I’ve been a fan of Kay Marshall Strom’s work since reading Once Blind, her novelization of John Newton’s life from slave trader to abolitionist (think “Amazing Grace.”) Regardless of whether you read Strom’s works of fiction or non-fiction, her heart for freedom, justice, and the respect of persons from all nations shines through.

In The Call of Zulina, the first in a new series of historical fiction —Grace in Africa — Strom transports us to Africa in the late 1700s. Grace Winslow is the daughter of an English sea captain and African princess, caught between two cultures and living a sheltered life. Having come to age largely unaware of her family’s involvement in the slave trade and its harsh realities, Grace encounters it first hand at the slave fortress Zulina, following her escape from the family compound and an odious betrothal.

Swept into the midst of a desperate slave rebellion, Grace finds herself forced to confront both the tragedies of the slave trade in Africa, the complicity of her mother and other Africans, and her own unknowing contribution to the plight of her new companions. Strom’s writing is vivid and irresistible. The pacing is excellent, and, like Grace, I found myself inexorably pulled along by the action swirling around me as I read.

Some of the moments of high-drama seem a bit clichéd, but that sense of no-turning-back choices and intense declarations lend the book a big-screen movie production feel; I’d love to see this title appear on the big screen. Likewise, some of Strom’s characters seem a bit too typecast. Grace’s mother, for example, is pure evil, willing to sacrifice her child without a moment’s thought for her own purposes. As a mother I found it unbelievable that there wasn’t any conflict present in her choices, as there was in those of Joseph Winslow.

The Call of Zulina can certainly be classified as Christian fiction, but Strom integrates considerations of faith carefully, mainly questioning how those who claim to know God can live in ways that sanctify cruelty. The faith of the Winslow’s house slave Mama Muco and its influence on Grace’s perspective also play some role in the storyline, but there’s no clear presentation of the gospel.

While there are some very slight hints at romance as Grace’s admiration for the powerful leader Cabeto grows, the novel’s forward momentum is carried by the search for freedom that unites Grace with the Africans imprisoned at Zulina. The blending of a diverse array of African cultures lends authenticity and additional depth to The Call of Zulina.

It’s exciting to read a well-penned novel set outside of the typically European and American settings predominant in Christian historical fiction. Anyone with an interest in the history of slavery -– particularly at ground zero –- will find The Call of Zulina a passionately written title that keeps interest high from start to finish.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Inspired by the work of Dr. M.A. Thomas in India, Julie Ferwerda enthusiastically embraced his God-given vision of sending out One Million Arrows (children trained to reach the nations with the gospel) into the world. While Thomas has been faithfully laboring to raise abandoned and orphaned children for the Lord while training them for future roles in ministry and evangelism, Ferwerda has expanded this vision to include our own biological children here in North America, and any whose lives we may touch through giving.

Ferwerda both encourages families to raise their children whole-heartedly for missions and ministry, while examining the impact that families can have mission-ally and financially as they seek to reach the world for Jesus. Recent years have seen a huge re-evaluation of the approaches used to impart discipleship upon children. Increasingly parents are turning away from reliance upon formal church ministries and embracing visions of family discipleship within their homes. Author Julie Ferwerda offers a unique approach to creating a family on fire for the great commission in One Million Arrows.

One of my favorite portions of the book was the inclusion of the paths different families have taken to raise their children with a passion for Christ. Many homeschooling families have shared their stories and the fruit their children’s lives have borne. Likewise, the stories of many orphans who have been raised in Christian homes with a heart for ministry are also shared along with some of their impact upon the world.

Ferwerda’s passion is unmistakable, but at times her message of spreading the gospel through the lives of children who have been abandoned and consequently raised in Christian homes seems a bit cold. There is little discussion of God’s heart for placing orphans in families (regardless of whether they reach the world for Christ), the tender joys of adoption, or even the delights of parenthood. Her tight focus on raising children with hearts for evangelism does at times give an all-business, no-nonsense, raise ‘em up, get ‘em out, feel to her work.

With such a strong emphasis on numbers, I’m surprised that a strong emphasis on bearing more children and adopting more children into our families wasn’t included in One Million Arrows. Though Ferwerda does briefly mention the possibility of having more children oneself, it’s a one-sentence statement. She then focuses mainly upon financial support to international orphan ministries (100% of the book’s proceeds are designated towards such ministries.) An excellent resource section at book’s end provides an abundance of ministries to investigate for charitable giving.

Though I’m already somewhat familiar with the principles of family discipleship, reading One Million Arrows gave fresh inspiration, and a renewing of my vision for our family. It is so easy to become distracted in this temporal life, but Ferwerda keeps us focused on those things that have eternal value, and encourages us to run the race with both perseverance and joy.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

The weather here has been completely lovely these past few days! Water is flowing, roofs are dripping, and my children have been carousing in the great out-of-doors with rubber boots on! The sun is slowly returning to these northern climes (thank you Jesus!), and we’re looking forward to many warm days to come!

Is it Spring where you live yet? We still have a lot of snow, but it’s finally melting!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of wellnessdaily.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

It seems like this is the year for getting fit!  More of my online friends than ever before are motivated and ACTUALLY, FINALLY making the efforts to lose some weight – myself included.  Today I found a website that’s new to me – www.wellnessdaily.com – and I’m amazed at the wealth of content rich information available there.

Now that I’m actually losing weight it seems that my lack of success in the past had more to do with a lack of motivation and a mind set to keep going, to care, to persevere, than it had to do with any lack of instruction or know-how.  One of the neatest things about Wellness Daily is that users can set  up their own customized news feeds to deliver the personal health and wellness inspiration that you need on a daily basis.

Right now, they’re holding a Twitter contest for a chance to win a WellnessDaily.com prize package which include coupons for a year-long supply of Jennie-O Turkey Store product and a one-year gym membership, valued at $1,250.  You can find all the details on how to enter here.   Basically, you’ll be wanting to tweet this, “Enter to win $ towards a gym membership & JENNIE-O turkey products. Just follow @wellness_daily & RT this! http://bit.ly/9WAM8X” if you live in the US and want to enter.

Free turkey and the gym – best wishes for your weight loss this year!

There is a very special copywork freebie available today at Homeschool Freebie of the Day.  If you love the Spring, classic poetry, copywork, and use a traditional ZB style font for your young primary age students, you shouldn’t miss out!  Even if you don’t do any of those things, you might just want to take a peek and see what we’ve been busy with these days!

Hope this is a blessing for you!

Andrea (Andi) Carter is a headstrong, active young girl (a bit of a tomboy in truth) living in the 1880s in California on her family’s ranch – the Circle C. Filling her days with chores, fun in the outdoors, and time spent with her beloved palomino Taffy isn’t enough to keep her out of trouble, however. When this twelve-year-old’s disobedience heralds a possible removal from the farm and her horse, she takes matters into her own hands and runs away from home.

After a horrifying encounter with a horse thief she resolves to find Taffy before heading home. Finding refuge with a Mexican family who serves as traveling agricultural laborers, Andi works as one of them while she spends any spare time tracking her horse. Soon there is much more at risk than recovering her steed when she falls into the hands of a malicious young girl who is bent on having what Andi holds dear.

Our family began reading the Circle C Adventures series (or the Andi books as we soon began to call them) aloud at bedtime when my oldest daughter was five. Though intended for the 9 – 12 year-old age range as an independent reading chapter book, we found Susan K. Marlow’s prose a wonderful choice for our family. Featuring excellent, high-quality prose, and an invigorating storyline, Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home quickly became a story we couldn’t get enough of.

Filled with suspense, and truly dangerous situations, there were moments when I was uncertain if my little girl could weather the exciting and intense situations Andi found herself in. She sailed through, though clearly concerned for our heroine, and Andi became a new favorite character in our home.

Written from a Christian worldview, Andi’s troubles are underscored by her growing reliance on the Lord to see her through the difficulties that are a result of her poor choices. Andi’s decisions have clear negative repercussions that she learns to be responsible for, despite her initial tendency to shirk disciplinary consequences. Clean language, a romance-free storyline, a likeable character who learns and grows, and truly wonderful writing set The Long Ride Home heads and shoulders above typical chapter book series aimed at this age range.

As a homeschooling mother herself, Marlow has found that the Andi books have proven popular with homeschoolers. Her rich use of language adds depth and intelligence to her work while gently expanding vocabulary skills. A downloadable 22-page study guide written by he author further explores the historical setting of the book, geography, cowboy life, and more. Lapbooks have also been developed to correspond with the series for added educational benefit.

With the timeless combination of a girl and her horse, and the exciting adventure elements, this title – and the series in general – are an excellent choice for families with both boys and girls.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Today really seems to be a counting our blessings day here on the blog .  Some of you know that we’ve moved away from our farm for a year or two to work here at Larry’s parents farm.  Some of our animals are still back at the farm, but on Larry’s last back trip home he brought our lovey cat Oscar down with him.

Oscar is such a gift from God!  He is the best cat ever – he’s incredibly gentle and patient with our children (my baby can sit on him and he doesn’t complain is one example amongst many.)  As a result, he’s the only of our five cats that has the status of token house cat.  Finding a cat who retaliates so very, very rarely despite rough handling is just incredible.  I’m afraid I can’t recommend a breed to you to find such a cat though, he’s just your regular run-of-the-mill farm cat!  And we love him.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dermajuv Skin Care Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but it seems that I’ve noticed a HUGE growth in the advancement of skin care products.  One of the most exciting developments (in my opinion) is the integration of nutritional ingredients – vitamin C, B vitamins, chamomile in combination with high-tech, ground breaking technology.

I know that traditional skin care involved cold cream like Noxema (my grandmother swore by it for years – she does have very nice skin actually), rose water (my great, great grandmother), and so on.  Thankfully, things have moved forward at an astounding rate.  Obviously the Noxema and nothing else approach to skin care is fading away, in the 80’s we saw a huge press on the 3-part cleanser, toner, moisturizer system which is still going strong for the most part, but aggressive treatments for problem areas are growing.  Thankfully they also seem to be becoming more effective as natural products are synergistically combined with high-tech ingredients in today’s skin care products.

While some are turning to laser technology to achieve skin resurfacing (such as for acne scars and pits), products like Dermajuv’s Acne Scars Reduction System seem very effective without the pain and recovery period of laser surgery.

What are your thoughts?  Where is skin care going in the future?

Since my marriage to my husband eight years ago I’ve been consistently delighted by my mother-in-law.  Like me she doesn’t keep housekeeping at the top of her list, so doesn’t expect our home to be spotless when she visits, she’s never critical, loves to take the children outside to play, and best of all – today she offered to make lunch today while I washed my floor and homeschooled the children.  Of course, most days I make lunch – but today her act of kindness made me reflect once again on how very GOOD God was to give me such a great mom-in-law!  I’m very thankful.

How about you?  Have you told your MIL lately that you love her?