Sunday Morning Musings

I’ve decided to do some other posts besides just book reviews.  These will be labeled as Sunday morning musings and if you are here strictly for the book reviews feel free to ignore them; but if my musings generate thoughts and discussion all the better.

In my yearly quest to read through the Bible (sadly I almost never make it through to the end of the year) I was reading in Genesis this week where Isaac and Rebekah can’t have children (Gen 25:21).  This struck me in a new way as I remembered that Isaac is the son God gave to Abraham to fulfil the promise that he would be a great nation.  Secondly, Rebekah is the wife God chose for Isaac.  (Gen. 24)  Seems to me God should have remembered that she needed to be able to have children!!  Instead, Isaac must pray to the Lord on behalf of his wife and God answers his prayer with twins.  God could have skipped this step and just given them the twins but  I think that the prayer of a faithful man was “needed” to show that this was something only God could accomplish.

The Christian journey is one that is begun in faith and travelled by faith.   Hebrews 11:1-2 says that “faith is the being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.”    We can be sure of God’s love and care for us even through the times when it is only our faith that keeps us believing. 

Enjoy your Sunday.

Still Life by Louise Penny

Still Life is Louise Penny’s debut novel, published in 2005.  Since then she’s written 7 more  novels each of them featuring Armand Gamache a Quebec detective with a literary bent and an eclectic collection of quotes and sayings sprinkled through his conversations.

Still Life introduces us to the village of Three Pines in Quebec.  This quiet village has been plunged into a murder investigation with the murder of one of its elderly citizens.   The investigation opens old wounds, exposes hidden character flaws and forever changes life in Three Pines.

Penny’s characters are richly drawn and even in this first book there is a suggestion that there is much depth in the main characters who will continue to be featured throughout her books.

I read this book when it first came out and was hooked.  Since then I’ve read all her books and am eagerly waiting for the 9^th one to be published later this year.     Still Life is being made into a movie and so I re-read the book again this Christmas.  It was fun to go back to the beginning and see how much her characters have grown through the next 7 books.    I highly recommend this series if you’re looking for an entertaining, intelligent mystery that will leave you wanting more.