Recap Book Chat

The period of Judges and Ruth was dark. God raised up Samuel as a prophet, priest, and judge when He answered childless Hannah’s fervent prayer. Samuel was committed to doing what was right in God’s sight, sadly Eli, the current priest, and sons were not. Eli’s dealings with his erring sons teaches us we have to do more than just talk. From Samuel, the last judge, to Saul, the first king, is a tumultuous time. Fear becomes Saul’s focus trumping growth in his relationship with God. Amazingly, Saul’s son, Jonathan, shines because he does put God first. Fearless faith enables Jonathan to humbly embrace David as the next king instead of himself.David was anointed king before his famous fight with Goliath in chapter 17. We notice the timeline between David’s anointing as king and him actually becoming king was quite a gap. David’s brothers were about as encouraging as Joseph’s. Was it jealousy? Brothers can be a blessing or a burden, this is true in all relationships, let’s choose to be a Johnathan not an Eliab! The end of the first book of Samuel gets ugly for  King Saul, he’s blinded by jealousy and cannot stop chasing David, he’s not listening to Samuel, and he’s not obeying God. After Samuel dies, Saul decides to have a medium bring him up. Sad picture of lost opportunities, we can learn much for Saul. Carpe Diem - Seize the Day!2 Samuel depicts the ups and downs of King David’s life. We learn that sin separates and that no one sins in a vacuum, we can get forgiveness most assuredly sin has consequences. David’s children suffered. Kudos to Nathan, who had the hard talk with David using the vehicle of story!Through it all, David is a man after God’s own heart. Are we following his example as we meet the ups and downs of our earthly walk? Please join Kate and Sheila as they recap these two insightful books in God’s Holy Word! Blessings to you dear listeners, may we all GROW closer to God each day!

Emma M. Lion returns with gusto in volume 2 by Beth Brower. Do you like underdog stories? Emma may be in a precarious predicament but she’s not one to throw in the towel! Advice from Emma’s father, “You must be fighting fit, Emma, whatever else. Most of life is the ability to be ready for what comes your way.”Young Hawkes (the unlikely vicar) informs Emma that her cousin has been confessing his sins and a much longer list of her sins while showing the scar from the teapot Emma tossed at him long ago following much provocation. The Tenant aka Niall Pierce attempts to solve the mouse problem with a cat. He and Emma communicate by sending messages through a hole in the wall that divides the garret, like the following:I REPORT THAT TYBALT HAS TAKEN A MOUSE.Your news proves to be the chief triumph of my day.WITH NO WISH TO CAST ASPERSIONS, I WONDER HOW THAT COULD BE THE TRIUMPH OF AN ENTIRE DAY?Tea with my Aunt, the Lady Eugenia Spencer, in which I was instructed how to behave in public: namely, like an unobtrusive but on the window.I RETRACT MY PREVIOUS QUESTION.Cousin Arabella bravely declares that, “Emma can’t live with Maxwell’s ghost forever…As painful as it is, however desperately we miss him, Maxwell has been dead for three years…Allow him to go.”  Mary, Emma’s friend and fellow survivor  from Fortitude enlists Emma’s help in solving a problem involving retrieving a confiscated  copy of Jane Eyre and Jack (Mary’s rented cousin).In the midst of Emma’s comings and goings she intersects with the Duke of Islington’s diary which she was unable to resist reading from cover to cover before returning it!We love Emma and her ability to move forward in spite of the trials her cousin places upon her. Won’t you join the journey? Blessings!

Naomi has lost her husband and two sons in Moab so she decides to return to her homeland. However, she does not lose her daughter-in-law even after Naomi repeatedly encouraged Ruth to return to her mother’s house. Ruth's reply was and still is so powerful. “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”Ruth exhibits the traits described in the Proverbs 31 woman. She gave Naomi space to grieve while she gleaned fields from early morning till evening. Her focus was on serving Naomi not herself. What a wonderful lesson for us all!Her character and work ethic received the attention of Boaz, the owner of the field and a relative of Naomi. Layer by layer, Naomi works through her grief and becomes a matchmaker. What a beautiful love story evolves out of heart-brokeness!Boaz’s mom was Rahab, who had also, like Ruth, left pagan life to follow YHWH. He is drawn to this young woman who is an outsider, like himself, when he sees who she  gladly gleans for her mother-in-law.R uth refused to return to her parent’s abode,U nbelievable work ethic, she carried the load-T rusted God wholeheartedly, she never feared,H umbly followed Namomi’s instructions no matter how weird!Won’t you journey with us back to the turbulent time of Judges as we recap the amazing book of Ruth! Let’s strive to absorb the lessons that can be gleaned from this selfless servant-minded young widow!

Join Kate and Sheila as they journey through Judges, a book of disobedience, oppression, crying out to God, judge (aka leader) appointed, deliverance, and peace cycling over and over. God was clear- take over the land, but instead His people intermarried and started to worship idols. Downward spirals are never pretty, but they can teach a great deal. In chapter 2, the text says they failed to teach the next generation.Ch. 4-Deborah the prophetess helps her insecure commander, Barak (Be Brave-God’s in control)Ch. 5-the resourceful Jael bravely uses what she has on hand (a tent peg) to kill the man Barak was afraid of (Serve God with what we have on hand)Ch. 6-Gideon’s story shows the patience of God and how He meets people where they areCh. 8 Gideon goes from “the Lord will rule over you” to building an ephod that became a snare to the peopleCh 11- Jepthah’s unwise vow that cost his daughter’s life (Watch our words closely)Abimelech killed his 70 half-brothers on a stone (the youngest escaped) (he received 70 silver coins-is money ever the answer?)Abeimelech was killed by a millstone a woman dropped out of a tower (Another resourceful woman)Samson – never trust someone (Delilah) who seeks to weaken you (Pick your friends carefully)“In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.” Judges 17:6 and 21:25 (Ask what does God want me to do instead)Talk about a rollercoaster ride! Please join us & discover how this book can guide, real change always starts from the inside! 

In today’s visit we dive into The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by the very talented Beth Brower.“It takes a courageous man to marry a woman with a mind.” Emma M. Lion is definitely a woman with a mind! She lives in London in the house she inherited but is quarantined to just the garret thanks to Cousin Archibald.In 106 pages you are swept back to 1883 England. One journal entry shows a wordsmith in the making.“The scurry.The scrape.The scratch.Followed by an all to earthly squeak.The garret has mice.I weep.”Emma lost her parents at 13 and is now trying to survive and thrive in dire circumstances until she turns 18 in a few months.She had to sell her father’s extensive library to pay for schooling, which turned out less than optimal. Her cousin delivers a trunk that contains her mother’s Bible and her father’s illustrated works of Shakespeare. (Her father annotated texts long before it was cool. Margins are made to record the thoughts of the reader. Emma treasures this book. “I will read them through slowly, stretching the delight as far as I can.”Are you ready to meet the colorful Emma M. Lion? Please join us as we discuss the wonders of this witty wordsmith!

When gentle Hero meets the shy Claudio in this comedy by William Shakespeare, there is alas quite a bit of spice in the gumbo with Beatrice, aka Lady Tongue, and the blunt Benedick as they banter to beat the bands. Don Pedro and company arrive at Messina and go to the home of the governor, Hero’s father and Beatrice’s uncle, Leonata. The unsavory half-brother of Don Pedro, Don John, is, as Kate said, a contaminant and sets out to destroy happiness wherever it crops up.Notable Quotes:Beatrice: I’d rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.Claudio: Bait the hook well: this fish will bite.Benedict: That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks; all women shall pardon me…I will live a bachelor.Friar: That what we have we prize not to the worth whiles we enjoy it; but being Jack’d and lost, why, then we rack the value…Much can be gleaned from this short play! Trust plays a part in all relationships. One’s inner circle must be made up of trusted people. Don Pedro’s had an unsavory character. Impulsiveness is an issue for Claudio, who believes without giving Hero a chance to defend herself. Don John knows that people tend to believe the worst, especially with a set-up visual. He stacks up the dominoes and waits for the drama to fall.Join in on the fun recapping this climactic, chaotic comedy from the Wiley Wordsmith! May blessings come to you, listeners so dear, We hope you enjoy another classic from Shakespeare!https://recapbookchat.com/

 Maisie Dobbs accepts a case from an old friend concerning his potential land purchase. She goes to a small rural community to investigate mysterious fires that erupt regularly, in addition to a series of petty crimes. Her assistant, Billy, and his family are there to pick hops. (Every August or September, thousands of Londoners left the crowded city to live in huts for weeks to pick hops. Not long after this time period, workers were replaced by machines. What was interesting was the attitude of the pickers, they formed a community and sang and danced in the evenings, and treated their time in Kent more like a vacation than drudgery.) 1931 brought many challenges to folks in the different classes, from Londoners to gypsies to townspeople.. Prejudices are never pretty. England was still healing from the aftermath of  WWI, Billy and his sweet family are still healing from their loss, and Maisie has her own loss to work through, too. Revenge is added to loss in the village where Maisie learns about a secret no one wants to discuss. Another mystery is the Zeppelin raid that killed the baker and his family. Can Masie find answers and solve the case?“Fear is the driving force behind revenge, but love is the antidote.” Sounds like the Bible verse from 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” This book was filled with revenge quotes that packed a punch. Kate pointed out that maybe an incomplete revenge is one that has not been forgiven, what a powerful point! Please join us as we recap Maise Dobbs’s 5th book, An Incomplete Truth by Jacqueline Winspear,  “The past may haunt us, but only by facing it can we find true peace.”Blessings, dear listeners!

 A young brave truth-teller’s earthly life ended this past week, however his light has not dimmed. Let us remember Charlie Kirk as a life long learner and advocate for truth and living life God’s way. Read a challenging book he recommended like Mere Christianity,1984, A Brave New World… Even with his busy schedule he read 100 books a year! Reading does something nothing else can do, it stretches and exercises our minds. We can interact with authors from different centuries and backgrounds and cultures. Charlie challenged young and old to live daringly and be difference makers. Please join us as we share my grandson's free verse poem for Charlie. We are grateful for each of you! May we grow together! Blessings and as Charlie always said, “Buckle-up, here we go!”

It’s 1963, four housewives living in the same suburb start a book club. Margaret dreams of becoming a writer, Charlotte an artist, Bitsy a vet, and Viv would like to return to nursing. They all have kids except the youngest member, Betsy, who desperately wants to be a mother. Charlotte says she will join the book club only if they read The Feminine Mystique. This sent up a red flag for me because of preconceived notions about the women’s movement, which brought both good and bad.  Anything that demeans God’s role of motherhood makes me wonder if the author was blessed with children. After going down that rabbit hole, I discovered she had three children. In the book,  How to Read a Book, the authors caution about forming an opinion before finishing a text, that is powerful advice. I learned a lot.What surprised me was that a married woman wasn’t able to open a checking account without her husband’s signature. I also got an up close and personal glimpse of overbearing husbands and it wasn’t pretty. I had the opposite growing up, my dad never talked down to my mom, she lamblasted him.The story is mostly about Margaret and how the past haunts her. Margaret’s marriage hits some bumps when she starts writing a column for A Woman’s Place, which Walt, her husband, refers to as her jobette. When honesty clears the lies he’s been believing, he makes an about face!Don’t grab a cigarette or a stinger, just sip some tea and enjoy the recap on The Book Club for Troublesome Women : )

Where the Lost Wander is a gem of a book by Amy Harmon! Join the Mays and John Lowry as they forge westward on the Overland Trail in 1853! Sparks fly when mule man John Lowry meets the young widow, Naomi May. Romance shows us the trail is not the only thing that is bumpy. Grittiness and resilience abound!Memorable Quotes are aplenty in this timely treasure:“The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn’t,’ Winifred muses. “If nothing matters, then there’s no point. If everything matters, there’s no purpose.”“I cannot give her shelter. Not out here.” John talking to Naomi’s mother who wisely responds…“That’s what marriage is. It’s shelter. It’s sustenance. It’s warmth. It’s finding rest in each other.”“Thinking takes time…feeling not so much. Feeling is instant. It’s a reaction. But thinking? Thinking is hard work. Feeling doesn’t take any work at all. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Not saying it’s right either. It just is. How I feel, I cannot trust that, not right away, because how I feel today may not be how I feel tomorrow.”--John Lowry“It is the suffering of love. Every parent feels it. It is the suffering of being unable to shield or save. It is not love if it doesn’t hurt…The pain. It’s worth it. The more you love, the more it hurts. But it’s worth it. It’s the only thing that is.”---Jenny (John’s stepmother)“It’s all in the mare. The best mules come from superior mothers. The jack’s important, but the mare is everything.”---John’s father“Winifred May is a darn good woman, and William knows it, which is to his credit. The best thing about him is her…” —John“Ma said transcendence is when we rise above the things we can’t change.”--Naomi“We women want to make the world brighter even if we have to fight our men folk to do it.”---Mrs. VasquezWagons ho… Thank you, dear readers, for joining our adventure! Blessings!