A biker who does needlepoint, a frusturated pastor's wife, a stubborn Amish widow...

The Half Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunstetter was a fun read about a diverse group of people who join a quilting class taught by Emma Yoder. While Wanda is known for her Amish Fiction this book focuses more on our relationships with others and God. It is the character's lives and their struggles in their regular that draw the reader in. The only thing all these people have in common is the fact they are learning to quilt. But just as a quilt is stitched together their lives are quilted together by God as they are made stronger by sharing experiences and compassion. I really enjoyed this book it made me laugh, mourn, and cheer on the club's participants.
                                                     Have a great read, Nina

Submerged

Submerged by Dani Pettrey was a fun read. I learned more about Russia's presence in Alaska of which I was only peripherally aware of. Great suspense with a little romance and a couple of story lines which promise to be fulfilled in future books in the series. The main story surrounds a lost icon, a downed plane, and the subject of God's mercy. After reading the book which touches a little bit on the Russian orthodox church and icons I am reminded of the Blessed John Pau ll's comment on how the Eastern Rite Church and the Roman Rite Church our two different longs the Church uses to breath. How both have rites and traditions are integral to our understanding of God. There are some Eastern Rite Churches that are under the authority of the Pope including some Byzantine Rite churches were you receive Christ in leavened bread. Kiss an Icon of either Jesus or Mary upon entrance and confess your sins to a priest while looking at an Icon of Jesus. I was blessed to attend a couple of Masses in the Byzantine Rite a couple of years ago and I would like to go back some time. Be sure to learn more about the traditions in the Byzantine rite and about the "writing" of icons both fascinating subjects and very interesting for a Catholic who wants to learn about Church history and theology.
                          Have a good read, Nina

Why I like crime tv shows

Hello all, I know it has been a long time since I last wrote. I have been busy with many things happening within my family. As you can tell from the topic of the post I like crime tv shows. Not all of them of course but I watch NCIS, Person of Interest, Castle, Body of Proof and a few others. I know that there are some not so great elements to many of these tv shows but what I like most of all about these kind of shows is the whole good versus evil and the fact that justice is done. Also the fact that they treat the victim even in death as not just a corpse but, a human being, with dignity. I know that real crime and murder is not so neatly packaged up and it is something that is truly horrible but solved but for me this fictional world of the crime show we have an inkling of what God will do in the end when all of our questions will be answered and justice will be done.

"Death is only a comma between life, and the afterlife" (a quote from the movie "Wit" with Emma Thompson, great movie by the way)
Nina