Now and Then and Always by Melissa Tagg - Book Review
I couldn’t hardly wait to read another story by Melissa Tagg. I have completely loved her other books and was really looking forward to this one! Now and Then and Always did not disappoint. In fact, it may be one of her best stories yet! This story was funny, full of laughter, yet dealt with deep issues and hard feelings. Tagg did an excellent job of intertwining all of the elements. This story provided all the elements you have become accustomed to with Tagg’s writing (romance, humor, etc..), but this one also includes some mystery which kept me going right to the end!
It was great returning to Melissa Tagg’s fictional town of Maple Valley. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this story and all it had to offer! Be sure to check it out as well as all of Tagg’s other books!
Check out Melissa Tagg’s website here: www.melissatagg.com
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe is the second book in the Saturday Night Supper Club series by Carla Laureano. The story continues the series about three friends. These three women have a shared love of food! This particular story focuses in on the one who is a pastry chef. I can definitely say that after reading this book, it left me craving some culinary delights! The characters' love of food and making it special is conveyed well throughout the story.
I felt like I could relate to both of the main characters in this book. They both were struggling with knowing their place in life. Were they living their dreams or living the lives someone else had created for them or the life that they thought they might have wanted? Sometimes, we can get so caught up in life, we don't follow our dreams. Sometimes, we get caught up in what we thought we wanted, only to realize that is not what we really wanted. The story reminded me that it is good to reevaluate where we are in life and what our dreams are. As C.S. Lewis says, "You are never too old to set another goal or dream another dream." I love the journey that the characters go on and how they are faced with real life situations. I enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading the next one in the series!
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
The Secret of Paper and Ink is such a beautifully crafted story. I have loved each of Lindsay Harrel’s books, but I truly believe each one she has written has gotten better and better. She writes with such depth and weaves hope into her stories.
This book definitely ranks in my top five books. There is so much wisdom in this book and it touched me in such a deep way.
The mystery in the book pulls you in and you don’t find out anything until the very end! It is captivating. The characters show real life struggles that relate to relevant issues of today’s culture.
One of my favorite parts of the book is how it describes the impact a story can have on your life and why it is so important to tell your story. I found myself highlighting several parts of this story to go back and read again.
As with each of Lindsay Harrel’s books, I was drawn in, held captive, and left waiting to see what she will come up with for her next story! Check out this book for yourself and make sure you check out her other books, too!
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Read my Bible 4-5 days per week. I’ll be using the She Reads Truth Bible this year and I’m going to use some of its reading plans for the books of the Bible. I am thinking I will start in January with John.
2. Read 120 books.
This is more than double last year’s goal, but this year I want to count all the children’s books that I read, too! I tend to read to my nieces and nephews a lot and I thought it would be fun to keep track of the children’s books.
3. Consistent prayer time.
Along with my Bible reading, I want to get back in the habit of daily, intentional prayer.I still need an intentional plan for this.
4. Have monthly goals.
Something along the lines of trying something new each month or at least having a new goal each month. This didn't work well for me last year, but I am going to try again! Some ideas:
-Do a skirt/dress challenge (wear skirts/dresses for 7-14 days).
-Ride bike 3-5/week (during the summer).
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5. Keep track of the projects that I complete in 2019.
I love creating things and I thought it would be fun to keep track of what I am making. In December 2018, I kept track and it was fun to see that I had completed 5 knitting projects!
Word of the Year: EMBRACE For more on this, see the last post!
Happy New Year! Share some of your goals in the comments! I’d love to hear them!
This word started coming to me back in November. If you read my post on "being awkward," you will understand this word just a little more. Life is hard and we really don't have control over things, so why not just embrace what comes to you. I don't want to be discontent. I don't want to live in regrets. I don't want to live in the "if only" and "I didn't get my way." I want to embrace life. I want to embrace each part of it, the good and the bad. I want to embrace Jesus and all He has for me!
My Three:
I considered a couple different words, including "be" and "awkward" (again, see the post about it). Then I started thinking more and more about the word embrace. And I kept hearing it over and over again. About a week before Christmas, a friend and I were having a conversation and she asked me if I had picked a word for 2019 yet. I told her the first two options and said I had one other one, but I couldn't remember it right then. She then asked me about the word "embrace." I was like "That's the other word I was thinking of." I love how I couldn't even remember it in the moment, but God used her to remind me of the word that was already written in my notebook on my list of words for the year.
If you want to read the original story that got me started thinking about "embrace," check out this post.
The final determiner was a sermon I heard on the last Sunday in December. I felt like it was written just for me. Remember my post on what we deserve? Well, I felt like that theme rang throughout the sermon. And then over and over again, I heard the word "embrace." At the end, the one line that stood out to me was, "Embrace Jesus." And that is when I knew for sure I was going to embrace the word embrace!
I just love how God uses situations in our life to guide us! I think it is so important to be on the lookout! Look for those God-sightings!
The Dictionary Definition
(Merriam-Webster) : to accept readily or gladly She is always ready to embrace an opportunity.
:to avail oneself of
(avail: advantage toward attainment of a goal or purpose, : to make use of : to take advantage of
) Here is a start to my list of embracing.
Embrace awkward. Embrace Out-of-Control. Embrace hard things. Embrace the little things. Embrace life. Embrace Jesus.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live...
God has taught me a lot this year, but over and over again I am reminded of the importance of faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Over the past year I have come to realize how important my faith is to me and how important it is for me to surround myself with people who have faith in Jesus.
It is hard to describe in a post how I learned more about faith, but as always, I seemed to see and hear this word a lot throughout the year. God used different opportunities to strengthen my faith and make me realize the importance of believing even when we can’t see. Even though it was hard, I felt like 2018 was a growing year for my faith.
I’m excited to share my word for 2019 in a future post!
1. Read the Bible in a year.
Yay! I accomplished this! In fact, I finished my Bible read through in October. I was really excited about finishing early, however, for November and December I seemed to lose my consistency since I didn’t have a plan to follow. I’m excited to start a new plan for 2019!
2. Read 52 books.
Again, I’m excited to say I accomplished this and went beyond it reading 63 books in 2018.
3. Have monthly goals.
January - I really want to focus on getting back in the habit of consistent Bible Reading.
I did this one!
I think I did a couple things back in February and March, but I don’t remember what they were! So this goal didn’t goes as well as I had hoped!
Stay tuned for my 2019 goals and Word of the Year! Have a happy end to 2018!
In the past few weeks, maybe months, I have heard a lot of people talking about deserving things.
For example:
You deserve a break.
You deserve time away.
You deserve getting that job/promotion/gift.
I deserve to buy something for myself.
You deserve [fill in the blank].
I deserve [fill in the blank].
While I think there is no ill-intentions behind people saying those things, I do think it is the wrong word to use. Yes, I think it is good to take a break. I think the Bible calls us to rest. Yes, I think a new job or a gift are all great things and should be congratulated and we should give thanks for them. However, I’m not sure we deserve any of it...
We are all sinful people. In Romans 8:23, it says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When I think of what I deserve, it is nothing good. Deserve means, “to be worthy of.” I am not worthy of anything...on my own. But that is where Jesus comes in! You see, I think we see His glory best in the places that we see our weakness. I don’t deserve anything, but in Jesus, I am given the greatest gift of all. I am given the gift I could never be worthy enough to receive. I am given eternal life in Jesus!
John 3:16 may be the most known Bible verse in the world, but its truth is never ending.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Don’t just gloss over these words, take them to heart. God loved YOU so much that He sent His Son to die for you. Jesus did not sin, yet He died on the cross to pay for our sins. He died to save you and me from the one thing we did deserve.
So as you think of what you may or may not deserve, I ask you to think of what Jesus did for you! God blesses us in many different ways and we should be thankful and even excited about those things. I don’t want to take away from those gifts, but I also want us to always look to God and the greatest gift He gave us, one we did not deserve, one we could not earn. He gave His life for us... because He loves us.
(As I close this post, I want to share these lyrics with you that popped into my head as I was writing that last sentence. I couldn’t think of what song it was so I had to look it up. Looking back, I think this song is part of the reason I started thinking on this concept at all.)
Here is part of the chorus from Reckless Love:
I couldn't earn it I don't deserve it Still You give yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
