My friend, Judy Devries, is hosting a Facebook party because she’s reached 100,000 views on her blog! Come and join in the fun! I’ll be giving away a copy of Chesapeake Weddings during the celebration! 🙂
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Alone, pregnant, and practically shunned from her community, Lindie Wyse must make a fresh start in a new Amish community. Her brother, Eli, has arranged for his widowed friend, Josiah Plank, to marry Lindie. Josiah promises to care for Lindie and her unborn child, however, he says that he can never love Lindie as he loved his deceased wife.
Lindie has trouble settling into Josiah’s home. His deceased wife, Caroline,’s, presence still hovers in the air. Caroline’s belongings and her way of running the household still take precedence over Lindie’s wishes. Lindie also has trouble bonding with Simon, Josiah’s father-in-law (Caroline’s father).
Josiah has an eight-year-old deaf daughter, Hannah, who is deaf. She has little supervision and is still grieving over the death of her mother and her grandmother. Lindie has trouble bonding with Hannah since she does not know sign language and Hannah does not easily bond with strangers.
This book was a nice, sweet, well-written read. I could also imagine this being a good holiday book since part of the story takes place during the Christmas season. I felt that the struggle between Lindie and Hannah was very realistic.
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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Have you ever dated a preacher?
Crockett Archer’s life is about to change forever. When some bandits kidnap him from a passenger train as a birthday gift for a daughter, he wonders why God has placed him in such a circumstance.
When Joanna Robbins meets her “gift” she’s flabbergasted. She needs a preacher for their abandoned church, and Crockett Archer seems a perfect candidate. However, Crockett has other plans, he’s already set to take a pastoral position elsewhere.
Joanna finds herself smitten with handsome Crockett. Is he really an answer to her prayers? Can Crockett soften her father (Silas) heart, opening him up so that he can accept Jesus into his life?
I really enjoyed this book. It started off with a bang and just kept moving along at a good, steady pace. I really loved the inspirational message in the book. Joanna really feels that Crockett may be the right preacher to lead their church and to soften her father’s heart. Also, Joanna is still grieving over the death of her mother. She finds solace in her art studio painting pictures – a talent she’s inherited from her mother.
Crockett is different than most preachers. He’s a former hardworking rancher, who lived on a secluded ranch with his brothers for several years. Unlike most preachers, he’ll physically fight when he needs to. He has a deep heart for God and feels called to preach.
The characters and the scenery in this book were so amazing and well done. I loved this book and look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.
Have you ever dated a clergyman? If so, what happened? How long did you date? Did you ever marry?
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Happy New Year to all of my blog readers!
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From the blog archives:
Genesis 6:1-4
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Numbers 13:31-33 – 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Some translations use the word Nephilim instead of giant. Who were these gigantic people? Some teach that they were the offspring of fallen angels – these angels lusted after human women and they had intercourse with them and the women bore these huge, wicked children. Who knows? From the little bit of research that I was able to do, it appears that the term Sons of God is interpreted a couple of ways and that makes it debatable about the paternity of these huge creatures.
I’ve always thought the Nephilim were the offspring from fallen angels. Why? I guess because they were so huge, much larger than regular humans, coupled with the fact that it appears they were wicked, too. I also read that the Nephilim pop up again in the book of Numbers, so I’ve provided that scripture, too. So, it’s possible that the Sons of God appeared again and did the same thing again with human women? The Nephilim mentioned in Genesis were killed during the flood, so the scriptures can’t be talking about the same group of giants?
I just try to imagine how large these people were…were they twice the size of regular humans, maybe three times larger than the average human? The ones in Numbers state that the regular people were like grasshoppers compared to these giant people! Grasshoppers?? Reminds me of Gulliver’s Travels or Jack And The Beanstalk!
I’m just sitting here, trying to imagine what they would have looked like, giants stomping upon the earth, doing all sorts of wicked things to people. Frightening thoughts I’m having, but, just makes me stop and wonder, makes me wish I had a vivid snapshot of the way the world was back then…
Did you know about the giants in the Bible? Do you think the Nephilim/Giants were the offspring of fallen angels? Please comment!
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Merry Christmas! This is the season of giving!
What was your favorite Christmas gift?
I’ve been busy, purchasing Christmas gifts for my son. Made me wonder about favorite Christmas gifts! Take a moment to answer the following question: What was the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?
I’m wishing everyone a safe and blessed Christmas! During Christmas, remember Christ’s amazing birth!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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I’m talking about Saint Nicholas! For some reason, I’ve always been fascinated with why we celebrate Christmas. I’m not sure if it’s because I never celebrated as a child – or, some other reason!
Since it’s Christmas, I thought it’d be fun to share some Saint Nicholas facts.
1. Very little is known about the real Saint Nicholas.
2. He was born in Asia-Minor – which is now modern-day Turkey – in the third century.
3. He was the Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
4. He attended the First Council of Nicaea.
5. Most stories about Saint Nicholas are legends – his being a secret gift-giver stemmed from the legend of his secretly leaving dowries for a poor widower’s daughters.
6. The beginning of Saint Nicholas becoming our modern-day Santa Claus happened in New York around 1804. Saint Nicolas became our modern-day Santa Claus via a series of New York events:
7. A man named John Pintard met with New York leaders to establish the New York Historical Society. The Historical Society members celebrated the early Dutch-roots heritage of New York by having an annual dinner on December 6th: Saint Nicholas Day.
8. Washington Irving, Pintard’s brother-in-law and a member of the Historical Society, wrote A History Of New York under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerboker. A History of New York mentioned Saint Nicholas several times, further popularizing him.
9. Clement Moore, another member of the Historical Society, had his poem, The Night Before Christmas, published anonymously in the New York Sentinel in 1823, further popularized Saint Nicholas’s character. ***An ongoing debate is the authorship of this poem – either Clement Moore or Henry Livingston was the author.
10. The popularity of this poem gave Saint Nicholas great influence on how we know him today. It was the first widely accepted reference to Saint Nicholas having reindeer and driving a sleigh.
***Prior to this most of Santa’s characteristics were believed to be derived from Odin, a Germanic God. Odin traveled through the air on a six-legged horse as part of the ghostly Wild Hunt. Odin also had a long white beard, and he visited people, bearing gifts.
Also, The Night Before Christmas gave names to Saint Nicholas’s reindeer. This poem proved significant in developing the modern image of Nicholas’s physical appearance, too – he no longer appeared as a bishop, wearing bishop’s clothing. He now was a red-cheeked jolly man. In this poem, Saint Nicholas made his visit on Christmas Eve – moving his “day” from December 6th (Saint Nicholas Day) to December 24th.
11. Thomas Nast – A New Yorker who was a cartoonist and illustrator at Harper’s Weekly. His drawings had a vast influence on the popularity of Santa Claus. His drawings established the following Santa Claus traits:
Nast’s drawings established Santa as a toymaker living in the North Pole with his elves as assistants. He also established Santa receiving letters from kids as well as kids leaving snacks out for Santa to enjoy. He also showed Santa with his giant book with the names of children.
12. Francis Church, a journalist, answered an editorial letter from a little girl named Virginia O’Hanlon. She wanted to know if there was a Santa Claus and his response was printed in the New York Sun. It was reprinted and embraced by the public each year until The Sun went out of business.
13. Haddon Sundblom – an artist, drew drawings every year for Coca-Cola, further popularizing Santa Claus.
So, there you have it! Those are the main reasons why third-century-born Saint Nicholas became our modern-day Santa Claus!
Can you recommend any books about Christmas or Santa Claus traditions?
I’ve read a few over the years and the two that I enjoyed the most were:
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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The Winner of An Amish Miracle is:
Joy Hannabass – Moneta, VA
Congrats, Joy! Merry Christmas! Enjoy the book!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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1 Corinthians 14:34-35
34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
What is the meaning of that scripture?
If you take it literally, then a woman should not open her mouth when she enters a church. She cannot say “hello” or “How are you?” when she enters a church. This scripture also implies that women should not question anything in the church – but to glean the answers to their questions from their husbands at home.
I was taught that this scripture implied that women were not allowed to be clergymen – however, that’s not what the Apostle Paul says.
Were you ever shown this scripture as a child or as an adult – in Sunday school or Bible class? How was this scripture interpreted by your church/teacher/Bible person?
Share your thoughts!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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An Amish Miracle by Beth Wiseman, Ruth Reid, and Mary Ellis
Have you ever dealt with weight or body-image issues? Were you ever teased because of your weight?
In Always Beautiful, Becky Byler has always been fat, and she painfully recalls being teased by her peers. She stands in front of a rushing river, ready to dive in to take her own life, when, she suddenly prays to God for a miracle – she wants to be thin and beautiful. Her wish is granted, but, Becky’s life changes. Matt, a good-looking, well-liked young man in her community asks her out! Becky has admired Matt from afar, but, in the past, she’s kept to herself because she doesn’t want to face ridicule about her weight.
However, Becky’s best friend, Elam, is stunned about how much she’s changed. Why is she seeing Matt – after all Becky and Elam have always been best friends, and their friendship could easily turn into something more.
Out of the three stories in this collection, I enjoyed this one the most. I think it’s because it dealt with an overweight main character – I seldom see this in Christian fiction.
The second novella, Always His Providence, is about Rosa – a barren Amish widow woman. She’s desperately trying to make more money to pay the back taxes on her land – her deceased husband did not keep up with the tax payments and now Rosa could lose her farm. Adam, her next door neighbor and her husband’s best friend, vowed that he’d take care of Rosa after her husband died. Rosa’s husband, Uriah, saved Adam’s life and Adam feels indebted to Uriah’s widow, Rosa.
I enjoyed this story because I loved reading about the attraction between Adam and Rosa. Adam is scarred by the fire that took Uriah’s life. I also loved reading about Rosa’s chickens! Rosa sells eggs and the chickens’ egg-laying habits provide a unique twist to the story.
The first story, Always in My Heart, is about Hope. She’s blessed with several daughters, however, she wonders if her traumatic past is causing her to be son-less. Hope and her husband are almost desperate to have a male offspring, but, Hope keeps giving birth to girls. She thinks about that dark, traumatic night, and the decision she was forced to make afterwards. She’s never shared her experience with her husband, and she struggles, wondering what her husband would say if he knew. She also wonders if there’s anything she can do to ensure she has a male child in the future.
This story takes on an interesting twist as Hope receives a totally unexpected answer to her prayer. I liked this story, for the most part. Hope and her husband receive a totally unexpected interesting visitor which provides the story with a unique and interesting twist.
So, have you ever dealt with weight or body-image issues? Were you ever teased because of your weight? What did you do about it?
~Cecelia Dowdy~
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