MrsK Books: Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Sarah Loudin Thomas
ISBN: 9780764212253

Publisher Synopsis:

In a Drought, It's the Darkest Cloud That Brings Hope

It's 1954 and Perla Long's arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle.

Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor . . . until he meets Perla. She's everything he's sought in a woman, but he can't get past the sense that she's hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla's unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.

MrsK's Review:

This book promises a beautiful journey. It's a journey that will bring a smile to your day. A journey that will inspire you to walk away from all of those who are judgmental, condemning, and seeking to shred you with their gossip. When the "stuff" of life threatens your hope, our Lord always opens a door for us to walk through with faith. What is awaiting is a new beginning, a life fully loaded with individuals "hand-picked" to be welcomed into your life. This new beginning will bring you to a recognized cross road, yet this time you aren't alone.

The beautifully described setting is a small town in West Virginia. It is during a turning point for all Americans as the Korean War was coming to an end (1954). A time when the media was changing the "role" of women, television was changing life within households, and the government was tracking down Communists. Within the nation, there remained certain remote towns in which communities attended church, grew up and rarely left home. This was the "opened door" that gave Perla such hope.

In a town where the spring planting is done, there is time for barn dances. When was the last time you attended a barn dance? When was the last time the ladies from church were so a "buzzed" with planning that men hurried to get their cars? Have you ever "flat-footed" across the floor? At any family get-together, have you enjoyed a delicious Hummingbird cake or ham biscuits? When was the last time you watched a gentle man give a gift to a little girl who had no father, a gift so lovingly crafted... a gift every little girl would delight in... close your eyes and envision the scene:

"Well, you'd better come see what's in this basket, then."

Sadie scurried over and pushed aside the dish towel... She gasped and then crouched down,

using both hands to hold Amy as if letting the doll look into the basket.

Sadie reached in and removed the chair, then the table, and finally the little bed.

She placed them in a semicircle in front of her and then just gazed at them.

Perla is a single mother, raising a delightful daughter (Sadie). Perla is "gifted" with the ability to make meals from anything:

"Seems like I've always been able to cook. I just wish my food didn't... didn't go on like it does."

Casewell is man after God's own heart. He is a carpenter who values his talent, his gift, and his desire to "do" for others:

Casewell walked across the backyard to a stout little outbuilding that he had designed and built...

The far side held his woodworking tools---his treasures.

With a story line of a drought that threatens their town, Perla and Casewell will be led in a discovery of inner strength, God's will for their lives, and a love that will mend the past.

This journey is woven with vivid scenes that touches a reader's spirit. Whether its the scene when Casewell tastes the water from a forgotten stream during the worst of the drought, or the moment his father "sees" the rain before it splatters upon the window. There are moments of beautiful prayer that will sing within your heart. There are moments of loneliness that will bring a swift "sting" unto your eyes. Yet, just as in our moments of life... there are those moments of joy that truly make life worth living.

Blessings are found within these pages,

MrsK

A beautiful and enjoyable read.
Added to my shelf and shared with the Booked to Dine Book Club

Sarah Loudin Thomas is a fund-raiser for a children's ministry who has also published freelance writing for Mountain Homes Southern Style and Now & Then magazines, as well as The Asheville Citizen-Times and The Journey Christian Newspaper. She holds a bachelor's in English from Coastal Carolina University. She and her husband reside in Asheville, North Carolina.

Excerpt Download PDF

"I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for this review."

http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/miracle-in-a-dry-season/349651

1 comment:

Sarah Thomas said...: Thank you for sharing some of my favorite moments from the novel! My husband's hands-down favorite is the doll furniture. Mine is John seeing the rain. Your review blessed my day!; August 20, 2014 at 7:20 AM

MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)