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First-Line Friday: It’s My Turn by Ruth Bell Graham {& A Mini-Review}

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Happy Friday, friends!

I’m glad to have you here for First-Line Friday. A little background on the book I’m sharing today…
Over at my sister’s home, I picked up a book off her bookshelf and soon found myself entirely engaged in it: amused, edified, and moved with the real-life emotion on the pages. I mentioned the book to my mom, who said that she had read and loved it.
A couple of weeks later, when I was visiting my mom, she handed me a copy of that same book. It’s an older book – 1982 – but the words and wisdom and humor in its pages are evergreen. I know that I’ll be visiting it often in the years to come.

The Book:

It’s My Turn by Ruth Bell Graham

(One of the) First Lines:

The thirteen-year-old girl lay in the stifling heat of the old missionary home at Number Four Quinsan Gardens, in the port city of Shanghai China, praying earnestly that she would die before morning.

Dawn broke over the great, gray city, and obviously, God had not seen fit to answer my prayer.

*****

Mini-Review:

Composed of extremely short chapters of Ruth Bell Graham’s memories, this book provides a behind-the-scenes, very real look at the hows and whys and ways of this remarkable woman of God and wife of evangelist Billy Graham. I didn’t expect her to be so funny – much of it in a self-deprecating way – and yet every one of the memories has a little tidbit of spiritual and real-life wisdom that struck me as or after I read it and encouraged me to go further in my own walk with Jesus Christ. I highly recommend this to you, friends ~ After you read it, you very well find yourself buying extra copies to give as gifts to friends ~ It’s that good.
*****
Now it’s your turn, friends! Share the first line of a book you’re reading with us! 🙂

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19 Comments

  • Susan Dyer

    Happy Friday!

    My First Line Friday comes from a book I will be reading later this month, The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane….

    I was born twice. The first time was on July 9 to Paul and Mimi Haas in Cleveland, Ohio. My mother died six years later.

    Have a great weekend and stay warm!

    • alicia grace

      Happy Friday to you, too, Susan! 🙂 Where I am, it might be difficult to stay warm, but I’ll certainly try – haha! 😉

  • Beth Erin

    Hi Alicia! I’m diving into Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse today after I tackle blog comments and a review!
    A sleepy purple twilight wrapped around the farmhouse, its tall windows glowing with warmth from somewhere inside.

    • alicia grace

      That’s a lovely first line ~ It makes me feel part of the scene immediately. Thanks for stopping by, Beth! 🙂

  • Nicole

    Whoa! Great first lines!!!

    Happy Friday!!!!

    Today on my blog, I am sharing the first line from the novel The Gift of the Inn by Golden Keyes Parsons. So here I will leave the first line from the book I am starting next, Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren.

    Chapter 1
    “Sierra should have brought marshmallows.”

    • alicia grace

      Golden Keyes Parsons is on my to-be-read-someday list. 🙂 Love that first line from Susan May Warren’s book ~ most things are better if we bring marshmallows. 😉

  • Suzie

    The Grahams have built quite a legacy. I always enjoy learning more about them.

    I’ll share the first line from the next book on my TBR list: Until We Find Home by Cathy Gohlke: Lightning crackled, splitting the night sky over Paris, illuminating letters painted on the bookstore window across the street: La Maison des Amis des Livre.

    • alicia grace

      They really have ~ They have given us fellow Christians so much through their faithfully-lived lives!

      One of these days, I need to read a Cathy Gohlke book ~ That first line is so visual!

  • Becky Smith

    LOVED Ruth’s book! I love these Fridays & reading the first lines from all these books I’ve either enjoyed or want to read!

    My first line is from Rush by Jayme Mansfield:

    “I can’t stop shivering when I sleep alone.”

    • alicia grace

      Ah, so glad to hear that, Becky! 🙂 Yes, FLF have brought a bunch of books to my attention that I might not have heard about or reminded me of ones I want to read (or re-read)… I’m thankful for it!

    • alicia grace

      I saw someone else do it first, and I’ve found that sometimes it’s a good way for me to sneak in a mini-review when I don’t have time to write a longer one! 🙂

  • Ellie

    My first line today is from Robin Lee Hatcher’s You’ll think of Me. I’m reading it now and I have trouble putting it down! “Brooklyn Myers sat on the narrow stretch of lawn beside the brick apartment building, watching her ten-year-old daughter.”

    • alicia grace

      This one is a really good one – not a straight biography, more like short stories from her life. I hope you get a chance to pick it up! 🙂

  • Vivian Furbay

    First line in
    Shadows of Hope by Georgiana Daniels: Seven dollars was a small price to pay for a latte and a little conversation. Just started this book so haven’t gotten very far into it.

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