Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Journey with Words...

                                       
Words are one of the most important assets we have in our world today. It’s one of the many and easiest ways we express ourselves and to make our wants, needs known. Well in Words by Ginny L. Yttrup we travel with Kaylee and Sierra as they use words as their navigators through their lives till they learn who the ultimate word is. We meet ten years old Kaylee first as she explains what words have come to mean to her. She learns and stores words in her mind so she can take them out when things get too much for her. We meet Sierra on the anniversary of the worst day in her life. Where she tries to bury every emotion she ever had so she doesn't have to feel pain anymore. Both lives seem destined for disaster till they meet by accident near a cemetery. The parallel journeys that Sierra and Kaylee take to freedom are so inspiring to me because in some ways I hide behind things also and I don't get involved with people as I should. Sierra had to go through her own process of freedom and dependency to have the strength to help Kaylee go through her journey. The characters touched me as I was watched them evolve especially Kaylee. One of my favorite scenes is where Sierra baptizes and recommits her self to Christ after realizing there is not much she can do herself for Kaylee only God can help. Watching Kaylee go through all the emotions she was not allowed to feel before now that hurt and when she had her first breakthrough with Sierra I was tearing. Another thing I observed from Sierra is that in order for her life to have any meaning and also for her to move on is that she had to stop being self centered and start focusing on others in her life. She learned to put someone else’s happiness before hers. What I learned most from this story is the harder we try to hold on to the controller of our world, the harder things are for us and the more tied up and bottled up we feel. To experience real freedom we have to let go and let the real controller handle everything he is the expert. I think this quote “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son." He gave His Word.” Encompasses what this story is all about and what each character learns. That this quote is straight from Kaylee which makes it even more inspiring. There is a last theme that Ginny Ytrup discusses which is truth and confession. Lately this has become my own theme since my prayer group have been discussing just this topic. Just as Kaylee and Sierra have discovered there are sins and other truths that must be confessed in order to be free and live in the truth. The subject matter was heavy but I really enjoyed this book hopefully you get it and enjoy it too.

The thoughts written above are just my humble opinions.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Pearls of Faith and Love...

Imagineyourself In ancient times and it's a drought year your family has nothing leftto survive on!!! Worst you are a girl of barely sixteen what can you do!!! Thenyou hear you  overhear your parentsdiscussing selling like you are their last peace of Gold!! well this is whereour Journey begins with Pearl in the sand by Tessa Afshar.  Our main character Rahab is told by herfather after eavesdropping the night before that the only way for the family tosurvive this season is if she sells herself as a prostitute at the temple. Ican not imagine what goes through a young girl's head when you are told this, Tessatries to give us an inkling of it though it can never be enough. Rahab goesinto business for herself and rejects her culture’s way of life. Through heringenuity and wit she thrives and becomes a sought after courtesan. Though inall this time she feels a loneliness and anger cause she feels betrayed by herfamily and they feel embarrassed by her profession. It is at this times shehears about a ragtag group of nomads who follow a strange nameless and facelessGod which intrigues her due to the stories of his compassion and his  power. What astounds me is that Rahab startsto believe in God and follow the little she knows about his ways on the strengthof those stories alone and what’s even more inspiring is that she never turnsfrom this faith. Soon we meet those nomads called Israel and our other maincharacter Salmone. So our journey unfolds with Salmone and Rahab as they try tocome together. As you can tell I really love this story of faith, love andredemption. Tessa Afshar creates unforgettable characters in Rahab and Salmone.She makes you want to come back again and again to see how they fought theirbattles. As Rahab fights feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness and Salmone fights with what he believes arefeelings of what he thinks is righteous pride, they learn battles are easierwon when fought together.Though thisbook is full of so many truths the one that stands out to me is God's mercy andhis Love though many may scoff, in this cynical world nothing is better thanknowing that I matter to the king of the universe and what goes on in my lifeis important to him. If you’ve read the book tell me your thoughts.


Thesethoughts are my own and none were solicited…. 

Monday, February 11, 2013

Hello!! And Welcome!!

Well this is my first journey into Blogging territory, so bear with me those of you that are locals. I want to write this blog to share and hear comments about those stories that have made an impact on any aspect of my life especially my faith. Which is why I'll mostly be talking about Christian Fiction. My favorite authors right now are Tessa Afshar, James Rubart, and Karen Witemeyer. These Authors have made me stop and think about my relationship with GOD, my family, my church, and my role in the community. You'll probably see a review for each author in the coming weeks so look out for those. Tell me your favorite Christian Fiction Authors.