{"id":11479,"date":"2012-04-24T22:25:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-25T03:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=11479"},"modified":"2012-04-24T22:25:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-25T03:25:00","slug":"need-you-now-by-beth-wiseman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=11479","title":{"rendered":"Need You Now by Beth Wiseman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span> book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n

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Beth Wiseman<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

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and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Need You Now<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (April 10, 2012)<\/span><\/div>\n
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***Special thanks to Rick Roberson, The B&B Media Group, for sending me a review copy.***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

When a personal crisis tested and strengthened her faith, award-winning journalist Beth Wiseman was advised by her agent to consider writing a Christian novel, particularly an Amish one. Encouraged by her agent\u2019s urging, she began exploring the Amish lifestyle and soon developed a great appreciation for the more peaceful way of life. In 2008 Wiseman wrote her debut novel, Plain Perfect, featuring the Amish lifestyle within the context of a fictional love story. It was a bestseller, as have been all of the full-length novels and novellas she has written since.<\/p>\n

While Need You Now is Wiseman\u2019s first non-Amish novel, she is confident it will not be the last. She is already making plans to write a second contemporary novel in the near future. Like Need You Now, it will also be set in small-town Texas, a familiar background she thoroughly loves exploring and writing about.<\/p>\n

Wiseman\u2019s previous releases have held spots on the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) and the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) bestseller lists. In 2010, she received the INSPY Award for Amish Fiction (chosen by blog reviewers). In 2011, she received the Carol Award and was the Inspirational Readers Choice winner for her book Plain Paradise. Her novel Seek Me with All Your Heart was the 2011 Women of Faith Book of the Year. In addition, Wiseman has been a Retailers Choice Finalist, a Booksellers Best Finalist and a National Readers Choice Finalist. Prior to becoming a novelist she received many honors for her work as a journalist, including a prestigious First Place News Writing Award from the Texas Press Association.<\/p>\n

Today, she and her husband are empty nest parents of two grown sons, enjoying the country lifestyle and living happily with two dogs, two cats, two pot-bellied pigs, two chickens and a single pygmy goat in a small community in South Central Texas. Along with writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, traveling and watching good movies. Her favorite pastime, however, is spending time with friends and family.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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We all count on the support of those around us when times are tough, but what do we do when those we depend on the most are suddenly gone? How do we cope when life has pulled the rug out from under us and left us with nothing and no one to hold on to? To whom can we turn when it seems no one, not even God, is there? These are the questions best-selling author Beth Wiseman addresses in her first contemporary novel, Need You Now (Thomas Nelson).<\/p>\n

After the safety of one of their children is threatened, Need You Now\u2019s main character, Darlene Henderson, and her husband Brad choose to move their family from Houston to the dot-in-the-road town of Round Top, Texas; moving into the old fixer-upper farm left to Darlene by her grandparents. Adjusting to the change is more difficult than any of them imagined, especially for the middle child, 15-year-old Grace, who becomes a cutter, using a dangerous and particularly self-damaging way of coping with stress.<\/p>\n

The move also begins to take a toll on the couple\u2019s marriage when Darlene decides to take a job outside the home in an effort to make new friends in the community. As the domestic tension rises, both begin to wonder if the same shared faith that has carried them through difficult times in the past will be strong enough to help them now.<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, Darlene begins receiving inappropriate attention from the widowed father of the autistic young girl she is assigned to work with at the school for special needs children where she is employed. Unfortunately, this new attention comes just when she is most vulnerable. If there has ever been a time in her life when she needed God, it is now. But will she allow arising feelings of unworthiness to keep her from seeking Him?<\/p>\n

In her first novel not set in an Amish community, Wiseman spins her well-honed characters and setting into a thought-provoking message that not only makes the reader ponder his or her own relationship with God, but also sheds light on the little-known disorders of using self-injury as a way of seeking relief and high-functioning autism. Need You Now is the perfect read for anyone who has ever questioned life and God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

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Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $ 15.99
\nPaperback: 320 pages
\nPublisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (April 10, 2012)
\nLanguage: English
\nISBN-10: 1595548874
\nISBN-13: 978-1595548870<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
Darlene\u2019s chest tightened, and for a few seconds she couldn\u2019t move. If ever there was a time to flee, it was now. She put a hand to her chest, held her breath, and eased backward, sliding one socked foot at a time across the wooden floor of her bed- room. She eyed the intruder, wondering why he wasn\u2019t moving. Maybe he was dead.<\/span><\/div>\n
Nearing the door, she stretched her arm behind her, searching for the knob. She turned it quickly, and at the click of the latch, her trespasser rushed toward her. In one movement, she jumped backward, across the threshold and into the den, slamming the door so hard the picture of the kids fell off the wall. She looked down at Chad, Ansley, and Grace staring up through broken glass, then hurried<\/a> through the den to the kitchen. Her hand trembled as she unplugged her cell phone and pressed the button to call Brad. Please answer.<\/span><\/div>\n
It was tax time, so every CPA at her husband\u2019s office was working long hours, and for these last weeks before the April deadline, Brad was hard to reach. She knew she wouldn\u2019t hear from him until after eight o\u2019clock tonight. And she couldn\u2019t go back in her bedroom. What would she have to live without until then? She looked down. For starters, a shirt. She was later than usual getting dressed this morning and had just pulled on her jeans when she\u2019d noticed she wasn\u2019t alone.<\/span><\/div>\n
She let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead. Brad answered on the sixth ring.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBradley . . .\u201d She only called him by his full name when she needed his full attention.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWhat is it, babe?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
She took a deep breath. \u201cThere is a snake in our bedroom. A big, black snake.\u201d She paused as she put a hand to her chest. \u201cIn our bedroom.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cHow big?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
She\u2019d expected a larger reaction. Maybe her husband didn\u2019t hear her. \u201cBig! Very big. Huge, Brad.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
He chuckled. \u201cHoney, remember that little snake that got in your greenhouse when we lived on Charter Road in Houston? You said that snake was big too.\u201d He chuckled again, and Darlene wanted to smack him through the phone. \u201cIt was a tiny little grass snake.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBrad, you\u2019re going to have to trust me. This snake is huge, like five or six feet long.\u201d A shiver ran down her spine. \u201cAre you coming home or should I call 9-1-1?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWhat? You can\u2019t call 9-1-1 about a snake.\u201d His tone changed. \u201cDarlene, don\u2019t do that. Round Top is a small town, and we\u2019ll be known as the city slickers who called in about a snake.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cThen you need to come home and take care of this.\u201d She lifted her chin and fought the tremble in her voice.<\/span><\/div>\n
Deep breath on the other end of the line. \u201cYou know how crazy it is here. I can\u2019t leave right now. It\u2019s probably just a chicken snake, and they\u2019re not poisonous.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWell, there are no chickens in our bedroom, so it doesn\u2019t have any business in there.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cChad can probably get it out when he gets home from school. Maybe with a shovel or something, but tell him to be careful. Even though they\u2019re not venomous, it\u2019d probably still hurt to get bit.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene sighed. \u201cOur girls are going to freak if they come home to find a snake in the house.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe\u2014\u201d Darlene turned toward a sound in the entryway. \u201cI\u2019ll call you back. There\u2019s someone at the door, and I\u2019m standing here in my bra. I\u2019ll call you back. Love you.\u201d She clicked the phone off, then yelled toward the door. \u201cJust a minute!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
After finding a T-shirt in Ansley\u2019s room, she pulled it over her head as she crossed back through the den toward the front door. This was the first visitor she\u2019d had in the two months since they\u2019d moved from Houston. She peeked around the curtain before she opened the door, realizing that her old city habit would probably linger for a while. Out here in the country, there probably wasn\u2019t much to worry about, but she was relieved to see it was a woman. A tall woman in a cowgirl hat. She pulled the door open.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cYour Longhorns are in my pasture.\u201d The woman twisted her mouth to one side and folded her arms across her chest. \u201cThis is the second time they\u2019ve busted the fence and wandered onto my property.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene thought this cowgirl could have walked straight off the set of any western movie. She was dressed in a long- sleeved denim shirt with her blue jeans tucked into brown boots. She was older than Darlene, possibly mid-forties, but she was gorgeous with huge brown eyes and blonde hair that hung in a ponytail to her waist.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d Darlene shook her head. Brad should have never gotten those Longhorns. Neither she nor Brad knew a thing about cows, but Brad had said a move to the country should include some Longhorns. Although it didn\u2019t make a lick of sense to her. She pushed the door wide. \u201cI\u2019m Darlene.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
The woman shifted her weight, but didn\u2019t offer a greeting in return. Instead, she stared at Darlene\u2019s chest. Darlene waited for the woman to lock eyes with her, and when she didn\u2019t, Darlene finally looked down. Her cheeks warmed as she sighed. \u201cOh, this is my daughter\u2019s shirt.\u201d Don\u2019t Bug Me! was scrolled across the white T-shirt in red, and beneath the writing was a hideous picture of a giant roach. Darlene couldn\u2019t stand the shirt, but twelve-year-old Ansley loved it. \u201cDo you want to come in?\u201d She stepped back.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cNo. I just wanted to let you know that I\u2019m going to round up your Longhorns and head them back to your pasture. I\u2019ll temporarily repair the fence.\u201d The woman turned to leave, and it was then that Darlene saw a horse tethered to the fence that divided their property. She stifled a smile. This woman really was a cowgirl.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cKnow anything about snakes?\u201d Darlene eased onto the front porch, sidestepping a board she knew was loose. The porch was next on their list of things to repair on her grand- parents\u2019 old homestead.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d The woman turned around as she held a hand underneath the rim of her hat, blocking the afternoon sun.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI have a snake in my bedroom.\u201d Darlene shrugged. \u201cJust wondering if you had any\u2014any experience with something like that?\u201d She padded down two porch steps in her socks. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I got your name?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cLayla.\u201d She gave a quick wave before she turned to leave again. Darlene sighed. Clearly the woman wasn\u2019t interested in being friends. Or helping with the snake. Darlene watched her walk to her horse and put a foot in the stirrup. Then she paused and twisted her body to face Darlene. \u201cWhat kind of snake?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Hopeful, Darlene edged down another step. \u201cA big, black one.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Layla put her foot back on the ground and walked across the grass toward the porch. Darlene couldn\u2019t believe how graceful the tall blonde was, how out of sync her beauty was in comparison to what she was wearing.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cOnly thing you really have to worry about around here are copperheads.\u201d She tipped back the rim of her hat. \u201cWas it a copperhead?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
At five foot two, Darlene felt instantly inferior to this tall, gorgeous, horse-riding, snake-slaying blonde. She wasn\u2019t about to say that she couldn\u2019t tell one snake from the other. \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cAll I\u2019ve got is a .22 with me.\u201d Layla pointed back to her horse, and Darlene saw a long gun in a holster. \u201cBut a .22 will blow a hole through your floor,\u201d Layla added. A surreal feeling washed over Darlene. She thought about their previous home in a Houston subdivision, and a woman with a gun on a horse wasn\u2019t a sight they would\u2019ve seen.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cDo you have a pellet gun?\u201d She stopped in front of Darlene on the steps. Darlene was pretty sure that was all they had\u2014 Chad\u2019s BB gun.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cYeah, I think so.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Five minutes later, Darlene pushed open the door to her bedroom and watched Layla enter the scene of the invasion. The bed was piled with clean clothes, but at least it was made up. The vacuum was in the middle of the room instead of in the closet under the stairs. It wasn\u2019t the way she wanted a stranger to see her bedroom, but it could have been worse.<\/span><\/div>\n
Layla got down on her knees and looked under the bed. From the threshold, Darlene did a mental scan of what was under there. Boxes of photos, a flowery hatbox that had belonged to her grandmother, an old, red suitcase stuffed with baby keepsakes from when the kids were young\u2014and a lot of dust. \u201cThere he is.\u201d Layla leaned her chest to the floor and positioned Chad\u2019s BB gun. Darlene braced herself, then squeezed her eyes closed as two pops echoed underneath the bed. A minute later, Layla drug the snake out with the tip of the gun. \u201cJust a chicken snake.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene stepped out of the room, giving Layla plenty of room to haul the snake out. Big, black, ugly. And now dead. Blood dripped all the way to the front door. Layla carried the snake to the fence and laid it across the timber, its yellow underside up.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBelly up should bring rain.\u201d Layla was quickly up on her horse. \u201cMaybe tell your husband that I\u2019m patching the fence up, but he really needs some new cross planks.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI will. And thank you so much for killing that snake. Do you and your husband want to come for dinner tonight? I\u2019d like to do something for you.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not married. And I can\u2019t come to dinner tonight. Thanks, though.\u201d She gave the horse a little kick in the flank, then eased through a gate that divided her acreage from Brad and Darlene\u2019s. She closed it behind her from atop her horse and headed toward the large house on top of the sloping hillside. Coming from town, the spacious estate was fully visible from the road and her youngest daughter called it the \u201cmansion on the hill.\u201d The rest of the family took to calling it that too.<\/span><\/div>\n
In comparison to their rundown farmhouse, Darlene sup- posed it was a mansion. Both homes were probably built in the late 1800s, but Layla\u2019s was completely restored, at least on the outside, with fresh, yellow paint and white trim. A split-rail, cedar fence also surrounded the yard, and toward the back of the property, a bright red barn lit up the hayfield not far from a good-sized pond. A massive iron gate\u2014that stayed closed most of the time\u2014welcomed visitors down a long, winding drive- way. And there were lots of livestock\u2014mostly Longhorns and horses. If the wind was blowing just right, sometimes Darlene could hear faint music coming from the house.<\/span><\/div>\n
She was hoping maybe she could be friends with Layla, even though she wasn\u2019t sure she had anything in common with her. Just the same, Darlene was going to pay her a visit. Maybe take her a basket of baked goodies, a thank-you for killing that snake.<\/span><\/div>\n
Brad adjusted the phone against his ear and listened to Darlene\u2019s details about her snake ordeal, then she ended the conversation the way she always did. \u201cWho do you love?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cYou, baby.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
It was their thing. Nearly twenty years ago, at a bistro in Houston, Brad wanted to tell Darlene that he loved her\u2014for the first time\u2014and he was a nervous wreck, wondering if she felt the same way. He\u2019d kept fumbling around, and the words just wouldn\u2019t come. Maybe she\u2019d seen it in his eyes, but she\u2019d reached over, touched his hand, and smiled. Then in a soft whisper, she\u2019d asked, \u201cWho do you love?\u201d His answer had rolled off his tongue with ease. \u201cYou, baby.\u201d Then she\u2019d told him that she loved him too, and the who-do-you-love question stuck. Darlene asked him all the time. He knew it wasn\u2019t because she was insecure; it was just a fond recollection for both of them. That night at the bistro, Brad had known he was going to marry Darlene.<\/span><\/div>\n
He flipped his phone shut and maneuvered through the Houston traffic toward home. He was glad that he wouldn\u2019t have to deal with a snake when he got there, but he was amused at Darlene\u2019s description of the tall, blonde cowgirl who shot it with Chad\u2019s BB gun.<\/span><\/div>\n
He had four tax returns to work on tonight after dinner. All these extra billable hours were bound to pay off. He needed the extra income if he was going to make all the renovations to the farm that he and Darlene had discussed. Brad wanted to give her the financial freedom to make their home everything she dreamed it could be. Cliff Hodges had been dangling the word partner in front of him for almost two years, and Brad was sure he was getting close to having his name on the door.<\/span><\/div>\n
If they hadn\u2019t been in such a rush to move from Houston, Brad was sure they could have held out and gotten more for their house. As it turned out, they\u2019d barely broken even, and just getting the farmhouse in semi-livable shape had taken a chunk of their savings. Buying out Darlene\u2019s brother for his share of the homestead had put a strain on their finances too, but it was worth it if Darlene was happy. She\u2019d talked about restoring her grandparents\u2019 farm for years. The original plan had been to fix the place up over time so they could use it as weekend getaway. But then they\u2019d decided to make the move as soon as they could, even if the house wasn\u2019t in tip top shape.<\/span><\/div>\n
Forty-five minutes from his office, he\u2019d cleared the bustle of the city, and the six lane freeway narrowed to two lanes on either side of a median filled with bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. Nothing like spring in Texas to calm his mind after crunching numbers all day long, but leaving the office so late to head west put the setting sun directly in his face. He flipped his visor down, glad that the exit for Highway 36 was only a few miles. Once he turned, he\u2019d get a break from the blinding rays. Then he\u2019d pass through the little towns of Sealy and Bellville before winding down one-lane roads to the peaceful countryside of Round Top. It was a long commute, almost an hour and a half each way, but it was worth it when he pulled into his driveway. Small-town living was better for all of them. Especially Chad.<\/span><\/div>\n
Brad could still recall the night Chad came stumbling into the house\u2014drunk. His seventeen year old son had been running around with a rebellious group of friends in Houston. And sometimes Chad\u2019s glassy eyes had suggested more than just alcohol abuse. He shook his head to clear the recollections, knowing he would continue to pray that his son would make better choices now that he had some distance from his old buddies.<\/span><\/div>\n
Brad felt like a blessed man. He\u2019d been married to his high school sweetheart for nearly twenty years, and he had three amazing children. He wanted to spend his life being the best husband and father he could be. There wasn\u2019t a day that went by that he didn\u2019t thank the Lord for the life he\u2019d been given, and it was Brad\u2019s job to take care of his family.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene finished setting the table. She regretted that her mother couldn\u2019t see her enjoying her grandmother\u2019s dining room set. Darlene had been surprised to find the oak table and chairs still in the house when they\u2019d moved in. The antiques had been dusty and in dire need of cleaning, but they were just as sturdy as ever. She could remember many meals with her parents and grandparents in this house, at this table.<\/span><\/div>\n
She still missed her grandparents\u2014and her parents. Dad had been gone almost six years, and two years had passed since her mother\u2019s death. Her parents had started their family late in life, both of them in their late thirties when she was born, and<\/span><\/div>\n
Dale was born two years after Darlene. She was glad her brother hadn\u2019t wanted the farm. It had been a struggle to buy him out, but no regrets. Someday, they too would have a \u201cmansion on the hill,\u201d like Layla\u2019s. She cast her eyes downward, frowning at the worn out wooden floors. She\u2019d be glad when they could afford to cover the original planking with new hardwood.<\/span><\/div>\n
Thinking of Layla brought a smile to her face as she mashed steaming potatoes in a pot on the stove. She couldn\u2019t help but wonder what the tall blonde was doing all alone on that estate. Darlene had never even been on a horse or owned a pair of cowgirl boots. Several of her friends back in Houston sported a pair of high-dollar, pointy-toed boots, but they didn\u2019t particularly appeal to Darlene. Her friend, Gina, had told her it was un-Texan not to own a pair of boots.<\/span><\/div>\n
She missed Gina. They\u2019d been friends since their daughters had started Girl Scouts together, but after Gina\u2019s divorce, they\u2019d drifted apart. Gina\u2019s interests had changed from Girl Scout and PTO meetings to going out with new single friends.<\/span><\/div>\n
She left the dining room and went back to the kitchen, glad that the aroma of dinner covered up the dingy old-house smell that lingered, despite her best efforts to conceal it with air fresheners.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cMom! Mom!\u201d Ansley burst into the kitchen with the kind of enthusiasm that could mean either celebration or disaster; with Ansley you never knew. At twelve, she was the youngest and the most dramatic in the family.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene gave the potatoes a final stir before she turned to face her. \u201cWhat is it, Ansley?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cGuess what?\u201d Ansley rocked back and forth from heel to toe, and Darlene could tell by the grin on her daughter\u2019s face that the news was good. \u201cI did it. Straight C’s and above!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene brought her hands to her chest and held her breath for a moment, smiling. When Ansley was in grade school, early testing indicated she was going to struggle, and Darlene and Brad knew she was a bit slower than other kids her age.<\/span><\/div>\n
Not so thrilling was what Brad had promised Ansley if she received a report card without any failing grades. \u201cSweetie, that\u2019s great. I\u2019m so proud of you.\u201d She hugged her daughter, knowing it was highly unlikely Ansley wouldn\u2019t remember her father\u2019s promise. Ansley eased out of the hug.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI know they scare you, Mom, but having some chickens and roosters will be so much fun! We\u2019ll be like real farmers, and every day after school, I\u2019ll go get the eggs.\u201d Ansley\u2019s dark hair brushed against her straightened shoulders, and her big brown eyes twinkled. \u201cThink how much money you\u2019ll save on eggs!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene bit her bottom lip as she recalled the chickens her grandparents used to keep on this very same farm. And one very mean rooster. Eight dollars in savings per month was hardly going to be worth it, but a promise was a promise. She\u2019d told Brad before they\u2019d left Houston not to offer such a reward, but Darlene had put it out of her mind. At the time, it seemed a stretch for Ansley to hit the goal and make all C\u2019s.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe just have laying chickens. You don\u2019t need a rooster.\u201d Darlene walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a tub of butter.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cMom . . .\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene set the butter on the table and raised a brow in time to see Ansley rolling her eyes.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cEven I know we can\u2019t have baby chicks without a rooster.\u201d Ansley folded her arms across her chest.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene grinned. \u201cI know you know that, but how many chickens are you hoping to have?\u201d She recalled that on some of her visits to her grandparents\u2019 house, if the wind blew just right, she could smell the chicken coop from the front yard, even though the pens were well over fifty yards away, back next to the barn. When they\u2019d first moved in, Brad had fixed up the old coops as an incentive for Ansley to pull her grades up. Sitting on the porch swing with Brad late in the evenings had become a regular thing, and smelly chickens would be an unwelcome distraction.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cNot too many,\u201d Ansley said as she pulled a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water.<\/span><\/div>\n
One was too many in Darlene\u2019s opinion, but it was a well- deserved reward. Darlene gave a lot of the credit to the school here. Much to her children\u2019s horror, there were only 240 students in grades kindergarten through twelve in the Round Top\/ Carmine School District, but Darlene felt like they were getting a better education and more one-on-one attention. Darlene had been on the verge of homeschooling Ansley before they left Houston, but Ansley threw such a fit that Darlene had dis- carded the idea.<\/span><\/div>\n
Ansley chugged the water, then put the glass in the sink. \u201cI can\u2019t wait \u2019til Daddy gets home.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene smiled. Her youngest was always a breath of fresh air, full of energy, and the tomboy in the family.<\/span><\/div>\n
She thought about the snake and realized Ansley probably wouldn\u2019t have freaked out after all. She heard Brad\u2019s car rolling up the gravel driveway, and moments later, the front screen door slammed and Ansley yelled, \u201cDaddy! Guess what!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
An hour later, everyone was gathered at the dinner table, except Chad. After about ten minutes, he finally sauntered into the room, slid into his chair, and folded his hands for prayer.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s your turn to offer the blessing, Chad.\u201d Darlene bowed her head.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cThank you, Lord, for the many blessings you\u2019ve given us, for this food, the roof over our head, and Your love. And God . . .\u201d Chad paused with a sigh. Darlene opened one eye and held her breath. More often than not, Chad\u2019s prayers included appeals for something outside the realm of what should be requested at the dinner table. Like the time he\u2019d asked for God to help his parents see their way to buying him a better car. Darlene closed her eye, let out her breath, and listened.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cCould you heal Mr. Blackstone\u2019s cancer and bring him back to school? He\u2019s a good guy.\u201d Darlene\u2019s insides warmed, but then Chad continued. \u201cOur substitute stinks. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cChad!\u201d Darlene sat taller, then cut her eyes at Brad, who shouldn\u2019t be smiling.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cNo, Mom. I mean, really. He stinks. He doesn\u2019t smell good.\u201d Chad scooped out a large spoonful of potatoes. \u201cAnd he\u2019s like a hundred or something.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cEven more reason you shouldn\u2019t speak badly about him. Respect your elders, remember?\u201d Darlene passed the meatloaf to Chad, who was shoveling potatoes like he hadn\u2019t eaten in a month of Sundays.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cGrace, how was your day?\u201d Brad passed their older daughter a plate of rolls.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cIt was okay.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Grace rarely complained, but Darlene knew she wasn\u2019t happy about the move from Houston. Mostly because of the boy she\u2019d left behind.<\/span><\/div>\n
Ansley turned her head to Darlene, grunted, then frowned. \u201cMom, why are you wearing my shirt?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene looked down at the big roach. \u201cOh, I had to borrow it earlier. I sort of couldn\u2019t go in my room for a while.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene told the full-length version of the snake story that she\u2019d shortened for Brad on the phone.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen that woman,\u201d Chad said. \u201cAnd she\u2019s hot.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s old like Mom, Chad! That\u2019s gross.\u201d Ansley squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then shook her head.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene took a bite of roll. At thirty-eight, when had she become old in her children\u2019s eyes? \u201cI believe Layla is several years older than me, Chad.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Her son shrugged. \u201cWhatever. She\u2019s still\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cChad, that\u2019s enough.\u201d Brad looked in Chad\u2019s direction, and Darlene was glad to see him step in since it seemed like she was the one who always disciplined the children. Brad, on the other hand\u2014well, he promised chickens.<\/span><\/div>\n
They were all quiet for a few moments before Chad spoke up again.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cDid you know Layla drives a tractor? I\u2019ve seen her out in the pasture on the way to school.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cSeems weird for a woman.\u201d He laughed as he looked to his left at Ansley. \u201cCan you picture Mom out on a tractor plowing the fields?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Ansley laughed. \u201cNo, I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t underestimate your mom. You never know what she might do.\u201d Brad reached for another roll as he winked at Darlene.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene smiled. She found herself thinking, yet again, that this was a good move for them. They all needed this fresh start. None of the kids had been particularly happy at first, but they were coming around.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cCan I be excused?\u201d Grace put her napkin in her lap and scooted her chair back.<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene knew meatloaf wasn\u2019t Grace\u2019s favorite. \u201cWhose night is it to help with dishes?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Grace and Ansley both pointed at Chad.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d Darlene said to Grace. \u201cYou can be excused.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Darlene watched Grace leave the table. Her middle child was tiny like Darlene, and she was the only one in the family who inherited Darlene\u2019s blonde hair and blue eyes. And her features were as perfect as a porcelain doll\u2019s, complete with a flawless ivory complexion. She looked like a little princess. Chad and Ansley had their father\u2019s dark hair and eyes\u2014and his height. Darlene loved her children equally, proud of them all, but sometimes it was hard not to favor Grace just a little bit, especially since they\u2019d come so close to losing her as an infant. Grace had come into the world nine weeks\u2019 premature, a surprise to everyone, including Darlene\u2019s doctor, since Darlene had delivered Chad at full-term with no complications just two years earlier. Grace struggled those first few weeks with undeveloped lungs and severe jaundice, and twice they were told to prepare themselves for the worst. But their Grace was a fighter, and as her sixteenth birthday approached, Darlene silently thanked God for the millionth time for His grace.<\/span><\/div>\n
There\u2019d been issues and struggles with both Chad and Ansley from time to time\u2014mostly with Chad. But Grace had never given them one bit of trouble.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nMY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beth Wiseman’s first non-Amish novel Need You Now<\/a> is a story about a family in trouble but it takes them awhile to figure it out. Their move from\u00a0 big city Houston to a small rural town to get their son away from bad influences has created several huge changes in their lives. Dad Brad is now commuting several hours a day back to his job in the city and is also under pressure as he hopes for a big promotion that will make things easier financially for is family. His wife Darlene decides to find a job in order to feel needed when the kids are in school. Older daughter Grace who has always been a model child, is so stressed by the move and her new life that she resorts to some dangerous behavior in order to cope. To compound their problems, Darlene soon finds herself the object of unwelcome attention from a student’s father.\u00a0 A couple of unlikely friendships are formed that have enormous impacts on their lives.<\/p>\n

With realistically flawed characters and real life situations,\u00a0Need You Now<\/a> will offer most readers several points to ponder. Although there are more than one crisis and some serious relationship issues, the story is relieved with several humorous scenes. Wiseman’s vivid imagery and characterization make\u00a0Need You Now<\/a>\u00a0 a book that is difficult to put down. It also proves to me that Wiseman is not a one trick pony who can only write Amish novels. While I do enjoy them, I am looking forward to more contemporary fiction by this author<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-contemporary-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11479"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11479"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11486,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11479\/revisions\/11486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}