Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

Even though I read this book a long time ago, it was still a joy to re-read it.  Once I got started I couldn't put it down.  The dire situation Marty, the heroine of the historical Christian fiction novel, found herself in consumed me and made me stick with it until the final page.  It is also light, easy reading which allowed me to finish it in two days.

Summary:

Oke begins her story with the death of our heroine Marty's beloved husband. Soon to be a mother,  Marty realizes she has lost not only the love of her life, but she is practically destitute with only a broken down wagon and a few meager possessions to her name.  A complete stranger, Clark Davis, has also lost his wife and is left to raise his two year old daughter alone as well as work full time running his farm and homestead.  In circumstances beyond their control, the two find themselves drawn together for the sake of convenience.  The underlying question in the situation of course, is will this situation work out?  And more importantly, how will it work out, if it does?

Marty also learns about God through Clark's daily faith.  She knows little about Christianity except at weddings and funerals, so I enjoyed seeing her fresh perspective as she watches Clark pray and read scripture as a part of everyday life.  I could not wait to see how her exposure to the Scriptures would affect her life, and this propelled me on to the last pages as well.  Oke is an engaging storyteller as she wove both romance and faith into the telling of Marty and Clark's story.

Favorite Quotes:

"There's more than one way thet love comes.  Oh, sure, sometimes it comes wild like, makin' creatures into wallerin' simpletons.  I've seed 'em, I've been there myself; but it doesn't have to be thet way, an' it's no less ral an' meanin'ful iffen it comes another way.  Ya see, Marty, sometimes love comes sorta stealin up on ya gradual like, not shoutin; bold words or wavin' bright flags.  Ya ain't even aware it's a growin' an' growin' an' gettin' stronger until...  All the sudden it takes ya by surprise like, an' ya think, 'How long I been a feelin' like this an' why didn't I notice it afore?"

  "Thet wouldn't be right... We can't stay back in the past nursin' our sorrow... Christmas, seems to me, be a right good time to lay aside hurtin' an' look fer somethin' healin."

Final Thoughts:

I recommend this book.  It's simply written, yet tells a powerful story of love.  Even though it is fiction, the setting and circumstances are realistic enough to draw you in while the story keeps you turning pages. This afternoon I am looking forward to a hot cup of coffee and the second book in this series.

Love Comes Softly - This is an affiliate link to Amazon.  Any purchases will bless the owner of this blog.  Thank you for clicking.

  

My Word For The New Year And What I'm Reading Now

 Ready or not, welcome to 2021!  Grab a cup of coffee, your favorite mug, and join me.  I'm sitting down after a busy day of cleaning and getting outside with family.  After morning quiet time, I resisted the urge to read one more chapter of my current read (more about that later in this post) and began cleaning my kitchen early this morning before the kids were stirring.  I've been on a week long mission to deep clean my kitchen and today happened to be wiping and sometimes scrubbing cabinets.  When the cabinets were shiny and dust free, I took time declutter and wipe the inside of one cabinet.  Then I moved on to my floor which I swept then spot scrubbed and mopped.  I washed two loads of laundry and cooked breakfast just as the kids were beginning to wake.  Bacon, sausage, and eggs smelled heavenly in our fresh smelling, clean kitchen.

Homeschooling went a little faster knowing we could get out into the sunshine after lunch.  Everyone worked hard the last two days to finish in time to spend our early afternoon in the surprisingly nice January weather we've had.

Need some homemaking motivation?  Check out Amy Maryon's latest video here.  She inspires me with not only her cleaning, but her freezer meals as well.  We tried her bowtie casserole recipe today for lunch.  It was delicious.  I think she calls it Jarrod's Casserole.

Since I shared my homemaking day with you, now I'd like to share my word for 2021.  I've been growing in my walk with the Lord with baby steps.  I've learned so much by getting into His word and during these sometimes difficult growth seasons, He's taught me to allow him to mold me and shape me.  So as I share my word with you, I want to do so while humbly pointing to the Lord's leading.  I want to do what pleases him, so my plans are tentative.  I want to always seek my Heavenly Father's will in my life.

Intentional

1.  With things on the world stage being what they are at this point in time, I want to intentionally strive to make my house a home for our family and others the Lord sees fit to bring to us for hospitality.

2.  I want to be intentional about implementing ACE in our homeschool.  We are slowly getting back into the rhythm, but my kids did not check their own PACES when we used it previously or fill out their own goal charts.  I want to strive for them to be more independent since they are older now, so it is important for me to follow through.

3.  The kids and I are beginning a one year Bible reading plan on YouVersion.  I want to make sure this happens during our morning time.

4.  I want to be intentional about losing weight.  I hope to lose ten pounds by the end of January.  So far I've lost six.  I need to lose about thirty pounds in all.   I'm cutting back, even the creamer in my coffee!

5.  My fifth area is related to number one.  In order to have a cozy home for our family and bless others with hospitality, I must be intentional about getting our home clean.  So, I am working on the kitchen each day.  When it is deep cleaned I think I will move to the dining room, since it needs redecorating.  Right now it looks odd since we removed the Christmas tree.  I like to decorate the table for Valentine's Day, so we will see how that goes.

What I Am Reading

Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life is a favorite of mine, so I am rereading it.  I just made it to my very favorite chapter: The Heart of Worship.

Favorite Quotes:

"...surrendering to God is the heart of worship.  It is the natural response to God's love and mercy."

"Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships.  You don't edge others out, you don't demand your rights, and you aren't self serving when you're surrendered."

"Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life."

I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self sufficient in Christ's sufficiency.  Phillip 4:13 (Amp.)

"The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the alter..."

And so, I will work at my list above intentionally, as a sacrifice to the Lord, realizing that I must die to myself daily, as Paul says because I am likely to fail and must crawl back onto the alter.

Happy New Years!  What is your word for 2021?  Leave a comment below.