Posted February 13, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Miriam by
Mesu Andrews Series: Treasures of the Nile #2 Publisher: WaterBrook Press (2016 - March 15)
Paperback ARC (369 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Also by this author: The Pharaoh's Daughter,
Isaiah's Daughter,
Isaiah's Legacy Also in this series: The Pharaoh's Daughter Reading Challenges: 2016 Royal Challenge,
Read 2016 Synopsis
The Hebrews call me prophetess, the Egyptians a seer. But I am neither. I am simply a watcher of Israel and the messenger of El Shaddai. When He speaks to me in dreams, I interpret. When He whispers a melody, I sing.
At eighty-six, Miriam had devoted her entire life to loving El Shaddai and serving His people as both midwife and messenger. Yet when her brother Moses returns to Egypt from exile, he brings a disruptive message. God has a new name – Yahweh – and has declared a radical deliverance for the Israelites.
Miriam and her beloved family face an impossible choice: cling to familiar bondage or embrace uncharted freedom at an unimaginable cost. Even if the Hebrews survive the plagues set to turn the Nile to blood and unleash a maelstrom of frogs and locusts, can they weather the resulting fury of the Pharaoh?
Enter an exotic land where a cruel Pharaoh reigns, pagan priests wield black arts, and the Israelites cry out to a God they only think they understand.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Read 2016
Posted February 12, 2016 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments
I am currently reading Divine Mercy in My Soul, more commonly called The Diary, as part of my Lenten practices. I have read excerpts of The Diary before but this time, I intend to read the whole book. It is a rather large book with over 700 pages! This is primarily a book for spiritual reading and so I suspect that this book will take me quite some time to finish. Hopefully, by Easter (or at least Divine Mercy Sunday), I will be finished with my first reading of The Diary.
From Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska by Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (paragraph 56):
From the beginning I have been aware of my weakness. I know very well what I am of myself, because for this purpose Jesus has opened the eyes of my soul;
I am an abyss of misery, and hence I understand that whatever good
there is in my soul consists solely of His holy grace.
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Tagged as Catholic, Catholic Book, Friday 56, Saints
Posted February 11, 2016 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments
Not If I See You First by
Eric Lindstrom Publisher: Poppy (2015)
Hardcover (310 pages)
Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
The Rules:
Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.
Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.
Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.
Parker Grant doesn’t need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That’s why she created the Rules: Don’t treat her any differently just because she’s blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.
When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there’s only one way to react—shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that’s right, her eyes don’t work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened—both with Scott, and her dad—the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.
Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Erid Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016
Posted February 9, 2016 in Faith, Life / 0 Comments
It is crazy to think that it is almost time for Lent to start. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday already! What has happened to this year! Anyway, I want to share my Lenten Sacrifices, the things I am going to give up during Lent to grow closer to Christ. Some people may be going, “Why give anything up? That sounds ridiculous.” Well, I give up something so that I can deny myself and grow deeper in my love for Christ. Here is what EWTN says on the topic:
By denying ourselves something we enjoy, we discipline our wills so that we are not slaves to our pleasures. … By disciplining the will to refuse pleasures when they are not sinful, a habit is developed which allows the will to refuse pleasures when they are sinful. There are few better ways to keep one’s priorities straight than by periodically denying ourselves things of lesser priority to show us that they are not necessary and focus our attention on what is necessary.
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Tagged as Catholic, Lent
Posted February 8, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
These Vicious Masks by
Tarun Shanker,
Kelly Zekas Publisher: Swoon Reads (2016 - Feb 9)
eARC (352 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2015 Synopsis
Evelyn has no interest in marriage and even the dashing Mr. Kent can’t make her want to live up to society’s expectations. She’d much rather assist her beloved sister Rose in achieving her radical dream of becoming a doctor. But everything changes the night she meets Sebastian Braddock – not only is the reclusive gentleman both vexing and annoyingly attractive, he’s also quite possibly mad, and his interest in Rose is galling. So when Evelyn wakes up to discover that Rose has disappeared, she immediately suspects Sebastian.
But then she discovers that Sebastian’s strange tales of special powers are actually true, and that Rose’s kidnappers have worse in mind for her than simply ruining her reputation. Surrounded by secrets, lies, and unprecedented danger, Evelyn has no choice but to trust Sebastian, yet she can’t help but worry that Sebastian’s secrets are the most dangerous of all…
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, NetGalley, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge
