Be My Guest: Sarah Sundin

by Andrea Renee Cox

During last Christmas season, I read a book called Where Treetops Glisten (see my review of it here). I was thrilled about the book, since I had already read and loved books by Tricia Goyer and Cara Putman. But Sarah Sundin was a new author for me, and I had no idea what to expect. What I got in her piece of that book was quick wit, lovable characters, and a sweet story that hooked me for good. Over this year (2015), I have collected all of her books that are in print to this date (Half Price Books is amazing), and I look forward to reading them in succession soon. If you haven't read her WWII fiction, what are you waiting for?

I'm pleased to announce that Sarah Sundin is today's guest blogger. I hope you enjoy her article and make her feel welcome!

Work and Play

by Sarah Sundin

Pets amuse us, comfort us, exasperate us, and sometimes even inspire us.

Perfectly Beautiful

by Andrea Renee Cox

Hello friends! I’m writing this on Sunday evening, at the tail end of an extra busy weekend. I hope you have had a productive weekend and found some rest as well. My weekend has included copyediting, seeing War Room with one of my best friends, and spending time with my family. The most important time I’ve spent, though, was with God. He gives me rest and refreshment when I bathe in His Word. I’m currently working through Beth Moore’s Breaking Free Bible study workbook, along with the accompanying audio CDs. I’m not very far into it yet, but I’m already learning a lot. It’s amazing how quickly God starts moving in your heart once you get into His Word. Gives me goosebumps every time.

Drawing Prayer Circles

by Andrea Renee Cox

Recently, I read a book called The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. I’d heard great things about it on Facebook, so I thought I’d give it a look. Goodness, I’m glad I did! If you want to see revival in your relationship with God, I highly recommend you check out this book. One person’s prayers really do make a difference.

A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

by Andrea Renee Cox

As an influencer for Carrie Turansky, I received a copy of A Refuge at Highland Hall in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Carrie!

Now that I got the business stuff out of the way, let me dig in to the meat of this story.

First of all, it’s the final installment in the Edwardian Brides series. This series should be read in order for optimum reader appreciation. I was glad I read it from beginning to end, because I got to know the characters and watched them grow from one book to the next. What a cool experience. A lot of books leave you wondering what could have happened to the characters you fell in love with, but Carrie Turansky took us on a journey further into the lives of her dear, fictional friends.

Be My Guest: Jill Kemerer

by Andrea Renee Cox

Hello friends! It is my pleasure to introduce you to Jill Kemerer. Her posts to Facebook often make me smile, as does her blog (I hope you'll check it out!), so of course I just had to ask her to be my guest.

Inspired by a Rarely Used Room

by Jill Kemerer

Ah, the formal dining room. I never had one until three years ago when we bought our house, and frankly, I didn’t see the point. My husband and I aren’t big entertainers. We eat meals with our kids around an old table in our kitchen. Easy to clean, low key. That’s how we like it.

But the new house came with one. The empty dining room begged to be furnished, so we purchased a used dining set, added a few accessories, and were happy with the end result. We even occasionally eat there. I know—crazy! It’s still the least used room in our house.

4 Tips for Better Focus

by Andrea Renee Cox

Are distractions holding you back? Is your desk buried under clutter? What keeps you from checking things off your to-do list?

For most of my life I have struggled with focus and organization. My excuse is I have lived with undiagnosed attention deficit disorder. I only know this because several of my tutoring students have been diagnosed with ADD, and I share the same symptoms and struggles that they deal with on a daily basis. Thankfully, God has revealed to me through trial and error what works and what doesn’t for me where organization and focus are concerned. That is not to say I have it mastered by any means; I do not. It is something I have to constantly work at and force myself to try and try and try again until I get it right for any given moment.

Here are a few tips I’ve learned the hard way.

Prayer Works

by Andrea Renee Cox

The movie War Room speaks to the power of prayer. After seeing the movie on opening weekend, I was inspired to pray more boldly yet with more humility.

Over the week or two prior to viewing the film, I had been in a sort of panic. The research for one of my old writing projects that I’d set aside had seemed to vanish. I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I prayed every day, several times each day, that it would show up if that’s the next project God wanted me to work on. I also asked my family and a friend to pray for me in this matter.

But the research remained lost.