Book Review: Called for Life by Kent and Amber Brantly

FTC disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.   All opinions are my own.  This post may contain affiliate links.


I think the whole world was watching when Kent Brantly stepped out of an ambulance to be admitted to Emory Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.  The headlines read that Ebola had reached American soil. Many people prayed for him, and many more were terrified about what it would mean to have someone in America with Ebola.  I'm not a prepper, but I decided to do my annual winter food shopping trip a little earlier than usual.  You never know.  I had been watching the situation in Africa unfold, and I didn't know might happen.

But behind the prayers, fear, and apprehension, there were people.  Two of those people were Kent and Amber Brantly.  Where there are people, there are stories -- true accounts of what they experienced.   This is the book I am sure they never dreamed of writing and wish they didn't have the story that is told in these pages.

Dr. Brantly was a medical missionary in Liberia.  I think that would have to be one of the toughest jobs in the best of times, and I read through this book and envisioned all the death and disease among the people he cared for, I wondered how he could go on.  I have heard that sometimes courage is just not giving up, and I have to say Dr. Brantly is one of the most courageous people I have ever encountered through the pages of a book.  Disease, death, fear of the foreigners who were trying to help, and not enough medical supplies -- or workers took their toll on everyone, but thankfully not all workers contracted Ebola.

The scene I remember most from this book is the workers at the hospital decided to remove the body of an Ebola victim while the body was still at its most contagious.  The reason was a relative of hers was in a bed near hers.  When Dr. Brantly states in the book he thought as he was doing it -- "This is the most dangerous thing I have ever done."  It shows his courage and compassion.  I can't imagine ever being in a room of Ebola patients, let alone moving a body when it was most likely to give others the infection -- for the mental well being of another dying person.

Amber Brantly was in the United States for a wedding when her husband contracted the disease.  Yet, her anguish of her husband likely dying on the other side of the world and her not being able to ever see him again, hold his hand, or even bury him.  The two accounts weave together to create an unforgettable book.

I can't say I enjoyed this book because of the subject matter, but I found it facinating.  I didn't want to put it down.  I highly recommend this!



You can purchase the book here:

Our First Snowfall Family Tradition

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I was probably about five years old the first time I remember this tradition.  It was the middle of the night.  My mother woke me up, and told me to go to the living room and look outside.  It was snowing.  To a five year old, it has been a long time since it has snowed, and I was at the age I loved it.  The moment was magical.  My mother made some popcorn and hot chocolate and we ate and watched it snow.

Every year after that popcorn and hot chocolate became our first snowfall family tradition.  If it snowed earlier that day and was just a cold rain by the time we got home from school and work, we still celebrated the first snowfall.

Some Wounds Time Never Heals

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Photo courtesy Kelley Bittner Photography

October 7th.   Just another day in the life for most people, but on this day in 2006, I will never forget seeing my dad alive for the last time.  I held his hand, told him I loved him, and sang "Found a Peanut" to him.  (He used to sing that incessantly when I was little, and it was my turn!)  It was before I had a cell phone, most people didn't at that time, and my mother was talking to her sister.   I knew the moment my dad passed away.  I recount the story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages From Heaven so I won't go into the story here, but when Mom got off the phone, there was a message for me to call Dad's nursing home.

Time doesn't heal all wounds.  It's a nice cliche.  I think this last year has been the worst with missing my dad since he passed away.  I have cried many an evening and have said, "I wish I could talk to Dad."   I got married -- a lifelong dream of mine -- and I had to settle for a photo of my father being walked down the aisle.  No matter how close the friend is who gave me away "on behalf of her parents", it's not the same as having Dad there.   Dad was big as life and twice as loud.  I can only imagine how loud he would have laughed at the master illusionist we had as our wedding entertainment instead of dancing.

Earlier this year I entered a contest where I won a $500 jewelry gift card.  I had to take a photo of a piece of jewelry that is special and tell the story behind it.  My dad's class ring which he lost when he was fighting a fire in the early 1960s which was returned to him in the mid 2000s was the subject of my entry.  I bought my husband's and my wedding rings with that gift card.  It was like Dad gave us a wedding gift.  But I still wish he would have been at my wedding.

Although, as I mentioned in the post I wrote entitled Our Slice of Eternity, it felt like we were in the midst of a great cloud of witnesses.  Some who went before us, some who will come after we are gone.  I could see my parents' grave from where we got married, and it felt as if their love was present that day.   But I still wish I could have had Dad walk me down the aisle.

Keeping Your Child Safe This Halloween

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


One aspect  of safety that is on everyone's mind this month is Halloween.  That means Trick or Treat for younger kids!  I remember how fun it was when I was growing up even if I never got any chocolate treats.  Everyone gave out hard candies because there were so many trick or treaters.  But it was fun to go door to door asking for candy.  For older kids this month means Halloween parties -- and sometimes mischief, but hopefully less mischief than my friends got into when we were growing up because now with cell phones you can check in on your children easier than our parents could -- especially since 47% of parents have a child with a cell phone and the average age for the first cell phone is 12.

4 Ways to Reach a Small Financial Goal

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I often hear people say, "I would like _____ but can't afford it".   I have never been one to think that finances should stand in the way of a goal if there is something you honestly want / need.  I am not saying to go into debt, but I am saying GET CREATIVE.

Here are some things I have done:


1.  Find a way to make do without the item, at least temporarily.   Right now I have my eye on a Samsung Wireless Monochrome Printer (SL-M2020W/XAA)  at $127 and with me having an eBay business, it seems like it's a reasonable want/need, right?   Well, here is my plan.  I am going to keep an eye on this and see if it goes down in price (that's one thing an Amazon wish list is great for!)

What sold on eBay videos

I have long been a fan of the "What sold on eBay" videos.  I decided to do one myself.   I'm going to post it here, but be sure and go follow me on youtube to see more of these in the future.

Blog Tour: The Finishing School by Valerie Woerner

FTC disclosure:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I've always loved non-fiction books, especially those in the self-help and how to genre.  I have read hundreds of them, and when I heard there was a book by someone who also had my same passion for non-fiction, and she wrote a book about it, I was excited to read it.

How To Monitor Teen Drivers on the Road When You Aren't With Them

FTC disclosure:  This is a sponsored post by U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I don't have kids yet -- but we are hoping to adopt.  We'll likely adopt an older child, so I'm already thinking ahead to my (not yet with me) child driving in a few years.  It's a lot to grasp on many levels. But I am glad that my phone provider has a service called U.S Cellular's Vehicle Monitoring System. The moment a child of mine has a driver's license I'm going to sign up for this.

So why would I feel so strongly about it?

The Non-Prepper's Guide to Prepping for Winter

FTC disclaimer:  This post may contain affiliate links.

I live in West Virginia.  As far back as I can remember, we always prepped for winter, although we used to call it "stocking up".  We didn't go all out, but made sure we had enough no matter what the winter might bring.  Some of our worst winter situations were:

Being stuck in the house for 19 days straight.  

Losing electric (and heat) during Hurricane Sandy and us being hit with a blizzard.

Losing power (and heat) when the wind chill was sixty below zero.

Water pipes froze and we had no water for almost 2 weeks.

Even in the best case scenario, I don't like dragging a bunch of groceries in the house when it's cold, snowing, and icy, so I always do some prepping for winter.

High School Memories

The building was added on to after I attended school here.

Yesterday my husband and I went to the building where I attended high school to return some chairs we borrowed for our wedding.  I hadn't been there in almost twenty years.  A converted farm house into a Christian school, it holds so many memories for me.  We had 16 students in our school, all the girls being in high school.