Book: Pastor's Wives

What's it like when the man you married is already married to God? asks Pastors' Wives, an often surprising yet always emotionally true first novel set in a world most of us know only from the outside.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen's debut novel Pastors' Wives follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a megachurch called Greenleaf. Reeling from the death of her mother, Ruthie suffers a crisis of faith---in God, in her marriage, and in herself. Candace is Greenleaf's "First Lady," a force of nature who'll stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace's son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their roads collide in one chaotic event that exposes their true selves. Inspired by Cullen's reporting as a staff writer for Time magazine, Pastors' Wives is a dramatic portrayal of the private lives of pastors' wives, caught between the demands of faith, marriage, duty, and love.

***

Real. That was the first word that came to mind when I finished this book.  And actually when I was only about a quarter of the way through.  Because it's based on real interviews with pastor's wives, this book reads equal parts expose and fully human.  Each of the three main characters tells the story from her point of view (with the help of flashback scenes) so you feel like you get inside their heads and understand why they would make the choices they do.

Having grown up in the church I can imagine some of the stress placed on the pastor's wife, being a very visible figure in the church, but I definitely can't imagine having to be in that position.  I think perhaps this book, while a fascinating read, will also help us have a little more empathy for the fact that they are people just like us, with hopes, dreams, expectations, and the extra burden of a husband who might at times seem to have a first wife, and it's not you.

 Read other reviewers thoughts.

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Lisa Takeuchi Cullen was a longtime staff writer for TIME magazine. She now develops TV pilots for production companies and recently sold her first pilot for "The Ordained" to CBS. Born in Japan, Cullen lives in New Jersey with family.

I received this book from LitFuse in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Wordless Wednesday: Mechanical Minds

My old printer (from college!) finally died and the boys got to take it apart...

Book: It Happened At The Fair

A transporting historical novel about a promising young inventor, his struggle with loss, and the attractive teacher who changes his life, all set against the razzle-dazzle of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. 

Gambling everything, including the family farm, Cullen McNamara travels to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with his most recent invention. But the noise in the Fair's Machinery Palace makes it impossible to communicate with potential buyers. In an act of desperation, he hires Della Wentworth, a teacher of the deaf, to tutor him in the art of lip-reading. The young teacher is reluctant to participate, and Cullen has trouble keeping his mind on his lessons while intently watching her lips. Like the newly invented Ferris Wheel, he is caught in a whirl between his girl back home, his dreams as an inventor, and his unexpected attraction to his new tutor. Can he keep his feet on the ground, or will he be carried away?

***

Cullen and Della are participants in the Columbian Exposition of 1893.  Each goes with certain expectations only to find that they will be changed by the fair, and each other.

I loved the history wound into this book.  I visited the World's Fair in Vancouver in '86, but being only 6 years old I don't think I fully understood the meaning behind it.  Deeanne Gist has done her research and provides glimpses of the grounds, the buildings, and the feelings of fair-goers from rural America who had never seen things like this before.

The book is long, but it gives you a chance to really appreciate things from both Cullen and Della's perspective.  Sign language was frowned upon at the time, with the thinking being that it would set apart those who used it.  And Cullen faces some major discrimination because he is losing his hearing.  Della believes that using sign language is a hindrance to the deaf, this she teaches lip reading, but even her beliefs are challenged by her experiences.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a glimpse into a different time and a famous event in history.

***

Read other's reviews or purchase your own copy here: http://ow.ly/komrd

Deeanne Gist---known to her family, friends, and fans as Dee---has rocketed up bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere with her very fun, very original historicals. She has received numerous RITA nominations, two consecutive Christy Awards, and rave reviews. Deeanne has a background in education and journalism and a degree from Texas A&M. She has written for People, Parents, and Parenting. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and has four grown children. She has a very active online community on her website at IWantHerBook.com and at Facebook.com/DeesFriends.  


I received this book from LitFuse in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Wordless Wednesday: Dandelion Control

While it might not seem like it we do actually try to control the dandelions in our yard... just not with chemicals!

And look we actually half have a fence now, not the crazy blue tarps of last year or the pink flamingos and toilet growing strawberries we could see the year before!

Dandelion Wishes!

While we don't actually wish for more dandelions in our yard, I did get some cute pictures of the girls last night!  Hope doesn't like the grass yet so she'll just sit where you put her, but Joy has gotten over it and will just push herself up and walk around.  A little harder to get pictures that way! 

So I didn't get very many good ones of Joy as she kept walking away from me.  But I did get Cory to hand her one dandelion, albeit she was more interested in the stem!

Taking pictures of babies together? Not easy!  They also tripped each other right after this photo.

Hope did NOT know what to think of the dandelions at first...

Where did it go?

She discovered she could wave her arms and make the fluff disappear (yes, we are seeding our yard...)

And both of them tried to eat it!

Both of these adorable dresses are from Tea Collection and I entered one of Hope in a contest to win some more.  So if you have a minute would you please hop over to Facebook and vote for our photo?  Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday: Morning Reading

This is how my kids entertain themselves before school... new Lego magazine for all!

This is Our Life: Food Allergies

Last week I was making dinner while my oldest was coloring at the table.  All was quiet since he was the only one awake at the time.

After awhile he said, "Look Mom" and held up his paper for me to see what he'd drawn.  I couldn't tell from across the kitchen so I asked him what it was.

"It's a gluten free sign."

He'd drawn, in black crayon, the sign we see on the shelves where we buy our gluten free products.  An ear of wheat with a circle around it and a line across it.

I didn't say much, other than maybe "good job", but it struck me, deep in my heart, just how much he has to go through with this gluten allergy.  We don't realize how much of our life revolves around food until much of that food is no longer available for us to eat.

A little while later he asked me, "When do you think I'll grow out of this?" and contrary to what the naturopath told us 2 years ago, I've come to believe through my research that most likely he will never "grow out of it", especially given the hereditary nature of it in our family.

***

After 18 months there isn't a lot of gluten left in our house.  A few things in the freezer that never got eaten, a few boxes of regular pasta for when we have spaghetti with guests (because a: gluten free pasta is expensive - really anything GF is and b: not everyone has the "acquired" taste it requires to enjoy it), and a few items that we parents squirrel away as snacks for after the kids are in bed.

But 99% of the time we all eat the same thing in this house.  I've adapted various recipes to make them gluten free and found some new ones (hello oatmeal banana muffins!) so we definitely don't go without.  It's helped us eat a lot healthier too.  I don't mind so much spending a lot on fresh produce when I know the GF snacks cost even more (as opposed to regular packaged snacks that cost about the equivalent of their nutritional value).  I'm lucky that my kids will eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I waver between being grateful that he's so young, and sadness that it will always be this way.  I'm grateful that it will be "normal" for him and he's adapted amazingly well.  It will get easier as awareness and labeling grows. 

I'm sad because so much of life revolves around food and it makes people uncomfortable when it's not easy to feed you.  When you have to ask exactly how something was made to be sure there is no sneaky cross-contamination (never intentional, but gluten hides in crazy places). 

Most of the time when there are "snacks" it's baked goods like cookies or donuts.  We'd be fine if it was fresh fruit, veggies, or cheese, but anything else is suspect unless we can check the original container for the ingredients.

I try really hard to be sure we always have treats when we'll be someplace I know there are snacks.  The kids will see other people eating and want some too so it helps to have our own.  It's become almost second nature to never leave the house without them, but it still makes us stand out as different.

Most days I don't think too hard anymore about what we can and can't eat.  This is our life, our new normal, and we do it pretty easily.  But now I know, and hopefully can be even more aware, that this affects my son in ways I will never know completely.  Because I, I can still eat anything I want.

Book: Sweet Sanctuary

Sweet Sanctuary: A Story of Hope and Love Set Against the Backdrop of World War II

Lydia Eldredge longs to provide sanctuary for her young son, Nicky. But a constant threat comes from Nicky's drug-addicted father, who wants the boy and seems willing to do whatever it takes to get him.

Dr. Micah Hatcher faithfully serves the immigrant population of Queens, New York. But under cover of darkness, he has a secret mission that challenges everything he thought he wanted out of life.

Lydia and Micah's paths cross, they are suddenly wrapped up in each other's callings. Together, they seek a refuge of safety-for Nicky, for themselves, and for the needy people God puts into their lives. Amid turmoil and discord, can hope and love prevail?

***

A lot has been written about World War II from the perspective of those in Europe, but not as much - at least that I've come across - is written in America.  Sweet Sanctuary weaves together a doctor and nurse who served together in Hawaii and are now civilians.

I was actually surprised by how suspenseful the first half of the book was, not usually my choice of reading.  And just when I thought it was going to turn out the way I'd anticipated everything changed.

I really enjoyed this book - once I got past the suspense - for it's perspective on war time America and the reminder of just how little control we have over our lives, but God has the master plan.

***

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of twenty-one novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and nine grandchildren.

For more reviews of Sweet Sanctuary you can check out the LitFuse headquarters.