General Structure: 
1.    The above model is 8.5 by 25 and I really like it. I am thinking that I want the length to be somewhere between 20 and 26.
2.    I want a shed roof.
3.    I do not want a metal roof
4.    I want the water heater, propane, and electric to be in a closet behind the shower and accessible from the outside. 
5.    I want the door on the long side of the house
6.    I do not want any sort of porch.
7.    I want to be able to sit up in the lofts. 
8.    I want to use furniture as walls as walls are heavy. For example, cabinets can hang from the back of the stairs and the bookshelf by the front door (floor to ceiling) helps close off the living room area. It would be sure cool if you could also lean on this piece. 
9.    I want lots of windows. 
10.    I want a lot of storage.
11.    I want the door to open outside (but I know its a controversial idea and I would definitely be fine with a opens-in door if it was cheaper, haha)

Bedroom loft: 
12.    I want the bedroom to fit a queen sized mattress which will sit on the floor of the loft. 
13.    Along one wall and the foot of the bed is floor to ceiling cubbies or shelves. I would also be open to a section of one of these being a small closet for dresses and other items that are better off hung. These also help close off the room for privacy. 
14.    Leading to the main loft is a set of stairs with a small fridge and freezer unit underneath them. There is other cubby space as well however, obviously a fridge and freezer will take up the largest part.  

Office loft: 
15.    I want a fold down desk in the other loft which can provide a partial "wall" there as well to use it as a bedroom.  
16.    I want the "chair" their to be a twin sized mattress on the floor of the loft
17.    Leading to the office is a small ladder permanently on the side of the house. In the image above this is the white rectangle that seems to be floating. Note that I didnt mean to close off the area completely. 

Living room: 
18.    All chairs in the house are mattresses. There are no couches as the sides and back are "wasted space" and no chairs-with-legs as those also waste space. 
19.    The seating is chests for storage with a mattress or cushion on top. It is shaped in an L, going the 8 feet of the width of the house and maybe 6 feet at the widest in the other direction. 
20.    The table can be converted from a coffee table to a taller dining table. 
21.    In addition to the shelf in the doorway, on the other side of the door, there is an another bookshelf or closet. This isnt nessessary however, I wanted lots and lots of storage. I could see this being used for a pantry, appliance storage, library, litter box, etc. 

Bathroom: 
22.    I want a compost toilet. 
23.    I want a square shower and no bathtub. 
24.    I want a pocket door on the bathroom
25.    I want no washer or dryer. 
26.    I do not want a sink in the bathroom (its not that gross, the sink is right in front of the bathroom door!)

Kitchen: 
27.    I want a lot of counter space! In the above image, the kitchen is 9 feet long from stove to the stairs
28.    I want the 3 walls of the kitchen to be lined in cabinets. They are not shown because they were cluttering up the area. 
29.    I want a propane stove with 4 burners and a oven. this should be small. 
30.   I want the freezer and fridge to be small as well. 

My floor plans were made at http://urbanbarn.icovia.com/ which is a phenomenal tool.

Title: Redeeming Grace
Author: Jill Eileen Smith
Publication Date: 
Publisher: Revell
Provided by: Revell
Series: Daughters of the Promised Land, Book 3
Subjects: depression, pregancy complications, bad seasons of life, hospitality, grief, things outside of our comfort zone, faith
Setting: 1297 BC
Rating: 5
Pages: 360
Cost: $10
Amazon Link
Author Page

Synopsis: 

When famine visits Bethlehem, Boaz holds out hope for rain while his relative Elimelech moves his wife Naomi and their sons to Moab. For a while, it appears the Lord is blessing Elimelech's family, and his sons marry two lovely Moabite women. But calamities strike, one after another, leaving Naomi alone in a foreign land with only her childless daughters-in-law for comfort. When news reaches Naomi that the famine in Bethlehem has lifted, only Ruth will hazard the journey to her mother-in-law's homeland. Destitute and downhearted, Naomi resigns herself to a life of bitter poverty, but Ruth holds out hope for a better future. And Boaz may be the one God has chosen to provide it.

Combining meticulous research with her endless imagination, Jill Eileen Smith gorgeously renders one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. Readers will adore this third installment of the inspiring Daughters of the Promised Land series.

My opinions

The book opens with birth and death all on the first page. Usually I shy away from biblical fiction but I found this intriguing. I dont know if this is true for anyone else but I know that sometimes I think of Biblical characters as having everything under control, everything picture perfect and less bad days than other people so its refreshing to see something exciting.

That said, my assumptions are not true and the more time I spend in the Bible the more I understand that the people it focuses on were real people too with the same problems we have today. 

I found the grief that Boaz feels and expresses to be beautiful. Not only does it make him more realistic but it shows character and virtue to unashamedly show his emotion.  He is very gentle throughout the book and concerned for the well being of others. 

I really like the way that the author tries to make the problems and experiences of the characters universal. Instead of making the book "about" people in the desert thousands of years ago, the emphasis is people who rely on God for difficult things. Today, of course, there are many difficult things!

I also think that the author does a better job of telling Bible stories than any other fiction book I can think of. Usually its painful and poorly integrated but this is really well done. The author explains passages about plagues and the Passover and makes them meaningful. For example, you may wonder "Why were the people in the Bible attacked by plagues?" or "What does it mean to be redeemed?" and the author discusses these questions. 

One of my favorite passages (I don't find many 5 star books so I am super excited about this one) was one solidifying that "Yes! Everyone can be welcomed into God's family!"

​There are also lots and lots of agricultural analogies to help break down confusing concepts. 

To me, the only weakness is the title which honestly seems to have very little to do with the book. You almost expect a character named Grace... but there isnt anyone named Grace.  

In the end, I think the author does a good job of connecting with the audience through the book. To me, the target audience seems to be Christian women. I am not sure that someone who is not religious would enjoy the book but you also don't have to be very familiar with the story of Ruth, which this series focuses on, to understand the plot. 

I think that this book would be great for Christian women who prefer clean romance, but that nonreligious people could learn a lot from the book without feeling offended.

You can order a copy from Amazon here.

About the author

​Jill Eileen Smith is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Wives of King David series, the Wives of the Patriarchs, Daughters of the Promised Land, and The Loves of King Solomon series. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.

You can read more about her and her books at http://www.jilleileensmith.com/

In late September there was a plane show on a rainy day. I had just gotten my phone so I took that and took a few pictures. 

It was fun to see the planes and learn how to work the cameras!

^Isnt that so cute!!