The Undaunted

What Once was Lost

A woman meant to serve, a child in the dark, a man standing apart—can these three souls embrace a God with new plans for them?

On a small Kansas farm, Christina Willems lovingly shepherds a group of poor and displaced individuals who count on her leadership and have come to see the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor as their home. But when a fire breaks out in the kitchen leaving the house uninhabitable, she must scramble to find shelter for all in her care, scattering her dear “family.”

With no other options, Christina is forced to approach Levi Jonnson, a reclusive mill owner, to take in a young blind boy named Tommy Kilgore. Levi agrees with reluctance but finds himself surprised by the bond that quickly grows between him and Tommy. As obstacles to repairing the farm pile up against Christina, she begins to question her leadership ability and wonders if she can fulfill the mission to which she's dedicated her life. And when an old adversary challenges Christina, will she find an unlikely ally—or more—in the aloof Levi? Can Levi reconcile with the rejection that led to his hermit-like existence and open his heart and life to something more, especially a relationship with a loving God?

Author's own website: http://kimvogelsawyer.com/

Sneak Peek of the first chapter: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2013/06/24/sneak-peek-what-once-was-lost-by-kim-vogel-sawyer/

This book will be available on Sept. 17th, 2013!
 

Bible Trivia for Kids in One Year

What kind of fruit did Eve take from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? A. pear; B. apple; C. we don’t know.

What did Jesus serve the disciples for breakfast? A. fruit and cereal, B. fish and bread; C. manna and quail.

Learn a little Bible trivia while learning more about God’s message within the Bible. This One Year book features 365 trivia questions that lead into meaningful devotions about the questions. Each devotion also includes a For You section, which gives a simple application to kid’s lives. And the answer to the opening question wraps up the devotion and gives readers biblical references to read.

This book will keep curious kids on their toes and give them a reason to open their devotional and Bible daily. They can also use their knowledge to test family members each day. [The answers to the questions above are C. we don’t know and B. fish and bread.]

I had a privilege of trying this book with the kids I babysat and they loved it.  Elizabeth said, "I love the pictures and the questions. It helped me think." Jack, the younger one liked looking at all the pictures and seeing what was next, even though he was only 2 1/2.  

I mentioned this book to my cousins, and one of them said, "Man, I wish I lived closer to your house, so we can do devotions again." My other cousin said, "I like the Bible Trivia because it helps me learn more about the Bible and God's Word." I gave them a few trivia questions over the phone and read them the first few pages.

Even though this book may be for older kids, the toddlers I had liked the pictures and the applications that I made for them using the devotional book.

I highly recommend this book to any parent! Although, it won't be published until October 15, 2013.

Forgive the UnExcuseable!

Blessed Child

“Whoever said that a straightened hand was more dramatic than a healed heart anyway?”

A young orphaned boy was abandoned in the midst of an invasion and raised in an Ethiopian monastery. He has never seen outside its walls—at least, not the way most people see. Now he must flee those walls or die.
But the world beyond is hardly ready for a boy like Caleb.

When relief worker Jason Marker agrees to take Caleb from the monastery, he unwittingly opens humanity's doors to an incredible journey filled with political intrigue and peril. Jason and Leiah—the French-Canadian nurse who escapes the monastery with him—quickly realize Caleb's supernatural power to heal. But so do the boy's enemies, who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Jason and Leiah fight for Caleb’s survival while the world erupts in debate over the source of his power.

In the end nothing can prepare them for what they discover.

This book had a very suspenseful plot. I could see this turn into a movie someday, but the boy actor might be a little hard to find. This boy was very determined and naive to the world.

I really liked how the boy's innocence of the outside world showed through the book. Nowadays, younger children are being forced to grow up faster than their ancestors and made to present themselves in the adult world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good thriller with a little kid as one of the main characters.

Letting Go of Your Past

Between Two Colors

When a horrific battle rips through Gettysburg, the farm of Union widow Liberty Holloway is disfigured into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face to face with unspeakable suffering--and a Rebel scout who awakens her long dormant heart.

While Liberty's future crumbles as her home is destroyed, the past comes rushing back to Bella, a former slave and Liberty's hired help, when she finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers, one of whom knows the secret that would place Liberty in danger if revealed.

In the wake of shattered homes and bodies, Liberty and Bella struggle to pick up the pieces the battle has left behind. Will Liberty be defined by the tragedy in her life, or will she find a way to triumph over it?

 

Widow of Gettysburg is inspired by first-person accounts from women who lived in Gettysburg during the battle and its aftermath. 

 

 Spoiler alert:

 

I don't want to give too much away about the book, but I can personally relate to Liberty's life at the end of the book because I am basically between two colors too.

I am American and I am Chinese. Most people only see one color in me, but I see in two colors. I have my Chinese heritage, but I was born in America so I do American things.

People can be more or less cruel when they only see other people in one color. They judge based on color and not based on character. Since being bullied as a child for being different, I don't look at color, but character.

It doesn't matter to me where the person was born. It only matters if the person has a heart of compassion or not. 

Liberty does the same thing at the end of the book. That's all I'm going to reveal about the book.