Untangle Your Emotions, book #24

 

So, this book was NOT on my list of books to read this summer.  Even though it is a "U" book, and I was almost "U" I had another book in mind I was excited about reading.  But some of my very favorite podcasters and friends Fran & Angela from Rambling Through Everyday Life encouraged us read it and attempted a summer Book Club with it.  Click here for the first video from that.

The book was good, and did give me several things to think about.  

How often have you heard, “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you”? But what if instead of ignoring our feelings, we noticed them, named them, and let God use them to draw us closer to Himself and others?

Many of us need to unlearn damaging messages about our emotions. We’ve been taught, for example, that emotions are untrustworthy, when, in fact, God can use them to help us see where we need His healing. 

In Untangle Your Emotions, Jennie Allen uses scientific research, biblical insight, and her own story to help you 

● exchange stuffing, dismissing, or minimizing your emotions for a five-step process to know what you feel and what to do about it

● debunk the myth that feelings are sinful by learning how emotional maturity leads to deeper connection with God and others

● live emotionally healthy by applying biblical wisdom and therapeutic research that works whether you self-identify as “emotional” or not

● sit with feelings that are confusing and painful by discovering the depth of God’s love and compassion for you

Feelings aren’t something to fix; they are something to feel. As we discover how to name and navigate our emotions, we’ll learn how they can draw us closer to the God who built us—soul, mind, and heart.  (picture and description at Amazon)

Now back to Hope Harbor for our next Book Club book!

Keep reading!

Melissa

Terri, book #23

 

This book was a slow start, but once I finally got into it I found it quite enjoyable.  Good enough to go back and read the other ones in the series?  Not anytime soon, but maybe later.  

She’s always longed for more…  Running a thriving daycare keeps Terri Hayes busy. Add a new foster daughter to the mix and Terri shouldn’t have time to want more—but she does. At twenty-nine, her biological clock is ticking away. When a busted pipe floods her home, she finds temporary sanctuary in a basement apartment—one that just happens to be owned by her long-time crush, single dad Steve Evans.

Is he ready to date again?  Steve is widower, a father of two teenaged girls, and a successful writer. His life is full, but he wouldn’t mind exploring a romance with Terri. But when lines of communication get crossed, the budding relationship grounds to a halt.

Two matchmakers to the rescue…  Iris and Samantha Evans want a stepmother and have set their sights on Terri. Their matchmaking includes equal parts prayer and deception. Will their scheming result in the wedding of their dreams, or will the harsh confrontation between Steve and the parents of Terri’s foster child be an obstacle they can’t overcome?  (book and description from Amazon)

Since the non-fiction book I referenced before actually starts with "U" and I am half way through and book club isn't until next week, I decided to focus on it and finish it before jumping into whatever our picker chooses next week!

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Sandcastle Inn (A Hope Harbor Novel Book #10), book #22

 

Oh my goodness!  This book that we picked for Book Club was SUCH A TREAT!!!  I had forgotten that I had already read other books in the series here and here.  Luckily this series is one that you can pick up any where in it and read about another person's story.  I can't wait to dive into the ones I have missed!!

Vienna Price never intended to return for more than a passing visit to Oregon and all the bad memories she'd left behind. But when your career tanks, home is where you go to nurse your wounds and chart a new course. Only temporarily, of course--because as much as she loves her quirky mom, anything more than a short stay would drive them both crazy.  A trip to Oregon isn't in Matt Quinn's plans, either, until a perfectly timed appeal for help arrives from his sister. What better place to decompress after a shattering loss than a quiet, seaside town named Hope Harbor? But R&R isn't on the agenda when he arrives to find his sister's new enterprise on life support.  Vienna, however, may have just the skills needed to resuscitate the foundering B&B--if Matt can convince her to hang around long enough to mend an inn . . . and his heart.  (picture and description at Amazon)

In the meantime, besides the whole Bible we are reading again at church, I've also picked up a nonfiction book I'm slowly working through.  I'm a little bit scared about reading it, as it's probably going to turn off stuff I'm not sure I want turned over, but probably need to.  Update coming later. 

Happy Summer Reading!!

Melissa

The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores #1), book # 21

 

This delicious book has been sitting by my bedside for many months and I finally got to "S" so I could read it.  It was the perfect beach read for our quick trip to my favorite place in the world, Pensacola Beach. Obviously, Julie Klassen did not disappoint, as she never does.  After reading some quick books with not as much depth or detail, this was truly a delight.  10/10.

When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.  Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family's new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth's many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars--both visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.  (picture and description from Amazon)

I believe since I now jumping around the alphabet here I'm going to go back to a "quick" Q book, then get back on track.

Happy Summer reading!!

Melissa

 

Rooms, book #20

Ok, this book was much different than I thought it was going to be.  The original summary I had read:

On a rainy spring day in Seattle, young software tycoon Micah Taylor receives a cryptic, twenty-five-year-old letter from a great uncle he never knew. It claims a home awaits him on the Oregon coast that will turn his world inside out. Suspecting a prank, Micah arrives at Cannon Beach to discover a stunning, brand new nine-thousand square foot house. And after meeting Sarah Sabin at a nearby ice cream shop, he has two reasons to visit the beach every weekend. When bizarre things start happening in the rooms of the home, Micah suspects they have some connection to his enigmatic new friend, Rick, the town mechanic. But Rick will only say the house is spiritual. This unnerves Micah because his faith slipped away like the tide years ago, and he wants to keep it that way. But as he slowly discovers, the home isn’t just spiritual, it’s a physical manifestation of his soul, which God uses to heal Micah’s darkest wounds and lead him into an astonishing new destiny.

However I should have been clued in when I read Amazon's summary:

What if you inherited a brand-new mansion on the Oregon coast—from a great uncle you never knew? Would you blow it off? Or head down there to check it out?

Micah Taylor isn’t stupid. He’s made a fortune building a Seattle software empire. But he can’t figure out why he’s been given a 9,000 square foot home right on the beach.

And not just any beach.

The one beach he loves more than any other.

The one beach he hates more than any other.

Both at the same time.

Micah drives down to check out the house. On the surface, everything seems legit. He instantly feels at home and then he meets a beautiful young woman at the local ice cream shop.

Now there’s two reasons to keep coming back to Cannon Beach. But the house still feels off. Things start happening that Micah can’t explain.

That Micah doesn’t want explained.

Because he’s slowly realizing the house isn’t just a house.

It’s a physical manifestation of his soul.

He begins a journey into the most glorious rooms of his life, but also the darkest.

Rooms where terrible things happened.

Things that must not be remembered, but scream out to be heard.

Micah can’t run. Can’t hide.

Because the memories aren’t just memories.

They’re real.

Memories that can heal and set him free.

But that can also destroy him

And there’s no way to know which side will win in the end.

Once I realized it was going to be more like The Shack, I was a little more open to it, but I was still on edge because books like that you have to prepare yourself for before you jump in.  Not try to read it fast when you realize Book Club is coming up sooner than you realize ...

(To be honest, since I downloaded this book from another place (not Amazon) it may be the reason it was worded differently.)  

It did give me pause to think about freedom from EVERYTHING in Christ and if I take the time to chew on it some more it could do some serious wretching of my life ... that probably needs to be done.

Melissa

 

On Distant Shores, book #19

 

When I realized I had a week and a half to finish this book (which I had barely started) and read our next book for Book Club next week, I got busy reading FAST!!  We ended up being out of school today, thanks to a little tornado near us and flooding.  Luckily we weren't hurt, but it did hit close to my inlaws house.  

I read the first book in this series way back in 2018 and even then I knew I wanted to read the rest.  But for whatever reason, I didn't have the chance to get to until now.  Because it's an "O" book!!  Also because, I can't read too many war books in a row.  

One of the things I loved about this book is it ties in a fictional story with real history.  While this is not a "true" story, there are many things in the story that were real and did really happen.  I learned about how during WWII the pharmacists at the camps were not officers.  Many times, like many medical people during the war, they were given a few weeks training, a manual and shipped overseas.  That made it really hard on actual college trained pharmacists to do the type of work that was actually needed.*  I also learned about flight nurses during the time and the bare minimum training they received.  And, while this particular story wasn't true, how many female flight nurses felt the tug from their families to be home supporting the war instead of out in the field?

I always love it when a fiction book ties in so much "non-fiction" ~ it makes me feel like I double dipped! 

Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A comfortable boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie's cozy life gets decidedly more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they've made?  (picture and description at Amazon)

Now, on to read our Book Club book fast too! 

Keep Reading!

Melissa

*upon doing some research, it ends up the author of this book actually used to be a pharmacist!  Read about it here.

No Safe Haven, book #18

 

I bet I tricked you all reading that "P" book last time.  ;)  That was just a Book Club Book, so I went back to my "N" book for my Read thru the Alphabet game.

This is one I have had on my Paperwhite for a very long time, probably since when I got my first Kindle.  I couldn't wait to load it up with good books without paying $10 each, so someone told me about this website at the time where you could get them for $5 or less.  I have no idea now what the name of the website was, but it was great to get me started.  This book is not even in print anymore!  

Was it good?  Worthy of the 4+ stars 83% of the 379 people who reviewed the book? Eh, I'd probably give it 3-4 stars.  The writing was a not high quality, but the story was very engaging.  Did I feel like I was really stuck on the mountainside in Alaska during a blizzard?  No.  Was I nervous about how it was going to end or how many more people were actually going to die?  Yes.    So, read & decide for yourself.

Jenna and Andi Tikaani-Gray are hoping for a fresh start. Though twelve year-old Andi has long struggled with a rare medical disorder, she and her mother have finally received good news from out-of-town specialists. It's news they desperately needed, especially after the recent death of Jenna's husband (Andi's dad) in a car accident.   But as they are flying home to Alaska, ready to begin again, the unthinkable happens. The pilot sabotages their small plane and crashes into Sultana, one of the most remote and dangerous mountains in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Even worse, a winter storm is headed their way along with someone who doesn't want to save them, but to kill them.  Only one man can keep them alive: Cole Maddox, the mysterious last-minute passenger who joined them on their flight. But trust doesn't come easy to Jenna or Andi and they both sense Cole is hiding something.  A relentless tale of survival and suspense unfolds, involving military technology designed by Jenna's late husband that some would do anything to possess. (Picture and some of the description at Amazon, other bits I have no idea ....)

I keep telling myself I should take a break between finishing one book and starting another, but I'm just in a reading mood!  Wonder which book I'll pick next?

Keep reading!

Melissa