45. The Pursuit of Elena Bradford

45. The Pursuit of Elena Bradford. Ann H. Gabhart. 2025. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, Christian fiction, historical romance, 1840s]

First sentence: Elena Bradford had yet to meet the man to make her consider marriage. She would, her mother assured her when Elena was younger. She should, her mother insisted when Elena turned twenty. She must, her mother demanded when Elena's father died. By then Elena was twenty-two.

Premise/plot: After the death of her father, Elena and her sister--along with their mother--go to Graham Springs, Kentucky, to a health resort to 'catch' husbands. The goal: marry Elena off to a rich man and allow Ivy to marry for love. Elena as a 'spinster' is unsure she'll be able to catch a man--wealthy or not. And she despises her mother's intentions though she can't really stop her mother from scheming. There are several men who could prove potential love interests. Elena finds herself attracted to two: an artist with dreams of going West to paint landscapes and a recently jilted man (I believe his family's business is raising horses???). Kirby and Andrew are night and day different. Kirby is EAGER to marry anyone who can give him enough money for a ticket west. If she's pleasant, charming, a fellow artist that would be a bonus. But he can tolerate anyone--or thinks he can. Andrew is more reserved and is unsure if he'll ever marry. However he finds himself falling for Elena. Meanwhile, we have a scheming mother, a determined sister (she is in love with a man back home), and a MYSTERY GUEST that dies on the same day she arrives after making quite an entrance. Ivy (the sister) may just have witnessed something she shouldn't....

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. Granted, I could have done without the twenty-two equals spinster, old maid trope. But I loved the story and the characters. I found myself underlining so many sentences! Which is something I usually don't do with Christian fiction!

Quotes:

• No boy when she was younger, no man now, had ever truly pursued her. Or was it that she had never given love a chance? 
• She couldn't solve her problems tonight. Tomorrow would bring whatever it brought, and she would face it with the Lord's help. With his love. She pulled the thought of that love up over her like a blanket and slept.
• A woman willing to marry for money rather than love is hardly a lady. 
• "Dear Father in heaven," she whispered after Ivy and her mother left to take the waters. "If there is a man like that here, please let me meet him. One I can love as a wife should love her husband. I realize I've done nothing to deserve love, but love isn't something to earn. It just is."
• Sometimes we need to do more than hope. We need to add actions to that hope of friendship. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review #21

Bible reading

BSB

• Psalms 90-119:1-32
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy

KJV

• Jeremiah 4-52
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel 37-48
• Luke 1-10

NASB 95

• Genesis 37-50
• Exodus 1-10
• Job 18-42
• Proverbs 1-16
• Psalms 37-66
• Mark 5-16
• Luke 1-8
• Romans 12-16
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians

ESV

• Isaiah 50-66
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos 
• Obadiah
• Jonah

NKJV

• 1 Kings 10-16
• 2 Chronicles 9-17
• Proverbs 30-31

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

44. A Child's Garden of Bible Stories

44. Child's Garden of Bible Stories. Arthur W. Gross. Illustrated by Rod Taenzer. 1948. 146 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, bible story books, children's books, children's classic]

First sentence: Long, long ago there was no world. There were no birds and bees, no fields and flowers, no lakes and rivers, no sun, no moon, no stars. There were no people either. There was nothing at all. Only God was there.

Child's Garden of Bible Stories was originally published in 1948; it has since been republished multiple times through the decades. There are twenty-eight stories from the Old Testament. There are thirty-two stories from the New Testament. Each story has a handful of illustrations. 

What I most appreciate about this children's classic is the variety of stories included. It is always interesting to me when reading and reviewing children's bible story books WHICH stories are included and which are not. Length of the book often plays a big role I imagine in what gets included. But also I think stories can reflect the times in which the book is published. There are stories that rarely make the cut. One of the more unusual stories included in this one is David and Absalom! (Including an illustration of Absalom getting hung in the tree by his hair.) 

The books definitely does a great job in presenting the gospel and a biblical Jesus.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in review #20

Bible reading this week: 

BSB

• Psalms 56-89
• 1 John (again)
• Galatians

KJV (Clarion)

• 1 Kings 17-22
• 2 Kings
• Proverbs
• Ezekiel 10-36;
• Jeremiah 1-3

NASB 95

• Genesis 16-36
• Nehemiah 7-13; 
• Esther
• Job 1-17;
• Psalms 16-36;
• Matthew 16-28
• Mark 1-4
• Acts 16-28;
• Romans 1-11;

NKJV

• Proverbs 17-29;
• 1 Kings 5-8
• 2 Chronicles 2-3; 8; 
• Psalms 11, 134, 136, 146-150; 
• Ecclesiastes

ESV

• Isaiah 1-49

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

43. 1-3 John: Fellowship in God's Family

43. 1-3 John: Fellowship in God's Family (Preaching the Word). David L. Allen. 2013. 435 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, bible commentary]

First sentence: Tucked away at the back of your Bible is a little letter called 1 John. John the apostle, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, wrote it. 

The Preaching the Word Bible commentary series is published by Crossway. I've a few of these in my collection. This was my first time to read the commentary on 1-3 John by David Allen. 

What should YOU know? It is a Bible commentary. It is a Bible commentary that prints out the entirety of the Bible book being studied. It isn't solely just expository preaching, it allows room for application and stories. That being said, it does provide insight and context into studying the book of the Bible. It isn't 'just' stories and anecdotes. (It isn't even primarily that.) It does try to weave in pop culture references, references that may not have aged all that well in the years since it was published. Again the main thing of the commentary is Scripture itself. It definitely has its casual moments though perhaps not as casual as say J. Vernon McGee. So expect a few more degrees of seriousness than McGee but less than say a more scholarly commentary. 

I definitely appreciated this one! 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

42. What to Do With Your Whirly Swirly Thoughts

42. What to Do With Your Whirly Swirly Thoughts. Jennie Allen. Illustrated by Nadia Gunawan. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, feelings and emotions, mental health, 4 stars]

First sentence: Oh, look at all your thoughts in that cute little head of yours!

Jennie Allen tackles the topic of children's mental health from a Christian perspective in What to Do With Your Whirly Swirly Thoughts. That's a simple enough summary. Is it too Christian to please some? Yes. Is it not Christian enough to please others? Maybe. Can you please everyone all the time? Definitely not.

The audience is children. I imagine elementary-aged children, but perhaps it could work with younger children as well [preschool, pre-K]. I don't know how well this would work with children *older* than that even if they have mental health concerns as well. 

The format is picture book, obviously. BRIGHT, bold colors. Plentiful illustrations, perhaps a little on the busy side. BUT since the book is about whirly, swirly thoughts and being overwhelmed with feelings and emotions, it makes sense that the illustrations are a little busy as well. 

The book offers practical tips on how to cope with 'whirly, swirly thoughts.' While the book as a whole is written with a Christian mindset in mind, the practical tips aren't confined to those you could reason from Scripture--if that makes sense. Tips include: talking about the thoughts out loud--either to God in prayer, to family, to friends, etc; practicing gratitude; physical exercise. The tips themselves are in some ways generic enough that they don't seem particularly religious--or exclusively religious. 

There's definitely some talk of God and Jesus. However, I was slightly disappointed that there's no mention of the Holy Spirit. Surprised because it is only by being filled with the Holy Spirit that we are able to have transformed, renewed minds [Romans 12:2], and are able to take every thought captive [2 Corinthians 10:5]. It is the Spirit that unites us to Christ and gives us the mind of Christ [1 Corinthians 2:16]. It is the Spirit who helps us to pray and speaks even when we're unable [see Romans 8]. 

I could not tell if the book dabbles into New Thought [which is in opposition to Christianity]. New Thought has increasingly become more and more common in Christian circles. Or if it's just trying to oversimplify Christianity for very young children. 

For an older audience or perhaps for all ages, I'd suggest either having a spiral book [index cards are great] where you write out verses to encourage, support, uplift, and feed your soul. Verses to have as a resource for big feelings, big thoughts, big emotions. You can revisit these verses daily, weekly, or on an as-needed basis. Though the more you KNOW before you are overwhelmed with swirly, whirly thoughts the better equipped you will be to stop them from growing. 

I'd also recommend actually READING the Bible. The more you know God THROUGH THE READING OF HIS WORD, the better equipped you are to face life. Again, the more familiar you are with the Word, the more equipped you are when you do face struggles. You know WHO to turn to, WHERE to go, and can have plans in place. You can PRAY SCRIPTURE back to God. You can be comforted by his promises and trust in him more.

MEMORY verses might also come in useful. 

I would also highly recommend MUSIC. Though music has its own pros and cons when it comes to how biblically sound or unsound it may be, having theologically rich, God-focuses songs that you can use to feed your soul is wonderful. Sometimes it is easier to SING than to pray. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

41. A Matter of Honor

41. A Matter of Honor. Laura Frantz. (Audio narration by Amy Scanlon). 2024/2025. 206 pages. [Source: Library] [adult historical fiction, adult historical romance, Christian romance, novella, 4 stars]

First sentence: In the glittering, beeswax-scented drawing room of Kensington Palace, Orin Hume stood beside a Paladian window. 

A Matter of Honor is a novella, a companion novella, to The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz. It has been a few years since I read The Rose and the Thistle. But Orin Hume, the romantic lead, is the young brother of one of the characters in that book [The Rose and the Thistle]. There are a few characters that overlap, I believe, but they are decades older. I do believe this one could be read as a standalone. 

Orin Hume loves, loves, loves Lady Maryn Lockhart. Maryn loves, loves, loves Orin Hume. A terribly tragic accident happening years before--I believe five???--has proven an almost impossible obstacle. It was an accident that injured Maryn and killed her [twin] brother. Orin wrote letters to Maryn. Maryn wrote letters to Orin. Did Orin read Maryn's letters? No. Did Maryn read Orin's letters? No. Maryn's sister prevented her letters from being mailed. Maryn's grandfather hid the letters Orin actually did send. It isn't until recently that these two have reconnected--from a distance. He still loves her. She still loves him. She is a recluse, mostly. He is reluctant to go where he's not welcome. After all, why didn't she respond to his many letters? 

Will these two ever come face to face and actually talk with one another openly and honestly about what they have felt, what they are currently feeling, and how they will feel forever? Maybe. Maybe not. 

I listened to this one on audio book. Amy Scanlon was MARVELOUS. It was an absolute delight to hear all the dialogue of this novel. Her narration of the narration was also lovely. But it is the dialect where she shines brightest. I ADORED her accents. 

The romance was lovely but slow. I do wish that Maryn especially had been less stubborn. Sometimes the obstacles are more internal--mental blocks--many romance books use more melodramatic obstacles that are less believable--kidnappings, fire, etc. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible