Longings of the Heart

Since this is a book blog, I'll start by saying I'm halfway through the latest release by Bonnie Leon, "Longings of the Heart", as I write this. My husband and I arrived home on the 19th of October after six days spent touring several eastern states, and Niagara Falls, Canada.

Optomistically, I believed I'd have lots of time to read on our vacation and couldn't wait to dive into "Longings of the Heart." Things didn't work out that way.

The morning after our arrival in Maryland we left to drive through Pennsylvania for a tour of the Gettysburg National Military Park. Even after 145 years following that dreadful 3-day battle, the souls of the fallen seem to cry out from the ground. After spending the better part of a day at the Military Park I left with a better understanding of the battle tactics and heartfelt awe at the bravery of the men who fought and died there.

From Pennsylvania we traveled north through Buffalo, New York, and into Canada for two days at Niagara Falls. No time to read there, either. We walked, rode the "Maid of the Mist" to the base of the Falls, and went down a tunnel to stand at the foot of Horseshoe Falls. The word "awesome" is greatly overused, but it's the best way I can describe the power of those mighty waters. To think that power is only a small fraction of what our Lord possesses turned my mind to worship.

After leaving Niagara, we traveled south through NY and PA, touring the Allegany State Park at the NY border. On all sides we were surrounded by a mosaic of reds, yellows, golds and greens covering every hillside. I've always heard of the abundance of color on the eastern hills in the autumn, and we certainly weren't disappointed. It was breathtaking. Another reminder of God's goodness--He could have made everything in this world black, white and gray. Colors are one of his grace notes.

All of this to day that after 1300 ground miles in six days, Bonnie Leon's "Longings of the Heart" is still tugging at me to sit still long enough to finish it. I'm loving the story--hopefully by next week I'll be reviewing Leon's latest achievement rather than posting excuses.