Book Review: "An Uncommon Woman" by Laura Frantz

I love reading a good fiction book. I love both secular and Christian fiction, but when I stumbled upon Francine Rivers’ book “Redeeming Love”, I feel in love with the genre of Christian fiction. Today I am excited to share with you another incredible story that I believe falls under Christian historical fiction called “Uncommon Woman” by Laura Frantz. 

This is a new author, whose books I have not read before and was excited to dive into the book from a perspective of a colonist settling into new American territory around 1770. The era this book was written even referenced George Washington before he was our very first President. Dangers loomed everywhere for settlers between staking out new land from the local wildlife to the hostile tension that was created between settlers and Indian tribes. 

There is a lot of heated debate, even today, about the mistreatment of the Native American tribes during the time the white people began moving West and taking over more and more ancestral lands. But, both main characters from Laura Frantz’z book- Tessa, a brave frontier woman and Clay, former captive of the Indians that grew to love the family and people he was raised with brought out both sides of the Indian and settler viewpoints. This brought compassion and heartfelt appreciation for both cultures, respectfully. Weaving a beautiful love story, heat wrenching action, and an interesting look at the times these characters lived brought me to the frontier of West Virginia in the 18^th century. Laura’s use of older colonial English made me feel like I was there.

For fans for fans of the historical fiction genre, you will want to get a copy of this book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and I hope you enjoy it as well. 

Even if this is a book review, I can't leave you without a song to listen to and I thought I would add "Never Lost" by Elevation Worship. In the times this book speaks of there were battles beginning to be waged over freedoms and land. In this song, it speaks to God having never lost a battle...ever. Isn't that such an encouragement that as Christians he wins and we already know the outcome? I hope you are encouraged by this song as I was hearing it.

2019: Year in Book Reviews

As you can see 2019 was a pretty busy year for me...as far as reading goes. I love to utilize my Goodreads app and list the books I have read, the books I am currently reading and make my "shelf" of books I want to read. 

It's like a to do list, I get such satisfaction when I can check off another book and reach my goal. I had a goal of 25 books last year and surpassed by 2! I was quite proud. Mainly because I have always loved reading as a kid and then in my early 20's I got away from it but now, my passion and love for reading has hit full force. I am careful to choose books I know I will like, christian fiction and non fiction are always a go to, there are a few regular non fiction and fiction in the mix too. 

Today, I want to share with you some of my favorites! 

First and foremost, Connilyn Cosette is my new favorite biblical fiction author! She has a gift for bringing some pretty incredible stories to life that makes me want to open up God's word and re read the stories myself. Her fiction tales about many strong women who are not found in the Bible, but told from a perspective of if they lived during that time is like watching a movie. I highly recommend you start with her Out from Egypt Series that then feeds into her Cities of Refuge Series. I was sucked right into the families whose stories were being told!

Lisa Wingate's "Before We Were Yours" tells an incredible story of the Tennessee Children's Home Society that actually existed. The book gives a fictional spin on a family who survived the ordeal using real life accounts from other children that actually lived there. Thanks to this situation, we have many of the adoption laws in place today. Anything that makes me pique my interest in history is a win. "The Nightengale" by Kristin Hannah, although not a Christian book, tells a beautiful story of two sisters who lived in France during the time of WWII. 

My absolute favorite non fiction of 2019 is as follows: "The Next Right Thing" by Emily P. Freeman who's soothing podcasts also soothes the soul and helps you to make the best decision based on the next right thing for you. 

"Love Unending" by Becky Thompson is an excellent book on rekindling the marriage. I don't usually like reading marriage books, but this oneI soaked in and devoured each chapter and will keep to reread! 

"All My Friends Have Issues" by Amanda Anderson was a book I used with a group of friends to read together and we had blast reading through Amanda's funny friendship stories. What happens at book club, stays at book club!

And for my last non fiction 2019 book shoutout is....drumroll, please.... "You are the Girl for the Job: Daring to Believe the God Who Calls You" by Jess Connelly. This was a wonderful and inspiring read and pair that with Jordan Lee Dooley's "Own Your Everyday: Overcome the Pressure to Prove and Show Up for What You Were Made to Do" is another incredibly inspiring read. (See what I did there? I totally added another because I couldn't leave it out!) In a world full of Rachel Hollis's it was refreshing to read the above two books about ceasing our striving and being content to do what God created us to without any pressure. Plus, Jess' book had to make the list because I got to really see and hear her heart as she came to our church's book club and I got to meet her!

So this concludes my book list for 2019. Keep checking back for book reviews and what I am reading next! 

This blog is not called My Heart's Song for nothing so let me leave with you with one of my new favorite jams- acoustic style!

"Holy Water" by We The Kingdom

2016 Summer Reading Book List

It's mid-May and time to start planning those vacations, road trips and weekend getaways. There is nothing I love more when waiting at an airport terminal or sitting on the beach underneath your umbrella, knowing a good book is close at hand.

 Or, if you are not going anywhere this summer, grab one of these books off my summer reading list and sit on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea and get lost for a couple of hours. 

 These are the books I have read just since January and I would be remiss to not share with you some of these incredible titles! How ironic that most of these books dealt with a current season I was facing in my own personal life. 

I am a huge fan of the Christian non-fiction genre and there is one nod in there to a Christian fiction book. So sit back, grab a highlighter (all of mine are covered in pink, blue and yellow highlight) and let's dive into each of these!

1.  The first book on top is The Girl's Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World by Liz Curtis Higgs. Liz is a well known author for both Christian fiction and non-fiction and has written many books! I actually got to meet her last Summer at a women's conference I attended. She is a hoot to hear speak and is an incredible story teller. This book journeys through the book of Ruth and breaks apart each verse explaining the significance behind the bond shared between Ruth and Naomi. She then explores the beautiful love story of Ruth and Boaz using a bit of a non fiction twist. Where the Bible leaves gaps, Liz does a fantastic job of transporting us there with details like sights, sounds and smells of what it was like during that time. I am currently reading through this book with a group of ladies as a bible study. This book also includes study guide questions for those who want a more in-depth look into the Story of Ruth.

 (Me and Liz Curtis Higgs-2015 SheSpeaks)

2. Next on the list is Come with Me: Discovering the Beauty of Following Where He Leads by Suzanne Eller. Get your highlighter ready for this one! Suzanne fills this book with incredible statements and profound personal experiences that bring her to a place of complete and utter trust in our invisible God. Sometimes we get excited when God says to go, but it takes a lot of grit, determination and prayer to stay in God's will instead of throwing your hands up in the air and telling God, "Nevermind, I was just kidding when I said, "Here I am , send me!"" Enduring a her own and her husband's cancer diagnosis and the strain of moving across states, Suzanne, takes us on a journey of complete and total dependence on a God who never failed her and reminds us that He will never fail us either. I can't recommend this book enough! Oh, and I got to meet this incredible lady at a writer's conference I attended last year also. (I hadn't even bought this book then!)

 (Micca Campbell, Me, and Suzanne Eller-SheSpeaks 2015)

3. The next book is 5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn't Quit by Nicki Koziarz. Do you see a recurring theme here? Most of these ladies are all writers and speakers for Proverbs 31 ministries! If you haven't heard of Proverbs 31 ministries, check them out! Incredible ministry!!! So back to the book. 5 Habits is a book that also takes you through the book of Ruth. Author, Nicki, has a bad habit of quitting pretty much everything. So when God brings her to the book of Ruth she feels the Holy Spirit convicting her to stay the course in life, wherever God's will leads, and don't give up! Using personal reflection of past experiences and seeing how much she missed out on lights a fire under her to apply Ruth's tenacity and determination to her own life. This book will wreck you-but in all the best ways! 

4. I could not leave this incredible author and dynamic speaker out- Christine Caine. This is one of her older books, but incredibly powerful- Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born to Win. This book makes you look at life like a runner in the Olympics that pass the baton to each other. It makes you stop and think about the baton being handed to you in your own personal life and if you are running your race to meet your fullest potential living inside of you. It also gets you to think as a wife, mother, daughter, friend, etc...who might be getting the baton behind you. Sharing stories of those who work in her organization she founded, A21, that fights human trafficking, you will look at your life like, "I don't really have it all that bad". I love reading books that show me struggles going on all over this world. Sometimes living in my own little suburban bubble needs to be popped and books like this gets me to think from a much bigger kingdom perspective. Oh and grab your highlighter for this one too! (She has a brand new book out this month too called Unashamed. Oh, my Amazon wish list keeps getting bigger!)

 5. Next is Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others by Steven Furtick. I was lucky enough to actually get this book in Pastor Steven's church's bookstore near Charlotte, NC last year. I had never been to a mega church and honestly had negative preconceived notions when I arrived. But after hearing him speak, I could understand why he needed so many locations. He spoke truth- like honest, raw, get all up in your business truth that rivaled no other Pastor I had ever heard before.  His podcasts and books such as Crash the Chatterbox, made me feel like it was ok to be a hot mess and still be used and loved by God anyways! I had just finished writing a youth series delivered to the teenagers at my church called, Voices in My Head, so hearing that a well-renown pastor deals with the same issues, validated my craziness. Oh and let me just say again- HIGHLIGHTER! (Check out his new book Unqualified too!)

 (Hearing Pastor Steven preach at Elevation Church- Summer 2015)

6.  Ok all you fiction readers! I don't think there is a more powerful read than biblical fiction. Esther: Royal Beauty by Angela Hunt takes you on a journey with Esther and her uncle Mordecai. What a beautiful story that is brought to life using historical information from the time that makes all the characters all the more real. Humanizing King Xerxes and even telling the story from the perspective of one of the King's eunuchs, you see a perspective that even though isn't included in the bible, makes you wonder if it could have been.When a good Biblical fiction book makes me want to go read the Bible, you know Angela did a very good job! 

7. Last but not least is Glynnis Whitwer's book, Taming the To-Do List: How to Choose Your Best Work Every Day.  This book fell at the bottom of my to do list. Not because it wasn't good but because that is how bad, my to-do list got! She dives deep into the how's and why's we get overwhelmed- oh, that's right we all inherently have a procrastinator inside all of us! I didn't think I did, but was shocked at how many similarities I had with the ones described in the book...uh oh...GUILTY! So I kept reading and the last part of the book explains great practical advice on how to organize your to do list so that each day is very productive. She brought fresh, real and honest insight into this area of my life. Now I have a planner with things written down weekly and daily that I want to accomplish and being a better steward of my time opens up my schedule to say yes to more things I enjoy and whatever God wills. Also, I wanted to give a shout out to Glynnis! I met her last year at the same conference and she told me I was the first book she ever signed! Woot!! See? Here's proof! 

Well that's a wrap! I hope you check out these incredible resources. I have to put in a plug for my book too if you haven't gotten a copy yet: Arm Yourself: Equipping Ourselves with the Armor of God.There you go!!!

Be blessed and I am sending happy thoughts of beaches, mountains and summer fun your way!!!