Five of My Favorite Mysterys

Welcome back! This is day three of Five Fall Favorites hosted by the amazing Kate! Today we are going over mystery books!

As always, click on the photo for the GoodReads page, and the title for my review. 

1. The Mystery at Lilac Inn Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew began my love for mystery at only about ten. I quickly devoured the rest of the series, but this book remains one of my favorites. Our library had an audiobook of it, and I listened to it on repeat until they got rid of it. Nancy is forever one of the best. 

2. The Negotiator by Dee Henderson

No one writes suspense like Dee Henderson. This book is intense and the mystery was very well done. The family elements in this series are very well done, and I fell in love with each of the siblings. 

3. The Van Gogh Deception by Deron Hicks

This book is different from my normal, the mystery revolved around art theft, and Art (the main character) trying to remember who he is. I love a good amnesia story and this one was done extremely well. 

4. Five Star Spy by Perry Elisabeth Kirkpatrick

This series is such a refreshing one in the Christian Fiction genre. The characters are epic, the mystery intriguing, and it feels like a TV show. This book in particular is my favorite because Emily really shone in it, and it made me laugh incredible hard. 

5. Kate's Informant by Sarah Holman

This series is one I've loved for a very long time, and it just keeps getting better. This book was not only a very good mystery but helped me through a tough patch in my life. 

Click on the photos below to get today's free ebook, and enter the giveaway!

Thanks for joining me today! What is one of your favorite mysteries? 

My Favorite Fantasy Books

Hey everyone! I am so happy to be back for the second post in Five Fall Favorites hosted by one of my favorite people in the universe, Kate! Today I have my top five fantasy books! 

Just like yesterday, click on the titles to read my full reviews, and click on the book covers to take you to the GoodReads page!

1. The Horse and His Boy C.S. Lewis

This is my favorite of the Narnia books. Shasta is such an amazing character and his growth over the book was so well done. Also, you get to see the Pevencies which is epic. =)

2. The Heart of Arcrea by Nicole Sager

The book combines the best parts of fantasy having a quest, characters rising out of low places, people making a family out of friends, and, of course, sword fights. Druid is still one of my favorite characters because he's gentle, humble, and a good leader. 

3. Resistance by Jaye L. Knight

The is one of the most brilliantly written series that I've ever read. The characters and plot are incredible. I cannot wait for the last book to come out!

4. The Green Ember by S.D. Smith

This may be labeled as a kid's book, but it is definitely not just for kids. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and made me want to hug the characters. This series would make a great read-aloud. 

5. The Twin Arrows by Kate Willis 

This little book is so sweet. Talk about a book with an amazing supporting cast. I mean, the main characters are epic, but the side characters are just as good, which is rare. 

Click on the photos below to get today's free book, and to enter the giveaway!

Thank you for coming by!

What is your favorite fantasy book? 

Five Books That Make Me, well, Me!

Hello! I am so excited to be a part of Five Fall Favorites this year hosted by the epic Kate over at Once Upon An Ordinary! Each day this week I'll be sharing five of my favorite books in a genre or subject and there will be a free e-book at the end of each post! Also you can enter a larger giveaway by either going to Kate's blog with the link above or by following this link here. 

Today I'm sharing five books that make me me! This is five fiction books I felt like really helped shape me, or have just meant a lot to me over the years. 

Click on the titles to read my full reviews, and click on the book covers to take you to the GoodReads page!

1. Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

If you know me, are you really surprised to see this? XD This book is a big part of me. I have read it over seven times and holds my record for my most read fictional book. Sometimes I cannot actually describe why I like this book so much. One thing is the main character struggles with hiding in her books, and I have gone through periods where I do that as well. This book has gotten me through some rough times in my life. 

2. The King's Scrolls by Jaye L. Knight 

I'm not super into fantasy but this series is the best. I found this when I was hiding in books, but God happened to stick a message just for me in the midst of it when I needed it most. Sometimes when I need to remember that bad things happening to people are not my fault, even when it kind of seems like it, I go back to this book. <3

3. Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LaFleur 

I have never read a book where I felt so much like the main character. Like the main character, Mathilde, I felt like the only one in a group as a kid who didn't have a grand talent. That being so, Mathilde spends all her time on people. I am a people focused person, so I really related to that. 

4. The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson

It is hard for me to find words to describe why I feel like this is such a big part of me. Fern see's into another world that no one else can, and everyone is convinced she's crazy, including herself sometimes. Because this book is all about worlds and battles that no one else could see, it made me consider all the spiritual battles that go on around us every day. It also made me want to look into that world, and not let myself feel crazy for trying. 

5. Red Rain by Aubrey Hanson

This book is one of two that sparked my obsession with Sci-Fi (the other being The Destiny of One and following books by Sarah Holman. Epicness). It was the first time I had ever read a book with a kind of mild main character and as a young teen it was amazing to have a good role model for that. Now I've watched hours of Sci-Fi, read a stack of books, and written a handful of my own story. 

Thanks for joining me for that! I hope you'll be back tomorrow for more!

What is one book that means a lot to you?

L O Y A L T Y

Some thoughts after a sermon a few weeks ago. 

 What if my deepest fear came true?

What if I was truly alone? 

What if the world as I knew it 

Came crashing down around me? 

And what if all my safe spaces were gone?

Would I deny Him then? 

Would I shove God away 

Saying He wasn’t giving me enough 

Would I stand a forgiven sinner 

Saved from the depths of hell 

And complain about an inconvenience? 

Would I stand before the throne of God 

And tell him he wasn’t doing his job? 

So if my greatest fear comes true 

And I truly am all alone 

And I no longer feel safe anywhere 

I want to turn to the God 

That gave it all to me in the first place 

And thank him for the time I did have 

And let him hold me as I cry 

And show me what to do next 

I want to do this every day 

He showed me amazing grace 

The least I can do is give him 

Undivided loyalty

August Highlights

It was... a crazy month. O.o 

In preparation for my brother's wedding, we have been pretty busy. We have gone up to the Sherman area to see Michael and Liz's new house. We helped pack up Michael's apartment and went shopping for dresses. We had a shower for Liz and Michael, which involved a lot of watching them open presents and trying not to eat too many cookies. 

Michael and Liz at the shower

Rebekkah and I started back at the Classical Conversations nursery. We have almost a whole new class, so it's been an adjustment, along with a new routine as the classes have changed. But so far it's been really good! We've also started up work house cleaning once a week for an awesome family in our church. 

I continued to sort through photos, and let me just give you a piece of advice - never let your photos stack up for two years. It is a pain. But I'm wadding through it and am almost caught up. Then I just have to get it all put into the right folders. 

Grace and I went to see Newsies again before it left the theater. This time there were no mic outages (thankfully), so we got to get pictures with the cast, and that was awesome! I am so sad that this show is over. I have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat since we saw it. 

Grace and I with the two main actors in Newsies!

A babysitting job I have had for a year now ended as the family moved away. After going over every Friday for a year, I'm missing those kids way more than I ever thought I could. I might just need to take a road trip pretty soon and see them. ;) 

My adopted Grandmother went home to be with Jesus. We had all just been with her, talking and hanging out, and I got one last, lovely hug before she drove away and was in a car wreck. Grandma Letha was the best, and it's hard to know I won't be able to see her again down here.

We had our annual siblings retreat. This year we went to a really cute house in Belton. We visited the lake the first day and stayed up late watching movies. We made it a goal to play through every game we brought (around 20), so we raced and got in at least one game of each! We did a lot of swimming and filmed our yearly comedy video. It was a busy few days. =) 

Us siblings on our retreat

My mom surprised me and got a zoo pass for the two of us, so we went to the zoo for a day. It was rainy, so not many people were out, but we had our rain jackets and had a blast. An otter came right up to the glass and swam near me for a long time! We also got to go to a couple bookshops nearby and I got TobyMac's new album. Faithfully and Cornerstone are some new favorites by him.

As must be done yearly (It's a rule somewhere I'm sure) I jumped into the pool in my regular clothes because I felt like it. =)

So, again with a lot of new books. The only thing I re-read was the Sarah Plain and Tall series. <3 My favorite new book was Me, Myself, and Bob. It was an incredibly encouraging book (even as a non-veggie tales fan)

Pirates of Penzance: Definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. The comedy and music in this is just the best. If you have not watched this, do yourself a favor and find it. It's amazing. 

Milo Murphys Law: Since I loved Phineas and Ferb I decided to try this out. It was pretty cute, I enjoyed the characters, but it just doesn't have the same charm as P&F. I do love how cheerful Milo was. 

North Avenue Irregulars: This is one of those old Disneys that I just love and I can't even explain why. It's just epic. 

Sand Dollar Cove: Such a cozy Hallmark. No drama, no breaking up only to get back together. It was really sweet!

Star Trek Cartoon: Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the original series, but I thought most of these were pretty cute!

Sight and Sound Noah: We got the new DVD of this and it is so much better than the original. The songs are updated, and wow it is good!

New adventures of Heidi: This is one of those childhood movies that I had such a hard time finding, but my mom finally found it and we had a blast re-watching it after years. It's a really sweet continuation of Heidi's story. 

How was your month? What is your favorite thing you read this month?