A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

The term "bleeding heart". It's a phrase I feel gets a bad rep because our society has become so focused on taking care of yourself. They say a bleeding heart does nothing but get everyone messy and leave you lifeless, but I think that is such a sad view to have. I am an emotional person, as you may have guessed by now, but I'd probably go as far as defining myself as hyper-sympathetic. It's not only my own victories and trials that I feel, but those of people around me. I like to think that I was made that way for a purpose.

The "bleeding hearts" of society tend to be the people that will bring light to issues that others didn't even recognize as a problem and take action to make a change. They see how their neighbor, city, state, nation, or world hurts and feel that pain as keenly as if it were their own. As you can imagine, with so much pain and suffering in the world, it can be draining to take on the problems of other people when it all feels so insurmountable. A bleeding heart will exhaust itself and become completely impotent if it is not transfused with an additional supply. That's where I recognize that impact is impossible without a supply source.

As Christians, we have the secret to that source. We can hurt and care and love outrageously because we have a Creator who can fill us back up. Not only can we do this, but our very purpose is to be this example to people. We don't have to try to convince them that our beliefs are "right" or that they are heathen sinners in need of redemption. We have a stronger weapon - the love of Christ. And that love has the power to change (and not just others, mind you, but ourselves as well). I encourage all one or two of you reading this to love extravagantly and let God fill you up when you're depleted. It's a challenge that I'm working on in my own life too, so don't feel like you're in it alone.

Praying for you today.

TheModestMillennial

P.S. See what healing love can bring in Lindie and Jake's story, the third in the Porter family series and today's book.



A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lindie James, born free-spirited with a heart made to nurture, lost the best friend she ever had when her family moved away from Holley, TX before her high school graduation and now that they're finally back, nothing is the same. Especially the friendship she had with Jake Porter.

Jake has seen the worst of the worst, somehow surviving when no one else did. Now his only peace can be found in training Thoroughbred Race Horses. That, and maybe an occasional flashback to his childhood, but his whole world is turned upside down when Lindie steps back into his life and into his worse fears.

If you've read any of the previous books in the series, you probably have a special place in your heart for Jake - Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding. My heart continued to ache for him as you see his story unfold throughout this book. I'm a sucker for childhood friendships that eventually evolve, and this on hit me right in the feels. Lindie is a beautiful character with a strong current of compassion that runs soul-deep, and the perfect match for Jake's, well, broken persona.

The writing is perfect - well paced, and keeps you locked in to the story. The believable characters play wonderfully off of one another, and show development from beginning to end. Jake, especially. He truly felt like a man suffering with PTSD and his reactions to situations were plausible and realistic. Another job well done by Becky Wade.

Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

Sometimes, things don't go the way we plan. I know this is a shocking revelation for a lot of you, but hold on here with me. My biggest life-changing moment happened when I was 19 years old. No, it wasn't when I started college, or moved out of my parent's house. It was when I found out I was pregnant with a guy I'd only been dating for two months.

I grew up in a Christian home and truly gave my life to Christ when I was only four, but after graduating high school and moving out of my house, I took my life back into my own hands. I knew that the way I was living was wrong - I felt dirty and worthless - which lead deeper into promiscuity as I searched for my value. When I found out I was pregnant, it was a huge slap in the face. It honestly felt as close to being jolted by a defibrillator as I can imagine, and had about the same effect. I got a second chance to live life right. Really, it was a choice I had all along - a simple step back under the care of an Abba Father who loves me more than any earthly father ever could. I got to run back to a father whose love is perfectly unconditional.

The best thing about a God who loves us like this is that when we submit our lives to him, he will take our mistakes and turn them in to something beautiful. A year after my Zoe Elizabeth (meaning "life consecrated to God") was welcomed into this world, her dad and I got married. When she was three, she helped us welcome her little sister into the family. Now, our little family of four is doing our utmost to glorify God in all we do and tell others about his amazing, wonderful, unending, redeeming love.

Speaking of redemption stories, check out today's book: number two in the Porter Family series by Becky Wade (one of my very favorite authors)

Be encouraged and know you're loved :)

TheModestMillennial

Romans 5:8



Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, that started out with a bang.

What a perfect book to draw you in to a story that will have you obsessing over a former romance and wishing that characters could get past circumstances and just see that they are obviously perfect for each other. Ty is the boy-man you hate to love, but you simply can't help yourself when confronted with his fantastic cowboy charm and killer smile, not to mention his well-concealed noble and tender heart. Normally sane and grounded Celia has always had a weekness for the handsome troublemaker, making her horribly vulnerable to his crazy whims. The combination makes for a starting intro and a wonderfully complex plot.

I love that even though Ty is a complete rapscallion, he always takes responsibility for his actions. He has a truly generous heart, always doting on his loved ones. Celia lives sacrifice, but I like that she has to grow as a character and understand that her sacrifices have to do more with her stubborn self-reliance than a humble submission.

Their fantastic, steamy, rocky relationship will have you reaching for some ice water more than once, and the last chapter plays out like a movie scene I would watch over and over and over again.

Meant to be Mine is the perfect combination of hard reality, sensational romance, and the truth of God's grace in the midst of our failures. You'll definitely want to have your own copy on the shelf to read again and again.

Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

Ever feel emotionally overwhelmed? Yeah, me too. It's funny how when I'm going through it, I often feel alone in my depression and suffering, but almost as soon as I'm out the other side, I remember that pretty much every woman ever has experienced an emotional overload. My favorite example is from the movie Mom's Night Out where the main character is "stress paralyzed", but I even found a kindred spirit in the main character of today's review.

In my case, when I get knocked down emotionally or psychologically, I tend to drop everything good and productive that I'm doing because I seem to think these activities are responsible for the drain, which in turn leaves me feeling unproductive (who woulda thunk?) and completely depletes my self-worth - and explains my month-long absence from the blog world. My "triggers" for this awesome behavior range wide and vary greatly, but most recently the straw that broke the camels proverbial back was a disappointing read that had me swearing off fiction for good (thank goodness that didn't take).

The problem with all of that nonsense is that whenever I get that emotionally attached to a book (or person, idea, feeling, etc.) is that I forget where my value and satisfaction is really found. I'm still trying to recover from my most recent descent into the dark side, but I'm making myself start my day with a small quiet time, work on scripture memorization, and am limiting my audio input to worship-only music. Since I already struggle with self-discipline, you can just imagine how great I'm doing at all of this, but even when I fail, I'm working on recovering my focus as quickly as possible.

I hope you'll be encouraged today to keep your chin up and remember where your worth and fulfillment come from.

All my love.

TheModestMillennial



Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The thing I hate about authors who are fairly new to the scene? I scarf down all their material entirely too fast. The good news is that I love reading their wonderful stories just as much the second and third times as I do the first. Becky Wade has created a masterpiece with the Porter family that I can't help coming back to. She does a great job of really drawing you into the story, even giving you a soundtrack to the characters' thoughts and feelings.

Meg, an heiress feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of what she's facing in the wake of her father's death, is forced to make some hard decisions on how to run his empire. Unfortunately, that puts the delectably endearing Bo Porter in her cross-hairs. The result is magical.

I love Meg! She's so fragile and spunky at the same time. Her thought processes will have you control-breathing through her anxiety and laughing out loud at her sublime quirkiness, especially when she translates her unspoken conversations with Bo and Silver Leaf.

Bo is honorable and respectful, but also determined. I love the masculinity if his character and his need to be the protector, making him tender toward Meg, rather than just being a hyper sensitive male.

Even the supporting characters are incredibly well done, giving a well-rounded cast that you want to get to know better. Amber is a perfect compliment to Meg, and their relationship brings added depth to both, uncovering strengths and struggle that make them more dynamic. I adore Brimm in all of his quirky un-Texan-ness. He's a character I'd love to read more about.

Finally, I'm predisposed to dislike any book where a divorce plays into the plot in a positive it supportive manor (hence the loss of a star) but Becky handles the situation well, making it something that the character had virtually no say in, and is ultimately used for a great story of redemption.