Water For Elephants

As my first finished up summer read I enjoyed Water for Elephants. It was an intriguing story of one man's journey of remembrance, forgiveness and redemption.

Jacob, the main character pulls you in from the beginning. The book follows him as he reflects on the journey his life has brought him through. It is a story of circumstance and love. And, if you ever wonder how someone may end up working in a circus, this is a pretty good adventure in that way to.

I am never one to give away plot and I am sure you can find a bazillion summaries of the story. But, as an avid reader and someone always looking to connect with the main character, even if it means being disappointed or frustrated with them, I will say this book hit the mark.

It is an enjoyable, quick read and I would highly recommend it.

The Vertical Self

How do you define yourself? Do you wait for the world to tell you who you are? Do you look to the one that created you to show you who He created you to be?

The Vertical Self: How biblical faith can help us discover who we are in an age of self obsession by Mark Sayers is one of my most recent reads.

I would have to say that this book is definitely geared towards a specific audience. I think the intent was to meet a more broad need of those in the Christian world in search for a definition to their identity. I felt, it more directly would help or give insight to those in church leadership, searching for more tools to help in their ministries.

I enjoyed the book. I felt it was insightful and heartfelt. At times I felt Sayers repeated points as someone who is very passionate about something and tries to tell you the same thing in ten different ways. Not a bad thing but made it more difficult in holding my interest for long periods of time.

I do feel this is a valuable resource. In my current role in women's ministry, this book helps define some of the hurdles that come with counseling women beyond the definitions of today's culture and having them see themselves as God sees them.

I will leave you with a quote:

"We all desperately want to move toward our true selves, but our desires, egos, and impulses derail our attempts. Our culture doesn't have answers for the conflicts we feel over our desires. God, however, views our desires as his workshop. He doesn't remove them; instead, he encourages us to redeem them, to use them as fuel to move toward our true self." pg 119

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

Redeeming Love

Sometime last summer a friend of mine mentions that she has spent three days sitting on her bathroom counter reading a book. She just couldn't put it down and the bathroom is the only place her kids wouldn't bother her. A few weeks later another friend mentions the same book, with the tale of sleepless nights and overflowing emotion.

About two months ago, the book finally made its rounds to my house. And there it sat due to Girl Scout cookie sales. Then the usually life happens and the book ended up shuffled into my insane pile of books on the arm of my couch. Last week, I was not feeling well and didn't have the energy to do anything productive so I dug Redeeming Love out from under a few other soon to be read treasures.

It was Tuesday night, not much going on in our house, so I started reading at about 9pm and read until 3:30am. I didn't even realize the time had passed. Wednesday night, I picked up the book around 11pm, thinking I would read until my eyes were tired. The next thing I knew, Ted's alarm clock was going off, it was 5:30am. Needless to say, come bed time on Thursday, I finished the book around 2:30 in the morning.

It has been a very long time since a book has pulled me in so completely. I don't usually read a lot of love stories or historical romance, but it came highly recommended. And, I completely understand why. The story of Angel and her life was one we all have experienced, if even in a small way. Learning to accept being loved, in spite of our mistakes, can be a difficult journey.

It's a story of love, forgiveness and redemption and worth every sleepless night and tear shed. Thank you to my dear friends for sharing this beautiful book with me. I can't wait to hear the wild testimony from the next person who reads it.

Ragamuffin Gospel

"Unlike Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, we need not hide all that is ugly and repulsive in us. Jesus came not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace. As we glance up, we are astonished to find the eyes of Jesus open with wonder, deep with understanding, and gentle with compassion." ~Brennan Manning

I have read The Ragamuffin Gospel before. This time, I devoured it. I went through each chapter, one at a time. My friend Stacy and I picked apart each chapter with awe and amazement. Each Monday night we talked together of our own understanding of grace, how we accept it, how we teach it, how we live it. I love this book. It is good food for hungry souls.

I have been blessed with the first hand knowledge of God's grace in my own life and Brennan drew out that picture in harmony. He also reminded me to humble myself in judgment of where others have been and where they are going. He reminded me to see God's fingerprint on all people, not just the ones I want to see it on.

If you believe or not, I would recommend you read this book. We have made a pretty good mess out of what Jesus came to do. He died to save the world, not just the few.

Understanding Exposure

I recently took a beginners digital photography class at the local community college. It was quite an experience. I have enjoyed shooting with my Nikon for the past two years but have felt a little inadequate, well maybe more than a little. But, I have always loved it and felt joy when a picture turns into something beautiful that expresses my heart or emotion at a particular moment.

While my one simple class hasn't filled the gap, it has grown a hunger in me to know more and understand more when it comes to my photography. So, to add a special treat to my 75 book reading challenge this year, I will be adding some photography books. Now, I want to put a disclosure out there....I am not a professional photographer....I don't know how truly amazing a book is in the profession realm of photography, but I can tell you what it meant to me.

My first photography read comes by recommendation from Digital Photography School : Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I would recommend both the web site and the book to any beginners or anyone looking for better understanding and more resources to improve their photography.

At first some of the photography terminology can feel like a foreign language. I felt this book gave me practical material with visual examples. Yes, my friends, it is a book with pictures. I borrowed this book from our local library but would love to have this on my shelves as a reference when I am shooting or have difficulty shooting the image I desire. In the few weeks I had borrowed the book, I found myself using in numerous times as a reference when I was in need of answers.

Hopefully with the help of this book and many like it I will find myself less frustrated and more able to express myself and what I see through my photography. If you are interested in seeing my pictures, I post them at: http://blessedamerican.posterous.com/

The Children of Men

I began book number 6 of the year thinking I knew what to expect. I have seen the movie so I wasn't looking for too many surprises. After about chapter 3, I realized this book is nothing like the movie.

P.D. James' book The Children of Men is so much more than any movie could have been. Now, I don't want you to get me wrong. The movie was great. The book was amazing. I wouldn't even compare the two by saying the book is better than the movie, simply because they are not the same. Other than the name of the main character and the concept of a sterile society, there was very little else in common between the two.

I picked this book because it is the second in the Emmaus Readers collection that I am going through this year. Admittedly, I wouldn't have picked this one off the shelf on my own. I was pleasantly surprised. The book isn't full of warm fuzzy's and happiness but it is real. I could connect with James' idea of a depraved society, one lost of hope. I could see the struggle between faith, god and inevitable end. The characters were real, almost so perfectly detailed you could reach out and touch them.

I would highly recommend this book. It is a suspense but one that is richly built on humanity and all of it's imperfections.

Ted's Candy Shoppe

In the Second of our Stolpe Family Night Production comes Ted's Candy Shoppe. This is the combination a few family nights. Yes, the puppets are all hand made. Each one of us created our own puppet. How fun it is to be creative and silly with our family.