Tree Swing Reading

Review of "Sketchy Behavoir" by Erynn Mangum

Description:

Drawing Conclusions or Drafting Disaster? Other than harboring a somewhat obsessive fondness for Crispix and completely swearing-off boys after a bad date (don't ask), sixteen-year-old Kate Carter is about as ordinary as they come, except for her two notable talents: art and sarcasm. After an introduction to forensic sketching in her elective art class, Kate discovers a third and most unexpected gift: criminal profiling. Her photo-quality sketch helps the police catch a wanted murderer and earns her celebrity status in South Woodhaven Falls. But when that murderer appears to be using his friends to exact revenge, Kate goes from local hero to possible target. Will she manage to survive? Will life ever be normal again? And will local news anchor Ted Deffle ever stop sending her flowers?

My Thoughts:

A fun and enjoyable teen fiction from Erynn Mangum. I enjoyed the quirky personality of Kate and the humor Mangum brings to the story. I found the plot to be interesting, but a little slow for my taste, until the very end, where it felt like things jumped forward to an surprising (and somewhat hard-to-follow) plot twist. I liked it, but it was not my favorite of Mangum's books.

Book Bullets:

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Teen

Part of a Series: no

Publication year: 2011

Publisher: Zondervan

 

Stomach Flu Stinks

The stomach flu hit me really hard yesterday! I can't believe how much I hate the stomach flu!

31 days of nourishing my soul: "But it's not fair!"

This phrase comes out of my mouth way too often: "It's not fair!"

It's not fair that other people can eat whatever they want and never gain a pound.  It's not fair that he can lose weight by just cutting out one cookie.  It's not fair that I can exercise HARD for an hour every day and still not lose much weight.

An ugly and unflattering cycle of self-pity and wallowing.

Sometimes I justify my choices by this means. The "it's not fair..." excuse for giving in to temptation. I think Satan uses this method gleefully to trap us.

I look at my skinny friends and wish I could trade places with them.

But here's the thing I realized lately. No matter how perfect someone else's life looks, we all have things that we have to learn to give up and sacrifice.  We all have "idols" that get in our way and tempt us.

James 1:3-4 "You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

And, as Lysa TerKeurst puts it in Made to Crave:

"...This truth should be the cry of our souls instead of Satan's lie that 'it's not fair.' Our taste buds make such empty claims to satisfy us, but only persevering with God will make us truly full, complete, not lacking anything." page 106

31 days of nourishing my soul: no parking in dissatisfaction

The last time I wrote about this, I was caught in a place of frustration and self-pity. I had been comparing myself to other women and let it get me discouraged.  I agree with Lysa TerKeurst in the following quote from Made to Crave, I think Satan uses those moments to wear us down:

"...in the grand scheme of things, I know this is a shallow concern. But, if I allowed my brain to park in a place of dissatisfaction about any part of my body, it would give Satan just enough room to move in with his lie that strips me of my motivation: 'You're body is never going to look the way you want it to look, so why sacrifice so much? Your discipline is in vain.' That's why I have to seek the Lord's persepctive and, as Psalm 103 reminds us, 'forget not all his benefits.' "  page 83

So now I am declaring "No Parking" to my brain.  No parking on that place of hating my appearance. I am motivated to be healthy.

Review and Giveaway of "Unexpected Dismounts" by Nancy Rue

I am giving away a copy of this fabulous book!  Post a comment saying you would like to be entered and I will have a random drawing on November 1.  Please enter on or before October 31.

Description:

Allison Chamberlain thought she was doing everything God required of her—but as her journey continues in the second book of The Reluctant Prophet series, she might have to let go of everything she loves to follow the call.

 

Allison is already taking care of five former prostitutes, trying to adopt an orphan, and helping a woman who’s been raped. Along the way, she experiences unexpected dismounts, as every Harley owner who risks the ride eventually does. A relative challenges the adoption. An influential businessman blocks her ministry. A beloved friend is seriously injured. A piece of her past adds even more turmoil. As she picks herself up again and again, Allison realizes that some are guilty of terrible wrongs—but everyone must be responsible for righting them.

My Thoughts:

I love, love this series by Nancy Rue!  It is pushing me to look at people with a new perspecitve and to see them the way God sees them.  I love Allison and her friends and her son and greatly admire her heart's longing to serve God.  I wish I knew someone like her in real life!  I love that she responds to what she calls "God's nudges" to do things with conviction and without worrying about what other people will think.  I really hope there are more books in this series!

Book Bullets:

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Contemporary

Part of a Series: yes, Book 2 of Reluctant Prophet Series

Publication year: 2011

Publisher: David C. Cook

31 days of nourshing my soul: the real issue

So, not every day is a happy day. Today I am mad at myself. Mad at my body. We are a month away from our family trip to Disney World and, truthfully [with brutal honesty], I was hoping that no sugar + P90X would help me drop a few more pounds before we go. I know it's selfish and doesn't really jive with the real purpose of my journey, but today is a day where I can't seem to be strong enough to keep it from getting to me.  I can't lose weight.  Come on, it's P90X and only 4 pounds?  I've sweat buckets and nothing this week?

How do I do this? How do I pull the focus off my vanity?  How do I feel loved in this body? The way I am?  When everything in me has been taught that I am not successful or lovable unless I am thin?  There is no nourishment for my soul today because I feel raw.  I feel like no amount of self-control will ever bring the lean, healthy body I am longing for.

And that feels like the craving that's even bigger and badder than the chocolate.  That's the "idol" I have been craving at the expense of my relationship with God.  That "image" of me as a thin person is what I have been drooling for. I have put that before all else. It hurts to admit it.

My Top Ten Tuesday could be a list of ten diets I have poured my money and heart into and held my breathe in vain expectations that they would save me. But there are more than ten. And they are not wrong, in and of themselves, but I am wrong in my adoration of them. And they are not my Savior.

That's all I have for today. Just being real in my own pain that the numbers on a scale have come to be the measure of my worth. 

1000 Gifts: 61-70

It is time. Time to take what I learned from this precious book and begin to apply it. One Thousand gifts...one at a time.

51. For the smell of applesauce in the slow cooker all day.

52. For game night with my family.

53. For exercises getting easier with repitition.

54. For how honeyed tea feels on a scratchy throat.

55. For the delighted daughter's new crafty hobby with colored duct tape.

56. For a newly organized craft/play room.

57. For loving text messages from my hubby.

58. For stained glass windows.

59. For friends who can help my middle-school feel loved.

60. For the deliciousnes that is french dip.

 

Thank you, God!

31 Days of Nourishing my soul: by nourishing others

Sometimes the best way to nourish my own soul is to nourish someone else's.

To get my eyes off myself for a while. To get perspective.

I have a friend who is hurting. A lot. She has a daughter with mysterious health issues. She has to watch her condition deteriorate without knowing why.

I can't do much to make it better. Not really. I don't have answers or real solutions. But I can try to minister to her in little ways. With coffee time and pumpkin muffins. By working on a project together.  Praying together.

And I learned that all that time reaching out to her gave me a wonderful chance to quiet the noise in my own head. 

Remember how I said each craving was a reminder to pray? Like a brick? Now my cravings are reminders to pray for others too. So how can I pray for you today?

 

Review of "There You'll Find Me" by Jenny B. Jones

Description:

Finley Sinclair, hotel heiress, is on her way to Ireland for an exchange program where she hopes to find the inspiration she needs to finish her audition piece for school. She is looking to walk in her deceased brother's footsteps in order to find the peace she needs to finish her song and to move on. From the get-go nothing seems to go right-starting with her being placed next to teen vampire heartthrob Beckett Rush on the plane over. Will Finley discover what she is looking for? She is convinced that God abandoned her the day that her brother was murdered-will she learn to listen to Him again?

My Thoughts:

I cannot tell you how much I love Jenny B. Jones' books! Whenever she has a new book out, I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!  This was another winner!

I adored the characters in this book! Finley's journey takes her to so many interesting people who help create her story and teach her what she needs to learn.  I wanted to meet Beckett and be his friend too. And more than the fun characters, there is a depth to Finley's struggle for control of some part of her life.  And when she attempts to gain control through manipulating what she eats, I met her right in that struggle.

A great book that can speak to all of us about learning to trust God again after pain and loss.

Book Bullets:

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Contemporary, Teen

Part of a Series: no

Publication year: 2011

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

31 Days of Nourishing my soul: so I may know Him better

My readings today in Made to Craveby Lysa TerKeurst reminded me of the real reason for this journey.

A reminder I needed right now.

Yes, I want to lose weight and fit in smaller clothes, that would be nice. But that's not my main reason for this season of fasting from sugar.

The real reason is the promise that exercising self control and sacrifice will draw me closer to my Lord and Savior as I turn to Him for help.

When my husband and I have "discussions" and I feel like he's not getting what I'm trying to say, I often end my sentences with "...it my point."  I've done it so many times over the years, that now he finds it funny and will add it to his sentences too.  It actually helps us make a tense situation less tense.

Because the second week of this journey was definately harder than the first, it's a perfect time to remember the point of this exercise. To allow each and every craving for chocolate, cookies, ice-cream, etc. to be a reminder to turn my focus again.  For me, it doesn't have to be some grand gesture of expecting that "snap" and it's that easy to have full reliance on God alone. That's a life-long struggle to get right and I don't think anyone can fully accomplish that on this earth. Instead, it's a nudge to whisper words of love to Him, to thank Him for my blessings, and to remember His love for me.