Like the schedule in the margin says, Mondays are blog days. Normally, the new weekly post appears while you’re catching some shut-eye (hopefully). Today’s will appear a little later. …But still on Monday, so it counts. [smile]
In the meantime, here’s a picture to brighten your day, pun intended.
Photo by John O’Nolan
Once a month I offer a review– usually fiction, sometimes non-fiction, sometimes movies/TV. Grab your favorite hot beverage (mine’s a mocha), and let’s talk!
Dakota Territory, late 1800s. Would you have what it takes to scratch a living out of an unforgiving but fertile land? We’re talking about Lauraine Snelling‘s sweeping fictional saga of the Bjorkland family and their fellow pioneers in her Red River of the North series. So far I’ve finished the first three books, beginning with An Untamed Land.
Rating: 5 out of 5 mochas
What it’s about: A family of five–two brothers and their wives, plus one young son–strike out from Norway for a new life on the the American frontier. The land, the language, and the challenges of survival throw constant tests in their path. Yet they persevere and grow. Years pass, bringing heartache, success, and more family and friends to share their new life.
The main character, Ingeborg, and her sister-in-law Kaaren provide the strong, consistent thread through every story. Along the way, they are joined by other pioneers and other family from Nordland (Norway) literally following in their footsteps. A couple of recent spin-off series, due to reader demand, continue the legacy that Snelling began writing in the 1990s.
You might like this if you like: Historical fiction, the Little House on the Prairie stories, or multi-generational fiction series
What I’ve liked: It’s been awhile since I’ve stumbled onto a good series that scratched a literary itch I have: a series that invites us along as a family traverses good times and bad over a span of years. Multi-book stories like this often feel more realistic, more natural. We experience the big picture, one story at a time. It reminds me of the big picture of which we’re all a part; today’s drama isn’t the end of the story.
Kudos to Snelling for immersing the reader in a vivid, well-researched story world. …But even more than that, I’ve loved her almost-poetic style. Here’s one example, when Ingeborg worries over her injured son.
She could feel peace tiptoe into the room, shy as a fawn. As long as she hummed, it drew closer and wrapped her in its arms. It stole across the little boy, circled the old woman, and wrapped the others, too, in its warmth. Ingeborg knew with all her heart that if she turned quickly enough, she would see Jesus himself, or one of His angels, standing right behind her shoulder. – From Book 4, The Reapers’ Song
I’m not crazy about: Detailed history of the frontier isn’t for the squeamish. Occasional scenes give us a front row seat to necessities like hog butchering. These are seldom, though.
The bottom line: I recommend this series highly for those who want to settle in and get to know a family. Each book could be read as stand-alones, but it’s much more satisfying to become invested over the long-haul.
What about you? If you were a pioneer in America in the 1800s, where do you think you’d like to settle?
“Whom in your life do you believe, deep down, will never give their life to God?”
I turned off the engine, dropped keys into my purse, and slid out on the driver’s side. I left the car behind as I crossed the parking lot, but the question hung on. The pastor on the radio had posed it during his weekly 30-second devotional.
To paraphrase his longer question, who would shock our socks off if they ever left their current life and exchanged it for life through Jesus? We all know, and often love, people who either don’t give God the time or day, or they spend time shaking their fists in His face.
They’ll never become a Christian.
Ooops, did I just say that out loud? Nope, but if we’re honest, we’ve thought it about the person we’re picturing. Probably a lot.
Sure, we claim that we believe in God’s power to draw people to Him. But we know, too, that He allows free will and choice.
The question that came through the radio challenged me. Do I give up praying too quickly and assume their choice is final?
You can bet no one dreamed that Saul would change. Remember his murderous campaign on Christians?
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. Acts 9:1-2 (NLT)
Saul thundered throughout the land, chasing down terrified Christians. Yet God did change his heart, his life–and through him, the world. But Ananias even debated with God Himself, doubting Saul’s (now Paul’s) transformation when God gave him the news. God’s power in Paul’s life sent shock waves throughout the infant Christian community.
We’d do well to think twice before giving up on someone. Let’s think of it this way: If Paul could sit down with us today and talk about God’s power to change a person (and his gratitude that He did just that), do you think he’d challenge us to keep praying for people we’re sure will never change? Yes, that’s a rhetorical question. =)
Or, let’s pretend for grins. Say you had made different choices before now or had found yourself in life-altering circumstances. Say you weren’t a Christian yet–maybe far, far from it. Knowing what you know now with your life in Christ, would you hope that someone would keep praying, keep reaching out to you?
Me, too.
Research is addicting. Let me be more specific: historical research is addicting. I count myself among historical fiction writers who say that the research can prove more fun than the writing.
And since I write historical fiction set in Texas these days, this month I’m sharing one of my favorite new-to-me resources: The Portal to Texas History.
Created by the University of North Texas, this free, online resource boasts “569,484 unique items, comprising 5.8 million files,” according to the site. That’s a whole lotta Texas.
So, what can you do with the Portal? If you have a connection to almost any place in Texas, you’ll find something here. For instance, I graduated from Hardin-Simmons University. And since I’m writing about the 1940s, I found their collection and clicked on the 1940s link. I found this great picture of students loaded up in a Model A.
Or, maybe you want to flip through the pages of a newspaper from a town that’s personal to you. The Portal holds scores of scanned newspaper archives. In the Cass County Sun collection, I found editions of the charming, longtime column that my relative Juanita Anderson wrote about the goings-on of the Center Grove community, where many of my ancestors settled in Texas.
I could go on and on about the possibilities, but then I’d cut into time to do research. =)
What about you? What historical topics/times pique your curiosity?
It’s a Grab Bag Monday. Today’s post hails from seven years ago, but the scene it paints still lives vividly in my mind’s eye.
Yesterday David and I took a day trip to Cloudcroft, NM, to see David’s parents. They were there for a few days of relaxation. They chose a great place to do just that; many of us know that Cloudcroft is a beautiful mountain village surrounded by towering pines–a perfect escape from the summer heat.
While there they took us to a nearby campground to see something in particular. The day before, a big thunderstorm unleashed on the area, bringing lots of rain and hail. …And lightning, evidently. We stopped our car nearby what they wanted us to see: In the middle of the campground stood the thick trunk of what used to be a huge pine tree. I say “used to be” because during the storm a lightning bolt whiplashed it, felling the tree and exposing the pale, fleshy lumber inside. A car was also its victim; in that same split second, the same bolt flung an arc to a nearby car and incapacitated it. The aftermath was a pretty impressive sight. Thankfully no one was hurt.
As we drove away it struck me (pun partially intended) how powerful God really is. He is God. His power and glory can be seen all around us, especially in nature. We left that campsite and went about our day. But other things kept catching my notice, from the fragrant wildflower bouquets decorating the edges of the highway, to a photo of a double rainbow my mother-in-law showed me on her camera, to the perfectly round, pea-sized hail cascading outside while visiting The Lodge hotel. Each reminded me of His awesomeness, creativity, and love (yes, somehow the hail even reminded me of His love!). I knew He was there.
Have you noticed that sometimes He wows us with a mighty display of His majesty? Often also it’s the smaller, everyday things we see that He uses to invite us to gaze at Him. I’d love to hear from you:
What about you? When was a time that God used something–maybe in nature, big or small–to remind you of who He is?