Summer is here, and many of us are planning vacations to get away from our daily routines. Today our featured book will take you to the fictional town of Crystal Lake, where romance is in the air. Crystal Lake is a great little getaway where you’ll fall in love with the characters and their stories. I enjoyed reading this series by one of my favorite authors, Laura Scott.

Author’s inspiration:

When I was young I spent several summers in a small lake town located in Wisconsin and fell in love with the cozy atmosphere and quirky townsfolk. Crystal Lake might be fictional but the characters in the story speak to my heart.

About the book:

Can he trust her with his secret?

Reeling from a broken engagement that resulted in a small town scandal, ER nurse Julie Crain just wants to be left alone over the Fourth of July Holiday weekend. But when single dad, Derek Ryerson and his young daughter need a place to stay to recuperate from a car accident, Julie can’t ignore their plight. She knows she needs to protect her heart, but little Lexi clearly needs love and support. 

Derek is the strong silent type, insisting on helping despite being injured. He seems too good to be true, and maybe he is. Because she soon realizes the former soldier has a secret that could tear them apart forever.

Excerpt:

Derek knew he probably sounded like a lunatic, but he didn’t care. The pain along the right side of his chest was bad, far worse than he’d let on, and after what the petite brunette nurse had said about the possible damage to his lung, he was very much afraid that, once they’d completed the scan, they’d whisk him off to surgery.

He’d downplayed his injuries because he didn’t want to stay overnight in the hospital, unless, of course, Lexi needed to be observed. No matter what, he was not going to leave his daughter. Lexi had already been through so much, more than any six-year-old should have to handle. With her mother dead and buried, she needed him now, more than ever.

If only he’d stopped for something to eat earlier, he wouldn’t have been driving through the intersection at the same moment as the idiot who’d run a red light, had slammed into them.

“Daddy?”

He turned his head, hiding a wince, to look at his daughter. True to her word, the pretty nurse—what in the world was her name?—had gotten Lexi into a wheelchair and brought her over to the side of his gurney. He forced a broad, reassuring smile. “Hey Lexi, how are you feeling?”

Her solemn gaze didn’t waver from his. “Fine,” she whispered. “Can we leave now?”

If only they could.

About the author:

Laura Scott is a Registered Nurse by day and an author by night. She has written over 70 books and has more ideas than time to write! Laura lives in Wauwatosa Wisconsin with her husband of 35 years and babysits for her son’s puppy, a Red Fox Labrador Retriever named Otis.

Author media links

Website: https://www.laurascottbooks.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LauraScottBooks

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/laurascottbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurascottbooks/

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Going along with this month’s theme of Family, today’s featured book is about three African-American sisters who are uprooted from their middle class life and placed in low income housing across the street from an elite private school. Petrified Flowers is a YA novel written in verse by Joiya Morrison-Efemini.

Author’s inspiration:

My family likes to watch a lot of documentaries. One we watched in 2018 had a huge impact on us. It is entitled Class Divide and it highlights a private school in New York City that sits directly across from public housing. The documentary haunted me. Iris and her sisters were conceived as I contemplated the issues of race and class in America.

About the book:

Tragedy uproots Iris and her sisters, all named after flowers, from the solid ground of middle-class life and plants them, unsupervised, in the rocky terrain of low-income housing. In a world where rain falls only on the privileged, Liam, a student who attends the elite private school directly across the street, proves refreshing as a summer gale, gushing joy into the sisters’ lives. Further nurtured by Ma Moore, a church elder who sprinkles the Flower sisters with spiritual wisdom, Iris embraces her Heavenly Father with steadfast urgency.

But when a student takes a hopeless leap from the school roof, Iris withers under the scorching realization that everything she thought she knew about privilege—and God—lies crippled. Petrified Flowers is the anthem of one African-American girl straddling three worlds. It is a song of hope, a triumph of faith, and a resounding refrain of the Father’s eternal love.

Excerpt:

DISSIPATION

The afternoon

it rained on their side of the street

but not ours

Dahlia and I sat idle,

too hot to breathe

fully.

We straddled a seesaw,

fixed—

Me digging my flip flop heels

into recycled rubber.

Her suspended mid-air,

defying gravity.

The two of us panting and dripping

at Brooks Street Park.

Wishing we could beam ourselves

thirteen blocks north

to Spriggs Park

where our sisters played.

Wishing we could dip our toes into homemade concrete

and melt into abandon

with the rest of the Flowers.

We had disregarded Mom’s orders

to remain inside.

Dahlia was supposed to be confined to her bed.

I’d been roped into nursing her flu.

Instead, we persisted—

I in reclaiming the childhood that had abruptly ended

and Dahlia in growing up.

We played

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum.

I was too old for the game, but not for the wishing.

If wishing could actualize

the sweet, juicy pieces

we sang of,

maybe we could sing Daddy back

and exhume Mom.

But, our voices cracked

from singing too long.

Our expectations ran dry

from hoping too hard.

Then we heard a murmuring. Hope.

We both stopped singing

squinted up

out

over

to the other side of the street.

A miraculous

liquid sheet descended.

Conditions

shifted

immediately.

We seized scanty drafts in fits and waves;

even still, we accepted the

remainders

of their respite

from the unbearable hot spell.

It literally rained on only one side of the street.

The injustice fumed.

Steam surged from the concrete as it poured—

gloriously commonplace.

Acrid on parched tongues

the immoral aftertaste of so many entitlements

permitted just over there.

We weathered still.

Bystanders cemented

on the outskirts of beautiful lives.

About the author:

 Joiya Morrison-Efemini is the author of THE NOTES THEY PLAYED (2017), THE IMPOSSIBLE (2019), and DARKER SISTER (coming 2021). She lives in Marietta, GA with her hunky husband and four phenomenal kids.

Author media links:

www.joiyamewrites.com

 @JoiyaE

Buy link:

I have the honor of being the third generation of women in my family who were born in the month of May. In fact, we have the unique blessing of being born in order of my maternal grandmother on May 24, my mom on May 25, and myself on May 26. For most of my life, we celebrated the three birthdays together.

Both my mom and grandma have passed on, but their legacy remains. They both raised five children. Both loved the Lord and loved others unconditionally. I learned how to laugh and love from them.

I also learned how to face death with dignity. My grandma, near the end of her life, told me, “I don’t have anything against anyone.” My mom, when faced with her imminent dying, said, “I’m sad, but I’m ready.” Their faith, tested by the fires of life’s trials and proven true, allowed them to face death with peace.

To be a part of the trio of birthdays, in the company of these magnificent women, brings joy to me. I have wonderful memories of them both. I look forward to the day when we will all be reunited and spend our birthdays in heaven.

Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield, O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Hymn: I’d Rather Have Jesus

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come to You this morning with Thanksgiving in our hearts. Like the sparrows that have found their nests, You give us a safe dwelling place. Not just a physical home, Lord, but a spiritual place where our hearts can rest and be at peace. In this imperfect world, You have created a perfect nest for those of us who trust in You. When our hearts are overwhelmed with fear, help us to trust in You and find our rest.

I pray that You will help us keep our eyes focused on You. May each step we take bring us closer to your presence. May we not drift away when our eyes catch sight of something new. Help us stay close to You and trust in Your goodness. You are at the heart of all we do. We would rather have a relationship with You than anything this world can offer us.

In the name of Your precious Son, we pray.

Amen.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

Today’s featured book is the new YA release by Chrissy Dennis. This book ties in with our monthly theme of “Family.” It is about an eleven-year-old girl in foster care who is placed with a family that shows her love and acceptance.

About the book:

Happily-ever-after doesn’t exist for kids like Gracie—or does it? 

Gracie Anderson may only be eleven, but five years in foster care has taught her that happy endings don’t exist in the real world, not for kids like her anyway. And she’s convinced this next foster home will be just as bad as all the others.  

Except… it’s not.  

The Barkmans are completely different from any family she’s ever known—and she doesn’t trust them one bit because no one is that understanding and compassionate. But no matter how hard Gracie pushes against them, how rude, rebellious, and disrespectful she is toward them, they consistently come back at her with faith, love, and acceptance. And when Gracie’s mom decides not to come back for her, the Barkmans welcome her as one of their own, proving that even someone as damaged as Gracie deserves the love of God and a family.  

Excerpt:

“Gracie, stop!”

But Gracie was already smashing everything in sight with a rickety board. The windows shattered. The whole car rocked as she whacked old boards against the walls. Dust flew as she kicked at old barrels. Larry shouted at her, but she didn’t listen. Fury burned her insides as she wreaked havoc on the abandoned boxcar, just like the news of her mother wreaked havoc on her soul. Larry hopped out of the boxcar, maybe to give her space, or maybe because he didn’t want to get hurt.

Or maybe because he knew better than to get in the middle of a Gracie Anderson fit.

A wave of dizziness crashed into her. She dropped the board, swaying. Splinters stabbed her palms. That was nothing compared to the pain inside. The abandonment, the betrayal, the anger swelled like a balloon, and she couldn’t contain it.

As Larry reached into the train car to take her hand, the little energy Gracie had left rose from the pit of her belly, and she let out a howl that echoed off every abandoned train car in the wreckage yard.

About the author:

Chrissy M. Dennis lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with her foster daughters and calico kitty.  She is a full-time mom and a part-time administrative assistant for Renovaré Canada. Chrissy also loves to read, crochet and, of course, write, trusting the Lord will use her books for the glory of God and the growth of His kingdom through the healing work of the Gospel.  

She carries a Masters of Divinity in Youth and Family Ministry. She loves working with teens, and has felt the call of God to minister to the needs of youth in this culture. She hopes to continue writing, specifically regarding issues relevant to today’s teens, offering a message of salvation and hope. Her first novel, The Lion Cubs, received positive reviews and deals with themes of abuse and abandonment.

Author media links:

www.chrissymdennis.com

www.facebook.com/chrissymdennis 

www.twitter.com/chrissymdennis

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5826990.Chrissy_M_Dennis

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