Rhonda's Doings !

The Englisch Daughter by Cindy Woodsmall & Erin Woodsmall A marriage is tested in this Old Order Amish novel of longing for renewed love and a path for forgiveness from the best-selling author of   Gathering the Threads   . Old Order Amish wife and mother Jemima has put her marriage and family ahead of herself for years. She's set herself aside. Raising four children, she's followed all the rules and has been patient in looking forward to her time to chase a dream of her own. But when she finds out that her life savings for pursuing that dream is gone--and her husband, Roy, has been hiding a child with another woman--her entire world is shattered. Will she be able to listen to God and love Roy's child? With so much at stake, how can she and Roy fix their relationship before their lives come crashing down?   MY BOOK REVIEW: 5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating Can you imagine the embarrassment and betrayal you would feel if your husband had been hiding a woman AND a baby...

A Christmas Haven  (An Amish Christmas Romance #2) by Cindy Woodsmall & Erin Woodsmall Book Description: Old Order Amish Ivy Zook is wrestling with her need to shed her community's ways so she can grow the business of her dreams: planning parties.  As long as she's stuck living without modernization, she can barely get her business on its feet. But if she leaves too soon, she'd cause trouble for her sister, Holly, who is planning her wedding to Joshua Smucker.  All of their plans become twice as complicated when an old car crashes into the storefront of Greene's Pharmacy, carrying a Swartzentruber (Ultra-conservative order of Amish) Amish man, Arlan, and his very ill sister. The Zooks take in Arlan and Magda, tending to the woman's illness and Arlan begins helping around the family farm.  Ivy and Arlan are on different tracks, one wanting to leave her community and the other wanting to return to his. But both young people are trying to discover what God ...

The Christmas Remedy (An Amish Christmas Romance #1) by Cindy Woodsmall & Erin Woodsmall When an Old Order Amish woman takes a job at a small-town pharmacy struggling to survive in a world of "big box" stores, her motive is to help her Plain community. But the advent of the holiday season brings an unusual mystery to the surface--and possibly love. Twenty-four-year-old Holly Zook lives a unique life for a young Amish woman. Years ago, her bishop allowed her to continue her education and become the lead technician for Greene's Pharmacy, an old-timey drugstore that looks out for the Amish community--a group largely without secure healthcare plans. She knows she can't marry and hold onto her professional job. She's Amish, and she can only have one or the other, so she spurns love and works toward addressing treatable diseases--like the one that claimed her father's life. As long as Holly continues to avoid Joshua Smucker, the one man who draws her like a...

Review of   A Love Undone: An Amish Novel of Shattered Dreams and God's Unfailing Grace by Cindy Woodsmall A husband and son abandoned to forge a path alone. A young woman who sacrificed her dreams. How will the God of grace and hope help them find their way?   At nineteen years old, Old Order Amish Jolene Keim was on the brink of happily-ever-after when everything changed, stealing the future she expected and burdening her with an unbearable decision. For the next ten years, Jolene throws herself into family life—and then she meets Andy Fisher. The horse trainer and father to a sweet nine year-old challenges her and holds up a mirror to issues Jolene has been unwilling to face. Andy is cautious about his deepening friendship with Jolene, but he believes she knows the truth about him – that he is a grass widower. As a man whose wife has abandoned him six years past, he is unable to divorce or remarry according to the Amish ways. Andy has wrestled with God conc...

Review of Seasons of Tomorrow  Amish Vines and Orchards, Book 4  by Cindy Woodsmall As love restores Rhoda, a sudden tragedy is the test of faith she never saw coming...  More settled in her heart than ever before, Rhoda Byler feels a newfound confidence living in the Old Order Amish settlement she helped establish in Orchard Bend, Maine. Though it has been almost a year since one brother left, Rhoda is happy to be working alongside the other brother as they tend and nurture the settlement's orchard. Time has helped to heal Rhoda's wounds, and she finds that even her unusual gift of profound intuition is less of a burden as she continues to seek God's wisdom and purpose for her life.  But when an Englischer friend's grandchild is taken deeper into hiding from her grandmother, can Rhoda's gift make a difference or will it simply be a catalyst to another season of doubt and misunderstanding? As she resolves to stay on course, suddenly a shocking tragedy cha...

Review of The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall This Christmas, experience learning to trust alongside the Plain folk of Apple Ridge, Pennsylvania in this heart-warming tale of second chances.   Sadie enjoys her freedom away from home and her mission trips to Peru, but after four years, her Old Order Amish family insists it’s time to come home and settle down. Levi, a bachelor who distrusts women after a family heartbreak, also has no desire for romance. To keep their families from meddling in their lives, Sadie and Levi devise a plan—but soon discover that the walls around their hearts are breaking down. Can they let go of their prejudices, learn to trust each other, and embrace a future together? My Review:   Who doesn't love a wonderful Christmas book set amidst the lovely snowfilled Amish country?  Cindy Woodsmall has once again created a delightful getaway with the magic of her words.   Sadie and Levi both plan to avoid marriage but God may just h...

Review of For Every Season (Book 3 in Amish Vines & Orchards) by Cindy Woodsmall Working hard to develop a new Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is fully committed to rehabilitating an orchard with business partner Samuel King. But an impulsive decision has created an unexpected strain in her relationship with her beau, Samuel’s brother, Jacob, threatening plans for the orchard. Amidst mounting tension in matters of the heart and business, Rhoda finds that this fledging settlement feels like the home she has always longed for, and she begins to embrace the God-given, heightened intuition that has always felt like a burden to her. She longs for Jacob to fully be free of his past, so they can work towards the future together.   But as Rhoda uses her gift to unpack an old secret with her Englisch neighbors, it is not her beau but an unlikely ally that cheers her on. With the orchard on shaky ground and Jacob’s plans in question, Rhoda is determined to s...

and the Winner is......... Shirley Blanchard!!    Congratulations!!!    An email has been sent to you, Shirley.  Please send your mailing address to me!   Thanks to all who entered. Giveaway of The Winnowing Season  (Amish Vines & Orchards #2) by Cindy Woodsmall Giveaway!!!  One print copy will be mailed to one lucky winner.   TO ENTER:  Leave A Comment w/an email to contact you if you win. For Extra Entries:  Follow my blog, Share on facebook, Share on twitter, Share on google + Tell me what you did to earn entries and one comment with all that is ok. Giveaway will close on Sat. 8/31/2013 at midnight. Winner announced after that time. I was given a copy of this book by my dear friend, Susan F., to share on my blog.  Book description: The tornado that devastated Kings’ Orchard pushed Rhoda, Samuel, and Jacob to make a new start in Maine. Are they strong enough to withstand the challen...

Review of The Winnowing Season Amish Vines and Orchards Book 2 by Cindy Woodsmall The tornado that devastated Kings’ Orchard pushed Rhoda, Samuel, and Jacob to make a new start in Maine. Are they strong enough to withstand the challenges of establishing an Amish community—and brave enough to face the secrets that move with them?   On the eve of their departure to begin a new Old Order Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is shocked to discover that choices made by her business partner and friend, Samuel King, have placed her and her unusual gifts directly into the path of her district’s bishop and preachers. She is furious with Samuel and is fearful that the Kings will be influenced by the way her leaders see her, and not what they know to be true—that Rhoda’s intuition is a gift from God.   Jacob King won’t be swayed by community speculation. He loves Rhoda, believes in her, and wants to build a future with her in Maine. But when the ghosts ...

Review of  A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall  In a community where conformity flourishes, seeds of Rhoda’s odd behavior were planted long ago. Can she cultivate her relationships with the same care and tenderness that she gives her beloved garden?   Old Order Amish Rhoda Byler’s unusual  gift  and her remarkable abilities to grow herbs and berries have caused many to think her odd. As rumors mount that Rhoda’s “gift” is a detriment to the community, she chooses isolation, spending her time in her fruit garden and on her thriving canning business.     Miles away in Harvest Mills, Samuel King struggles to keep his family’s apple orchard profitable. As the eldest son, Samuel farms with his brothers, the irrepressible Jacob and brash Eli, while his longtime girlfriend Catherine remains hopeful that Samuel will marry her when he feels financially stable.     Meanwhile, Samuel’s younger sister Leah is testing all the bounda...