Heather Greer's Blog, page 27

What I’m Reading: An Appalachian Summer

I worked in a day care once. I was a semester away from earning my early childhood education certificate when I got the job. I love to teach, and I always enjoyed teaching Sunday school classes, at VBS, and at a local youth camp in the summers. I thought teaching Pre-K children would be perfect for me.

It wasn’t. Maybe if I’d been employed in a different facility under different leadership, I’d have stuck with it longer. My experience was that money coming in was the only thing that mattered, and good teachers weren’t supported in trying to make their classes as good as possible for the children and families. Clock in. Don’t rock the boat. Clock out. Come back tomorrow.

Even if I’d had a better experience, looking back I realize it would have simply delayed the inevitable. Teaching a Pre-K class was not and is not my calling. It wasn’t God’s plan for me, and it took a willingness to step out of my familiar and onto a new path for me to realize it was not the one for me.

Somtimes, it takes breaking away from what you know to find out who and what you’re supposed to be (or in my case, what you’re not supposed to be!). You simply have to be brave enough to take that step.

Piper Danson, the main character in Ann H. Gabhart’s book, An Appalachian Summer, isn’t sure she has that kind of bravery. Facing marriage to the perfect suitor, Piper can’t help the feeling there is something missing. She’s not sure who she is or what she wants, but she’s pretty sure from the start it isn’t Braxton Crandall. He can give her the life she’s used to, but is it really the life she wants?

The opportunity to serve as a horseback Frontier Nursing courier in the Appalachian Mountains seems like the perfect chance to find out. Though her parents don’t truly support her, Piper volunteers her summer to help the nurses but she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. The work is difficult, and the way of life for the people they are serving is completely foreign to her.

Through the work, Piper grows in her understanding of what is important in life. She learns about herself and the kind of life she wants to lead. In learning about who she is, she also finds out who she wants to share her life with.

And it all started because Piper was brave enough to get off the path set before her and allow God to show her the path He has for her to follow. An Appalachian Summer is a beautifully told story that reminds readers to do the same in their own lives.

What I’m Reading: The Fifth Avenue Story Society

Everyone has a story. From the time we’re little, we think about what future chapters of our story will be like. Remember the game M*A*S*H? No, not the television show, though I’m a fan of that too. The game.

I believe the letters stood for Mansion, Apartment, Shack, and House. In addition to those stellar choices, names of people you would marry, what job or car you’d have, or how many children you’d give birth to were added to the paper before you determined the number you’d use to cross out items. You’d work through the list, marking off options until only one remained in each category. Voila. You instantly knew what kind of life you were destined to enjoy.

I don’t know about you, but my life turned out nothing like any M*A*S*H game I ever played. Consequences of choices, some my own and some of those around me, created a life I never imagined. I’ve had some really great things happen, and I’ve had to face really painful things through the years. God’s worked in me through the good and the bad, and He’s used each circumstance to write my story in ways I couldn’t have foreseen.

Seeing our story develop can be beautiful and frustrating and exciting all wrapped up in one. The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck does a wonderful job capturing all these feelings as she shares the story of her characters’ lives.

Brought together by a mysterious invitation, five strangers. No, three strangers and two exes, gather in a private library room every Monday night to share food and try to figure out why they were chosen as part of the society. As they spend time together, they slowly share parts of their stories with the other members keeping the whole story only for themselves.

Growing friendship leads to sharing of their lives outside the society and challenges each one to look at the true story they’ve written for their lives to that point, how it differs from the story they tell, and what they want to write for their futures.

The Fifth Avenue Story Society seamlessly weaves the individual stories of Lexa, Jett, Chuck, Ed, and Coral into one. It leaves readers considering their own stories, and shows us that our tales are also intertwined with those of the people we meet. And it doesn’t forget to remind us who the real author of our stories should be.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Fifth-Avenue-Story-Society/dp/B07TVF4K4D/ref

What I’m Reading: LINKED for Couples

Opposites attract. We’ve all heard it before, and we know it happens. A lot. But what happens when we find our opposite, fall in love, and marry that person. There isn’t another witty saying out there for how to handle the day to day living with your opposite. And since we all come with our pre-programed way of doing things, going through life with an opposite can be tough!

My husband and I are no exception. I’m a messy. He’s a neat freak, though I have learned one way to help ease disagreements from that difference is to remove “freak” from the moniker. While he likes a break every now and then, he can’t allow himself to rest if there are still things on his list to complete. For me, the more items on my list, the more I need to take a nap. And I do. Andy doesn’t know a stranger. I mean, he knows everyone and if he’s met you, you are friends. I’m a little more particular about using the word friend to describe someone. (I don’t particularly like acquaintance either. Can someone come up with a word between the two please?) I may have met you a thousand times, but it is still entirely possible I won’t remember your name. So, I definitely won’t remember your sister’s friend’s dog name either. Give me a minute. I’ll have to consult with my husband who most certainly will know little Fluffy and even how many times she has been to the vet in the last year.

Who’s right? Who needs to change to be more like the other? What are we supposed to do when our differences put a chasm between us as we try to raise our children, minister to others, or simply live our lives together?

LINKED for Couples Quick Guide to Personalities: Maximizing Heart Connections One Link at a Time by Linda Gilden and Linda Goldfarb is the newest tool in my toolbox for tweaking things when the glue holding our marriage shelf together starts to fall apart.

While the full title and subtitle are a mouthful, the book itself is exactly what it claims. It is a relatively short book. It’s easy to read, understand, and apply. And it’s packed full of substance. Think of it as a relationship superfood.

What the two Lindas have done is provide readers with information to help us understand ourselves and our spouses better through the lens of an easy to complete personality assessment, examples of how different personality combinations work in us making us unique, and practical tips to help us learn how to work together with our spouse’s personality to enhance our relationships instead of letting differences tear us down.

Two of my favorite parts are discussions about speaking our spouse’s heart language and understanding a couple may even hear the same thing very differently because of our personalities. These along with the other concepts in the book don’t box us into particular behaviors and attitudes. They don’t excuse bad behavior because it comes naturally. But they do free us from taking everything that’s said or done personally. They show us how to bring out our spouses’ personality strengths and remind us to work out of our own all for the purpose of making our marriages what God designed them to be.

What I’m Reading: Writing Home

I’ve had many pen pals throughout my life, mostly from junior high through high school. Before my teen years, I wrote Jenny whose family served as missionaries in the Philippines. After my first time at a sleep away camp the summer between my seventh and eight grade years, I gained a few more pen pals. Doug and April wrote fairly often. Tara and I stayed connected a little longer.

But there was one person I became pen pals with that became one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I met Craig that same summer I started writing my other new friends. We continued writing regularly all the way through high school and into college. Even after we were both married, our families would send Christmas cards to each other.

How did the friendship last that long when all we shared were letters? There’s a lot you can say in a letter. We chatted about the unimportant stuff that made up the bulk of our days. But we also shared our dreams and struggles and faith with each other. We could be completely ourselves in the letters we wrote, and it created a friendship I’ll always be grateful for.

Old-fashioned, snail mail letters can connect people who never get together physically in deep ways. It’s not only the truth, this is also the premise of Writing Home by Amy R. Anguish.

Christiana longs for that deeper connection. Jordan’s cousin encourages him to write Christiana. It comes as a surprise to find they’re both struggling with making the place they live feel like home.

As they continue to write and encourage each other in various aspects of their lives, their relationship deepens as Christiana hoped it would. She can talk to Jordan about the mundane and the struggles, and he can do the same with her. They challenge each other’s perspectives and cheer each other on to growth. In doing so, Christiana and Jordan learn more about themselves and find their daily lives can have some of those things they’d been missing.

Friendship has been the goal from the start, but as they grow closer they wonder if friendship can turn to lasting love when they’ve never met. If so, where does that leave them? Miles separate the people that the letters have brought together.

Writing Home is a sweet romance that reminds each of us to seek deeper connection, learn about ourselves, and find home. For me, the story also brought up special memories I have of the friends I made through writing letters. I may never have fallen in love through writing, but I recall how it felt to be connected over the miles through the words on a page.

What I’m Reading: The Gathering Dark

Who doesn’t read the Chronicles of Narnia series as a kid and wish for the magic and adventure to come to life the next time they open their closet door? Even today, I want to travel to New Zealand to tour the Shire from the Lord of the Ring movies.

Epic tales like these take readers to foreign lands full of adventure and sights beyond anything we’ve seen in our own worlds. And yet, readers often take comfort in these tales. What is it about these stories that draw us in and refuse to let us go?

I find myself asking this question having just finished The Gathering Dark by Brett Armstrong. Though the story starts out with Jason and his own quest of sorts, the reader is drawn deeper into the story world’s past as an old man in an inn weaves a spectacular tale of knights and heroism, monsters and war, good and evil, faith and fear.

In the world of the inn keeper’s tale, there is question over whether the Knights are simply serving a fable and over whether vicious enemies of old ever really existed. It’s a theme that repeats itself in Jason’s time as he is left wondering at the truth of the story he’s hearing.

Maybe that’s where we find the answer to the question of why we’re drawn to these stories. We can see ourselves in the doubting and trying. We can hope for ourselves to become like the knights who grasp the truth and don’t let it go. We believe in the battle of good and evil. We see it in our world too. And we relate to the war between faith and fear because we wage it in ourselves.

We see ourselves in these adventurous, fantasy stories set in foreign lands not because of the settings or the trappings of the story. Though both of those things add to the enjoyment, for sure. We’re drawn in because no matter where the story takes place or what fanciful creatures reside in the land, the struggles and triumphs of life are a thread connecting our world to the story world.

The Gathering Dark weaves this thread of shared life through a beautifully created world and leaves you anxious to return to that world when the second book in the series comes out later this year.

What I’m Reading: The Letters

Mistakes, sinful or just plain old errors in judgment, can hound us long after that single moment has passed. I’ve made my share of both, and I’ve suffered the consequences time and again.

It’s easy to get caught up in the guilt these mistakes create inside us. Even seemingly inconsequential actions can lead to days, months, or years of “what if I’d only”. Throw in the spiritual seriousness of sinful actions and those behaviors that reached far beyond us to negatively or harmfully affect others, and the possibility of crippling guilt rises.

If we fail to deal with these issues, the results can worm their way into every area of our lives for years to come.

Rachel Hamar, the main character in The Letters by C. Kevin Thompson, knows this from experience. Twenty years earlier, the actions of her, her boyfriend, and her father came together to create a perfect storm of guilt that left Rachel the lone survivor. And as the anniversary of that day approaches, Rachel still struggles to move from simply surviving the guilt to knowing freedom and learning how to really live and love again.

Her only family is her mother who is in a psychiatric center for schizophrenia due to her propensity to speak with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on a regular basis. Rachel finds this impossible to believe, yet she has no answers for why her mother knows things she shouldn’t possibly know. Still, she is her mother, and Rachel wants to keep that connection even if it adds more stress to her already stressed life.

Her best friend is there for her too, but neither is quick to push the other forward in life. And when a series of anonymous letters start arriving for Rachel, and the investigation into their origins takes an unexpected turn, even that relationship becomes strained.

The letters are equally disturbing and comforting to Rachel and, though they don’t reference her mistakes from that night so long ago, they do consistently push those memories to the front of her mind. Concern over why she’s receiving them and the possibility that something sinister could be happening push Rachel to find out the truth. If she finds her answers, will the truth really set her free?

The Letters is an attention grabbing story about the powers of guilt and forgiveness and the great love of God for His children. I look forward to more from this author. It does contain the possible trigger themes of abortion and mental illness for those who might be sensitive to those topics.

What I’m Reading: Year End Wrap Up

Before moving on to new books for the new year, let’s take a look back at some of my favorites from 2020. If you haven’t had the chance to check these out, add them to your list for 2021. You won’t be sorry.

Favorite Christmas Book: While It Was Snowing by Tari Faris. I believe this was the first book I’ve read from this author, but it won’t be the last. It’s a friends to lovers story with a Christmas twist. It is an easy read, and perfect for reading while snuggled under a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa.

Favorite Non-fiction Book: Wrestling for My Life by Shawn Michaels. Yes, this is a book about a professional wrestler, written by that wrestler. I didn’t know what to expect when I read it, but I came away challenged and encouraged in my own faith. Much more down to earth than some celebrity salvation stories, Shawn Michaels’ faith seems grounded in the practical truths of God’s word.

Favorite Humorous Book: Turtles in the Road by Rhonda and Kaley Rhea. This one made me laugh. In the middle of the night. Beside my sleeping husband. Who was no longer sleeping and didn’t find the scene as funny as I did. I’ll be revisiting this one in the future.

Favorite Fantasy Series Devoured One After the Other: The Ravenwood Saga by Morgan Busse. I know it’s a long title. It probably wouldn’t fit on a plaque. But who cares? This trilogy was amazing. I loved the characters and the story. I look forward to more from this author.

Favorite Non-Christmas Holiday Romance: The Cupcake Dilemma by Jennifer Rodewald. It’s a great Valentine’s Day centered story that is more lighthearted than others by this author. (Not that the others aren’t as good. They are. Just different.) This one is sweet and fun and leaves you with a good feeling at the end. I’m also currently giving away a copy of this one. Check out more on that below.

Giveaway Opportunity: For those that don’t know, some author friends and I have a YouTube channel called Once Upon A Page. We discuss all things reading and writing. We even interview various authors. Currently, we are working on a video compilation for Valentine’s Day. We want to hear from you! What does romance mean to you? What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you? You can answer one or both questions in a short video. We may use your entry in our special Romance Edition of Author Talks. Whether we do or not, you will be entered to win an Ebook copy of The Cupcake Dilemma and a set of ColorStreet nail polish strips in the perfect Valentine’s Day date color.

Check it out the specifics on my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeathe...

What I’m Watching: Hallmark Christmas Movies

It’s that wonderful time of year again! You know what I’m referring to. The Hallmark channel is filled with festive movies twenty-four hours a day. And while, I am happy to agree with the naysayers that the movies are predictable and even cheesy, I have to draw a line in the snow when they say this makes them unwatchable.

Yes, I know how it’s going to turn out, and I love that! It’s comforting. Yes, I know they’re cheesy, but cheese can be a good thing, like a gooey grilled cheese sandwich. What these holiday movies bring is two hours of warm feelings, Christmas memories, and sweet romance. All things I love.

I’ve watched most of the 2020 movies that have come out so far. There are some exceptions that I’m not going to go back and watch, but there are also some I’ve already watched more than once. I want to share my favorites now, so you can catch them before the season is over and they’re packed away until next year.

If I Only Had Christmas – This is Candace Cameron Bure’s newest movies, and it’s based on one of my favorite movies, The Wizard of Oz. I loved the premise and enjoyed the movie. And Warren Christie is a favorite leading guy from an older Hallmark Christmas movie. I still liked him in this one, but not as much as his older movie. I give this one 3 Christmas stars as a solid movie I’ll probably watch again.

Five Star Christmas – I love just about any movie with Victor Webster, and I enjoyed this one too. With disgruntled family members pretending to be guests at their father’s new bed and breakfast in order to impress a travel writer, the level of funny in this one goes through the roof. Painfully so, according to my husband who has trouble watching anyone (even movie characters) in embarrassing situations. While not my absolute favorite so far, I will be watching this one again. I give it 3 1/2 Christmas stars.

A Nashville Christmas Carol – This is another adaptation. I wasn’t sure what to think of this one at first. I love Jessy Schram and Wes Brown. It’s the non-actors that I was concerned about. And while some of their performances were over-the-top, it really worked for the story. And while there was no ghost of Christmas future, the reason given for the lack was perfect. Though it isn’t my favorite for either of these actors, I will watch this one again. I give it 3 1/2 Christmas stars.

Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater – I think I would watch Niall Matter explaining how paint dries. I always seem to love his characters. And this movie gives him a good pairing with Ashley Williams. It’s traditional Hallmark Christmas movie fare, and it’s an enjoyable movie. There was nothing extra special that made me fall in love with the story, but I will watch it again. This movie gets 3 1/2 Christmas stars.

A Timeless Christmas – This movie is Ryan Paevey at his best! He perfectly portrays the out of time Charles who wakes up in his home in the future to find it’s been turned into a museum of his life and unexplained disappearance. This one is one of this year’s favorites, and I give it a solid 4 Christmas stars.

Christmas Waltz – Lacey Chabert is wonderful as always. And how do I not remember Will Kemp? I went back and searched some of his other Hallmark movies. I’ve seen him in others, with Lacey Chabert, and I still didn’t remember him. But I loved him in this one and will be rewatching the others he’s in. The looks he gives at times are powerful. You can feel the hurt or happiness. Some of the dance scenes go the route of old Hollywood movies, but it doesn’t detract from the movie. This is also one of my favorites for 2020, and I will watch it each year. I give this one a firm 4 Christmas stars.

Cranberry Christmas – This one is a little different. Unlike most of the Hallmark movies, the couple is already married, though estranged. They’ve gone different directions in chasing the dreams that brought them together in the first place. The thing I like about his one is that you get Christmas and memories and all the same wonderful feelings, but you also get a realistic look at relationships. One of the characters even makes a statement like, “Marriage is hard work.” Not the usual fare for Hallmark, but it’s a message worth repeating in a time when difficulty often means throw it away and start again rather than work for it. That message alone is enough that I give this movie a four Christmas star rating.

This is a tough year to determine a favorite, but I think I’ve found mine. I reserve the right to detract this statement since there are several new ones still to come out. With 4 3/4 Christmas starts (because is there really a 5 star movie out there?), my favorite Hallmark Christmas movie of 2020 is On the 12th Date of Christmas. This one stars Tyler Hines and Mallory Jansen. I’m not sure I’ve seen Mallory in anything else, but Tyler is a favorite of mine. The two together are pure magic. From the time they’re forced to work together, trying to meld completely different personalities, to the time the sparks start to fly, these two sell it. I will watch this movie again and again and again.

Have I left any out that you enjoyed this year? Do you disagree with any of my ratings?

What I’m Reading Christmas: Mistletoe Kiss

Mistletoe Kiss Review

I’ve never understood the whole mistletoe thing. The basics, yes. Simple enough. Get caught standing under the mistletoe and you’re going to get kissed. But why? And who decided this was a good idea?

Luckily, no one I know decorates with mistletoe. I’m a fan of personal space, and an unexpected kiss would definitely be an unwelcome invasion of that space. I can’t imagine anyone would actually be a fan of this idea.

In my experience, kisses never end well when they start as a challenge, dare, or part of a weird game or tradition. Spin the bottle, anyone? It’s like the non-holiday version of mistletoe.

I admit they do make for great scenes in movies and books though. When Lucy and Jack get caught under the mistletoe in While You Were Sleeping, it was both awkward and sweet. It reinforces their growing feelings for each other, though neither is prepared to admit it.

Maybe that’s another drawback (or possibly perk) to a mistletoe kiss. Could it reveal what’s lying dormant under the surface of your relationship? It happened with Lucy and Jack.

And it happened with Chase and Rachel in Mistletoe Kiss by Andrea Boyd. Chase has loved his best friend for as long as he can remember, but she’s never seen him that way. When she suggests they participate in an attempt to break a world record for the most couples kissing under the mistletoe he agrees. But is it going to be a way to show her how he really feels or just a bittersweet moment to forever taunt him with the reminder that he can’t get out of the friend zone?

When she realizes their kiss has to last for ten seconds, Rachel has second thoughts about going through with her plan, no matter how much it means to scratch “beat a world record” off her bucket list. When the kiss is more amazing than she ever dreamed it would be, Rachel has to determine if it’s a fluke or if she should have taken Chase out of the friend zone a long time ago.

With Chase and Rachel hesitant to risk their solid friendship, neither is willing to admit their feelings to the other or even themselves. Every action and word is inspected for deeper meaning, as they try to sort out their own feelings and work up the nerve to take a chance on love with another Mistletoe Kiss.

It’s a sweet and fun story. I enjoyed it and give it a solid three and a half Christmas angels. Though, again, I’m not into decapitating an angel so the picture will show four.

What I’m Reading Christmas: Once Upon a Silent Night

What I’m Reading:
Once Upon a Silent Night

Dreams are funny things. Not the asleep in your bed kind of dreams. The what do I want to be when I grow up sort of dreams.

Dreams are goals on steroids. They’re the major goal that you meet all the minor goals to reach. And dreams have the ability to motivate you to do all sorts of things you wouldn’t otherwise consider. It’s all in hopes of finally achieving that one thing you’ve been straining to reach for who knows how long.

Dreams can also frustrate, confuse, and discourage you. “Only when you don’t reach them,” you might think. You’d be wrong.

Of course, working hard and planning every step to bring you closer to your dream only to find yourself further away than when you started is definitely a discouragement. I’m not arguing that point. But sometimes, the reality of achieving your dream isn’t what you thought it would be back when it was only an idea shining brightly in your mind.

Then, all you saw was the payoff, the prestige, or the fulfillment it would bring. When you finally succeed, the work to maintain the dream or to move to a new stage of the dream hits you squarely in the face. The dream is still sweet, but the maintenance of it can be draining. Still, you wouldn’t trade anything for chance to achieve the dream.

At least, that’s the thought that keeps Alessia Talbot warm at night in Kimberly Rae Jordan’s book Once Upon a Silent Night. I mean, it’s literally keeping her warm at night since she’s living in her car. Her dream got her kicked out of her home. When her dream didn’t immediately pan out, she ended up with a series of dead end jobs that eventually led to no place to call home except the SUV her parents gifted to her before her exile from the family.

With a low paying job, Alessia has a system worked out to provide her basic needs. She simply cannot afford an apartment. She knows she can always go back home, but it means giving up her dream of singing professionally for life as a lawyer in the family practice. She’d rather fight the cold than give in to their demands.

When a local church sign declares their building will be open 24 hours a day through the holiday season, Alessia takes the chance to warm up after her late night shift at the bar where she works. Gio has the overnight shift at the church, and his welcoming no pressure attitude frees her to come back night after night.

As these hours of warming up continues, Alessia soon warms up to Gio too. Though neither is completely open about their past, friendship is formed as they find they’re kindred spirits in many ways. The closeness they share is new for both of them, and they each battle with being attracted to the one they don’t believe they can ever have.

Gio introduces Alessia to the real meaning of Christmas while helping her reclaim a fondness for the holiday season. In the process, his support and encouragement opens Alessia up to possibilities she hasn’t considered for her life.

Even as they’re growing closer, Alessia knows she has to either give up her dream or walk away from Gio and the hope she’s found in the town of New Hope Falls. But she’s already given up so much to make her dream a reality. She’s not going to throw it away now, even if it breaks her slowly healing heart.

Fighting for our dreams is like that sometimes. We get stuck thinking the dream is the be all, end all. We have to achieve the dream no matter what we leave behind. We get so narrowly focused we can’t see God modifying the dream or changing it completely. We end up down a path God never intended us to travel.

Dreams are tricky. Sometimes they’re born out of our own desire. Other times they are God-given. How do we choose which ones to follow and which ones to leave behind? That’s the question Alessia faces in Once Upon a Silent Night.

I give this book 3.5 Christmas Angels. (But since I don’t want to half an angel my picture still shows four). It was a good story, and I think it would have been even better if I’d read the earlier stories in the series.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, when I have to determine if a dream is mine or God-given, I start with giving it back to Him. I acknowledge to Him that my heart’s desire is whatever the thing is, but I desire His will above all else. I ask Him to keep me going forward if it is from Him, but to close doors if it isn’t a path I should take. It’s not always 100% clear, but He’s always given me little proofs of which direction I should go.

What about you? Do you have a dream you’ve had to give up things for? Was it worth it?