Renewing Your Faith in the One Who Hears Every Prayer
Hurricane Helene struck Florida on September 27, 2024, and then moved inland to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and East Tennessee. The storm caused tragic loss of life and terrible devastation. In a recent conversation with friends living in hard-hit North Carolina and Tennessee, I was heartbroken to learn that about four hundred people are still missing.
Dailey’s nonfiction account of the months following the hurricane was a book I couldn’t wait to read. While her home wasn’t affected, she quickly learned that flooding had rendered a friend’s home unlivable.
What could she do to help? The author prayed with her husband for guidance. That was the beginning.
This account of how God used one woman and her family—and hundreds of volunteers—to care for those devastated by Hurricane Helene inspired me.
My heart is full. Page after page is filled with miracles, examples of how God provided for needs before they knew they needed it.
When I had the opportunity to bake a breakfast dish for a gathering at church, I decided to play around with a recipe for apple bread. This one received lots of compliments!
Ingredients
2 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced and then halved
2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
3 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
2 cups sifted bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bread baking pan with cooking spray.
Sift the flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and stir. Set aside.
After peeling the apples (3 small apples provide about 2 cups,) slice thinly and then halve the slices. I did this to more evenly spread the fruit throughout the loaf.
Place sliced apples in a small saucepan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon over the apples. Cook over medium heat, stirring often to coat the slices with cinnamon sugar. Cook the fruit for 7-10 minutes until it just begins to soften. Remove from heat and set aside to cool about 5 minutes.
In a separate mixing bowl, thoroughly blend 2/3 cup sugar with the butter until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Pastry blenders work well for this. Beat 2 eggs and stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Gently fold the cooked apples into the batter. Stir in 4 tablespoons of milk.
Stir the reserved dry ingredients into the batter. If it’s too dry, add another tablespoon of milk. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Try to tuck the apples poking out on top into the batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.
Many people prefer to eat a slice of this delicious bread with cream cheese. It’s also good without it.
I love the combination of cinnamon and apples. I might even add a smidge more cinnamon next time. 😊
This bread takes about 20 minutes to prepare, including slicing and cooking the apples.
Livvy Miller’s dreams of winning the Cake That baking competition will cover her debt on The Sugar Cube, her cupcake food truck, and bring in new customers. The business she’ll lose by shutting down her truck for the show’s duration is a concern. After praying about her decision, she decides to trust God.
Evan Jones wants to win the baking competition so he can give his parents a dream vacation, who have sacrificed so much for their family.
I love to watch cooking competitions, so I was excited to discover one as a novel setting. This book met the marks for culinary lovers and contemporary romance lovers. I loved the unique setting!
Lovable characters—and some not quite so lovable—stole my heart and had me rooting for them. I enjoyed the story.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Merry Irving, an itinerant pet-sitter, is glad that her current job has taken her far from the scene of a terrible murder. She knows that she was the intended target. Her job involves three rambunctious dogs to try to distract her worry. When a dead body is found next door, she fears that she has been followed.
Semi-retired police detective Dave Brady has befriended her. He’s among the police officers working the scene. Is she innocent? Why do so many people end up dead when she’s around?
This cozy mystery grabbed my attention. Real, believable characters. The heroine seemed too trusting at times. Sometimes the author allowed scenes with the dogs to release too much rising tension.
Even so, this book was a page turner for me. Surprising twists bring real danger. I was worried for the heroine’s safety and read quickly.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence at the Pennsylvania State House (now called Independence Hall) in Philadelphia—but it wasn’t unanimous.
There were many discussions among delegates in the weeks leading up to the adoption. All thirteen colonies sent delegates, but not all were ready to commit treason and risk their lives by voting for independence in May and June of 1776.
In May, the colonies that did not support independence were New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where the Continental Congress met.
Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, proposed that Congress declare independence from Great Britain, and prepare a possible plan of confederation.
Lee’s resolution was debated. The five colonies still weren’t authorized to vote in favor of independence. Some delegates were so against the resolution in early June that they threatened to leave the Continental Congress if it passed. On June 10th, in light of this opposition, Congress postponed discussions for three weeks.
Yet they continued forward in the meantime. A Committee of Five—John Adams of Massachusetts, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York—were tasked with drafting a declaration on June 11, 1776. Thomas Jefferson wrote the document from June 11th to June 28th. The committee revised it for him to rewrite, and it was given to Congress on June 28th. The delegates edited the declaration for the next two days.
Delegates from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Pennsylvania received authorization from their colonies to vote for independence in mid-June.
That left New York and Maryland.
Samuel Chase, a Maryland delegate, went to the Annapolis Convention to persuade them in favor of independence. It worked. Maryland now supported separating from Great Britain.
Unfortunately, the approach of British troops convinced the New York Provincial Congress’s to evacuate on June 30th, without first authorizing New York’s delegates to vote for independence.
The New York Provincial Congress didn’t meet again until after the Continental Congress voted on July 2, 1776, when twelve colonies voted for independence and one colony, New York, abstained.
Even though the vote was cast on July 2nd, the Continental Congress continued to tweak the declaration’s wording.
Congress was finally satisfied with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and it was approved.
As President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock signed his name in bold letters on July 4th, to ratify the document. He was the only delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence that day.
The heading of the original July 4th document sent to the printer read: “In Congress, July 4, 1776, A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN GENERAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.”
The New York delegates weren’t authorized to declare independence until July 10th. Their vote changed from abstention to approval.
On July 19, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to insert the word “unanimous” into the heading. It now reads: “In Congress, July 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,” because of New York’s changed vote.
John Adams, future second President of the United States and Signer of the Declaration, wrote to his wife after the vote for independence passed on July 2, 1776. He predicted that July 2nd would be celebrated by future generations as a great holiday to commemorate our country’s independence.
He envisioned it as a day that would be celebrated with parades, games, shows, bells, sports events, bonfires, guns, and illuminations all across the country.
Adams was right about the celebrations and the holiday. He just got the date wrong.
This book is about a boy named Bob. He calls himself Average Boy, or AB for short. He gets into one scrape after another. Often his attention is elsewhere, which gets him into trouble. He maintains a positive attitude no matter what happens, which makes him very appealing.
The story begins on the last day of school before summer break and goes throughout an adventurous summer. His best friend Billy is often with him on his adventures, but he has some fun family occasions too.
He has several goals for the summer. One is to build a treehouse with Billy. Another is to invite everyone in his small town to church.
The author doesn’t mention Bob’s age, but he seems to be in upper elementary. It’s an engaging story that will captivate boys 8-12.
Thomas Paine lived in England until traveling to the colonies in 1774. He wrote articles about issues of the day, such as slavery and women’s rights, for the Pennsylvania Magazine.
It was a time of unrest in the colonies. There was growing dissatisfaction with Great Britain. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, George Washington was appointed as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Though already at war with England, many colonists hesitated to split from England.
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published an important pamphlet called Common Sense. Written in clear, easy-to-read language, it quickly sold about 500,000 copies, becoming an overnight best-seller. Many newspapers around the country reprinted quotes from this pamphlet.
In Common Sense, Paine argued for separation from England and urged the colonists to declare independence. He also stated that he’d never met a man in America or England who didn’t believe the two countries would eventually part ways, but they couldn’t agree on the timing. Paine wrote that “the time hath found us.”
People praised his work, and it convinced many to act immediately. Paine volunteered for the army and served as aide-de-camp to General Nathanael Greene.
Washington’s army had been badly defeated in the Battle of Long Island in August of 1776. The soldiers’ confidence took a beating.
Paine noticed everyone’s dejected spirits. He sat beside a campfire near Newark, New Jersey, and wrote another article encouraging people not to lose their courage in this time of crisis. The Pennsylvania Journal published it on December 19, 1776. It was the first article in a series of writings that became known as The Crisis. This is part of his opening lines:
“These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”
Impressed and encouraged by Paine’s article, General George Washington had it read to his soldiers. It inspired those brave men. They crossed the Delaware River during a snowstorm that turned to sleet on Christmas night in 1776. The American army surrounded the British forces at Trenton and won the battle, earning citizens’ trust in Washington’s leadership. Their victory restored the soldiers’ confidence.
Paine’s article stated his agreement that times were tough. As he said, the harder the fight, the happier we feel when we win.
I ran across this inspiring true story for children while attending a writers conference.
Manjhi lives in a poor village where the children have a very long walk to school. Families have a long walk to see a doctor, go to the hospital, or shop at the markets.
The village on the other side of the mountain has nice houses, markets, and a hospital.
It didn’t seem fair to Manjhi. If only the two villages were closer together, the families in the poor village would be able to send their children to school.
Then Manjhi has an idea.
This is a delightful and inspiring book for children 6-12.
I ran across this book of fairy tales by Louisa May Alcott while researching books for children written in the 1800s.
I hadn’t heard of this book by the beloved author of Little Women, a book I read several times as a teenager.
Flower Fables, published in 1854,is Alcott’s first book. She dedicated it to Ellen Emerson, the daughter of a family friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
These stories were probably read to children of the day. They are allegories. The creative, descriptive stories include strong moral messages, such as treating others with kindness.
There are nine stories in the collection. I think children’s imaginations would have been captivated by them.
