23 Bits of Wisdom from My 23rd Year

Once again Hannah Katy at As Simple as That has inspired a birthday-week post here at The Sunset Won't.  She shared 22 pieces of wisdom she gained from 22 women over the last year.  I want the credit for this idea to go to her, even as I make it my own.  

So I sat down, and thought about the last year.  I looked back on quotes from various authors, actors, artists and leaders.  I found 23 to share as I approach my 24th birthday.

So here are pieces of absolute wisdom, from various women,that let me through my 'crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful, beautiful' last year of life.

Glinda the Good Witch: You've always had the power.  

Lori Wick: Found in Every Storm, I can't ask god why, until I'm willing to ask why not. 

Nora Roberts: Found in Bed of Roses, Feelings are feelings.  I don't understand why people blame other people for what they feel.  

Debbie Macomber: Aspire to inspire before you expire.  

Dee Henderson: Found in The Guardian, "Slip away and come watch the sunset."  She leaned her head back to look at him.  'There are more calls to finish.'  "Those will wait.  The sunset won't."

Diane Sawyer: It's not 'did you learn anything new today?' ...but rather 'did you ask any great questions today?'  What a beautiful way to educate kids.  That we're excited by their questions, not by our answers.  Or whether they can repeat our answers.  

J.K. Rowling: I've often met people who are terrified.  In a straight jacket of they're own making because they'd rather do anything than fail.  They don't want to try, for fear of failing. 

Gwyneth Paltrow: The world tried to break me, I found a road to take me, home.  There ain't nothing but a blue sky now.  After all of my running, I'm finally coming... home.  This is a lyric from the movie Country Strong.

Peggy Tabor Millin: We never touch people so lightly that we do not leave a trace.

Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.  

Helen Keller: Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.  Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.  

Jane Elliot: God created one race.  The human race.  And human beings created racism. Jane did an experiment in an elementary school classroom on discrimination years ago.

Sarah Dessen: If you try anything- if you try to improve yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you have already achieved something wonderful, before you even begin.  Forget failure.  If things don't work out the way you want, hold your head up high and be proud.  And try again.  And again.  And again!

Audrey Hepburn: For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge you are never alone.

Maya Angelou: 'When it look like the sun wasn't gonna shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds.'  Imagine.  And I've had so many rainbows in my clouds.  I had a lot of clouds.  But I have had so many rainbows... and the thing to do it seems to me is to prepare yourself so that you can be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. 

My Pastor: Faith is not a commodity.

Robyn Carr: From Forbidden Falls,  Trying is a struggle and doing is an act.  You can't witness the act of trying, but you can see the results of doing.

Wynona Judd: Don't forget to put yourself on the list. 

Mother Theresa: I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Harriet Beecher Stowe:  Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  

Krista Seaman: Be honest in your opinion.  Be gracious in your manner.  Be humble in your tone.  Be thankful for what you're given.

Laura Frantz: From Courting Morrow Little: You need to take the happiness held out to you.  Before it's too late. 

Edith Wharton: There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or to be the mirror that reflects it.  


So many smart women in the world with gems to share.  There are so many quotes I could have shared.  But these were the ones, that in the last year, stood out to me the most.

Remember to live the best you can.  Love the most you can.  Tell the people that you love, you love them.  Take a break and soak up the sun.  

 Moments are precious, many things can wait... The Sunset Won't.

Challenge: To Not Be Broken, but Broken Open

Do you ever hear a statement that resonates instantly?  It's something I've written a lot about.  Reading a book, listening to a song, hearing someone talk...  And then it happens.  It rips right through you and straight to your heart.  It connects straight to your soul.  It's like peeling back a layer and revealing something you may not have known was there.

Well it happened again.  And I needed time to process.  To not be broken, but to be broken open.

There are many things in life that can drag us down.  Rocks are thrown, chipping away at our exterior.  But we are strong, so we can't let it break us.  To bring us down so that we feel like we can't get back up.

And then we feel like we are broken.  Too many pieces to put back together.  But instead, we need to work to not be broken.  But to break open.  Break open and let out the hurt.  The pain.  The disappointment.

Breaking open allows room for the light.  The contentment.  The happiness.  The hope.  The joy to come in.  To come in and work as a glue.  Picking up the few pieces that fell, and patching us up.

I'm sure there's a different explanation of that saying.  But for the moment, that's how I see it.  That's how I interpreted it.

So as I challenge myself, I challenge you... remember to not be broken... but broken open.

Wordy Wednesday

It's once again Wednesday.  The middle of the week, middle of the road sort of day.  Typically Wednesdays are busy for me, so I share a quote, passage or lyric that I have enjoyed.

Once again, as Oprah winds down (today being her last show), I have been finding myself watching the show more and more.  Last week she referred to a guest she had years ago, Mattie Stepanek.

This little boy, who suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, was a New York Times Bestselling author, writer of 6 poetry books, who lobbied on Capital Hill for peace.  This is one amazing kid.  He passed away in June of 2004, just before his 14th birthdady, with over 1300 people attending his funeral.  His eulogy was delivered by Jimmy Carter.

Here are some quotes Oprah shared of past interviews with him:

Remember to play after every storm.

A heartsong doesn't have to be a song.  It's a message.  What you feel you need to do.

We are a mosaic of gifts.  And each of us has our inner beauty, no matter how we look.

I'm always careful to see my glass half full.  Because if I see my glass half empty, with no hope at all, it may as well be empty all the way.

A champion does not mean you have to come home with a big golden trophy.  

A champion is your strength, inside of you.

Choose to inhale.  Do not breathe simply to exist.  That's not always easy but it's always worth it.

So remember to play, remember your beauty, see your glass as half full, be a champion of strength, and choose to inhale. 

Happy Wednesday!

Remember to live the best you can.  Love the most you can.  Tell the people that you love, you love them.  Take a break and soak up the sun.  

 Moments are precious, many things can wait... The Sunset Won't.

Book Review: How Huge the Night by Heather and Lydia Munn

How Huge the Night is a debut novel by mother-daughter writing team Heather and Lydia Munn.

Set during World War II, this novel is based on the true story of Le Chambon, a small village in the country of central France.

"One of the reasons this period of history fascinates my is choices," writes Heather Munn.  "In France under the Nazis, people made all kinds of choices... Some used the Nazis for revenge... some vowed to fight the Germans... and a few, like this village in central France, chose to focus on those in the deepest need and danger, and protect them from harm." (From Kregel Publications Press Release)

This book tells the story of fifteen-year-old Julien whose family has relocated to southern France, hoping to outrun Hitler and his army.  The problem is that Julien doesn't want to run, he doesn't want to wait around listening to the radio for news every night.  Soon after his family opens their door to a Jewish boy, Julien meets Nina.  Nina and her brother are Austrian, and are fleeing based on their father's dying command to them.  Soon someone's life and death depends on Julien.  When surrounded by a conflict too big for them to understand each of them struggle with what to do.  And what if it's not enough.

I had a hard time "getting into" the book.  The beginning was rough for me and I had to work through it to read the book.  The pace and writing style are different from what I've been reading lately which I think made this one harder for me.  I think given some time this is a book I will try again.

With that said, it wasn't a bad book.  The story overall was great, and is one that needs to be told.  There were interesting characters, set in an incredibly important time period in history.  I have several students who, as I read, I immediately thought would like to read this book.

The end of the novel has a historical note, detailing areas of the novel that were fact, and those that were changed for the story.  As a history and reading teacher I greatly appreciated that this was included at the end of the story.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by Litfuse as a part of their blogger review program.  I was not asked for a positive review of the novel, all opinions expressed are solely my own.

Guest Blogger: Jessica from Faith Permeating Life

Today Jessica from Faith Permeating Life will be guest posting!  Read here post here, and then check out her blog.

I have always been a fiercely independent person. When I graduated high school, I swore I was going to stay a single, independent woman who would live by myself and travel wherever my career took me. Well, that lasted only a few months into college as I was pursued by the man who would eventually become my husband.  But even when I agreed to date him, I laid down clear boundaries. I didn’t want to use the terms “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” because I felt that would give him some kind of ownership of me. He asked for permission the first time he held my hand. I made it clear my first kiss was reserved for my wedding day. My body and my life were my own. He was respectful of all of this and was even on board with my being our family breadwinner.

Then, barely six months after we were married, I came down with mono.

In the time that has followed, I’ve heard stories of people with mono taking weeks or months away from school or work, staying in bed for days on end. I took a week off work when I was first symptomatic, then went right back to work and actually worked late while we were hosting an international conference, about a month after I was diagnosed. I nearly collapsed from exhaustion. My boss suggested I work from home two days a week, which helped, but not enough. It was wedding-and-vacation season and my husband and I were traveling every few weekends. I could never quite get enough rest.

The sneaky thing about mono is that it’s not like a broken leg, where there’s something visibly wrong with you and you’re physically limited in what you can do. I hated being dependent and I hated being needy, so rather than ask my husband for things I would get them myself or do without. This generally meant choosing between not enough rest or not enough fluids, the two things I needed most.

Because I didn’t ask for help, my husband didn’t know how bad things were or how much help I really needed. He did take on all the cooking, which he’d mostly been doing anyway, but since he knew how important my independence was to me, he didn’t try to hover or constantly check in with me. This made me feel even more guilty and needy for asking him for anything.

About six months into having mono, things came to a head. I was starting to struggle with depression from the long period of fatigue, and my husband was frustrated that I never wanted to do anything or go anywhere. 

What followed was a lot of honest conversation and a lot of learning on both our parts. He insisted that he didn’t mind helping me out if I would just ask for things, and I got more comfortable with asking to be taken care of. He came to terms with my limitations and we found things we could do together, like watch movies and play board games. He would get up and pack my lunch for me so I could sleep in a little later in the morning. Since his work started after and ended before mine, he started driving me to and from the train station so he could help me up the stairs of our apartment building at the end of the day, when I was most tired. He made me fruit smoothies after work, mixed with vitamin C powder to help my body get stronger.


Eventually, I got my strength back, but what I learned from having mono has stuck with me. When I get a cold, I don’t hesitate to send my husband to the store to get medicine, tissues, soup--whatever I need. I know I’m incredibly blessed to have a husband who’s a good cook and likes doing the dishes. I believe that God gave me a life partner so that we could serve one another, and refusing to be served is just as bad as refusing to serve.

Lately the fatigue and weakness has crept back--this time not yet explained, maybe a mono relapse or maybe having to do with blood sugar--and we’re both working hard to make sure my body is taken care of. I try to let him know right away when I’m feeling tired so he doesn’t think I’m just shooting down his ideas for spending time together. When I’m feeling good, we take advantage of it--we recently participated in a community-wide day of volunteering--and when I’m not, I stay put on the couch while he refills my water bottle and brings me dinner.


As much as I value my independence, being sick humbled me enough to realize the value of being in a partnership. I don’t know how I would have managed through this illness if I’d been on my own. The greatest blessing has been having a partner who works with me to take care of me--not complaining and not being patronizing or controlling, just being there for me when I need him, as much or as little as I need.


Advice-giving and advice-seeking, full of wisdom and questions, Jessica is a 20-something data analyst, wannabe copyeditor, and general Type A who likes to pretend she’s not. Faith Permeating Life is a window into her attempts to make the most of marriage before kids, figure out how to be liberal and Catholic, and find a little bit of happiness every day.

Wordy Wednesday

It's Wednesday.  A busy day of the week for many people.  The middle of a work or school week.  There is a growing to-do list that seems to grow despite you checking things off the list.  So on Wednesdays I share a short passage, quote, or song lyric that inspires me or that I've connected with.

So take a quick 5 and enjoy these quotes from Beyond the Blackboard, a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie about an extraordinary teacher.

One thing that does not go here is wallowing in your own pity.

How come you want us to learn that?

Because if you learn it, than it's yours.

I am asking something that's harder to give than money.  I am asking them to change their habits.

You serve.  You have no control over what happens, but you keep serving.  You keep serving.

Happy Wednesday!

Book Review: Beyond All Measure

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love is a wonderful book about a young woman from Boston who finds herself in Hickory Ridge Tennessee in the years following the Civil War.  

In the summer of 1871 Ada Wentworth has no family, no home, and no money to her name.  Ada accepts a position as a lady's companion for the elderly Lillian Willis, aunt of the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell.  Ada plans to save up enough money to establish her own hat shop with the millinery skills her mother taught her.

With unanswered questions from her past, Ada is guarded but finds herself drawn to Wyatt, a Texan with big plans, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who lives at the local orphanage.  The problem is that Ada's friendship with Sophie attracts attention from some townsfolk who want to displace Two Creeks, a settlement of "colored" men and women at the edge of town.  Tensions rise but Ada is determined to help Sophie.

When Lillian passes Ada is left without employment or a home.  And now that his aunt has passed Wyatt is free to return to Texas to start his dream of owning a ranch.  Can Ada let go of her past and trust god with her future?  Can she let go of the betrayal of another to trust Wyatt with her heart?

This is a book that I really enjoyed.  I am currently working on several books, and you know when you are drawn to put other books down that you've found a keeper.  Beyond All Measure if definitely a keeper.  I enjoyed the main characters, but I really liked the secondary characters.  They were not left behind while the story centered on a select few.  This is a great read.

This book also had a discussion guide at the end, good for personal reflection or a book club. 

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of the ebook for review purposes.

Choose Wisely... Echo of Your Past or Glory of Your Future

On this day, God wants you to know

... that you can be an echo of your past, or the glory of your future. Past is connected to future through the present. At this very moment, at every moment, you are choosing to carry on the past with all its troubles on your shoulders, OR to let it go and see bright future pull your forward. Choose wisely.

That was a post I saw on a friends Facebook page one day.  I kept it.  Knowing that it was a reflection of what I so needed to hear.  


You hear people talk about baggage.  About things from their past holding them back.  About doors closing.  Relationships held at a distance.  But to think of it like this, that you are choosing to carry it, and all its troubles on your shoulders.

Image found at Superstock.com through Google Images

Sometimes, you need a break.  You need to lighten the load.  So you take that yoke off your shoulders and set it down for a moment.  But you pick it back up.  Thinking that you have to.  That it's a load you must carry down the road.  With water splishing and splashing out of the buckets you carry on.


But you could try and let it go.  And let the bright future ahead of you pull you.  Let it pull you towards it, away from the weight of the past.


This is something that I did this weekend.  I took a day and drove with one of my best friends to our college.  We visited campus and some favorite places in the city.  An old friend, whom I haven't spoken to in over a year for various reasons, met us there.  And it was hard.  I still held some bitterness, some hurt, some anger towards her.  The conversation was odd, she didn't ask a single question about my friend and I.  What was going on in our lives, where we were working... not a single thing.


But I realized that it wasn't hurting her.  I needed to let it go.  Yes, it will still hurt a little.  It may for a long time.  


But I am choosing to carry that on my shoulders.  Instead I need to choose to set it down.  And to let the bright future that lays ahead of me pull me through.  Pull me forward. 


So you can choose.  Choose to be either an echo of your past, or choose to be the glory of your future.  At every moment in your life you make a choice.  A choice to carry on the past or to let it go and see the bright future ahead of you.  A choice to be the echo of your past, or the amazing glory of your future.


So choose.  Choose wisely.

Remember to live the best you can.  Love the most you can.  Tell the people that you love, you love them.  Take a break and soak up the sun.  

 Moments are precious, many things can wait... The Sunset Won't.

Wordy Wednesday

It's Wednesday.  The middle of the week.  And often a busy day.  It's on Wednesdays that I share a favorite poem, lyric, quote or passage.  Something that I've enjoyed and want to pass on.

This week's quotes are from an episode of NBC's singing competition The Voice:

It's not about the judgement, it's about the journey.

Cee Lo

I believe that regrets are a waste of time.  Because they're just the past, crippling you in the future.

Frenchie Davis

Happy Wednesday!

A Lesson from Shirley on Thank You

I have a confession to make.  My DVR is set to record the last 20 some Oprah shows.  While I'm not watching every single episode, I figured after 25 years the last 20 episodes will be some of the best, right?

At the end of the shows some celebrity's have recorded farewell messages to Miss O.  Last week I saw one that Shirley MacClaine did.  She said the following:

Thank you always.  Always.  A, L, L, ways.  All ways.  Thank you all ways.

And I thought, what a lovely sentiment.  We thank people all the time (and if you don't, you should start).  We thank them for grabbing something for us, for answering a question, for listening to us, for opening a door.  Thank you is a part of our daily vocabulary.

Thank you always.  Sounds easy enough.  You've done something big, or meaningful and I am forever thankful.  But thank you all ways.  That's a new one.  And when I first heard it I admit, I thought, how many ways can you thank someone.  With a look.  With words.  With a gift.  With love.  With gratitude.

There are many people in our lives that we could thank.  Teachers, colleagues, friends, family...  it's important to thank them.

Thank them always.

Thank them all ways.

Remember to live the best you can.  Love the most you can.  Tell the people that you love, you love them.  Take a break and soak up the sun.  

 Moments are precious, many things can wait... The Sunset Won't.

Wordy Wednesday

Wednesdays are a busy day.  A reminder of all that has been accomplished this week, and all that's left to accomplish.

This Wednesday marks the two year anniversary of my Uncle's death.  I've talked about it before and won't  go into details.  Except to say that if you are feeling depressed please reach out.  Talk to a family member, a friend, call a hotline, speak to a pastor or priest.  Talk to someone.  When you feel alone, like you can't do it alone, remember you are never alone.  Ever.  Someone loves you, cares about you and would miss you terribly if you were gone.

Everyone can mask a grief but he that has it... 

I can tell you're hurting... 

to weep less is to make less the depth of grief. 

-Julie Garwood character quoting Shakespeare

If death is permanent, despair is the right conclusion.  

If death is a brief separation, it's merely a reason to be sad.  

-Dee Henderson

And one of the greatest quotes I've heard on TV relating to grief:

Lexie: Grief may be a thing we all have in common, 

but it looks different on everyone.

Mark: It isn’t just death we have to grieve. It’s life. It’s loss. It’s change.

Alex: And when we wonder why it has to suck so much sometimes, 

has to hurt so bad. 

The thing we gotta try to remember is that it can turn on a dime.

Izzie: That’s how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can’t breathe, 

that’s how you survive.

Derek: By remembering that one day, somehow, impossibly, you won’t feel this way. 

It won’t hurt this much.

Bailey: Grief comes in its own time for everyone, in its own way.

Owen: So the best we can do, the best anyone can do, is try for honesty.

Meredith: The really crappy thing, the very worst part of grief 

is that you can’t control it.

Arizona: The best we can do is try to let ourselves feel it when it comes.

Callie: And let it go when we can.

Meredith: The very worst part is that the minute you think you’re past it, 

it starts all over again.

Cristina: And always, every time, it takes your breath away.

Meredith: There are five stages of grief. They look different on all of us, 

but there are always five.

Alex: Denial.

Derek: Anger.

Bailey: Bargaining.

Lexie: Depression.

Chief: Acceptance.

Remember to live the best you can.  Love the most you can.  Tell the people that you love, you love them.  Take a break and soak up the sun.  

 Moments are precious, many things can wait... The Sunset Won't.

Guest Blogger: Penny from Dancing in Bare Feet

Today's guest blogger is Penny from Dancing in Bare Feet.  She shares an a-ha moment in her life when she realizes that office work is not her cup of tea.  Enjoy, and check out a link to her blog at the end of the post.  Happy Monday!

It’s raining outside and the strong winds are throwing rain drops against the window panes of my 4^th floor office window. I left my dog inside this morning so that he wouldn’t have to spend the day being pelted with merciless torpedoes of water. My Mum will let him out at lunchtime as she works close to my home but I wish we were curled up on the couch together watching movies.

I should count myself lucky really, that I have this view of rain-stained rooftops and fat little birds. They’re having a field day taking their pick of all the worms coming up for air and it took me a long time to earn the privilege of sharing their day. For a few years I faced a corner where, buried deep in my work, I could picture the sun as it had been shining that morning and not know the weather had turned until many hours later. Lunch time on a good day, home time on a bad day.

All this corner-staring got me to thinking, and started the long winding path to my A-Ha moment. I campaigned strongly for a desk near the window. The idea that I could die at any moment having spent most of my waking hours staring at a red and white wall left a terrible taste in my mouth. I enjoy my job, but if life really does flash before your eyes when you die, I want to enjoy the movie, not yawn my way through ‘Memories of a Cubicle-Farm’.

I won my campaign for natural light, but it wasn’t enough to whet my insatiable appetite. As a product of Gen-Y, I wanted more. My feet began to itch and wanderlust set in. Naïve ambitions led way to a new adventure: On June 9, my boyfriend and I will set off for 4 months in Europe, touring 10 countries on the back of a 2010 Suzuki DL650 Motorbike.

Surely this is enough? Alas, no. I applied for unpaid leave, a chance to return to my job, the one with the air conditioning, fluorescent lights, broken lifts and rare pay reviews. It was declined, because our small team needed all the man power it could get during my absence. It was meant to be.

Why was I looking to return? Because I love my team, I love the work I do. I love being part of a progressive company doing big things with small change. Is that all there is to the world? Not a chance. I dream of a day when alarm clocks don’t ring, when housework is done regularly and not in the hour between work and bed. I dream of fostering children, I have always dreamed of fostering children, and of giving them a break from everything life has thrown at them.

My A-Ha moment was this: I don’t have a job. Without a job, there is no risk in quitting. There is nothing scary about taking a risk that doesn’t exist. I run a successful business doing Acrylic Nails a few evenings a week. I have a million ideas and no chance to run with them. I have a personal loan, pets to feed and bills to pay. And now I have an opportunity.

I might need to supplement it with part time weekend work, but I will never work 40 hours a week in an office again. On 27 September 2011 I will land back in my home country more worldly, open-minded, cultured… and self-employed. I don’t have the stress of looking for a job because I have one. A very low-paying, very long-houred, very rewarding job. Sure it might all turn to custard but I prefer to think not.

It’s going to be hard work, but I do love a challenge. I don’t know what hurdles I will face or highlights I will celebrate. All I know is this – never again will I lose a sunset to fluorescent lights.

Penny writes at Dancing in Barefeet about her achievements, goals and soon-to-be European Adventure. She is also on Facebook and Twitter if you want to follow her journey.

Book Review: My Foolish Heart

My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren is a cute romance novel about trusting that God's perfect love expels all fear.  

Isadora Presley is, unknown to her small town of Deep Haven, the star of My Foolish Heart, a popular talk radio show.  From her home studio she gives her listeners advice on romance... even though she's never had a date.  A tragic accident took her mother's life and since then panic attacks have gripped Issy's life.  Consistently reminding her listeners that the perfect love may be next door, it can't be true for her.  When a handsome new neighbor with an unruly dog moves in next door Issy's not so sure her perfect love is the boy next door.  She believes that love, just isn't work the risk.  But when she starts to have feelings for a caller- a man that she's never laid eyes on, she starts to change her mind.  Because he's honest, charming, sensitive... a man that she doesn't realize lives right next door.

I really enjoyed this book.  Perhaps because I see a little of myself in Issy, perhaps because the book takes place in my home state of Minnesota.  It was sweet, well written, and includes wonderful messages on love, forgiveness, and God's grace.  This is a book that I would recommend to others.

Susan May Warren has written other Deep Haven novels but I didn't feel that I had missed out on anything.  The book also comes with group discussion questions.

Tyndale has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes.

Book Review: Heart of Lies

Heart of Lies is the second book in the Irish Angel Series by Jill Marie Landis. It is the story of Maddie Grande who grew up as a thief and beggar in a tribe of street urchins in New Orleans.

As an adult Maddie and her brothers move out to the bayou. As Maddie hopes for a new life her brothers have other plans and kidnap the daughter of a wealthy man, forcing Maddie to care for her.

A Pinkerton agent, Tom Abbott, is assigned to the kidnapping case. Maddie is a thief, Tom a man of the law, but there is an attraction between them that they can't deny. The kidnapping case ties into a woman that Tom had already been looking for, but what will happen when he may lose Maddie forever when revealing her true identity. I liked this book, but I wouldn't say I loved it. It was interesting, but predictable.

As this is the second book in a series reading the first would be helpful, but definitely not necessary. This book ties in to the first book, once it gets into the second half. Heart of Lies is a good book for an easy read, or a second book (when you are already reading a book and need a break from it).

This is a books that, I thought, centered one the idea of honesty. Being honest with yourself, others and trusting in the power that honesty has. Heart of Lies is a book that I would recommend.

Zondervan has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.