2026 - Third Quarterly Review

To assist my blog readers, I summarize my reading four times a year, providing a brief description, genre, the page count, and a grading scale (💖5 page-turner - highly recommend, 4 page-turner - enjoyed, 3 page-turner - good, 2 page-turner - meh, and 1 page-turner - regret, wishing I could get back the time invested). I read the following books during the third quarter of 2026 (links to full reviews can be found in the side-bar, or after 2026, found through the search bar at the right):

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle - What if you had a coin allowing one do-over in your life? What would you go back to change? General Market Fiction. 242 pages, 📃📃📃📃

A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield by J. C. Ryle - A concise account of George Whitefield's life, preaching, and ministry during the Great Awakening. A great follow-up read after seeing the outstanding movie, A Great Awakening. Christian Biography. 78 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 1-1/3 hours), 📃📃📃-1/2

Launch Out into the Deep: When the Deep Becomes Holy Ground by Sarah Trent - After following Sarah's writings on Facebook, I eagerly swept up this small devotional full of encouragement for the difficult journeys of life. 138 pages, 📃📃📃📃 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Ryland Grace, a middle school teacher, is sent on a mission to save Earth and humanity from a threat to the sun which would make life unsustainable. Great for those interested in science. General Fiction. 496 pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

It's a God Thing! Inspiring Stories of Life-Changing Friendships by Larry Baker with Becky Lyles - Larry Baker is a hairdresser/evangelist. Through building friendships, he forges relationships that lead others to seek Christ. Christian Living. 139 pages, 📃📃📃📃

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate - Stuffed animals work with a cat to get two valuable bears where they belong. Children's Fiction. 255 pages, 📃📃📃

Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury - Two novellas: "Somewhere a Band is Playing," and "Leviathan '99." Science-fiction is not really my first choice. Science-fiction. 224 pages (I listened in audio form, 4 CDs, 4-3/4 hours), 📃📃

His Redeeming Love by Jonathan Edwards - 30 devotionals providing stirring thoughts from the great revivalist, based on a scripture passage. Christian Devotional. 151 pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

Nothing Ventured and Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer - The first two in the William Warwick series, these are stories of art theft, murder accusations, Scotland Yard investigations, and legal trials. High-paced, with all Archer's expected twists. Crime Fiction. 640 pages total (read 336, listened on Hoopla, 8-1/4 hours), 📃📃📃-1/2

God's Smuggler to China by Brother David - In a similar vein to Brother Andrew's ministry, Brother David's goal is to get a million Bibles into China. Very convicting and inspiring. Christian Autobiography. 223 pages, 📃📃📃

Just Out There Somewhere (Thoughts About Moving On) by Kyle L. White - I'm partial to Kyle's writing. I love how he observes the world around him and draws insights from ordinary things. Christian Essays. 59 pages, 📃📃📃📃

By Design: God's Distinctive Calling for Women by Susan Hunt - Men and women are different and God has a specific plan for each of the sexes. When we live within our design framework, we will find satisfaction and fulfillment. Christian Women's Studies. 189 pages, 📃📃📃 

💖The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. 1-8) by Beth Brower - What a delightful dip into British Victorian Society! While a bit unrealistic, as Emma has more freedoms than that time would have allowed, it was great fun to listen to these installments of Emma's story. I anxiously await the release of the 9th book. British Literary Fiction. (1903 pages total - I listened to all on Hoopla, 59-1/4 hours), 📃📃📃📃📃

💖Stronger Than the Storm by Deena Adams - This excellent debut novel covers the gamut of emotions parents battle when a child makes self-destructive choices. Stayed up past bedtime reading. Christian Fiction. 372 pages, 📃📃📃📃📃

Where Prayer Becomes Real: How Honesty With God Transforms Your Soul by Kyle Strobel & John Coe - Prayer mystifies. These authors assert the most important thing is honesty with God in your conversations with Him. Christian Living. 216 pages, 📃📃📃

We Are Never Getting Together by Janette Rallison - A reverse Parent-Trap story, Madeline and Cooper fake dating to stop their divorced parents from dating. YA Romance. 304 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 7-1/4 hours), 📃📃📃

Pray Big: Learn to Pray Like an Apostle by Alistair Begg - Begg encourages readers to boldness and vision as they bring their prayers to a big, big God. Christian Living. 101 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 2-1/2 hours), 📃📃📃📃

Your Story Matters: Finding, Writing, and Living the Truth of Your Life by Leslie Leyland Fields - What an outstanding Christian guide to writing memoir or autobiographical fiction! This is a must-read if you're a Christian wanting to share your story for God's glory. Writing Instruction. 224 pages (I accessed as e-book on Hoopla), 📃📃📃📃-1/2

To Find Where She Belongs by Robin Lee Hatcher - Irish immigrant Keely Boyle flees England hoping to find a new life on a ranch in Idaho. Christian Historical Romance. 258 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 6-3/4 hours), 📃📃📃-1/2

Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose by Jennifer Breheny Wallace - This is a vitally important topic in our fractured and self-absorbed world today. Interpersonal Relations/Self-help. 288 pages, 📃📃📃📃

The Summer of Second Chances by K. L. Walther - Olivia Lupo heads to Martha's Vineyard to retrace the steps of her beloved grandmother and finds romance. Young Adult Romance. 376 pages, 📃📃📃

Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments by Rachel Wojo - Rachel's prayer journey and prayer principles will enhance and increase your prayer life. Christian Living. 240 pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck - Background information on the composition and use of 101 beloved hymns. Christian Living. 288 pages, 📃📃📃📃

A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham - Daphne Austen and Finn Dashwood makes sparks fly in Wisteria, North Carolina, as rival shop owners and neighbors. Clean Rom-com. 416 pages, 📃📃📃📃-1/2

You're In Good Company: The Gift of Friendship, Motherhood, and Showing Up by Ashleee Gadd, ed. - This collection of essays and recipes is packaged in a beautifully appealing book, perfect for gifting to a mother or friend in your life. Christian Living. 221 pages, 📃📃📃

The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix - Fun to revisit the stories of these two Christian greats and think of their devoted friendship and its cooling. Graphic Biography. 224 pages, 📃📃📃📃-1/2

Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo with James Patterson - A mother-daughter trip provides the opportunity to speak life into a caustic relationship. Women's Fiction. 305 pages, 📃📃📃  

💖The Hand of God: Finding His Care in All Circumstances by Alistair Begg - Considers the providential hand of God in the life of Joseph. We can be certain God's in control, even when things are going against us. Christian Living. 208 pages, 📃📃📃📃📃

Missing Our Boy!

Please keep us in your prayers. This final weekend in September will be a difficult one. Trevor should be turning 22. We should be celebrating with an ice cream cake or some other treat he deprived himself of for so long (we did decide to buy a cake). In July of 2025, Trevor moved into a halfway house in Lafayette and began working out regularly. He was passionate! His goal was to become a personal trainer. He was working on the certification coursework when he died this past July. Bodybuilding became a supplemental goal. He set his sights on the 2026 Hoosier Flex Bodybuilding Competition. That competition recently shifted from Hoosier Flex to NPC Battle of the Bend.

Watching his progress must have been gratifying, as he struggled with weight issues for much of his life. He was sculpting his body to look as he'd always dreamed. While pursuing this goal, he sought to build a platform. Thus, he opened an Instagram account to chart his progress and demonstrate what he could help others achieve. He posted before and after pictures saying he "went from ill built to Hill built." I thought it a creative and appropriate business tag-line, "Go from ill-built, to Hill-built!"

The competition takes place today. He kicked himself for all he lost because of his relapse. On his first day at the treatment center, he texted, "I'm so disgusted with myself for allowing myself to ruin something I cared about so deeply. You know bodybuilding was my life. It was the only thing that made me feel like I was making any sort of progress. Even if I was stuck financially, legally, spiritually, etc., it felt like I was progressing if I made that weight go higher." How I wish he were here to participate! Instead, I will post a few photos (I tried to snag these from his Instagram, so I apologize for the poor quality).

Book Review: The Hand of God - Highly Recommend

After reading Pray Big, my best friend from college recommended Alistair Begg's The Hand of God. This book considers the providence of God in the life of Joseph. God knew the timing I needed for this read. I read this just prior to Trevor's death, when things seemed to be spinning out of control. The story of Joseph, as told in Genesis, is a walk of complete trust in God when life circumstances seem pitted against him.

Begg starts by considering Joseph's ancestors. His father, Jacob, wrestled with God. Both his father and his grandfather, Isaac, played favorites. Although he comes from a dysfunctional family, Joseph also stems from the line of Abraham (great-grandfather), who followed God's lead into the unknown and believed in His promise of many descendents. All along Joseph's life story, God is leading him into uncharted waters with great, yet hidden, purpose. The Hand of God provides powerful evidence that God is at work, even when things seem in disarray. Joseph was almost killed by his brothers, sold into slavery, accused of rape, imprisoned unjustly, and forgotten. It seemed as if all was against him. Yet, truly, all was in place for his key role in saving the children of Israel from famine. But also, for his role in bringing them to a place where their eventual bondage led them to cry out to God. (May our bondage lead us to cry out to God!)

I'm considering purchasing this book in paperback. I listened to my library's Hoopla audio copy and often wished I could have taken notes. While I could have re-listened at a slower pace to jot things down, I decided it would be better to simply revisit the book again in a few years. A second reading will glean just as much. For now, I'm encouraged to remember God, in His providence, may allow unlikely events to lead (albeit, in a hidden way) to His divine will.

I've been using The Sing Hymnal my husband gave me on Mother's Day. Every morning, after my prayers, I try to sing 2 hymns from the hymnal (my sight-singing is rusty). I was in "The Providence of God" section and came across "God Moves in Mysterious Ways," by William Cowper. (Cowper is often pronounced and spelled Cooper, as I read about him Companions in the Darkness.) Begg recites from this hymn in his book. The lyrics pack a firm truth punch, so I will share them here (I'm especially moved by verses 3-6 and have emphasized some lines that stood out to me in the days before Trevor's death and now):

"God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. 

"Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill he treasures up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will. 

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face.

"His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding ev'ry hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flow'r.

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain."

The bud does, indeed, have a bitter taste for us now. Please, Lord, may the flower it nourishes be sweet and fruitful. Give us strength to trust the hand of God, even when it requires us to give up our dear son! As I told Trevor in June, "God knows your dash. He will not take you a day too soon, or leave you a day too long." How I pray God makes plain the purpose and harvest from my son's life.

Book Review: Things I Wish I Told My Mother

This title resonated. Oh, the many Things I Wish I Told My Mother. Even more, the shattering things I wish I could tell her now. It's probably just as well, as they might break her heart. I was fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with my mother. We had similar interests, tastes, and temperaments. Dementia stole her away and defied sharing events from the last dozen years. This tale is a bit different. The friction between this mother-daughter pair is biting!

What a conflicted relationship between Dr. Liz and Laurie. Dr. Liz is a well-dressed, independent, powerful doctor. She rarely hesitates to let her daughter know her disappointment. Laurie is content in comfortable clothes and quite proud of her artistic flair for advertising, something her mother cannot appreciate. When Dr. Liz faces a heart scare, Laurie decides to treat her mother to a trip back to her mother country, Norway. Dr. Liz insists on adding Paris, the city where Laurie honeymooned with her ex-husband. Laurie doesn't relish reminders, but is willing to pacify her mother in hopes of forging a better relationship.

Some of the dialogue, as these two women spar, is laugh-out-loud funny. We slowly unravel past events that formed Dr. Liz's personality. We watch as Laurie embarks on a romance in the City of Love. Can they mend fences? Will closeness develop between them before it is too late? Can Laurie learn to communicate with her distant and cold mother? I've been on the receiving end of biting criticism. I know how it can shut you down. Laurie takes it in stride, for the most part. This book provides an interesting exploration of the mother-daughter bond.

Book Review: The Mythmakers

I love finding new book recommendations from others in the Rabbit Room Facebook group. The Mythmakers, provides graphic biographies for two literary legends: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The illustrations are delightful. I already knew much of what was shared. I worked in the Wade Center while at Wheaton College, and have read plenty of books on this subject in the time since. Still, it was fun to explore this information again. I did learn a few new parts of the story of their friendship. I knew of the decline over the years, but didn't really remember the cause.

When I think of Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings (the group of writers who gathered at the Bird and Baby pub in Oxford), I'm filled with longing for such a blessed group in my life. I loved my wonderful writer's group in DeKalb, IL, when we lived there. I joined a library writer's group here, but many of the others were not Christians and did not share my worldview or belief system. Then I tried another library's group without success. What Lewis and Tolkien shared was meaningful and rich. It is rare to find such intense comaraderie and connection.

John Hendrix did a great job structuring this graphic work. A lion and a wizard lead the reader as they explore the details of these interesting lives. The artistic aspect of this work adds to the richness of the story. This graphic biography will certainly appeal to anyone interested in the inner workings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I may suggest it to my youngest son, who is currently reading Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Book Review: You're In Good Company

As soon as I read a few essays in this collection titled, You're In Good Company, I wanted to gift this book to my former Bible Study Fellowship group leader. She is a writer, so I'm sure she would appreciate the essays. Moreover, the book is simply beautiful. It is hardcover and contains lovely photography. I'm not usually seeking recipes (and I doubt I'll try any of those listed), yet it was fun to read the fare offered up alongside enticing photographs.

I think I put this book on hold from the library's recent acquisitions list because it deals with hospitality. When I stumbled upon Sue Donaldson's newsletters, book, and website, I felt a tug to embrace this call to hospitality. This is very perplexing as hospitality is not a spiritual gift I possess. Sheesh - even cooking for my family fills me with dread, let alone offering up fare for guests in my less-than-tidy home. But, I'm encountering nudge after nudge regarding friendship and hospitality. For example, my recent read, Mattering. How important it is to invest in others and let them know they matter! Who knows if my shabby hospitality might bless someone else in a way I cannot fathom. I'm still hesitant, but these essays nurtured that tug.

When I read one essay about a stain on a carpet, I immediately realized I had recently read this essay elsewhere. I looked up the author, Sarah Hauser, and discovered that she posts on the Rabbit Room substack. I'm guessing that is where I encountered her before. I also appreciated Ashlee Gadd's essay, "Good Mother's Bake from Scratch and Other Lies I've Believed." The essay, "When Friendships Change," by Sonya Spillman, spoke to deep needs within me. "We'll Be Your Family on Christmas Eve," by Melanie Dale, resonated with me because Sarah Mitchell's family took me in over the Christmas holiday when I could not afford to return from London to Chicago during my work-study period abroad. I would love to implement the lessons from this book. May I rely on God to somehow make it so, if not now (when facing grief, downsizing, and a move), then perhaps when we seek another home!

Mid-month Mention: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 - Rescued!

This is an early mid-month mention. I bumped it up, because today marks the 25th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. This August, we attended revival meetings with evangelist Chris Miller. He mentioned a brief video he made with Marine Staff Sergeant David Karnes concerning rescue attempts on that fateful day. I checked it out and have decided to mention it here on my blog.

 

If you've followed my blog at all, you know what I loved most about this rescue story. It was the importunate, desperate prayers lifted in the midst of this rescue attempt. Whatever the need, a prayer went up. A radio appeared. A fire was put out. A beam was cut without collapsing. God was right there with them, answering and clearing the way for two men to be saved from the rubble.

I'm praising God for the rescue of two other precious souls. During the Chris Miller revival meetings, my husband invited Trevor's girlfriend, Kylie, and her mother, Angie. The church provided evening meals, so we were able to spend time chatting, as well. They live over a half hour away and we were thrilled they took their time to join us. But even more thrilling, they came to know Christ as their Savior from sin and trusted Him for eternal life. They have been rescued from darkness and brought into the light of His grace. I know Trevor is beaming in heaven and looking forward to reunion. Please join us in prayer for their continued spiritual growth.

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." - Luke 15:10 

Before I go, I wanted to make mention of one more link. My good poet friend, Randy Edwards, wrote a poem for a 25th commemoration of the 9/11 tragedy. The poem is called "Climb," and I highly recommend listening to Randy read the entire entry for this poetry podcast episode. His voice is magnetic; his words timely. I love his poetry! Take a moment from your busy day. Watch a video about a rescue. Offer a prayer for two newly saved souls. Listen to a poem that will inspire and encourage.