Loving Your Spouse Through Prayer by Cheri Fuller

This is the second book I have read by Fuller. As with her other book, I enjoyed her writing style... I felt like I was chatting with a friend... and I learned a number of things. Fuller encourages the reader to pray with and for your spouse. She talks about different things for which we should pray and shares a number of stories of real life marriages and how prayer has effected them. She also has a section with specific prayers, based on scripture, for specific needs like Joy, Grace, a Fruitful Life, Trust instead of Worry... and many more. Each chapter also has questions that can be discussed, if you do this book with your spouse or in a small group, or if you work through the book alone you can use these for journaling. Each chapter also includes a specific marriage prayer for the topic being discussed. This would be a great book for newlywed's... but it is also a wonderful book for any married couple... no matter the season of life.

The Only Best Place by Carolyne Aarsen

I forget how I heard about this book, but I am thankful to whomever it was that lead me to it. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Neta Jackson (author of the Yada Yada Prayer Group series) is quoted on the back covering as follows: “… Carolyne Aarsen writes for every woman who has said yes with her mouth but not her heard, who has left he comfort and safety of the known and stepped (mentally kicking and screaming) into the unknown.” That quote really does sum up Leslie VandeKeere (the heroine).

Leslie is living the good urban life with all the energy and rush she loves. She has a happy family and a great career… both pull her in a zillion directions, but she thrives in the tension of the moment. So she is far from thrilled when she finds herself uprooted and replanted on her husband’s family farm in Montana. Leslie has never pictured herself as a farmer’s wife and she is determined this is a temporary time of duty as her husband helps his mom with the struggling farm.

When other family members indicate the move is permanent and Leslie’s husband doesn’t correct them, Leslie knows a battle is on and she knows in her heart there can be no winners. She is surrounded b people… family… and yet she feels totally alone. No one seems to care about her… her wants, her needs, her plans.

As Leslie struggles to find a way, she finds that she is not alone… God has not forsaken her… and she learns the only best place is in her heart.

Excellent book! The characters are rich and real… the situations are not sugar coated or exaggerated… they are very real… and the solutions are not easy and cost in a number of ways.

The Other Daughter by Miralee Ferrell

I read about this book on my friend, Cecelia Dowdy's blog ( http://ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com/2007/10/other-daughter.html ) Cecelia is a wonderful writer of Christian Fiction. Her blog has reviews of books she's read and occassionally an interview with other authors. Be sure to check it out!

Cecelia's review peaked my interest and I knew I had to read this book. I am so glad I did. The premise of the story intrigued me. A young teen shows up at a stranger's home announcing that her mom has died and she has come to live with her dad.

Susanne and David's marriage is a rocky rollercoaster ride and just when it seems things are looking up, an unknown daughter appears on their doorstep. Susanne's trust in David is shattered and she wonders if it can ever be reparied or if she even wants it to be.

David is confront with his past... a past he thought he had long ago put away. Now a Christian, he has to face the consequences as he tries to establish a relationship with a daughter he's never met, salvage his marriage and hang on to what he has with his other 2 children.

Add into the mix that Susanne is not a believer and a friend who feeds her fears, doubts and anger... a nasty mix.

This is a wonderful book.. not just a mellow drama playing out on the pages. Ferrell deals with some issues most of us like to keep tucked away in a box... Christian's married to non-believers, adultery in a Christian marriage, the reaction of the Church body to sin within their ranks, and more.

Excellent read! I strongly recommend this one.