busybusybusylife

Valentine's Stuff

2012-02-13T10:30:00.004-06:00

I'm not a very crafty person - I can recreate something I see done (Love Pinterest), but to do it by myself with my own ideas is much less likely.

I thought I was being proactive to have my lil one get her Valentine's cards for her class done Wednesday evening, since she has dance on Thursday evening, and her Valentine's school party on Friday. Well, that went fine, but on our way home from dance Thursday night she said, "We haven't done my Valentine's box!" YIKES! I sent her to the shower and I grabbed a cereal box, wrapping paper, spray adhesive, ribbon and a hole punch.

In a matter of minutes we have a working Valentine's box. Had I been more prepared I would have stenciled her name, or used more stickers, but as it was I only had some unused Valentine's Day cards for decoration, so it was kind of plain.

I can see where it could have been done much better, with more frills, but it was workable and fast!

Day 1 of 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge

2012-02-10T09:46:00.006-06:00

When you get to the point where you avoid your own self in the mirror, and when you get dressed you realize you're asking a lot out of your pants, it's time to do something about it.

I don't know about you, but I am an amazing planner, and I can be completely motivated - when I'm sitting on the couch thinking about it. I can be so excited about my new workout, a yoga DVD, walking with my neighbor, or eating lots of salads and fruit. I go to bed so pleased that I am going to get up in the morning and kick butt! Then, morning comes, and that person is gone. GONE. No idea where she goes, but she usually shows back up about 9pm, in my living room on the couch.

A good friend of mine posted on Facebook that he wanted to do a 30 lbs in 90 day weight loss challenge and asked who wanted to join him. I remembered that girl that was talking about being motivated and this new healthy lifestyle she planned on embarking on (She was sitting on my couch last night in her pajamas), and I thought, she'd want to do this, so I should join in.

Well, we are not alone, my friend, this PJ-couch girl and I... 10 people have joined this challenge. We now have our own FB group. (Don't try to find us, we are a secret group). Today is Day 1. We all agreed to be open about our current weight and 90 day goal weight. Admitting that I'm "larger than life" by voluntarily joining a group called "Fatty's Unite" should be enough, but no, now I have to say/type my weight out-loud. Not even my husband knows my weight. (He better not try guessing either if he wants to wake up in the morning!) I bit the bullet, and after another brave soul who happened to have the same starting weight as me spoke up, I shared my weight. ARGH! It was horrid! Even my fingers cringed when I was typing it!!!

Well, good news! After chatting it up last night with my new group of like minded friends, the PJ-Couch girl showed up this morning!!! I can't tell you how long its been since I've seen her in the light of day - probably 4 years? Well, she encouraged me to have a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal to start the day.

Here's what I recorded in my workout log this morning (after checking in on my FB group to make sure everyone was doing something active this morning too).

Day 1:
*Felt motivated and inspired, dragged the dusty elliptical out, wiped it down and got the remote and two bottles of water. (optimistic, aren't I?)
*The animals all came to see what this dusty stiff thing was. (The elliptical, not me)
*Started a 30 minute routine, but realized that if it stayed at level 8 resistance I couldn't move my legs.
*2 minutes in - doing good, feeling proud.
*3 minutes in - legs weigh at least 100 pounds.
*4 minutes in - my body yells at me, "Keep it up fatty, and you die!"
*OMG. It's only at 9 minutes!!!
*14 minutes - remember quote about "There are 1,440 minutes in a day, use 20 of them to exercise"
*18 minutes - only two minutes to go...I can do this
*20 minutes - stagger to the door to undo the deadbolt so the paramedics can get in, does anyone know CPR???

Well, I'm happy to report that my heart did not in fact explode, and I managed to make it to the couch before I needed CPR. Good thing too, because no one else is home, and the dog's version of CPR involves a lot of tongue (kind of like that gross CPR Instructor, but that's another story...).

Review: Cat Burglar in Training

2012-02-06T16:27:00.003-06:00

I enjoyed this book, it was an easy and fun read. This story focuses on Lady Evelyn Fawkner, daughter of the Viscount of Oakthorpe. She and her young daughter, Amber, have recently returned from France to the Oakthorpe estate. In addition to her father, Ben and his wife, Hannah, close friends, also reside at the estate. Her father, with help from Ben, has long been "The Shadow", a cat burglar who focuses on the rich and their jewels.

She returns to find her father in debt, and receives a threatening phone call from the unsavory collector, threatening her daughter. Her father is suffering from crippling arthritis, and Ben is recovering from a fall that injured his back, so they guilt and compel her to take on the identity of The Shadow. While she resists, she also knows that without her help they could not only lose the family estate, but also be in danger themselves. Adverse to the plan, but more adverse to threats against her daughter, she agrees to their plan.

While at a society function, she meets Kahu Williams, the local detective who is tracking down the theft of jewels and other valuables, some filched by Eve and her family, and some from another, unknown cat burglar who is infiltrating their territory. Kahu is quite taken by Lady Eve, and pursues her, which puts quite a damper on the family hobby.

Will Lady Eve and her family be able to steal enough to pay their debts while staying under the radar of the ever-present Kahu? Will their home and young daughter be safe? Will they find out who is infiltrating their territory?

I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars

Emily's Reading Room: The ghost of GFC

2012-01-11T19:56:00.000-06:00

Emily's Reading Room: The ghost of GFC

The Best Day of the Year So Far...

2012-01-03T14:38:00.006-06:00

I was so pleased today to get a visit from both the postman and the UPS man! No, it's not because I have a thing for men in uniform, it's because they both came bearing boxes with books! The first was our Christmas box from my mom - better late than never, and who cares if it didn't get here by Christmas, I believe in spreading out gift receiving. Although I'm making myself wait to open it until my lil' heart gets home from school, I just know there is a book in there for me! The second delivery was a 10 lb box. I've never been more excited to "put on" 10 lbs! :) The box from the retailer contained five books, my after Christmas present to myself! I took advantage of a half price sale, free shipping, a coupon and a membership discount and got five books, four hardbacks and one trade paper, for only $15!

The books I got in today are listed below, with a generic book review from the retailer, as I have not yet read the books.

"American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld (This is a book I watched fly off the shelves when I was working in a bookstore - always wanted to read it)

"From her husband's desk in the Oval Office, Alice Blackwell can contemplate the deep incongruities of her own life. How, for example, did a quiet, bookish girl from small-town Wisconsin become involved with the gregarious, charismatic Charlie Blackwell? Their politics, their backgrounds couldn't have been more different: Charlie was the carefree, even boisterous son of a wealthy Republican family; she was a registered Democrat who paid her bills with the modest salary of a school librarian. Nothing had trained her for her job as a First Lady and certainly nothing had prepared her for the painful controversies of her husband's second term. A riveting novel by the author of Prep and Man of My Dreams."

"New York" by Edward Rutherfurd

"Edward Rutherfurd celebrates America’s greatest city in a rich, engrossing saga, weaving together tales of families rich and poor, native-born and immigrant—a cast of fictional and true characters whose fates rise and fall and rise again with the city’s fortunes. From this intimate perspective we see New York’s humble beginnings as a tiny Indian fishing village, the arrival of Dutch and British merchants, the Revolutionary War, the emergence of the city as a great trading and financial center, the convulsions of the Civil War, the excesses of the Gilded Age, the explosion of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the trials of World War II, the near demise of New York in the 1970s and its roaring rebirth in the 1990s, and the attack on the World Trade Center. A stirring mix of battle, romance, family struggles, and personal triumphs, New York: The Novel gloriously captures the search for freedom and opportunity at the heart of our nation’s history."

"Pirate Latitudes" by Michael Crichton

"The Caribbean, 1665. Port Royal, Jamaica is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. For Captain Charles Hunter, theres a living to be made, and gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking.

Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad is awaiting repairs in a nearby, heavily fortified, harbor. Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of island legend and Hunter will lose more than one man before he even sets foot on foreign shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure . . ."

"The Disorder of Longing" by Natasha Bauman

"When her husband arrives home carrying a crate of colorful orchids, Ada Caswell Pryce thinks he is bringing her a gift, a peace offering during an unhappy time in their marriage; little does she know how much these strange looking flowers are going to change her life.

By Boston standards of the 1890's, Ada is not a good wife. Strong-willed and beautiful, she longs for the days at university when she was free to be herself. Her husband Edward is intent on curbing her wild behavior, but she thwarts him at every turn — she drinks wine with the housekeepers, gives feminist books to her maid, and sneaks out for midnight horseback rides along the Charles River.

To treat Ada's “hysteria,” Edward restricts her daily activities and her relationships, then carefully choreographs her sexuality. Unable to bear another day of her stultifying and demeaning existence, Ada secretly plots ways to leave. Ultimately, it is her husband's all-consuming passion for collecting rare orchids that provides Ada with a daring opportunity for escape."

"The Year of the Flood" by Margaret Atwood

"Margaret Atwood's novel somehow manages to be both futuristic and primordial. Set in a post-apocalyptic age when most of humanity has been obliterated, The Year of the Flood tracks its two rare, perhaps unique female survivors. Ren, a supple young trapeze dancer who is imprisoned inside a sex club and Toby, an ex-counter clerk who has become a follower of Adam One, the religious leader who predicted the catastrophic natural disaster. Beyond this mismatched trio are a host of bizarre walk-ons and sideshow characters, not to mention an ominous police state waiting in the wings."

As I said in the beginning of the post, I didn't write these book reviews, as I have just received them and haven't read them yet, but they seem like really great books, books I'm drawn to by both the reviews and the cover art. I'm so thrilled to be holding five new books! It makes an already good day even better!

If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear from you and hear what you thought about them! I hope you are having a wonderful third day of 2012!

This Year I Will Read

2012-01-01T18:19:00.003-06:00

I'm really looking forward to this year. 2011 has been full of challenges I haven't had to deal with before, and while I hope I learned from them and became better, I don't want to go through it again! However, one bright part of 2011 was all the books I got to read. I had more free time than I anticipated, and surpassed my goal of reading 100 books in a year. I so enjoyed reading new books, "meeting" new authors, and writing a few book reviews. I've become a weekly visitor at our local library, and the library bookstore, and for Christmas my husband gave me a membership to the Friends of the Library!

As the new year revs up, I'm making more reading goals. Even though I anticipate being busier this year, I'm still planning on setting a goal of more than 100 books for 2012. I'm so looking forward to reading some of the books on my "to be read" shelf, as well as new books & authors I don't know about yet. I'm planning on writing more book reviews, and enjoying my book choices.

Since reading is maybe the only thing I do just for me, I'm not going to put a lot of rules on my reading goal. In fact, other than trying to reach my goal, there will be no rules. If there's a really great book I'm in the mood to re-read, I'm gonna do it. If it's a young adult book instead of a classic, and I feel like reading it, I'm gonna do it. If I read a really great, make-you-think book, then feel like reading a "brain candy" book that takes no concentration and is just fun, then by George, I'm going to read it! I'm absolutely going to enjoy my year of reading!

The reading goal I set last New Year was one of the few "resolutions" I've set and kept, and totally enjoyed keeping! I intend to enjoy this resolution just as much!

I hope you make meaningful resolutions for yourself this year, and no matter how big or small, if those resolutions make you feel good, make you happy, and is something you enjoy, I think you'll have no trouble keeping them!

The Books I Read This Year

2011-12-31T16:44:00.003-06:00

Books Read in 2011

January
“Mercy Blade” by Faith Hunter
“Destiny Kills” by Keri Arthur
“From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by E. L. Konigsburg
“Scent of the Missing” by Susannah Charleson
“Night of the Loving Dead” by Casey Daniels
February
“House Rules” by Jodi Picoult
“What the Night Knows” by Dean Koontz
“To the Power of Three” by Laura Lippman
March
“Baltimore Blues” by Laura Lippman
“Step on a Crack” by James Patterson
“Run for Your Life” by James Patterson
“Charm City” by Laura Lippman
“Worst Case” by James Patterson
“The Five People you Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom
“The Skin Map” by Stephen R. Lawhead
“Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
April
“The Lincoln Lawyer” by Michael Connelly
“Toys” by James Patterson
“Virals” by Kathy Reichs
“Butchers Hill” by Laura Lippman
“Tick Tock” by James Patterson
May
“River Marked” by Patricia Briggs
“Burned” by P. C. Cast
“I’ll Walk Alone” by Mary Higgins Clark
“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett
“Learning to Swim” by Sara J. Henry
“Sing You Home” by Jodi Picoult
“When We Were Friends” by Elizabeth Joy Arnold
June
“Jane Slayre” by Sherri Browning Erwin
“Mermaids in the Basement” by Michael Lee West
“Mercy Burns” by Keri Arthur
“The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly
“The Passage” by Justin Cronin
“Now You See Her” by Joy Fielding
“The Night Season” by Chelsea Cain
“The Dead Town” by Dean Koontz
“Vampire Hunter D” by Hideyuki Kikuchi
“Ape House” by Sara Gruen
“Before I Go To Sleep” by S. J. Watson
“The Book Club” by Mary Alice Monroe
“The Priest’s Graveyard” by Ted Dekker
“If I Am Missing or Dead” by Janine Latus
July
“Eragon” by Christopher Paolini
“Eldest” by Christopher Paolini
“Kiss of Shadows” by Laurell K. Hamilton
“The Chase” by Clive Cussler
“The Reversal” by Michael Connelly
“A Caress of Twilight” by Laurell K. Hamilton
“The Wrecker” by Clive Cussler
“The Raw Shark Texts” by Steven Hall
“Alphabet Weekends” by Elizabeth Noble
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
“The Divide” by Nicholas Evans
August
“The Postmistress” by Sarah Blake
“The Raising” by Laura Kasischke
“Hit List” by Laurell K. Hamilton
“Imperfect Endings” by Zoe FitzGerald Carter
“Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
“Riding Lessons” by Sara Gruen
“Little Bee” by Chris Cleve
“Across the Nightingale Floor” by Lian Hearn
“The Four Agreements” by Miguel Ruiz
“The Fairy-Tale Detectives” by Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson
“My Name is Not Angelica” by Scott O’Dell
“Hunting Fear” by Kay Hooper
“Chill of Fear” by Kay Hooper
“Unbearable Lightness” by Portia de Rossi
September
“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman
“Miss Julia Speaks her Mind” by Ann B. Ross
“Julia’s Hope” by Leisha Kelly
“Miss Julia Takes Over” by Ann B. Ross
“Miss Julia Throws a Wedding” by Ann B. Ross
“Save Me” by Lisa Scottoline
“The Gift” by James Patterson
“Miss Julia Hits the Road” by Ann B. Ross
“The Walk” by Richard Paul Evans
“Now You See Her” by James Patterson
“Miles to Go” by Richard Paul Evans
“Miss Julia Meets Her Match” by Ann B. Ross
“Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult
“Never Knowing” by Chevy Stevens
“Miss Julia’s School of Beauty” by Ann B. Ross
October
“The Leftovers” by Tom Perrota
“Emma’s Gift” by Leisha Kelly
“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair” by Nina Sankovitch
“Skinwalker” by Faith Hunter
“Kill Me If You Can” by James Patterson
“Blood Cross” by Faith Hunter
“The Beekeeper’s Apprentice” by Laurie R. King
“Happens Every Day” by Isabel Gillies
“The Borrower” by Rebecca Makkai
“Miss Julia Stands Her Ground” by Ann B. Ross
“The Power of Six” by Pittacus Lore
“Graveminder” by Melissa Marr
“Pathfinder” by Orson Scott Card
“Miss Julia Strikes Back” by Ann B. Ross
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
“Revenge of the Witch” by Joseph Delaney
“The Story of Beautiful Girl” by Rachel Simon
“Graceling” by Kristin Cashore
“Katie’s Dream” by Leisha Kelly
“The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
“Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosney
November
“Fire” by Kristin Cashore
“Dead Reckoning” by Charlaine Harris
“Life on the Refrigerator Door” by Alice Kuipers
“Bitten” by Kelley Armstrong
“Greywalker” by Kat Richardson
“Escape” by Barbara Delinsky
“Grave Sight” by Charlaine Harris
“The Giver” by Lois Lowry
“Grave Surprise” by Charlaine Harris
“Seizure” by Kathy Reichs
“An Ice Cold Grave” by Charlaine Harris
“The Christmas Wedding” by James Patterson
“Grave Secret” by Charlaine Harris
“Real Murders” by Charlaine Harris
“Stolen” by Kelley Armstrong
“Dead of Night” by Jonathon Maberry
“Grayson” by Lynne Cox
“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern
“Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer” by John Grisham
“The Litigators” by John Grisham
“When She Woke” by Hillary Jordan
December
“Miss Julia Paints the Town” by Ann B. Ross
“The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers” by Thomas Mullen
“Museum of Thieves” by Lian Tanner
“The Abduction” by John Grisham
“Seriously,…I’m Kidding” by Ellen Degeneres
“Miss Julia Delivers the Goods” by Ann B. Ross
“Clara and Mr. Tiffany” by Susan Vreeland
“Vanishing Acts” by Jodi Picoult
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs
“The Pact” by Jodi Picoult
“The Gathering” by Kelley Armstrong
“South of Superior” by Ellen Airgood
“Handle with Care” by Jodi Picoult
“The Buddha in the Attic” by Julie Otsuka
“Red Helmet” by Homer Hickam
“Till Morning is Nigh” by Leisha Kelly
“The Kitchen House” by Kathleen Grissom
“The Magician King” by Lev Grossman

My goal was to read 100 books in 2011, and I was able to read 143! I have so enjoyed the books I've read this year, the reviews I've written, and the other book blogs I've visited!!! Looking forward to more reading in 2012!

My Favorite Books I Read in 2011

2011-12-28T15:07:00.015-06:00

I started out this year determined to read 100 books, and to keep track of everything I read. No rules, just reading. Out of the 142 books I've read so far (only 4 more days left in the year), only 4 books are re-reads. I've always been a big reader, but this year I've had a little more time to make trips to the library and read blogs and book excerpts to fill up my "To Be Read" list. Making my favorites list was difficult, and I couldn't narrow it down to 10, so 15 it is!

“Sing You Home” by Jodi Picoult - Jodi Picoult always deals with moral/ethical issues that make you reevaluate your side of the issue. In all of her books I think I know which side of the issue I stand on, and then, after getting into the book, I find it's harder to make a definitive stand on either side, you begin to understand that each issue is full of shades of gray.

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett - By now I'm pretty sure most of you have either read the book or seen the movie (or both). I love the range of emotions this book brings out - I laughed, I cried and I got really angry. When discussing this book with my daughter she was appalled at the way people are treated based on inconsequential things like race and social status, so not only was this a solid good read, it was also a golden teaching opportunity.

“The Story of Beautiful Girl” by Rachel Simon - This is the only book of Ms. Simon's that I have read, and I loved it! This is a story of a forbidden love, a baby, and a woman who walks away from the life she knows to take care of a baby she knows nothing about.

“Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosney - This novel is based on the historical Vel d'Hiv round up which took place in Paris in 1942. Julia Jarmond is an American journalist who married into a French family. As she researches her article she uncovers a link to her husband's family who acquired an apartment after the Jewish family who lived there was deported 60 years before. She discovers that their daughter, Sarah, who was 10 at the time her family was dispossessed, was the only surviving family member. Julia tries to track Sarah down, and in the process, finds herself.

“Clara and Mr. Tiffany” by Susan Vreeland - Written with a foundation in the actual letters Clara Driscoll wrote about her time with Tiffany Glass Company, this novel is historical, romantic and a great drama. You find yourself immersed in the details of the glass making, the windows, the colors and the beauty. You find yourself impassioned with the birth of women's rights. And you feel emotionally involved in the life of the many rich characters in Susan Vreeland's book. This is a book I couldn't wait to keep reading, but one I didn't want to end.

“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs - This book was so interesting - not just the story, but the presentation of the story - it is complete with photos of the characters which makes you feel as if you were sitting in the story teller's living room, flipping through an old photo album while listening to their stories. This is a book I will re-read and share.

“When She Woke” by Hillary Jordan - . The book starts with a woman waking up in a prison cell with deep red skin. In the future, criminals, called Chromes, are branded by color, based on their level of crime. Red is for murderers. Hannah Payne has been convicted of murder after having an abortion. The father of the baby is a well-known preacher and political figure with a family of his own. She can't bear the thought of shaming him and his ministry, so instead bears the brunt of the judicial system and her parent's disappointment. In prison Hannah's cell is equipped with cameras that broadcast her every move to the general public. Upon she is taken to a half-way house run by a preacher and his sadistic wife whose goal is to bring the Chromes to repentance and put them back on the "straight and narrow". Chromes in this future do not serve much prison time, they are chromed and released into the general public to survive as best they can.

“The Walk” by Richard Paul Evans - "The Walk" is so emotionally real that at first I didn't realize I was reading a fiction book. Alan Christofferson is a successful young businessman with his childhood sweetheart wife, a dream house and a growing business. When his wife, McKale is injured and quickly dies, Alan finds that his business partner has stolen their clients and employees and he is left with nothing. In short order his home and vehicles are repossessed, and feeling like a man with nothing to live for, he contemplates suicide. Alan chooses instead to leave it all behind, and he walks out his front door, and keeps going. He decides to walk until he runs out of land. Starting in Bellvue, WA, the furthest point from him is the Florida coast. With little more than a tent and backpack, he sets off on his journey. This book is the first of three, and documents the first 12 days of Alan's journey across the country on foot.

“The Beekeeper’s Apprentice” by Laurie R. King - The first book in a series of 12 (so far), Laurie King writes about Sherlock Holmes and his companion Mary Russell. "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" details their first meeting, and the beginning of their long relationship. Mary starts as Holmes' neighbor and intern. As she gets older and goes to college, her growing intellect is stimulated by assisting Holmes in his many adventures.

“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - this is a book for people who love books! In January, 1946, writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a group of townsfolk who live on the island of Guernsey during the German occupation. Forbidden to continue with their daily lives they find ways to share food, companionship and books. The letter intrigues Juliet, and she writes to and receives letters from more and more members of this literary group. When she is invited to visit Guernsey and attend a meeting, she jumps at the chance to meet the people she has formed a bond with through their letters, and her life is enriched more than she could have imagined.

“The Passage” by Justin Cronin - This book is about zombie/vampire creatures, the aftermath of a world wide virus that reads like an apocalypse. You are shuttled between a little six-year old girl named Amy, wanted by the government, and a group of survivors taken by train to walled colony to repopulate the earth after the virus infects of kills a large percentage of earth's humans. While you find yourself jumping from page to page, anxious for the next climatic event, you also dread the shortened number of pages you have left in the book. This is reported to be the first in a trilogy, the second book due out in August, 2012.

“Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes - Both uplifting and sad, this book details the journey of Algernon, a brilliant lab mouse, and Charlie, a mentally disabled man. Algernon is treated with an experimental brain surgery to increase his IQ, and after it's success, Charlie eagerly volunteers to be the first human subject of this experimental treatment. Charlie's IQ grows by leaps and bounds until he becomes smarter than the doctors who performed this surgery, and he begins to accomplish more than anyone ever imagined. When Algernon inexplicable begins to deteriorate - Charlie grows fearful of sharing his fate. This book makes you wonder if it is better to have never had something, or to experience something wonderful, then live with the pain of losing it.

“Jane Slayre” by Sherri Browning Erwin - This was one of those fun books that I like to call "brain candy". It's a fun book, obviously based on "Jane Eyre" with a twist. With the popularity of supernatural creatures, zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc., "Jane Slayre" covers them all. Jane is an orphan, raised by vampire ken whom she detests. After boarding school she takes a job as a governess at a secluded estate in the country, where she finds herself growing more and more attracted to her master, Mr. Rochester. Of course love is never easy, and she finds out that Mr. Rochester is hiding a werewolf in his attic - the werewolf that was his first wife.

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak - Set in Germany in World War II, Liesel Meminger is a nine-year old foster child staying with a couple in Molching, Germany. As hard times get harder and necessities are more and more scarce, Liesel begins to steal to supplement their household. When she steals a book it brings her as much enjoyment as the scarce fresh fruit she steals. This book follows Liesel's life and those she comes in contact with. Told from Death's point of view, the story is both engaging and heartbreaking.

“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair” by Nina Sankovitch - Another book for book lovers! This book journals Nina Sankovitch's yearly goal of reading one book a day for a year. When Nina's oldest sister dies, Nina turns to books for comfort and solitude. She dedicates a year of reading to help her grieve, and come to terms with her loss. The book details this year long journey of her reading and her favorite purple chair.

The Borrower - by Rebecca Makkai

2011-10-19T12:56:00.002-05:00

This is the story of Lucy Hull (shortened from Hulkinov when her father migrated to America), a children's librarian, and her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake.

Ian is a slightly asthmatic book worm who uses books as an escape. His parents have forced him into attending a class every weekend run by "Pastor Bob" Lawson's GHM classes. GHM stands for Glad Heart Ministries where Pastor Bob is "dedicated to the rehabilitation of sexually confused brothers and sisters in Christ". Ian's parents are worried that he may be gay, or at the least heading "down the wrong path". He is not allowed to have sleepovers, play with only girls or only boys. His mother gives Lucy a list of content matter that Ian must avoid while choosing library books which includes Magic, Weaponry, Halloween and specific authors like Ronald Dahl and Lois Lowry.

While this story centers around Ian, and Lucy's attempt to rescue him, it is also suggestive of banned books, and those who attempt to regulate subject matter for others.

One morning when Lucy arrives to open the library, she is surprised to find Ian bedded down on a pallet between the book shelves, building imaginary worlds with origami. She attempts to drive him home and in following Ian's directions ends up nowhere near his house. He asks her to just drive a while, or maybe drive to his (non-existent) Grandmother's house.

Before long they've crossed the Mississippi River and enter Illinois. When she suggests they turn around and go back, he tells her that if she does, he will tell his parents and the police that she kidnapped him from the library the night before and wouldn't let him go. He says he will describe the inside of her car and say that she told him she always wanted a child, and now she had one.

While she ponders over whether she's a kidnapper or he’s a librarianapper, they cover more ground, are gone more than one night, and in their cross country treck they travel through Chicago, Pittsburgh, Vermont, up to the Canadian border and are gone ten days before he's finally ready to return home.

Meanwhile there is a search going on for the missing Ian Drake, news coverage, and missing posters. How do they avoid detection for so long, and how does Ian get home, and most interesting, how does Lucy avoid arrest?

In addition to being a book about books and the love of reading, it also has a great plot and a most interesting character in Ian Drake.

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

2011-10-08T13:13:00.002-05:00

"Skinwalker" by Faith Hunter
Published July 7, 2009

Jane Yellowrock,(Dalonige i Digadoli), a Cherokee Skinwalker whose legal, but completely false, birth certificate puts her at age 29, is a vampire hunter. Her past is beyond reach, as she woke up wondering in the woods, naked, scarred and without memory of the English language. Before that she remembers bits and pieces of her father & grandmother, and her change into "Beast", a part that is still with her. She believes she is over 100 years old, and her shape shifting and years living as "Beast", a mountain lion, have kept her physical human age young.

Her shape shifting gives her abilities far beyond a normal human. She can scent and track, has better than normal vision and hearing and can move more than humanly quick - almost vamp quick. She can shift into almost any animal, although big cats are her favorite. She's still not sure how she and Beast have come to their current duality, but they work together well in her line of work.

She is contracted by an old vamp named Katherine Fontaneau, of Kaitie's Ladies) to come to New Orleans and track and kill a rogue vamp that is killing indiscriminately between humans and other vamps. Beast names this rogue "Liver Eater", and with Beast's help and at times, Beast's form, Jane is able to track and kill the "Liver Eater", who she finds is also a shape shifter and she believes, a Cherokee.

Faith Hunter writes this series with a believable knowledge of vamps, their blood servants and hierarchy, and enough knowledge of "The People" and their practices and beliefs to make it a very interesting read. Jane is precocious and aggressive, and her mouth gets her into as much trouble as her chosen line of work. Laugh out loud funny in parts, hard to put down all the way through.

Addiction

2011-10-04T18:25:00.004-05:00

1: to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively

2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal

3: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

What's that they say? "Two out of three isn't bad"? I have to admit to my addiction - I believe that's the first step anyway! I'm pretty sure I have an addiction to books. I am a book addict. Or a reading addict. Either way it involves me and books. If you were to poll my house members, my daughter would say (and has said several times) that I am a "book hoarder". My husband might not verbalize his thoughts, but the look I get when I walk in with another stack is the look a disapproving friend would give an alcoholic who just walked in with a 40 oz!

I asked my husband yesterday (in the context of career), what I could do that involved reading books, reading book reviews, studying new releases online, joining online book clubs, visiting the library multiple times per week and buying books every time I get the chance, he said he didn't know anyone who would pay me to read and buy books. I was very disappointed. What happened to doing what you love and you'll never work a day in your life? I've heard that quote and I bet you have too!

As I've mentioned before, my only New Year's Resolution for 2011 was to read 100 books. I figured this would be a resolution that wouldn't make me cringe thinking about it as soon as I woke up, like a "6AM gym class 3 times a week" kind of resolution would. I am enjoying this resolution - why didn't I do this sooner?

My part time work schedule does allow for my reading time, however I read in the car line at school, in the waiting room of my office, in my truck in parking lots between errands, while drinking coffee at my favorite coffee house, and over lunches when I'm eating alone. I carry books around with me just in case I have a few minutes of waiting somewhere. I feel like I'm only half dressed if I find myself without a book. I've been known to read food labels if I'm desperate.

Growing up we didn't have a TV in the house, but always had books, magazines and trips to the library to keep us busy. I used to go to bed and sneak a book under the covers and read until the wee hours of the morning. Now I do it with a lamp and no sneaking! I have stacks of books that are my bookshelf overflow. I really try to keep them neat, but it's beginning to look a lot like clutter. In addition to my personal "to-read" pile, I have a stack of (currently) 15 books on loan from the library that I am reading or will read in the coming weeks. The library employees are getting to know me by name, as they call several times a week to let me know a book request I submitted has arrived and is ready to be picked up.

What is it about books that pulls me in? I know people who love to read, but only read a book or two a month. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm being a bit lazy about my reading if it takes me three days to read a book. I have found blog after blog of other readers who adore books and reading like I do. I referenced Nina Sankovitch previously, the author of "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair", who on her 46th birthday, started a commitment to read one book a day for a year, and successfully blogged about each of them.

I would suppose that a book addiction speaks to each addict differently. For me, growing up, books took me to places I couldn't go, places I would rather have been, I met people I would never get to meet, I learned things I otherwise might not know, and it filled my time with all these dreams and wonderful possibilities. I've continued that in my adulthood, at times being too busy to read like I am currently, but always enjoying it, and always collecting books. I have more books than square feet in my house. (Quantity-wise). I can't bear to part with them, and love to reread my favorites. Thankfully, much of my extended family enjoys reading as well, so I am able to share my book finds, or send books as presents and no one ever seems to mind. For me, the perfect gift would be, coffee, books and a massage. Any gift giving occasion could be adequately fulfilled with a combination of those three things.

Reading a book can give me permission to be sad or cry, and I can blame it on the books instead of my mood or hurt feelings. It can make me laugh, make me stop and ponder a thought, write down a line or a quote, and generally cure what ails me. I find comfort in books.

I read a quote from "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" today that I really liked. It said, "We are what we love to read, and when we admit to loving a book, we admit that the book represents some aspect of ourselves truly, whether it is that we are suckers for romance or pining for adventure or secretly fascinated by crime."

This is one of my favorite and most time consuming hobbies. Some people fish or hunt, not just for the food, but for the thrill of the catch or the calm of the stillness. Some people paint to express physically what they see in their mind as beautiful. Some sing, or play to use music to express their soul. I find my dreams, my heroes and my alter egos in books.

Books, Books and More Books!

2011-09-28T09:20:00.003-05:00

I just reread my last blog post, and I forgot that I was going to blog my book reviews! On a better note, I'm well on my way to reaching my goal of reading 100 books this year - I'm on book #84 as we speak! One of my college friends recommended Ann B. Ross', "Miss Julia" series and I am loving it! I'm on book number 6 of the series, and if any book deserves to be blogged about, it's any Miss Julia book! (although that's not what this blog post is about!)

Since I have failed to blog book reviews with each book that I read, I guess I will have to incorporate that into next year's resolutions - perhaps another 100 books, but at least 30 book reviews? We'll see!

I do have two book related points for this blog - first, I have found a new online book tracking system. This allows me to follow other readers, join online book clubs, keep track of what I've read, am currently reading, and what I plan to read. It allows me to see a book review and list that book on my "to read" list so I won't forget it. My library must think I'm crazy, as I pick up 2-6 books every week. I use my list to check my library's inventory, and request holds for the books I want to read. This awesome new tool is called "Shelfari" - it's powered by Amazon.

Second, my library has a great used book store. I am there at least once each week, finding great bargains. I don't understand people that spend almost $30 on a new hardback, read it once, then donate it - but I'm thankful for them! I get to buy those $30 hardbacks for $1 at my library! I found some great books this week, and have them stacked next to my reading chair. (I promise I have a point here...) I'm all about supporting my local library, and I'm all about books, so I've decided to have a book exchange. I've invited pretty much every reader I know to bring whatever books they have but don't want, for whatever reason, to exchange for books they might enjoy. I have culled a stack or two that I'm willing to part with - although they are mostly duplicates! :) Whatever books no one ends up with will be donated to my library. If they don't put them on the shelves, they will put them in their bookstore, and the income from the books will go to buy new books for the library and to fund the scholarship the library gives to a high school student each year.

I know it's hard to part with books when you just love them, but if you can find a few that you know you won't read again, or perhaps books that you just couldn't get into, there are plenty of places that could use them. Women's shelters, children's shelters, libraries, even schools. All you have to do is look around - even if the books will be sold to raise money, if it's for a good cause, then it's worth it.

Until next time, I'm enjoying Miss Julia - what are you reading?

Spine After Spine

2011-07-19T17:36:00.003-05:00

One of my New Year's Resolutions for this year was to read more, in fact, my goal is to read 100 books this year. I have taken advantage of online tracking systems such as GoodReads and Book Tracker (an app on Facebook). I'm doing pretty good so far, although it's a little more than half way through the year, I'm on book #51 right now! It's a fun little book called "alphabet weekends" by Elizabeth Noble.

I get a daily e-newsletter called "Shelf Awareness for Readers", which previews book store news, authors, new books, book lists, etc. It's also a great place to find drawings for ARC/Galley books! I found a great book listed in the e-newsletter today, called "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair". It's a book written by Nina Sankovich, who also writes the blog, "Read All Day". After losing her sister, she turns to books for "comfort, escape, and introspection". She vows to read a book a day, and, if that weren't a big enough accomplishment, she vows not only to read it, but to also blog about it! This book is about her journey through the books and the blog, and her life without her sister.

I have not yet read this book, however I now have it on my "must read" list, and would love to follow her example by blogging about the books I am reading, so after I finish "alphabet weekend", I will blog about it, and the books (49 more of them this year) that will follow it!

Now my biggest challenge will be to determine what to read next! :)

Accidents, Tragedies, Heartbreak and Heroes

2011-01-30T20:53:00.001-06:00

This has been a long emotional week for me. As a lot of you know, my husband is the lead on the Rescue Dive Team for our county. They get called out for everything from people backing their vehicles up to load their boats and getting their vehicles pulled into the water, to people lost in the swimming areas, to crime scenes where weapons, vehicles and sometimes bodies have been dumped.

Friday a week ago, I was driving home and received a call from my husband saying they had kids in the water and had to go, I told him I'd be home in 15 minutes (to stay with our daughter), and told him to get going. All we knew was he had to get to the scene to pull out two kids. It was freezing, below freezing, and almost dark already. It turns out the scene was about an hour's drive away, and as they got closer, they got more information. Two children had been playing in the snow, sledding down a hill. At the bottom of the hill was a cattle pond that had iced over on the top. They had made several fun trips on their sled up and down the hill, and the youngest one, a girl, somehow slid further out, and ended up almost in the middle of the pond where the ice wasn't thick, and she broke through. I'm sure she was bundled for the cold weather, and that combined with the cold water didn't allow her to stay afloat. Her older brother rushed out to help her, and encountered the same issues, and was unable to save either his sister or himself.

My daughter and I were home safe, snuggled, and thankful for the safety of each other while we prayed for my husband, his team, the children, and their families. It was in the early morning hours that he came home, and in one look I could tell that this scene had hit him hard. We spent days talking about it off and on, rehashing it, with he and his team taking it very hard.

The next day, Saturday, I talked to a person in my family that I am extremely close to, and was told that they weren't going to be here much longer. I took the opportunity to tell them how I felt about them, and how much they meant to me, but was so very heart broken by the thought of not having them in my life, on the other end of the phone, anytime I chose to call.

It started as a dismal and emotional week at our house. We went on as normal, but there was just a somber feel to our home. On Wednesday I was working, and had an opportunity to visit with a friend about the feelings I was dealing with from these losses and emotional preparation I was trying to make to prepare myself for another goodbye.

Twenty minutes after we parted company for the day, I headed to my daughter's school to pick her up. When I pulled into the car line, I saw a police officer and two first responders working over a young boy in the soccer field next to the car line. I watched them cover him, and saw EMS arrive, rush to the boy, get him on the stretcher, and leave the school, Code 3. The boy was pronounced at the hospital. He was only in fourth grade. A soccer goal that was unsecured (400 lbs), had been tipped over, and in a tragic accident, he was struck down and the goal landed on his head. Although my child was not present at the time, she (and I) personally know other children who were there, who witnessed the accident, and who attempted to pull the heavy goal off of their friend and classmate.

More than anything I wanted to hold my daughter close and never let her go. She was a little emotional rollercoaster, with all these big situations to try to figure out in her head. We talked about it, as a family, then just she and I, and we cried and said many prayers.

Friday was a double funeral for a brother and sister who died having fun, and then trying to save each other.

Saturday was a funeral that cancelled all the kids Basketball games, and packed out the largest church in our town to say goodbye to an only child.

This is tough stuff to reconcile, to make peace with, to explain, to be thankful for your child laying safely next to you, and time to grieve for the parents who no longer have that luxury.

While my heart goes out to the families, extended families and friends of these people who have lost children, all I can do is pray for them, and know that no matter how much we miss these precious children here on earth, they are in a place where they will never hurt or suffer again.

What I can do, is say thank you. Thank you to the first responders who (in these locations are volunteers in most cases) are first on scene. To school nurses who don't just provide ice for bumps and motrin for headaches, but who hold the hand of an injured child even when there is nothing left for them to do. Thank you to the EMT's who train, then train some more, work long hours, sleep when we play, and work while we sleep. Thank you to the police officers who try to help us remain calm and keep order in these terrible times, no matter how sad they feel about the situation they are confronting. For facing the unknown every day, and praying they are the lucky ones who get to come home at night (or day), and hold their families and try to erase the memories of the ugly side of life they've seen all day. I want to say thank you to the firemen and women who arrive on scenes where there are no flames, just to offer and render aid, and fill the gaps of need until others arrive. And for all the times they go when there ARE flames, and try to save people, pets and home. Thank you to the dive team, volunteers who train on their own time, wear pagers and sleep with phones next to them, who are on call 24/7, holidays, family days, sick days and work days. Who go out in the dark and the cold, who search rivers, lakes and ponds, looking for loved ones that they know they will be recovering, not rescuing. Telling the family that "we are here until.....until we find them, until we bring them out, until we leave with them." They go in the cold, in the ice, in the rain, in the summer, in the day, in the night, and they do it for you. For me. For all of us. The families they help never know their names, but they will never forget their service.

So while I mourn during times like this, times I don't understand, times that are heart breaking and irreversible, I am thankful for the men and women, both volunteer and paid, who risk their life, spend their time, who train, who work hard, and sleep with one ear listening for their call, because one day, they may be doing it for me. My husband is a hero. My daughter has a hero in her own home. I am proud of him, and who he is. I don't know all the other heroes out there - but I see you - every time I watch the news, and know of all the service behind the story that most of us never see. I see you when I pass you on the road, even when you pull me over. :) I know you are there for me - for us - with the heart of a volunteer, the heart of someone who will put themselves out, just so someone else can be safe, saved, or recovered for a loving family. I know your heart hurts too, I know you mourn for the hurt and lost as much as anyone, and you keep putting yourself out there over and over. I can never say thank you enough, but I'll certainly try.

Throwing Out Fifty Things

2010-11-16T19:36:00.003-06:00

So, I have started to realize that my house is more cluttered than I like it (and apparently, more than my husband and child like it!). I didn't realize that my books had overflowed quite as much as they have - and my desk looks like a paper hurricane touched down briefly.

I've typically been very organized in the past, and I'm not sure why all this accumulation has started to pile up. My daughter made me see it through new eyes when she told me I needed to call "Clean House". She finds my book collection alternately "impressive" and in need of Clean House to make me throw half of it out.

A friend recently walked in my house and said, "Wow, you DO have a lot of books", and she was only in the living room!

I decided I needed to do Something about this. Books are about my only vice, ocassionally chocolate or carbs supercede, but usually books are it. I can travel to places I may never go, meet people I'll never know, and learn things I'll never go to school for. They have always been there for me. When I find myself without a book to read I feel lost. So....I have accumulated quite a few. Well, more than a few....or a few hundred....(seriously).

I decided to get help - so I found a few books on the subject (of course). The one I've really enjoyed so far is "Throw Out Fifty Things" by Gail Blanke. I've marked it all up (in pencil), and have started cleaning in the Living Room. She suggests starting with labeled trash bags, "Throw Away", "Donate" and "Sell". Unlike the Clean House folks who might make me cut down my books to the Top 50, Gail says that something that has sentimental value or makes you feel good, you keep. Anything that has negative energy or feelings associated with it - it's gotta go.

Knowing that I don't have to pare down my collection to the bare minimum makes me feel freeer to get rid of books I don't want, or have tried to read, but couldn't get into, or books I know I'm never going to seek advice from. In the the first two bookcases I went through I found a stack of books from when my little heart was much younger, and flipped through them, enjoying the memories. I also was able to let go of about five of my books that I haven't used and probably never will. Hopefully someone else will get some use out of them.

I'm not very far in my quest to throw out fifty things, as quantities of the same thing only count as 1, but I've made a start!

B&N First Look Book Club

2010-01-13T10:09:00.000-06:00

The Love Dare

2010-01-13T10:08:00.002-06:00

I am aware that I only reached Day 16 before my postings were interrupted. Due to illness, holidays, travel and school resuming, my schedule has been crazy. I will resume at Day 17 and continue from there.

"The Love Dare" - Day 16

2009-12-23T23:40:00.002-06:00

Again I find myself doing two posts in one evening to keep up! Like I mentioned, one of my prayers is that I can be a bigger contributor to our family financially to help relieve some of my unselfish husband's burdens. I also pray for his daily strength, both physically and mentally for work. I know he is so busy some days he doesn't know which way is up or where to start on his to-do list.

Tomorrow's challenge....

Day 17: Love promotes intimacy

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

—Proverbs 17:9 NIV

TODAY’S DARE

Determine to guard your mate’s secrets (unless they are dangerous to them or to you) and to pray for them. Talk with your spouse, and resolve to demonstrate love in spite of these issues. Really listen to them when they share personal thoughts and struggles with you. Make them feel safe.

I will work on really listening when he chooses to share something with me, even if I'm in the middle of something (like a book ,where it's hard to tear my attention away for almost anything), or even if its not of particular interest to me (like the temperature of the water he froze himself in when he chose to throw himself 85 feet deep in the lake attached to a scuba tank!) :) I love that he has hobbies and contributes to the community, even if it's not in an area I choose to participate in, but true love should demonstrate that if its important to him, it's important to me, if only for the reason that he finds it important.

"The Love Dare" - Day 15

2009-12-23T23:18:00.002-06:00

Well, this may not sound like much but after a long tiring day at work, my hubby wanted to have a guy's poker night, so, off he went. I know he'll have fun, and the little heart and I are watching "Unaccompanied Minors", which she hasn't seen before, and is enjoying. So, although I didn't do something hugely magnanimous, he's having a good evening, and by last count is up $40. :)

Today's challenge is titled, "Love Intercedes".

Day 16: Love intercedes

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

—3 John 2

TODAY’S DARE

Begin praying today for your spouse’s heart. Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your spouse’s life and in your marriage.

I know that one of my prayer's (besides for my hubby's heart) is that I can contribute more financially to relieve some of the burden from him. Although he doesn't complain, and always works hard to provide for us, not just our needs, but our wants, I know that he gets stressed and overwhelmed sometimes. There are other areas to pray for as well, but if you're following along, and you feel like helping me pray for a more career-oriented job (not that I don't appreciate having a job in these hard times, but I would like to get back on my career path), I would love to have your prayers!!!

"The Love Dare" - Day 14

2009-12-21T21:24:00.002-06:00

This evening didn't quite go as planned. With the hubby on vacation, his schedule is quite a bit more flexible than mine. Instead of getting to spend time with him voluntarily watching football, he went to the gym and I spent that time helping my little heart clean out from under her bed and in her closet. If that's not enough to make someone frustrated, well....it IS enough to make someone frustrated! So, I didn't get to spend time with my honey this evening, although I did call to check in on his relaxing day.

Day 15: Love is honorable

Live with your wives in an understanding way . . . and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.

—1 Peter 3:7

TODAY’S DARE

Choose a way to show honor and respect to your spouse that is above your normal routine. It may be holding the door for her. It might be putting his clothes away for him. It may be the way you listen and speak in your communication. Show your mate that he or she is highly esteemed in your eyes.

The timing of this challenge is fortuitous. I don't have to try hard for my spouse to be highly esteemed in my eyes. I may have to work on getting that across to him, but it's not hard to feel that way about him. He proves every day that he loves this family, all of us, all of me, my quirks and annoying habits, and he just loves us and is happy we are a family. I'm proud of him, so tomorrow I am going to work extra hard in letting him know that.

"The Love Dare" - Day 13

2009-12-20T23:31:00.002-06:00

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I don't feel like I did so well with my day 13 challenge. I think I fell off the wagon, and I'm pretty sure my attitude on Day 12, even without the speech to go with it (that amazingly, I kept to myself), didn't complete that challenge successfully either!

Tomorrow's challenge, day 14 (Two weeks, folks!) is about taking delight in your spouse.

Day 14: Love takes delight

Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life.

—Ecclesiastes 9:9 HCSB

TODAY’S DARE

Purposefully neglect an activity you would normally do so you can spend quality time with your spouse. Do something he or she would love to do or a project they’d really like to work on. Just be together.

Tomorrow may be a bit of a challenge since the little one is out of school, the hubby is off work, and I will be at work all day. So, in order to complete this one, I will be watching football tomorrow evening curled up on the couch with my honey, trying to get into the game(s). A small sacrifice to have some time with my chosen spouse.

"The Love Dare" - Day 12

2009-12-20T22:46:00.004-06:00

I have to say that Day 11's challenge was truly that - a challenge. Not only was I supposed to willingly walk away from a disagreement and let my spouse's choice stand, but add in the additional stress of a 3 hour clothing shopping trip with a barely 6 year old who is like being in a dressing room with a 14 year old. *sigh* talk about running low on patience!

I'm trying to remember if there was a disagreement about something during the day, other than the general non-enjoyment of a pre-holiday packed retail environment with a picky wardrobe person, but I probably didn't do everything right, probably fell off the wagon on a few of my previous day's challenges, and I have to say that even though my husband can get frustrated and snippy too, I almost always beat him getting there!!!

Day 12 continues on the same path....

Day 13: Love fights fair

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

—Mark 3:25

TODAY’S DARE

Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of engagement. If your mate is not ready for this, then write out your own personal rules to “fight” by. Resolve to abide by them when the next disagreement occurs.If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

I'm not sure I did very well with this challenge. It also combined the challenge where you ask your spouse to tell you the "top three" things you do that annoys them. I knew he'd come around and get a comfort level with telling me what those things were! :) I wanted to say, "Yes, I asked for your input, how come you never ask for mine?", but I didn't!!! (1 small point in my favor). But there were a couple of incidents where we simply decided ending the conversation and removing ourselves from the each other's proximity was the best bet.

So, I didn't feel very successful with my challenge, and felt like maybe I would feel better if I just let it all out! Just ran my mouth, got it all out, and then got it over with. BUT, I knew that wouldn't be for the best looking at the long term goal, so I did refrain, but mentally, I think I fell off the wagon.

"The Love Dare" - Day 11

2009-12-20T22:37:00.002-06:00

My day 10 challenge I felt pretty good about because I was able to do it, and in such a way that it diden't seem out of theo rdeinary to him, so I didn't have to explain why I was doing it. I mentioned yesteray that I has schedled a massage for him....what I didn't mention that was my very last class of the semester was a massage clinic for clients, and our teacher let us invite anyone we wanted to come in for a free massage. Guess who my client was? :) Not only did he get a massage, I got to be the one giving it to him, which I enjoyed. Massage is such a physically rejuvinating experience, and getting to be the person who got to give that to him made me feel so good!

The day 11 challenge is definitely a challenge, as this is not something I do well.

Day 12: Love lets the other win

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:4

TODAY’S DARE

Demonstrate love by willingly choosing to give in to an area of disagreement between you and your spouse. Tell them you are putting their preference first.

I think I was a born attorney - which is the nicest way to say that I can argue, and I can enjoy it. Stepping out of an arguement is tough for me..... I hope I do well with this one.

"The Love Dare" - Day 10

2009-12-17T21:49:00.003-06:00

Today's challenge was for me to do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse—something that proves (to you and to them) that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. To demonstrate love to them for the sheer joy of being their partner in marriage.

This one was definitely a challenge, not because I don't love him by choice, but simply due to the time constraints of our schedules. In addition to both of us being extremely busy at work, tonight is also the evening we chose to finish our last bit of Christmas shopping for the kids. After two hours of shopping, we stopped to have dinner before picking up the little one. Unfortunately I may not have completed today's challenge, but I can tell you what made the evening special for me and how I got joy out of being his wife. Not only is he very loving, caring and incredibly giving, (and this may sound silly to you), but physically he is so very solid, that it is comforting to me. Tonight, just the two of us walking around picking out stuff, we laughed, joked, held hands, I held his arm, he opened doors for me, and bought me dinner. It wasn't really a date night, but it was a night that I enjoyed (minus the shopping), just being with him, walking next to him, sitting with him and catching up on our day over dinner.

Tomorrow's challenge puts us at day 11 - how are you doing so far?

I like the title of this challenge - "Love cherishes". How beautiful. Love does indeed cherish, and is unselfish. I have been told "I love you" many times in my life, by family, friends and in relationships, but the ones that matter, the ones that are real, those are the ones that I cherish, and made to feel cherished.

Day 11: Love cherishes

Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.

—Ephesians 5:28

TODAY’S DARE

What need does your spouse have that you could meet today? Can you run an errand? Give a back rub or foot massage? Is there housework you could help with? Choose a gesture that says, “I cherish you” and do it with a smile.

It's kind of funny that today's challenge suggests a back rub or foot massage, because I actually made an appointment for my husband to get a massage (including hands and feet) for this day! I'm looking forward to the evening after work and school are done, because that marks the time when the kids are out of school for the holiday break (as am I), and we get to take vacation time to spend together and with friends. I'm looking forward to loving my husband tomorrow!!!

"The Love Dare" - Day 9

2009-12-17T21:44:00.003-06:00

I'll be doing two posts today to make up for not getting to post yesterday about Day 9.

Today's challenge was to greet my husband in a specific way, being enthusiastic and reflect my love for him. Although we were like two ships passing in the night, I did stay up until he got home from client dinner's and get a chance to greet him lovingly and listen to how his day went, and his evening's social time. It was nice to just sit and talk (even though it was pretty late and I drug myself out of bed this morning!)

For Day 10's challenge....

Day 10: Love is unconditional

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

—Romans 5:8

TODAY’S DARE

Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse—something that proves (to you and to them) that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. Wash her car. Clean the kitchen. Buy his favorite dessert. Fold the laundry. Demonstrate love to them for the sheer joy of being their partner in marriage.

For Day 10 I need to do something out of the ordinary. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I will be thinking of what I can do for him. We are meeting to get the last bit of our Christmas shopping for the kids done, but certainly there is something I can do to show him that I love him, by choice, just for who he is.

"The Love Dare" - Day 8

2009-12-15T23:14:00.002-06:00

Today I was to be my husband's biggest fan, put away jealous feelings, and tell my spouse how proud I am of something they've achieved. As it happens, even though today was one of the busy days of the week, where I'm running from one place to the next from 6:30 am - 11:00 pm, I was able to share in my husband's achievement of attaining another account to manage. He's great at his job, and is so knowledgeable and has such great management skills. That's one of the first things that I noticed about him and that attracted me to him was his leadership and self-confidence in his experience and knowledge. And for someone who isn't easily impressed, he made quite the impression!

For tomorrow my challenge is to greet my spouse with love and enthusiasm.....this I think I can manage.

Day 9: Love makes good impressions

Greet one another with a kiss of love.

—1 Peter 5:14

TODAY’S DARE

Think of a specific way you’d like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.

Tomorrow is a busy day for him and although I'm not sure what time he will be coming home (with out of town colleagues in town they will be having dinner after work), I am planning to stay up and greet him with a big smile, hug and kiss, and ask about his dinner and time with his work buddies, and be happy that he had a fun evening, and look forward to our family night on Thursday!

2009-12-15T00:31:00.003-06:00

Day seven wasn't such a tough challenge for me. I got to list positive things about my spouse. That list far outweighs and overshadows the "negatives" list, and those things are petty things that don't really do more than just annoy or frustrate me on occassion. I am fortunate. I'm looking forward to burning the "negative list" on day eight.

Day 8: Love is not Jealous

Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire.

—Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV

TODAY’S DARE

Determine to become your spouse’s biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday’s list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

I love to brag on my husband TO my husband. I have always tried to be his biggest fan, but there were/are definitely times when I don't verbalize that to him or show that to him. I can't wait to tell him tomorrow about how proud I am of him.

"The Love Dare" - Day 7

2009-12-13T22:56:00.002-06:00

I can't believe this is a week, today! I'm trying very hard, and finding that the more conscience I am about how I react to my spouse (trying to be non-negative), the more conscious I am of how I react to others around me. Just a side effect of the Love Dare!

Today's challenge including reacting to tough circumstances in my marriage in a loving way, make a list where I need to add margin to my schedule, and then wrong motivations I needed to release from my life. These are very tough things to do....especially in one day! Thank goodness this is an ongoing process.

Reacting to a tough situation in our marriage at this time would definitely be a financial situation. Going from a good job, to losing it in a depressed economy and working a job I enjoy but that pays next to nothing, and add a school bill on top of it with more time away from home - that has to be one of the toughest things I've done. My spouse, thankfully, is ever supportive of my school, and my job, while joining me in hope and prayer that I'll find a more career oriented job soon, and encouraging me when I get down about my place in life at the moment.

With regard to making a list of where I can add margin to my schedule....I don't know. I feel like I'm always running from here to there on my way to somewhere, and always on the go, and never resting enough. I know that in only 3.5 months, I'll be graduating and moving on to the next chapter of my life, but for now, I don't know how much our schedule can change. We can hold on to our Thursday evening family nights to make sure we don't lose that.

Looking at my motives to identify wrong motives in my marriage or that are affecting my marriage I had to really think hard about this. I'm not perfect, not near it, have never been close enough to see what it looks like, so I know I have motives that are wrong, but as they apply to my marriage I'm not sure. Thats a harder one for me to identify. I would have to say that compared to my husband, I'm selfish. He's one of the most giving people I know, hates to tell me or the girls "no" about anything, and would go into debt to provide for us if necessary, without complaint. I still have my bitter moments about my decreased income and the fact that I have to rely on him so heavily in this area. A tough pill to swallow for me. So perhaps my wishing to reject his support to cling to my tenuous independence, and my selfishness with regard to giving of myself when he gives so much more are areas of wrong motive I need to address in my life. (whew, that was a tough paragraph to write!)

So, on to tomorrow's challenge - Day #7

Day 7: Love believes the best

[Love] believes all things, hopes all things.

—1 Corinthians 13:7

TODAY’S DARE

For today’s dare, get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

I have been looking forward to this one. There are many things to put on the first list, so many positive things about this man that I love. There are things that I would add to the other list, the "negatives", things that annoy or frustrate me, but truly, in comparison, they are small things. I will write my list tomorrow after I pick up my little heart from school and then store them away as it specifies. I'm looking forward to complimenting and thanking my spouse for his positive characteristics.

"The Love Dare" - Day 6

2009-12-12T22:50:00.004-06:00

Well, today's challenge - to ask for three things that bother/annoy your spouse, and listen, not justifying, just listening, was more of a challenge than I anticipated. When I casually asked the question my husband looked at me like I had just grown another appendage. His first response was, "Why would you ask?". I told him I just wanted to know because I wanted to work on being better. So, I waited about a half hour, then asked again. I even told him that I knew I wasn't easy to live with and I knew that I had to do things that were annoying and irritating. He told me that he didn't look at it that way, he just dealt with things and went on. (I almost swooned right there.) I even started giving him suggestions. Finally he came up with one - sometimes I say, "You ALWAYS", or "You NEVER", and talk in absolutes, when we all know that nothing is every always or never except God. I started to justify myself, then realized I was doing exactly what I wasn't supposed to do after I asked the question, so I stopped myself (for the record that's like trying to stop a '71 Harley-Davidson Sportster at top speed on a nickle and have change left over - near impossible).

I also found out about an hour later by trial and error that he does know how to drive and how to get to all the places we need to go, EVEN if he goes a different way than I would every single time. So, I pulled my trusty book out of my purse and read until we arrived at our destination. Not being anti-social, it kept my mouth shut and my "back-seat driver" schizophrenic personality quiet.

So, I accomplished 2 out of 3 today, and given more time I'm sure a #3 (plus a few more) will surface! Now that he's started he may get on a roll!

Now on to day #6.....

Day 6: Love is not irritable

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

—Proverbs 16:32

TODAY’S DARE

Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list below of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

The very title of Day 6 is both disheartening and guilt inducing. Irritable can be my middle name, especially with my household - the ones I love the most. And then to make the challenge dealing with something tough about your marriage AND to not get irritated, or speak negatively to your spouse, while trying to find out that #3 from yesterday....I'm a little intimidated already!

Then adding "margin to your schedule" and "wrong motives" - are we sure this has to be all in one day? It feels like 2 or 3 days worth of a challenge all rolled up in one! I'm very honest with myself, and I know that I have flaws, (besides using absolutes like "always" and "never"......) I know that sometimes I'm all kinds of things I'd rather not be, even if I do manage to filter them before they come out of my mouth, I've still thought them, so they still count.

I have to say that tomorrow will be something I'll have to work harder on than almost any challenge. How are you feeling about this challenge?

"The Love Dare" - Day 5

2009-12-12T11:41:00.003-06:00

So, I made it to day five! Adding each new challenge to the pre-existing challenges can be overwhelming when you think about 40 days worth of them and how to remember them all, even in moments of frustration or anger! But, I'll take each day at a time....So, on to day five.

Day 5: Love is not rude

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.

—Proverbs 27:14

TODAY’S DARE

Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.

I would like to point out, again, that there isn't much I like to do early in the morning that doesn't involve a pillow, a book and/or coffee. However, if forced to talk in the morning, there would be a frustration factor involved, and I might have that "loud voice" thing....that is so far, my largest challenge - Day 1 - to show patience and not say anything negative.

As a point of progress, we had a moment yesterday where I might have been more negative if I weren't paying such close attention to how I respond and speak to him right now. He was planning to come by my work and drop something I needed off around 12:30, and by 2:30 he still wasn't there, hadn't called, and hadn't returned my call. When he did call and apologize profusely for forgetting, that didn't change the fact that I had waited, and hadn't received a call during that time, but I took a deep breath, mentally acknowledged that he IS busy, and he WAS sorry, and just said, Ok, I'll leave here and come by your office. Amazing - for me at least! So, I'm proud to say that nothing negative came out of my mouth!!! Yay, me - I think I may have the beginnings of a brain to mouth filter growing! Then I accomplished yesterday's challenge by the asking if there was anything he needed that I could bring him or do for him before my class! I have to say, I felt very accomplished in my daily challenges after that conversation!

Today's challenge is to ask him to tell me three things that annoy him (my own words), and listen without defending or getting angry. I have a feeling I could probably make the list myself, but I want to hear it from him. We have great plans together this afternoon, and I have a massage client later this evening, so I can NOT allow myself to get frustrated by his answers - it would throw off our whole day. He of course, will tend to be reticent to answer my question for that very reason - he won't want to spoil our afternoon, or throw off my good energy for my client, but I will put day 1's challenge to good use and work SO SO hard at being patient and not saying anything negative in return. With 4 days under my belt, I'm sure I can give it a good college try!!!

How are things going for you? What challenge have you found to be the most difficult for you to date?

"The Love Dare" - Day 4

2009-12-10T17:05:00.003-06:00

Well, Day 3 is nearly done. Today's assignment, in addition to the first two days (no negative comments to your spouse and doing something nice for them) was to stop and buy something that let them know you were thinking about them. After I picked Mal up from school, we went and bought a card and a box of chocolate covered cherries that I have set at his place at the dinner table. Nothing much, no great expense, but it does show an effort by purchasing something that he likes - the monetary value isn't the important thing - it's the effort put into it.

Tomorrow's assignment (as always in addition to the previous challenges) is:

Day 4: Love is thoughtful

How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . .How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.

—Psalm 139:17–18

TODAY’S DARE

Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.

This shouldn't be too difficult, I'm having more difficulty with Day 1's challenge! :) I will call him when I am on my way to pick up Mal from school and ask him if I can pick anything up for him or do anything at the house before I leave for school that would help him. I'm still working on reminding myself to breathe (deep, multiple breaths) before responding when I'm feeling frustrated or annoyed. I have noticed that in doing this for him, I'm more aware of my words and tone with other people, my child, my coworkers, friends and family - how is this a bad thing?

What has been the hardest for you so far?

The "Love Dare" - Day 3

2009-12-09T22:00:00.003-06:00

So, tomorrow is day 3, and today I managed (I think), not to say anything negative to my spouse - or even with a negative "sound" to it. I'm not saying that I managed perfectly and that I said nothing that couldn't be taken negatively, but I truly have tried to temper my attitude and my increase my patience and not respond negatively in any of our conversations for the last two days. Apparently I'm really grouchy in the mornings, because that's the biggest challenge for me. I am NOT a morning person - on a perfect day in a perfect world I would sleep until I woke up and then not have to speak or answer any questions for at least an hour, maybe two. In that time I would have my coffee, my juice, and read a book. AFTER that time, I would be prepared to go into Mom Mode, answer questions about where anything and everything might be, "In her room on the floor, just under the edge of the bed on the left side behind the recliner but in front of the pink toy box", verify that I did indeed prepare all of today's backpack's (Hers and Mine) with the correct homework, books, assignments, water and snacks, etc., etc. You know, stuff you probably all do every morning.

I think I've done pretty well with the non-negative conversation, and I did bake dinner (don't have as much time to cook as I used to now that I'm back in school), and keep it warm until he came home from the gym, so I did my thoughtful thing for the day. Now to add those two to tomorrow's challenge.

Day 3: Love is not selfish

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

—Romans 12:10

TODAY’S DARE

Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It’s hard to care for something you are not investing in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says, “I was thinking of you today.”

So, in the movie with the Fire Captain got to this part he started out with a $45 bouquet and ended up going down to a $20 arrangement, sans teddy bear or chocolates. Unfortunately I don't have the extra $45 for a bouquet, but I can buy a card, or a $.99 box of chocolate covered cherries (his weakness). So, although it won't be much, it will say, "I thought of you, and made the effort to stop and purchase something especially for you."

So far so good - how are you doing?

"The Love Dare" - Day 2

2009-12-08T23:10:00.003-06:00

Well, today was the first day, and my goal was to refrain from saying anything negative to my spouse. Today is one of those days where we are like the proverbial ships passing in the night, and we spoke briefly on the phone and said our "Hello's" and "Goodbye's" quickly in between work and school. But during our conversations and brief time together, I did refrain from saying negative things. Even when he took the trash out and didn't put a new trash bag in the trash can and I opened it and dumped stuff in before I realized there was no bag.... :) I reminded myself to be thankful that he took out the trash - one of my least favorite chores - and gritted my teeth to myself while I dug the trash out of the bottom of the can to put in the new trash bag. Small, yes - a start, yes....

Tomorrow's challenge is added in addition to continuing today's goal of saying nothing negative to my spouse.

Day 2: Love is kind

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

—Ephesians 4:32

TODAY’S DARE

In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

Tomorrow is another busy day, just a different schedule. Since I don't have class tomorrow night, I will be looking for something that I can do that he will see as an act of kindness. I'm not sure yet what it might be, but I can think of a few things to try - picking up his dry cleaning, leaving dinner in the oven, although he won't get home until close to 9pm, leaving a note on his pillow thanking him for being such a good father.....I'm sure there are a lot of things I can do to demonstrate in a small way that I love him through an act of kindness.

Do you have any ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Fireproof, and "The Love Dare"

2009-12-07T19:50:00.005-06:00

I just finished watching the movie, "Fireproof". I've seen the book, "Fireproof:Never Leave Your Partner Behind" by Eric Wilson and the companion book, "The Love Dare" (the 40 day guide) by Alex & Stephen Kendrick, but have not taken the time to watch the movie or read the books. AFter hearing so many good things about it, and watching the books continue to fly off the shelves, I decided to rent the movie. I ordered it through Netflix, and after deciding that I didn't have time to make good use of the service, I cancelled it, and received an email that I still had "Fireproof" checked out and that it needed to be returned. I decided that I would watch it after work today since I didn't have school and no homework due for school tomorrow.

During the movie when Captain Caleb Holt gets a package in the mail from his father, detailing forty days of "assignments" to better love his wife I started taking notes. Every marriage goes through ups and downs and challenges, and although things are pretty smooth right now, I can't think of a marriage that couldn't use a little improvement, and I would certainly rather try the Love Dare when we are in a good place, than as a last resort. I'd like to share some of the daily assignments, and I may even be brave enough to share how they've worked for me as time goes on. :)

The first day's assignment is as follows:

Day 1: Love is patient

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

—Ephesians 4:2 NIV

TODAY’S DARE

The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It’s better to hold your tongue than to say something you’ll regret.

I don't know about you, but for me, when I answer shortly, right off the tip of my tongue in a moment of frustration, I'm not happy with myself, and regret my sharp words. To not say it in the first place is so much better, but definitely a challenge, especially for me - my brain doesn't always seem to have a filter on it's way through my mouth!

I figured that since I haven't seen my husband since 6:45 this morning, it probably wouldn't be fair to count today as the first day, so tomorrow I am going to resolve to demonstrate patience, and say nothing negative to my spouse. Of course, having said that, I'm sure tomorrow will be one of those days that tests my patience, but hey, its only one day - surely this will be a step I can make, before I attempt to add day # 2's assignment!!!

If you care to join me and share in discussion, I would be glad to have the company!

Book Review

2009-10-14T09:14:00.002-05:00

I'm preparing to read my first book review book, "From Peanuts to Pressbox", by Eli Gold. In my search to find the best layout for my book blog, I ran across this website. If you are interested in writing book reviews, either for your own blog, or as a book reviewer for someone else, you might find some good tips here.....

http://www.lavc.edu/Library/bookreview.htm

His Eye is on the Sparrow

2009-10-13T23:30:00.004-05:00

Today I was feeling kind of "blah" - didn't have much energy or motivation, and just couldn't get in my groove for the day. As I was working I started humming this song, and before I knew it I was singing away to myself. I absolutely love this version of the song, and the words always lift my spirit...hope it does the same for you!

Do you enjoy reading?

2009-10-12T13:58:00.003-05:00

I have finally made an appearance to my blog - it's been too long. Life has been running me around, and I haven't been directing my energies as well as I should have. I've found that blogging is therapeutic for me, and I need all of the therapeutic activities I can get! Reading is also a great way for me to relax, and I've found a couple of great opportunities to do that, and get free books for my "trouble". If you are a fan of reading, and would like to get free new books for yourself, I have a couple of suggestions, both requiring only minimum effort on your part.

The first is to join the "First Look" book club at www.bn.com . Your only responsibility is to participate in the online discussion of the book by leaving a post or postings giving your opinion of the book. You can sign up to receive one book each month, and being "First Look", you will get an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) to read prior to the book's release date.

The second is to become a book review/blogger for Thomas Nelson books (See the link below on the right-hand side of the page). These are not ARC's, but are new release books, typically 8-10 to choose a title of your choice from, and after you receive (or download) the book, you write a minimum of 200 word review, then you are able to request your next book. This gives you the ability to receive multiple books in a month, based on how quickly you read and review them.

The book I have requested and am anxious to read is called, "From Peanuts to Pressbox", by Eli Gold. Below is a brief synopsis....

"In this behind-the-scenes look at sports broadcasting Eli Gold tells how a kid from Brooklyn, New York, went from selling peanuts at Madison Square Garden to being one of the most recognizable voices in all of radio sports broadcasting.

From Peanuts to the Pressbox is an intimate walk down memory lane, reliving some of the greatest moments in Alabama sports (basketball and football) and NASCAR. Gold also shares stories from his early days with Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen and Red Barber and other broadcasting greats, such as Bob Costas, Tom Hammond, Verne Lundquist, Kevin Harlan, Ron Franklin, and Mike Tirico."

Just wanted to share this great opportunity to get free books, and share your opinion!

Quotes & Inspiration

2009-01-07T22:05:00.007-06:00

I am an avid reader, and I started collecting quotes back before college (wow, that seems so long ago), and always carry something around with me to write down quotes I read in a book or magazine, or hear somewhere that resonate with me in some way. I read my quote books, and have acquired a few others, and many times a quote will start me down a path that leads to a journal entry or a blog. Today I was reading a quote book I got for Christmas, and the beginning page, before the introduction and index had this one quote on an otherwise blank page; "I quote others only in order the better to express myself" Michel de Montaigne

This seemed to explain why I am constantly collecting and using quotes. I have a lot of thoughts mulling around in my head and some days I just sit and read quotes until I find one that gives me the "ah-ha!, that's how I've been feeling today" feeling, and away I go!

"....in what direction we are moving"

2009-01-04T21:01:00.005-06:00

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

In 2008 I found myself in a whirlpool of life turmoil, things changing almost daily, my direction changing like a weather vane in a strong wind. If you would have described my life today to me nine months or so ago, I would have told you, "No way!" I've always had a pretty strong sense of where I'm going and what my goals are and what I'm focused on, but it seems like my season of change hit in 2008, and I've found myself having to laugh (when the alternative is girly tears), at where I am, and try to find steady footing, and my direction.

I am an avid reader, and have found myself working in a wonderful book store, while going back to school for a complete career change - not something I would have seen myself doing as I get closer to 40 than "mid-30's".

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday who told me that her year of 2008 was life changing, and that she had decided that 2009 was going to be better, that she knew where she was going, and although it was going to take her a while to get there, she knew she would achieve her goals.

That made me realize something I guess I knew already, that achieving life goals don't necessarily have anything to do with where you are right now - but rather, where you are going.

I feel as if I'm on the tail-end of the whirlwind of 2008, and am finally gaining some stable footing, although different from where I've been, and am pointed in a direction, and have a clearly identifiable goal and time frame in which to complete my goal. Just acknowledging that doesn't necessarily make day to day life easy or even easier some days, but knowing what my long-term goal is, and how my short-term goals, my day to day living and choices, affect my long-term goal, I'm beginning to feel some hope and even some progress.

I love what Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said in my introductory quote about it not mattering as much where you are at this very moment, as much as it matters what course you are on - in what direction you are headed.

My life is very different right now than I could have possibly imagined, but I'm not without direction and long-term goals. This gives me comfort, and hope. I've stepped "down" in some ways, but have gained so much in others, and learning to accept what I've gained in the trade, and let go of what I thought was important before has been key in my recognition of my new direction.

Perhaps your 2008 was a bit like mine, or perhaps you will find yourself in that season of change this year, but whatever you do, don't give up, keep your chin above water, paddle like heck underneath, and make sure you have a definable direction and goal. So, to all of us who are coming out of the whirlwind of change, congrats for staying strong and holding on, and for those of us who are facing it, or find ourselves in the "eye of the storm", tough it out, rely on your friends, and know that it is a season, and it will pass!!!

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Inside

2008-12-18T08:03:00.003-06:00

"What a man really has, is what is in him. What is outside of him, should be a matter of no importance." Oscar Wilde

I constantly remind my 5 year old daughter that it is what is on the inside that matters. She is reaching the age where peer pressure begins, and things other people say to her, about her, make an impact on her. She has started to worry about how she looks and what she wears. More often than not, once that takes root, it takes years to find a way to untangle yourself from it. I have to remind myself that what is on the outside, what I see that becomes my first impression of a person, is not WHO they are. If my instincts are halfway on target, my first impression may be correct for the moment of their life that I'm interacting with them, but my "judgement" of them is so minuscule, compared to what they've been through in their life up until that moment. Perhaps I'm seeing a rare bad moment, or a moment after a sleepless night fraught with worry, or sorrow, or suffering. We all put on masks to go on about our lives with some sense of projected normality, but inside we may be struggling to keep our outside together.

If we would all cut each other a little slack, give others the benefit of the doubt more often, or even choose not to take some one's actions or words personally, to see past it and realize that inside we don't know what they are facing, it would give us all the chance to live out the "Golden Rule". Perhaps one day you will need someone you don't know to extend you that small mercy of the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure we can all look back and remember a time, perhaps one of our lowest, darkest times, when we were not our best selves, and we behaved in a fashion not ordinary for us, to someone who didn't know us, or maybe someone who knew us very well. I, for one, would hate to be judged by just that one moment in time, instead of being given the benefit of the doubt.

I am going to strive to put a smile on people's face, and impact them, rather than being so self-centered that their "moment" of time crossing paths with my life, colors my day, and I allow that to become my only judgement of them.

Christmas Gift Suggestions

2008-12-09T07:54:00.001-06:00

"To your Enemy, Forgiveness
To an Opponent, Tolerance
To a Friend, Your Heart
To a Customer, Service
To all, Charity
To every Child, A Good Example
To Yourself, Respect"

Oren Arnold

Letting Go....

2008-12-02T09:34:00.003-06:00

(Originally written 6/14/07)

Letting go of something you want is not always easy to do, even if you know it's the right thing to do. But doing the right thing makes you a better and stronger person, even if it hurts. You reap what you sow, and if you don't want to reap the harvest of some choice you're making now, you better get out of the field as fast as possible. I don't want to live with the regret and consequences of hanging on to something that I shouldn't have or want, and I want to be strong enough to do the right thing, even if it breaks my heart for a while.

On Life and Regrets

2008-12-02T08:55:00.003-06:00

When something happens to someone you care about, you start thinking of all the things you wish you'd done differently. Perhaps you weren't there with them - you wish you could have spent more time with them, you want to go back and cherish every moment you had with them...but that's what everyday life is for! To cherish the small things, to enjoy just being where you are and who you are with - so don't take today for granted....

Live-Laugh-Love

2008-11-28T18:50:00.011-06:00

Here's a introduction from a small book by Evelyn Beilenson, "It's not easy to live well, love passionately, and laugh with abandon. It often requires taking risks. As Dorothy Thompson said, 'Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.' Living well means also daring to love without restraint, summed up famously by Tennyson, when he wrote, 'Tis' better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' And for heaven's sake, don't forget to laugh. Laughter is the only tranquilizer with no side effects. So go out there and take a chance. Live well, Laugh often, and Love much. Make yourself and the world around you a happier and richer place."

The quote by Dorothy Thompson that says, "Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live". Have you ever seen the question written somewhere that says, "What could you do if you weren't afraid of failing?" If we hold ourselves back because of fear - fear of whatever, whether it be fear of failing, or fear of success, fear of what other people may think, etc., we may never really allow ourselves to live completely.

Fear is defined as 1.to feel fear in (oneself), 2. to have a reverential awe of , 3. to be afraid of : expect with alarm and 4. to be afraid or apprehensive .

Personally I would have to say that in different situations I can feel both fear in myself and fear of the worst when it comes to embarking on new adventures, new directions, and different choices, or choices that affect my life that I had no say in. But, what if I weren't afraid - what if I didn't fear the worst when confronted with new circumstances in my life. What if I looked at it as a new opportunity? Something that would be an adventure, a change in direction, without being able to see the destination? Not knowing the destination is a bit fear-provoking to me - I like to plan and be in charge of what choices are made in my life, but it doesn't always work that way. I'm one of those people who lists everything, but when it comes to decisions, I list the pros & cons, and I try to figure out the "worst case scenario", then decide if I can live with it and compare it to where I am now, and try to determine its effect on me or how I will handle it if/when I am confronted with that particular situation. Maybe I'm over thinking things. Since I really have no control anyway, perhaps I should loosen up a little, realize that life doesn't go as planned (I do realize that, but perhaps I should accept it more!), and understand that change isn't bad or scary, that really there is "no good or bad news, only our reaction to it". (As they say in the movie Kung Fu Panda).

So, really, what is there to be afraid of? Life is full of seasons - some are winter seasons - that seem cold, barren and without the beautiful blooms of spring, the warmth of summer, or the beautiful changing colors of fall, but all seasons change, nothing lasts forever, and even if today isn't your best day, set aside your fear and live - live without being afraid so that you can truly live, and enjoy every moment - even if it isn't the moment you planned it to be.

What is Tranquility?

2008-11-16T00:49:00.005-06:00

Tranquility: quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity.

I don't often achieve tranquility, don't even usually focus on achieving it, however; there are some seasons of life when that seems to be the only thing you crave. The calm, peacefulness, quiet, serenity of heart and mind. Why does it seem that our lives get so busy we forget about what peace and tranquility are all about and how vital they are to our soul? I think my soul gets dry and shriveled up when peace is missing from my life. When things are out of order in my head, my heart, my life, my peacefulness seems to drain out a bit at a time until I realize there is this dry empty ache of tension and worry where my peace used to live.

I've never had a green thumb like most people in my family, mine is a slight brownish color that tends to be detrimental to greenery. It's not that I'm not nurturing or that I don't care, I just find myself busy and distracted by things in my life that I forget to give them the appropriate attention they require to thrive. This is kind of like peace - when I get too busy and distracted, it withers away and when I realize I can't find anything but a dried up remnant of it, I have to start all over cultivating it.

Cultivating peace and tranquility are not easy, at least, not for me. I am one of those "OCD-ish" type organizer/planner type personalities. I need to plan things out, know what my schedule is, know where I'm at in my life, how far along my goal plan I am, etc. Some changes I make myself as the need arises, but change thrust upon me without notice can throw me off, and cause my budding peace to get bombarded by the inclement weather of my changing forecast.

At this particular time in my life, I seem to be in a season of changes thrust upon me, rather than changes I'm choosing. After a while I begin to feel helpless, like a shipwreck survivor tossed around a vast ocean in a very small lifeboat. While I know that everything going on around me and in my life is all very small, and all contained in the Palm of His Hand, sometimes I forget that when I'm holding on to my very small lifeboat in the middle of a very large wave of change - all things I have no control over.

It is not easy for me to not be in control of my situations, where I am in my life, what choices I have...it's hard for me to just let it all go and let Him take it all. I know down deep that I don't really have control over anything in my life anyway, but in some seasons in our life it seems that we have a moderate amount of control, decisions we make put things in place, we follow certain paths with certain outcomes, we make choices, and get the expected outcomes.

Unfortunately, this is not the season my life seems to be in at this time. Perhaps this is not so unfortunate, perhaps this is another of life's lessons, passed on to me from God's loving Hands to help me. To teach me something that I've been to busy to learn, or perhaps to nurture peace and help it grow in my heart again.

Some mornings I wake up and feel useless, without knowing in which direction to make the next step. Sometimes I allow myself to have a pity party - which always produces a very small turnout, although they say Misery loves company, apparently "Mr. M" seems to enjoy mine exclusively, and doesn't need anyone else to make the pity party complete. For some reason this little party of ours never makes me feel better, and I really get tired of him showing up, but some times he's the only one who does, so I just let him in and we have the same old pity party all over again.

I'm really tired of "Mr. M", and I'm really tired of hosting parties all the time.....I need a break. I need to catch a break! People ask what I'm up to these days, (the days since my "involuntary sabbatical"), and I have absolutely nothing to tell them. I have always believed that I could manage - no matter what happened, I could always figure out how to fix things. I'm a fixer, I am a do-er, I can't sit still when there are things to be done. But right now, I'm being forced to be still. It doesn't matter how much I travel, talk on the phone, distract myself with friends, books, or movies, the fact is, I have no options right now, other than to learn to be still. Perhaps this is the only way I am able to learn the lesson that this season of my life has presented me. Maybe learning to be still IS the lesson, but whatever it is, I trust that it's something I need to learn for the next phase of my life, whatever that is.

The Serenity Prayer has always comforted me, and while it isn't based in scripture as is the Lord's Prayer, embracing those words with sincerity makes it as sincere a prayer as any other. So, for this season in my life, when peace seems to be something I can't quite grasp and cultivate in my soul, I know that this is a temporary situation, a season that will end, and no matter how big the storm, how windy the change, how strong my feeling of helplessness, this too shall pass, and I will have grown stronger, learned more about myself, and the things that bring me peace, and will have reorganized and set my priorities so that peace is habitating in my life once again.

On Life and Purpose

2008-11-13T16:49:00.002-06:00

My attention has been caught several times lately by the song Tim McGraw sings titled, "Live Like You Were Dying". For the sake of coherent thought I'm going to copy some of the lyrics......

"He said, 'I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me, and a moment came that stopped me on a dime. I spent most of the next days, looking at the X-rays, talkin' 'bout the options, and talkin' 'bout sweet time.' I asked him, 'When it sank in, that this could be the real end, how'd it hit you, when you got that kind of news, man, what'd you do?'

He said, 'I went sky-diving, I went Rocky Mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu, and I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying.' And he said, 'Someday I hope you get tht chance to live like you were dying.'

He said, 'I was finally the husband that most the time I wasn't, and I became a friend a friend would like to have. And all of a sudden going fishing wasn't such an imposition, and I went three times that year I lost my dad. I finally read the Good Book, and I took a good, long, hard look at what I'd do, if I could do it all again....' ".

There are a couple of reasons why these lyrics have taken up residence in my head lately. Last week my great-aunt came to stay with me for a week, and my brilliant, funny, out-spoken, determined, independent aunt, who has always seemed bigger than life, seems to be suffering the beginning stages of alzheimers. We had a wonderful time - we shared stories, memories and laughter, were surprised by the many similarities in our lives, although two generations apart, and had a time I'll never forget. She only had one "bad" day while she was here - one morning she woke up and politely asked me who I was as I was fixing her coffee. Luckily we had been working on our family tree, and I was able to show her how I fit into her life. After breakfast I went to my bathroom and sat on my rug and cried. Partly because I love her so much, was enjoying our time together, then somehow I got lost in the foggy cobwebbed corners of her mind where she stores 85 years worth of people, experience, stories, sadness and joys. I was no longer part of her present that morning, and I cried for my loss, and hers as well. How sad it must be to forget the people you love and memories you've cherished. To have parts of your memory go on strike and refuse you knowledge of your own life.

The next morning she was back to her normal self and remembered me, and we had another great day, for which I am eternally grateful. When it was time for her to go home I knew I would miss her, but I was filled with sadness because she might now miss me, or remember our time together, time that was so meaningful and precious to me.

Another reason I've been thinking about this son so much is because my life seems to be topsy turvey everywhere I look. I've had some health difficulties this year that have set me back some, and after my recent (and first) mammogram, I've been notified by the hospital that my mammogram came back with some abnormalities - which I'm assuming is referring to more than thier size alone - and that I need to come back in when I can to have a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound done to get a "better picture" of what it might be. I'm taking the days as they come knowing that it could be nothing at all, but also knowing that my grandmother died 27 years ago of breast cancer. While I don't like to dwell on gloom and doom scenarios, I do like to be realistic, and realistically it could be that just as easily as it could be nothing serious. Fretting about it at this point won't help or change anything, and as I told my mom, if it were something more serious, I have enough extra to make a whole new one just as big, and the thought of having multiple wigs to confuse people does seem a bit adventurous!

This situation also makes me contemplate the words of that song. Not to be melodramatic, because I'm fully aware taht it could be absolutely nothing at all, I just prefer to visualize all possible outcomes and explore how I would feel in each case, so no matter what happens I feel somewhat prepared. The lyrics of the song as some very vital questions, and make thought provoking statements. The man with the threatening diagnosis talks about the things he did when he found out he might be dying. Some of these things I doubt would cross my mind as sane options, as my goal would be to preserve and extend my life, but there are things I would do. I would greet each morning with a resolve to live like it might be my last (Truly, each of us should contemplate that possibility as none of us are promised tomorrow - with or without a scary or unknown diagnosis), and to be true to myself. What would I do if I knew the number of my days? How would my priorities shift? What caution would I throw to the wind, and what things would I attempt, knowing that failure didn't matter so much as the fact that I attempted it? I might not go sky-diving or angry bull riding, but I might make different decisions in my every day life. I would cherish my time with friends and family even more. I would write more letters to people to tell them what they mean to me, or thank them for a long ago kindness. I would spend more time with my daughter and try to think of everything I want to say to her before she grows up. How to expect and accept nothing but the best in her life, and make decisions for herself, and not worry about what other people think or expect of her. I would plan a long road trip to go anywhere I could to see beloved friends and family, I would be more thoughtful and caring, and do more "pay it forward" deeds in hopes that it would impact more people than I could physically meet or touch. I would want to share my time with people who love me just the way I am - to be surrounded with love, acceptance, laughter and true friendship. I would want to be a better friend, and the best mom I can possibly be. I would worry less about what strangers might think of me, I would take more time to say nice things to people I pass on the street or in the store, be more aware of those around me, and like Christmas, I would take joy in finding the "pefect" gift for everyone on my list, except these gifts would be from my home and from my heart. I would try to end each day with less regret than the day before, and share all that I have been blessed with, with others who may not be as fortunate.

I don't have to be dying to make these changes in my life, to live my days more fully, I can just live like I am....

On Havens & Journeling

2008-11-12T10:45:00.006-06:00

I find myself once again in my haven at Barnes & Noble with a cup of Starbucks coffee sitting in an over-stuffed chair next to a complete stranger who is apparently lost in his book. He reads as I do - in great concentration, his legs crossed, one foot rotating slowly at the ankle. He is probably one of those people you see at restaurants and airports who are always moving - a finger tapping, or a foot bouncing, but when engrossed in a book the movement slows as them ind is pulled into a different place or time created by an unknown entertainer. Since childhood books have always provided a haven for me - a way of escape from my childhood and it's undesirables. I suppose that's why I can manage my budget so logically with the exception of book expenditures. I just recently counted over 60 of these separate havens stacked next to my bed and overflowing bookshelf, waiting for my next escape. They pose a medical danger to me because if one from the bottom of the stack calls to me, I've found that without precise and cautious movement, they all tend to lose their balance and come crashing down on my head - this I say from recent experience.....

In addition to reading other's words, and entering into their world, putting my own thoughts, feelings and worries down into words provides me an escape of a different sort. It allows me to clear out a little working space in my brain. (I picture this like the library of memories that represents the brain of Jonesy (Damion Lewis), in the movie "Dreamcatchers" - a multi-storied library with little tables through-out for concentration and de-muddeling of thoughts). When I am able to get some of my thoughts out and captured on paper it relieves my mind and allows it to ease up on that particular worry and let the journal handle it. Amazingly, though a journal's appearance is deceptively non-animated, it does seem quite capable not only of receiving words & thoughts, but also sorting through them during its closure, so that when you open it once again you are greeted with your own thoughts & words, but they appear to have been dusted off, they are clearer, and seem to make more sense than when you poured them onto the paper.

This is my escape, second only to books and ranking very close to driving my vehicle all alone on lonely roads where there is no traffic to crowd me, and my thoughts ride along with me at high speed, each clamoring for my undivided attention.

While journeling can actually help me clear out my thoughts, speeding does not, although it does wonders for my adrenaline cravings.

I was pulled into Barnes & Noble today for the express purpose of finding the perfect journal to confide in. It had to meet certain requirements - I wanted soft leather, a certain line width, an inviting cover, the ability to lay open flat on its spine so that my writing is not interrupted by the hump of a cheap, hard spine.

I found this "perfect for me" journal after 20 minutes of deliberating in front of four 4' facings of eight shelves each filled with every kind of journal you can imagine. My price limit was the cost of 5 gallons of gas (when gas was over $3.50 a gallon), or 65 miles of driving in my truck. Since the journal also allows me the escape that driving does, I can compare the current cost of gas per gallon, by the number of miles I'll get in each gallon (about 13 - my truck is so NOT "green"), so next time I'm tempted to run away in my truck, I can sit down and put that gas money to good use in my journal, which is kind of like a washing machine for the mind. The problem with journaling is, unlike driving, I don't ever seem to reach a good place to stop, turn around and go back. I will continue to write, much like a person who has a nervous habit of chattering.

Today I have many things going on in my mind that could really use some good closure time in this "oh-so-perfect" journal I found, but I'm due for a massage in a few moments, so I suppose I will have to draw them out during my next segment of uninterrupted "me" time.

10.3.08

Nothing is Impossible

2008-02-05T13:35:00.000-06:00

When I was thinking about what to write about, my mind just kept going back to the series of lessons my pastor taught on in January. It was fondly referred to as “Taking the Bull By the Horns”. Over the weeks in January he talked about opportunities that God puts in our path that we may step away from, for fear that we can’t accomplish what it is that God is offering us. Sometimes they are things that we’ve even asked God for, but when they are presented to us, we shy away from them. Sometimes our fears are selfish, sometimes they are driven by a feeling of lack, in us or our situations, and sometimes they are pushed away because of a lack of faith.

In Luke 1:37 the Bible says, “For nothing is impossible with God”. The context of this scripture is the angel, Gabriel, appearing to Mary to tell her she was highly favored of the Lord and would be with child. When she questioned him, he told her that even her cousin, Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, was in her sixth month, and he reminded her that “Nothing is impossible with God”.

Mary did a wonderful thing – she replied, “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said”. What faith and trust Mary showed in the Lord. Would we be able to do that? If we were presented with an opportunity, a gift, that was above and beyond anything we had hoped or imagined, would we be able to say, “I am the Lord’s Servant, May it be to me as you have said”? While many of the opportunities we are presented with do not hold the eternal ramifications of Mary’s opportunity, how do you know that something the Lord has placed in your path won’t impact not only you, but multitudes of others in ways you have never imagined?

In Romans 8:15 the Bible says, (NIV) “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship”. Verse 17 says, “….then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”. We are reminded here that we are not to be slaves to fear, for we have received a spirit of sonship that makes us HEIRS OF GOD.

When you look at the world, and it’s material values, and you see a child of someone, an heir that is “set for life”, someone who will inherit millions, who, financially, will never have to worry about being taken care of, its possible to feel a sense of envy or lack that you are not cared for in that way; that you have to work hard every day to make sure that you’re contributing to your family and their care. Wouldn’t it be so nice to have a parent that would leave you countless millions so that you can do whatever you want with your life, and never worry about financial troubles? If we look at Romans 8, we will be reminded that we ARE heirs – OF GOD. The same God who says in Psalms 50 that (V10) “…every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.”; and (v 12) “…for the world is mine, and all that is in it”.

So, let me ask you this – your Heavenly Father owns the world, and everything in it; he wants good things for us, and he has made us his heirs, and has released us from being slaves to fear, and has given us instead, a spirit of sonship -what more could you ask for? Why would we allow ourselves to feel fear of outcomes (when we can’t control them anyway), fear of failure (when everything God gives us, he gives us for a reason, whether it’s a lesson or blessing), and why would we have a lack of faith, when not only does He promise to give us more than we could ask or think, but he promises in James 1:17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

I would like to encourage you to take advantage of opportunities that are placed in your path, without fear, having faith as an heir of God, who promises that He will always be there for us. Be strong, encouraged, and step out in faith – you never know what God is going to do with you!

Take the Bull by the Horns

2008-01-29T11:51:00.000-06:00

The last two Sunday's sermons have been directed right at me....they are about "taking the bull by the horns". The pastor talked last week about how many times we are presented with an incident or situation, an opportunity even, that we see as something bigger than us, something that we can not handle or conquer on our own. Something we are afraid of - whether we are afraid of getting hurt, having our pride injured, or even perhaps, the fear of success, which means that people expect more of us.

This week the lesson continued on about how when we are given these opportunities to shine, and we take them, do we continue to focus our commitment and gratitude to The One who gave the opportunity to us in the first place, or do we lose our focus and begin to enjoy what "we" have accomplished?

Several scriptures come to mind, including the "Every good and perfect gift comes from above", (James 1:17), and "Lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). God wants us to have all the wonderful blessings that we can possibly hold in our life, all of our goals, our dreams, the desires of our hearts, but we also have to remember that these blessings do not come from us, nor are they strictly for our benefit. God has entrusted these blessings, these talents with us, to share to bless others.

What are your dreams? What is it that gives you joy? I would love to have someone pay me to read books in front of the fire place with a nice cup of hot chocolate curled up with my dog and cat all day, but perhaps that is my retirement dream. What I would really love to do is find a way to share some of the blessings that God has given me, and use them in such a way that will allow me to support myself financially, and to share the blessing with others - make other people feel happy, share joy with them.

God has planted seeds of dreams and desires in each of us. He wants us to reach for those goals and dreams. Psalms 20:4 says, "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.".

What would you do if you knew that you have the Creator of the Universe standing by ready to "make all of your plans succeed"?

Its hard to step out on that proverbial limb, and take a risk, to take a chance, not only for success, but perhaps failure. Sometimes we are as afraid of success as we are of failure, because for so many of us it is unfamiliar territory, and we have no idea what to do with success once it comes to us. But the same God who promised to make all of our plans succeed, will be there with you every step of the way, the same way a loving parent watches over their child and encourages and boosts them to succeed in their projects. Give it a try....lean not on your own understanding, and see what happens...

I am more blessed than I give God credit for....

2008-01-14T18:20:00.000-06:00

I've been feeling kind of down the last few days, as you can tell by the sheer pitifulness of my blog. But, tonight, I was reminded again about the innumerable blessings I owe God thanks for.

I picked up my daughter from school, and told her I was going to take her out for a "Mommy & Mallory" night to have dinner and pick up some new movies at Blockbuster. We drove past the Salvation Army shelter and she asked me what that building was. I told her it was a shelter for people who were homeless to sleep so they didn't have to sleep out in the cold.

She said, "We don't sleep outside, we sleep IN the house." I said, "Yes, we do, because we are very blessed to have a house, not everyone does". She said, "They don't???" I explained that some people didn't have the money to have a house, or warm food, or warm clothes sometimes.

Then I got to thinking about how many things I AM blessed with. Even though I'm dealing with a rough situation at work right now, I have a good job, and we are able to afford a home, meals and clothes. Things that we tend to take for granted, more often than not. I want to set the record straight and say that I'm thankful for so many things in my life. My loving family and friends, who make up the family I wasn't born with, I'm thankful that I have a job to go to every morning where I have good friends, and people who care about me. I am thankful that when we realize we need a gallon of milk, we are able to go to the store and get some. I wrote out my bills this morning, and I'm thankful that I have bills that show I have a home, electricity, water and trash service (what if we didn't have trash service!!!). I have nice neighbors, and children for my daughter to play with. I have the love of my life loving me back, and helping me plan our wedding in 11 weeks and 4 days! I have a wonderful time with my daughter and my fiancee. My life is very blessed.

So, despite the fact that I have been worrying and complaining about certain elements of my job, I know that God is holding me in the palm of his hand, and that He wants to continue to provide for me.

For such a time......

2008-01-14T06:58:00.000-06:00

I've been struggling with a difficult situation. So, this morning, during my reading time, I picked up the book by Vic Johnson called "Day by Day with James Allen". This book takes the text, "As A Man Thinketh", and uses excerpts from that book to create a daily devotional. I thought this one was perfect timing.

"Focus on Ideas"

"No person can be confronted with a difficulty which he has not the strength to meet and subdue...Every difficulty can be overcome if rightly dealt with; anxiety is, therefore, unnecessary. The task which cannot be overcome ceases to be a difficulty and becomes an impossibility...and there is only one way of dealing with an impossibility - namely to submit to it." - Byways of Blessedness

"Several days ago when I started this I was confronted with a difficulty that I allowed to fill me with a great deal of anxiety. It's not a new difficulty or even a totally unexpected one. But I was faced with a decision that will have long-term ramifications. One of those kind of decisions that we'd rather not make - one of those decisions that makes you want to pull the covers up over your head in the morning.

James Allen's words are so incredibly penetrating on this subject because he's basically saying that there's no problem that we should be anxious about. We can either solve it or it's impossible to solve. Kind of reminds you of the Serenity Prayer doesn't it? 'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference.'

I once heard Rita Davenport give some great advice on handling most of the problems in our life: 'If money can fix it, it's not a problem.' Well, that's great, you say, but I don't have the money to fix it, so I've got a problem. Wrong thinking. Because the truth is you're only one idea away from obtaining whatever amount of money you might need. So instead of focusing on the money you don't have (which will surely result in you attracting more lack into your life), focus on ideas, ideas, ideas.

There's also another great reason not to be anxious about the difficulty you are facing today - it contains a lesson. And once you master it, you will be much stronger and wiser. My long-time hero, Emmet Fox, wrote, 'It is the Law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, no matter what they are, must be exactly what you need most at the moment, to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.' "

....So, based on what Vic Johnson wrote above, this is not something I can't overcome, and this is something placed in my life to help me learn a particular lesson to move me on to the next step in my life. Great, a lesson. My mom used to tell me that you will keep getting the same situation over and over until you learn the lesson. I'd rather just go ahead and learn this lesson, whatever it may be, than to continue to go through this.