• About

Kayla's Only Heart

~ Always learning. Always progressing.

Kayla's Only Heart

Tag Archives: Amish fiction

Book Review: The Proving

15 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Kayla Stierwalt in books, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Amish fiction, Bethany House Publishers, Beverly Lewis, book review, books, Christian fiction, family, grace, hope

I received a copy of The Proving by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

I have enjoyed my second Beverly Lewis book. While the people may be plain and the storyline fairly simple, it carries a relatability to it. Amanda moves away from her family after a disappointment and lives among the Englishers but ends up moving back after her mother passes away and leaves the family Bed and Breakfast to her. Amanda goes back thinking she will fulfill her mother’s wishes to stay for a year then collect the money and return to her new life. However, she ends up finding out that the people she left behind may welcome her back.

It feels nice to imagine the setting of the Amish inn. I wish I could get away and spend a weekend there as well and meet Amanda and the other sweet characters from the story. Amanda’s internal struggle to forgive herself, forgive her twin sister and accept forgiveness from her sister holds a universal message of grace and the importance of family. It also shows that tensions exist in all kinds of all families but they can be overcome if the people involved demonstrate a willingness to show grace and communicate. As a young person, Amanda also grapples with choosing her path for her future as she decides where she wants to live, what career she wants to pursue and if she wants to have a marriage and family. These choices also remind readers that we all have decisions to make and paths to follow and that no one stands alone in moving forward. Amanda and her new friend who visits the inn show a lot of angles on progressing through life with hope.

I enjoy this book and Beverly Lewis. I recommend it as a fairly light read for a peaceful setting and hope for life’s common choices and struggles.

The Ebb Tide Book Review

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by Kayla Stierwalt in books, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Amish, Amish fiction, beach, beach read, Bethany House Publishers, Beverly Lewis, book review, books, Christian fiction, culture, fiction, life, summer, summer reading, summer reads, The Ebb Tide

I received a copy of The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

This book introduced me to Beverly Lewis as well as Amish fiction, and I’ve enjoyed my first encounter with both. Twenty year old Sallie made a good protagonist to demonstrate a healthy curiosity for the wonders of the world around her. Her situations in the story served as good examples for people exchanging culture and living peacefully together.

Sally’s background differed from mine a lot, ranging from her having ten kids in her family while mine had two to her family living the Plain lifestyle while mine lived a pretty Christian and mainstream one. However, I could relate to her wanting to experience more than what she knew. I too spent my young adult years reading books to learn more about cultures and places. We both also got to reach our dream locations, hers being the beach and mine being London. Then it seemed like those trips led to beginnings of a greater enlightenment of the world and other cultures.

Sally lived with a family for the summer who did not live the Plain lifestyle, and she got to see more modern tools like iPhones, Google and a washing machine. She noticed how the family who hired her didn’t look at her or treat her differently because of her attire but also noticed how they had more material goods at their disposal. Later, she met a nice young man who shared a similar family background but differed. Sallie’s life really flourished in many ways through her experiences as a nanny in a beach area summer home.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I liked learning more about Amish culture, and I appreciated how it showed a positive way to learn about other cultures through genuine interactions with others. Sallie also demonstrated a healthy yearning to learn and experience those cultures and learn about the world and its people.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 768 other followers

You can't make advances if you don't take chances. These posts share my perspectives of my journey as I step forward, walking in the Light.

Recent Posts

  • Monday Motivation: Isn’t It Romantic
  • Book Review: Listen to Your Heart
  • Countdown to Valentine’s Day: Bookish Shipping
  • Great American Reader: Twilight – Twihard for Life
  • Countdown to Valentine’s Day: Monday Motivation – Bye Bye Bye Strings

Categories

  • Beauty
  • books
  • Essay
  • Journal
  • Monday Motivation
  • Photography
  • Playlists
  • Poetry/Lyrics
  • The Great American Reader
  • Uncategorized
  • Winsome Women Wednesday

RSS my weekly nail creations

  • Starlit Darkness 
              As it felt like I continued to fall deeper into darkness, I reminded myself to keep dreaming positively. My stars matched my pajamas to encourage my sleeping dreams as well.  The following weekend I ventured out with my friends to attend a Taking Back Sunday and The Used concert. Surrounding […]
    Kayla Stierwalt
  • Falling
          These plain manicures go back to the fall. The season marked a time of change and a new look at my world. Perhaps the perspective in what I held in my hands stole some of the focus and expression I would normally have for my nail art.  I went from a bold […]
    Kayla Stierwalt
  • Plain Sparkles
    After the Top Shelf plain manicure, I had another plain one with some sparkles added. I just didn’t feel spirited enough to enjoy my me time. I still made myself go through the motions though. I might not have been applying makeup regularly, but I kept my nails polished. The little touches kept me from […]
    Kayla Stierwalt

Facebook

Facebook

Twitter Updates

  • On page 485 of 1276 of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas goodreads.com/user_status/sh… 2 hours ago
  • The Value of Childhood Crushes nyti.ms/2UUCkOn 15 hours ago
  • Monday Motivation: Isn't It Romantic kaylasonlyheart.com/2019/02/18/mon… I love this movie! 15 hours ago
  • Monday Motivation: Isn’t It Romantic kaylasonlyheart.com/2019/02/18/mon… 22 hours ago
  • 3 of 5 stars to The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger goodreads.com/review/show?id… 1 day ago
Follow @KaylasOnlyHeart

Goodreads

There was an error retrieving images from Instagram. An attempt will be remade in a few minutes.

RSS Pendey in Kensia

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.

RSS tumblr

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.

Blog Stats

  • 7,364 hits

Blog Stats

  • 7,364 hits

Blog at WordPress.com.