I was finishing up a few things after our morning family chore time. I was a little late getting over to the school area where the older ones were (supposed to be) already getting started. The floor had been prepped and the mop bucket sat filled and waiting, but the floor had not yet been mopped. My daughter impatiently waited in the kitchen doorway for me to get her started on her kindergarten work for the day.
I thought, “Today she is supposed to begin learning long vowel sounds.” Then, I thought, “She’s here, and I’m here, so let’s just go ahead!” So, I mopped, and we talked. We talked all about vowels and the short sounds she had been working on for the past few months, and then we began to discuss long vowel sounds and what that meant. The mop water swished as my daughter jumped for joy at the excitement of this new concept. “I LOVE long vowels!” she said.
I know it’s easy to get discouraged. We hear bad news everywhere. Kids are departing from the faith. Hate and violence overwhelm our streets. Churches are shutting down. Families are splitting apart. Unrighteous lawmakers seem to prevail. Children are abused. Our world seems to be going crazy in many respects.
Oh, yes. Yes, there are! 
With that in mind, I am excited to share this amazing book list with you. This list comes to us courtesy of my brother-in-law Daniel. He kindly provided me this list in 2016, when I was searching for Christmas gift ideas for my teenage boys. Daniel is an avid reader, a history buff, and a dad of four boys. I knew, when I asked him for a book list, that he would offer valuable suggestions of exactly the types of books I would want my young men to read. 
The devil loves to come marching in and start feeding us lie upon lie when we are discouraged. 
The fairy tale kind of romance is 
Treasuring Home 