When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber

I absolutely loved this book! It is a delightful story of mishaps... miscommunications... and how it all works out for good in the end. My one bit of disappointment is that Macomber's books are secular and the storyline in this one could so easily convey the truth of Romans 8:28.

I must add that while secular, Macomber's books are basically clean. There is an occasional "mild" word and she hints at intimacy, but no sex scenes and no vulgarity.

If you have seen and enjoyed the movie, Holiday, with Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black and Kate Winslet, then you will like this story. It is very similar.

Emily Springer lives in Santa's Village.. ok that isn't the name of her hometown, but it should be! Christmas is big business in Leavenworth, Washington. So she surprises herself by going to Boston for the holidays to be with her daughter.

Charles Brewster hates Christmas and wants to be as far away from his mother and her matchmaking schemes as possible. In a rash moment, he finds an online site where people swap homes for the holidays and before he knows it he has agree to move to Leavenworth for the holidays while Emily lives in his condo. Problem is, Charles forgets that Leavenworth Prison is in Kansas.. so instead of the quite dull town he expects, this self-professed Scrooge finds himself right in the middle of Christmasland!

But the fun doesn't start there. Charles' brother shows up in Boston at Charles' condo to find an unknown woman there... Emily's daughter has gone out of town for the holidays with her new boyfriend, Emily's friend Faith fills sorry that Emily is alone at Christmas (she has no idea Emily went to Boston), so she flies to Leavenworth to spend the holidays with her only to find the Grinch has come to town! Loads of fun and hilarity ensue.. and of course romance blossoms.

This book is soo fun and soo cute... a really great pick-me-up read!

Barb

Christmas Mommy byTerry Fowler

This was a fun book to read over the holidays. It is one of the HeartSong Presents books. Some folks ignore them because they are small and remind them of cheap romance novels, but these books often pack a wallop. And the neat thing is a lot of the Christian artist who now have "real" novels started out writing HeartSongs.... Tracie Peterson comes to mind. I first read here 10 or more years ago through HeartSongs Presents! So don't sell these little books short!

Christmas Mommy is an adventure... not a typical adventure like mountain climbing or white water rafting, but for Julie Dennis just as harrowing! Julie is a wealthy career woman who has been tossed into the midst of motherhood for 2 weeks. Her brother and his wife have been given a well deserved trip, but someone has to take care of their 5 small children and Julie is elected. So off to a strange town on the other side of the US she goes.

Noah Loughlin is the associate pastor at Julie's brother's church and Julie's possible ex-boyfriend. Possible because they have each misinterpreted their relationship and don't really know where they stand now, but Noah's is determined to find out. He makes a point to help Julie as much as he can in order to spend time with her.... and precious little time it is.

Noah has 14 days to win Julie's heart back and convince her that God will make a way for the two of them and their dreams.

The Final Yada Yada book.....

Sigh.... the Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson has come to an end with the final book.... the Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out.

I absolutely LOVED this book.... as I have all the Yada Yada books! While I know this is the final book in the series, it doesn't feel like an ending. In fact, the book ends with many new beginnings... and so the Yadas will live on in my mind and heart. I suspect I will even imagine them doing various thing over the years to come! LOL!

Jackson does have a new series coming out in 2009 and she promises that we will see various Yada Yadas pop up now and then.

There is no way to share about this book without giving away all that happens.... it is one you definitely need to read yourself.. AND you must read them all in order... please! It is a series worth your time.

I know this will sound strange, but as fun as these books are they are also full of lessons. I have learned so much about the true body of Christ.... about friendships... accountability.... acceptance... and prayer! WOW! I love the way the characters in these books pray!

In Decked Out we get to celebrate birth... Christmas... a wedding.... a new year.... sisterhood... new seasons of life.... and so much more!

Slay It With Flowers by Kate Collins

I stumbled across this one on Paperback Swap. I was browsing around and this name caught my attention. I love word play!

This is book 1 of the Flower Shop Mysteries... a series of secular mysteries.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and look forward to reading the others in the series.

Abby Knight enjoys driving her vintage yellow 'Vette, working in her flower shop (Bloomers) and meddling! Her friends have tried to reform her, but they have given up. Abby is a meddler at heart and will be until the day she dies. Which could be sooner than later if she isn't careful!

Slay It With Flowers mixes together an upcoming wedding (not Abby's).... a budding romance.... a missing groomsman... a dead groomsman (not the same as the missing one!)...mysterious happenings at the new "massage" parlor... Chinese ladies sneaking in and out of the parlor and a local restaurant... odd sculpted creations by Abby's mother... and a hunky bar owner determined to keep Abby close.

This is a fun to read mystery that doesn't tax your brain, but does tickle your funny bone and warm your heart.

The Great House of God by Max Lucado

I am not a huge fan of Lucado, as many are, but I truly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. This is an older Lucado book, written in 1997. The basis of The Great House of God is the Lord's prayer. Max takes the prayer apart assigning each part as a room in a house. As we wander through each room, we see how God has created a home for our heart and meets all our needs as we pray His model prayer.

If you want to take your prayer time to a new level, this is a great place to start. I do recommend that you work through the study questions and activities in the back of the book. They add so much! There are questions of introspection, questions that basically review what you have read, digging into the scripture to go deeper and some practical application.

This would be an easy book to read hurriedly, but don't do that. Take your time. Work through a chapter at a time... reading... praying... doing the study portion... let God speak to your heart as you learn more about communicating with Him.

Christmas Wishes by Debbie Macomber

I love to read Christmas stories during the holidays and I have become a big fan of secular author, Debbie Macomber. Her books are light hearted and fun... and often funny! Christmas Wishes contains two stories -- Christmas Letters and Rainy Day Kisses.

Christmas Letters is a hoot! Katherine O'Connor has a problem. Her sister and brother-in-law have fallen under the spell of child psychologist and author Wynn Jeffries, who has written a book called The Free Child. Dr. Jeffries theories have turned K.O.'s once sweet twin nieces into living terrors! K.O. wants to find Dr. Jeffries and give him a piece of her frazzled mind.

And then it happens, she spots him walking in her neighborhood and she follows him only to find him entering her building! Further investigation reveals that he actually lives in her building and has for some time. How on earth did she miss that?

What begins as a confrontation turns into a humorous adventure as K.O. allows Dr. Whren to see his theories in action.. up close and personal.. and along the way they both learn a lot about snap judgments and love.

In Rainy Day Kisses, we get to step back a few years in time and listen as MichelleDavidson tells how she brought her career minded aunt, Susannah Simmons, together with her now husband, Nate Townsend.

Susannah has no desire to be a wife or mom. She is climbing the corporate ladder two rungs at a time! Her five year goals are right on track and she is ready to start working on her ten year ones. But all that changes when she hastely agrees to babysit her infant niece, Michelle. Susannah has no idea what to do, but her new neighbor, Nate, does... and he is more than willing to help.

The Heart's Forgiveness by Merrillee Whren

A sweet story about forgiveness (have you ever noticed that is a reoccurring theme in Christian fiction?) and beginning again... about opening up your heart to God's plans instead of holding on to your own.

Grady Reynolds' life isn't going as planned. He didn't plan to loose his wife and end up a single dad to two daughters... he didn't plan to have a surley teenager headed down the wrong path and a spoiled "baby" use to getting her way... and he didn't plan to lay eyes on Maria Sanchez again. As far as he was concerned, Maria and her church caused his wife's death and he wanted nothing to do with either!

But Grady needs a fresh start. He needs a safe place to raise his girls before he looses them. So when a position opens at a friend's charitable foundation, he takes it... even though he knows Maria works there and this will put him in close proximity with her. That's ok... he can handle it... but can his heart?