Category: Uncategorized

Adina Senft creates a powerful story of grace, forgiveness, faith and friendship in her novel Herb of Grace.

Herb of Grace is the story of Amish widow, Sarah Yoder. Sarah has been struggling to raise her two teenage sons along with providing a home where family and members of her Old Order Amish church can find fellowship. Sarah feels like her relationship with her boys is beginning to fall apart. Her stepson wants desperately to move away and try to make it on his own while her youngest son spends his time with their neighbour who left their Church years ago. Not only does Sarah struggle with her relationship with her children she is also struggling financially and relies on her eldest son to help provide for the family.

Sarah’s friend and the local Dokterfraa, Ruth, believes that Sarah can and should be using her gift of growing plants to become a herbal healer just like her. Sarah is reluctant to take this step unsure on whether this would take her away from her family – the place where she feels God wants her to be. She begins to search her heart and decides to help those in her community including a stubborn man who made a harsh decision and is suffering from those consequences.

An incredibly touching and moving book – I loved every moment of Herb of Grace. I did not want it to end! The only saving grace for me at the end is knowing the book will continue. Even if I am a bit impatient and would love to get my hands on the next book now!

Sarah is an incredibly strong woman and mother. She bears great pressure on her young shoulders alone while raising two young men. As the mother to two boys myself I can’t even begin to imagine the difficulties she must face. Sarah cares so much about the people around her. She wants them to be whole, happy and at peace but finds it hard to trust in herself. Her character is so real and easy to relate to. I felt like that could have been myself – so many times I doubt myself and my own strength and calling. Sometimes it feels hard to hear what God is trying to show us.

I loved watching Sarah grow as a person, as a woman and as a mother. You can see her growth in her garden, her herbs and even in her relationships with others around her. 

Herb of Grace by Adina Senft is a definite must read – she will not disappoint you! You can check out the full blog tour here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Being a parent is hard. There are days that are magical and days that are full of frustration and tears. My children mean the world to me – I would do anything and everything I could for them. Even on the bad days the moment they look up at me, reach out for a hug everything melts away.

Sometimes I still need those moments for me. You know those quiet moments of peace where I can just get back to being Carla.

When I was asked what were the things I would need for these Carla moments it really had me thinking. What, besides my children, do I need on a daily basis? A monthly basis? The things that make me feel good, energized, relaxed and ready to conquer the world. Here are the four things I came up with:

My Tassimo. I love my coffee. I would be lost without that delicious cup of coffee every morning! Coffee time is me time. Where I am all alone with my thoughts, able to reflect, think on the day ahead and to just relax. Not to mention what a fantastic cup of coffee this baby makes!

My book collection. I am a huge book worm. A good book is the best form of relaxation to me. I lose myself in my books and cry, laugh along with the characters. There is nothing better then finding that new great book!

Pedicures! So this may not be the best picture of a pedicure I gave myself (do you know how hard it is to paint your toes with two jumping boys on the bed??) but it is something I love to do for myself. I feel feminine, pretty and since I am on my feet all day it really helps my aching feet!

Last but not least my garden! I would never have added this to my list even five years ago but I can not believe how relaxing gardening is and how rewarding. We have had so many tomatoes in the last two weeks and I am so proud that I grew them myself!

The idea to create this Mom Survival kit was given to me by Man Crates – not familiar with Man Crates? Man Crates creates unique gifts for men based on their likes and ships them to your door in a wooden crate. How awesome is that? Can’t get much more original then that!

What would be in your survival kit?

Thank you so much for all the wonderful support I received when I first posted about my goals. I was a little scared at first but I am glad I did it – my online community is so supportive and I appreciate all the fantastic comments, tweets and support!

Here is my update for you:

• I have committed 100% to the 21 day fix work out for the last two weeks (I even did it while camping at the trailer!). Today I completed the lower body work out – the one workout that I quit at the fifteen minute mark when I first started the program because I was in too much pain – I did the whole thirty minutes! I cried out a couple of times but I made it through!
• I am still working on portion control but have increased my vegetable intake which I am very proud of since I was never a big vegetable eater.
• I am also including USANA’s protein meal replacement shake with added fibre (I really enjoy the taste and the amount of protein and fibre is high which is always important – it is also gluten free).
• No pop, juice or sugar in my coffee!! Funny thing is I don’t even crave sugar as much as I did before. 

Now here is the part that I am even more proud of:

I have lost two inches around my waist and am down ten pounds! 

This has been one of my greatest accomplishments – I have had a heck of a time taking the weight back off since giving birth to my second child so this was a proud moment for me. Caring the extra weight has put extra stress on my overall health, my bladder and my self esteem.

I am now on my doubles week meaning I will be doing two of her fixes each day plus a daily ab routine (might as well keep those results going right??!). I can’t wait to update you next week with how I do.