Scripture Graphics #55

As believers, we have assurance of God holding us (not us holding God). Not only that, but we also have His Word to daily comfort us on our journey.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

(Psalms 103:10-12)

Satan can use the weight of guilt to immobilize us and cast a barrier between us and God. But we are forgiven! And this forgiveness is done God’s way, not man’s.

These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. (Psalms 104:27-30)

God’s hand is still at work in nature. He still watches over everything and cares for them.

Books I Read - August 2017

After reading SO much fiction over the summer, I was seriously fictioned-out. So the first few books I read in August were non-fiction. Actually, I read quite a bit of non-fiction in August. And I enjoyed it. Immensely.

My Favorite Non-Fiction...

I featured this book yesterday with a ton of quotes (I recommend you read them). It was SO good!!!

Other Non-Fiction

I finally, FINALLY finished Sherman! It took me like... six months? More? Not sure. I don't regret reading it. He was an excellent historian, even though I don't agree with everything he stood for. My full review of the 815 pages is here.

Added to that, I read two others Civil War books, both of which were amazing and super informative! Since my reviews for both of these were short and to the point, I'll share them here.

This book was jam-packed full of great information! It covers the formation of the army, the various guns and ammunition used, the railroad, the navy, and more in great detail. Pencil drawings detailed the information, making it easier to know exactly what the text was explaining. For someone who is researching different points of the Civil War and how the military works, this book was invaluable. A nice bonus was that it was just fun to read.

This gave an excellent picture of the hardship that soldiers faced during the American Civil War. The pictures featured helped give a visual account coupled by easy-to-read, engaging narration. 

Harsh cruelty is not romanticized in this book but facts are given as it truly was. In short, this is a sobering read and readers need to be prepared for the hard facts to be given clearly.

I have finally read a K.M. Weiland book (she's been on my to-read list for a good year now). In all honesty, it took me half the book to get used to her style. Maybe if I read another of her books I'll be pulled right in? We'll see. She had great information, and I greatly appreciate how clean her examples were. I went a little more in depth with my review.

Fiction Books

And now that I proclaimed my fullness of fiction, I actually did read a bit of fiction (after the initial "get some non-fiction in there" happened). And I liked all of them!! Wowsers. :)

My Favorite

Okay, this isn't exactly fair. Like I said, I liked them all. So, I'm gonna skip this and just go to the books...

I will be featuring this next week on First Line Fridays, but you can get a sneak-peek of my review on Goodreads. This. Book. Y'all. So sweet! So sweet!

Why did I wait so long to read this book?! You can see from my review that I think quite highly of it!

And... I finished out the Serena Jones Mysteries ("finished out" by reading books 1-2 after reading book three...? Yeah...) My thoughts on the series as a whole? I really like them. I wish they were more definitely Christian, but they are super clean and are easy reads. If you want more specific thoughts, see my reviews for Book One and Book Two.

I will be featuring this book later this month for a First Line Friday--as well as make my review of it live. For now, let it suffice to say that this was a sweet little book.

And now, let me hear from you!

If you haven't assumed by now, I've surpassed my Goodreads Goal of reading 52 books this year (after August, I think I've reached 70 books for the year!). So I'm going for 100 books. How about you? How many books have you read this year? Do you have a goal?

And then I asked a hot-button question on social media: what's your favorite to read, a paperback (or hard-back) or Kindle? I kind of like both, for different purposes and reasons. I love having my bookshelf, but then a Kindle is super convenient (and cheaper in the long run). What about you? Which do you prefer?

Wow...
I've chatted a lot!! Thanks for bearing with me! :)

How to Let God Solve Your Problems | First Line Fridays

Happy Friday (and how is it already September?!)! I’m so excited to share another great read with you! Recently at a book sale, I picked up a few Charles Stanley books. I’ve only read one so far, and wow, it was a good one! As with other devotional books that I’ve shared, the first line isn’t always easy to understand without the whole context, so I’m picking out a quote to share. But there were too many good quotes. So scroll to the end of the post and read the dozens of amazing and thought-provoking quotes I copied, which I hope are an encouragement to you.

Once you’ve finished visiting everyone else’s FLF posts, I’d love to hear…

(feel free to pick just one to answer—I’m the question Queen ;) )

- What is one of the best devotional books that you’ve read?

- What book are you reading this weekend?

- What’s a first line of the book closest to you?

~*~*~

Be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

Anna – Cross Romance
Alicia - A Brighter Destiny

Quotes:

"In the aftermath of any storm, [God] is the only One we can turn to for encouragement." (Pg. 3)

"He knows when we face difficulties that are beyond our ability to handle..." (pg. 5)

"Do you realize that even if [a storm] has appeared as a result of something you have done, God is with you?" (Pg. 8)

"When I let go of my need to work something out, He handles all the details of my circumstances perfectly." (Pg. 12)

"Endurance means that I am willing to stay at my post—where God has placed me—until He tells me to move forward. It also means that no matter how hard life may become, I will follow wherever He leads." (Pg. 16)

"We are the ones who make sorrow and heartache even more difficult to bear. Many times, we believe Satan's lies." (Pg. 18)

"Anyone can quit and walk away from life. However, it takes courage to go on when it appears that every avenue has been blocked and every opportunity removed. The pathway to hope and victory often runs straight through the valley of adversity." (Pg. 19)

"True peace cannot come to the person who had not surrendered his or her life to the Lord." (Pg 27)

"God uses adversity to purify us and prepare us for greater service." (Pg 28)

"Most of the time, we know the way God wants us to go, but if it involves sacrifice or personal surrender, we can become resistant and even disobedient." (Pg 40)

"The brokenness of your life does not prevent the Savior from loving you." (Pg 42)

"When trouble hits, resist the urge to focus on yourself, your ambitions, and personal desires." (Pg 46)

"In time, and with God's help, that person understands that God's plan for his or her life is not over; it is just taking a different path than the one he or she thought would be traveling." (Pg 47)

"It is it in times of deep trial, when our faith is tested beyond our normal ability to endure, that we discover God’s loving hand is holding us up and reassuring us that He will never leave." (Pg 56)

"A person chooses to wait on God because he or she wants the best." (Pg 65)

"Prayer is a step of faith, not a pathway to anxiety." (Pg 76)

"Adversity trains you to worship God and to long for time alone in His presence." (Pg 87)

"Obey God and He will lead you *through* the stormy times to a place of great blessing." (Pg 96)

"Loneliness is not something only single people face. It is something that comes from not being at peace in God's presence and not being satisfied with what He has provided." (Pg 99)

"So often, problems that arise in our lives come as a result of our not obeying God." (Pg 104)

"Timing is everything to God. He knows exactly when to motivate us to move forward and when to hold us back." (Pg 108)

"[God] is our instructor, guide, and teacher. But sometimes we do not hear what He is saying because we are too wrapped up in our problems. We pray and think we are giving our burden to Him, but we continue to carry it around by talking about it and even frantically wondering what will happen next. When we ask God to take our burdens, He does. However, if we continue to cling to it and work on ways of solving it, we signal a lack of faith in His ability." (Pg 109)

"[God] never sees your burden as being insignificant. Therefore, no matter how large or small a difficulty may appear, make a habit of praying about it." (Pg 110)

"You have a sense of peace, not because of what you have, but because of who has you." (Pg 118)

"Sin causes a separation in our fellowship with God, and this sense of separation gives birth to fear." (Pg 142)

The Gospel Train | Music

I love old spirituals. One of these days, I just might make an entire collection with them. We shall see. ;) Until then, I enjoy arranging them one by one. Here's "The Gospel Train" for early intermediate pianists.

For those pianists out there, here is a sample. This piece is only $.99 at WAJN.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things (sorta...)

This week, I decided to get back onto my old writing schedule (before the craze of summer made me forget it): 100 words a day. I know, one doesn’t make much progress with doing just 100 words, but it gets me on my project working—especially on teaching days like Tuesday where I teach almost solid 10:00-6:00. With "100 words" on my schedule, I added 834 words last week to Journey of Choice. How I see it, that’s 834 words more than if I hadn’t aimed for 100 words a day!

I think that I have worked through all of the backtracking to add some intensity to Nat’s life (since, you know, just being a soldier in the Civil War against his will isn’t enough, right?). This was one of the reasons my word count was so low—when I rewrite, I erase almost as many words as I add. But it’s all for the better and has enriched the story (in my opinion ;) ). This week, I should get to move forward!

There's my writing update. As for researching... GUESS WHAT!!!

I finished the massive 815-page Memoirs of Sherman this past week! I was teasing that after all of that reading, I should get an award, so my little sister decided to draw one for me (there's a glimpse at my fun-loving, teasing family).

That felt like such a nice mile-marker, that I decided to finish reading Arms and Equipment too (actually, I had a Louisiana trip with four hours [one way] in the car). Two research books finished in a week! I'm on a roll! ;) (and no, that's not gonna happen this week)

From Social Media

Since I'm determined not to let you guys miss out any, here's a book I found at an estate sale I went to. At $250, no, I didn't get it. But it was super cool to look at!

 Also...

Bookmarks! I currently only have bookmarks featuring "Journey to Love" (which is about 1 1/2 years old now), but I'd love to share them! If you live in the United States or Canada, just drop me an email at amandaterobooks (at) gmail (dot) com with your address and I'll send you 3-5 to keep and share.

Finally, my sister did some brain-storming for me. One of the things I'm trying to do is stay regular on social media. Like I say in the video, I'm horrible when it comes to social stuff, even on the computer (writing? Yes. Social promos? Nope! Zilch. Nada.). But her ideas? A lifesaver!!

Now... I have a whole passel of questions for you! :) I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing from you all, even though I don't regularly reply--I WILL reply, though, so if you've commented and not seen my reply, check back later!

• Do you read any books for research? When was the last time you finished one?
• If you're active on social media, how do you come up with fresh ideas? (or if you're just a blogger...?)
• Does your family help with or support your business(es)?
• Do you use bookmarks, dog-ear the page, memorize the page number, or just read straight through? 
• Have you ever been to an estate sale?
• Any progress on your projects this week?

Scripture Graphics #54

This Psalm is full of reasons to praise God. For example, He hears us (vs. 1, 6-7), He preserves our soul (vs. 2), He is merciful to us (vs. 3, 5, 13, 15, 16), He is good (vs. 5), He is ready to forgive (vs. 5)…I counted seventeen reasons to praise God in this Psalm alone. 

How many can you find?

If my God is powerful enough to calm the tempest (which can destroy ships), how much more can He calm the raging of my heart, when I trust in Him?

In God, we are fully protected. The latter part really stood out to me: His truth is our shield and buckler. There is protection—coverage, shielding—in God’s truth.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. (Psalms 92:1-5)

An Agglomeration of Writing Tools | Wordquill

Today on Wordquill, I'm exploring some of my favorite writing tools!

- - - - -

While it’s true that “all you need to write is pen and paper,” there are many other tools available to the modern writer which helps make our job easier and more fluent. If you look at my writing tools today vs. even a year ago, you’ll see that they have changed. So instead of giving you a run-down of “what I use today,” I’ll just be mentioning some writing tools that have helped me throughout the years. After you read through mine, I’d love to hear what you’ve found helpful in the writing tool world!

Continue reading on Wordquill.

First Line Fridays, Review | Beneath Copper Falls

This Friday, I'm featuring a suspense novel. I think I've figured out that I'm not as much for suspense as I thought I was. I just don't care for dwelling on that which is dark--on the sick cruelty of humanity when separated from God. Yeah... have any of you read this book? Did you like it?

~*~*~

Also, be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

My Review

I'll be honest up front: this is probably the hardest book review I've had to write. As far as writing style and ability, I admire Coble. Her writing style is enjoyable and well-rounded.

Content... since I'm given permission for my honest review, that is what I'll stick with. I know other readers who enjoy suspense may like this book, but it was not for me. So, for you readers who are debating whether or not to read this book, here are my thoughts.

The back cover did not shed light about how dark the content would be. There was no mention of a serial killer (much less one who drowned women), which may have better prepared me for the contents. It's not just that it was a serial killer, but how closely connected the characters were to people who were being killed. And... who the serial killer was. I figured it out about halfway and continued in horror of, "Please be wrong." (I wasn't wrong)

For me, it was too dark without a good balance of light. God was mentioned, as was prayer, but it was more of, "I'll pray for you" and "God has His good will for your life." I found it to be somewhat shallow, and the characters in their everyday lives didn't think much about God.

Another aspect I didn't care for was the romance. I could have read it wrong, but it appeared that one couple lived together before marriage (which is Biblically wrong to do). The romance was more surface-centered and a few things took place that made me cringe (mentions of going too far, being too close, that type of thing).

So, coming from a conservative Christian viewpoint, this is not the type of book I'd like to read again.

*I received this book from Book Look Bloggers and happily provided my honest review*

Welcome to my Music Studio (free downloads)

I have mentioned teaching occasionally, but it's not something that I have really looked at on this blog. Today, I'd like to give you a glimpse at this year's music studio:

I  haven't had much opportunity to decorate my studio in years passed, because for most of my teaching life, I have either shared my studio with someone else (i.e. I started teaching in my room), or just didn't feel that creative. This year, however, I decided to do something kind of fun--and the kids loved it (which, I'll admit, always feels rewarding!). As you can see, I went for a "back to school" theme (time will tell if I change it up every month or quarter or at all...). I did a fun play on words...

Then I also have some "cheat sheets" up there. The younger me would have frowned on this; after all, they need to KNOW their answers, right? But... I'd rather the student review it 100 times and KNOW it than get frustrated fifty times, because they just can't remember. We'll see if these remain up all year or not.

In addition to all of this, I make my students track down their practice minutes. Their weekly time goal is different, depending on their age and level. This year to keep track for their diligence the entire year, I have created a chart. Each week, I will color in whether they have practiced ALL of their time (four keys), HALF of their time (two keys), a quarter of their time (one key), etc. Here's hoping it's incentive to get those keys colored!

Now, the freebies I mentioned in the title. All of the charts I mentioned are uploaded here (PDFs) for you to have full access to--print and use to your heart's content! And, if you use them, I would love to hear how they worked for you!

If you are new to teaching or are considering teaching and don't know where to start, I published a short book (most people can read it in an hour) to help musicians get started teaching. "Me? Teach Piano?" is only $1.99 for Kindle (though you may also get the paperback for $7.99).

Now that I'm done jabbering, how many music teachers do we have out there? What instruments do you teach? What have you found to be your most helpful teaching tip?

And Some Weeks, I Really Don't Feel Like a Writer

After last week's fun blog post with an amazing update and all...

This week I began teaching piano/violin again! Which meant writing was out the door. Literally. And music was in the door. In full swing! I'm not complaining, because I love music and have had some fun with my students already (more on that tomorrow). But I have missed writing a little.

I did have an afternoon dedicated to writing. On Thursday, I hosted my first Writing Day with some local homeschool students.

There were five writers who joined us and from what they said, they all had a blast. Which makes me happy! We're already growing our list of participants for next time!

As for how my writing went that day...

Yup. Honestly, those were the words I put in my manuscript (don't worry--I deleted them). The words just would not flow! Which, isn't unusual, as I had about a five-day writing break. I had hoped to get some writing done over the weekend, but for some reason, it felt like all I did was run the roads. Which is okay. That just means that (hopefully) I'm all caught up. ;)

BUT! I do feel like I made progress! I have made it further into the Arms and Equipment of the Civil War book (which is amazingly interesting!). I have shown some self-control in my reading. Some. ;) On Friday night, this was my reading selection.

Like a good girl, I chose the Civil War book and... yeah, read the whole A Fool and His Monet (but that goes into reading posts, not writing posts--and I DID balance it with pages from Arms and Equipment). Back to CW, this one section stood out to me: 

Can't you just envision a story right there?! I don't know if I'll do anything with that interesting piece of history, but it fascinated me.

Oh, and speaking of Civil War books... I got Hoopla (my library online reading database). I have a video of me scrolling through just some of their Civil War options (if it loaded; this is my first time trying to upload a video straight into Blogger). I'm like... :o :o :o :o :o 

No, I won't ever be able to read all of those. Mom said that sometime I need to stop reading and just write. ;)

And there you have it. My non-writing week. ;) Thanks for listening to me jabber.

Before I leave, I challenged my followers in one area last week:

Who is the last author that you read?
What star value would you give the book?
Have you left a review? If you have not...then the challenge is to go and leave that review! :)

Until next week!

Scripture Graphics #53

"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." (Psalms 61:1-5)

I know this is praise of God’s creation, but it struck me in a new way—as God’s time. Do I live as though the day and night are mine, to do as I please, instead of doing what pleases God? Just as God fashioned light and dark, He set the clocks in motion. Am I selfishly hoarding time which should ultimately be spent for His glory?

"For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God." Psalm 78:5-8

There is so much in these verses about duties, penalties, warnings, and commands. God has done His part in providing His Word. He handed the responsibility to fathers to teach their children. Every generation of fathers who neglect this responsibility produces a generation of children who do not hope in God, keep His commands, and remember His works; a generation of stubborn and rebellious people who are not righteous and steadfast in God. Yet, just as Israel could turn back to God, so can wicked generations today: "But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." (Vs 38-39)

This is a good reminder verse--first, a reminder of Who God is; second, a reminder of His delight to give His children good things (note: what He deems good; not always our perception of good).

"Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase." Psalm 85:12

What is something that stood out to you in the message yesterday?