The Making of Victoria Sponge: a recipe to fall in love with.

The Making of Victoria Sponge: a recipe to fall in love with.

http://christianbookshopsblog.org.uk/2015/03/23/the-making-of-victoria-

sponge-a-recipe-to-fall-in-love-with/

This entry was posted on March 23, 2015 by Phil Groom, in Guest Posts and tagged Association of Christian Writers, Christian Writers Directory, Margaret Kazmierczak, Meet the Author,Victoria Sponge. 

Margaret Kazmierczak

THE GREATEST JOY of running a project such as this is the people I get to meet: people like Margaret Kazmierczak, author of How to make Victoria Sponge from the little-known publisher, Arbentin Books: full bibliographic details below. After compiling her Christian Writers Directoryentry and whilst chatting online via facebook, I asked Margaret what had inspired her to write. This is her reply:

This is how Victoria Sponge came about. When I was a child I wanted to be a grown up, now I am grown up I want to be a child! So I have compromised and am a teenage muddler in oversized clothes that purports to be a responsible middle age lady.

My name is Margaret, experienced in most things and master of very little, apart from having a book published. It is my epiphany. A sudden wakening, that not all is lost when you are in a black hole.

Experiences follow me like a bad smell. No sooner have I climbed one mountain when another one looms ahead bigger and scarier than the last. The best way I have found to deal with the aftermath is to jot things down. Life is funny when you have hindsight.

I am a wife, mother and servant to the cat. I cared for my elderly father-in-law for three years, whose English was as Polish as my cat’s meows. His frequent ‘escapes’ added to the chaos of our household. Not only did I end up searching for him but also for my youngest who used the open front door to do her little absconding too. It was a matter of baby first, lost prisoner of war later.

Daily life has always fascinated me, but when night time comes I want to sleep! Picture then being woken up at 5am in the morning by a voice that said “I want you to write a book.” My response would have been “Clear off I am trying to sleep” if I had not known that this voice was special. Instead the conversation went like this:

“You want me to write a book?!” (At the time this happened I was suffering from chronic fatigue and Complex Post Traumatic Stress – but that is another story. I could hardly get out of bed and do the everyday things without collapsing in a heap.) “Are you serious?”

“Very”

“But I am dyslexic, I have no idea of grammar or how to structure a book. My memory is so bad that I can’t remember character’s names or plots. Are you sure you have the right person?”

“You are forgetting who is asking you to do this. I Am commissioning you to write a book.”

“Forgive me Father for questioning you, but I need a sign, a confirmation as I really don’t think I can do this.”

“When the family have left the house I want you to start writing. I shall tell you what to write. Sleep now in peace.”

As suggested I sat at my laptop when all had left and I said, “I am ready.”

Words started to flow into my mind and I typed and typed. As the days and weeks followed the story unfolded, I had no problems remembering the main characters and my brand of humour and experiences of life poured out into words bringing life to the Sponge Family. I began to feel better in myself and by the time the book was finished (it took about two years as God worked with my fatigue) all symptoms had subsided.

Then I realized that I had not ‘read’ the book myself and so sat down and delved into the life of Victoria Sponge. I laughed, cried and prayed alongside Vicki. God had become a true friend and I learnt how important it was to say ‘Yes’ to His will each day.

Okay so this all sounds a bit whacky, just like me. That is the beauty of it all. God uses us for His purposes if we listen to His voice. Having finished reading the book, I understood that this was not just a message for me but for all struggling Christians, especially women who have to juggle so much in their lives. So often we forget that we have the Greatest Helper and Friend on our side. He is literally in everything. For things to change we need to invite Him into every aspect of our lives. We need to bless the mess and ask God to help with the housework.

This is what Victoria Sponge does and even when things are at their bleakest she turns to God for help. I really enjoyed writing this book and I hope many readers are enriched by it too.

How to make Victoria Sponge
Margaret Kazmierczak
ISBN: 9781906631420

God is always with us.

Love letter from God

Recently I have been wondering how to market my book 'How to make Victoria Sponge' in order to increase awareness and sales. Then today as I was looking for some 'pins' for my pinterest site a thought suddenly arose.... 

The book is a love letter from God. 

As Vicki copes with family life each day, God tells and shows Vicki how much he loves her.

This is not a distant relationship but a real love affair. 

God isn't just interested in Vicki, He loves and adores her. 

He delights in her closeness.

They are intimate with each other through prayer/conversation. 

The book may not be a man meets woman saga; instead it is a far greater love affair because it is woman meets God. A scenario that reaps heavenly rewards. The woman will never be disappointed as the relationship is with God. 

This love letter reaches out to every mum who needs encouragement. Who feels overwhelmed with matters of the heart. Whose understanding is, that when the chips are down, God will step in. And He does because He is Love.

God wants us all to have a love affair with Him, to be intimate with Him. To burden Him with our cares. He is the greatest lover of all time and He cares. He will never leave you. 

This is the God of Victoria Sponge, the writer of this love letter.

My fingers were just the instruments by which He used to convey this story.

God bless

Margaret

(www.margaretk.co.uk)

Breaking news, new website online now

I am delighted to tell you that I now have a new website up and running promoting my book, 'How to make Victoria Sponge'. 

Please visit to taste and see what all the fuss is about. Why Victoria Sponge is a great read and can empower the reader to a greater faith in God.

When you have had a look around the site perhaps you might like to leave a comment or even buy the book - that would be wonderful.

So before you forget click on the link: www.margaretk.co.uk

Blessings

Margaret

Teaser for 'How to make Victoria Sponge'

Victoria Sponge, a well-known cake?  Wrong, a wife and mother of four children. Disorganized and chaotic, filled with obligations. Her best friend is God who shares with her His amazing love. From tripping over the hoover left in the hallway to discovering her son’s desire to die because he is different, Victoria journeys through her own Lent. Giving up is not an option, but saying ‘yes’ to God each day is. Tragedy and comical events follow  Vicki through her week but does Victoria Sponge rise through all the messiness that life offers or does she sink? 

(Available on amazon in paperback and kindle, eden.co.uk, or from the author (UK only) via email: vicki.sponge@aol.co.uk) 

Victoria Sponge and Gethsemane

Put a lady called Victoria Sponge into a mixing bowl, add in the story of Jesus in his last week of life and what have you got? A story that combines everyday life with Hope. 

Have you ever had a Gethsemane experience? Victoria Sponge did, but like so many of us we do not know that we have. 

Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, a place Jesus frequently went to pray. There he became sorrowful and troubled (Matthew 26:37), he prayed as a human, asking his Father to take away the impending events that awaited him (Mark 14:36) as the Son of God. However He knew that he must obey his Father and bowed down to God's will (Luke 22:42). 

How saddened Jesus must have been to see his disciples sleeping when he had asked them to watch and pray, albeit at a distance, with Jesus. Twice Jesus had to wake them, the third time he left them sleeping. How broken His heart must have been, seeing his friends sleep as He sweated blood (Luke 22:44). 

At night Victoria Sponge always asks God to reveal to her the question that she has said 'Yes' to in her early morning prayer. 

Extract from: "How to make Victoria Sponge"

"Oh Lord, reveal to me your question that I answered so long ago this morning. What did I say 'yes' to today and did I succeed in my answer to your question?"

And God answers:

"Vicki, I asked you to be with me in the garden of Gethsemane, to stay awake and be of comfort to me in my time of anguish, and you were. You were not found asleep or failing in your response. Thank you for joining me in my victory today for being open to my call."

Victoria is surprised by God's response and asks:

"When was I at Gethsemane Lord?"

God then goes on to outline the moments in her day when she supported a friend and listened to her son's anguish. These all echoed Jesus' own experience in Gethsemane. However, Victoria had been awake to the needs of others unlike the disciples, she had not been asleep to their tears. 

The book "How to make Victoria Sponge" is an example of how the New Testament is relevant today in our lives. 

I hope this small insight will encourage you to enter into the life of the Sponge family.

Many blessings

Margaret Kazmierczak (author)

To read more about Victoria Sponge and her journey with God please take a look at the website below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Victoria-Sponge-Incorporating-Jewel/dp/1906631425

This is what inspires me - God's incredible imagination/creations.  

(Photos taken this morning in my back garden)

Ice

Book signing continued....

Well dear friends thank you for coming to my blog site and looking at my posts.

My last post was to do with my book signing.....

This post is to tell the story of what happened.

I can sum it up in one word, 'nothing', 'ingenting', 'nada', 'niente', 'niets', ekkert, I think that is enough ways of putting the point across.

After advertising in the local newspaper, who got the advert wrong by advertising a cake book sale, and putting up lots of posters, alerting the local radio station and using many social media sites, the event attracted no new buyers. If my friends hadn't come to support me and eat Victoria Sponge Cake and drink the coffee and tea provided I would have had a very lonely first book signing.  

I thought before Christmas, with ideas of what to buy for your loved one foremost in people's minds, this event would be of interest to a market of discerning Christian readers. Having received replies that people were coming, and hopes high, this absence of customers or potential buyers was a hard cake to chew, and my pride ran out of the cake like the jam when you bite into a jammy doughnut. 

So it is back to the drawing board.....

Of course when I wrote this book, I had plans for a big Christian publishing company taking it on and doing all the marketing and promoting, and the message travelling to all four corners of the earth. It would be a success because I had answered God's call to write it. 

Yes I was naive, but I was also a poorly housewife and mother, (in the sense of not been well at the time) with a thousand other roles to occupy my day with, that drank at my limited energy levels. Taking on the role of marketing and promoting my book was not even remotely on the radar.  

With an introvert nature and speaking to audiences a feared thing, the way forward was clear. The book needed a large publisher to take it on. 

However this did not happen, my book was seen as not a typical Christian read. It was too different!

So another route was followed....

My book was published, but by a small company who did not specialize in marketing and promotion. 'God's ways are not our ways', He knows the beginning and the ending of this path. His path is one of trust. 

It appears that there is a lot of help 'out there', certainly if you are able to part with money, but as the book needs to make a profit in order to produce money for publicizing, marketing and promotion, it appears that the road will be trodden with feet rather than in a fast car. 

Lamentations 3:21-26

 This is what comes to mind,

    and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s gracious love we are not consumed,
    since his compassions never end.
23 They are new every morning—
    great is your faithfulness!
24 “The Lord is all I have,” says my soul,
    “Therefore I will trust in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the person who searches for him.
26 It is good to hope and wait patiently
    for the Lord’s salvation.

This does not mean that I don't continue to keep trying just because my first attempt at book signing was unsuccessful. Rather it shows me that in all things there are challenges to be overcome and learned from. God grows things slowly, in His time and for His glory. This book was never for my own glory, but to bring others closer to Him, to be drawn to a more personal relationship with God through every day events and challenges. And how we must continually say 'yes' to what He wants us to do each day. 

My prayer now is a heart felt "I trust you God" because He lay it on my heart to write this book and He will fulfill his promises to prosper as Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

God bless you all.

("How to make Victoria Sponge" by Margaret Kazmierczak in Kindle and paperback through Amazon)

Book Signing

I am going to be signing books on  

Saturday 13 December 2014

from 12.00-14.00

at

Rainbow book shop

40 East Street, Wimborne, 

Dorset, BH21 1DX

England

What people have been saying about this book

***** star reviews on Amazon

"It is incredibly compelling"

"I fell in love with the Sponge family"

"I found myself laughing and crying about the daily events this family came up against"

This book is powerful and unique"

"A really delightful book, thoughtful, sensitive, faith filled, touching, funny and poignant"

"Wonderful book! I heartily recommend this book"

"The ending of the book was completely unexpected, mind-blowing and empowering"

"To me, this is the theme of the book - seeds being planted even on the weariest of days. Nothing can interfere with Christ's love being lived out on a day-to-day basis"

"This book will inspire you"

Author Margaret Kazmierczak of

How to make Victoria Sponge

(A family based Christian novel)

Book also available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback format. Order early for Christmas so as not to be disappointed.

Why is Victoria Sponge special?

Can you remember the first time you fell in love, really deeply fell in love?

That gazing into space feeling totally immersed in a world so wonderful that you missed your train stop. 

The face that you just cannot get out of your mind.

The kisses that touched you fondly and made you feel so very special.

The longing to see the loved one when apart.

The closeness and wanting to share everything.

Being rapped up together.

The words "I love you" ringing in your ears.

Music meaning so much more because the words just seemed to speak to you.

The impulse to hug yourself and twirl around in circles to an imaginary concert being played entirely for your entertainment. 

That look that says "I am in love."

That comment, "something about you is different."

The idea that everything is going to be wonderful from now on because you have the love of your dreams in your life now.

Well that is what makes Victoria Sponge special.

She is in love, deeply in love. 

In love with God. 

She wants to talk to Him, be with Him, share with Him. Be totally rapped up in His love. 

Her world is absorbed with conversations, ideas, longings, hopes, joys and sorrows that she shares with God. And she knows that He is listening like the attentive lover that He is. 

Victoria's story is a love story, reaching up to Heaven and God reaching down to earth, where Vicki is submerged in the everyday concert of living. 

When people ask me why so many prayers/petitions/conversations, I reply, because when you are in love you want to do everything together. Because you love to be united as one.

God is so interested in our lives, He never bores of hearing us talk to Him. He does not grow tired of us. 

He is our Heavenly Bridegroom and we His bride. His delight in us is new each day. He cant wait for us to wake up so that He can say, 'Hello I love you', and to hear us respond with 'I love you too' in return. 

His passion for us is overwhelming, and Victoria understands that emotion. 

You may think that you can not pray as often as she does, but all she does is talk about her day in a friendly way, like you would do if your best friend was standing or sitting next to you. How many of you, like me, chat to themselves? And no it is not a sign of madness, it is a sign that we want connection. 

Allow God to connect with you today. He is a wonderful lover and the greatest listener you will ever know. 

Victoria Sponge is special, but she is a fictional character, you are not. Therefore you are entitled even more so to the special Graces that are spoken of in the book. 

Be blessed.

Be beloved.

Be God's bride.

Margaret (Author of How to make Victoria Sponge)

What if music accompanied your manic morning!

I expect you have had one of these mornings, but if not sit back, read and laugh with me or if you have you can still laugh and then sympathize with the mayhem.

6.45 am the alarm goes off. 

(Oh what a beautiful mornin' Oh what a beautiful day 

I've got a beautiful feelin' Everything's going my way 

- Oscar Hammerstein) 

I jump out of my skin as my daughter crashes into our room demanding why I have not woken her earlier as she needs to have a shower and wash her hair before the mob get up.

(Give me peace in my heart keep me praising, give me peace in my heart I pray, give me peace in my heart keep me praising, keep me praising till the end of day!)

7.00 am 

Three teenagers chorus at the same time, mum, have you ironed my jeans, mum have you found my homework yet, mum where is my diary? 

(I'm bored
I don't want to go to school
Don't want to be nobody's fool
I want to be me
I want to be me
I don't want to be sweet and neat
I don't want someone living my life for me
I want to be free
I'm going to turn this world inside out
Going to turn suburbia upside down
Going to walk the streets, scream and shout
Going to crawl through the alleyways, being very loud - Toyah)

7.30 am

Who has eaten all the cereal, you are wearing my shoes again, where is my hair brush, who has stolen the hair dryer? Don't look at me like that!

(Am I going crazy?
Come on and say in taste
Am I too lost to face it?
And what will it cost to escape?

Nothing is right
I'm so scared - Korn) 

8.00 am 

Mum, did you pack my PE kit? Darling, I have to go I am going to be late. Can you pick up my dry cleaning? Mum, the bus has gone, I need a lift to school. The cat has been sick, don't step in the......

(I want to break free....  - Queen)

8.30 am

Silence. 

(I will survive - Gloria Gaynor) 

Have a blessed day

Margaret

Another wonderful review of "How to make Victoria Sponge".

As written on Goodreads and Amazon.com 

http://www.amazon.com/How-make-Victoria-Sponge-journey-ebook/dp/B00NKDCWEG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1414522511&sr=1-1

Dana Goodman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Margaret Kazmierczak's book How to make Victoria Sponge was incredibly compelling. I fell in love with the Sponge family. The character, Victoria Sponge, continually responds to life's messiness with love and grace. In the most heart wrenching moments in the book, especially after her son Johnny is maliciously bullied at school, Vicki turns to Jesus so his love can smooth over all the rough spots. I found myself laughing and crying about the daily events this family came up against, yet how graciously Bob and Victoria (the mother and father) responded to their children and to their day-to-day challenges. One quote that was highlighted to me in the book was when, after a really traumatizing day, Victoria says, "may I have planted [Jesus'] seed into the lives of others through my work and actions, so that when [Jesus'] rain shines upon them they produce a rich harvest." To me, this is the theme of the book--seeds being planted even on the weariest of days. Nothing can interfere with Christ's love being lived out on a day-to-day basis. On her most gritty day, Victoria has her evening prayer and Jesus says to her, "Vicki, I asked you to be with me in the Garden of Gethsemane, to stay awake and be of comfort to me in my time of anguish. You were not found asleep or failing in your response." Vicki then asks, "When was I in Gethsemane Lord?" He gently responds, "When you listened to your son's anguish I was weeping too and when your heart was breaking at the sight of your son's agony, my sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood." Victoria's intimacy with Jesus during her most trying moments is what made me love this book so much. We can all find ourselves in this book, and in doing so we can live our lives differently, full of grace and hope and love even during despairing times. I would highly recommend getting to know the Sponge family in this beautifully written book.

The first shall be last....

"Oh Lord, I understand that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. But could you organise a warm shower for  me just for  once? I have served my family this morning and the least I ask for is a little bit of consideration. You said ask and you shall receive, well I am asking for a shower with hot water. It's not much!"

This is an exert from my book "How to make Victoria Sponge."

I think we can all identify with this little scenario!

God bless

Margaret

Words - choose wisely what you read.

Having recently done a couple of book reviews I have been very aware that the printed word has the potential to damage or uplift. Those first words of 'I liked the book' or 'I could not get on with this book' could lead the reader into either deciding to purchase the material or not. 

Sometimes the message is personal and only the reader can decide if the book is right for them, so a judgement for all is rather shaky. If we rely on reviews then we may never read the book that might change our lives. 

What if an atheist read the Bible? His/her review would be very different from a Christian reading it, or indeed someone seeking God. 

Books are personal preferences. Most of the books that I read are from personal recommendation rather than written reviews. That is probably because I am specific about what I read as I value what enters my personal space, and want only words that uplift and not damage. 

I have recently read a book that I am struggling with to review because it has elements in it, that as a Christian, I don't subscribe to. The damage of suggestion is very real and because it comes under the banner of Christian can lead the reader astray. 

I feel that when doing a review we must be true to ourselves and our values and relate that to the reader, so that they then can make up their own mind if the book will speak to them in the way that is helpful rather than harmful to them.

When we buy other merchandise for ourselves we try to be discernible. Therefore because words are powerful motivators or destructive demotivators they can sink into our subconscious, it is important to surround ourselves with messages that uplift the soul and help us to sing. As spiritual beings we need feeding, and it is important that we eat healthily. 

Music is a classic example it can uplift you when you are struggling and bring you to a better place if you listen to the right message. On the other hand it can also lead you to the depths of despair when it is moody and dark. So it is with reading and even more importantly with our lives. 

As a christian delving into things that are not Christ centered is a problem. Our lives are spiritual and we need to discern  our reading matter. I am not saying that we should not be eclectic, however we need to aware that the printed word seeps into areas of our mind and can influence us. 

I love reading and enjoy a range of styles and genres. I celebrate authors and their talents. There are some that I would not touch with a barge pole because their books are dark. But that is my personal preference. My rule of thumb is 'how do I feel once I have read a book?'. Am I encouraged, motivated, enthused, happy, hopeful, or did it make me feel, helpless, hopeless, on edge, dis at ease, or uncomfortable deep down. 

A review in a way, if it is honest, can help a prospective reader decide if that particular book is going to be helpful for them, like a healthy meal. Or if it is going to be something that might make them feel dis at ease. Of course this is a 'feeling' perspective and those that are 'thinking' people will probably decide what I have written is rubbish!  I can live with that.

Words - choose wisely what you read.

Margaret (author of How to make Victoria Sponge)

Goodreads giveaway

I have had an interesting time using the Goodreads giveaway. For the past week I have watched as people have entered the giveaway draw for my book, with the hope that they might win a book for free. 

I as usual, got the wrong end of the stick, and thought that I would have some input as to who would win the book. So each evening I looked at the profiles and either ticked or crossed out those that seemed to genuinely want to read my book, and those that were just out to get a freebie.

Out of 446 hopefuls, I found 14 who read Christian fiction! I also had a favourite who I really thought would embrace my book. This was the person I wanted to send my freebie to. 

The final day came and I was informed that a winner had been chosen. Then I realized that I had no say in the matter and was just needed to send off the copy to the name and address supplied. The person was not on my list of possibles, not even on my probables. I went back to look at the profile and realized that I had been only looking for a Christian who openly proclaimed that they were. Therefore I was doing a disservice to those that might be, but didn't declare it, or those that were not but might be searching. 

Who in the end was I to choose. I had offered my book, that was the agreement. I judged all of those 446 people with my opinion, which was bias and calculating as I wanted to find someone who would do a good review because it was a book that they were interested in. 

What about all those others? Was Jesus calculating in who He chose as disciples? Was he bias in who he called to follow Him? Did He just give His book to those that would read and digest it because He knew that they would give Him a good review? 

Maybe the person who was the winner needs this book more than the person I had chosen? I apologize if you were the person that won my book. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it and that the message is one that uplifts you and brings you closer to our Father in Heaven. Or if you do not know Him, you will have found a Friend to turn to as and when you need to. 

Yes of course I love good reviews. But sometimes we need to take a step backwards and ask who are we doing these things for, us or God? I have said from the start that my book is to promote God and not me, perhaps I need to listen to my own teaching on this matter!

Thank you Father for this lesson. 

God bless

Margaret

  

Rejection

It is hard to be rejected when your heart is in the right place and your thoughts are only to offer others a slice of something that will encourage and bless the person(s) who will read the contents of your offerings.

Such was a recent experience when I approached a Christian magazine who only saw my attempt as one of blatant advertising of my product. And my crime, asking if the magazine would like a free copy for them to review. The answer was abrupt, 'no we do not want to review your book', and as an afterthought 'but we wish you the best with it'. 

I can almost hear the Pharisees and the High Priests saying the same thing to Jesus. 'No we don't want to hear your message, but good luck with the Kingdom thing'.  

How can you know if something is for you if you don't even give it a try? If you don't open the book and read it. The same can be said of the Bible. Once you have read it (or feasted on the fruit of the content) then surely you are in a better position to make a decision. 

People rejected Jesus and He had a Kingdom to offer, so it isn't surprising that a humble first time author will be rejected. What did he do with the rejection? He carried it to cross and by His blood it was set free. Hope for me then! 

God bless 

Margaret 

An alternative bio.

It seems to me that bio's are often very boring or so amazing that you wonder if the writer is superman or superwoman. So when I decided to do an Author bio on Amazon to try and introduce myself, I decided to write something a little different. At best it might encourage people to think that maybe this author was unique and worth  a shot at reading her book, and at worst, they would just dismiss me as a silly fool. Either way the message would at least get looked at.

So before you go rushing off to find this particular bio, I shall save you the time and just copy and paste it to this page. See what you think - Margaret.

 Margaret Kazmierczak was born in 1958, fortunately she has not died yet, that is why she has written her first novel "How to make Victoria Sponge". Born of two parents she is the only daughter of four children. A definite tom boy as a child, Margaret grew up in South West England where she played football endlessly with her brothers. She eventually won a medal doing what she did best - kicking a ball.

Margaret has had a full life and eventually succumbed to marrying and producing three children of her own. She loved telling her own stories to her children and encouraged them to help with the plots. This love of story telling finally became a reality when her first novel was published in September 2014. So instead of kicking a ball, Margaret was kicking words around, passing, dribbling and eventually scoring the winner.

If you ever bump into Margaret and ask her a question she will probably answer with a playful anecdote, as something is always happening in her life that creates a script of humourous outcomes.

It would have been rude for Margaret to have written something dry and crusty. Her sense of humour forbade her to write a documentary, or a factual account of the plight of the planet. Her faith lived out in day to day commotion afforded itself to a 'slightly' different perspective on life. Hence a Christian fiction novel was born about a lady called Victoria Sponge. And no is not a cookery book. It is a funny, thought provoking, tender, faith filled, at times painful journey that takes place during one week. The book kicks around with the true concept that God is our father and friend who walks with us during our day to day tasks. Victoria's household is chaotic, caring and central to the message of the book.