Great books to complement a budding sewing interest

Five-year-old C has been interested in learning to sew! We made some ornaments for our Christmas tree together and she's already daydreaming about future projects. (She's hoping I'll buy this or this any day now 😉)

I thought I'd tell you today about some sewing-focused books I have loved... Actual sewing books I adore and sewing-heavy fiction for children and adults alike! 

American Girl's Addy, Isabelle, Josefina, and Kirsten books feature quite a bit of sewing. Isabelle isn't my favorite but I adore the other three! (See my full list of American Girl reviews here) 

Beneath the Seams... This grown-up contemporary Christian fiction novel is all about sewing! This is a really great look at the fashion industry, humanity, and balancing motherhood with career aspirations. Definitely recommend! 

The Canada Geese Quilt... I love Natalie Kinsey Warnock's writing. This one is ideal for 4th-ish grade reading level readers. Ariel and her grandmother work on a quilt for the arrival of Ariel's baby sister. 

The Josefina Story Quilt... This leveled reader is about Faith's family's journey west and Faith's quilt chronicling her chicken Josefina's life. 

Little House books are filled with sewing stories and are probably the very reason she wanted to learn! We've enjoyed the full series as audio books read by Cherry Jones, B loves the chapter books, and all four kids have enjoyed the picture books for years. 

The Nesting Quilt by Cathryn Falwell... This sweet book is like a picture book version of Canada Geese Quilt... A young girl and her grandmother make a quilt to prepare for the arrival of her new sibling. 

One Yard Wonders... I also like their Fabric by Fabric One Yard Wonders and Little One Yard Wonders books, too. These are great books full of small sewing projects using only one yard of fabric. 

The Quilt by Ann Jonas... This is a short and simple picture book showing a young girl's love for the various fabrics in her patchwork quilt. 

The Quiltmaker's Gift... I love this gorgeous book about a woman who makes the most beautiful quilts but only for those who need them, and a king who doesn't need one but is willing to do anything to get one. Touching and heartwarming, a clear favorite for my family. 

Sew Dolled Up... This is a fun project book of simple felt dolls of a few styles and all kinds of outfits. 

Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp... This is my very favorite sewing book because it taught me how to use my sewing machine! It's very informative and easy to understand with several adorable projects. 

Storybook Toys... The prettiest project book! These projects are a little too advanced for me but I'm still trying to learn them because I just love them! 

4 fun Christian fiction finds for foodies

The more emotionally healthy I get, the more I see how absolutely okay it is to love and appreciate the art of preparing or enjoying a meal with the people I love. It often feels like I'm not supposed to appreciate food since I've got the endomorph body type but really, food is a very big part of life. We nourish ourselves with it, we use it as an opportunity to fellowship with our people and show them we care... And, if it's done right, it's a pleasant sensory experience our brains were designed to enjoy. 

I've found many Christian nonfiction books encouraging a healthy love for good meals with our people (Bread & Wine // The Daniel Plan // The Lifegiving Table // Nourished*) but I've never found myself looking for foodie fiction. 

After finishing 🌮Tacos for Two*🌮 I wanted to tell you about it, and also about three other foodie fiction novels I've enjoyed.  

🍽 Hadley Beckett's Next Dish*... Confession: I've never watched a cooking show or contest on television. So for that reason I may not be the best person to review this little gem (which I skimmed much of) but I still found it quite charming. Bethany Turner has brought another game-changer to the ideals of Christian romance novels. This book is fresh, flirty, and fun. Hadley Beckett's Next Dish would make for an excellent beach read.

🥗 Roots of Wood and Stone*... I absolutely adored this romantic time slip, especially the rich family history thread, and would recommend it to any timeslip fan. Sloane shows us her search for her birth family and her budding feelings for a new guy while we explore historic family journals with them... Delightful! Our male protagonist's sister is a healthy food blogger and I was frequently chuckling at his disdain for her cooking, which sounds a lot like mine 😅😂

🍪 Stories that bind us*... This was such a good one! Set in 1960s Michigan, our protagonist is right away a breath of fresh air since she's 40 (it's so rare that I find a heroine who isn't between 18 and 29!), childless, and newly widowed. This book tackles family ties, mental health, and (very lightly) race. Much of this story is woven around a family bakery that makes you want to to examine your own family legacies- preferably while baking cookies. I really liked this one and have added her other books to my list too.

🌮 Tacos for Two*... Contemporary romance is not my go-to genre, but every now and then a contemporary romance synopsis really speaks to me. This Modest, Texas story was one of them. Rory owns a food truck and Jude is stuck in a family business he doesn't want to be in. They're both falling for the person they're anonymously chatting with through an online dating site, of course unaware that they're talking to each other, and then (as in any good romance) things go a little haywire. Not only does this book have all the fun You've Got Mail feelings, it even has a few YGM references. I happen to adore that movie and think this is a great read for you if you do, too. 

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Christian fiction told from multiple points of view

Maybe it's the Enneagram 9 in me but I just love a story told from multiple points of view! Here are ten Christian fiction books/series that tell you a story from two or more perspectives. 

Happy reading! 

The Alliance... Trigger warnings for this one, an edgier apocalyptic story told from the viewpoints of Amish Leora and Englisher Moses. This one isn't for everyone but I enjoyed it and its sequel, The Divide. 

The Baxter Family series... I adore this series (which starts with Redemption) about the whole Baxter Family! This one dives headfirst into tough topics and won't shy away from making you sob! 

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus*... This mysterious Wisconsin-based timeslip is about a serial killer, a young woman connected to the circus in 1928, and a modern day single mother who is battling an autoimmune disease while dealing with the new (and possibly haunted?!) property she just purchased. We're getting the first half of the mystery from our 1920s character's perspective and the second half from our modern character's perspective. Good stuff!  

Hidden Among the Stars... I adored this WWII time slip! Mystery, scandal, bookshop, books, finding confidence, hope and triumph in the face of tragedy... I still think of this one often! Half of the story is told from our WWII heroine's perspective and the other half is from our modern day protagonist who is piecing together the story. I love time slips! 

The Love Letter... This is the story of an actress and a screenwriter trying to tell the story behind a Revolutionary War-time love letter with very little information under their belts! Romantic stories are never my favorites but I did like this one (she's a great writer) and it did indeed help this time period come alive for me! 

More Than We Remember*... I really liked this one! The story is about three women and the way their lives are intertwining through a drunk driving accident. The characters felt very real and the engaging story felt a lot like a Kristin Hannah book. 

The Nature of Small Birds*... What I really like about this book is that it's essentially a story about Money's adoption (and other big life events) told from the perspective of everyone but Mindy! She was adopted through the Vietnam Babylift in 1975 and we see her story playing out through her mom's eyes in 1975, her big sister's eyes in 1988, and her father's eyes in 2013. 

Roots of Wood and Stone*... I absolutely adored this romantic time slip, especially the rich family history thread, and would recommend it to any timeslip fan. Sloane shows us her search for her birth family and her budding feelings for a new guy while we explore historic family journals with them... Delightful! 

The Time Keeper... This one is all about Father Time, a teenage girl, a dying old man, and their exploration of the concepts of time + the meaning of life! I was deeply moved by this one. 

Though I Stumble... Kim Cash Tate did such a great job here! We've got women from different walks of life working through different things, all brought together through the common bond of a Christian women's retreat. I couldn't help but root for all of them! 

The Wedding Dress... Think The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but with a wedding dress instead of blue jeans! Set in Alabama, this delightful time slip novel follows three different women with different bodies for whom this wedding dress fit perfectly with no alterations. They each have very different life circumstances and the dress seems to find each of them... The audio version was wonderful! 

When Twilight Breaks*... This delightful WWII Christian fiction, sent to me by Revel in exchange for an honest review, was my first time reading a Sarah Sundin novel. I loved it! This is a straight historical fiction and despite my infatuation with time slips here lately I adored being in Peter and Evelyn's story the whole time. Peter and Evelyn are both Americans in Germany and Evelyn is there as a foreign correspondent. I was a journalism major in college and never found that idea appealing but if I'd read this book at the time I might have had a different opinion! Evelyn is a strong, independent woman and Peter is respectful and enchanted by these traits so this book will likely be a great fit for readers who like heroines fitting that bill.  

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Christian Fiction for Animal Lovers

🐎 Along a Storied Trail*... Tansy Calhoun is a Kentucky packhorse librarian serving 1930s Appalachia. If the horse and librarian angles aren't enough to pique your interests then perhaps the love triangle element will! I haven't read a lot of booms set in Appalachia OR the great depression but still the setting feels quite believable in my humble opinion. 

🐘 The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus*... This suspenseful timeslip isn't as animal-heavy as some others on this list but there were still plenty of circus animal mentions! (And you all know how much I love circus animals!)

🐎 The Heart's Charge*... This book is technically second in a series but I don't think you miss anything by starting with book 2. "The Hanger's Horsemen" are unexpectedly tangled up with a baby, a former flame, and a case involving missing children. Also, this one's set in Texas! This is one for those of you who love a good mixture of romance and intrigue. 

🐎 The Moonlight School*... I just loved this one! Very loosely based on a true story, this is a tale about "moonlight schools" set up to teach literacy in Appalachia. There are a couple of very interesting sub plots and I was guessing I'd like this book but surprised myself by giving it a five-star review. Lucy rides her horse Jenny out into the holler to read and transcribe letters and I was romanticizing horseback riding the whole time! 

🐕‍ Rock Harbor series by Colleen Coble... This suspense series' heroine is a search and rescue ___ along with her German shepherd. Suspense isn't my main genre these days but it was for a while and I loved this series! 

🐎 Second Chances for Trampled Hearts... Y'all know romance is not my preferred genre but Shoshanna Gabriel is such a kind soul, I had to read one of her books! This is the first in a series set in fictional Bear Creek, Idaho. Our heroine is restoring an old restaurant and is thrown into country life in the process. Our male protagonist is a horse guy and you'll see plenty of horse action through him! 

🐕 That Dog Won't Hunt by Brandilyn Collins... This southern contemporary novel, about a family meeting the youngest son's fiance for the first time, heavily features a very expressive Yorkie named Lady Penelope. I really liked it, but trigger warning- this book does contain memories of an abusive childhood. 

*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Christian authors by Enneagram type!

Maybe you are looking to read a book by someone who thinks a little bit like you. Or maybe you are looking to read a book by someone who thinks a little more like someone you love. 

Either way, I had a lot of fun putting together this list of Christian authors I like and the Enneagram types they themselves have claimed through their books, blogs, podcasts, or social media accounts. (No speculation on my part). I hope you will find at least one new book you'd like to read today!  

1- Kristen Welch (Raising World Changers in a Changing World is my favorite but I also really liked Rhinestone Jesus) // Holley Garth (The Powerful Purpose of Introverts was so good!)

2- Lisa Jo Baker (Surprised by Motherhood was wonderful- especially the birth stories!) // Michelle Cushatt (Undone was such a beautiful story about the author's cancer battle and so much more!) // Erin Odom (More Than Just Making It is a great book for those living on a low income) // Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts was gorgeous and life changing for me.) // Suzanne Stabile (Ryan and I both really liked The Path Between Us) // Jennifer Pepito (Really enjoyed Mothering by the Book) 

3- Kayla Aimee (Anchored is one of my favorites, but In Bloom was good too) // Michael Hyatt (Platform has a lot of great information for those building an online platform) // Louie Giglio (My kids and I love his science devotional Indescribable) // Ashlee Gadd (The Magic of Motherhood had several beautiful pieces that really touched my heart) // Scarlet Hiltibidal (I liked Afraid of all the Things but loved He Numbered the Pores on my Face) // Bethany Turner (The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck is not my usual style but I still enjoyed this fiction quite a lot)

4- Sarah Mae (I loved Desperate and The Complicated Heart! // Ian Morgan Cron (The Road Back to You is such a delight!) // Emily P Freeman (The Next Right Thing was so good for me, a 9!) // Andrew Peterson (Adorning the Dark is so great for creatives!) // Tsh Oxenreider (At Home in the World was so fun and wanderlust-y!)

5- Morgan Harper Nichols (All Along You Were Blooming was such a joy to read!) // Myquillyn Smith (The Nesting Place makes you want to create your perfect home sanctuary!)

6- Bart Millard (I Can Only Imagine was a pretty powerful story and I love so many of his songs, too!) // Angela Bucher (Redeeming Destiny is such a powerful healing story but the subject matter is very gritty so you've been warned!) 

7- Annie F Downs (Looking for Lovely is probably my favorite) // Bob Goff (We adore Love Does for Kids and Everybody Always for Kids) // Shauna Niequist (Her essay collections are such a delight... Cold Tangerines is probably my favorite) // Korie Robertson (I refer back to Strong + Kind often) // Ellie Holcomb (Her songwriting is wonderful and my kids love Who Sang the First Song [and the CD, Sing]) // Nicole Deese (Before I Called You Mine was such a lovely novel!) // Kristin Schell (The Turquoise Table definitely made me think!) // Joy Clarkson (Girls Club made me so happy and so much less anxious about the thought of my daughters growing up) // Jennie Allen (I found Get Out of Your Head to be so powerful!)

8- Crystal Paine (Love-Centered Parenting is my heart's favorite but Money Making Mom is so awesome for helping you bring in income from home) // Christopher L Heuertz (The Sacred Enneagram and The Enneagram of Belonging are ideal for those already comfortable with the Enneagram and are so beautifully written!) // Shannan Martin (The Ministry of Ordinary Places was life-changing!)

9- Maria Goff (I've never felt as seen as I did while reading Love Lives Here!) // Beth McCord (Becoming Us is such a wonderful look at relationships through the Ennneagram) // Lysa Terkeurst (Uninvited fit me so well and now I know why- we're both 9s) // Anne Bogel (Reading People is my favorite because personality frameworks fascinate the heck out of me... But I'd Rather be Reading and Don't Over think it were really good, too!) // Erin Loechner (Chasing Slow was so powerful for me!) // Melanie Shankle (On the Bright Side was so fun but does contain a curse word a few times) 

I'll try to remember to update this list when I learn other authors' Enneagram types.

Homeschool History: Revolutionary War

We've been working through American history and I've decided to list our favorite resources for a specific time period ever so often. We'll start today with the Revolutionary War and the resources I've used for ages 5-7.

Adventures in American History... My mom got us this Adventures in Oddysey audio drama and it's a huge hit. They just want to plow through it and I'm constantly having to convince them to wait for the next episode until we've read books and explored other resources for the subject they just learned about! 

Bedtime History Podcast: Paul Revere's Ride // George Washington part 1, 2 & 3

The Good and the Beautiful's History Year 1... These lessons were a bit lengthy if you're only working with the early elementary crowd but my son still loved it. The lesson book, the Big Book of History stories, the Keys of History board game, all of it.

Picture Books: American Girl: The Story of America (this is such a fun timeline book! Each time period is much too brief to be used alone but it's a great sidekick!) // George vs George // George Washington's Teeth 

Early readers:  George Washington: the First President by Sarah Albee // Imagination Station books 13-15 // Ranger in Time: Night of Soldiers and Spies

Middle Grade: Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady (we read this a read-aloud, as recommended by TGTB's history unit. I liked it. A was on the fence at first but loved it by the end).

Videos: America: the Story of Us (definitely best for ages 10 or 12 and up) // Animated Hero Classics: George Washington

I've shared before that my childhood history lessons were dry and lackluster. I retained very little of it so I've been enjoying learning alongside my children. Those elements of history that did stick for me all involved historical fiction making it all come alive so I'm reading a historical fiction grown-up book with some units, too. For this one I read Rachel Hauck's Christian fiction timeslip The Love Letter. Romantic stories are never my favorites but I did like this one (she's a great writer) and it did indeed help this time period come alive for me! I don't necessarily recommend it for high schoolers but you know your kid better than I do! 

*Many of these links are affiliate links. I'll receive a small commission for referring you to the product/website but you won't pay anything extra.

7 Creepy Christian Fiction Reads

Some of you might recall that this summer I got excited about a new podcast called The Christian Bookworm. I even recorded the first few episodes but eventually realized it just wasn't what I wanted to focus on.

Maybe someday a podcast could be in my future... But right now it just isn't. I love to write and I love to be a wife and mother. There's not much time for anything else and I am okay with that.

However, I still love all those Christian books and I still want to share them. I have decided to start posting the podcast book lists as blog posts here instead. I know quite a few of my readers are big fans of Christian fiction so hopefully you will enjoy these.

This first list should probably have come out on September 30th but alas, here it is now, just in time for a week of spooky Halloween reading. Seven creepy Christian fiction novels that are sure to get your adrenaline going. 

Abomination by Colleen Coble... This one was originally a stand-alone novel but it's now the fourth book in the Rock Harbor series. I really like this series but this book just about did me in. I don't do creepy very well these days! We've got a serial killer, a survivor with amnesia, and a search-and-rescue heroine caught in the middle.

(This book has also been published under the title Haven of Swans)

The Delusion by Laura Gallier... This is probably the most haunting book on the list. I think about it all the time! Our protagonist's school is in the middle of a suicide epidemic and he's given a unique chance to see spiritual warfare attacks no one else can see... 

House by Frank Peretti... This one carries the horror of a Steven King novel and left me with nightmares. A group of people- some strangers, some not- find themselves stranded and seeking shelter in a house more sinister and evil than they could possibly have imagined.

Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker... This one has a bit of magical realism feel to it and had me so curious as to which way it was going to go. The family patriarch is in the hospital after a tragic... Accident? Murder attempt? Suicide attempt? Our main character processes his grief along with childhood wounds and a chilling piece of his past that still haunts him.

Mind Games by Nancy Mehl... This one's for those of you who like a good detective story. Kaely Quinn is a criminal profiler for the FBI, specializing in serial killers since her father turned out to be a serial killer. Now the clock is ticking as Kaely works to stop a new killer who has several victims chosen before his grand finale- Kaely herself.

Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins... This is by far the least horrific on this list but it still gave me the creeps! Janessa's husband is a renowned Lyme disease researcher, practically famous for his insistence that chronic Lyme doesn't exist. To make him truly see how serious Lyme can be, someone has infected Janessa with Lyme and several co-infections. Her health and marriage are spinning out of control as she fights to prove her story and get the treatment she needs... And prevent the madman from infecting her daughter next!

The String by Caleb Breakey... I still can't get over how creepy this one was! "The Conductor" is a sick and twisted man, using a group of people to do heinous, torturous, even murderous acts as if it were nothing more than a game. This one had me freaked out for weeks!