make their living. Since Aden’s father and Moses are in business together via ownership of the diner, the diner is allowed to have electricity.
The Zook family is Amish and the Martins are Mennonite. The Amish are forbidden from using electricity and their business partnership with Moses allows them to have the necessary electricity to run their business – Mennonites are allowed to have electricity in their homes and businesses.
When Annie and Aden begin courting, meeting secretly at night in Moses’s cherry blossom field, things become heated between the two families – Mennonites and Amish are forbidden from dating one another. Moses threatens to pull his partnership from the Zook family business, which would force them to shut down and they’d no longer be able to make a living. Moses poses this threat because Annie and Aden are courting and it’s forbidden. Aden’s family pushes him to end things with Annie, but, his heart is telling him to do otherwise.
Aden has a twin brother, Roman, who was injured in a buggy accident and now he’s bound to a wheelchair. There’s a side story about Roman being sent away to fix a generator for a relative. A mechanical whiz, Roman feels useful doing something helpful since his independence has disappeared since he can’t walk. Roman becomes enamored with a girl living next door to his relative.
I enjoyed this book, however, there were several things that bothered me about the story. The things that bothered me have no reflection at all on the author or the story, but, it’s just things that stuck in my mind that didn’t seem Christian about the way the Amish and Mennonites live.
Aden and Annie are in love, and they’ve always had feelings for one another, but they didn’t begin courting until they were adults. Both have taken a vow to their respective churches. I think it’s the vow concept that is so foreign to me and it was hard for me to connect to the characters in this fashion. It was implied if Annie and Aden had broken their vow to the church (by marrying one another) then they’d be doomed to a life in hell. Also, Moses tells Aden that the Bible states that it’s wrong to be unequally yoked.
I guess that whole unequally yoked comment from Moses bothered me a lot because I feel he’s implying that the only Christians on this earth are the Mennonites – everybody else are unbelievers – which is not the case – is everybody on this earth doomed to a life in hell if they don’t commit to the Mennonite faith? I felt that both groups were grossly misinterpreting scripture and making both Aden and Annie unnecessarily miserable.
Also, this “vow” makes no sense to me. I understand the concept of accepting Christ as your savior, becoming baptized, growing closer to Him. However, there’s nothing in the Bible that says you can’t use technology to make a living – the only reason the Zook family was pardoned by their church for using electricity was because they had a Mennonite partner. If Moses were to sever the partnership, they would’ve lost their business because they would not be “allowed” by the church to use electricity. Does that also mean that their salvation would be lost if they chose to continue the business as is if Moses were to leave? It’s almost as if both groups are placing extra “rules” onto Christianity and then acting like “God” himself by deciding who’s saved and who’s going to hell – basing the decision on superficial things like the use/non-use of electricity, cars, buggies, etc.
SPOILER ALERT:
I really LOVED that both Aden and Annie discovered that God would forgive them for breaking their vow to the church in order to live in holy matrimony. They realized that God would bless their marriage and that there was nothing wrong with their being together as a couple. I also liked it when Annie was speaking to Moses on the phone, asking him if his beloved deceased wife had been Amish instead of Mennonite, if he would’ve walked away from her. That hit a nerve with Moses, and I think he began to see the error of his ways at that point.
Overall, a nice, heartwarming read. Many thanks to Waterbrook Press for providing me with a free review copy.
~Cecelia Dowdy~
Have you ever attended a Kirk Cameron event?
My husband and I found out that Kirk Cameron was speaking at a church a few miles from our house’ so we decided to attend Kirk’s Love Worth Fighting For Marriage Event last Sunday. The event started at six o’clock. Warren Barfield, a musician who performed one of the songs from the movie, Fireproof, was also speaking and performing.
The program started with Kirk talking about his time on Growing Pains in a comedic manner. He said he had to do that because lots of people remember him from Growing Pains, so he did a Growing Pains skit, solo, complete with a wig (since he no longer has the eighties hair from twenty + years ago).
After his humorous skit, he started talking about marriage and about what the Bible says about marriage and about how a husband should treat his wife. During his sermon/talk/speech he gave numerous examples from his movie, Fireproof. My husband and I were only a few of the people in the audience who had NOT seen the movie. If you want to hear Kirk talk about marriage, I’d strongly suggest seeing Fireproof first.
Warren Barfield sang a few songs and also told the audience about his missionary work – making us aware of opportunities to sponsor children in other countries. There was an intermission before Kirk came back onto the podium. He showed some clips from Fireproof to emphasize the points he was making about how to get through the trials in marriage – for example, men should not raise their voices so loudly to show their strength and make their wives cower in fear. He also mentioned that the first step to a successful marriage is to have faith in the Lord, believe in Him. He also talked about his upcoming movie, Monumental.
They also sold love and marriage t-shirts as well as other memorabilia in the lobby. Kirk’s book was also for sale. I rarely read non-fiction, so, I didn’t feel compelled to purchase the book.
The event was over around ten o’clock and I was tired and hungry since the program was four hours long and was smack-dab in the middle of dinner time! I kinda wished this event had been held earlier in the day, or, maybe on a Saturday from ten until two. The time wasn’t convenient, but, I’m glad we made the sacrifice to go – we had to get a babysitter and my husband and I rarely stay out that late anymore!
I thought Kirk was a good speaker and he was corny, but, corny in a good and funny way. If you’re wondering about hearing him speak, I highly recommend this seminar. If you have any questions about anything specific, feel free to leave a comment.
Have you ever heard Kirk Cameron speak at an event?
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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I’ll be signing copies of Chesapeake Weddings on August 4, 2012
from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm at the following location:
Manassas African-American Heritage Festival
Grace Metz Middle School
9950 Wellington Road
Manassas, VA
More information about this event is available here.
My husband recently asked me for book recommendations. Knowing his reading taste, I immediately recommended Brandilyn Collins. I told him to read Eyes Of Elisha. I read this book several years ago and I was hooked from the first page! I think one reason that I was drawn to this book so much was because it had such a strong suspenseful thread – there’s a murder involved. Also, the main character, Chelsea, has the gift of prophecy. Here’s what I originally said in my review for this novel: A chilling winner! This book was so suspenseful! The story just grabbed me from the beginning and I barely put the book down for two days. If you want to read a gripping, intriguing story then this book is for you! I highly recommend it!
My husband loved the book and I was able to recommend other works by Brandilyn Collins to him.
Do you know of any other Christian fiction titles that have prophets as the main characters? If so, tell me the titles and the authors. Also, have you read Eyes of Elisha? If so, leave a comment and let me know if you liked it.
Below is a summary of the book, from christianbook.com:
Chelsea Adams lives in the fast-paced Silicon Valley area of California. She’s wife to Paul, a successful entrepreneur, and mother to their two sons. Chelsea is a Christian with the unusual gift of visions. These insights from God have helped her pray for people and have led her to save others from harm. But never has she experienced a vision like the one she “sees” during a business dinner with her husband and their prospective new vice-president of marketing, Gavil Harrison. Invited to dinner to check out the new prospect, Chelsea goes into a spiritual state in which she sees the murder of a young women. After the vision, when she comes back to consciousness, she looks into Gavil’s eyes and experiences a terrifying moment of recognition: she’s certain that he’s the killer she saw. But who will believe her? Certainly not her non-Christian husband, who wants to hire this man to work by his side. Nor the police, who must rely on hard evidence. Only one person might believe her-the murderer himself. There are plenty of twists and turns of plot right up to the end of this edge-of your-seat thriller.
~Cecelia Dowdy~
Today is my birthday, but I already celebrated last weekend with cheesecake and a brand new handmade bookshelf from the Amish market.
Overall, my birthday has been joyous and blessed!
Also, author Rose McCauley is hosting me on her blog today! Stop by and leave a comment to enter the book giveaway for Milk Money!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
New International Version (NIV)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Whenever I read this scripture, it always makes me stop and think. What does this scripture mean to you?
I’m thinking, the Lord is telling us that we shouldn’t change or add words to His book, The Holy Bible. However, there are several versions of the Bible out there in several different languages. When I think about this scripture, it just blows my mind. Why? Well, because of the different translations out there – which translation is the most accurate? Has anyone taken liberties when interpreting the Bible?
When I was growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, I was always taught that their version (the JW version – The New World Translation), was the Bible that was the closest to the original Bible. I’d believed that their Bible was the clearest, most concise Bible that delivered Jehovah’s word to His followers.
I’m a Christian now, and I’m no longer a part of the JW faith for several reasons. Decades ago, I did discover while I was questioning the JW beliefs that their Bible had some scriptures that appeared to be totally different than other versions of the Bible. It was like, the meaning of some scriptures were changed in the NWT and this bothered me, a lot! I felt like I’d been lied to, plus, I felt like the translators were going against the Lord’s request about NOT changing his Holy Word.
So, when I read through the book of Revelations, and see this scripture near the end of the last chapter, it always makes me stop and pause and think, recalling my experiences from my younger days as I sought the true meaning of being a Christian.
So, which Bible do you use most frequently? Do you use several versions? If so, which is your favorite? Do any of you read the King James version of the Bible? Are there any versions of the Bible out there that you don’t particularly like for some reason?
Be sure to leave a comment!!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
I’ll be attending the Manassas African-American Heritage Festival next Saturday, August 4, 2012! If you live in the Washington Metro area, try and stop by to say hello! I’ll be signing copies of Chesapeake Weddings!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
