Peering Through Life's Window

HAPPY SUMMER!    Whether enjoying a lemonade and a snack while reading a good book, having tea with a friend or hosting a bridal shower, strawberries make the occasion special. See recipes below. Summer Reading and Recipes There are over two-dozen recipes in the back of Cooking up a Mystery, each one named for a character in the book. They were donated by members of Mission Love Seeds, a charitable group created to help children throughout the world and to respond locally after disasters to demonstrate God's love. Learn more at Mission Love Seeds About Cooking up a Mystery Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental school. Then he left with another woman. She's on edge from the emotional scars and her parents' deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a fear of commitment—and it's all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her business...

  A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl Nancy will give away a print copy of  her latest book, Cold Threat (U.S. residents only). To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below and enter the Rafflecopter contest. Hi Nancy, first, tell us a little about yourself. I’m a wife, mother, and a writer. I’ve been writing for over twenty-five years and recently had my fifty-third book published. I don’t have a lot of free time, but I love to read and watch TV to relax.   Lots of writers enjoyed reading as children. Were you an avid reader as a child?  Yes. I would stay up all night and read books under my bedspread, using a flashlight so I could see. I suspect my mother knew, but she didn’t say anything. Why do you write? I write because I believe God called me to do it.  Tell us about your latest book. Cold Threat is the second book in my Ryland and St. Clair series. River Ryland and Tony St. Clair travel to Burlington, Iowa, to help Tony’s father with a very c...

  A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl Nancy will give away a print copy of Cold Pursuit (U.S. residents only) . To enter join the Rafflecopter contest and leave a comment below. Also leave an email address below or with Rafflecopter.  Nancy shares one of her favorite Bible verses and a yummy recipe. Psalm 27:13:   I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living . (NKJV) A Yummy Recipe   The following recipe is my own! I changed another very basic recipe into this. It’s one of my husband’s favorite dishes.  Smoked Turkey Taco Soup Ingredients: Turkey Smoked Sausage (12 ounces) 8 cups chicken broth 1 can black beans (washed and drained) 1 pinto beans (drained) 1 can dark red kidney beans (drained) 1 large can Southwestern/Fiesta corn (drained) 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning (see recipe below) Directions: Cut sausage into slices. Then add all ingredients to a large pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add s...

  A Warm Welcome to Fay Lamb Fay shares a devotional. She's also having a contest. Enter here   by guessing at the clues given to you as to the location of each book in The Visitor series. One Day Heaven Was Open Those five words from “One Day” rang in my head as I contemplated this post. The hymn is a beautiful story of Christ’s redemptive love, but those lyrics came to mind for a different reason. There had been a day in my life when Heaven had opened, and I saw clearly my Savior who bled and died for me. Since that day, there have been other times when the Lord has shown Himself real to me. One particular time I will never forget occurred one very early foggy morning. While driving to work, I passed an entrance ramp onto Interstate 95. An overwhelming prompting from the Holy Spirit urged me powerfully with one word. “Pray.” Then a still, small voice said, “Pray for Ethan.” Ethan is my grown son. I knew he would have been on his way to work in the fog driving on the interst...

  A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl Nancy will give away a print copy (U.S. residents only) of Dead Fall . Last year this thriller won the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, as well as the Carol Award. Enter to win at the Rafflecopter Contest below. Now from Nancy: Favorite Bible Verse I love God’s Word so picking just one Bible verse is hard. But I think a lot about Psalm 91. I guess the part I recite and lean on the most is: Psalm 91: 14-16 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” These are such encouraging promises. We will never be alone. We can count on God to deliver us from anything we go through. And we can believe for a long and satisfying life.  Favorite Recipe  Nancy Shares a Recipe From Her...

  A Warm Welcome to Clare Revell Clare shares her favorite Bible Verse and a favorite recipe. She will give away an e-Book PDF copy of  The House that Jack Built . See the Rafflcopter contest below to enter to win. Bible Verse Nourish the Soul 1 Peter: 5:7 - Cast all your cares upon Him for He careth for you.   A Yummy Recipe from Great Britain A great way to use leftover meat from the Sunday Roast, or when you fancy something different.   Savoury Crumble Ingredients   1lb diced meat - either cooked fresh or cut up leftovers 2oz butter 5oz flour 2oz grated cheese 1pint white sauce  Place meat into a large oven proof dish and top with the white sauce (see below). Rub butter into flour and add cheese and pinch of salt. Sprinkle crumble over meat/sauce. Bake in oven gas 6/200C/400F for 35 mins until top is golden brown. Serve with boiled spuds, veg and more white sauce. White sauce: Mix a pint of milk and 2tablespoon cornflour  About The House That J...

  More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Amish Romance:   The Cowboy’s Amish Haven by Pamela Desmond Wright -- Her home and her heart are on the line…

On the same day Gail Schroder’s faced with losing her Amish family ranch, her old crush Levi Wyse shows up on her doorstep. He doesn’t know that when he left ten years ago he'd taken Gail’s heart with him. Now Levi’s her only hope of keeping a roof over her head. But can this cowboy teach Gail the ropes in time to save her home? (Amish Romance from Love Inspired (Harlequin))   An Amish Schoolroom by Amy Clipston , Kathleen Fuller, and Shelley Shepard Gray -- From three bestselling authors of Amish fiction come three charming stories of new school years and new romance. (Amish Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (Thomas Nelson and Zondervan))   Contemporary Romance: To Bring You Back by Emily Conrad -- He's determined to confront the past sh...

 Christianity underground...churches destroyed...Ann’s determined to save the faith she loves. James wants to protect her. Five Star Reviews: What people are saying about Breaking Barriers “This is a short novella, but it is packed with great dialog, authentic three-dimensional characters, and page-turning action. Then there is a sweet romance tucked inside as well. This could happen anywhere, anytime in today's world.” *** “Hang on for a whirlwind of a tale that’ll take you to the sunshine state of Florida and have you oohing, awing, shaking your head and even smiling throughout. Author Gail Pallotta has done it again, written an exceptional faith based, action packed romance. Bravo to a great read!!” *** “The first words gripped my heart and twisted hard, and Ms. Pallotta’s words didn’t release their strangle hold until the final sentence.” “Her characters bloomed on each page, except for her antagonist—The Worm. He slithered and slimmed everything he touched. And Ann was his tar...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website . Contemporary Romance: How Sweet It Is by Robin Lee Hatcher -- A businessman trying to reconnect with his brother returns to his hometown and rents the apartment where his great-great-grandparents lived during the late 1920s. He never suspects his attractive landlady, a struggling restaurant owner who works with women at a local shelter, is the one person who might help him reach his brother. (Contemporary Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing) Love's Autumn Harvest by Patricia Lee -- A widow, a divorcee, and a widower find themselves in a love triangle that gets complicated as each one finds themselves drawn into the tangled web they weave. (Contemporary Romance from Mountain Brook Ink) Ready to Trust by Tina Radcliffe -- Rancher Reece Rainbolt’s shocked to learn he’s inherited half of Claire Ballard’s family farm—and that he’s a fathe...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website . Children’s: The Edge of Everywhen by A.S. Mackey -- Begin with an ancient, mysterious, self-aware book. Add two heartbroken children, reeling from the loss of their mother. Mix in a cantankerous aunt, dreams that see the future, and a father trying to make his way home and you get "The Edge of Everywhen," a captivating tale of loss, hope, revelation, and unexplained mystery. "The Edge of Everywhen" is a book-lover’s book, a story of intrigue in which two children embark upon a life-changing journey of faith. (Middle Grade from B and H Publishing) Contemporary Romance: A Mother's Homecoming by Lisa Carter -- Charmed by the two-year-old twins in her toddler tumbling class, Maggie Arledge is shocked to learn they’re the children she gave up for adoption. And when Bridger Hollingsworth—the uncle caring for the boys—needs an emergency nanny, she fits th...