I thought I had read (and re-read) all of Grace Livingston Hill’s wonderful stories, but here’s one I haven’t seen before, titled “Hazel Cunningham’s Denial.” It’s a sweet but effective story about standing up for what we believe.
You can read the story for free at www.Isabellaalden.com.
And click here to read a blog post about Grace Livingston Hill, her mother and her aunt.
An update on my family tree research. I came across some interesting names of brides in the county marriage records dating back to about 1810. Among the countless Hannahs, Rachels, and Elizabeths were these gems:
Experience Read
Tamzen Smyllie
Catherine Heritage
Atlantic Chambers
Submittee Saul
Experience Richman
Hester Heritage
Temperance Counsellor
Melissant Holladay
These names put my imagination into overdrive, just thinking about what kind of personality and background each bride might have had. So far I haven’t come across equally interesting names in my family. We were very vanilla; our brides were among the Hannah, Rachel, and Elizabeth variety. Oh, how I wish I had a Submittee somewhere in my family tree just to put a little pepper in the gene pool!
I’m always looking for gift ideas for fellow book lovers. These clever book marks, book end and floating book shelf are from ArtoriDesign.com.
Almost two years ago a friend and I were scouring used bookstores and the Internet, looking for books by our favorite Christian author, Isabella Alden. We’d been sharing her books for years, texting each other with “Guess what I just found?” whenever we came across a title we hadn’t read before.
You may have heard of Isabella. She wrote hundreds of short stories and novels in the late 1800s and early 1900s, all centered around God’s message of salvation.
Sadly, her books fell out of fashion in the early 1920s and since then, she’s been known mostly as the favorite aunt of author Grace Livingston Hill.
Those readers who have heard of her often think she wrote only children’s stories. It’s true that she did write quite a few of those, but her novels for adults are the books my friend and I treasure.
Isabella Alden had a wonderful way of applying God’s word to the lives of her characters; and in each story , she demonstrated how relevant God’s word was then, and how relevant it is to me now. By the time I finish reading one of her books, I am amazed at the love God has for me; and I realize how my actions can influence someone else for Christ (a regular theme in Isabella’s books).
Isabella Alden’s books are thought provoking; they inspire me to consider my choices, think about my actions, and strive to be a better Christian.
By now you may be asking yourself: Can a book really do all those things or has Jenny gone just a wee bit over the deep end? My answer: Yes, a book can really do those things. Oh, yes. It can.
And Isabella’s books are proof of how inspiring a work of fiction can be.
That’s why it became important for us to find a way of preserving her books and making them available to today’s reader. My friend and I pooled our copies and started publishing Isabella Alden’s novels as e-books.
We started a website (www.IsabellaAlden.com) to share her books, and to chronicle Isabella’s life and the times. You can view the website by clicking here.
I hope you’ll take a few moments to visit the site. Check out the Free Reads tab where you’ll find a selection of Isabella’s books and short stories.
If you enjoy the stories you find there, please help us spread the word about Isabella Alden and her inspiring Christian books.
One of my favorite pastimes is browsing through second-hand stores, antique shops and library outlets for interesting old books. About 8 years ago I found a book called A String of Pearls. It was published in 1856 and it’s pretty battered, as you can see from the cover. Inside are 365 scripture verses and thoughts for every day of the year. The title page displays a verse from Proverbs:
Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.
I immediately had a visual image of God’s commandments and teachings as pearls strung together so we can wear them wherever we go throughout our day.
Here’s the page with today’s verse and reflection:
I thought this book was so charming, I used it as inspiration for a fictional book in my novel Ask Me Again. The heroine, Minda McAllister, has a book called Mrs. Plowright’s 1908 Guide for the Genteel Lady Gardener, which Minda describes as “a peculiar mixture of gardening tips, etiquette lessons and Christian affirmations”—much like String of Pearls.
I just started reading A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer.
I can always count on her books for an inventive plot, tender romance, and a good portion of fun. So far, this one delivers all.
Just like there are cat people and dog people, I think there are garden people and houseplant people.
I’m a houseplant person. I can stick anything in a pot, give it some water and it will grow.
On the other hand, I have tried at different times over the course of many years to grow a pleasing flower or vegetable garden with little or no success. What gives?
I follow author Brenda Coulter on Facebook and she posts the most amazing photos of her gardens. Flowers, ornamental grasses, adorable little tomatoes—she grows them all. I’d love to be able to grow some vegetables and have some flowering plants around my patio.
So this year, I’m going for it. I read all the info I could find about growing veggies in my mile-high climate, I bought seeds and starter-soil and set up my grow pots in a window that gets the most sun.
And, voila! I have veggies! Seven days after planting seeds I have the beginnings of spinach (on the left) and carrots (on the right).
I also planted tomatoes and romaine. In their present state they fall under the category of houseplant, since they’re inside in pots. The proof of the pudding will be next month when it’s time to transfer them to the outdoors. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can finally be learn to be a garden person, too.
My last post was 2 months ago, so where have I been? Working. Just working. It’s been a tough few months at my full-time job, mostly because the full-time turned into all-time. I’m talking twelve-to-fourteen hour days, six days a week, whine, whine, whine.
It’s a good feeling to finally emerge from the tunnel into the light. And now that I’m back to regular work days and my weekends are my own, I know exactly how I’m going to spend my newly-found leisure time: Leisuring. (If that’s not a real word, it should be.)
I have some writing of my own to do if I’m going to finish my next book this year (I’m way behind in my daily writing goals), and I’ve collected an impressively tall to-be-read pile that I’m ready to dive into.
Drum roll, please.
I just figuratively reached my hand into that electronic TBR pile and this is the book I selected to read first. It’s nice to be back in the real world!
I stole a few hours this morning to do some research on my family tree before I went to work. I found these names in marriage records from the 1800s:
Patience Omen
Recompense Stansbury
Samuel Snailbaker
Comfort Star
Temperance Toppy
What great names! Can’t you imagine them as characters in a Wanda E. Brunstetter novel?
I have to say I’m glad my parents didn’t name me Patience; I could never have stood up to the pressure!
Work is crazy. Actually, my day job schedule has been pretty wild for the last couple months, and today it has me traveling.
I just settled into my Baltimore hotel room after a long day of airports, rental cars, and work meetings. My only plan for the night: get into bed and read Attracted to Fire by DiAnn Mills. Her stories have it all: thrilling suspense, strong heroines, and wonderfully romantic endings.
Just opened the cover . . . I am officially off duty and ready to step into DiAnn’s world!
Writer Jenny Berlin 