Tag: the top shelf

{Book Review} On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Fiction Reviews · The Top Shelf: Children's Books · The Top Shelf: YA or Adult

{Book Review} On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

Madelyn Canada3 Comments

Lad, it’s one thing to be poor in pocket – nothing wrong with that. But poor in heart – that’s no good.”

-On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

About the book…

This is the first book in The Wingfeather Saga. A tale I would place on my shelf beside C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien, masterful storytelling that has become a rarity. The Igiby family has lived as normal a life as they could these last few years in the Glipwood Township under the invasion of the evil Fangs of Dang. But as their freedom slowly slips away, questions begin to rise, and more than their right to walk the streets without being bothered is at stake.

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{Book Review} Christian Heroes Then & Now Series
Non-Fiction Reviews · Top Shelf

{Book Review} Christian Heroes Then & Now Series

Madelyn Canada2 Comments

As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

-O Church Arise by Keith and Kristyn Getty

About the series…

The Christian Heroes Then & Now Series, are the individual stories of Christian heroes from the past and present day, told in a true story form that is sure to capture the imaginations of young (and old!) readers! There are forty-seven books in the series, ranging from George Muller to Mary Slessor to Nate Saint. Truly a delight to read, and treasure to have!

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{Book Review} The Lamplighter
Fiction Reviews · The Top Shelf: YA or Adult

{Book Review} The Lamplighter

Madelyn Canada2 Comments

Is Gertrude a beauty? By no means. Hers is a face and form about which there would be a thousand different opinions, and few would pronounce her beautiful. But there are faces whose ever-varying expression one loves to watch, tell-tale faces, that speak truth and proclaim the sentiment within; faces sanctified by the Divine presence, when the heart turns from a world and itself, and looks upward n the spirit of devotion. Such a face was Gertrude’s.

-The Lamplight by Maria S. Cummins

About the book…

She wasn’t beautiful, wanted, or helpful, but in an act of Christ-like love, the poor lamplighter carried the little girl to his quaint home, and spent his remaining years giving her all he had. But after her adoption, despite Uncle True’s loving care and devotion, Gertrude Flint’s life seems to grow more and more sorrowful with each passing day. Is the faith he taught her about enough to sustain her? Will the end of this journey bring any joy?

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{Book Review} Shadow of the Almighty
Top Shelf

{Book Review} Shadow of the Almighty

Madelyn Canada4 Comments

“I know that my hopes and plans for myself could not be any better than He has arranged and fulfilled them. Thus may we all find it, and know the truth of the Word which says, ‘He will be our Guide even until death.'”

-Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot

About the book…

While this book is once again written by Elisabeth Elliot, and contains an account of the death of the five missionaries who had set out to reach a native people group with the Gospel, it differs greatly from Through Gates of Splendor. This is a collection of Jim’s personal journal entries, letters, and other written works that give us a glimpse into his mind and heart, not only as a missionary, but as a teenager, young adult, husband, father, and most of all, as a follower of Jesus Christ.

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{Book Review} When Comes the Spring
Fiction Reviews · The Top Shelf: YA or Adult

{Book Review} When Comes the Spring

Madelyn Canada2 Comments

This is just the beginning, Elizabeth. We have today as a memory, but we have all of the tomorrows as exciting possibilities.

-When Comes the Spring

About the book…

This is the second book in the Canadian West Saga. Her life as a single teacher in the Wild West is over. She’s fallen in love, and is following the man of her dreams to the uncivilized Northern Territory. But this isn’t an easy going love story. They don’t live happily ever after, but they live stronger ever after. The North is a lonely, cold, dark place, where not a single person seems to share the love for God that Elizabeth does. The challenges, the loneliness, the doubts, creep in and threaten to tear apart their new marriage. In the end, Wynn and Elizabeth must face the fact: they cannot do this alone. They can only be sustained by the God who brought them together.

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When We’re Old Enough, Again
Encouragement

When We’re Old Enough, Again

Madelyn Canada6 Comments

My Dear Lucy,

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound, you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can take it down then from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be

                                   Your affectionate Godfather,

C. S. Lewis

Do you remember being six years old, and dreaming of the day when you would be old enough?
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{Book Review} Joni: An Unforgettable Story
Non-Fiction Reviews · Top Shelf

{Book Review} Joni: An Unforgettable Story

Madelyn Canada4 Comments

“He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me.”

-Joni Eareckson Tada

About the book…

Joni Eareckson Tada. An ordinary teenage girl, who had one accident, that changed the course of her entire life. What would you do if one day, you woke up unable to use any of your limbs? Would you curse God? Would you thank Him? Would you question Him? Would you ignore Him? Joni tells the story, not of her life, but of Jesus’ faithfulness in her life. From the days of her accident, through how they changed her young adult years, to finally coming to terms with God’s goodness and faithfulness in suffering, Joni walks you through a story that is sure to convict, encourage, and point you to Christ. Just like every good story should.

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Book Review: Through Gates of Splendor
Top Shelf

Book Review: Through Gates of Splendor

Madelyn Canada3 Comments

But everything that happens, we are told, fits into a pattern for good to those who love God. We see events as “God’s bright messengers.” He is always at work, calmly engineering His eternal purposes in us, through us, and in spite of us.

-Elisabeth Elliot Through Gates of Splendor

About the book…

This is the story of the five missionaries who were speared to death by those they hoped to reach with the Gospel. It is one many people know, or at least have heard of. This book, Through Gates of Splendor, is the story of how the paths Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Flemming crossed, the thrill of planning their greatest adventure, the joy the found in Jesus Christ, and the way God worked His perfect plan through their lives, and deaths. What makes this book more than a mere biography, is it’s author. Elisabeth Elliot was there for the events she recounts, the wife of one of the five missionaries. Her humble, honest, and thorough story of God working His plan in our greatest moments and weakest ones, is both convicting, encouraging, and very inspiring.

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Book Review: When Calls the Heart
Fiction Reviews · The Top Shelf: YA or Adult

Book Review: When Calls the Heart

Madelyn Canada4 Comments

Birds sang their last songs of the day before tucking in for the night, and still the darkness hung back. Now, I thought, I understand the word “twilight.” It was created for just this time – in this land.”
― Janette Oke When Calls the Heart

About the book…

Elizabeth Thatcher was raised in the privileged East of Canada. When her brother writes asking her to journey westward and become a teacher to children in the wild, she is faced with the decision to make a daring journey into the unknown, or stay home where she has a steady job and loving family.

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Book Review: Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story
Fiction Reviews · The Top Shelf: YA or Adult

Book Review: Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story

Madelyn CanadaLeave a comment

She took the offered hand, and hers disappeared in his. “Jennifer O’Malley.”

“Nice to meet you, Jennifer.”

-Dee Henderson Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story

About the book…

The O’Malley family. Seven orphans who grew up in the same orphanage, and formed their own family, legally changing all their last names to “O’Malley” as soon as they reached legal adulthood. All seven of them now live around the country, with different jobs, making an effort to stay together as the years go by. Jennifer is the youngest, a pediatrician in Texas who is about to have her world shaken physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When tough times at work hit, she finds herself asking questions about God that she’s never wondered before. Ironically the man she goes to for answers, begins to steal her heart. But when her worst nightmare becomes Jennifer’s reality, will her new found faith be enough to sustain her?

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