81. Christmas in Wisconsin

81. Christmas in Wisconsin. Linda Byler. 2025. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, Christian romance, Christian fiction]

First sentence: The onset of winter in Wisconsin came suddenly.

Amish fiction is not my typical read although I have read Amish stories here and there. This one has a modern-day Wisconsin setting, and it's a Christmas-ish setting as well. It tells a few (disjointed at least to me) stories. Lydia Beiler is a 'spinster' schoolteacher--Amish, of course--who has spent decades teaching and never had a romance of her own. Laura Slotzfus is a young Amish woman--a teenager--who is being courted. Lydia's suitor is the father of Laura's suitor. Neither romance is fleshed out. And I don't mean in a fleshy-worldly way. I mean in a fictional-literary-basics way. Characters need to actually be developed and stories need to be developed as well. Romance stories should feature romance. I'm not talking steamy romance. I'm talking scenes where the characters are together be that talking about the past, the present, the future OR talking about hopes and dreams and such OR just talking about the day, the weather, anything. 

I wanted LYDIA to have a story beyond the guy that she had a crush on as a teenager coming back to the community with his grown son and him showing up with a basket of fruit and them becoming essentially engaged within thirty seconds. Her: I had a big crush on you as a teenager but you never noticed me. Him: I noticed you and wished I'd picked you instead of the woman I married. I ended up not liking her at all. Do you want me to marry me in three months? 

The other romance was about the same except I'm not sure we actually spent much time with them. It was mostly HIM talking to his dad and others about how much he thought of Laura but she was barely eighteen and he didn't think she'd be interested in marrying him. And with Laura, well, we didn't even get to know Laura that much. I mean we read that she was confused why after sitting together at a wedding why he didn't show up ready to court her within a few days. But essentially no characterization there. 

More time is spent on Laura's parents--Amos and Mary--than on Lydia OR Laura. 

I felt the first half had potential. I felt it was going somewhere probably. The second half was just ALL telling and no showing. There was no relationship development, no character development, no plot. And the last chapter was the worst type of ending to a book where the author dumped forty-million bows onto the story. In other words, it wasn't just one story wrapped up with a pretty little bow. It was let's give happy endings to every character for several generations and all the side characters that were mentioned too. 

All this being said, I think for readers who LOVE and adore Amish fiction, this one might work. I mean the author has a LOT of Amish novels fiction published and they obviously have an audience. I am positive that there are readers out there who do enjoy this type of read. I'm just not the target audience. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

80. Spirit-Filled Singing

80. Spirit-Filled Singing. Ryanne J. Molinari. 2025. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars, Christinan nonfiction, worship]

First sentence: I did not plan to become a church musician.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. NKJV (Galatians 5:22-26)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. ESV (Galatians 5:22-26)

Spirit-Filled Singing has an extremely specific target audience. The book is primarily for worship leaders, church musicians, church choirs, etc. Or perhaps expanded to those in the process of studying to become professional musicians who also happen to be Christian and are considering working in churches. The book DOES unpack, if you will, Galatians 5:22-23--the fruit of the Spirit. But it does so specifically through the lens of how that fruit of the Spirit might apply directly to church musicians, song leaders, worship leaders, choir members, etc. It is not a general book examining the fruit of the Spirit. Nor is it a book about how the HOLY SPIRIT is essential to worship. (I saw the title Spirit-Filled Singing and immediately made the jump that it was about the role of the HOLY SPIRIT in worship). Though I don't think the author would argue that point that the Holy Spirit IS very much essential to worship. 

ONE point that I thought was great was that she argues that ALL the fruits of the Spirit can be summed up in one--love--and ties that with 1 Corinthians 13. Read about love's description in that famous chapter and you can find traces of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

The book is weighty in musical expertise. I don't necessarily think this book is for non-musicians. It's a whole other world. That being said, it's not bad that this book is specifically for musicians and only musicians. There are probably dozens if not hundreds of other books about the fruit of the Spirit that are for the rest of us. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review #49

NASB 95

• Matthew 20-28
• Mark
• Luke
• John

KJV

• Ecclesiastes
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

ESV Women's Study Bible

• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles

NASB 77

• Isaiah 6-66
• Jeremiah 1-30

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

79. Unoffendable

79. Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better. Brant Hansen. 2015. 214 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Okay. So this may sound like the dumbest thing you've ever read, but here goes: You can choose to be "unoffendable." 

Brant Hansen's Unoffendable is a quick, thought-provoking read. It challenges mindsets for sure. It was written by a Christian for other Christians, but, surely the whole world would benefit IF and only IF people CHOSE to be UNOFFENDABLE. 

Essentially, the book argues that GOD IS GOD IS GOD IS GOD IS GOD. We are not. We're just not. God knows all, sees all, hears all, can judge the OUTER actions and inner thoughts. Nothing is hidden from God. NOTHING. Not a thing. We can trust God to handle everything. His justice. His wrath. His righteous indignation. His vengeance, if you will. GOD has a time and place and a WAY. No one will escape his judgment. 

The Bible has commanded us to be forgiving, to love our enemies, to not store up anger, to not act in anger, to not take vengeance, to not harbor resentment and anger and bitterness. Forgiveness is the way. Love is the way. We are to not let anger rule in our hearts, our minds, our spirits. Whether we are sinned against by an unbeliever or a believer, we can choose forgiveness. This means trusting God with everything, with all the details. Hansen argues that it can be our egos, our pride, our sense of entitlement, that fuels our outrage. Choose humility over pride and love over hate. He stresses throughout that it is BECAUSE we have been forgiven by God that we can forgive others. OUR sin was great and yet forgiven. We are not without sin, we are forgiven by a gracious God who calls us to graciously extend that forgiveness to others. The point is also made that God does not need us to be angry on his behalf. God is God is God. Everyone will be held accountable. God doesn't need us to fight his battles for him--in anger. I think you can stand for truth, stand for righteousness, stand for the faith without being angry. Hansen stresses that anger is not necessary for action. You can SEE injustice and ACT without being angry. You can SEE error and speak against it without being angry. 

The book challenges assumptions and presumptions. It's a good read. There are a LOT of stories and illustrations. Not as much exposition of Scriptures in great detail. BUT I do think that when he uses Scripture it seemingly is used correctly. 

ETA: I have read a few reviews that point out that Hansen CHOOSES his verses carefully and does not mention verses that seemingly conflict with his position. That he only presents one side and oversimplifies everything. I thought that was a fair point. I mean he does not do a deep dive into EVERY instance of anger in the Old Testament and New Testament. 

So now I'm torn between four stars and three stars. There are plenty of commands to love and forgive. No lie. In the gospels. In the epistles. But there's also instances in Scripture where we are told to hate sin, to reject sin, to NOT associate or "walk with" the unrighteous. I imagine it is oversimplified here. BUT we are living in dangerous times where EVERYONE tends to be offended by everything all the time always and always and no exceptions. So perhaps the pendulum has swung a little too extreme in reaction to that. But I do think he makes some good points. 

The review of this book that has made me think hardest mentions Paul's anger in the book of Galatians. Though one could easily jump from Paul's anger in that circumstance to Paul's anger with the Corinthians. 

Hansen tends to think that anger is wrong 100% of the time no excuses, and I'm not sure the Bible concurs with that. I think it's more nuanced than that. 

Quotes:

We're told to forgive, and that means anger has to go, whether we've decided our anger is "righteous" or not.

Yes, the world is broken. But don't be offended by it. Instead, thank God that He's intervened in it, and He's going to restore it to everything it was meant to be. 

What about being angry at sin, Brant? Of course, we're supposed to be angry at sin. It's probably worth noting that, usually, when this question is asked of me, it's about something more specific. By "sin" we mean other people's sin. Are we to cling to anger at their sin? God took out His wrath on Jesus for other people's sin. And I believe Jesus suffered enough to pay for it, and my sin too. I'm so thankful for that. He will deal with others' sins; it's not my deal.

We cling to our self-righteousness and can't possibly imagine giving it up. We think it's how we're supposed to live. Wait: We're supposed to surrender the idea that we know others' motivations? We're supposed to give up thinking we know everyone's spiritual temperature? 

But rules don't change anyone's heart, ever. Grace does.

Being offended is a tiring business. Letting things go gives you energy.

An emotion is just an emotion. It's not critical thinking. Anger doesn't pause. We have to stop, and we have to question it.

Anger is extraordinarily easy. It's our default setting. Love is very difficult. Love is a miracle.

God knows others' private motives. We don't. God knows our private motives. We don't. We think we can judge others' motives. We're wrong. We should abandon our "right" to anger, simply because we can deceive ourselves so easily. 

It is the essence of ministry. It finally occurred to me that we can't be agents of healing in people's lives unless we're ready to bear their wounds for them and from them.

Seek justice; love mercy. You don't have to be angry to do that.

We simply can't trust ourselves in our judgments of others. WE don't know what they're really thinking, or their background, or what really motivated whatever they did. And since we don't know, let's choose ahead of time: we're just not going to get offended by people. If we don't need to be right, we don't have to reshape reality to fit "The Story of My Rightness." 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Growing4Life 2026 Bible Challenge

Challenge Host: Growing4Life

Challenge Post: 2026 Growing4Life

Group Activity is on Facebook

January - December 2026

There is a reading schedule that is quite detailed, but, this is an abbreviated one. Essentially, she has you reading one chapter per week--multiple times per week. So Luke 1 would be read five to seven times, etc. The system is based on the MacArthur method which has you read each section thirty times. So for January according to the MacArthur system, you'd read Luke 1-4 thirty times. I'm leaning more towards the MacArthur method. But there's enough wiggle room in the challenge that everyone can do what works best for them. 

January	Luke 1-55
February	Luke 6-9
March	Luke 10-12
April	Colossians
May	1 John
June	2 John, 3 John, Jude
July	Psalms 19-23
August	Psalms 24-26
September	Luke 13-17
October	Luke 18-21
November	Luke 22-24
December	Psalms 27-30

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

78. Sea View Christmas

78. Sea View Christmas (On Devonshire Shores) Julie Klassen. 238 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars, adult romance, christian romance, historical romance, christian fiction]

First sentence: Miss Sarah Summers sat on her neatly made bed, a treasure in each hand. In her left she held a letter from the man she'd been betrothed to before his death at sea more than three years before. In her right palm lay a dried thistle--stalk, spiny bulb, and purple flower crown--the symbol of Scotland. It had been given to her by a Scotsman who, despite her efforts to forget him, still occupied a large part of her thoughts...and, if she were honest with herself, her heart. 

Premise/plot: Miss Sarah Summers cannot forget Callum Henshall and his stepdaughter Effie. They were among the first boarders at her family's boarding house. It has been a good number of books--three? four?--since Sarah has last spoken with him face to face. BUT neither has forgotten the other. This Christmas season, Callum and his stepdaughter have returned to the boarding house...has he come to woo her and win her? Probably. Possibly. Maybe. Meanwhile, Georgiana, the youngest sports-minded sister, is having a strong flirtation of her own with Colin, a local young man who's just a few years older. Nothing definite happens between them too, but they have the feels for each other AND it's just a matter of time. Probably. Possibly.

My thoughts: I was sad to learn this is the last in the series. I really LOVED this series and wish it would continue for at least one or two more books. I think Georgiana could have used her own novel. There are a few stepdaughters that could use a novel perhaps. And though I can't recall her name--it's been four or five days since I finished the novel--the mother became guardian to one of the orphans in town. So the stories COULD have continued on. 

Julie Klassen is one of my favorite authors. I love this cozy series of romances. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review #48

This week's Bible reading

NASB 95 (audio, Bible in 90 days plan)

• Ezekiel 26-48
• Daniel
• Hoseas
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• Matthew 1-19

KJV (Paragraph 435e1b) 

• Psalms 116-150
• Proverbs
• Isaiah 50-66
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations

NASB 77 (Inductive Study Bible)

• Psalms 87-150
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs 

ESV Women's Study Bible

• Habakkuk 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible