Thursday, May 28, 2020

A Song of Home by Ryana Lynn Miller | blog tour + spotlight



Welcome, dear readers, to a stop on Ryana Lynn Miller's blog tour for her newest release, A Song of Home!

I've been friends with Ryana Lynn through the blogging realm for several years, and she's such a dear soul! I got to read her novella, Coffee Shop Christmas, a few December's ago and it was darling. I haven't gotten around to reading her Civil War era historical fiction series yet, but it's definitely on my TBR. Just listen to this series overview!


About the Series 

The Battle for Heritage Series (BHS) is an in-progress five book series on the War Between the States. Each book follows one year of the war, focusing on the Southern perspective. Unlike most books on this period, BHS does not focus on slavery but rather the reason the war was fought: the issue of states’ rights and the right of the people to restore the rightful government as designed by our forefathers. But even though this is important, this is not the main goal of BHS.
Every book includes a clear Gospel presentation, as well as other biblical topics designed to strengthen the believer and disciple the new convert. If you take nothing else from these stories, please take the lessons from Scripture to heart. If not, the goal is missed.
The series follows the Mason family, Silas and Ellen, and their children, Richard, Seth, Dixie, Michael, Thomas, and Virginia Rose, through the years 1861-1865. Having family on both sides allows the reader to discover viewpoints of both sides, though the story is focused on the South’s point of view. Having friends in the North and South, Ryana Lynn endeavors to keep things kind, while realistic and giving the facts.
BHS has reached people in a multitude of states, her best readerships being located in North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. It is her prayer that someday, someone will come to know Christ through her writings. Her life verse, Jude 22, sums up her writing mission: “And of some, have compassion, making a difference.”



About A Song of Home

In war time, everyone is called to fulfill their patriotic duty. But everyone's duty is not the same. For some, it's to soldier on the field of battle. For others, it is to stay back and defend the home front. Still others keep the soldiers clothed and cared for.
“We’re gonna finish this,” Seth murmured. “We’re gonna finish this fight once and for all. They can’t just come in and threaten a man’s family and livelihood just because they feel like it.”
“It’s a hard lesson to teach,” Silas interjected. “The Patriots were outmanned and outgunned, but they taught the redcoats right well. God’s will is most important, and God is the best Teacher. Sometimes He does it Himself, and other times He uses men to teach the lesson.”
Join the Mason family as another year of war dawns with no end in sight. Despair, hatred and death surround them...will they ever know a time of hope, love and peace again? 
Bring your family along on another history packed journey full of battle, music, victory and defeat. The war ain't over ‘til the sabers quit clashing!



About the Author

Ryana Lynn Miller has a unique way of blending her love for history with her love for the Savior. Her continued research is fueled by her desire for truth and details. Her main concern, both historically and Biblically, is to show the past to the present to secure the future.



have you read the Battle for Heritage series? what's your favorite Civil War era read? 

Monday, May 25, 2020

Memorial Day 2020




There was a knock on the door 'round two o'clock
Two uniforms and her heart stopped
Yellow ribbon 'round an oak tree
Blowing in the breeze

Here's to the ones that didn't make it back home
The ones we ain't seen in so long
The hold up a beer ones, the wish they were here ones
The not forgotten but gone
Your baby would just about be here
And your very last tour would be up
But you won't be back, they're all dressin' in black
Drinkin' sweet tea in Styrofoam cups

Mamas and grand mamas love you
American boys hate to lose

Nobody here could forget you
You showed us what we had to lose
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin' in your dress blues



We searched all day
To find out where my granddad lay
When we finally found that cross
He said, "Son this is what it costs
To keep us free"

They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad
We're proud of your son

And every time I hear twenty-one guns
I know they brought another hero home to us


The second soldier we never got to see
An army band was playing
By a long black limousine

Two soldiers coming home
Returning to their families
They've been away from the so long

There's gonna to be some flags waving
And some tear stained faces
Oh, the journeys over for two soldiers




He found him a girl
Made her his queen
And he fought for his country
And he gave it everything


Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13



(Psst... In honor of Memorial Day, my novel Freedom is free today on Kindle. Or, if you're in the mood for something shorter, a short story I wrote a few years ago with a Memorial Day vibe can be found here.) 


we will always remember <3

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Jesus Still Loves You



to the one who feels like a failure:

no matter how far you've fallen, Jesus loves you
no matter what you have—or haven't—done, Jesus loves you

if it's been weeks since you read your Bible
if you can't pray without getting distracted by all that's going on in your world
if you can't remember the last time you shared the story of grace with another struggling soul

Jesus still loves you

this isn't authorization to sin
this isn't permission to backslide
this isn't an "it's okay, you're fine, I don't mind"

this is "I love you anyway, please come back to Me"
this is a Savior with a broken heart and nail scarred hands, but wide-open arms

a God of unfathomable grace and incredible love and unsurpassable goodness
a God who designed your fingerprints before creation
a God of second chances, and tenth chances, and 347th chances

because no matter what

Jesus still loves you



For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the law, but under grace.
// romans 6:14
 
And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
// john 1:16
 
"It is finished." May those words land on your bones for the nights when fear tells you the cross was a beginning and you must finish grace.
// Jon Acuff


how are y'all this week? prayer requests? <33