A Simply Enchanted Life

  

This was a fantastic set of novellas and I would give the book a 5 out of 5 stars.  Individually I would do the same.  The first story out of the novellas is a bittersweet love story. If you've ever questioned the "what ifs" this book really hits home with the message of God's wisdom and that he always has a purpose.  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. "  Never doubt it and never lose faith that He knows what He is doing.

  Story 2 in this book was about a young girl named Leah. She isn't good at cooking, cleaning or doing the normal things that will make a man a good amish fraa yet she has captured the heart of a young man named Aaron. This story was about love and acceptance, loving each other for who we are and why God made us different in the first place.  It also has a wonderful lesson to parents on loving and supporting our children's dreams.

  Last but not least was the story that touched my heart the most. This little novella really opened my eyes to problems in my own marriage that I've overlooked. I loved this little lesson in remembering that we aren't just parents but we are also wives. Remembering the sweet little notes we used to leave to one another and just connecting and communicating, not as mom and dad but as a couple. A must read for mothers.

  Beth Wiseman captured the very soul of her characters in this collection and I'm proud to have gotten to review this book. 

  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html>

     I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.   It is not a genre I would normally read but I was pleasantly surprised.   The story starts with a girl in her mid 20's named Emma.   She has lost her father and most recently her mother.   Emma has always put everyone else first.   She dedicated herself to caring for her mother who was dying of cancer and is now all alone.   She has lost everything she cares about including her love interest Adam, who has left the church and broken Emma's heart.   She does still have the love and support of her grandmother who is constantly reminding her to trust God in every thing that she does.   The story was an excellent read on love, faith and trust.

    There was only thing I did not like about the book, and that would be that in e-format it was difficult to reference the glossary of dutch and amish words, and I would have to guess at their meaning.   This would not be an issue in printed format as one could easily flip back to the glossary.   For that I give the e-format of this book a 4 out of 5 stars.   I would certainly recommend it to others, especially those that enjoy Christian romance or Amish fiction.


    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html>

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My etsy shops have been featured in a fantastic treasury!

There is nothing really cool about a potato, is there?... WRONG! Maybe it's voodoo, maybe I've lost my marbles or maybe it's a mind over matter thing, but potatoes have done something even a visit to the doctor could not do for my daughter. Allow me explain...

My second oldest daughter Paris was plagued with warts since she was five years old. She had a cluster of five on her middle finger, one on her thumb, and one on her index finger. Even one on her ankle, one on her big toe and two on the bottom of her feet. We had the ones on her hand frozen off only for them to come back. I really didn't want to put her through the pain of having them frozen again but I was desperate to find a way to get rid of them since she was very embarrassed about them. Not only that - they hurt her when she played her violin since they would often hit the strings.

So, I asked a friend, "What can I do to get rid of warts naturally?" She replied, "A potato!" I thought she was little loony and decided to google "potato wart remedy," and sure enough, I see a lot of other people talking about using potatoes to get rid of warts! I chopped up some potatoes and put them on her warts and then wrapped them up. We did this every night for about four or five weeks. The warts turned black but never fell off. Discouraged I decided to just stop the treatments and eventually make an appointment with the doctor to have them removed (again).

Three weeks or so have passed and my daughter bounces into my room and exclaims, "Mom, my warts are gone!" Sure enough, every single wart was gone - even the ones I did not treat because they were too difficult to wrap. Every single wart except for the largest is now completely gone. Not even a scar is left as a reminder. The one remaining wart is shriveling up, and I suspect within a week or two it will also vanish along with the others.

After 3 years of trying over the counter garbage and having them frozen, they are finally GONE!
ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY SPUD!?

Perhaps this is odd for a first blog but I've been wanting to get this out. I need to get my thoughts and maybe seek out the wisdom of others (If others even read this) 


As of late I've found myself very disgruntled with life. I'm struggling with day to day chores/routines and just the basic every humdrum of life.  I'm not depressed. I don't desire free time away from my children or anything like that but I am just in a funk that I've struggled getting out of.  Part of it is lack of help from my family, especially with the house.  The rest of it is stress over bills and our current financial status.  I am unhappy with my husband and sometimes even my children . I feel like they do not respect me


In the midst of all of this, I feel like God is trying to teach me something. It's a hard lesson to learn, especially when I feel like I'm getting very little support (again, with the house) but I'm trying. Goodness knows it is hard when you have family members that are untidy and it's all left to me to keep things together.  So, here I am, not just trying to follow flylady routines but I'm starting to try to follow the first example of a flylady. The Godly Wife, the virtuous woman outlined in Proverbs 31.  Flylady is fixing only the outside when I honestly feel like I need some fixing up on the inside

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  
 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

So here I am musing and thinking and  trying to figure out where I fail and where I need improvement. What can I learn from the following verses. We've been studying this in Sunday School and let me tell you...I need a LOT of work. Breaking it down




 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  

 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 

This is an area I need improvement in. Doing no evil to my husband. I NAG. Yes, that's right. I'm admitting it.  Is my unhappiness with my husband really because of him? or is it because of ME? To be honest? Right now I am feeling as if my husband cannot safely trust in me. Sure, he can trust I won't cheat or things of that nature. But, my anger, my attitude and my nagging is seriously failing him right now. So when I start laying blame to him, the guilt is really mine.


 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 

All of the above scriptures are describing a woman who isn't afraid to work. A hard and willing worker. A worker who is also generous. Her husband is known by the elders of the land, not because of himself, but because of the work that his wife has put into their family. She has clothed them, she has made a name for her family, for her husband. He is proud of her and he is known because of her. My gosh, I fail at this. I work at home but I am not a willing worker. I am lazy, I'm admitting this fault. I would rather spend my time on the internet, facebook or playing games than I would to work.   When I am stressed about our finances, is it really all of my husband's fault? Or is part of my stress due to the fact that I've dabbled, been unfocused and not had the drive to do all I can do?  I need to learn to spend my time wisely and worry about games and entertainment after I have completed my duties as a wife and mother


She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

The law of kindness? Did I mention me nagging? Idleness? Did I mention my internet addiction? Oi, I think I'll just stop while I'm ahead so I don't think of all the areas I'm failing right now and focus on the positive...

I am setting myself clear goals, I am going to try to stop nagging and when I feel that irritation creep in, I'm going to write down everything I'm feeling and point those fingers back at myself. I nag and place blame because it makes me feel better. Sure, they have their part in this but I need to stop assigning blame and fix myself first.  My unhappiness is not with my family. It is with me. 


It is time to get my act together and become the Godly wife I should be instead of blaming everyone else for my own failure.




Now comes the hard part...HOW DO I DO THIS? I mean, obviously I'm praying and seeking God and all that. But how do I not get discouraged when I don't see immediate results in the home? When the house is wrecked and I'm all "alone"? It's hard not to become discouraged.