Friday Book Pick: Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana

Authors Tricia Goyer and Ocienna Fleiss have accomplished a feat that seemed impossible. They have taken every loveable character-type from western romance literature and jam-packed them into one novel -- skillfully spinning these wild characters into a single, beautiful story. Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana has it all: an orphan train, mail order brides, the saloon girl with a heart of gold, a crusty prospector, independent homesteaders and even a handsome circuit preacher.

When Julia Cavenaugh steps onto the train in New York to escort her orphan charges to their new homes, she does not realize that her well-meaning caretaker, in an effort to better Julia's life, has promised her as a mail-order bride to an uncouth miner. When she discovers the truth of her situation, Julia is stranded in Lonesome Prairie with only a circuit preacher to protect her from the unwanted marriage. Will she ever find her true home? (Read an excerpt here.)

This light-hearted romance is entertaining and encouraging and I had difficulty putting it down. The characters are engaging, with each one taking on a life of their own -- so much so I felt that several of them would be worthy of their own books.

The Love Finds You... series is the brainchild of Summerside Press. Each book, written by independent authors, focuses on locations with interesting place names and colorful histories. Some of the other titles include: Love Finds you in... Bridal Veil, Oregon; Hershey, Pennsylvania; Bethlehem, New Hampshire; Holiday, Florida; etc. I counted twenty-four different titles on their website. Is there one set in your favorite romantic location? Check out their website to find out!

Jesus is the Tape

"Mom? Mom?!" I heard the cry coming from the back door and wafting out across the lawn to where I was peacefully pruning our rosebushes in the quiet afternoon. I felt a flicker of irritation. What do you need, now? Can't you see I'm trying to get something done?

My ten-year old son came bounding across the lawn, excitement radiating from his face. I clip a few more thorny branches before standing up to look at him. "What?" I ask, my voice probably a little sharper than I intended.

"Mom, guess what!" He held up his latest craft project. He had taken a small dowel rod and taped a pencil eraser to the end of it to make a rubber-tipped spear. "Mom, I just realized -- my spear is like Jesus!"

I pushed the hair out of my eyes to look at his creation more closely. "How do you figure?"

He held up the spear for me to see clearly. He pointed to the shaft. "The stick is like God. Strong and powerful."

"Okay..." 

He pointed at the tip. "The point is us."

"Uh-huh."

"The tape is Jesus."

"Because He's sticky?"
"Mom! No. Look!" He pulled the tape loose from the eraser. "Because of sin we are separated from God, right? We long to be together with Him, but we cannot do it on our own. We fall off." He tips the spear to the side and the eraser falls into the dirt at my feet.

He stoops down to pick it up. "But God sent Jesus to die for us, so we can be together with Him again. Because of the tape -- Jesus -- we can be together with God, always." He wraps the tape around the eraser and cements it to the shaft.

His blue eyes sparkle in the afternoon sunlight. "Isn't that awesome?"

I squeeze his shoulder with my dirty glove. "Yep, kiddo. That's pretty awesome."

He walks back to the house, head held high. I turn back to the roses. Suddenly I could care less about getting them ready for spring. Does it really matter? What matters is that our hearts are ready. And my son gets that in a way that few adults seem to grasp. Our gospel is so simple that a child can explain it.

On our own we fall to the dirt. Jesus is the tape. Amen!

More Free Books!

The madness continues: more free e-books are available for download from booksellers Amazon and now Barnes & Noble. Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth is being offered for free download by Amazon and by Barnes and Noble. Also available (by both booksellers) is Robin Jones Gunn's most recent release from the Katie Weldon series, Peculiar Treasures. Pastor and speaker Rob Bell is also featured with his first book, Velvet Elvis. Christian author Lisa Wingate has two books available for free download: Never Say Never and Talk of the Town. The only book which I can recommend from personal experience is Peculiar Treasures, but I can't wait to read them all.

So, you don't have a Kindle reader or the Nook (Barnes&Noble)? Neither do I. But you can still read these books on your computer, blackberry, iPhone or iTouch by downloading free e-reader software from either Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. But I tell you, I'm getting closer and closer to making the plunge and buying one of these silly devices. I love free books and seeing great titles like these is making me crazy. Happy reading!