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The Wind Blows In Sleeping Grass

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for The Wind Blows In Sleeping Grass through Nuts about Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Okay, okay, so I wrote on my FB that this book, this book is what Christian fiction should be.  ” A real story with real people with real drama without romance being in the forefront. A solidly good book.”  Was their romance?  Yes, but it was like the romance of the everyday, a solid, you know it exists romance, but not ooey gooey romance that seems unbelievable.   The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is a story about people helping each other, a day where people learn to love more deeply, and the glue is a lovely lady.  You really need to meet Wilma and see the heart that she has for those around her. 

the wind blows in sleeping grass

The Basics of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

Title: The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass
Author: Katie Powner
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pages: 368
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: Christian fiction, family life fiction, Contemporary Christian fiction
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio, Paperback

the wind blows in sleeping grass

Who wrote this novel and what’s it about?

Katie Powner grew up with cows in the Pacific Northwest and has a thorough love of red shoes!  She freely admits it is all her gramma’s fault!   She has an expanded family in Montana and loves to write.   After having thoroughly this read I want to check our church library to see we we have any of them! 

What is The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass all about?   Take one garbage man Pete, who has had a hard life, and walk with him through his days.  Then watch him make friends with Wilma and over time expand his circle.   And as his circle expands, so does Wilma’s.  Themes of redemption, forgiveness, kindness, family issues, and friendship about throughout in various permutations. 

the wind blows in sleeping grass

My Thoughts

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is a tender, family-oriented drama.   I love the interplay between the various characters.  Wilma played her role so well.  A momma wanting to fix the world while being an older lady with the struggles that age can bring. Connections leading from one person to the next, new social skills learned, and the joy of living in community.   I would happily re-read this lovely novel and am looking forward to sharing it with my mom and various friends before donating it to my church library. 

You’ll find the characters well developed… including that of the pig.  🙂  The writing draws you in, as you want to see how Pete handles the different situations that pop up in his life.  Knowing the struggles that Wilma is dealing with begs for some sort of resolution.  Will they be handled by the end of the novel?  These compelling reasons keep the reader invested from start to close.  Pete is a guy I think I would want to know and Wilma reminds me of a Mrs. B in a church I used to attend.  A lady who was near and dear to my heart.  So read it, fall in love with the characters, and share it with those around you too!  🙂 

To Clarify My Position

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What I want to write is a whiney post!  I do.  I want my post to be one of complaint because today I’ve had one too many person say “BUT I thought you lived _____” when I state in my ad, as clearly as I know how, that I live _________. And somehow, people seem to miss that, or think that if they drive out to me that they deserve some outrageous discount.   But as I was writing, it was like God was sitting on my shoulder saying “whining again are you?”.  And I just couldn’t leave you there!  Stuck in my whining, so allow me to clarify my position.  Not one of complaint but… one of seeing the better. 

To Clarify my position text with picture 70% off tag

To Clarify my Position

Allow me to clarify my position, 

starting with my availability.
Can’t you understand that
if I am in this place,
it means I’m not somewhere else?

I’ve clearly stated in my ad
that I don’t live here, but
rather I live over there.
It’s a distance to drive, hence
my willingness to drive to you
at my convenience of course.

So I fail to understand
why I repeatedly need to clarify
that I don’t live where you think
I do, and that no, I’m not available
at some inconvenient time because I need
to eat, sleep, work, and relax.

But as much as I want to whine and complain
about how people can’t read ads….
Let me consider this.

First it means that someone is interested
in one of my lovely mice or bunnies
and wants them to serve a purpose in their lives.

Second, it allows me to show grace to folks.
God has shown me grace upon grace, so
how can I not forward that along?

Third, did you know that some people are more
directionally challenged in the world
than I AM??? It’s a shocker sometimes! 🙂

Fourth, for those who complain about distance
and pricing, it allows me to engage in the
fine fun art of bartering! And perhaps to do some
educating on the choice of driving a distance…
and how they wouldn’t expect IKEA to cut them a break on
pricing, so why would they expect me to do so?
It’s good to make people think.

And today, I was graced by the presence
of a young man who wanted two of my bunnies,
and came over so he could work off their purchase price.
I am much further ahead in my garden clean up as a result
of his efforts. AND WHOA>>> he’s a strong fellow!
I’ll need to have him back to help again!
And an added bonus, he’s a good friend to my lad,
and we had a lovely conversation as we worked.

God speaks

Psalm 27:13

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!

1 Thess 5:16-19

 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 

A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Oh, what a fun way to take a tour of Canada, just in time for Hallowe’en!   Travel far and wide, have some spooky (because well.. ghosts!) but not scary fun with little Ghost in A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada.  Can you guess where a Little Ghost might pop up next?  Floating up over a boat, sliding between seats in a bus, or popping up at a concert?  Will he be in Winnipeg, Vancouver or St. John’s? 

a haunted ghost tour of Canada

The Basic Details for A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada

Title: A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada: A Funny, Not-So-Spooky Halloween Picture Book 
Author: Louise Martin 
Illustrator: Gabriele Tafuni 
Publisher: Hometown World
Pages: 40
Intended Audience: 3-7 years
Genre: Canada, picture book, halloween, children’s books,
Available formats: Hardcover
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

a haunted ghost tour of Canada

Author and Book Details

Living in England, Louise Martin has written and edited a wide range of books and magazines for children. She is joined in England by her food-motivated whippet and her family. 

About the book

Experience a fa-BOO-lous Halloween with Little Ghost on a tour of all the landmarks you know and love in Canada!     Little Ghost is going on a spooky Halloween tour around Canada, and you’re invited to ride along! Take a trip with the Ghost family as they travel from Ottawa to Vancouver and visit favorite landmarks such as CN Tower and Sambro Island Lighthouse. Along the way, Little Ghost loves tricking everyone . . . until Little Ghost hears the biggest BOO ever! Make this Halloween season spook-tacular with this cute, not-so-scary rhyming picture book that takes you on an adventure through your home.

Looking more closely

Rhyming lyrics lead us on a busy tour all throughout Canada.  This book is fun to read quietly OR aloud.  I find the font a bit small to read with a group of children gathered round.   

But the fun of the lyrics makes it great as you hunt down local landmarks.  The specifically created for Canada illustrations highlight such things as the parliament buildings, totems, and lighthouses. 

Can you find Little Ghost as he tries to scare everyone wherever their journeys take them?  Could he pop out of a bus?  Or perhaps slide around the local lighthouse?   Young readers will have fun find Little Ghost as he careens around Canada helping everyone had a fa-boo-lous Hallowe’en. 

The illustrations by Gabriele Tafuni just add more fun to the pot.  Colours that are bright and inviting, pages filled with lots of talking points for Hallowe’en activities.  You’ll see all sorts of activities that make the holiday season fun, and lots of fun with pumpkins! 

My Thoughts

I’m not a big one for celebrating Hallowe’en.   We have candy here if kids come about the house, but it’s not like we decorate or anything.  And I didn’t read Hallowe’en books with the lad when he was young, but I kinda like this one.  It’s fun looking for Little Ghost, and it’s not spooky scary.  And it takes children around the best country in the world!  🙂    If you aren’t adverse to Hallowe’en completely and want a fun way to look around Canada… pick up A Haunted Ghost Tour in Canada.  You and your children should have fun with the lyrics, have lots of talking points in the pictures, and maybe even learn a thing or two. 

What May I Anticipate?

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What may I anticipate ended up going in a completely different direction that I thought it would.  I’m kinda left thinking?  WHAT?  This is NOT what I intended to write.  I intended to write about everyday life things. Things such as picking up the kitten from the vet after her spay and how much we’ll have to mind her behaviour.  Replanting my perennials in their bed again.  Painting my bedroom.  You know, things that need happening.   NOT something philosophical!   But I guess God had something else in mind for me.  🙂 (and well you my reader).  Perhaps it might stir some thoughts needing to be stirred. 

what may I anticipate?

What May I Anticipate?

Oh what I may anticipate
as I walk through this world,
a life of joy and bliss
or one with troubles galore?

To be honest, as much as a life
of joy and bliss appeals
I’d rather think it might be a
bit boring and not one that
encourages me to become something more.

You see we’re told in James
that trials of faith produce
perseverance…. and we know that
stick-to-itiveness has results too.
Things like character, hope, and so
much more.

And as much as I don’t like being
tried and tested, and do
tend to like the outcome of such
things… to be able to see God
more clearly, and to show him to others
just a bit more dearly.

I wrote a paper in school once about the
benefits of persecution and he responded
with the question
Should we then pray for persecution?

It’s a tough one to answer right?
I don’t want anyone hurt because of
their faith in God, and yet, sometimes
I wonder if a bit of persecution (the type
that doesn’t kill folk) wouldn’t be a bad
thing for the church.

It would force people to show how they
are, and create situations for people to say
“HEY, I serve
the Lord and him alone!”

This is still something I ponder
as the years have passed.
Wondering what it will take to
make the church wake up.

What do YOU think it will take?


A Long Way Gone

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I am not going to tell you that A Long Way Gone is an easy read.  It might be a necessary read, but it is not an easy read.  The hard things these boys went through, and yet, and yet their resilience.  They stayed together, they fought for each other, and came out on the other side hurt, but figuring out there is something better.   Something more worth fighting for.  That hope in the end… made this hard read worthwhile and that’s not a bad thing! 

Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

a long way gone

Basic Details for A Long Way Gone

Title: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy Soldier
Author: Ishmael Beal
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books; First Edition (August 5, 2008)
Pages: 229
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: Historical African Biographies, Boy Solider, African War, Biography, Black Biography
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio, Paperback

My Thoughts

My mom I think gave me this book to read a while back.  She told me it was interesting but a hard read.  

I’d call that a fairly accurate description.  Take some boys, going to school, enjoying their life and then throw them into a middle of a war. A war filled with brutality, complete loss of life, and families torn apart.  Make them fight for survival.   Have them do well, (well as well as can be expected), until they are captured and made to fight.

Not only were they taught to fight, they were drugged up and encouraged to be violent.  Be violent and live, or die.   Survival means living.  

Life in that war-zone was so very hard.  Not just for the boy soldiers but for anyone getting in the way of either side of the conflict.  People died, villages literally disappearing overnight, people fleeing everywhere.  Everyone just needing to survive.

Something beyond survival

Until one day it suddenly stops.  And you have to learn a new way to be and it’s hard, just so hard to see beyond the now to the future.  

So much was hard.  I hated reading about the brutality and wondered why it needed to be included.  Then I read about the end, about the need to change, and how sudden and difficult it was. And the hope offered once the boys figured it out things could be different. That hope at the end.  It made all the pieces fit together. 

So A Long Way Home, a hard read, but necessary if you want to understand the plight of the boy soldiers during the war in Africa. It is not one I would recommend for sensitive readers as it is not an easy read.  But if you appreciate a hard book offering hope at the end, a book that speaks truth, this might work!  

What Attempt?

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The other day I was reading a meme about trying is better than not making the attempt.  That even if you don’t meet the gold standard of what you are doing, at least you are trying.   I used that statement with my manager at work the other day.  A co-worker, I don’t know who, did an “interesting job” at putting some items away on the shelf.   My response was this person “made an attempt, albeit not very successfully”.   She laughed!   And said “that’s a good way to look at it.”   It has left me pondering about what attempts I should keep making, even if I don’t feel very successful. 

My health app keeps saying “make one change each day” even if you don’t hold to that change, next day, make one change for the better.  Make one better decision for your health.   I like that encouragement to keep attempting, it helps me build for a healthier future.   Some days I choose to make the time to walk to work, another day it’s simply to NOT eat a supplied donut, and another to simply not have a snack before I go to bed. Small changes, but good ones for the day. 

What Attempt?

What Attempt?

It is said
if you can’t do it right
don’t do it at all.

but I’d like to offer
a challenge to that way
of thinking.

The standard is,
brush your teeth for two minutes
to do it right, but tell me,
is it not better to brush for a minute,
or even a minute and a half
than not at all?

Is it not better
to place an item in the room
that it belongs in, even if
you don’t actually put it
back in it’s place?
At least it is still
accessible?

Is it not better to give a
dog a home, even if you don’t train
it thoroughly, but at least the
dog is safe, cared for, and not a danger?
Than to leave a dog in a shelter
where around the corner, death waits?

Is it not better to
fitfully read the bible
then to never touch it’s pages
because you don’t intend to read it through?
Or to attend a church, even though,
you might never join it?

The question I must needs ask
what attempt should you make
even if you
can’t do whatever it is perfectly?
Is that attempt better than
doing nothing at all?

Is making the attempt better than
allowing perfection to stop you?
Can the expression try try again be
exchange for
attempt it, even if you don’t truly
succeed in it? At least
you’ve made the attempt and
learned something in the process.
Perhaps your next attempt
will be more successful?

Building upon attempts
is part of how we learn
and deepens our understanding
of what it means
to be successful in what
we are setting our minds to
Don’t you find?

What attempt
will you make today?

pink pencil on open bible page and pink
Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

What God has to say

God tells us to run the race before us.  I don’t think he means that we’re to run at a gallop, but more that we’re to see our path, and keep on it.   I know from talking to running friends that they don’t always maintain a steady rhythm as they run, sometimes their pace varies for whatever reason. 

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 
God also tells us that those who seek him find him.  He doesn’t say only those who turn to him daily seeking him find him (though admittedly seeking him daily will deepen one’s faith him more securely and quickly), but that those who seek him find him.   So even the faltering seeker will find him. 

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
 
Do we need to strive for more?  To be all that God wants us to be?  YES, but along the way, we need to simply keep attempting, and that attempt is note-worthy too.  Yes? 
 
I don’t know if you’ll like my latest attempt at staying connected with God.  I’m going through the book of Acts.  part 1, 2, and 3. You are welcome to join me as I focus on one section of scripture over the course of a week. 

Acts 2:1-13

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We’ve seen Luke bring us a brief history of his previous work, and then to walk us through what happened post-resurrection.   The need to replace Judas as a living witness.  And the need to wait for the power of the Spirit (the promised helper to come).   Today in Acts 2:1-13 we see the result of that waiting around, that trusting Jesus’ words to come true. 

Acts 2:1-13

Initial Thoughts

I think that it would have been SO amazing AND So very confusing to have been there.  A huge wind, and then flames of fire floating as people began speaking in different languages.  So …. just so.. WOW.    It’s not wonder to me that people were amazing and perplexed, OR that some would turn their confusion into a scathing skepticism. 

Acts 2:1-13 Paragraph One vv 1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

It’s the day of Pentecost.  The very first day. No one really knew what to expect.  Suddenly a sound like a blowing wind came.   Not it’s not a blowing wind, just the sound of it.  Have you ever experienced that?   I’ve heard the sound of blowing wind before and gone out to see where it is and been surprised not to see or feel any evidence of such.  It left me feeling bewildered.  🙂  

So I’m imagining the disciples sitting around, hearing this wind, without their being one.  I’m thinking they’d be a bit startled eh?  Having this sound all around them in the house, but no wind blowing around them.  And then flames of fire!   

Think about it.  How startling and amazing and wonderful it would all be at the same time.  Flames of fire lighting on each person present.  Resting on them.  Being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in languages new to them. 

Now the disciples didn’t just willy-nilly start speaking in tongues.  They spoke in the languages as the Holy Spirit enabled them.   Makes me ask myself the question: What does the Holy Spirit enable me to do?   Has he given me a special gift?  

Paragraph two vv 5-12

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

So, the disciples/apostles were gathered in a room, in Jerusalem.  Jerusalem was a bustling city, lots of people around, a city that drew in people from a variety of places. Biblical Archaeology tells us that “Jerusalem was a diverse city and pilgrimage center in the first century“. 

People Came From All Over

We know that in Jerusalem there were God-fearing Jews from all over the place. “staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven“.   Wouldn’t it be astonishing to hear Galileans talking in your own language?  I certainly don’t fault them for being completely amazed… would you?   

I also don’t blame them for trying to figure out what was going on.  Like it’s not everyday that you hear folks talking about the wonders of God in our own tongues!.  Look at all the places these folks hailed from including the Parthians, Medes, and Elamites.  Folks came from Pontus, Asia, Cappadocia, Rome, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Crete, Arabia, Libya and Egypt. 

It would seem that Jerusalem was a bit of a melting pot of nationalities back in the day.   You’d almost think that God’s planning was what it needed to be.  A wide variety of Jews and converts to Judaism all gathered in one spot where the Holy Spirit was doing a working.

Paragraph three v 13

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

And of course, you’re always going to have the scoffers and mockers.  People have no idea about what is going on but would never believe that a supernatural event was going on.  They’ll blame it on whatever seems the handiest.  And saying that people were drinking too much might make the most sense to such folk don’t you think? 

Final Thoughts

So would I have been a scoffer back in the day or one who was perplexed, trying to figure out the meaning behind all these languages?   Honestly, there are times I think it could go either way.  But I have to say that over the years I’ve become more prone to simply seeing God at work.  God is amazing at how he orchestrates what needs doing. 

I think though, that I would have been one to stand and listen.  To be amazed at hearing about the wonders of God spoken in a way that I could understand clearly. It would have been so life changing don’t you think?   

And yet, here today, we have the word of God clearly written for us.  In different translations that work for the different ways people think.  And do we take advantage of it?  Too often we don’t take the time to simply listen to what God would say to us. Spending time in his word, letting the Holy Spirit impact our lives, seeing Jesus doing what he does best, and just everything.  

The Rest of This Series