Chantel

Chantel has loved good stories with real-life challenges and happy afters since she was a young child. She is a country girl currently living in Tennessee, USA, and carving out a little urban slice of country living down south. She and her husband seek to live their lives simply and joyfully and teach their two redheaded children to be intentional about their days. She is a writer at heart who blogs only sometimes these days.

Book Lists

Ever After: The Best Fairy-Tale Retellings for Christian Readers
Chantel 14 Minute Read

This past year, I needed stories. With each new loss and struggle that my family faced, and with the depth of fear and pain in our communities around the world, I prayed for peace and comfort, but my heart felt worn and beaten. I wasn’t really sure we’d find a safe way through the losses as they piled up around us. What I longed for more than anything was the reassurance of the truth that no matter what, God knows and good wins.

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Books

Ultimate List of Free Kindle Books for Christian Readers
Chantel 10 Minute Read

How does a booklover pack for an extended out of state trip without going over the weight limit or leaving her beloved stack of books behind? I’m the girl who never left the house–even for a grocery run–without a book in my bag. Packing for my first long trip posed a unique challenge. When it…

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Friendship

How to Find the Connection You Crave in Your Friendships
Chantel 8 Minute Read

It’s embarrassing to admit it but somehow I have reached my mid thirties and still am not exactly sure how to crack the code of creating authentic, especially local, friendships. No matter how I try, I feel perpetually floundering when it comes to making friends as an adult. Even though my introverted self would have…

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Books

The Easiest Way to Build Traditions at Christmastime
Chantel 6 Minute Read

It was the December I was ten years old. A family friend dropped the third volume of Christmas In My Heart in my lap a few days before Christmas. I read it through three times that Christmas. And every year since, no matter what the weather is like or who I’m celebrating the season with,…

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Parenting Books

best parenting books hand-picked by moms like you
Chantel 8 Minute Read

I gave up on parenting books years before I became a mother. While many of my friends were devouring them in stacks, I found myself wandering a maze of conflicting opinions and parenting style wars that ranged from mild eye-rolling to outright heated controversy between people in my circles. And the older I got, the…

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Missions

15 Missionary Heroes and Their Inspiring Stories
Chantel 13 Minute Read

I grew up on a steady diet of missionary stories. During the long Alaskan winters of my childhood, we had hours of read-aloud time. Curled up around our trusty wood stove, we soaked in the words and the life experiences of some of the greatest heroes of faith: missionaries. David Livingston, J. Hudson Taylor, “Ai-weh-deh“,…

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To the Small Moments
Chantel 7 Minute Read

I wake up when the dawn is just starting to make the edge of my sky tint with blue and gold. There’s breakfast to make and lunch to pack before Scott rushes off to work. And then, when the sun is up above the trees, I get Charlotte her breakfast and start my own working day….

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A Taste of Holiday Cheer
Chantel 4 Minute Read

‘Tis the season for twinkle lights, Christmas carols, and menu items that only make an appearance around the holidays. There’s something about food that’s extra special. It has a way of making itself the heart of favorite traditions. And traditions are the thing that helps to keep growing families close through time, change and miles. For many…

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The Whole Story of Christmas
Chantel 3 Minute Read

When it comes to stories, I like to start at the very beginning. I like to know how things began, so that when I get to the end I can look back and relive the entire journey. And I can’t think of a more beautiful story to get to read from beginning to end than…

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Peeking into Our Favorite Cookbooks
Chantel 4 Minute Read

Between Google and Pinterest, it’s easy as pie (though pie isn’t that easy!) to find every variation of any recipe. Copy cat recipes, gluten free, or vegan versions. The ideas are literally “googolplex” in number. But there’s nothing like the inspiration to be found in taking a stack of cookbooks off the shelf and browsing…

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10 Reasons Why You Should Be a Bookworm
Chantel 4 Minute Read

If you have ever tried to convince someone who doesn’t read of all the reasons why they should, this post is for you. Okay, for them and you. But if you love books and haven’t thought about all the pros of being a bookworm, you will definitely want to keep reading. Some of these reasons for why…

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Choosing Forgiveness
Chantel 4 Minute Read

Life is never exactly fair. Somewhere along the way, we all get hurt. Someone betrays us. Someone does us wrong. We become the innocent victims of unspeakable abuse. The aftermath is devastating and difficult. And no one expects wounds to heal overnight. No one expects abuse to be brushed under the rug. Forgive and forget? It’s…

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The End.