Jen's scribbles

You Say... God Says: The Homeschool Version

2012-01-27T18:32:00.003-06:00

This was going around Facebook the other day and it got me to thinking about something like this related to homeschooling. So, here are a few that I came up with for the homeschool version. Feel free to add to mine....

You Say:
I could never homeschool.
The Bible says:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Scripture:
Phil 4:3

You Say:
I don't have the patience for that.
The Bible Says:
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Scripture:
Galatians 5:22

You Say:
What about socialization?
The Bible Says:
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
Scripture:
1 Corinthians 15:33

That's just a start as I was brainstorming. Anyone have more to add?

Winter 2012 Reading

2012-01-03T08:53:00.002-06:00

Just a place to keep track of books read this winter.

Canary Island Song by Robin Jones Gunn
Sisterchicks on the Loose! by Robin Jones Gunn

A Woman's Guide to Fasting by Lisa Nelson

2011-12-11T22:44:00.003-06:00

This is a very informative and helpful book that covers important things to think about when undertaking a fast. The author explains the basics about what fasting is and why it is important. She also covers in detail how to go about preparing for, practicing and coming out of a fast. Not only does she cover the physical aspect of hunger and what foods to eat before and after, she discusses the emotional and spiritual effects of the fasting. She was very detailed in the kinds of feelings and things that a body, mind and soul might experience at various stages of the fast. If you have ever considered fasting, I highly recommend this book.

This book was provided free by the publisher for review.

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

2011-12-11T22:22:00.003-06:00

This book centers around two sisters who survived the cultural revolution in China. One by heading to the states to become a doctor and one who was adopted before her the family could rescue her from an orphanage. On top of dealing with the emotional trauma brought on by the violence and degradation of the revolution, this family faces a very serious genetic kidney disease. Older sister Kai Chang has worked hard to save her sister from both.

Complicating matters is the hesitancy of her adoptive parents, especially her mother, who is dealing with her own emotional past, to allow the sisters to meet. Young Lily is a troubled teen dealing with an over protective mother and a traumatic past.

I enjoyed reading the journey these two families take toward healing during this trying time. I didn't know much about the cultural revolution, so this was an interesting history lesson as well. Despite the difficult topics, it is an intriguing page turner.

This book was provided free from the publisher for review.

Raised Right by Alissa Harris

2011-11-03T19:37:00.007-06:00

In Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics, Alissa Harris describes her journey from the youth who's faith and politics were so intertwined that one could not be separated from the other to a young woman who seeks to live a faith not influenced by political rhetoric and to choose her leaders without the idea that they would legislate what should be personal to us as individuals and the church.

I related to her story on many levels but found myself frustrated at her portrayal of her childhood in the as a conservative Republican Christian homeschooler. Her description of how she was raised and lived her life pretty much matches the stereotype that many people have of those of us who could claim those labels. But it was so extreme that I don't know any homeschooling families who actually live up to that picture. It frustrated me because she helps paint an image that is not true for most of us. And if her life was really like that, it is not surprise she ended up rejecting much of that lifestyle.

And while I wouldn't go so far as to make some of the political choices that she ended up making, I understood where she was coming from on so many things. She urges us to remember that we will make more progress by loving people, by getting our hands dirty and actually contributing to the welfare of those whose lives we claim we want to help, rather than just loudly proclaiming what is "right" and expecting our lawmakers to do all the work in making it happen. I agree with her that it is not the politicians' jobs to make decisions that belong to the church to teach and uphold and live.

It was a very thought provoking book, especially as I examine how I choose to serve and make a difference in my world and as I go about raising my teens and teach them how to be good citizens. I did not agree with everything she said, but she made many valid points and and an interesting perspective on politics and faith.

Click here to read Chapter 1 of this book.

Alisa Harris is a journalist living in New York City who enjoys writing in quirky coffee shops. A 2007 graduate of Hillsdale College, she has worked as a college instructor in writing and journalism. Her writing has been published in WORLD, the Farmington Daily Times, Albuquerque Journal, and Detroit Free Press.
Click HERE to visit her website.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund

2011-11-03T19:18:00.005-06:00

I was given the opportunity to receive a free copy of this this book published by Bethany House for review purposes. This is the story of a young lady and a doctor who both feel a calling to serve as missionaries to the Indians. However her dream is to go to India and he plans to serve the Native Americans in Oregon territory. A decision by the mission board threatens to bring an abrupt end to both their plans. Unmarried individuals will not longer sent into the missions field. They must decide if they are willing to join in an unlikely partnership or give up their dreams.

I chose to review this book because I love historical fiction. The story was captivating. I found myself wondering if it was a true story when they mentioned several times that the women on this trip would be the first white women to make this trip and cross the continental divide. Since there can only be one "first", I figured this must be a true story. It turns out that the book was based on the diary entries of Narcissa Whitman, written on this historic trip. I enjoyed getting to go long on this trip and learning about what it was like for these early pioneers to the Northwest. They face many challenges of weather, Indians, hostility from trappers who don't like the idea of women coming west, illness, etc. An added benefit for me was the we are studying this period of history in school and reading historical fiction always helps to flesh out what we learn in the text book.

If enjoy historical fiction and missionary stories you may enjoy this book.

Help us Fill the Ark!

2011-11-03T18:44:00.007-06:00

As part of our "Public Service as Citizens of God's World" class this year, the kids have taken on a fundraising project for Heifer International, an organization that provides animals and other resources to people in impoverished situations, helping them to make a living for their families and to pass on the help to their communities. Not only do the animals help the initial family, but when the animals produce offspring, the babies are given to another family in the community to help them as well.

To learn more about this organization, click the link above.

We have set a goal of raising $1500. There is a button on the top right side bar where you can go to donate toward our goal.

You can also help by joining our team and spreading the word to your friends. When you go to the website, click on the "Give Now" button at the bottom. On the left menu, you will see the option "Team Heifer", click on that and you will see the options to give to a team and join a team. Our team name is "Matthew 25 Club". You can donate through our team or join in and spread the word to help us reach our goal.

One of the ways we will be earning money is by having people sponsor an animal to add to the ark we have on our class room wall. If you are local, we may ask you if you are willing to "buy" an animal for our wall. We will post pictures periodically to show our progress.

You can also just donate directly using our widget above.

Thank you for any amount of help you can give to help the kids reach their goal and helping better the lives of people around the world!

Operation Shine the Light 2011

2011-10-31T09:33:00.004-06:00

As Halloween rolls around again, we come to one of our favorite little mission projects. Our family does not celebrate Halloween, but we don't want to miss an opportunity to share the love of Christ with our neighbors. So, rather than turn out our lights and ignore all the little ones trooping past our door, we try to bless them as best we can. This year our little packages include these fun items.

A little craft project.
(Alex made up one of them for an example.)

Candy with scriptures written on them.

"Fortune" cookies with scriptures instead of fortunes.

Each packet also has a little rubber ducky
and a coupon for a treat at either Wendy's, McD's or Burger King.

A filled pack.

The box of treat bags all ready to go.

We also have a bowl of candy, and some Christian baseball cards with testimonies on them. and I have a box of children's books that they can pick from.

For a good explanation of why we do not celebrate this "holiday" here is an excellent post by an expagan. We used to take it as far as she does and not participate at all and I do struggle with that at times still, but for now, I feel that while we don't need to celebrate or have alternatives, we can reach more people by using this time as a witnessing time. Jesus said they will know we are Christians by our love and I hope that our neighbors will feel our love and our kindness and that we will live our lives as an example for His kingdom at all times.

Fall Reading List

2011-10-11T11:22:00.004-06:00

Just a place to record the books I have read this fall....

Love Finds You in Sunset Beach Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn
Hidden by Helen Frost
@ Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
*The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund
Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn
Whispers by Robin Jones Gunn
*Raised Right by Alissa Harris
Echoes by RJG
Sunsets by RJG
Clouds by RJG
Waterfalls by RJG
Woodlands by RJG
Wildflowers byRJG
Under a Maui Moon by Robin Jones Gunn

@ Book Club book
*Review for publisher

Scenes from the classroom

2011-09-16T21:21:00.003-06:00

Just a few pictures from this week. We are using a wonderful art program called "God and the History of Art" and we started painting this week. Here are the results of their experiments with mixing colors. They started with yellow, blue, red and white and created the colors below.

Jessica working on some Hebrew. This is part of the "Remembering God's Chosen Children" workbook. Love it! I didn't realize how much Hebrew they would learn when we started this. I found a site online that I plan to use to carry on after they finish this book.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

New additions to my orchard

2011-09-14T07:49:00.004-06:00

Recently I added some new trees to our little orchard. These two trees don't normally grow in our growing zone so they will be patio plants in the summer and come inside for the winter. We really have no more room in our little yard for planting trees, so this is the only way I can add more trees. I will prune them like Bonsai trees and they will stay relatively small. But, they should be fun.

Olive Tree
Taken Aug 18, 2011
This is how it arrived in the mail.

Olive Tree
Taken Sept 14, 2011
It seems to be doing good in its new home.

Dwarf Pomegranate Tree
This is what it looked like when it arrived
shortly after the Olive tree in August.

Pomegranate Tree in its new digs.
Sept 14, 2012

We'll see how it goes. I don't have the greenest of thumbs, but I do like to grow trees.

2011-2012 School Books

2011-09-06T21:51:00.009-06:00

Just a place to keep track of the books we read during this school year.

American Literature

*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

*A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett by David Crockett

*Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by himself

Public Service as a Citizen of God's World

* Lose Your Cool: Discovering a Passion That Changes You and the World by Zach Hunter
* Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris

*Generation Change: Roll Up Your Sleeves and Change the World by Zach Hunter

*Praying For My Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer

First day of school

2011-09-06T21:24:00.005-06:00

Our first day of school was Friday, Sept 1. Yeah, after I scoffed at public schools who had weird starting times at the end of the week, I did it too. It was just the best way to fit in that late Labor Day and still fit our units into a week time slot. So, we had a day of school and then a nice three day weekend.

Our first Day of School picture. I am such a slacker, that this is probably the only year we have done one of these. :-)

Here we are enjoying my new patio table. I have wanted a table in this corner of the porch for ages. I picked this one up for a steal at my neighbor's garage sale. It is a great place to enjoy a cup of tea, read a book or enjoy the beautiful weather while doing school work.

Our first day of school boasted great weather. A nice break from the recent heat waves.

Math Time!

Science Experiment

We broke water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. We also made copper hydroxycarbonate. The green stuff you see on the Statue of Liberty.

We have added American Sign Language to our courses this year. We are using ASLU for our lessons.

Alex signing the word "learn".

This year we will be studying these courses:

American History - Notgrass

American Literature and Composition - Notgrass

Bible: Issues in American Christianity - Notgrass

Physical Science - Apologia

Pre-Algebra - MUS/Teaching Textbooks

American Sign Language - ASLU

Remembering God's Chosen Children

Public Service as a Citizen of God's World - Guyer

Civics - Crossroads Christian Connection class

A Case for Smiles

2011-09-06T21:01:00.004-06:00

This year I have created a course called Public Service as a Citizen of God's World. We will be reading lots of books about teens who have take on big projects and about various needs. Then we will be putting what we learn into action. We are going to be doing lots of service projects and looking for ways to help others.

Our first project for the year was making pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer. This is an organization that makes, collects and distributes bright and fun pillowcases to brighten things up for kids in the hospital. Our local homeschool support group took this on as a group project, with each family making some cases.

Each of my kids made two pillowcases and then I made a few more.

Alex pressing the border.

Alex sewing her case together.

The finished product.

Jacob pressing his fabric.

Sewing it together.

Jacob's penguin pillowcase.

Jessica made some baseball themed pillowcases.
(I was at a baseball game while she made these with my mom, so I don't have pictures of the project in progress.)

One of the pillowcases I made.

One Call Away by Brenda Warner

2011-09-04T18:40:00.006-06:00

I was given the opportunity to review One Call Away by Brenda Warner. Known to many as NFL star Kurt Warner's wife, Brenda writes this book to share with her children and her readers who she is beyond that identity. Starting with her childhood she tells her story. The story of her family, her military career, a troubled first marriage, single parenthood and then the ups and downs of life with Kurt and the NFL.

Being from St. Louis, I watched Kurt's amazing "fairytale" rise to the Superbowl with the Rams. I am somewhat familiar with his rags to riches story and have been impressed with his Christian witness. I heard some of the media talk about Brenda following the Superbowl, but really didn't know much about her story. It was very interesting hearing her story in her words.

This book hooks you from the first paragraph. The writing style captures your attention and holds it. I found it hard to put it down and finished it in a couple of days. Her story is often a difficult one, but through all the ups and downs, the tragedies and triumphs, she continually points to the One who is in control. This is a story of faith, of trust, of learning to hand over the reins to God, learning that she is not in control and that God's plans may not be comprehensible at times, but He is in control and she can trust Him. She very candidly shares details of her life and the circumstances that shaped who she is. While it is a story of trust and faith, it was not an overly preachy book. Faith is just the thread that weaves this story together.

As often is the case with people in the public figure who has dealt with controversy this book does sometimes have the feel of "this is my side of the story". A chance to make a defense for things that have happened. Not knowing all the details and not really having followed the media hoopla that surrounded the Warners, I can't really make a call on all that. I am sure there are many sides to the stories here. But, I didn't feel that that detracted from the story too much. It was still a compelling book of someone has become famous but has managed to keep her eyes on Christ and use her platform for good. One who is human and not always perfect and can admit that.

I received this book from Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson publishers for review.

Desiring God Dvd by John Piper

2011-08-28T15:16:00.007-06:00

This dvd set is a recording of a lecture given by John Piper, based on his book Desiring God and explaining the concept of Christian hedonism. His premise is that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." He goes on to show us in scripture how God's goal is always to be glorified. Everything's purpose is to bring glory to Him. And that when we are satisfied in Him, when we find joy in Him, he is glorified. Piper disputes those who say it is a sin to find pleasure in God, that if we enjoy doing something, we are sinning. He shows over in over in scripture that our motivation is scripture is the reward in heaven. That while we may be making sacrifices in our walk, ultimately we will reap so much more in pursuing God.

This is a two dvd set with 10 sessions of about 30 minutes each. I watched it in about three sittings. Though I didn't find it easy to find time to sit down and watch them, when I did finally pop a disc in, it was easy to watch it through. There are so many great nuggets of truth in them, that I just kept watching. I will admit that sometimes his way of speaking could be distracting and sometimes my mind would start to wander, but he always brought me back with some insight that should be so clear and obvious but isn't always and I would think "wow, that's good." I plan to watch these again to remember points that he made. Lots to think about and ponder. And a challenge to me to examine my heart and ask do I desire God more than anything else? Is my joy found in Him?

If you have a heard time finding time to read, or if you learn better by listening you may find this video series helpful in summarizing the insights of the classic book by John Piper. There is also a study guide booklet that you can purchase that will help delve deeper either by yourself or with a group.

If you would like to learn more about Desiring God, you can visit this website www.desiringgod.org

You can read the first chapter of the book by clicking HERE.

This video can be purchased from the publisher by clicking HERE.

I received this video for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

If you would like to be entered into a random drawing by the publiseher to receive this video for free, please rank my review. Your email address will only be used to verify that you are a real person and to contact you should you win.

Cherished by Kim Cash Tate

2011-08-14T08:32:00.004-06:00

Cherished is the second in a series by Kim Cash Tate, following the book Faithfu l. Picking up where the last book left off, Cherished focuses on Kelli, the sister of Cedric and Lindell London and her story. All the main characters from the first wonderful book show up here, but the book is not as much about them.

While being cherished is the theme, this book is a lot about forgiveness. Learning to forgive others for things that feel unforgiveable. And, just as important, learning to forgive your self and to live in the freedom that Christ’s forgiveness brings to us.

I enjoyed this book very much and found it’s message inspiring and very true. I love how the characters lovingly support each other and seek to follow God’s will, even when it seems to bring pain in the beginning. Their faithfulness to God’s will and love is what brings healing in the end.

Not as complex as the first book, which interwove so many different plot lines, it is still a powerful book. One of the little things I enjoy about these books is the St. Louis setting. Always fun to run into familiar places as I read. Though I was curious where the name of the Webster Family Arena, in St. Charles, came from. That arena is in my home town and is often the site of Christian concerts, but I have never seen it with the name Webster. All the other places mentioned in the book seemed to be accurate.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

2011-08-04T08:34:00.005-06:00

Studies are showing that our kids are leaving the church at alarming rates. Kids are starting to check out, if only in their minds and hearts and then later in body, before they even leave highschool. Many believe that this is because they are not being taught truths in the church. They have no defense against the onslaught of lies that the world uses to challenge their faith. This book was written to help combate that by equipping our young people with the truth. It gives answers to many of the myths that the world tries to perpetuate.

It is divided into sections like Myths about God (ie God is just a big killjoy), about Jesus (ie he is "just a good teacher"), the Bible (ie, inconsistencies in the Bible), the Resurrection (Did Jesus just swoon?), about Religion and Christianity (Do you have to be unintellectual to be a Christian?, etc), about Life and Happiness (for example, "nice guys finish last"). Each section includes many of these types of myths and the authors address each topic in an approachable but truthful way to explain why these are myths and what the truth really is. They use scripture to illuminate the truth.

I enjoy apologetics books and am always on the look out for books like this to hand my kids. I found it to have a devotional feel where you could read each myth for a short daily reading. The authors used contemporary and familiar examples like Star Wars to help illustrate their points, making it approachable for kids. For anyone who has read a lot of apologetics, this book might seem a bit simplified, but this book is written for those who will probably never pick up a heavy tome like Knowing God. It is just right for your average youth who may be struggling with his faith and would appreciate the easy to read, short devotional style.

There was one point where I thought the authors were making a bit of an assumption about Jesus's family life before his ministry, but other than that I don't think I came across anything that bothered me.

I think this would be a good addition to a youth group or home school setting. There are questions at the end of each section to help the reader dig deeper, look up scriptures and think more about the topic.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Writing and the passing of time

2011-07-28T10:46:00.002-06:00

I noticed something interesting as I was reading the Christy and Katie books. In the beginning, they did not have email, cell phones, etc. Understandable. I think the first book was written in 1988. But, in the first book of the College Years series (2000), Todd and Christy were emailing. I was like, huh, wonder why they weren't doing that before? Sure would have cleared a whole lot of things up when Todd went on his mission trip. (At the time I didn't realize how far apart these books were written.) Now, in the Katie series, they suddenly all have cellphones with texting and picture mail. I realized that she is writing "timeless" in that she never says what year it is. But she is not writing timeless in that she adds in what technology is available at the time of writing.

This really caught my attention because that is something I really struggle with with my writing. I too, began writing in the 80's when we didn't have all that technology and I struggle with how much to add in now. Where to put my characters in time. Interesting to see how she did it. It's like they seamlessly jump decades in a few weeks. :-) But it works, oddly enough.

Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

2011-07-27T09:50:00.009-06:00

When I was reading the Praying for your Future Husband book earlier this month, I kept coming across references and quotes from the Christy Miller series that the author had also written. Snippets from Christy's journal, letters and prayers to her future husband, etc. I kept thinking, I am going to have to read those books. I love books for teens that model good morals and staying pure and other characteristics that I would like to see in my kids. So, on July 13, I downloaded the first volume of three books in the series. My intention was to preview the books for my girls and to review each book for the publisher so that I could up my number of book reviews on the Blogging for Books site. Um, didn't quite happen that way. I finished the first book quickly and thought of some thing things I could say in my review, but really did not want to take the time then, I needed to know MORE! There were two more books to read on my Kindle! I would review later. :-) Um, I have now read all 12 books in the original series and the three books in the "Christy and Todd: The College Years" series. Yeah. That is 15 books in 12 days! They are good! I love these books!

I am a romantic at heart. I love a good love story and I love a good happy ending. I needed to get to the happy ending! This series chronicles the up and down "forever friendship"/romance of Christy and Todd and their forever relationship with the Lord. As they grow, mature, and follow God's path for their life there are lots of questions and twists and turns. I raced through the first series in hopes that it would turn out "right!". :-) It did, but it didn't end. It was a great happy ending, but it stopped too soon. Apparently many other readers over the years felt the same way and begged for more, so the final three books were added. Phew! And, thankfully, readers continued to beg for more info on the other characters introduced in the series, so the author also wrote the Sierra Jenson and Katie Weldon series, the latter of which I have already started.

I love that the characters in these books are so real. Though they are Christians, they struggle with their human and Godly relationships. They must ask God again for direction and forgiveness for lack of trust and for jumping ahead of them. But, they do the right things. You can live a Godly life and still not always be trusting Him fully for everything. I love that they recognize that and continually seek to grow closer to God and trust him more for their earthly relationships. One of the things I really liked about this series was that Todd was not perfect. I love Lori Wicks books. As I said, I love a good Christian romance with good examples. But her heroes are almost too perfect. They always know the right thing to say and do. Todd is human. :-) He can be a jerk, say stupid stuff and be a completely dense male. :-) But he loves God and he honors Him in his relationships. These books show that guys can do the right thing, they can save themselves for marriage, keep their relationships pure and holy and be a servant of God, and yet it is not so unrealistic in making Todd never mess up. I don't think kids will relate to someone who does everything right. And Christy and Todd both mess up plenty!

Though written well before the Praying for Your Husband book, they are like a wonderful illustration of the principles outlined in that book and in so many other books I have read on the subject of purity. Many examples of keeping pure, how to set guidelines to protect themselves from "going too far" and also what happens when you don't guard your heart and your body from going too far. What happens when you give away little pieces of your heart before you should. Different characters live by different standards, so I can see people relating to different people. I like that. It shows how to approach the same goal in different ways. I just think it is a fun way to make real all those things we are trying to teach our children.

I also love the little illustrations that the characters use to explain God's truths. The gospel is shared and God's love and truths are shared over and over through out the series and in wonderful ways that really help people see what it means to become a child of God.

One thing that does bother me about the books, and this is a common complaint from me when reading a series. Continuity. I don't know if it was a matter of so much time taking place between writing the books and just forgetting what was said before, or if it was a matter of over time the author wanted to see things from a different angle, make a different point. But there were many times when I said "what?" that's not how it happened. Or "don't' you remember when?". But, as an (wannabe) author who has struggled with needing to deal with something I already wrote not lining up with what I want to write now, I can see how that happens. Sometimes you just need to change course, and unlike my books, where I have the option still to rewrite, her books are already in our hands. Also, when you read a series of books as they are written you might forget too. But, when you read all 15 books in less than 2 weeks, you remember all those little details. :-)

I may still try to go back and review each book individually, to bring up all the points I liked/disliked about each one, but for now, let's just say I love these books and they will become a part of my daughters' library!

I am also now an extremely exhausted person because I just could not put these books down to go to sleep at reasonable times. I had to force my self to put down the first Katie Weldon book at a reasonable hour last night. At first, I was not going to even start it, last night, for fear I would be tempted to stay up again, but I finally allowed myself to dive in, but dive shallow! :-) I was also a little hesitant to start another series, because I still have a BookSneeze book to finish and review and dvd series to watch and review for Multnomah. I will just have to make myself take Katie slower and get my other work done too. :-)

Oh and p.s. Happy Birthday Christy and Happy born again bday Todd! (both July 27). Sorry couldn't resist adding that when I realized what day I wrote this review!

Summer 2011 Reading List

2011-07-13T14:41:00.010-06:00

Just a place to list the books that I read this summer.

Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato
+The Help by Kathryn Stockett
*Praying for your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer
Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn
*Don't Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler
Katie Weldon series (Books 1-3) by Robin Jones Gunn
Sierra Jensen series (Vol 1-4) by Robin Jones Gunn
Cherished by Kim Cash Tate
*One Call Away by Brenda Warner
First Things First by Kurt and Brenda Warner
+50 Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas

+Book Club Books
*Review Program Books

Praying For Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer

2011-07-13T14:15:00.007-06:00

I chose to review this for the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group because the subject is one that interests me very much. While I admit that I have not been very disciplined about regularly praying for the future spouses of my children, it is something I do. Often I will pray through Power of a Praying Parent and tack on my future children in law as I pray for my own kids. But, it was nice to find a book that has prayers just for this purpose.

A little different format from the Power of... books, this book includes testimonials of both the authors and others who have shared their stories of prayers and answered prayers. It includes scriptures, poems, bullet points of things to pray for in a variety of areas such as praying your future spouce will be a "God Lover", that they will have patience, strength, etc. It includes sample prayers to pray for your future spouse and also prayers for yourself, how to prepare yourself, your attitude, your commitment, your character in a way that is pleasing to God and will help in future relationships.

I found the advice to be good and useful. I also appreciated that they addressed that God doesn't always have a spouse for everyone. Advice to live your life for our greatest lover of all, God, to the fullest and not just wait around for our prince or princess to show up. They advise to be patient and faithful while waiting for God's timing and to enjoy living in God's perfect will, whatever it may be.

I plan to have my girls read this book and to pray with them more as we wait to see who God will bring into their lives. I also plan to check out Mrs. Gunn's fiction books for young girls. They sound wonderful.

If you would like to read Chapter 1 of this book, click HERE.

Rank my review to be entered into a random drawing for a free book.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2011-07-13T13:55:00.002-06:00

Read this one for book club this month. I had heard it mentioned before, but never picked it up. This was a good time to find out what all the fuss is about. Some friends of mine just started another book club and they are also reading this book this month (as is the public library group, oy vey, a lot of demand for this popular book at one time!) and one of them said it sounded "cute". Cute? We must have different definitions of that word. This book is anything but cute. But it is thought provoking and I recommend it.

Set in Mississippi in the tumultuous civil rights era of the early 60's, this book tells the fictional, but somewhat based on real, stories of black maids and the white families they worked for. Candidly revealing the hard times and the good times that come with being so much a part of a family and yet not always being seen as even totally human. Sometimes it is hard to believe how stupid people can be. As I read the "bathroom initiatives" that one of the characters wrote up to "protect" them from "colored diseases", I thought "can anyone really believe this garbage?"

And yet, we haven't really come all that far in many ways. One passage that sticks in my mind is:

"You know as well as I do, people won't buy so much as a slice of pound cake from an organization that harbors racial integrationists!"

"Hilly." I just need to hear her say it. "Just who is all that pound cake money being raised for, anyway?"

"She rolls her eyes. "The Poor Starving Children of Africa?"

I wait for her to catch the irony of this, that she'll send money to colored people overseas, but not across town.....

Isn't that so true of many of us, even now. Not necessarily with race issues, but any issues. The churches will work so hard to share the love of Christ and help people far away and yet ignore people sitting in the pews next to them.

The book is full of wonderful, horrible, shocking, funny stories. It will make you think. It had me on the edge of my seat many times, worrying about the characters and wondering what would happen to them. I enjoyed reading it, and I look forward to discussing it with the group.

Daugher of Siena by Marina Fiorato

2011-07-13T09:46:00.005-06:00

I haven't gotten a lot of reading done this summer. So much else to do and I usually fall into bed exhausted by the end of the day. But, I managed to finish three books this week.

Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato

I saw this book on the Summer Reading table at Barnes and Nobel back in May and was intrigued. Since one of the books I am writing is set in Siena, anything about the old city catches my eye. To find a novel set there was wonderful! And it looked rather interesting. So, I downloaded it to my Kindle.

I enjoyed it. Probably would never have picked this up had it not been for the setting, and it was different than my usual reading fare. But it was well written and a page turner (yes it took me awhile to finish, but again, not because it wasn't good, I was just tired!). It helped that I already knew a bit of the history of the city and the contrade.

Siena is an old walled city in Tuscany with lots of tradition, the most popular of which is the yearly Palio horse races. The city is divided into neighborhoods called contrada and they are fiercely loyal and competitive. Families would marry, go to church, associate, etc within their contrada. And the Palio features riders representing those contrade. It's a big deal with lots of pageantry and excitement and the race last for less than 2 minutes. :-)

Anyway, the book is set around the Palio in 1723. There is conflict between the contrade, the old families, and the ruling duchess. They want their city back under the control of "the 9". So there are alliances, and trickery and murder and scheming going on that will hopefully end in ousting the foreign rule. Stuck in the middle of all this intrigue is Pia of the Civetta (Owl) contrade, who is married into the Aquila (Eagle) contrade, headed by an evil family, to a son with a frightening reputation. She is shocked to learn that her father has married her to an Eagle and prays her husband will die in the race. Little does she know what the outcome of that prayer will bring. There is a little over a month between the two Palios each summer, and oh so much happens in that time.

It was fun to feel Siena come alive, to get a little window into the world my mind lives in in my writing. I enjoyed getting a little more history, though the plot and many of the characters were fictional. As I read about Pia learning to ride in the misty hills outside the walls, I pictured those hills featured at the top of my blog. Those very hills could be the ones the author was seeing too.

Colorado Trip - The rest of the trip

2011-07-13T09:11:00.005-06:00

Thursday afternoon found us back at the Garden of the Gods. This time on horses! Alex and I rode with a tour at Acadamy Stables. Jacob had originally been interested, but decided he didn't want to ride bad enough to pay half the price. So he, John and Jessica drove back into the Garden for to take in the sights that way, Jessica could sketch and they could look for glimpes of us.

Here I am signing our lives away. As I am checking off all the liability disclaimers and risks and thinking "do I really want to do this?" Jacob starts making noise again about going! But, then he read that the horses can't go faster than a walk and decided again not to go. Ok. (This is the child who wanted to climb Pike's Peak and go white water rafting. I think he needs to find a more adventurous family to travel with. LOL)

I look at this pictures and am reminded that I really need to get back on my exercise program! Didn't help that I got one of the horses that is so big that you have to use a step to get on (those are for the heavier people. Sigh)

Our hour long ride actually ended up being at least an hour and a half. It was a nice ride through the Garden. And the hills and steps!! that we had to ride up and down weren't bad. :-) It was a fun experience. I've ridden before, but never on anything but flat land. This was Alex' first time out of a barnyard.

After our ride, we went to headed back to thotel for a bit. We called CiCi's pizza (across the street from the hotel) and found out that, yes, they can do gluten free pizzas (the StL ones will, but the one close to us closed down so we haven't been back in years). There just so happened to be a Whole Foods just down the street. (This area is great! Lots of great places to shop and eat and so close to everything!) I ran in and bought some Udi's crusts and we headed to CiCi's where they took care of Jessica well. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the pizza buffet again.

After supper, we met one of my Ragamuffin (Rich Mullins fans) friends, Sharon, and her daughter at Maggie Moo's for ice cream. So good to see Sharon again. The last time we got to hang out was in my town for our UnFest (our consolation for no longer having Legacy Art and Music Festivals.) That was about 7 years ago.

I was tired by then, but Jacob and Alex were still up for time in the pool so they got one last swim in.

Friday we packed up and headed to the Ghost Town Museum of which I also have no pictures. It was another one of those "allow 1-2 hours" places and the first time through I thought it would end up being another 30 minute thing in reality. But, by the time we saw everything and tried our hand at gold panning three times (it really is tricky finding those little bits of gold!) and finally having success, it was 2 hours. Alex and I are Dr. Quinn fans, so we had fun saying "this would be Mr. Bray's store and this would be Jake's, etc. :-)

By then, I think we were all explored out and we agreed to just head on out. We drove to Salina, Kansas that afternoon. Then Saturday, headed out for home. We stopped in briefly at my ILs house on the way home. We were pleasantly surprised to get to see my nephew. We thought he was leaving that morning on a mission trip and we would miss him, but turns out his crew was leaving Sunday morning.

All in all it was a wonderful trip. I know there was so much more to see out there, but we enjoyed getting to see what we saw and it was a nice relaxing, yet fun filled time.

Colorado Trip - Focus on the Family

2011-07-13T08:07:00.005-06:00

Thursday morning brought us to the place that started the dream for this trip. Our kids are big Adventures in Odyssey fans. When Alex discovered that you could visit Whit's End and even buy a WodFamChocSod, she decided we had to go to Colorado Springs. Which started her research and led to the many good reasons to visit the city. So our wonderful trip all began with Whit's End! But the actual visit was didn't take place till the 3rd day in. :-)

As always, we arrived bright and early. Focus on the Family is less than five minutes from the hotel. We wanted to get there a little early because we knew we had to get in both our tour and the KYDS Radio recording in the morning. And we wanted to be sure to be the first to sign up. We had a little trouble getting there at first only because I had a ditzy moment reading the map. I had a map that took us from the hotel to Focus to Compassion, because originally, they were planned for the same day. Well, heading out, I started reading the wrong section of the directions. They made no sense to me since I knew the area pretty well be then. It was telling us to go on streets that I knew were past Focus. DUH, finally figured out my problem and we found Focus easily from then on. :-)

We pulled into the lot and discovered that Focus campus is larger than we thought and we weren't quite sure where to go. Alex kept looking for the big green slide, which we never saw from the outside. We decided that the Welcome Center would be the place to go. Parked down there, found a sign that said tours were in the Administration Building. Walked across the parking lot to that building and discovered that, yes, the tours start there at 9. But, to sign up for KYDS radio, you had to go to the Welcome Center. Sign ups start at 9. Hmmm, quandry, how to be in two places at once? They quickly assured us that the tours never start on time because people tend to go to the Welcome Center thinking they start there. (Imagine that! LOL)
So, we headed back to the Welcome Center where we we were let in by the gentleman that just happened to be our tour guide that day. We didn't have to worry about being late since we were with the guide! We got our name on the list and headed back up to the Administration building.

It turns out we were the only family on the tour that day. Our guide told us that he feels funny sticking to the script when it is just one family, so he kind of ad libbed a bit. I am curious how much was the actual script as he did get rather candid at points. We got to hear the history of the ministry, see the studio where they do their webcam sessions, Studio A where the radio programs are recorded, the chapel/cafeteria, hear about various programs they do. I found out I know more about Drive Thru History than he did as he didn't know about the Israel/Egypt project that is in the works.

One of the things he told us about is TrueU a dvd series for teens that is part of the Truth Project (that our home church is doing for Sunday School right now. I got to see one session when I visited this past week and was impressed). It sounds really interesting and I plan to add it to our school. Both programs are basically apologetics, helping people deal with the bombardment of conflicting ideas that the world throws our way. TrueU is supposed to help prepare college bound kids to meet the arguments that so often shake the faith of young college students.

Originally, he had said that the tour was 25-30 minutes long so we had no worries about getting back in time for the recording session. But when he left the script behind, I got a little concerned, but figured, "hey, at least he knows we have to be back down there." As time moved on though, I started to get a little nervous that maybe he had forgotten! Sure, enough at 9:45, just as he is about to see if he can get us into Studio A, he remembered! He hurriedly took us to the guest relations closet where he loaded the kids up with TWO AIO albums and two other radio program sets and gave me Jim Dailey's autobiography! Wow!

Then we headed back to the Welcome Center and Whit's End. We were given time to read over our script. Jacob and Alex had the speaking parts and Jessica and I were Foley's (sound effects). Jessica and I were a little confused about our part but were assured it was all taken care of. And sure enough all the needed items were in the studio. We ran through the script once with the director and got our instructions and then did our recording. It was a lot of fun. We probably could have used that time we lost being on the tour to prepare more, but it was still good and a great memory. (Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the studio.) We did a little script about a mystery in Whit's office.

Then, finally, WodFamChocSods!! They were actually very good and I want to try out the recipe at home.

We explored the rooms, Jacob and Alex went down the slide (again no pics) and visited the bookstore. They used a 20% off coupon we got for doing the recording to buy NovaCom Saga which Jessica has been wanting, and picked up another episode they wanted. I bought them the feature of the week which was 50%. We had plenty of listening material for the ride home! NovaCom ended up being a really good choice as it lasted us the whole trip home! We were on the extra features on the last disc when we pulled in.

Focus on the Family was fun and I am glad that it inspired us to come to Colorado Springs.

Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center

2011-06-30T20:58:00.004-06:00

The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center was one of Alex's MUST SEE attractions. She is a big wolf fan and has been studying the site and learning about the wolves there since she started the research for this trip last fall. As it got closer to time to actually start making reservations, we looked at the available tours and found a new one that looked like it would be a great hit. The offere a Feeding Tour where you get to meet all the wolves, coyotes, and foxes as they are getting feed. It was pricey, but with the kids being under 18, it was the best oppurtunity for them to actually get to see the wolves up close. We got reservations for Wen night.

The Wolf center was the only thing we did that was not a close drive. It was about 45 minutes from our hotel. It was also at the top of a mountain! It was funny because Jacob kept complaining that we had not made plans to be ON mountains, just near them. As we are driving, I begin to notice that our road is climbing and we are starting to get really high! At one point I mentioned that if we didn't get there soon, we were going to be on the other side of the mountains. Sure enough, we reached and crossed the Ute Summit. Pike's Peak started to not look so high! We kept asking Jacob if we were high enough yet! I think he was satisfied though he still wanted to go on Pike's Peak, which we did not do. He really wanted to be able to look down and see how high he was, but with trees, that's not really easy to do.

When I called in the reservations, they told us to arrive an hour early. Which we did. But we are not sure why, as there was really nothing to do for that hour and no one else arrived that early. So we spent the hour looking through the shop, getting to know the foxes and the resident horses and learning that foxes smell like skunks!

It was worth the wait though. The tour was really cool and Alex was so thrilled!

I will try to get the video I have with the "wolf howl" to upload. It wasn't working the first time, so will see what I can do.

Colorado Trip - Compassion International

2011-06-30T20:44:00.005-06:00

With our afternoon suddenly free, we had to decide how we were going to spend it. Talk of horseback riding started, so we dug through our multitude of travel literature and found a brochure for the Academy Stables which takes tours through the Garden. We could not get a ride that would get us back in time for our Wolf Sanctuary reservations so we booked one for Thursday afternoon. We then bumped up one of our planned Thursday activities. A tour of Compassion International.

Compassion was a quick jaunt up the road from our hotel. Less than 10 minutes. We weren't quite sure what a tour would entail, but having been compassion sponsors for 2 children, we decided we wanted to visit the headquarters while we could. We learned the history of how Compassion started and saw some mementos from the early days of working with Korean orphans. We saw an example of a 3rd world home, learned about the process that a child takes to be admitted into the program, saw the distribution hub (Compassion is the 3rd largest distributor in Colorado Springs, behind Focus on the Family and an insurance company, and has its own zip code), and got to enter into a mock up of a Project Center where we watched several videos about the work Compassion does.

While there, we had this picture taken so we can send it to our compassion child in Ecuador.

Colorado Trip - Wednesday Morning

2011-06-30T20:19:00.006-06:00

We packed a LOT into Wednesday! We were exhausted by the end of the day. So much so that, thankfully for me!, the kids didn't even want to swim by the time we got home. So, I am going to break the day into two posts.

Bright and early, we found ourselves at the Garden of the God's visitor's center where we were first in the door and the first to buy tickets to the little intro movie. (That Jacob thought would be a waste of time since he was sure it would be full of "millions of years" references.) They would have let us into the movie early, but they had to do the equipment test anyway, so we had to wait. Which was fine. We spent some time looking around the displays and the gift shop and smashing some pennies. :-) The movie did have an evolutionary world view, but it still had lots of good info and was interesting to watch. the moveable map display in front of the screen was interesting too.

After the movie, we headed into the park. It was very cool. Though, since we neglected one of the key pieces of advice given in the visitor's center (take water - we didn't think to bring any) we got very thirsty fast! That is a very dry environment! That and being at a higher altitude wore us out. But we enjoyed walking around, finding different shapes, watching climbers, seeing wild life and annoying Jacob by taking lots of pics. We were determined to get his 13 year old picture out there, but it was hard to get the right angle to include both is face and the mountains. This is what we finally came up with. Still not the best, but it did get the mountains in the background and should work in the small area in the "growing up" frame we have.

Here are some more shots taken in the park:

John saw an arrow in the rocks and decided to have me do a Rich Mullins pose.

The obligatory "Balanced Rock" pictures. :-)

We had intended to do the Garden in the morning and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings in the afternoon, but since we got there so early, we had time to do both in the morning. It was interesting and fun to visit. Not nearly as impressive as Mesa Verde, but since I was too chicken at Mesa Verde to actually climb down the cliffs into the houses and would probably be too chicken to let my kids do it, it was nice to have some accessible dwellings to explore. :-) Still not sure why they tell you to allow 1-2 hours though.

Colorado Time Change

2011-06-29T08:27:00.002-06:00

One thing funny about our trip was how the time change effected us. Because our internal clocks were an hour ahead, we found ourselves getting up and about fairly early each morning. Which helped us get out the door and to our daily destinations in good time. In fact we tended to arrive everywhere about 15 minutes before they opened. Which worked out great. We usually had private showings of movies, private tours, etc. It worked out especially well at Focus on the Family since there was only one KYDS Radio recording session that would work for our family and since we were the only ones there when FOTF opened, we got it! But, more on that later.

It was just funny that here were were on vacation and yet we were up with the sun every day.

Driving play list

2011-06-27T16:10:00.003-06:00

On the way to Colorado we listened to Adventure's in Oddessey Darkness Before Dawn, my personal mix of "Rich and Friends" music (Kid Brothers, Ragamuffins, Bebo, Andrew Peterson, etc) which is a MUST for any drive through Kansas! (Though it would have been better in the Flint Hills) and Tarzan (a classic traveling CD for our family). So glad the kids no longer need videos to get them through a trip.

The entire trip back we listened to the AIO Novacom Saga. There was only a bit of the extras left when we rolled into St. Charles. Perfect road trip album.

Colorado Trip - Tuesday

2011-06-27T15:53:00.002-06:00

Tuesday was just a driving day. Flat Kansas. Not much to see. Well, except the wind farm! At first you just see a few windmills. It's pretty cool and impressive. Then you get up to them and go around the bend, down the hill a bit and go Whoa! There were a lot more there than we realized!

It was interesting to see the lights and gates at every interchange and the warning of possible road closures as we got further west.

Jacob's first impression of Colorado was that it "looks just like Kansas". It wasn't until we turned off 70 onto 24 that we finally began to see mountains and then Colorado did not look like Kansas anymore.

It was pretty cloudy that day. In fact we had a fun game of "what pictures do you see in the clouds" as we drove along. The sky was blue, but there were a lot of clouds. So, our first glimpse of mountains was mixed with clouds. You could just make out the faint difference between the mountain range and the clouds behind it on the horizon. But as we got closer, they got more impressive.

Very beautiful.

We got to our hotel about 2:45 and were glad they let us check in early. Got settle.d. Discovered our suite was completely unequipped and took a trip to Walmart across the street for paper goods and perishable lunch items, etc. After a quick sandwich supper, Jacob and Alex checked out the pool and water slide. It was nice to relax and get used to the higher altitude before starting to explore.

Colorado Trip - Monday

2011-06-27T15:27:00.006-06:00

Monday, June 20th started the long awaited trip to Colorado Springs. This is the first vacation we have taken in a LONG time. Alex did a persuasive speech earlier this school year about why we should vacation in Colorado Springs. From there, I took it a step further and had her plan the trip. She did a good job. I did take it at the end and did the final scheduling/booking, but I used a lot of her ideas and research.

The first stop of the trip was my idea. After Alex told me how far it was and that we should probably stop midway in Kansas the first night, I remembered that Eisenhower's house was somewhere along there and that I have been wanting to go there for awhile. I looked it up and found that it was a perfect place to stop midway!

We have been visiting President homes, museums, libraries and other such places whenever we can, ever since we did the Kids for Bush (or something like that) unit study back in 2004. Though we have been to Kansas many times, we haven't gone near Abilene. So this was perfect!

We thought we would have to leave around 5am to get there in time to tour the museum before it closed. But on further reflection, I decided that was pushing it and that if we didn't make it in time, we would just go to the museum on Tuesday morning since we had nothing planned in CO that day. I believe we rolled out of town around 8:30 after stopping at our favorite donut shop for breakfast and even with a quick pit stop/visit with my SIL in Columbia and a lunch break in KS, we made it in plenty of time to see the museum and house. We even managed to fit in a quick visit to the Greyhound Hall of Fame across the street.

Much of the Eisenhower Museum focuses on his military career and it was interesting to see the models and WWII history. There was an interesting display of a home bomb shelter and a cute letter from a child to Eisenhower about their preperations. It was interesting to see various displays about what life would have been like at that time.

We bought a Presidential Library Passport and now I am trying to figure out what to do about the two libraries (George Bush and Harry S Truman) that we have already seen but didn't get stamped.

We had a little trouble finding the museum for some reason. We knew it was on 3rd street, but we thought we had passed it and went in for directions at a visitor's center. The directions were very unclear!! We ended up pulling out my phone and using the GPS and discovered that we only had to go another block past the visitor's center! Not sure what happened there!

Everyone was a bit dubious about my motel choice. I was too. This was the one where when I made the reservations, the lady coughed through half the call, was hard to understand and said "We don't give confirmation numbers. You be ok." Um, yeah. But there were only two choices in the AAA book and this was the one they recommended! When we pulled up, it was less than impressive. Especially with the "Clean your birds here" sign on the door next to ours and the roach outside the door. The A/C being controlled from the office was also not a great sign. But it turned out ok. It was comfortable, the room was big, there were no roaches inside the room, etc. I think it was a winner in the end.

(Though when we went to supper I discovered that there is a new Holiday Inn Express in town!)

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

2011-06-08T08:02:00.002-06:00

Another cozy mystery book by Joanne Fluke. Same scenario, cookie baker Hannah Swensen bakes cookies, discovers a murder and with the help of her family and friends solves it. However, there was a twist in this one. All the major players from the Sherriff's dept were taken off the case. So rather than discouraging Hannah from her renegade detective work, they encouraged it, but only if she took tips from them on how to solve the case. Each has their own perspective on how an investigation should go. All seem to have forgotten that Hannah has solved countless cases on her own without their "help".

This book also moved me firmly into the "Norman camp". In Mike's own words, he was a complete "louse". In other words a JERK! Not only did he forget that Hannah is quite capable of solving murders without the help of his stack of investigative technique books, he was very selfish and uncaring about Hannah, waking her up every night at midnight so that he could sneak around and not get caught being involved in a case he was not supposed to be involved in. Plus other behaviour that should not be coming from a man who claims to love and want to marry Hannah.

Norman on the other hand was a complete gentleman and treated Hannah like a queen.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

2011-05-10T14:49:00.003-06:00

"Zakhor. Al Tichkah - Remember, Never forget" is basically the theme of this book. In this case remembering what the Round Up and Betrayal of the Jews in France. We don't often hear about the atrocities that occurred in this country. We hear more about Germany, Poland, etc. On July 16, 1942, thousands of Jews, over 4000 of them small children, were gathered up by the French Police and sent to appalling holding areas and then ultimately to their deaths in Auschwitz.

This book tells the (fictional) troubling story of one particular family. The story alternates between a 10 year old French Jewish girl and her horrifying story and the modern day story of a American French journalist who is given an assignment to cover the commemoration of the round up and ends up turning up a story that changes her life and the lives of both her family and the family of the little girl forever.

It should not surprise me how many people told her to stop digging. That "that was 60 years ago, no one remembers, no one wants to remember." But is sad. Yeah, it is easy to just sweep it under the rug and try to forget that horrible period in our history. But it happened, and it happened to people all around us. We should not forget. Though sometimes that becomes a coping mechanism for even those who went through it, for better or worse.

The story was good. I was a little unsure after reading several very discouraging reviews on Amazon that said it was very poorly written. One even said something like "harlequin holocaust". But, it was a book club book, so read it I did. It was not as bad as all those reviews suggested. It did have some rough language, some morals that I don't hold to, but over all it was good, though hard to read.

Interestingly, we seem to have found ourselves reading a lot of Holocaust related books in book club. Not intentionally, but just throughout the years, we have read several. It can be a challenge, but one that we sometimes need to take.

I will admit, sometimes I want to stop remembering. We watched "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" shortly after going to the Holocaust Museum and that was hard to watch. It was disturbing! I was sorry I had my kids watch it. I was sorry I watched it. But we can't forget. We have an opportunity to go listen to another survivor tell her story. I know we should. There won't be survivors around for much longer. But, I find myself hesitating to put my children and myself through it again, so soon. And I feel guilty about that. How much of the horror can we endure? And yet the horror of listening, reading, watching about it, is no where near the horror of those who lived it.

Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock

2011-05-04T08:45:00.003-06:00

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers to review. The book is told from the perspective of 11 year old Roz who has just moved into a new house after her family has escaped an abusive situation. Within a week of moving in, the elderly lady who use to own the house shows up declaring she intends to live there till she dies. It is a page turner from page one as we watch Roz and her family deal with some interesting situations and deal with the aftermath and healing from their previous situation. Roz learns that not all dreams are dreams we should hold on to.

I enjoyed the book, and while I figured the ending wouldn't come as Roz expected, I didn't predict exactly how it would turn out. My only real complaint is that I wish that Tillie had made more of an effort to explain to Roz how one gets to heaven. Especially since the first time Roz asked was at a rather crucial time.

Mine is the NIght by Liz Curtis Higgs

2011-04-10T12:57:00.007-06:00

I was so excited to get to review Mine is the Night, the sequel to Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs. These wonderful books are set in 18th century Scotland and are based on the book of Ruth. Mine is the Night picks up with the part of the story we are most familiar with, when Ruth, or in this case Elizabeth, arrives back in the home of her mother in law.

I so enjoyed reading this book. It is like two stories in one and both are great stories. I enjoy reading and learning the Scottish history and the customs of that time and the characters are well developed and likeable. Wonderful lessons about trusting in God and his provision for us. We are reminded that every good gift comes from our Lord, not our titles or who we know on this earth, but our King in heaven, to whom our allegiance belongs.

As always it is fun to see how the Biblical story unfolds in the new time and setting. Ms. Higgs does a terrific job of telling the old familiar story and yet writing a new stor with new characters all her own at the same time. This one was especially fun for me as I just finished an indepth study of the book of Ruth with my Bible Study class. I had a new appreciation for this story after digging in deep in class and so it was fun to revisit it again in this book.

I highly recommend this book.

Click HERE to read Chapter one of this book.

Read about Liz Curtis Higgs HERE.

Liz Curtis Higgs' website

This book was provided for review by Multnomah Waterbrook publishers.

Faithful by Kimberly Cash Tate

2011-03-28T15:22:00.002-06:00

This book deals with faithfulness in relationships and with God. It centers around three friends, each dealing with different issues of faithfulness. One discovers her husband in an affair, one is married to man who is not a Christian and finds herself drawn to an old friend who is a strong Christian, and one is single and struggling.

It was a well written book. Granted it was a bit like tv in that it all resolved faster and easier than life often does. But, it shows what can happen when couples are truly trying to do God's will. But it did not shy away from very real feelings and temptations.

Part of the fun of this book, for me, was that it was set in St. Louis and I recognized a lot of the locations. Though I did have to wonder sometimes at the spelling of certain places. For example any St. Louis native knows that Kingshighway is one word. It was written as two words (as my spell checker here is telling me to do) in the book. So I have to assume the editors got a hold of that street name!

Blessings by Laura Story

2011-03-27T21:15:00.002-06:00

This song has been playing a lot on our radio lately. I LOVE this song. It is so good.

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-27T20:34:00.003-06:00

Spring break has come and gone. It was fun, but as always, I feel like I need a break after my break! We packed in a lot of good times, and now I am tired! But, back to school tomorrow so that we actually get summer break!!

Saturday - Went to a local church's garage sale and picked up a school desk that I have been looking for for several years. Now all three kids have the same kind of desk. I put the old desks up for sale with profits going to Steven Curtis Chapman's Show Hope ministry. Getting them out of my way and supporting the orphans at the same time. All part of my radical living plan.

After working my way through the crowd of early garage salers, I went home, picked up John and we went for a quick breakfast and a run to the bank. Then Alex and I headed to church for a meeting. It was an interesting discussion. Especially for me. Having one foot in two different churches gives me a different perspective on things. I loved the idea of a Saturday service. It would help me stay connected more and I think it might draw a different crowd. IF people could get over their hang ups about what church is "supposed" to look like.

I left Alex at church for choir practice and a service project and caught a ride to my book club. John's car was in the shop getting inspected and he needed the car to pick up Alex. We discussed Joni Eareckson Tada's autobiography. Very good. Wonderful for anyone struggling with trials.

Mom and I headed out from the book club back to the garage sale so she could look for some items and and I could pick up shoes at 50% off for the youth choir's mission project. They are hoping to send 1000 pairs of shoes to Honduras.

From the garage sale, we headed to a quilt show. Saw some very neat quilts. I was hoping to see some quilts made by a guy I used to go to church with and who was the pianist in my wedding. At the time he was a musician. Now he is a musician and nationally (internationally?) known quilter. None of his quilts were at the show. At one point I turned around and thought "that quilt looks like a Ricky Tims quilt." I walked up and it was not his, but it was inspired by him. One of the ladies that I used to babysit and another friend of my mother's also had quilts on display there.

Home to pick up John's car and the rest of the family to go bbq with my folks. A full day!

Monday - Alex and I went to the flower nursery with my dad to buy flowers for the butterfly garden. Got lots of good flowers.

Then we went to Global Market and enjoyed checking out all the foods from other lands. I was excited to find Japanese Pocky sticks that my friend DeEtta has posted about. We also purchased some juices from South Africa that had some neat tabs for Alex's jewelry and some candies from different countries.

Tuesday - John took off and we all went to visit his family in Columbia. We had a good visit. My nephew, who doesn't have school on Tuesdays, took us on a fun hike in a park near the University.

Wednesday - The kids and I went to the Science Center with my brother and dad. I bought everyone 5 minutes on Segways. That was a lot of fun. We saw a demonstration on gravity with lots of things being dropped from a window on the 5th floor of the center. Then we headed over to the planetarium side and saw a star show on the stars of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Lunch at a Jamaican restaurant. Food very good. But never eat on Caribbean time when in a hurry!

We hurried home and then headed directly out to meet Alex's friends at the roller rink. Skated. Discovered that the rink closed earlier than I had thought. Headed to a park for a bit. Then McD's and frozen yogurt before dropping the girls all off at church.

Thursday - sold two school desks that have been sitting in my basement. Alex had a class on CPR/First Aid. She learned the new hands only CPR method. Interesting. (I really need to get recertified!)

Free night at the St. Louis Homeschool Expo. Since I had to miss the rest of the weekend, we skipped Awana and the kids watched the variety show while John and I shopped for curriculum. The place was packed!!

Friday and Saturday - Dare 2 Share Conference with Alex and Jacob. I love this conference. If youth group was like what Greg Stier encourages, I could get into it. Pray! I will pray for that! My nephew got to go go to D2S this weekend too. So happy that he and my kids were able to attend that.

Snow came down fast and hard Sat afternoon so we ended up missing the last part of the conference. Just as well, Iwas very tired and was coming down with a cold so had a bad headache.

Sunday - Slept in. Got caught up on lesson planning. Tried to catch up on Facebook. Watched kids at church nursery. Watched video that nephew's friend made at D2S. Laughed really hard at a video my friend in Japan posted that explains the nuclear reactor problem in kidspeak. Not a funny topic, but a very amusing presentation.

Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman

2011-03-18T13:09:00.005-06:00

This book is on my Spring Reading Thing list. I finished my book club book Wednesday night and needed a new book. This one started calling my name. I figured, hey it's a long book and it deals with a hard subject, I probably won't finish it before the challenge starts on the 20th. Ha, think again. I finished in one day. It was SO good and I could not put it down. And I really didn't cry like I thought I would. Did get teary eyed some, but it really didn't effect me as much as the song Cinderella does. Maybe because music is more emotional, I don't know. She just had a wonderful way of weaving in the hope with the sorrow.

It did leave me with the idea that I can use that song like I do a couple of others. There are certain songs that remind me of certain people and while they make me cry, they remind me to pray for those people. And whenever I hear those songs, I do pray. Though my tears, but I do pray. For some reason, I haven't been doing that with Cinderella. Maybe I did in the beginning, I don't know. Usually I just want to turn it off because it makes me so sad. But after reading this book, I will remember to pray for the Chapmans when I hear it.

This book does deal a lot with Maria's death, but it is Mary Beth's journey of faith, starting with a childhood were the idea of Grace was not taught, through getting married and discovering that "Tigger had married Eeyore" (boy is that familiar) and discovering she had clinical depression, through growing their family, both biological and adopted and the ministry that grew out of their adoption of Shoahannah, and then of course the very painful grieving time of loosing Maria.

A very honest, candid story of how yes, they do have faith and hope and know that Maria is waiting for them in heaven, but that that does not take away the pain and agony of losing her. A wonderful testimony. She mentions in different spots of the journey that her hope is that people can see their struggles and realize that celebrities don't have all the answers, don't have it all together, they are human too, but that their hope and strength is in our Lord.

This book opened up my desire to adopt again. Especially as she talks about all the reason they "shouldn't" adopt and yet it was clearly God's will. (Some of their adoption stories are really amazing!) We have a lot of reasons. What with our culture telling us life shouldn't be hard. But God tells us to take care of the orphans. In this year of "living radical", of trying to live a more "Jesus shaped" life, I really have a desire to do more to help the poor, the orphans and the widows and this book really hit on that for me. Time for more prayer for God's will.

This book was sad, it was funny, it was challenging and inspiring. Not having lost a child, I can't say if it will help one suffering that hard place but I would recommend giving it a try.

If you have time, stop by the Show Hope website and think about how you can answer Jesus's call to help the orphans. If not through adoption, maybe through sponsorship.

Many song lyrics and background stories are included. There is a very touching and amazing story behind this song. Maria asked God into her heart just months before she died.

Spring Reading Thing 2011

2011-03-14T14:03:00.015-06:00

Spring is just around the corner, which means that it is also time to start thinking about the Spring Reading Thing challenge hosted by Katrina over at Callipidder Days Blog. This is a very low pressure challenge where you get to pick your reading goals. It is fun to interact with other readers and find out what they are reading and read their reviews.

To join, you just need to make a list of books that you would like to read this spring, or just set any kind of reading goal that you would like to reach and write a blog post about it. Katrina will have a place to link to your post, starting March 20, so that others can browse your list and maybe pick up a few reading ideas along the way. Come back the end of Spring and write a recap of how you did.

Here is my list for this Spring. Made up of books that have been piling up on my shelves and in my Kindle. Click title links to read reviews.

Heavenly Places by Kimberly Cash Tate

~~Faithful~~ by Kimberly Cash Tate

The Invisible by Arloa Sutter

[The above 3 books joined my TBR pile after reading the last Yada Yada House of Hope book by Neta Jackson. Kimberly Cash Tate was interviewed by Neta in the back of the book and I came away intrigued. The Invisible was also recommended in that book.]

~~The Thorn~~ by Beverly Lewis

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund

[The above 2 books were sent to me by Bethany House as book club promotions.]

The Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp [This book has been on my TBR pile too long! In fact, it has been listed in past reading challenges! Need to get this read!]

~~Mine is the Night~~ by Liz Curtis Higgs [Will be reading this as a Blogging for Books review. I am excited to get to review this book. I love all her books!]

~~Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope~~ by Mary Beth Chapman [This book was mentioned in a recent copy of World Magazine. Looked interesting. Will probably make me cry like the song Cinderella does.] [ETA: Ha, well as I said in my review, I picked this up early, thinking I wouldn't finish it till spring at least. Ha, I finished it in one day. So, a little earlier! Oh well.]

~~Cream Puff Murder~~ by Joanne Fluke

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke
[I always try to include a couple of the Hannah Swensen mystery books in my challenges.]

~~Promises to Keep~~ by Ann Tatlock [I will be reviewing this for Bethany House publishers.]

~~Under the Lilacs~~ by Louisa May Alcott [April Book club book]

~~Sarah's Key~~ by Tatiana de Rosnay [May book club book]

~~Soul Surfer~~ by Bethany Hamilton

I am sure that I will probably add more books as the season goes on. Something will catch my eye, need to be reviewed, get added to the book club list. But this is where I am starting off.

Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

2011-03-14T12:50:00.006-06:00

This is a book for people who have left the church or are thinking about leaving the church. I am not planning on leaving the church, but am often frustrated by what the church has become, so I thought it would be an interesting read.

The author doesn't out and out say we should leave the church. He points out that there are benefits in both solitude with God and with community. And that Jesus sought both. What he does say is that, no matter where you worship and serve God, you should strive to live a "Jesus shaped life." We should be more concerned with thinking in terms of "if I spent three years with Jesus, what would I think about....", in other words, what did Jesus say about this situation and how did or would he respond than in church tradition that often doesn't reflect Jesus at all.

In describing why some people leave the church, I recognized myself several times. One was a feeling of being alone or isolated, even when in a big church with lots of stuff going on. Or being disillusioned when seeing a group of Christians being totally disrespectful and and inconsiderate and anything but examples of Christ like behavior. Interestingly, his example was of a youth group's behavior in a restaraunt toward non church members. Sadly, we all to often see that same unloving behavior inside the church doors toward our fellow church members.

At one point he says "I know a lot of church-leavers, and they aren't who you think. Many of them have left evangelical churches and found new homes in other Christian communities and traditions, often those that conservative Christians are convinced have "sold out" and gone "liberal". Later in the book he points out that the "map of truth" is not just the property of one kind of church. That there are many paths to the truth in both the evangelical and mainline traditions and that we often miss important truths by rejecting the other paths completely. This really hit home with me. My background includes paths in many different traditions and I value them all for what they bring to the table. While I disagree theologically with some of the beliefs of some of my friends in some of more mainline denominations, I often look at what their churches are doing and think that they are more on the mark for actually following Christ's example in serving mankind. I often struggle with that balance. Wishing that I could have the best of both worlds.

He encourages us not to judge those who have left the church and empowers those who chose to walk a different path. Reminding us that our main objective is to follow Jesus and to serve him no matter where we are. That we can worship and serve him in often unexpected ways.

I encourage everyone to pick up this book. Whether you are disillusioned with the church or not. It can serve as a mirror for to see where our priorities lie and whether our walk is patterned more after Jesus's ministry or whether our lives or more shaped by man's tradition.

To read chapter 1, follow this link.

Author Bio:
During the years when he was blogging as the Internet Monk (www.internetmonk.com), Michael Spencer was followed by hundreds of thousands of readers. He offered a lifeline to the spiritually dispossessed in his speaking, teaching, and writing. Michael graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College and earned a master’s degree in theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. For seventeen years, he taught Bible and served as campus minister at a Christian school in Kentucky. Michael passed away in April 2010.

The Internet Monk Blog

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Thoughts on a Sunday

2011-02-20T19:39:00.006-06:00

Just some rambling thoughts I had today, tying in different things I heard in church today. Tonight, we sang the song that goes "We bow down and lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus". I like to think about what that means for those of us who don't really have any crowns or are not really bowing down at Jesus's feet. At least not in the literal sense. I think it means that we humble ourselves before the Lord. We admit that He is King and we are willing to honor him and submit to him and make it all about Him. We lay down our "right" to what we want and stop making it all about "me" and worship Him as our King.

As I sang that tonight, I started thinking about Bible Study this morning. We studied Genesis 4 today. We talked about how Cain was all about "me" and "self". And how even his descendants portrayed that same attitude of "it's all about me."

We discussed why God regarded Abel's offering and not Cain's and how it was probably the attitude or the spirit it was given in and not about what they gave. And I wondered tonight if this song summed it up. That Abel "lay down his crown" to his King, and maybe Cain still had his on when he presented his gift to the King. That he didn't come with a humble heart, but one that was still concerned about self and what he was going to get out of it.

Just some thoughts. Take it or leave it.

To further tie in lessons I learned today, as I was listening to this evening's sermon about Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, I thought about this morning's lesson on The Bible as our sword and how it protects us. Pastor Bob taught us that we need a Rhema, a specific word from God to stand up to the enemy in each specific circumstance. That we need to know what God's word says to answer to each temptation. And to know that, we need to KNOW the Bible. These three Hebrew men are examples of that. Their Rhema told them that it was wrong to bow down to another god. Regardless of the pressure. It also told them that their God was big enough to help them, even in the face of a mighty and powerful earthly king. And that His wrath was bigger than Nebuchadnezzar's wrath.

When we know God and we know his Word, it is easier to be a Courageous Christian and not a Chameleon Christian blending in with the crowd.

Also, I was just totally awed to see the Gospel layed out in Genesis 4. I LOVE this class. I keep learning new things from familiar passages.

All in all, a great Sunday in the Word. I am blessed by wonderful teachers and preachers and I appreciate their insights and desire to draw us closer to God.

Pujols: More Than the Game by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth

2011-02-11T15:13:00.006-06:00

I picked up this book because I wanted to learn more about Albert Pujols, the man behind the bat. I knew he was a Christian and I wanted to hear his story. This book should satisfy both those who are sports fanatics and love stats and those who want to know more about his life off the field. The book starts with his childhood in the Dominican Republic and then proceeds to recap his seasons of baseball from highschool through 2010. Lots and lots of stats and baseball trivia. You can relive the Cardinals seasons for the last ten years. Interspersed with the onfield history are chapters describing how Pujols lives for Christ off the field. A little bit about his family and a lot about his foundation and all the wonderful things he does through it.

Coincidentally, this book arrived in the mail the very day that Dee Dee Pujols came to speak at my church. So, I took it with me to see if she would sign it. She told me that she and Albert had declined to be interviewed for this book because they were not ready to tell their story yet. So, that was in my mind as I read this. I will say that nothing in this book contradicts anything that she told us that night. In fact much of what she said was echoed here. This book is a very positive portrayal of the family and their mission. Not neglecting to point out that Albert is human and has some weaknesses, and there for is not perfect but that he works to glorify Christ in all he does. Due, I guess, to the fact that there were no personal interviews with Albert and Dee, there is not a lot about their family life. I appreciate that it didn't not seem to invade their privacy. It deals very much with the Albert you see in the public, both on the field, in his charity works, dealings with the media, etc.

I enjoyed learning more about Albert and came away very impressed with him. This book could be a wonderful witnessing tool. I do wish it had some pictures though!

Publisher's Book Description:

A powerful story of the athleticism and strong faith of Albert Pujols, one of the all-time greatest baseball players.

It is for good reason that Albert Pujols routinely tops the list of the greatest players in modern Major League Baseball. Among all Major Leaguers who ever played the game, Pujols already ranks in the top twenty in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and adjusted on-base plus slugging. He is simply one of the greatest offensive players in baseball history.

But when the adulation comes his way, Pujols points people to an even greater hero, directing them to Christ. “At the end of the day,” he says, “as long as I glorify him, and those 45,000 people know who I represent every time I step out on the field, that’s what it’s about. It’s about representing God.” This book will satisfy MLB fans who like baseball slathered in amazing stats, and it will shed light on the faith that makes it all possible.

This book can be purchsed at:
Thomas Nelson or Amazon or where books are sold.

Divine Appointments by Charlene Ann Baumbich

2011-01-21T18:23:00.008-06:00

This is the second in a series called Snowglobe Connections, the first being Stray Affections, which I also reviewed.

This book focuses on employees of a company that is being restructured with the help of a consultant, Josie. We meet Josie briefly in Stray Affections and this book tells the story of her strange encounter with a mysterious snow globe. Josie a very independent, strong, 47 year old who's life is going just like she wants it, or so she thinks. We also meet several other characters who are dealing with the upheaval of downsizing and other personal issues.

It is easy and enjoyable to read. There is a good message about people not always being who they seem. To not judge them based on initial impressions. And sometimes we are not who we think we are. It is also a pretty relevant book dealing with the economy and job loss and we could learn something about dealing with these troubling times from the characters here.

There were some unexpected turns that could have really turned this book in another direction, but were handled well to keep the book uplifting.

Click HERE to read the first chapter of this book.

About the author:
Charlene Ann Baumbich is a popular author, speaker, and award-winning journalist who is passionate about rejuvenating lives through humor. Her writing includes the best-selling Dearest Dorothy series and Stray Affections, the first Snowglobe Connections novel, and seven inspirational nonfiction books. Charlene lives with her husband in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

The author's website.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Damascus Way by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn

2011-01-16T16:55:00.003-06:00

This the third and final book in the Acts of Faith series by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn. While maybe not the best of the series, it is very good, as were the others. I love the geography lessons, the historical background behind familiar stories, the fleshing out of those stories that help us think about the lives of those Biblical people that we feel we know. And the stories of the fictional characters are also very good and inspiring. I love a book that makes me get in the Word and look closer at the scriptures. I also enjoyed pulling out my Bible atlas and studying the different places that were mentioned.

I do still have a bit of discomfort with "messing" with Bible stories. Adding people and details that are not from the Bible. They don't "add to the scriptures" in ways that change what we know to be true. But one does have to remember this is just supposition and fiction to flesh out what God set down for us to know. They do a pretty good job of keeping the actual events true to scripture, but I did see some rearranging of time sequence here. For example, they had Philip leave for Gaza before Peter and John arrived to deal with Simon the sorcerer. I was also a tad uncomfortable with Martha and "Helzebah" (the Samaritan woman that Jesus talked to at the well) being such active, sort of fictional characters with true people at their core, if you know what I mean.

I remarked to the kids that this book reminded me a bit of the children's history series "Liberty Kids" with the fictional characters just conveniently happening to be around when key things happened.

I was surprised at how the book ended. Seemed to leave so much undone. But, I guess we have another Book to tell us the rest of the story. :-) All in all, other than the small discomfort that I mentioned, I have really enjoyed this series. They so clearly teach the Gospel message and give good examples of trusting God even in the most trying of times. And the conversion of Saul/Paul was very moving. Good historical/Biblical fiction.

ETA: We sang "Blessed Be Your Name" in church tonight and various scenes and situations from the book became a video in my mind as we sang.

Bible Reading

2011-01-11T08:55:00.002-06:00

Ten days into the Bible Reading program. The whole family is on board so it is nice to be able to compare notes and discuss what we are reading. I really like how John Notgrass has arranged the readings. It is fun to read both a quoted scripture and the original context of that scripture in the same reading. Great for tying in the readings. I can also see why he changes ups the NT readings over the years. It is impossible, in one daily reading schedule to pair up all the OT/NT connections and keep continuity (not have you reading all over the place.) As I read and see quotes from the OT, I can see how he might pair us up differently when we come around to these books again.

I have also discovered that John is summarizing his thoughts on the readings on his blog (see my original post for link). There tends to be a day lag so you can read it before being influenced by his thoughts.

My Bible study class is about to begin an inductive study on Genesis. As we are in Genesis now, I am looking forward to some in depth discussion of what we are reading. Of course we are also reading Romans right now and it would make a very good discussion too!

Miserly Moms-Jonni McCoy

2011-01-11T08:38:00.002-06:00

I picked up this book at the library because it was on one of their displays. I needed a "recommended book" to fill one of my Bingo squares on the reading program and this one looked interesting and easy to read. It also helps with one of my "Radical Living" goals of being able to give more by saving more.

It was easy to read, it was good. I like that she distinguishes between being cheap and being frugal. That she refuses to sacrifice quality and tastefulness in the name of saving money. Some of the tips are more than I am likely to follow, but she does have lots of good information for those who are willing to take the time and discipline to do them. Not something I am really good at, but I will attempt some things.

I did appreciate her chapter on special diets. Turns out they have a son on Feingold. Showing that you can be frugal and eat right too. Her science is a little shaky (doesn't know that everything is chemical) but her math is ok I guess. :-)

I thought that the chapter on Holidays was a bit misplaced. Seemed less about saving money and more about a list of ideas of how to celebrate. There wasn't room enough (nor was it appropriate) to spend enough time on any of the ideas to really give them justice. But, oh well.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get printable coupons to work on my computer. Swagbucks and MyPoints both offer coupons that will not only save you money, but earn you points that will make you more money. But I can not get the coupon printers to work.

Getting ready for the battle

2011-01-09T17:29:00.004-06:00

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17

This was the text for today's sermon, the first in a series about Spiritual Warfare. When our pastor announced this series last week, I thought it was a rather appropriate way to start out my year of living Radically. Because, even as I mentally took on the challenge of radical living, I knew I was entering a battle. Because when we seek to follow God more closely, we come up against the enemy more. So what better way to prepare for the battle than joining with my church family on a study of spiritual warfare. Unlike the majority, as pastor mentioned and hands raised in the congregation indicated, I have heard sermons on this before. But, then I grew up in characteristic churches where that is more common. So this is not new territory for me. But it is good to be reminded of who our enemy is (not people in the church, not politicians, not family, etc, etc) and how best to stand firm against him.

Of course it will be a time to be in diligent prayer as "Ol Sparky" is not to fond of these types of lessons and will be shooting those fiery darts at the pastor and the church.

As I sat in church today, I was not only thinking of how much I needed this series, but I was constantly in prayer for a friend who seems to be going through an intense spiritual battle and who has been listening to the lies of the Father of Lies. I pray that she will win this war and come out victorious soon.

The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher

2011-01-07T11:42:00.004-06:00

Part of a series of books on ancient practices of the church, such as fasting, tithing, prayer, etc, this is a book that explores the practice of taking communion. The history, the meaning behind it and how it helps us in our walk with God. I chose to read and review this book because communion, The Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, whatever you call it, is important to me and because in my very eclectic church background I have experienced it many different ways. Each church approaches it a little differently. I was interested to see what this author had to say about this practice of the church.

I have to say that I both liked and disliked this book. One sentence would have me ready to put the book down and forget it and the next would say something very insightful and drawing me in again. This happened over and over. I think part of the problem is that, as the author states in the book, her life story is not taken solely from the “Christian story”. While she is a Christian, she seems a bit more open to other “stories”/religious philosophies. So her take on some things is a bit different than mine.

She is a good story teller and has a lot of experiences with the partaking of and serving the Lord’s Supper and it was interesting to read her thoughts. She provides a bit of history on the practice in the early church and through the ages that was interesting. She shares her thoughts on who should be able to come to the table and share the meal. I do take a bit stricter view and somewhat less casual view than she does, but her thoughts were definitely food for thought. And basically, I think that is what was best about this book. Opening up a conversation about something that can become a familiar habit and forcing us to think about it and what we believe. I think this would make for a good discussion book. It does in fact included some good discussion questions at the back of the book. I loved her stories about the soup kitchen and becoming connected with those they served.

The author is an Episcopalian lay minister and so her experience is largely based on the Episcopal style. Having a number of friends and close family in the Episcopal church, this is a part of my history and so it was very familiar to me. There are many aspects of the Episcopal Eucharist that really appeal to me and that I miss. But, there are things that I appreciate from my other experiences as well.

It’s hard to say whether I recommend this book or not. It was not exactly what I was expecting, though I am not completely sure what that was. And, as I said, there were several times that I did not like it. But there was also a lot good about it. So, take it, read it with discernment and take away the many good nuggets that are provided.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

Living Radically

2010-12-30T22:25:00.003-06:00

The first two steps in living radically are:

To pray for the entire world.
To read through the entire Word.

For the first one, we are going to use the book shown above. Operation World It is a prayer guide to the world, with info and specific prayer requests for the various nations and people groups around the world. It also includes a daily prayer calendar. Lots of good information. We first used this book to complete the country reports in "Remembering God's Awesome Acts" curriculum.

For the second step, we are going to use a reading schedule put together by John Notgrass. With this plan you read through the OT once and the NT three times. He pairs the readings up to complement each other. Check out the link above to learn more.

Winter Reading LIst 2011

2010-12-29T13:10:00.029-06:00

A place to record my reading this winter.

*Radical by David Platt
Don't Kiss Him Goodbye by Sandra Byrd
@ The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher
+The Testament by John Grisham
Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy
The Damascus Way by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn
# Bound For Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen
* Divine Appointments by Charlene Ann Baumbich
A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini
Decision Points by George W Bush
Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith
# Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
# Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
@ Pujols: More Than the Game by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth
Age Before Beauty by Virginia Smith
+ While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin
Third Time's a Charm by Virginia Smith
Where is my Shelter? by Neta Jackson
Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling by Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out by Neta Jackson
* Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer
+ A Step Further by Joni Eareckson Tada
Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman

*Blogging for Books Review
@Book Sneeze review book
+Book Club book
# School books

Radical by David Platt Giveaway!!

2010-12-29T12:28:00.013-06:00

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I had heard of it before and it had been on my list of books to get and read, so I jumped at the chance to review it.

This book was so good, but so challenging. If you are comfortable living the American Dream, sitting back and relaxing at church and letting the pastor do all the work, this book may make you a little uncomfortable. Ok, it should make you uncomfortable.

David Platt challenges us to live a radical life for Christ. To stop just living the American Dream of getting it all and to follow Christ's vision of giving it all up to so that we may reap the ultimate reward. To give and to go and to share His Word with the lost. Yeah, we've all heard that before, but not quite like this. There were times in this book that it was hard to go on as I examined my life in light of what he had to say. It is easy to think we are doing all that God expects and really not be doing all that much. To be "going through the motions" as Matthew West sings.

Learn how we are ALL instructed to GO, to be teachers (not just those with the gift of teaching), to give sacrificially and take the Gospel to the billions who need to hear it. The author issues a challenge to follow five steps for a radical life for one year and see how it changes your life and impacts the world. A radical life according to the world's standards, but the only way to live according to Jesus's standards.

As I finished this book as the year comes to a close, I realized how great the timing is. While I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, I like the idea of starting my year of radical living as the new year begins. If you want to start your year out living radically for God, I highly recommend you read this book!

You will learn what "radical abandonment to Jesus really means, discover the truth and beauty of the Gospel, the importance of relying on God's power, God's global purpose from the beginning till today, how all of us join together to fulfill God's purpose, how much is enough, why going is urgent, not optional and the risks and rewards of a radical life".

If you are ready to be challenged and would like to read this book, I have an extra copy to give away! If you would like to win a copy of this book, please leave a comment by January 7 and I will choose a winner randomly. The winner will have one week to respond with their address to send the book to before I choose another winner.

Update: The publishers are now hosting giveaways. To enter into a random drawing to receive this book, please rank my review. Your email address is used only to verify that a real person is ranking and to notify you if you are a winner.

Nativity Display

2010-11-28T15:05:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, we went to a local church to see a display of over 300 Nativity sets. People from the Parish had brought in their sets and there were little cards describing them and where they came from and how long they had been in their families. It was very neat! Here are just a few of the many sets.

At the end, they had a place to dress up as part of the Nativity and have your photo taken. So, here is our Christmas picture for the year!

Advent 2010

2010-11-28T14:29:00.005-06:00

I love the season of Advent, thought it always seems to sneak up on me! But one of the reasons I love Advent is that I don't want Christmas to sneak up on me. I love that we spend the weeks before the celebration of Christ's birth spending time remembering the real reason for this season. It's a time to get our focus right and a time to reflect on the greatest gift of all.

Since I just got our advent things out, I thought I would share some of them with you.

This is a our Advent book. It was a project of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri the year Jessica was born and my father in law, who is an Episcopalian, gave it to us. We have used it every year since then. Even though we have added and subtracted other readings through out the years, this book has always been our spine. It includes the readings for each Sunday in Advent. It also includes other activities to do throughout the season. We don't do all the activities every year, but we often include at least a few. This folder also holds our Jesse Tree readings, extra advent reading sheets and some song sheets.

We have two Advent wreaths. Both of which we made. This is one that my BIL helped us make one year with greenery, moss and pinecones from their property.

I made this Jesse Tree banner in MOPs many, many years ago. (Back when I had preschoolers obviously!) It was our craft for several weeks that year. We painted the trees and then cut out and put together the many felt ornaments.

We also have this felt banner that I bought from someone who sold these kinds of felt kits. There are velco tabs along the path to the manger and each day we move Mary and Joseph closer to Bethlehem.

A few years ago, I found this cool Advent box. Each year we have filled it a little differently. One year I found enough small items to put behind the little doors. Some years I have hidden clues directing the kids to larger items hidden somewhere in the house. I love this little box, but it has always bothered me that it puts so much emphasis on gifts and "getting stuff". It seemed so counterproductive to the rest of our Advent focus. So, this year, I decided we are going to turn things around. One of the activities in our purple Advent folder is a a paper chain with activities to do each day. We have never made the chain, just read off the slip for each day. There are things like, "take a walk with the family. Put 10 cents in your giving box for each member of your family". In the past we had a bowl that we kept our coins in. This year, instead of taking gifts out of the little house, we are going to put our coins in the box for each day. At the end, we will take the money and give it to a charity. So instead of being a countdown focused on STUFF, it will be a countdown focused on giving and service to others.

Over the years we have read various books, including the Jotham's Journey books, done different Jesse Tree readings, tried new Advent books, so each year has been different. But we always gather at least every Sunday to read, pray and sing. I even remember lighting the wreath in a Wichita hotel room one year as we celebrated the Advent with one of our other favorite Christmas traditions, Appalachian Christmas Quartet. No matter what we have done, my goal has always been to keep our focus on Jesus.

On This Day in Christian History by Robert J. Morgan

2010-11-27T22:32:00.002-06:00

I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers to review. It includes "365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs, and Heroes". Each day you read a one page story about a different person or event in our Christian history. Familiar people such as George Mueller, Billy Graham and Martin Luther, though you may learn something new about even them. There are also many stories about people I had not heard of before, like John Berridge and Charles Finney. But all are inspiring and worth reading.

I chose this book because I love history and I thought it would be an interesting and easy read, set up devotional style. It is an easy read, but not all of the stories are easy to stomach. Our Christian history is sadly full of horrible violence and torture. It is sad what some have done "in the name of Christ." But, I have enjoyed reading it anyway. It is inspiring to read about all those who stood strong in their faith even in the most horrible of situations. And not all of the stories are of martyrs. There are many wonderful stories of missionaries and others devoted to spreading the Gospel of Christ.

This book tied in very well with our school studies, especially since we just read about William Penn, who lived and worked during a time that many of these stories occur in.

I think this would be a good book to read to get a true understanding of the religious freedoms that our founding fathers were working for. To get a truer idea of what they were seeking with a separation of Church and State. More to protect us from the ever changing persecution with each new King or ruler than to protect the state from any religion at all.

If you enjoy history and would like to learn more about those who have lived for Christ and preserved our Christian heritage before us, you may enjoy this book.

"Operation Shine Our Lights" 2010

2010-10-30T15:28:00.008-06:00

October is drawing to a close and so we have been busy getting our "Operation Shine Our Lights" goodies ready. As always, we have had fun finding things to hand out to the kids and looking for new ways to share God's Word.

Last year, at the Journey to Bethlehem, we were handed small pocket sized Gideon Bibles. I loved how they spelled out the path to Salvation in the back of these little books and decided it would be fun to hand those out instead of tracts. Unfortunately, it appears that you can't just ask for a bunch of Gideon Bibles to hand out. Only Gideons can distribute them. So, I set out looking for a source for small pocket size Bibles at an affordable price. I finally stumbled upon the Pocket Testament League. While it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, being just the Book of John , it fit the bill in several areas. They are pocket size, they have covers that would appeal to children, the steps to Salvation are presented as well as a way to get farther information and they were not outrageously priced. I also like that while it doesn't cover the whole Bible, or even the whole New Testament, it does have a whole book of the Bible. So, these became our "tracts" this year. If I ever find a source for a full Bible I may still do that another year.

These are the covers I chose. They had many more to choose from. Each targets a different demographic.

Along with these, we are handing out bags with other goodies to "sweeten" the pot.

The "goods".
The baseball cards are from Christian Family Day and include player testimonies.
I ordered a pack of Albert Pujols and they included two packs of another player for free, so we get to give out two cards.

A packed goody bag.
They will get to choose the little Gospel book they want.

For several years, we handed out books on Halloween. We haven't done that for the last couple of years because I ran out of books to hand out. But, this year, I decided that if I could get enough books from Freecycle, we would hand out books again. I put out a request and a lady offered the leftovers from her church's garage sale. When I picked them up, there were over 100 books. We added a few from our shelves to make sure there were some for the older kids as well. So, the books are on again. I have been busy registering them at BookCrossing.com in hopes that at least a few will check back in.

As always we prayed for the children we hope to bless and prayed that our witness will glorify God every day of the year.

Fall into Reading Question #4

2010-10-19T15:08:00.002-06:00

Katrina's question for the week is.....Do you ever dog-ear the corners of book pages to mark your spot? Or are you a faithful bookmark user, refusing to damage the pages of your books? OR do you have another way to keep track of where you are in a book?

I do not dog ear my books. But, I also do not tend to use bookmarks. Occasionally, I will grab something handy and mark my spot. If I am just putting down my book for a few minutes I will just turn it over, pages open. If I have a book flap I might use that to mark the spot. But, most often I just close the book. I don't find it that difficult to just find my spot again. I have a general idea where I am in the book, and hopefully I was able to come to a good stopping place. Regardless I just don't really find the need for bookmarks most of the time. Not that I won't collect a pretty bookmark or book thong, or whatever. But I am more likely to lose the marking device than my spot. :-)

2010-2011 School Books

2010-10-18T09:37:00.006-06:00

A place to record the books we read together during the 2010-2011 school year.

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
William Penn: Liberty and Justice For All by Janet and Geoff Benge
The Bronze Bow by ElizabethGeorge Speare
Brady by Jean Fritz
Bound For Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
Blue Willow by Doris Gates

Fall into Reading Question #2

2010-10-05T17:45:00.003-06:00

Katrina is asking a reading question a week for this challenge. Here the question for this week:

What do you think about e-books? Do you engage in e-reading or do you prefer to stick to good ol’ physical books?

Personally, I just love to read. I don't care what form it is in. I got a new Kindle a few weeks ago and I love it. I found myself agreeing with many of the things Katrina mentioned. It is very easy to hold and use, especially in bed. It's nice to be able to read a book pretty much hands free if I need to. Makes it easy to multitask.

I love having lots of books at my finger tips and being able to carry them around easily. For example, I have a Bible, dictionary and concordance on my Kindle. Much easier to tote to church than the physical counterparts! Though I do still take my physical Bible as well (Kindle fits in my Bible case.) Because I can flip between verses faster with it. But, I can't see carrying all three thick books around all the time.

It's also very easy to add new books in an instant. Which is a good and bad point!

Before I had my Kindle, I would read books on the computer through EPub or Kindle for PC. But that was not as convenient as being able to carry it around. But I would do it.

I also still love physical paper books. How could I not! I still have stacks and stacks of books around. And I love to share books, which I can't do with an e book. And of course I like to get books from the library, which I can do on the computer, but not on the Kindle.

Bottom line, I will take my books however I can get them! :-)

Fall Into Reading

2010-09-26T14:24:00.008-06:00

Katrina's Fall into Reading Challenge is here again. Unfortunately, I haven't had any motivation to make a list of books I want to read. I think I will just set a goal of reading at least 10 books and then record them here as I do.

Books Read:

*The Elevator by Angela Hunt
^The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Harry's Second Sight by Dave Jackson
*The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson
^William Penn: Liberty and Justice For All by Janet and Geoff Benge

The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

*Book Club Books
^School Books

Nature shots

2010-09-25T22:26:00.001-06:00

Just a few shots I took over the lake.

This one was taken this morning, you can see the moon peeking through the clouds.

Sunset

Crowly's Ridge Nature Center

2010-09-25T22:09:00.004-06:00

A few pictures from the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center that we visited on Friday. We watched a video on the history of the area. How they believe that the ridge was formed, etc. It included sound effects and shaking seats (earthquake), mist and thunder and lightening (storms, flooding, etc). It was a full sensory experience! :-) Then we looked through the exhibits and walked on some of the trails. We visited a state park in Parkin today and watched a video on the Indian history of the area. A Mississippian tribe, like the ones in Cahokia up here, had a village there and there is a mound and artifacts that are similar to what you see in Cahokia. We didn't really get any pictures there.

The picture, below, hangs in the nature center. This tornado (actually three tornados) hit my aunt and uncle's house and their shop in 2006.

City kids hit the farm - fun

2010-09-25T21:50:00.005-06:00

Besides watching the business of farming, they had lots of time to play. All of this was done on the family properties. Well, this lake belongs to the city, but it borders their yard.

CIty kids hit the farm - Sweet potato harvesting

2010-09-25T21:43:00.003-06:00

After the rice farm, we headed over to a neighboring farmer's sweet potato farm to learn about their harvesting process. By the time we got over there, they had shut down for the day, but we did get to walk around and learn some things anyway.

These scoop up the potatoes out of the ground.
The go up the belt and are hand sorted and culled and put into the graded boxes.

After this we headed back to the house and ate a yummy supper that included sweet potatoes. (We had rice with dinner the next day.)

Rice Harvest

2010-09-25T21:41:00.001-06:00

I took this video from the cab of the combine, looking down into the blades as the rice is cut.

City kids hit the farm - Rice Harvest

2010-09-25T20:12:00.010-06:00

The kids and I headed down to Arkansas this weekend, with my parents and brother, to learn about rice harvesting up close. My cousins are at least the 4th generation farmers, raising mostly rice and soybeans. The family has raised cotton and wheat in the past. This all old hat and every day life for them, but for us city folks it was an adventure.

Jacob and my brother were the first to the field, riding in my uncle's truck. By the time we pulled up, they were jumping on the moving combine. Each group of two got to ride with my cousin for two trips up and down the field.

While waiting for turns on the combine, we each got to ride in the tractor pulling the hopper. Here is Jessica getting her turn.

Alex got to pose in the driver's seat of the combine when her turn was up. She and I rode together so I had a better photo op for her. :-)

This picture shows the cut and uncut rice.

Here he is getting ready to transfer the rice into the hopper. He does this while moving down the row.

I caught this view from the combine cab. The rice being unloaded on the go.

The combine.

Unloading into the truck.

Truck full of rice.

My other cousin takes the loaded rice trucks to the silos. My brother, the kids and I got to ride along in the truck when he took a load in.

They take a sample out of this load of rice to check for moisture and other seeds. (This was another farmer's rice. Roger's truck was well back in the line.)

Here they take that sample and check it for any of the below seeds and give it a grade.

Weighing the load. These lights show the path the rice will take in the silos, etc.

Dumping the rice. They lift the truck up to dump it.

Here it goes.

They didn't sell to Riceland this time, but some of your Riceland rice comes from their farm.

We really enjoyed getting an up close an personal look at the rice harvesting process.

Friendship for Grownups by Lisa Whelchel

2010-09-19T12:49:00.003-06:00

I discovered this book in the midst of grieving a friendship. I was anxious to read it and see what she had to say. I related to a lot of what she had to say about friendship and some of the difficulties she went through. But, I couldn't completely relate because Lisa seems to have no end of friends to call on at any time and hang out with or talk to. She may not have had that one true friend that she could bear her soul to, but she certainly doesn't seem to live a lonely life. Also hard to relate to someone who can take a sabbatical to focus on friendship.

I am lucky to have a really good friend that I can be open and honest with and tell anything. My only regret is that she lives in Wisconsin, so while she is always there for me, we can't be "here" for each other. I thought it was interesting that a lot of the wise advice that Lisa gives were things that Chris had told me just weeks before. I am pretty sure Chris has not read this book. She just spoke to me from her wisdom and the guidance of the spirit.

While I appreciate the need for a really good best friend, I also miss just having those friends to hang out with that Lisa seems to have in abundance. She has lots of great conversation starters in the back of the book. But one would have to have more than just "face time" people in their lives to actually use them.

So while there were things about this book that really helped, it also just made me feel more lonely and frustrated at times.

Deep Green: Color Me Jealous by Melody Carlson

2010-09-06T20:34:00.002-06:00

Second in the True Colors series, this one deals with the subject of jealousy. Jordan become so consumed with jealousy and revenge that she does things she would normally never do. After hitting rock bottom she cries out to God for help and help comes in an unexpected way.

The Freedom Writer's Diary by The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell

2010-08-19T22:45:00.003-06:00

My book club will be reading this book in September. It was recommended by one of the members and my first thought was that it seemed to tie in very nicely to our August book which is the first of the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. One member commented that none of the Sept choices looked fun to read. Ok. Well, after reading this book, I can say it's not a "fun" book to read. Just like the books that inspired it Anne Frank and Zlata's diaries aren't fun reading. But, still good reading.

The Freedom Writers were the "at risk" class. Not expected to make it through high school, if they even lived that long. Their teacher was a first year teacher. She looked past the labels, their races, their backgrounds, and challenges and challenged the kids. She taught them to fight with the pen, rather than violence. Inspired by the other diaries, they wrote about their lives.

The diary entries reveal some heavy stuff. Eye opening. But, it is fun to see the transformations that take place in the kids and all that they accomplish through their writing.

I am glad this book was recommended.

Dark Blue: Color Me Lonely by Melody Carlson

2010-08-10T12:53:00.003-06:00

Boy did this book hit home. Even as a 40 year old, I could relate so much to this young girl's feelings of desperate loneliness and despair at losing a friend. In fact, I just went through these feelings in the last few weeks. And a good cyber friend of mine gave me the same advice this girl got. I am blessed by that friendship. :-)

Restoration Series by Terri Blackstock

2010-08-02T18:33:00.003-06:00

Finished the Restoration series, with Night Light, True Light and Dawn's Light. One of those series that is hard to put down and you want to know how it will all work out, but it is a bit intense with all the murders and uncertainty. It was interesting to see how the community adapted to the power outage. I enjoyed the series and am glad I read it, but glad to be done with it too.

Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist

2010-07-21T18:59:00.002-06:00

This was a book that was sent to me by Bethany House. It was a fun book to read. Basically a Christian romance set in the Biltmore Estate. It was interesting to read about servant class in America, which is something I have never really read about before. I have seen the estate from the outside, but never been inside or really knew anything about it or the Vanderbilts, so I enjoyed learning about them. The author has a fun get a way planned for readers at the estate in the fall. Would be neat to attend, but way out of my budget!

Falling Up and That Was Then... by Melody Carlson

2010-07-15T14:59:00.003-06:00

I finished the Diary series this week, with the last two Kim books. Kim sure had a lot on her plate. Lots of challenges for such a new Christian to deal with. Mom dying of cancer, cousin with seriously dysfunctional family, very conservative Christian best friend who trips up in a big way and ends up seriously depressed and more!, a non Christian boyfriend struggling with his own issues, writing an advice column for teens, and a birth mother that appears out of the blue. Talk about stressful! No wonder she ends up having panic attacks! As with all the diary girls, she rises to the challenge to "Do Hard Things" (while Josh's book about dating gets several mentions, Alex and Brett's book doesn't, but I tell you these girls are great Do Hard Thing poster girls!)

I was thrilled to discover that these books ARE in the public library. That makes my idea of hosting a discussion group on these books more feasible. Not sure why they didn't show up when I searched for them back in the winter. It wasn't until I had bought all of the books that I found them in the library. Oh well. These are the kind of books I don't mind owning. Though Jessica and I have been competing for the same books a couple of times. :-)

Blogging For Books books

2010-07-14T17:41:00.002-06:00

Just listing these books in one spot so they are easier to find. If you could rate my reviews, I would really appreciate it! Your email address is used only to verify that you are a real person and to enter you into a random drawing for the book.

Praying For Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer
Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs
Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer
Divine Appointments by Charlene Ann Baumbich
Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris
Dinner With a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory
Touched by a Vampire by Beth Felker Jones
Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
Radical by David Platt
Desiring God by John Piper

Last Light by Terri Blackstock

2010-07-10T17:24:00.004-06:00

Discussing this book at this month's book club. Ok, well, it was definitely a page turner. Despite being a thick book, I finished it in 2 days. (Ok, granted one of those days I was recovering from a strenuous session of Wii AE Active and didn't get much else done, but...) The plot of the story is that the world is hit with some kind of EMP (electromagnetic pulse for those of you who are as clueless as I am about nuclear war stuff) type thing that wipes out every technological device that has a semiconductor. So, pretty much any modern piece of equipment. Electricity, cars, airplanes, phones, watches, bank computers, etc. So, basically, the modern world comes to a standstill. People have to learn to survive like our ancestors did.

The old, do we band together and help each other or is it every man/family for themselves comes into play. How are Christians to behave in a situation like this. I like how the main family approaches the challenge. Of course, they aren't perfect and have their hoarding moments.

One thing that came to my mind though was that the church family didn't band together. Later in the book, they mention that their church is too far away to get to. They do live on the outskirts of the city. I guess this is just another reason for having a neighborhood church.

The suspense/intensity of the book is brought about by the murders that are taking place in the community. People being murdered for their supplies.

It was an interesting concept to think about (and yeah, I am now researching faraday cages and disaster survival, lol) and the book was good. Not sure if I want to read THREE MORE books to get to the end of the story though! One book was intense enough!

Just Ask by Melody Carlson

2010-07-07T18:17:00.002-06:00

Book 1 of the Kim diaries.

Publisher Summary:
What's a girl to do when caught between a rock and a hard place? The "hard place" — losing her car; the "rock" — her immovable dad. In order to regain driving privileges, Kim Peterson's dad talks her into writing an advice column for teens in his newspaper. Kim reluctantly agrees. She answers letters about stuff that's everyday and stuff that's not: parents, piercings, dating, drugs, depression, and people who are just users. Nothing Kim can't handle.

But when a classmate is killed, the letters turn to questions about life, death, and what it all means. And Kim starts to wonder if she really does have all the answers — and if not, where to find them. The Christian faith of her adoptive family? The Buddhism of her Korean heritage? Who can she turn to — to just ask?

Good as always. It is interesting to see reoccuring characters through the eyes of the different girls. I enjoyed the "Just Ask" letters, though that is a big responsibility for a teen to take on. Loved her salvation story.

It's a Green Thing by Melody Carlson

2010-07-02T20:39:00.003-06:00

2nd Maya book. Maya's life is more "normal", but hardly normal. :-) She grows in her walk as a new Christian while struggling with the sometimes unChristian behavior of some Christians. She deals with the challenges of dating, forgiveness and following God's will for her life even when it sometimes challenges convictions that she placed on herself.

I enjoyed this book. There were some continuity issues with Caitlin's testimony. I am not sure if it was a matter of the author forgetting what happened way back in Caitlin book 1 (which I can understand, sometimes I forget what I have written) or if she changed the story on purpose to make a different impact.

ETA:
I was browsing through book 16 (aka Maya 3) after finishing finishing book 15 (Maya 2) last night and realized that there were some continuity problems in it too. Meaning it didn't line up exactly with the book just previously to it. Not sure what's up with that. Maybe it was time for this series to come to an end. Though I have enjoyed it so much!

Rumble Fish By S.E. Hinton

2010-07-01T21:15:00.002-06:00

Finished re-reading the last of the Hinton ya books last night. I think I understood it a lot more as a 40 year old than I did as a teen. It is an interesting book about the need to belong to something or not. Rumble Fish started my fascination for Siamese Fighting fish/Betas. I have have owned several of them since reading this book all those years ago.

A Not So Simple Life by Melody Carlson

2010-06-30T13:23:00.003-06:00

Got impatient waiting for the Kim books to show up, especially since Amazon has this annoying tendency to split my shipments and send the second book first! :-) So, I decided to skip ahead and read the Maya books. I got it on my Kindle for PC instantly. I am so pathetic and impatient! But, since I had already read the 3rd Maya book, I figured jumping ahead of Kim wasn't that big a deal. Reading it on the lap top is not bad. Would be easier with an ipad or something, but not too hard with the laptop.

Anyway, this was a good book. Different from the other girls' books. The majority of this book takes place in Beverly Hills, not where Caitlin, Chloe and Kim live (wherever that is!) and so it really takes a departure from the other stories for the most part. Only toward the end does it move into the rest of the series.

When I read the third book in third book in this series, I was happy to discover Maya was homeschooled, though I did figure out it wasn't a typical homeschooling situation. In this book, you really get that sense. And I didn't think it really painted that great a picture of homeschooling. Granted, Maya's life was pretty atypical and you can't judge anything from it. I understood what she meant, but I can see anti-homeschoolers taking this book as farther fodder against the educational choice, even though Maya did do very well coming out of it, which goes to show that even in less than ideal situations, with the right motivation, it can work very well.

I was surprised to discover that Maya was pretty familiar with life on the concert tour circuit, even before she hooked up with Chloe.

I usually find Caitlin's advice to people right on. But her advice to Maya about making sure she was saved hit me a little funny. I think I get the point. But, I think it could have been worded differently. Considering how many times the word "re commitment" was used in previous diaries, I think I would have liked to see it worded more like that. Granted, Maya's first profession of faith might not have been sincere, but other's reading this might start questioning themselves. I don't know.

I like how independent all the girls are. These would make great "Do Hard Things" examples. All the girls accomplish so much and take so much more responsibility that we usually give teens credit for.

Road Trip and Face the Music by Melody Carlson

2010-06-26T13:18:00.002-06:00

I read both of these books (3&4 of the Chloe books in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series) this week. Chloe and her band, Redemption, are on tour and climbing the charts of the Christian music scene and touring with "the most popular band in the country". They deal with the stresses of life on the road, in the music industry, etc. on top of normal 16-17 year old issues.

Laura's story is a good example of how sometime it is the things that we protest/judge the most that often cause us to fall. I love the Caitlin comes along in book 4 and adds her wisdom to the mix. Joshua Harris's book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, gets a lot of talk in these too books and Caitlin helps make it personal. She offers some good advice.

Great examples of how to share your faith with friends and those we encountered. Also, how to trust God to work, through and despite us.

Again, I was struck by the similarities of Chloe and my character Lisa. And Face the Music even reminded me a little of my character Scott. Again, it's always kind of fun to see that my ideas aren't all that far fetched, but also a little weird/disconcerting to see story lines or character descriptions that are in my head in someone else's book!

I am seriously considering starting a book club for young girls using these series. Not sure of the logistics of that, especially since I can't find these books locally. But, there are some really good topics covered in these books, and they do have discussion questions at the end. Not only would these be great books for Christians, but they would be good for outreach.

Summer Books 2010

2010-06-23T20:32:00.014-06:00

A place to record the books I read during the summer of 2010.

Sold Out by Melody Carlson
Road Trip by Melody Carlson
Face the Music by Melody Carlson
A Not So Simple Life by Melody Carlson
Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton
It's a Green Thing by Melody Carlson
Just Ask by Melody Carlson
Last Light by Terri Blackstock
Falling Up by Melody Carlson
That Was Then... by Melody Carlson
Maid to Match by DeeAnne Gist
Night Light,
True Light, &
Dawn's Light by Terri Blackstock
Dark Blue by Melody Carlson
The Freedom Writer's Diary by Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers
Deep Green by Melody Carlson
Friendship for Grownups by Lisa Whelchel

Sold Out by Melody Carlson

2010-06-23T20:28:00.002-06:00

2nd book in the Chloe series. Another great book. In this one the girls are dealing with the blessings and challenges that come with their band taking off and gaining popularity and recognition. They also deal with the challenges of boys and discerning God's will and with trying to respect their elders even when the messages seem to conflict. And another great example of living your faith with your friends. Loved it.

Spring Reading Thing 2010 Wrap Up

2010-06-21T21:18:00.002-06:00

I enjoyed my spring reading. I read a lot of really good books. I didn't get to everything on my list, but I did get to most of them. And I added in a few books there weren't on the list when I started.

Read lots of young adult books this spring. Several S. E. Hinton books and several Melody Carlson books. That was fun.

To see what I got read and read my reviews, check out my list HERE. If I read a book, it's title will be a link to the review.

Thanks for another great challenge Katrina!

My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson

2010-06-21T21:08:00.002-06:00

This is the first of the Chloe diaries in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. I really enjoy these books. It's funny how each of the girls is so different, but I can find something to relate to in each one. With Chloe, I was so amazed at how much she is like Lisa, the main character in my book. I really saw a lot of her in Chloe. That was fun, but kind of weird too. :-)

I love how Chloe sticks by her decision to hang with her friends, even when given the pressure to not associate with "evil". And oh wow, what powerful testimonies she and Allie have.

Anyway, another great book by Melody Carson. I read it while on our youth mission trip to Chicago.

50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper

2010-06-13T11:59:00.003-06:00

I got this as a free audio book from Christianaudio.com. Every month, they have a different book that they offer for free. I listened to it on my computer while playing with Farm Town. Good way to redeem the time otherwise "wasted" playing an online game. I am not an auditory learner so listening to books isn't a great way for me to "read" a book. My mind wanders a lot. But, I like being able to "read" a book while doing something else.

This was a good book. Each of the reasons was based on scripture. He would quote scripture that stated a reason why Jesus died. There's the obvious ones of saving us and to show his love to us and some that we might not necessarily associate with Jesus's death like "to destroy hostility between races". Some of it seemed a little repetitive since some scriptures could be used for more than one point, but it was interesting to look at scripture in this way. To find every scripture that talks about Jesus dying and what he accomplished by doing so.

Key Lime Pie Murder and Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

2010-06-13T11:48:00.003-06:00

I read these two books this week. I enjoyed them. They made me hungry though! Went out and bought a can of salmon because she made me really hungry for salmon cakes! I love how the recipes have lots of little notes to help anyone be able to cook them. Though she lost a bit of credibility when she said to look for white chocolate chips that list cocoa in the ingredients and she said she uses Ghirardell chips. Sorry, but that's the only kind of white "chocolate" chips I use and there is no cocoa listed in the ingredients.

Anyway, just the kind of book I needed this week. Just a nice cozy mystery, nothing too deep. It' been an busy week. Physically and sometimes emotionally draining so needed a fun book at the end of the day.

The next book on my list to read sounds like the complete opposite (Beyond Tuesday Morning) and I am not sure if that's a great choice for the coming week, so I am taking a fun book along on my trip as well.

Who Do I Lean On? by Neta Jackson

2010-06-02T20:25:00.004-06:00

I was so happy to learn that there was a new House of Hope book coming out! I so enjoy the Yada Yada/House of Hope books. In this one, Gabby is in the midst of turning her dream of a second stage housing into a a reality while also figuring out what to do about her relationship with her husband and her lawyer. Personally, I think she shouldn't have had anything to do with the lawyer while she was still married. Chandra had that right! Mabel's advice to Gabby was hard to hear, and I know it may not be popular, but I have been there, done that. In the midst of our marriage troubles, I had to learn that I had to admit to MY mistakes too. It's always a two way street. Gabby also has to learn the lesson that God can work around what looks like roadblocks to us. I am still learning that one myself.

Being that I love Liz Curtis Higg's as well, I thought it was cool that they did a Bad Girls of the Bible study in the book. Interesting thoughts on Michal that the ladies brought up.

Good book! I am looking forward to the last book and to the Yada Yada Brothers book as well! I sure hope that Neta has something up her sleeve for after the House of Hope books!

Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geige

2010-05-31T09:42:00.004-06:00

This is a book that is about to be implemented in our church. Our transitional pastor read it, had the staff read it and starting in June, they will be teaching the concept to the church. I decided to read the book to see what it is about.

The premise is that simple churches are more vibrant than complex, cluttered churches. Less is more. The authors did a research study comparing churches that are growing and those that aren't and found that those that are vibrant tend to have certain characteristics. Simple churches are focused on specific goals to make disciples in their church. They tend to have three basic levels of involvement and everything fits somehow into those levels. One of the concepts is "Love God, Love Others, Serve the World" another church describes it as "Foyer, Living Room, Kitchen" level of relationship. Basically, weekend worship services bring people at the first level,
helping us love God. The next step, living room involvement would be things like, small groups, Bible Study, etc. And then Kitchen, the most intimate level of involvement would be ministry. Serving the World.

Anything that does not fit into the process is cut. No special programs, no special events, etc unless they somehow fit into the existing system. So, instead of a marriage seminar at a time you don't normally meet, you teach the marriage curriculum in a small group setting that already exists. Harvest parties would be held as an extension of a regular worship time, rather than as a seperate event. All thing must put people on the path of the discipleship process. Get people into the worship service, move them into deeper level with small groups, etc, and get them serving God. If they don't do that, they are out.

People are not asked to pick and choose and practically live at the church. You would come to one worship service and one small group and that's it.

One thing that I disagreed with is that with this process there would be less fighting over resources and people. Maybe some. But, you would still have the same issue of wanting the same people to work in the children's, youth, adult, ministries, etc. Of course if you truly do have EVERYONE serving somewhere, maybe there is less of that. But in reality, I still see the same 20% of people being pulled to serve in several different areas during a typical Sunday service time.

Anyway, from what I read, I think that in theory, it is a good idea. I could see their point. But, it will be interesting to see put into practice. The book makes no bones about the fact that it is not an easy process. Toes will be stepped on as ministries and programs are dropped and things are done differently. I think, if done right, it could work. It would be a good thing to be more focused and less cluttered. But, I don't believe being simple is enough. I think that what is being taught and preached from the pulpit is more important than when and where it happens.

The book mentioned that the longer a pastor was at the church, the harder it is to implement. I think that would be true. On the other hand, in our church, it is being implemented by a transitional pastor that has been there a few months and won't be staying. While I think that it is a good idea and that now, during our limbo time may a good time to make changes, I think it will make it all the more challenging and divisive to have it implemented at a time when the church is already reeling from the challenges that we have already faced this year and to have it it started by someone who is not going to be around for the long haul.

Anyway, it should be interesting!

Builder's Club and Tiger Tribune pinning ceremony

2010-05-26T13:08:00.003-06:00

Last week, Jessica and I went to her pinning ceremony for the Builder's Club (Kiwanis club for middle schoolers) and Tiger Tribune (their school newspaper). She has enjoyed participating in both clubs. Builder's Club main project this year was "Birthday Brigade" where they put up birthday signs on all the lockers of kids celebrating a birthday during each month. Once a month we would go all over the school taping up posters.

Jessica continued to write her "Back in the Day" column for the paper. The paper won 2nd in the nation for middle school papers for schools our our size this year. Last year they won 3rd place.

Jessica and Mrs. Vail. Mrs. Vail was her Speech and Language Therapist and the sponser of both clubs. Jessica had Mrs. Vail as an SLP in Kindergarten and then again these last two years. We will miss her!

Jessica and Mrs. Cotta, the other sponser of the paper.

Jessica and Mrs. Buchanan. Mrs. Buchanan helped sponser Builder's Club and Tiger Tribune and is also the school librarian. I enjoyed getting to know her over the last two years that I have spent in the library while Jessica was in class or therapy. I will miss hanging out with her and Mrs. Hale (the library assistant, who also goes to my church, so I will still see her!)

Jessica happened to be at school for picture day and for club picture days and made it into the yearbook three times, so we bought her one. It came in time for the pinning ceremony and she had several of her club friends and teachers sign it.

On My Own and I do by Melody Carlson

2010-05-26T12:48:00.003-06:00

I zipped through these last two books of the Caitlin diaries (Diary of A Teenage Girl). They were just too good to put down and I really wanted to see how the came out. On My Own deals with Caitlin's first year of college. It reminded me of my first semester in college. I had the same problem with my roommate wanted me to cover for her. I wish I could say I handled it was well as she did.

I had to side with all those who couldn't see a difference between the "covenant" and an engagement. But, I really like how that all came out. Despite what some say, distance and time shouldn't make a difference if people are supposed to be together.

I enjoyed I Do as well. I love how creative she was in making her wedding work. And I smiled at her final bridal shower. I had a surprise one just like that and it was also thrown by my pastor's wife. :-) Of course my pastor's wife and another friend took me out shopping for my present. Little did I know there was more of the same waiting back for me at her parents' home!

I am looking forward to reading the other girls' books. When I first handed this series to Jessica, it was after reading Maya's last book and having really liked it, I didn't preread Caitlin's first book. When I read it after Jessica, I though, whoa should they be reading these? But then, I thought, YES. While these deal with some really tough issues that we should hope our children will never encounter, I know that in reality they probably will. These books deal with the subjects very well and with a world view that I agree with. So, tough as these books can be, I think they are excellent reading for teen girls and would love to start a book discussion for youth with them. Alex would rather read the Outsiders over and over again, but I have bribed her into reading at least the first book of this series.

I do have to say I am confused about one thing. When Kim was introduced in On My Own, I was sure that was the Kim that I first "met" in the Maya book and that has her own series. But, a different Kim was introduced in I Do that must be the one from later diaries. Oh and that brings up one more confusing thing. Chronology of the books. I suspect that it really helps to read more than one girl at a time. I am guessing that Chloe's books fill in some gaps that were left in Caitlin's books. But I didn't know when to read which books, so I have just been buying one girl's books at a time.

Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton

2010-05-24T12:49:00.003-06:00

I read this book over the weekend. Despite the fact that this is the latest of the young adult books, I remembered it the least. I knew Travis was a writer and published a book and there was a horse. That's it. Obviously this book didn't make as big an impression on me as The Outsiders and That Was Then....

It was good to get reaquainted with it. Oddly enough, I didn't even remember the scene with Travis describing his writer's distraction accurately either. I think partly because I understood what he meant without his having to spell it out and so when I remembered it, I remembered it in my words. :-) Oh well, that is still my favorite part of the book. His thoughts as a writer.

A lot of stuff going on in this book, which is par for the course with a Hinton book. I kind of found it weird having it written in the 80's. I am used to her books being before my time. Quick Trips and such don't show up in the Outsiders! I would also have appreciated some of the same editing Travis had to do. It's hard having the Lord's name taken in vain so much. I don't like having it in my head like that.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

2010-05-20T15:11:00.001-06:00

I had been promising the kids that we would make a snack with marshmallows, peanut butter and graham crackers last week. I had been putting it off because I didn't have any crackers for Jessica. Finally Wen Alex talked me into doing it. I was going to run to the store and buy some GF crackers when I realized that I had a bag of Jules Gluten Free Graham Cracker mix in my pantry and decided to give it a try. It definitely made the snack a bit more time intensive, but it was worth it to try out this new mix.

In addition to the mix, I needed vanilla, butter, honey and water.

The mix includes a flour mixture and brown sugar.
I creamed the butter and the sugar together.
Added the honey and vanilla and mixed.
Then added the water until if formed a ball. (Still mixing here.) I accidently added a little too much water and so I grabbed my Jules flour mix and added some in until the dough firmed back up. I was worried that might alter the taste, but it came out fine.
After rolling out to 1/4 inch thick, I used a pizza cutter to cut into rectangles. I have several pizza cutters on hand because they are wonderful for cutting all kinds of things.
Pricked with a fork. I added some cinnamon sugar to some of them.
Baked for 20 minutes. They came out good. Though 1/4 inch does make a thick cracker. But, considering how some GF crackers on the market can be a bit small, this makes for a nice sized, sturdy cracker for topping with peanut butter, or chocolate and marshmallows. :-)
Jessica approves!
We topped hers with her white chocolate peanut butter and marshmallows and toasted. Notice her jar of pb is clearly marked gf. No one else uses her pb jars. This eliminates cross contamination that could occur if someone dipped their knife back in after spreading on something with gluten.

I purchased my mix at Andrea's Fine Foods. I think I paid $6-7 for it. I see Jules carries for abotu $10. So it is very pricey for graham crackers. I wouldn't buy this for a staple. But, they would make great crackers for doing gingerbread houses. In fact, I think I may try this mix with my pampered chef gingerbread train mold. The mix also makes gingersnaps if you add some spices. They were very yummy and had a good texture and were pretty easy to make.

[Post written in March]

Life In Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson

2010-05-18T21:36:00.003-06:00

About This Book

She wanted to die. God had other plans.

Why does my life have to be so painful?
What’s wrong with me?
It’s not going to get better.
It could all be over soon, and then I won’t hurt anymore.

Kristen Anderson thought she had the picture-perfect life until strokes of gray dimmed her outlook: three friends and her grandmother died within two years. Still reeling from these losses, she was raped by a friend she thought she could trust. She soon spiraled into a seemingly bottomless depression.

One January night, the seventeen-year-old decided she no longer wanted to deal with the emotional pain that smothered her. She lay down on a set of cold railroad tracks and waited for a freight train to send her to heaven…and peace.

But Kristen's story doesn’t end there.

In Life, In Spite of Me this remarkably joyful young woman shares the miracle of her survival, the agonizing aftermath of her failed suicide attempt, and the hope that has completely transformed her life, giving her a powerful purpose for living.

Her gripping story of finding joy against all odds provides a vivid and unforgettable reminder that life is a gift to be treasured.

Includes notes of encouragement Kristen wishes she had received when she was struggling most.

VIDEO of KRISTEN

My thoughts:

As depressing as a book like this could be, it wasn't. It was very inspiring to see Kristen grab hold of the second chance that God gave her and to live for him. I also appreciate that she was honest about the fact that just because she had a relationship with Christ didn't mean the struggles instantly disappeared. Life was still hard, but she did find Christ was sufficient to meet her needs. Good book!

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn

2010-05-14T22:36:00.004-06:00

This is the second in a series of historical fiction books set in the time of Acts. This deals with the early growth of the church in Jerusalem Like the books by Liz Curtis Higgs, these are so wonderful for fleshing out familiar Bible stories and helping the reader to delve a little deeper. To think more about the behind the scenes, in between the lines happenings of the Bible.

The advantage of these books over Higg's books, are that they are actually set in Bible time/setting. So everything happens just like it did in real life. I like learning more about the area, the customs, the history, etc.

The disadvantage and something that with Higgs's books is not as big a deal, is that by using the actual characters sometimes the filling in the blanks was a little uncomfortable for me. There were family relations, motives, spouses that are not mentioned in the Bible. They don't change the happenings, but they do give them a different flavor at times. Nothing that effects it too much, but as I said, it is sometimes easier to do that in 18th Century Scotland when the characters you are dealing with are not the actual characters.

Speaking of characters it's a bit weird knowing which characters will be killed off as soon as they are introduced! It was especially hard given Stephen's story line to know he would be killed. They also dealt with the story of Ananias and Sapphira, which is a hard spot in the Bible. I liked how they handled it. Though the fictionalized back story did make for some interesting consequences, etc.

Highly recommended series! I am looking forward to the next one.

Who Am I? by Melody Carlson

2010-05-05T20:31:00.004-06:00

This is the third in the Caitlin diaries. Caitlin deals with how to live with her conservative convictions without coming off too preachy to her friends. Balancing living her beliefs with accepting that her friends don't necessarily share the same convictions. Boy, did I relate to that. Being rather conservative, I deal with this all the time.

In this book she also works to break down racial tensions , loss of a friend and the subject of homosexuality.

These books deal with some tough subjects and I appreciate how they are handled.

Sandra Byrd wrote an article about sharing books with your teen daughters to help break down communication barriers and I think this series would be awesome for what she suggests. Lots of subjects to talk about here. If you are interested in the article, click HERE.

Jessica is reading this series too and is now on the 4th book, so I have to wait in line. :-) Guess it's a good thing, as I have other books on my Spring Reading Thing list that I am supposed to be reading first!

Crossroads Christian Connection Year End Celebration

2010-05-02T13:24:00.004-06:00

We have another month of school to go here at Aslan Christian Academy (aka Guyer family homeschool), but the year is over for CCC co-op and we had our year end celebration Friday night. They had a art and science fair, cake decorating contest and a talent show full of great acts. There were dances, piano, violin, fife, drummer songs, martial arts demonstrations, scripture recitations, etc. Lots of talent in this group. It was a fun night and fun to see what our friends have been up to.

Alex entered the Mosaic she made for her co-op art class into the art fair.

She and my mom decorated this cake.

Our Family display.

Some of Tim's Stories by S.E. Hinton

2010-05-02T12:12:00.003-06:00

This is S.E. Hinton's latest book. Interesting concept. She writes in first person, by having the narrator write in third person, using short stories to tell little bits of his life. It is about two cousins who were more like twins and how their lives were effected by choices they made and circumstances in their life. Some heavy stuff in these short stories.

I really smiled at the story where he tells about a girlfriend of his that was really into movies. At one point she says, "You'll never believe who was up for this part...It would have ruined the whole thing. Casting is really important." I just recently watched the extras on the new "complete novel" version of The Outsiders and one of the things they do is show the casting process for that movie. And as I watched various people trying for the parts, I was shaking my head. I can't imagine an Outsiders with Anthony Michael Hall or Glenn Scarpelli, etc. Or even Emilio as anyone but Two-Bit! Or Ralph as anyone but Johnny, though they had to read the parts for various characters. Casting is important! And I think they picked the right cast! (Some really neat stuff on the extra's disk for this movie.)

I enjoyed reading the stories, but I have to admit, my favorite part of this book is the interviews at the back. Half of this book is various interviews with S.E. Hinton, about the young adult novels, the movies, the children's books, her newer books, etc. I loved that! I love hearing what an author has to say about their works. Great stuff. Some of what she says in here is repeated in the extras for the Outsiders, but there is a LOT of info in here that is not.

I am glad I found this book. I pre-read this for Alex. I am going to have her wait to read it till she is older. There are some mature themes in here. Maybe not as detailed as Hawkes Harbor, but not necessarily meant for young adults. I will let her read it eventually, as there isn't anything I think she shouldn't read, I just don't think she it needs to read it now or would necessarily even be interested in now. She did get to read the interviews though and loved them as much as I did.

Tex- S.E. Hinton

2010-05-01T20:32:00.005-06:00

I finally got a chance to re-read Tex. I seriously must not have read this book after That Was Then This is Now the first time because Mark Jennings's appearance in this book is anything but subtle. He and Cathy Carlson are pretty obviously in it! I am so glad I read that interview so I could go back and catch all that this time. I can't believe I didn't realize it all the first time. I am seriously beginning to wonder if it isn't just a bad memory at work here and that I really did catch it the first time. But, as I said before I almost wish I didn't know the rest of Mark's story. But, I am glad Tex didn't turn out like him.

I still love the caps on the typewriters joke. I know I shouldn't, but it is funny. We want to do a Myth Busters on that joke because John isn't sure it would really work. I so want to get an old typewriter and try it both the way they did it in the book and the way they did it in the movie.

Anyway, it was fun to read this book again. And now, on to Some of Tim's Stories which Alex is anxious for me to pre-read for her.

The picture above shows my 27 year old copy of Tex, featuring Matt Dillon as Tex. The other copy is Jessica's. She got that from the library several years ago as a prize from the summer reading program. It was the only book in the selection of young adult books that was worth picking up. I was thrilled they had it, but disappointed at the quality of the choices they had for her to choose from.

Interesting side note. Matt Dillon makes a good Tex and a great Dallas, but he looks like neither one of them. Sadly, I think that his playing Tex might be part of why I totally missed that Tex looked so much like Mark. (Not to mention that they had Emilio Estevez playing Johnny instead of Mark!) Casting does make a difference! Now, the movies weren't solely responsible for my complete denseness because I put much more stock in what the author says than what is on the screen, but I was fascinated with Mark's gold eyes but totally missed Tex's eyes as a teen.