Book Review! "A Christmas Gift for Rose" by Tricia Goyer

Rose Yoder is a young Amish woman living in Berlin (Ohio) during the Great Depression. Her potential husband is on questionable circumstances with the rest of the Amish community, and Rose herself is unsure of her feelings of him. In the midst of her relationship woes, she unexpectedly finds out a very important detail about herself, concealed from her until now. Her life as she once knew it was no longer. Or was it?

This story was very short, only 144 pages, yet the entire storyline fit perfectly into the pages. To say the least, it was a quite a quick read, and proved to be uplifting and heartwarming all at once. The writer put a lot about God in the book, and naturally with Amish Fiction, examples of Godly living in it as well. Living in such a fallen world, it is quite inspiring and soul strengthening to read such a work.

Rose was only an “okay” character. I’m not trying to sound over-critical or picky, but sometimes her train of thought and her decision-making made me furious. Her head always seemed to be in the clouds, and she was so indecisive and didn’t know what she wanted. In the end, all was well, but to some extent, I believe the writer added in some extra stresses to make the story more entertaining, whereas I think it made it more drawn out and maybe even a tad annoying.

All in all, I would highly recommend this novel to others. It’s truly inspiring and very God-centered. Talk about uplifting! Beware, though, it is quite a short book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Autumn, Pumpkins, and God's Creation

To me, autumn is the most picturesque, tranquil, most alluring time of year. Just witnessing the red, orange, and yellow leaves cascading down from a tree branch, and then landing onto a bed of their crunchy counterparts just makes my heart sing. What a creation! Whoever thinks that such a thing is a product of chance is beyond me.

Another thing I love about autumn is… drum roll please… PUMPKINS! No other woman gets more excited about pumpkins than THIS WOMAN! I’m telling you, I purchased a few small ones, orange and white, and even a bagful of mini ones, back in late September, very early October. I roasted pumpkin seeds, had a few McDonald’s pumpkin latte’s, made pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, made pumpkin cheesecake - twice! I’ve been eyeing a few pumpkin pie recipes, and even a pumpkin ice cream recipe. I’ve even been debating a pumpkin facial, but that’s probably just the wonders of marketers and advertisers at work in my mind.

I could also tell you about my squash obsession, but I won’t, *wink*! But, pumpkins do make me more excited.

I also purchased a book from Christian Books for the kids called The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. What a wonderful book to highlight the glory of God’s creation during the fall season, and instead glorify Him and His Word, rather than following the way of the worldly-minded and their primary focus at this time of year: everything Halloween.

(That is for another post closer to the day. I’m just getting all my research done beforehand.)

I just wanted to share something our family did on Thanksgiving weekend, something I think we will keep as a family tradition for the coming years. We went to a pumpkin patch! It was actually a farmers market, a really big one. There were animals, hayrides, a corn maze, games, and of course, a huge field of pumpkins. Not just orange pumpkins, but pink ones, white ones, bumpy ones, tall ones, and just plain weird ones. All of us went and just had the greatest time.

I highly recommend a trip to the pumpkin patch for a family looking for innocent, wholesome fun. It is so easy to glorify, praise, and thank our Creator for just everything at such a place. And of course, it’s perfect for you if you have a love and appreciation for fall, and a slight pumpkin fancy. But seriously, seeing as how much fun all of us had, I felt I had to share it with all of my dear readers, so that they too may have their own pumpkin patch experience!

With Love in Christ