"Kind is the New Classy" by Candace Cameron Bure

I have gone through a recent phase where I have been obsessed with listening to audiobooks.  As soon as I finished "Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Reilly, I immediately started "Kind is the New Classy" by Candace Cameron Bure.  I have always admired Candace, and enjoyed every book I have read from her - this one being no exception.  I have also always loved the Hallmark movies she has been a part of.  Candace is the epitome of kind and classy in a world that often doesn't appreciate Christian principles and morals.  Candace encourages Christian women to be, above all, kind in an unkind world.  Drawing on real-life examples, this book takes readers on a journey through the importance of treating others in a kind, Christian way.  I especially loved that the book so adamantly encourages the practices of prayer and journaling. If you are looking for the motivation to spread some kindness, this book will inspire you to do so!

"Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Reilly

Does anyone else out there love Biblical history but struggle to read through boring history books?  I admit to being one of those people who find dry history books to be a cure for insomnia. That's probably the main reason I put off reading "Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Reilly for so long.  When we used to frequent a little library by our home which no longer exists, I remember seeing "Killing Jesus" on the shelf and making myself a mental note to read it later on.  I placed this book in the same category as Mr. O'Reilly's other historical books I saw on the shelf such as "Killing Lincoln," and "Killing Kennedy" - books I would probably enjoy if I could make myself sit down for a historical read.  More exciting books always pushed "Killing Jesus" to the back burner and I read different books instead.  Fast forward many other books, a college degree, and a job later, I re-found this book and decided it was time to give it a go.  

Let me just say - wow.  I was expecting a fact-heavy, put-you-to-sleep, force-yourself-to-finish-what-you-started book, and I couldn't have been farther from the truth.  This book reads more like a fast-paced murder mystery - one where you are a fly on the wall and you know an ending that some of the characters don't yet know.  Of course, I enjoyed the chapters best that centered around Jesus, as the book goes into depth about other people as well.  Of note, this book goes into great detail about some gruesome details and chronicles the lives of people who led less than upstanding moral lives.  This didn't bother me, working in the medical field, but could be difficult for those with a super sensitive stomach or those not yet mature enough for a read of this kind.  Despite the aforementioned, I found this book extremely hard to put down and finished it very quickly. I learned a lot from this book about the culture in Jesus' time, as well as a lot about the Jewish law and context from the scriptures.  

Books I Want to Re-Read

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Since I so enjoyed re-reading several books from my summer book list, I decided to compile another list of books I want to re-read.   As C.S. Lewis wisely noted: "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once" :).

Christy by Catherine Marshall

 I have talked about this book so. many. times. at this point, I'm sure. What can I say?  It's one of my favorites!  :)  In this book, a young Christy Huddleston leaves behind her extravagant lifestyle to teach at a mission school in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains.  It is just. so. good.  The TV series was alright, but the book is better. 

The Love Comes Softly Series by Janette Oke

There is something so comforting about these books.  Reading them is like watching a Hallmark movie.  The families have their fair share of troubles, but the stories always end happily.  It is so fun watching the families grow and mature over the "years" as the books progress. 

A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich

This book is also very similar to the Love Comes Softly series.  It's another grown-up Little House on the Prairie style book.  Do you see a theme here yet?  :)  There is a sequel to this book, A White Bird Flying, that I still need to read too!

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This is a classic book set in World War II times.  There are quotes in it that are applicable to any situation I'm currently in.  It's a book that sticks with you long after you've set it down.   

The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble

This book has a lot going on - It's very busy with a lot of storylines.  Best of all, it has a lighthouse setting that caters to my lighthouse obsession. 

Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman by Gladys Aylward

Gladys Aylward is one of my FAVORITE missionaries.  She was a missionary in China where over one-hundred children called her "mom."  It is so beautiful to see how God was working through her and her life. I've read several other books about her life and ministry, but this one has been my favorite so far.  

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

It has been a few years since I last read this book, so I think I'm due!  I've heard there is a really good BBC Pride and Prejudice remake that I'm hoping to watch soon as well.

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In this book, a church congregation is challenged to ask themselves "what would Jesus do?" before every thought and action they make.  What they never would have guessed is how this simple question would radically impact their lives and the lives of those around them. 

What books do you turn to again and again?

Summer 2020 Book List

I always look forward to when school lets out and I can begin books I have been desiring to read.  I read so much for school that when I do have free time during the semester I don't feel like using it to read for fun.  Tragic, I know!  This summer will be a bit different as I am taking a research class online and working.  However, I know I will take the time to enjoy some of these books this summer:

1. The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.  Helen Keller was someone who always fascinated me when I was younger.  I read every book the library had about her at the time, and then reread them again and again.  Something about her story and obstacles really caught my attention.  For a while, I was even trying to teach myself to read Braille because of her.

2. Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung.  This tiny little book intrigues me and I now want to read it! 

3. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I was obsessed with Laura Ingalls and her prairie life when I was younger.  I watched all the TV episodes and read all the books up until this one for some reason.  Though it seems silly, I want to read this one and the last one ("The Last Four Years") for closure all these years later.  This should be a quick read, and everyone needs one of those every once in a while!

4. The Confessions of Saint Augustine.  Interestingly, the back cover of the book notes that this is the first autobiography ever written.  That's pretty neat!

5. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.  I read this book for a Classic Christian Literature class during high school and really enjoyed it.  It is written from such an interesting perspective.  A Bible Study group I'm in mentioned it and it made me want to read it all over again!

6. Love's Unfolding Dream by Janette Oke.  This is the next book in the Love Comes Softly Series for me. These remind me of a grown-ups version of Little House on the Prairie.  They are light reads and very enjoyable.

7. Meeting God at Every Turn by Catherine Marshall.  Catherine Marshall is the author of Christy - one of my favorite books of all time.  The inside cover of the book describes it as a "spiritual autobiography."  I'm excited to dig into this book and see what wisdom can be gleaned from Catherine Marshall's life. 

Time to grab a cool drink and get busy reading!  What does your summer reading list look like this year?

"Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris Review

One afternoon recently, I was flipping through a Christian Book magazine, and noticed a book I had never heard of before.  It was "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris.  Intrigued, I decided to look it up on Amazon.  I read the sample provided, and knew I wanted to read it. When it came in the mail a few days later, I was ecstatic to begin reading.  "Do Hard Things" proved to be one of the best books I have ever read.  I loved reading a book from someone who has the same thoughts and views I do about young adults.  Alex and Brett Harris encourage teenagers to rebel - not against parents and other influences - but against our society's low expectations.  This radical way of thinking and living uses the teenage years for good, and things of lasting value.  As Christians, we shouldn't waste the teenage years, but use them for God's glory.  Included below is what the premise of the book is written on, "The Five Kinds of Hard," and a few quotes.  I highly recommend reading this book, and would also recommend encouraging others you know to do the same.

The Five Kinds of Hard:
-Things that are outside your comfort zone
-Things that go beyond what is expected or required
-Things that are too big to accomplish alone
-Things that don't earn an immediate payoff
-Things that challenge the cultural norm

"The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility.  They are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now."

"Where some might look down on or excuse young adults, God calls us to be examples.  Where our culture might expect little, God expects great things."

"Our trust is not in the greatness of our vision or the strength of our effort, but in the grace and wisdom and goodness of God.  Our reason for rebelling against low expectations in the world around us is that Jesus tells us He has overcome the world and through faith in Him - so can we."

Mountains of Spices

I recently read the book Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard and loved it!  This is a book report I did on it.

Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard, is the sequel to the allegory Hindsʼ Feet on High Places.  With her new “hindsʼ feet,” Grace and Glory leaps easily from the Valley below to the High Places, where the Shepherd teaches her about the different mountain spices and fruits of the Spirit.

The story takes place in the Valley of Humiliation, where Grace and Glory (formerly Much-Afraid), has recently returned from her journey to the High Places. Over the course of the book, the Shepherd takes her to nine different mountains that are parts of the High Places. They include the Mountain of Pomegranates (love), the Mountain of Camphire (joy), the Mountain of Spikenard (peace), the Mountain of Saffron (longsuffering), the Mountain of Calamus (gentleness), the Mountain of Cinnamon (goodness), the Mountain of Frankincense (faith), the Mountain of Myrrh (meekness), and the Mountain of Aloes (self-control). Each mountain offers a different view of the Valley down below and each has a different lesson for Grace and Glory to learn.

The Fearing relatives are living terrible, destructive lives, and the Shepherd along with Grace and Glory, want desperately to help them. Grace and Glory promises to help show her miserable family the Shepherdʼs love, because as He said to her “for they will not come to me on their own.” After each lesson in the High Places, Grace and Glory leap back down to the Valley below to minister to her family. At first, they are not welcoming of the thought of the Shepherd being King over their lives, but they can tell that Grace and Glory had been forever changed. She persists with her kind actions and good example, and one by one, many of the inhabitants of the Valley of Humiliation enter into the Shepherdʼs service. He gives them new names to represent their change in character and attitude.

Characters:

Grace and Glory: The main character, is the one who influences her Fearing relatives for Christ. She uses her new-found “hindsʼ feet” to leap from the Valley below to the High Places where the Shepherd teaches her about the different mountain spices and the fruits of the Spirit.

The Shepherd: The kind, loving man who rescues the Fearing relatives from themselves. 

Mrs. Valiant: Is the courageous friend of so many in the Valley. She is a strong Christian, very motherly and very kind.

Mercy: Is Mrs. Valiantʼs daughter. She is a nurse, and like her mother, want so very much for everyone to experience the Shepherdʼs love for themselves. 

Joy and Peace: Are Grace-and-Gloryʼs two companions changed from Sorrow and Suffering. They go everywhere Grace-and-Glory goes.

Gloomy: The daughter of Mrs. Dismal Forebodings marries Sir Coward Fearing only to be left a short while afterwards. While confined to the attic, the Shepherd knocks on the door and asks to come in. 

Spiteful: Is Mrs. Dismal Forebodings daughter, and married to Moody. She is given the new name Compassion.

Mrs. Dismal Forebodings: The poor, miserable old lady, who spent all of her time shut up in her cottage, renamed Mrs. Thanksgiving upon entering the Shepherdʼs service. 

Old Lord Fearing: Is the cruel, head of the Fearing clan. He lived his entire life only pleasing himself, and sadly, died without knowing the Shepherd.

Pride: Is the husband of Superiority, and is still crippled from the Shepherd throwing him off the cliff. He and his wife lose everything when the bank in the City of Destruction collapses. It is in that moment of terror that they turn to the Shepherd for help.

Superiority: True to her name, she always liked to be superior to everyone else. She married Pride. 

Bitterness: Is the husband of Murmuring and they are the proprietors of the village inn in the Valley of Humiliation. He secretly visited with the Shepherd when he came to see Spiteful. He leaves with Him and later on hears that the village inn was destroyed by a fire.

Murmuring: Is the wife of Bitterness and the mom of their three kids. She is disgusted to hear that her husband has been talking with the Shepherd and is worried it will ruin their reputation. 

Self-Pity: Is married to Helpless and they have a little boy called “Little Doldrums.” When he is very sick, he asks someone to bring the Shepherd to him so he can talk to Him.

Moody: is married to Spiteful. He was sentenced to a term in prison shortly before Grace-and-Glory returned to the Valley. With Craven Fearʼs help, he enters into the Shepherdʼs service. 

Umbrage: Her attitude caused the young Shepherd, Stedfast, to marry her sister instead of her. She marries Resentment, and they live unhappily with their little girl for many years until the Shepherd intervenes. She is renamed Forgiveness.

Resentment: The Fearing relative who marries Umbrage and makes the poor girlʼs life miserable. He decides to let the Shepherd help them begin again. 

Craven Fear: The bully who was to marry Grace and Glory, renamed Fearless Witness by the Shepherd.

I loved this book! Probably even more than Hindsʼ Feet on High Places (which is saying a lot). It personified unhappy hearts, minds and temperaments, which was very neat. I really enjoyed thinking over what everything represented, and how it can apply to life today. I wanted to hurry and see what the Shepherd was doing in the lives of the Fearings, but at the same time I didnʼt want it to end! I think it also proves that one person, with the help of God, can change a whole town. I would definitely recommend this book to someone.

Two excerpts from the book:

“ My Lord and King,” said Grace and Glory, “what is true love? How can it be recognized?” “I am love,” said the King very clearly. “If you want to see the pattern of true love, look at me, for I am the expression of the law of love on which the universe is founded.”

“You know, Grace and Glory, ʻIt is enough for the disciple to be as his Lord,ʼ and to learn also to overcome evil with good. There is absolutely no experience, however terrible, or heartbreaking, or unjust, or cruel, or evil, which you can meet in the course of your earthly life, that can harm you if you will but let me teach you how to accept it with joy; and to react to it triumphantly as I did myself, with love and forgiveness and with willingness to bear the results of wrong done by others. Every trial, every test, every difficult and seemingly wrong experience through which you may have to pass, is only another opportunity granted to you of conquering an evil thing and bringing out of it something to the lasting praise and glory of God. You sons and daughters of Adam, in all your suffering and sorrow, are the most privileged of all beings, for you are to be perfected through suffering and to become the sons and daughters of God with His power to overcome evil with good. If only you realized your destiny, how you would rejoice at every experience of trial and tribulation, and even in the persecution which comes your way. You would ʻcount it all joy.ʼ You would take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions and distresses for Christʼs sake ʻfor when you are weak, then you learn how to be made strong.ʼ ”