From Sea to Shining Sea has been a very fitting devotional as we have celebrated 250 years as a country.

I have truly been blessed to have seen many of our beautiful states. The devotional takes you through all fifty states in the United States. The devotion is laid out in alphabetical order as it takes you from Alabama to Wyoming. I love that it’s not a devotional that is date based. I always feel guilty when I see a date and see I’m off a week! Maybe, its just me I find it more relaxing if I want to read  more than one and not see a date blaring at me.

Each devotional starts out with a personal real-life experience of the lifetime travels of Gene and Marsha Frame. They have visited all 50 states during their 60 years of marriage. It’s a reflection of their impression of monuments, state parks, small towns, and other sights and places that are in the state. The reflection gives you a little bit of history that weaves into a life application to apply to our journey with God. Nothing theological just reflection on a part of God’s love letter to us.

Reflect- question  to ponder like, “How willing am I allow God to lead me?” or “How have I sensed God’s presence when going through hardships?” The reflections touch several different areas for application.

Read-  A scripture passage to apply to the section. The scripture is already written in the book.

Pray- Some ideas to submit to your prayer. One particular one was from West Virginia and the state was titled, “Crossing Over” the prayer was “To live the way God has called me to live so that nothing separates me from Him.” This particular day was very near and dear to my heart as I spent with a family member talking about being in His presence soon.

There are a few extra  boxes in some states to dig deeper “Free Bonus Devotional” or “Photo Collage Video”.

The last few months I have had more down time than I have had in a very long time. I was able to read and reflect more. As I sat with my father-in-law in his last months we talked about our Savior and shared many things both personal and in scripture. Some of the thoughts came from what I read in From Sea to Shining Sea as I was pondering the words. When his voice went quite the last few days I finished reading all the read devotional. I sat completely exhausted and lacking sleep but still found strength and encouragement.

 If your interested in purchasing you can order it here: https://bit.ly/SeatoShiningSeaAmazon

 You can enter to win a copy of From Sea to Shining Sea: 50 Daily Devotions from Traveling to Every State in America.

https://www.blessedfreebies.com/from-sea-to-shining-sea-book-giveaway-683606.html

#FromSeaToShiningSea, #ChristianDevotional, #DailyDevotional, #DevotionalBook, #ChristianBooks, #ChristianWomen, #QuietTimeWithGod, #BookGiveaway @frontgatem

Disclosure:  I received this complimentary product through FrontGate Blogger Network in exchange for my honest thoughts.

About the Book

Book: Miriam’s Little Gentleman (The Heart of the Amish Book 13)

Author: Anne Blackburne

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release Date: May, 2026

Her Heart Is Set on One Man

Full of faith, hope, and romance, this series takes you into the Heart of Amish Country.

Miriam Zook has loved David Miller her whole life, and she confessed her feelings the night before he moved to Indiana and joined the Mennonite church. Miriam, having been baptized into the Amish faith, makes an income by painting beautiful vignettes of Amish life. She has never married, since no one ever compared to David, and, as she is an only child, this concerns the women in her family greatly. Now, seven years after leaving, David is back in Willow Creek to embrace his Amish roots and join the church. Miriam’s heart awakens, but can she dare to hope that he will also embrace her?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 My Review:

Another delightful story from author Anne Blackbure.  “The Heart of the Amish” series has been a fun series with a lot of adventure. This is book 13 in the series. Each woman in this series has been blessed with a cat from the same litter from a dear friend. The cats are a purrfect addition to the story line and give a new and exciting story plot to each book.

I love that you are somewhat familiar with the characters by the time the character gets their own story. Then you get to keep up with them throughout all the books. Did I mention the cats!

Mirian Zook is an artist and has created lovely paintings of everyday scenes from the Amish lifestyle. Her painting have become popular and sought after.  

David Miller has came back home after leaving the Amish Community. No one knows why he suddenly left. This action left Miriam heartbroken and his family. David suddenly showing up has been a complete surprise. The story focuses on forgiveness and faith. It’s a beautiful story that will capture your heart.

All the books in this series are stand alone stories. I’ll warn you now that you will want to go back and read the other books in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange of my honest review

About the Author

 

Anne Blackburne lives and works in Southeast Ohio as a newspaper editor and writer. She is the mother of five grown children, has one wonderful grandchild, and a spoiled poodle named Millie. For fun, when she isn’t working on Amish romance or sweet mysteries, Anne directs and acts in community theater productions and writes and directs original plays. She also enjoys reading, kayaking, swimming, searching for beach glass, and just sitting with a cup of coffee looking at large bodies of water. Her idea of the perfect vacation is cruising and seeing amazing new places with people she loves.

More from Anne

Hello Dear Readers!

It seems like only yesterday that the wonderful Christian bloggers who work with Celebrate Literature did a blog tour for my January 1 release in Barbour’s “Heart of the Amish” series, “Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer”! Yet here we are again, with another CelebrateLit blog tour, this time for my May release, “Miriam’s Little Gentleman”.

Miriam’s story is available now to readers in print and online wherever fine books are sold, and I feel blessed to have the help of the CelebrateLit folks in launching this next tale from my made-up Amish community of Willow Creek, Ohio.

In addition to Jane’s and Miriam’s stories, my previous Heart of the Amish books in the series include, “Ruth’s Gingersnap Surprise”, “Mary’s Calico Hope”, and “Lizzie’s Little Mouse”. If you’re read any of them, you’ll remember Miriam Zook, who does beautiful folk art  paintings of Amish life scenes. Miriam was also mentioned in Ruth’s story as one of the lucky recipients of a kitten from their elderly friend, Lydia’s, cat’s final litter.

Miriam’s cat is a black and white tuxedo cat named Beau. He enjoys sitting outside in the fresh air while Miriam paints, safely wearing his natty red harness to keep him from wandering into trouble. If you read Jane’s story, you know kitties sometimes do wander off!

Miriam has been hung up on David Miller for years. She even told him so . . . but unfortunately, it was too late. David had already made plans to leave Willow Creek the following morning, running from troubles he didn’t make and couldn’t fix. Years later, Miriam and David still have feelings for one another. But are they strong enough to survive the hurt and years of separation, and to forge a real and lasting love? With God’s help, of course, anything is possible. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy!

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Miriam’s story! This book is my fifth in Barbour Publishing’s series, “The Heart of the Amish”. Look for other great reads in the series from authors Mindy Steele, Kelly Irvin and Lisa Jones Baker.

I’m currently writing my sixth book in the series, which will feature a young woman you’ve met in some of my other stories, Rebecca Beachy. Her cat is Patches, a little orange and white boy. Together, with the help of Amish farmer Rudy Miller, they’ll figure out a way to keep a dear old woman from losing her home and business. A buried treasure and a small mystery are involved!

I hope you’re having as much fun reading about these remarkable young women – and their kitties! – as I’m having writing about them. Thanks for being part of our journey!

God bless you and yours!

Joyfully,
Anne Blackburne

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, June 27

Artistic Nobody, June 28 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, June 29

She Lives To Read, June 30

The Avid Reader, June 30

For Him and My Family, July 1

Guild Master, July 2 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 3

Simple Harvest Reads, July 4 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

EmpowerMoms, July 5

Holly’s Book Corner, July 6

Vickey Sluiter, July 7

Fiction Book Lover, July 8 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, July 9

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, July 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Anne is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift Card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/Gffm1/miriams-little-gentleman-celebration-tour-giveaway

 

Biblical Encouragement for Everyday Motherhood

Have you ever whispered to yourself, I’ll be a better mom tomorrow…but tomorrow never comes? Maybe you’re comparing yourself to other moms and feel you aren’t measuring up. But don’t lose hope. Just as moms in Scripture learned from life’s ups and downs, with God’s help, you can become the mom you long to be.

Moms of the Bible explores timeless life lessons from Bible moms of all types, revealing how their stories of failure, faith, and hope can help you fulfill your own calling with confidence. From the redeemed Rehab to the horrible Herodias, each story unveils eye-opening insights and powerful applications that can help you as you seek to raise up children who impact their generation with fearless faith.

Author Rhonda Stoppe engages you with the warmth and wisdom of a trusted friend who’s been there herself. For mothers of all ages and stages―including step, adoptive, foster, and grandmothers raising their grandkids―this uplifting look at the moms of Scripture will empower you to influence the culture in profound ways through your sacred ministry of motherhood.

 My Thoughts:

 The most rewarding and difficult job is being a mom.  Everything we do has consequences one way or another with our children. I want my children to see Jesus in me and my prayer has always been to let me be a light in my words and actions to my children’s lives. Some days my actions and words aren’t showing Jesus’ light. While you may hear people joke about parenting doesn’t come with a manual. The good news is that there is a manual and the only one we need is in the Bible.

 

You can purchase this at https://bit.ly/momsofthebiblefg

In this book every chapter focuses on a woman from the Bible. Not every woman is perfect and has flaws and makes mistakes. There is not sugar coating it in the Bible nor does the author just show moms being perfect godly woman. So you can sigh in relief they weren’t all perfect!

The book is broken up in three parts: Fearless Moms, Flawed Moms, and Faithful moms. It touches on Rehab, Mary, Herodias, Lot’s wife, Eve, and other mothers.  I’ve dived into to varying studies of the Bible but I can honestly say I have never done one that looks at several of the mothers throughout the Bible.

This was a very easy and quick read. I liked that it links scriptures and you can also scan the QR code or use the address link to hear Rhonda teach on the chapter. It was a nice addition to the book. The chapter ends with “Life Lessons” which has some practical insight and other scriptures to look at.

The book points out very practical advice. Like letting us let out kids see how important our own relationship is with Jesus. That alone makes a huge impact on our kid’s lives.

This could be used by grandmothers, mom’s to be, or even foster moms too. This would also make a good book for a mom’s Bible study.

I enjoyed this book and thought it was inspiring read that I needed at this time. You can enter to win a copy of yourself here or click below.

Disclosure:  I received this complimentary product through FrontGate Blogger Network in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

#momsofthebible #noregretswoman #biblestudy #christianmom

  @rhondastoppe FB @NoRegretsWoman @frontgatem

 

About the Book

Book: The Engineered Engagement

Author: Erica Vetsch

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: July 8, 2025

A hidden genius, an ambitious shipbuilder, and a daring deception—can she prove her worth without losing her heart?

Eli Kennebrae plans to revolutionize cargo transportation on the Great Lakes. But his grandfather’s meddling obligates him to an arranged engagement. Though Josie Zahn is kindhearted and strikes his interest, Eli needs an engineer for his ship, not a fiancée.

Josie has admired Eli for years, but to him, she’s just “one of the Zahn girls.” Worse, society expects her to marry, not pursue her passion for mathematics and engineering. If she could only get Eli’s attention, she could help him achieve his goals.

Then “Professor Josephson,” a brilliant mathematical mind, provides the analyses to make Eli’s ship design a reality. As Eli finds unexpected kinship in the professor’s work, he remains unaware of the truth—Josie is the genius behind the numbers. When deception and ambition collide, will Eli see Josie for who she truly is before it’s too late?

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is the third book in the “Brides of the West” series from Erica Vetsch. All the books in this series stand alone. You will miss getting reacquainted with characters from the other books if you haven’t read the other two.

 

The books center around the Kennebrae brothers. Which is unique as most novels are centered around sisters or a group of ladies. Each brother is unique and a man of character. A bit stubborn at times.

 

Josephine (Josie) Zahn is a genius in math and engineering. Her tutor taught her skills that women of her era wouldn’t do. He found that she was gifted. She desires to seek higher education in both fields. Her father refuses, as women don’t do that, but are expected to get married, raise a family, and keep the house in order.

 

Eli Kennebra is arranged to get married to Josie. He is a shipbuilder. Both families are wealthy, and their marriage is for business and status. Josie has had affections for Eli since she was a young girl. Eli doesn’t know that. Eli is more interested in building ships and not the entanglement of a woman.

 

I loved Josie & Eli. This has been my favorite book in this series. The plot had so many twists & turns, hidden identity, faith, and an engagement. I enjoyed the surprises, even though you knew in the end the main characters would fall in love.

 

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the era in the stories. For a short novel, the author does a fantastic job bringing the story together. I just wish we had more Kennebra brothers!

 

I highly recommend this lovely, heartfelt, inspirational romance.

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Celebrate Lit Bloggers in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

About the Author

Best-selling, award-winning author of The Debutante’s Code, first in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series, Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum.

 

More from Erica

One of the most frequently asked questions an author gets is “Where do your ideas come from?” The truth is…all over! But for me, the main place that story ideas start is in a museum. I see an artifact or object or hear a story as I wander a museum, and I begin to wonder about the people who used the object or survived the events that led to their story being in a museum.

The Engineered Engagement was inspired by a tour of the Great Lakes cargo ship the Meteor. The Meteor is a whaleback and is on display in Superior, WI, just across the harbor from Duluth, MN where the story is set.

I first toured the Meteor when I was eleven years old…awhile ago now. But many years later my husband and I took our kids to tour this amazing piece of engineering. The design, which is characterized by low rounded hulls, decks, and deckhouses looks decidedly odd and different from other ships. This design minimized the wind and water resistance encountered in more traditional hull shapes. The creator/design engineer of the whaleback was a Scotsman named Alexander McDougall who was a ship master and seaman on the Great Lakes.

The first whaleback hit the lakes in 1887, and over the next 11 years, 43 more joined her. One of the largest whalebacks was the steamer named the Frank Rockefeller. This ship was later renamed the SS Meteor. The Meteor hauled iron ore and sand for much of her career, and she is the only whaleback that remains.

As I toured the ship, learning nautical terms and all but feeling the rolling of the deck beneath my feet, I couldn’t help but admire Alexander McDougall for ignoring the critics, the snide remarks, and the jeers that always accompany a design pioneer and creating anyway. Looking for a better way to make something or do a task should be admired. He was tenacious, and I wanted to imbue my characters, Eli Kennebrae and Josie Zahn, with that same tenacity.

The Engineered Engagement involves ship building and hydrodynamics. Now, I know nothing about either of these disciplines, but I did glean some information, hopefully enough to make my characters, Eli and Josie, sound like they do. Ah, the joys of writing fiction! And while Eli and Josie are loaded with brains and tenacity, I also wanted them to have real emotions, to care about each other. One of the joys of writing fiction is getting to live through the eyes/hearts of your characters and feel what they feel. The Engineered Engagement was a joy to write.

If you are interested in Great Lakes shipping, I highly recommend the Duluth Canal Camera, https://www.duluthharborcam.com/p/canal-park-cams.html

And if you are interested in learning more about the SS Meteor, I recommend this site: https://superiorpublicmuseums.org/ss-meteor/

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 20

Worthy2Read, August 20

Melissa’s Bookshelf, August 21

Texas Book-aholic, August 21

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 22

Devoted To Hope, August 22

Artistic Nobody, August 23 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Simple Harvest Reads, August 23 (Guest Review from Mindy)

For Him and My Family, August 24

Books You Can Feel Good About, August 24

Inkwell Inspirations, August 25

Pens Pages & Pulses, August 25

Stories By Gina, August 26 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, August 26

She Lives To Read, August 27

Inklings and notions, August 27

Bizwings Book Blog, August 28

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 28

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, August 29

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 29

An Author’s Take, August 30

Books Less Travelled, August 30

Book Looks by Lisa, August 31

Blossoms and Blessings, August 31

Holly’s Book Corner, September 1

Pause for Tales, September 1

Devoted Steps, September 2

Life on Chickadee Lane, September 2

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Erica is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54282

 

About the Book

Book: The Marriage Masquerade

Author: Erica Vetsch

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: July 8, 2025

A disgraced captain and a runaway heiress—hiding from the past and bound by fate—will their marriage masquerade lead to true love?

Noah Kennebrae, disgraced ship captain, has escaped to a remote lighthouse to avoid his grandfather’s schemes and the ghosts that haunt him. Taking a job under an assumed name, he’s determined to start over—until he meets Annie Fairfax. The feisty housekeeper’s warmth and spirit captivate him, and he falls for her despite his best efforts. But he’s keeping secrets that could destroy her trust…and his chance at redemption.

Desperate to escape the calculating grasp of her father, Anastasia “Annie” Michaels flees home to become the unlikely housekeeper on an isolated island. Working incognito at the lighthouse, she finds solace in her newfound independence and unexpected friendship with Nick. However, as their relationship deepens, Annie’s fear of abandonment resurfaces when she learns the truth Nick has been hiding.

Caught in a marriage masquerade of their own making, Noah and Annie must navigate secrets, lies, and painful pasts in hopes of a future together.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is the second book in the “Brides of the West” series from Erica Vetsch. All the books in this series stand alone.

Caption Noah Kennebrae is grieving from guilt after a terrible accident. None of it was his fault; he couldn’t help but blame himself for the accident. His other problem is that his controlling grandfather has an arranged marriage set up for him. Noah needs to get away, so he changes his name and accepts a job at a lighthouse on an Island on Lake Superior.

There, he meets Annie, a beautiful young woman. Annie, “Anastasi,” overhears her father arranging an engagement for her with someone she doesn’t even know. She decides to run away and finds herself employed as a housekeeper at a remote lighthouse.

The characters drew me in. I was anxious to see how the romance and story developed. The plot was beautifully written in this page turner. Everything flowed naturally in the story. The best part is that what they are running from is the person in front of them.

I highly recommend this lovely, heartfelt, inspirational romance.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Celebrate Lit Bloggers in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

About the Author

Best-selling, award-winning author of The Debutante’s Code, first in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series, Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum.

 

More from Erica

I love a hidden identity story! And in the case of The Marriage Masquerade, both the hero AND the heroine are hiding their true identities.

The Marriage Masquerade features Noah, who is running from the guilt of a mistake he feels he made that lost both a Great Lakes ship and several lives. Anastasia Michaels is running away from an arranged marriage.

They both flee to a remote lighthouse on the North Shore of Lake Superior, he as an assistant lighthouse keeper and she as a housekeeper and cook.

The lighthouse in The Marriage Masquerade is based directly upon the Split Rock Lighthouse, one of my favorite places to visit along the North Shore. Situated on a cliff high above the lake, Split Rock is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world.

When I first visited this exquisite place, I fell in love. And when I fall in love with an historical site, I need to know as much of the history of the place as I can. Several of the incidents that occur at the fictional lighthouse in the story come directly from the history of Split Rock.

Filtering liquid mercury, polishing the Fresnel lens, hiding dishes in the oven when the inspector comes, and other happenings in The Marriage Masquerade actually happened in the real lives of the lightkeepers at Split Rock.

Noah and Anastasia’s story is a forced proximity romance, with a dash of hidden identity, redemption, and learning to stand on your own two feet. I hope you’ll enjoy their journey from fearful, guilt-ridden characters to healed through love, confident, and ready to embark on a lifelong journey together.

If you would like to learn more about Split Rock and see glorious photos of this picturesque site, check out: https://www.mnhs.org/splitrock

Blog Stops

Pens Pages & Pulses, August 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 12

She Lives To Read, August 13

Fiction Book Lover, August 13 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Devoted Steps, August 14

Melissa’s Bookshelf, August 14

Life on Chickadee Lane, August 15

Texas Book-aholic, August 15

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 16

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 17

Devoted To Hope, August 17

For Him and My Family, August 18

Simple Harvest Reads, August 18 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Books You Can Feel Good About, August 19

Inklingsandnotions, August 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 20

Inkwell Inspirations, August 20

Artistic Nobody, August 21 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Blossoms and Blessings, August 21

Little Homeschool on the prairie, August 22

Vicky Sluiter, August 22

An Author’s Take, August 23

Books Less Travelled, August 23

Holly’s Book Corner, August 24

Pause for Tales, August 24

Jeanette’s Thoughts , August 25

Jodie Wolfe, August 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Erica is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54276