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Anyone else struggle with wanting to be liked by everyone? All the time? While this post is geared toward writers, it has wise, wise words for all of us on WHO really holds our worth.
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We wanted to get a little gift for the people who owned the home we just bought, but that's always an awkward quest, because we don't know them very well. While perusing through Etsy looking for something else, I stumbled upon this shop, and I decided a Christmas ornament might be a winner. It represents a little piece of who we are, since we love ornaments that tell a story and also passes along our gratitude to this couple who tended the home for the past several years. {Covered the homeowners' names to protect their privacy. It really doesn't come with tissue like that!}
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In the four years I worked at WBCL, there are a handful of guests that I loved so much, I wanted to be real-life friends with them. They were just contagious with joy and Jesus, and I am so glad I got to "know" them through their interviews and our interactions, however brief. One such guest was Dr. Michelle Watson, who writes and speaks about relationships between fathers and daughters. She's fun, she's spunky, she's wise, she's passionate, and I won't lie - I'd give a whole lot for a batch of the cookies she posts pictures of semi-regularly! This week she wrote a post about what she's observed about fatherhood by watching Chip Gaines on Fixer Upper. Obviously you know of my love for Fixer Upper, and I agree with her in this post. Chip does seem to be the real deal as a dad and husband, and I love that more than the show itself.
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Any Anne of Green Gables fans out there? I do love Anne, and Prince Edward Island is on my traveling bucket list, so when I saw a new series released called "Prince Edward Island Dreams" - I think I was pretty much already hooked. Book one in this series by Liz Johnson is called The Red Door Inn. Now what do I love nearly as much as the thought of traveling to PEI? The thought of anything relating to a bed and breakfast. The book, I imagined, could be the perfect happy place to spend reading time, so I did just that this week!
Marie Carrington is in her late twenties and by most standards, she's deemed a lovely young woman with a strong foundation and a bright future. But we meet her as she sits on a ferry dock, counting her literal pennies and unsuccessfully trying to ward off a panic attack. Her unspoken plight captures the attention of Jack Sloane, an older gentleman with a dream in his soul. His late wife, Rose, had longed to open a bed and breakfast on Prince Edward Island, but when cancer claimed her life before the dream had a chance to come true, Jack determined he would honor her memory by creating such a haven.
Both broke and broken in spirit, Marie needs a safe place to turn, and clueless about the finer points of hospitality, Jack needs a good eye and soft touch over his newly acquired property. Jack offers Marie a ferry ticket to the island in exchange for her expertise in preparing the Inn to open. She agrees, but questions that decision when she arrives and finds a young man working to restore the Inn who seems consumed by bitterness and skepticism toward life and the human race . The young man, Seth, is Jack's nephew and it becomes clear that while both Seth and Marie are wounded and wary, they need to call a truce toward each other to complete the task at hand and make Rose's dream come true. Of course letting down a guard, even temporarily, means taking a risk that unbidden feelings could rise - and take over. And then when secrets bubble forth, rising higher than the feelings, everything seems in danger of being lost, including the Inn.
One thing I love about Liz's writing style is the way she blended storyline suspense with the gentleness of the Island. Prince Edward Island is a place people go to breathe. Many are drawn there hoping for the same haven that Anne found at Green Gables, and there is a quietness and calmness to the place that is evident on each page of the book. But that calm doesn't squelch the urgency of the story or the desire to find out what is happening in the hearts of all the characters. Liz's writing is a beautiful weaving. The characters are lovable, and the description is well-crafted. I've never been to the Island in person but I had no trouble imagining each place, each aroma, and possibly even the taste of each treat in the bakery. {Perils of reading while hungry.}
I appreciated the faith message throughout the book and the tactful manner of addressing hard topics and family dynamics. I am giddy that this will be a series and can't wait to read the next book, releasing this fall.
* Thanks, Revell, for sending a copy of this book my way in exchange for an honest review! *
