Sarah Holman's Blog, page 86

What we Learned in February

Late January, our family realized we had gotten into some bad habits. We were quoting movie lines constantly, and scripture almost never. We realized that in the evenings we had exchanged conversation and books for movies and TV shows. It was easy to justify it, we were working hard, we were tired, and we were watching clean movies, sometimes even Christian ones. We also realized that our speech had become sarcastic, harsh, and often mean under the guise of being playful (you think those movies had something to do with it?). So we decided to do something about it.
After some talk, we decided to take the month of February off of all movies. Some of my siblings took it a step further, my sister Rose took a month off of all secular music. Some of my siblings chose not to play computer games during the month either. On the third of March (because we had been busy on the first two days). We sat down to watch our first movie in a while but before, we had a discussion about what we had learned.
While I was awed and pleased by what my siblings had learned, I was even more shocked when I really took stock of what I had learned. Like the fact that I had missed spending quiet evenings reading, and that being without TV had made me crave non-fiction more than fiction. I also realized how much time I had been wasting.
I know this will shock you (not) but I also realized that much of my unkind, sarcastic, and otherwise ungodly speech was being fed by what I was watching. I had become more worried about being witty and clever in my speech then being kind and wholesome.
Yes, we decided to keep the TV, however it hasn’t been on much this month. However, we all came out changed from our experiment. We now have a way to kindly chastise each other when we quote a movie line, and it is working to make us think more about what we say. Most evenings can find us on our family couch reading, the TV shut from view.  I know that I still have a long way to go, but I am learning.

Have you ever gone a month without watching movies?

Remembering to Have Joy

Sometimes, I forget to just take joy in what I do, and the everyday gifts that God has given me. Over the past few days, I have been reading a great little devotional that has reminded me that we are to take joy in all things.
Joy is not the same as happiness, it is a deeper feeling that comes from God. One that I am trying to learn more about and dwell in. While happiness is fleeting, joy endures even in the hard times.
What has God been teaching you this week?



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Blog Tour: Brothers and Betrayal

Join me at every stop of the tour for fun peeks into my latest book, reviews, and much more!
March 16~ The Destiny of OneMarch 17~ Thoughts and RantsMarch 18~ Rachel Rossano’s WordsMarch 19~ Wildflower AcresMarch 21~ God's Peculiar TreasureMarch 22~Kelsey's NotebookMarch 23~ In The BookcaseMarch 24~ God's Peculiar TreasureMarch 25~ Wildflower AcresMarch 26 ~With a Joyful Noise March 27 ~ Author Jaye L. Knight March 28 ~ The Destiny of One

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Adventure Between the Pages: Dauntless

Buy it Here
Description: Born a baron's daughter, Lady Merry Ellison is now an enemy of the throne after her father's failed assassination attempt upon the king. Bold and uniquely skilled, she is willing to go to any lengths to protect the orphaned children of her former village--a group that becomes known as "The Ghosts of Farthingale Forest." Merry finds her charge more difficult as their growing notoriety brings increasing trouble their way.Timothy Grey, ninth child of the Baron of Greyham, longs to perform some feat so legendary that he will rise from obscurity and earn a title of his own. When the Ghosts of Farthingale Forest are spotted in Wyndeshire, where he serves as assistant to the local earl, he might have found his chance. But when he comes face-to-face with the leader of the thieves, he's forced to reexamine everything he's known.
Sometimes books like this are hard to review. I enjoyed the setting, and parts of it were interesting, but I never felt connected to the characters, which greatly decreased my enjoyment of the book.
Merry Ellison is like a female version of Robin Hood, only she does what she does to protect a group of children that were orphaned during a raid on her home village by King John. She is a strong girl, and while she doesn’t act very girly, neither does she spend time wishing she was a guy. While the setting and plot make her sound like a really cool character, she ended up falling short for me.
All the other characters, even Timothy, were rather one-dimensional.  Now that I think about it, the whole book would have been better marketed for youth fiction rather than YA. The whole style of writing felt more suited for a 10 or 12 year old, except for the romance.
The romance in this book was heavy and very shallow, lots of talking about how they are feeling toward each other but not a lot about each other’s character. Also the love triangle was a bit awkward, because Merry refers to Allen along with the rest of the band as the children, which made it hard to keep in mind that he was really sixteen. Timothy was very likable and was one of the better parts of the book, as he was more mature than most of the other characters.
The story was interesting, and it did keep me turning pages. I think it took me only three or four days to get through the book. The plot was interesting and different enough from some of the things that I have read that I wasn’t bored.
I think those who like romance, Robin Hood type stories, and are looking for clean YA will enjoy this book.
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I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.


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Even in the Darkness

I have been reading through the book of Isaiah, and I find it a very comforting book. This may seem rather odd, but it is, to me. You see, the whole time in which this this book is written is dark time in Israel's history. Not only have the people fallen away from God, but their land was in upheaval. The future looked very dark and without a lot of hope.

Into the midst of the dire predictions and the punishment that is being heaped upon those who have done wrong, God gives the promise of hope over and over again. He reminds them that the darkness will not last. He reminds His people that he has a plan for them and is willing to forgive them. He tells them that this time of darkness will not last forever.

This is a powerful reminder for all of us. God's anger lats only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. The darkness may seem never ending, but dawn is coming. Even when things seem to be in chaos all around us, God has a purpose and a plan.

What has God been teaching you?


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Even in the Darkness

I have been reading through the book of Isaiah and I find it a very comforting book. This may seem rather odd, but I it is, to me. You see the whole time in which this this book is written is dark time in Israel's history. Not only have the people fallen away from God, but their land was in upheaval. The future looked very dark and without a lot of hope.

Into the midst of the dire predictions and the punishment that is being heaped upon those who have done wrong, God gives a the promise of hope over and over again. He reminds them that the darkness will not last. He reminds His people that he has a plan for them, and is willing to forgive them. He tells them that this time of darkness will not last forever.

This is a powerful reminder for all of us. God's anger lats only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. The darkness may seem never ending, but dawn is coming. Even when things seem to be in chaos all around us, God has a purpose and a plan.

What has God been teaching you?


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Writing Saturday: Brothers and Betrayal

I am very happy to announce that Brothers and Betrayal finally has a publication date! Get ready because the second installment of the Tales of Taelis series will be coming out March 28th!

The cover was once again designed by the talented Jessica Greyson.
You can pre-order it on Kindle for only $2.99, which is a discount from the regular price.
You can also add it to your Goodreads self here.
Would you like to take part in the blog tour?

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Adventure Between The Pages: The Uncertain Choice

This review is full of spoilers. If you want to read this book without knowing the ending, don’t read this.

So, I was going to wait until I was in a better mood to do this review, and then I decided that while I was feeling sarcastic and a bit grumpy and a bit silly (I don’t understand how those two go together either, but sometimes they go together with me) I would go ahead and write the review. Perhaps it will come off sounding funny instead of irritated.

Before I get started, let me first say that both the main characters show two qualities that I admire. The first is that they both have faith in God. Second, the both not only strive to, but do treat each other in honor and purity even though they are very attracted to each other. I also would like to say that the author did keep me turning pages even when I didn’t particularly care for the book, which is why it got three stars.

Now, let me begin on what I thought of MOST of the book. The beginning was the worst part. Could it have been anymore cheesy? One girl is about to be forced by her parents’ vow to enter a life of celibacy (which, obviously is the worst fate that could befall any girl, right?). But then *gasp of surprise* someone discovers that there is a way out: if she finds true love and marries before midnight of heir eighteenth birthday (seriously, I am not joking.)

So, three men compete for her hand. You will be shocked at who they are. A rich guy that flatters and gives rich gifts, a poet that brings flowers, and a tough guy who just plays hero sometimes, remains silent most of the time (what? You aren’t surprised?).

The middle part of the book was rather interesting, when mysterious accidents happened, but that part didn’t last long. Guess which guy she went for? (How did you know it was the hero guy? Whoever sees that coming?)

My biggest complaint really was who the bad guy turned out to be. Yes, she did succeed in horrifying me. Seriously, what is with Christian authors and making the priest into the evil guy? I wanted to throw the book away at that point.

Although this book wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great either. It was far too predictable and cheesy.

I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own

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Advernture Between the Pages: Sabotaged

Buy it Here Age Appropriate For: 16 and up for some violence and romanceBest for Ages: 18 and up
Description: Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now paired together on Yancey's search-and-rescue canine unit, they begin to put aside old arguments as they come to see each other in a different light. Then a call comes in from the Iditarod that will push them to their limits. Kirra's uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing. Frank's daughter has been kidnapped. In order to save her, the man must use his knowledge as a mechanical engineer to do the kidnapper's bidding or she will die. Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life, but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen.
After finishing three of these books in a matter of a week, I was eagerly looking forward to the last installment of this series. By the time I finished, it was sad to say goodbye. I have really come to love the McKenna family and wish there were more adventures to come. However, the series wrapped up everything nicely in the end.
One of the things I have come to really love about Pettrey’s stories is that she tackles some really hard issues without going into so much detail as to horrify the reader, but also doesn’t gloss it over. That is a hard balance, especially with the topic in this book, but she manages. It is always hard to read about someone else’s pain.
Neither Reef or Kirra were my favorite characters, nor did I feel especially close to them. Yet, their story drew me in. I think that Pettrey’s strength is that she draws the reader into the story, no matter how they feel about the characters. My favorite part of the whole story has to be Jack trying to propose to his girl, but he keeps being interrupted.
Out of all the series, this had to be the strongest mystery. Some of the others had some holes, but this one was pretty tight, and felt more suspenseful. It kept me flipping pages and made the ending highly satisfying.
The romance was not my favorite of the McKenna’s, and I thought one of the romantic scenes at the beginning was a bit dumb, but it quickly got better. Pettrey did a great job of showing her characters as being committed to purity, without preaching about it.
The faith element in this story also seemed stronger than it had in any of the other stories. Understanding why God allows bad things to happen, how He helps us to heal, and trusting again were all covered in a very strong and powerful way.
I highly recommend this book to those who liked any of the other books in the Alaskan Courage series, those who like mysteries, and anyone who enjoys romance.
Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.

I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.
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