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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for June 2013

An undeniably fun love story: Review of Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

June 19, 2013

undeniably yoursThe cover should have been my first clue that this book is not just your average Christian romance. It’s also fun! I was so surprised by author Becky Wade’s writing style (in a good way) because it was so realistic. The thoughts and actions of both Meg, the reluctant heiress to an oil company, and Bo, the hubba-hubba cowboy, are believable and sometimes, laugh out loud funny.

(Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.)

In the opening scene, Meg is in the process of firing people her father needed to run his company and his life, including Bo, the man who runs the horse ranch on her property. Meg has no interest in horses and has been advised to shut down the farm, fire its workers and sell the horses. But she has a soft spot for people, and when Bo disagrees with her plan and asks for time to turn the ranch around, Meg gives him six months. Bo considers it a personal challenge to not only turn a profit at the horse farm but convince Meg that the farm is worth saving.

That becomes both easier and more difficult as Bo finds himself attracted to Meg in ways he considers in appropriate because of her position as his employer while Meg finds comfort from panic attacks in the presence of Bo and the horses.

It’s a fun dance between the two as they’re obviously attracted to each other but both wanting to maintain professional distance. Throw in a shady character from Meg’s past who threatens to destroy everything and you’ve got yourself a classic romance the keeps you turning the pages.

Sometimes I think Christian novels in the romance genre are too safe in that they don’t acknowledge the reality of physical attraction between characters or the goofball thoughts that people have. I connected with Wade’s characters and I’m almost kicking myself for not grabbing a copy of her first book, My Stubborn Heart. (You can bet I’ll be changing that!)

Filed Under: Fiction, The Weekly Read Tagged With: becky wade, christian romance, contemporary romance, cowboys, inheritance, new books, oil companies, texas

All the Wrong Places {How We Got Here, Part Four}

June 18, 2013

On Friday we signed a lease for a new place to live. We’ll be moving soon, a process that has been a long and winding road. Here’s the story of how it happened. Read Part One here , Part Two here and Part Three here.

As spring began to bloom around us, and life emerged from its winter rest, so our hope began to revive.

Olga Koldin | Stock Exchange

Olga Koldin | Stock Exchange

Phil got a promotion and a raise. It wasn’t a lot but it was something, and I hoped it would be enough to change our circumstances.I told our landlord we were searching seriously now for a place to live and that I would give her our official 30 days when we knew something for certain.

Soon, I thought. It’s going to happen soon. End of May. June at the latest, I thought.

I searched online, bookmarked sites, e-mailed, learned about Craigslist scams, made phone calls (and I hate making phone calls!). I calculated our income and faced the embarrassment of being turned down because it wasn’t enough. One woman practically hung up on me. I cried that day, too.

The places I thought would work wouldn’t have us or had already been rented by the time I called. The places we could afford were in areas I wasn’t sure I wanted to live in.

Too small.

Too expensive.

Too far away.

I felt like Goldilocks looking for “just right” and wondering if it even existed. I’d given up hope on a job for me and later got an e-mail confirming that the job was filled. I’d already moved on.

And God was moving my heart.

What are you afraid of? He asked.

I was afraid of the city and poor schools and poor people and violence, but those things are everywhere. Slowly, I surrendered my fears and hesitations, begging God to give us a place–any place–to live in Lancaster. I trusted God and knew He could keep us safe anywhere.

I would live in the city–if we had to.

I would learn to ride the bus–if we had to.

I would homeschool, maybe–if we had to.

But none of that felt right.

Then I got a Facebook message that changed everything.

Did I dare to have hope?

Filed Under: faith & spirituality, how we got here Tagged With: apartment searching, hoping, moving

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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