I'm Back..'Love and Cherish,' by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller...book review by Candace Duiker

It's been awhile since I've posted, it's good to be back:).  The book I'm reviewing is 'To Love and Cherish,' by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller. This story is a classic for both women and men in that dance that we all do which often involves finding love, losing love or thinking you've lost it and it comes back again.

The main characters are Melinda Colson and her love for a gamekeeper Evan. She's in love with him, but like many men he won't commit to her fully until he thinks he can support her.  The writing in this book is breath taking and believable. I really liked the way the Writers' of the book tied nature in with Melinda and Evan's love story.

In every relationship, in my mind love is made up of a 'sacred' language and geography that only the two people in that relationship can navigate and understand.  Melinda Colson longs for the love of her life to give her his heart fully, and what she isn't aware of at the time is that Evan needs to be away from her to really learn that he doesn't have to wait for everything to exactly the way he thinks it needs to be to have a successful relationship with her.  That in fact they can build a foundation together as real partners in life and marriage.
Real love shouldn't have to wait forever after all it should be nurtured and used to create a loving relationship day to day. That's the real lesson in this beautifully written story.  And who doesn't love a real love story! I recommend this book to everyone.  
 Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing.

www.grafmartin.com 
www.amazon.ca 
 www.chapters.indigo.ca

"The Way" by book review of this amazing modern day Bible by Candace Duiker

It's an amazing feeling to have this translation of the Bible come to life in your hands. In these crazy, sometimes chaotic times, with every other joe deciding what 'reality' is and then getting a reality show for saying so. This New Living Translation of the Bible called:  "The Way" ties together the bible stories we all remember growing up to now using black and white photos that really speak to today's generation and to those before and one below.  As well, as current stories of real people who struggling with issues that were similar in some aspect to our ancestors.  It speaks of hope, strength and resilience that real people have felt at the bottom of the barrel in luck, or just plain out and out forgotten.  The beauty of their spiritual reawakening and learning to love of self and others is awesome.  My personal favorite has always been Job in any copy of the bible.  Job is an everyday kind of guy who just cannot believe how so many negative things can keep happening to him.  We've all felt like Job at various times I'm certain of it.  However, he may question God on matters that our human hearts have trouble understanding, but he never stops loving God.  Even in my own Job moments, when I wonder the whys of certain things I do still love God. What's more the answers inevitable come forth in much better ways then I could ever have brought about by trying to force myself to understand and another point in time.  This Bible "The Way" I think is a wonderful way to make the Bible exciting and feel much more relevant to all of us.  It takes the fear factor out and deals with our hearts and minds in a deeper, yet gentler way, it's how I percieve God to be.  I've already had many discussions with my family about "The Way" and they are very curious to understand what I'm talking about.  So I am recommending this book "The Way," to whoever wants a current, easy to understand copy of the Bible.  It will really make you go hmmmmmmmmm.Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.By Candace Duikerhttp://www.grafmartin.com/
http://www.amazon.ca/
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/

My June Book Review: "Hiking Through One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail" by Paul Stutzman--review by Candace Duiker

 The book I read for June is called "Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail" by Paul Stutzman.  When Paul Stutzman's wife is diagnosed with breast cancer they are both changed and fight the disease hard.  He tells the story most candidly and you can tell this is the kind of man he is.  For the first while after he loses her to cancer he too is lost and is looking for answers.  Something in Paul is drawn and calmed by nature, particularly the Appalachian trail.  He decides to embark upon a 2, 176 mile journey on the trail, and documents his trip.  His story really spoke to me on many levels: Life is made of transitions and changes and it's not easy when things are going all backwards to know what the next step is.  They say we use 10 percent of our brain and I think that the other 90 percent is where God speaks to us in ways only we will understand subjectively.  Paul Stutzman was called out to the land and the tree-song to help heal him.  This book is a wonderful reminder of the strength of nature in reaffirming our relationship back to our ourselves and to God.  Paul does find his way and his wife's spirit can be found in his words and in the conversations he has along the way.  It is a book that is wise and pays the highest respect to his wife. I think from teenagers to seniors this book is a kind offering of hope and of strength and healing, we call all walk away with something from this most honest journal by Paul Stutzman. 
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.By Candace Duiker

http://www.grafmartin.com/
http://www.amazon.ca/
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/

April Book Review: "You're Already Amazing"by Holly Gerth--Book Review by Candace Duiker

Outside my window, the trees are coming back to life they are shining with possibility and it's how I'm feeling after having read this book.  Holly Gerth in her book "You're Already Amazing" She is encouraging in her guiding words, using many examples.  I really liked how she talks about love and that how God brings and shows up as in love in one person is going to look differently to another, but no less, never that.  She is gentle in her approaches, gives helpful exercises to help a person see things from a new set of eyes.  Gerth's focus is to stay in motion, she never blames, it is forward 'faith' oriented momentum all the way. This book is highly practical, yet has the rightful feel of some of the wisest thoughts you may come across, pages may become all dog-eared that's what I mean.
Gerth's writing is poetic, and poignant it's like she reaches inside your heart and speaks strength to it. I like that, everyone needs to feel love in a way that they understand, so they can pass it on.
This book happens to me at just the right time, I met a nice guy a couple weeks ago and I felt so at home with him. We met on a beautiful day, wandered the Farmer's Market together. We only had talked a few days before meeting, but somehow ,his quickness to smile and calmness of spirit, really made an impression on me.  Sometimes it isn't even how many words are spoken between people it's just that you kind of get what their spirit is about. The man I met loved fishing and people watching among many other things. I think why I liked him so immediately was that he was open to good things happening to him, inviting it in fact.  We talked about nature a whole lot and how much it teaches us.  We were supposed to meet up again and I wondered why I had not heard from him.  Well, this evening I received a text message from his ex girlfriend saying that he had passed away.  I was saddened about it, as I was just getting to know him.
The parallels between how I felt after reading this book and after meeting my new friend were so similar.  When I met him I felt warmer having met him, wiser.  Gerth's book does this too, she encourages us to ask questions to search for meaning.  The theme of meeting my friend and to of this book are we are each here for a reason, that we each have many things to offer and to receive.  To let the grace of that flow in is by saying yes to being open, asking the hard questions, and having faith when we don't know or see the next chapter.  I'm thankful to have met him, though it was a short time I learned a lot from him about life, about myself.  This book too has me looking at myself with a whole new light. I'm thinking yes, yes I choose yes to new moments of a sweet smile and to the new leaves ready to bloom! I recommend this book to certainly women, but anyone who wants to work on their relationship with themselves first, conversely with those close to them. You'd be surprised at what you don't know about yourself!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
www.grafmartin.com
http://www.amazon.ca/
www.chaptersindigo.ca

My February 2012 Book Review--"Words Spoken True" by Ann H. Gabhart Review By Candace Duiker

Spring is almost here and how happy that makes me.  As happy as this book made me to read.  The book I read for February is "Words Spoken True" by Ann H. Gabhart.  Moxy, is what I think of regarding the lead character in this book: meet Adriane Darcy.  She grew up around the printed word that being her Father's newspaper office back in the Civil war era.  I loved Adriane's iron clad will that shines through in her most challenging moments.  Yet she's not so beyond reaching, and that's exactly what happens when she meets a certain Blake Garrett an Editor from a different, competing newspaper who finds ways to push Ms. Darcy's buttons, as does happen in one way or another in most potential relationships of that reader I'll leave to your musings, until that is you read this page turner of a book.  The story is emotional and well told, it doesn't falsely draw at your heartstrings, every raw feeling you feel is well earned and not spoken down to you which is a delight.

All in all I loved this book because it is about something dear to my heart, writing, communicating and love.  Not to mention, standing up for something that you believe in.  The culmination of these things, well let's just say the civil war may have torn down a lot of structures and people, but not these lead characters no way, they follow that road on down and it goes about where you might think..with a few curves a long the way, I smiled and I cried.  Let's just see if you don't do the same very thing Reader.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
www.grafmartin.com
http://www.amazon.ca/
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/

"My Favorite Bible" by Rondi DeBoer, Christine Tangvald, Ilustrations by Ariel Pang, Book Review By Candace Duiker

  Such a sweet and colorful first bible for children "My Favorite Bible" is by Rondi DeBoer and Christine Tangvald and illustrated by Ariel Pang.  I loved the pictures so much I was running my fingers over them.  The stories are written in an easy to understand way.  One of the things I loved most about this bible is that it interactive activities mixed in to create meaningful parent/child discussions, as well as, alone time moments of contemplation.  I cannot think of a better way to start a child off then with delightful bible.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

By Candace Duiker
www.grafmartin.com
http://www.amazon.ca/
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/

"The Christmas Shoppe" by Melody Carlson Book Review by Candace Duiker

  With Christmas freshly in our minds the book I read: "The Christmas Shoppe" by Melody Carlson really made me smile. It is about a woman named Matilda Honeycutt who moves to the small town of Parrish Springs to open a special shoppe.  Many people are close-hearted to this gypsy like woman at first.  She eventually opens her shop and that's when everything changes.  People are searching, aren't we all really?  Well after they come into Matilda's shop they end up leaving with answers to things they didn't necessarily know they were looking for.  I loved this book and I think you will too.  Christmas isn't too far gone for you to not still enjoy this gift of a story.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

By Candace Duiker
http://www.grafmartin.com/
http://www.amazon.ca/
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/