Gratitude for Books

Beth Revis, the author of one of my favorite young adult books, Across the Universe, is putting on this awesome contest, centered on showing gratitude for books. How could I not enter? This is right up my alley.

The "assignment" is to write about the book you are most thankful for. I've been thinking this over since she first posted about it, on October 31, but for the life of me, I can't pick just one book. It's impossible. So I'm going to narrow it down to six. For now.

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
This novel blew my mind, and made me feel more excited about literature, and the amazing things that can be done in/through/with it. It challenged my faith, my sense of right and wrong, and in the end strengthened both. And her style, her undeniable style, unfolding the story so expertly, so that I was hanging on every word, rereading passages just for the poetry and beauty. It woke me up, and threw me headfirst into the reading frenzy I've been in for the past three years- going from reading maybe fifteen or twenty books a year to over one hundred, easily. This book awakened a deep passion within me.



2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (Prince Caspian, in particular)
Yes, this is also what Beth Revis wrote about, but I would be doing by self a disservice if I left the series out. It's what pops into my head first when someone asks about my favorite book. I cry every time I read them, and I try to read them once a year. Lucy is my hero, in every way. Just typing the name Aslan gives me goosebumps. It is so purely beautiful, magical, wonderful... Every time I read it, I learn something new. I feel closest to God when I read about Narnia, and I long to bury my face into Alsan's mane. I could go on, and on, and on about these books...



3. Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
Peter Pan evokes the same emotions as Narnia. And the best, most thoughtful, most beautiful gift I've ever received is the first edition Peter and Wendy. Eric tracked down a copy for me, and it is, by far, my most prized possession. And the love, how he knows my soul, the thoughtfulness Eric showed still brings me to tears. I'm so blessed to have such a man. The two go hand in hand now, the magic of Peter Pan, the beauty, the joy, and the love of my life. With Eric, I've grown up, and don't regret or fear it, like I used to.





4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
I haven't yet found a more exciting, romantic book than the first time I read Les Miserables in the seventh grade. Eponine is still one of the greatest characters of all time. And as I've moved through each stage of my life, so has this book. Each time I understand it differently, and appreciate it even more (even though each time I didn't think it was possible).





5. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Apart from the Bible, this book has been instrumental in forming my faith as it is today. It introduced me to Jesus as more than just a good teacher, a good man, a good prophet. It introduced me to Jesus as the creator of the universe, the smartest person/being to ever exist, and therefore worthy of adoration and obedience. It taught me to actually live out my faith with authenticity, rather that acknowledging it but doing nothing about it. And so much more than that. I think just about every page has something highlighted, including the footnotes. It's a wealth of knowledge and insight.


6. The Bible
Because, really, how could I not include this? I probably should have listed it first, but ending the list seems fitting, too. What can I say about it? I think it speaks for itself.

Lianne has voted

I get so giddy each Election Day. I love doing my civic duty, casting my vote, dropping the ballot in the box, getting the sticker, and hearing the official say, "Lianne ___ has voted." The photo above is from the first time I voted, the year I turned 18. I was just as excited this morning as I was the first time.

Frost, and 1000 Moments of Grace

 Another favorite part of the fall: frost. It is endlessly fascinating to me. And I love that at this point, I have the luxury of being able to stop and take twenty minutes out of my morning to take photos of frosty leaves in the front yard.

I'm going to start something new; not new to the world, but new to me. Courtney has been doing this for over a year now, and for the whole time I've been inspired and blessed by the Moments of Grace she finds in the little things, working up towards one thousand. So since it's November, and everyone else seems to be writing about the things they are thankful for, I'm going to jump in and start my own 1000 Moments of Grace. It'll be beautiful, and encouraging, and will remind me of the things I should focus on, rather than failures, bad attitudes, and general muck.

Moments of Grace (1 - 11)
1. Frost patterns on leaves
2. Hot cocoa made from scratch, with a bit of peppermint
3. Caleb's video game sound effects when he jumps and plays
4. "Jump fives"
5. Comfy pants all day long
6. Waking up with a cold nose, but wrapped in my down comforter
7. Turning the thermostat up to 70
8. French music, and actually understanding the words
9. A well-timed Bible verse, showing me yet again that God knows just what I need
10. Eskimo and butterfly kisses
11. "Manifesto" by The City Harmonic

Just Another Saturday

I'm quickly realizing that writing on Saturday is difficult.

We had a wonderful, rare day as a family today; we were all together for the whole day. For a long time I worked only on Saturdays, staying home with Caleb the rest of the week, until my beloved Borders closed. (But that is a whole blog post unto itself...) But now that it's hunting season, most Saturdays and Sundays Eric is out hunting elk, deer, ducks, or whatever else is in season. And Sunday mornings Caleb and I go to church.

So for the three of us to have the entire day together? A rare gift.

We didn't do anything particularly special, aside from a trip to the pet store. We added a plecostomus and three snails to our aquarium today. The snails are my favorite part of the community, aside from the random baby sunset platies that pop out from time to time.

We also braved the insanity of WalMart on a Saturday out of desperation for more Pull-Ups.  

We had leftover pizza for breakfast, and Eric made an amazing dinner of duck, gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn. Duck is one of my favorite things to eat, so I was in heaven.

We watched Cars 2 and some college football.

Nothing extraordinary, but everything wonderful. Days like this are hard to beat.

Potty Training

It's become my arch-nemesis.
It's embarrassing at this point. Caleb is now four-years-old. This should have been mastered one, even two years ago. Half his entire life!
And I'm at my wit's end. I have tried it all. Everything. If there is some new strategy, new bribe, new method, I will be absolutely shocked.
The hardest part is that he gets it. He really does. He just doesn't care enough to make the effort.

So, I beg you, if you have any brilliant ideas, share them? For the sake of my sanity (not to mention my carpets)?

I love the fall, but...

(tree in our front yard)

I love the fall. It is my favorite season. I love wearing sweaters and long socks and mittens and hats. I love cuddling up under a blanket with Eric or Caleb or even better, both of them. I love pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider and any kind of homemade soup in bread bowls. I love the color changes and the smell of farmers burning whatever it is they burn.

But, despite all the love that I have flying around, days when it is cold and windy and the sky is dark really, really get me down. Days like today. I'm fighting for energy to do anything but huddle on the couch and watch hours of Gossip Girl or Glee or Desperate Housewives.

Filling the bread maker with ingredients for a loaf was a big victory today. (A sad statement.)

I'm stocking up on Vitamin D. That helped quite a bit last year. What about you? Are you affected by yucky weather? How do you combat that?

On a roll

I'm on a roll today, marking off seven books! Yes, they were short minor prophets for the most part, but still. It was a good push, and much gained ground. The best part is that I actually enjoyed most of it. There are such gems from those prophets, especially Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, which contains probably my favorite verse in the whole Bible (thus far, at least). I even had the constitution to tackle Ecclesiastes and all its depressing "meaningless" passages.


Micah 7:18-19
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Zephaniah 3:17 

The LORD your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing.

Amazing, right? I get goosebumps each time I read that one.

New Challenges

Okay. So. Courtney has invited me to take the NaBloPoMo challenge. A writing challenge? How could I resist? And as much as I've loved participating in NaNoWriMo, this one seems like the better choice for this year. So here I go...

Honestly, I've been a little overwhelmed lately. We celebrated Caleb's fourth birthday four times last week, along with Halloween and a six hour round-trip drive to watch one of the last games of my sister's soccer career. We've been a busy family.

I've also been consumed with a person challenge. It's a big one, and not one I'm taking lightly at all. I'm reading the Bible, the whole entire thing, and nothing else until I've finished. This is, by far, the longest, most difficult fast I've ever done, as a girl who reads at least one hundred books a year.

It came about when praying for God to show me a specific, tangible way to make his priorities my own. And he gave me this challenge. So. I couldn't really say no to that, nor is it even an option to give up. I'm in the thick of the Old Testament, so disobedience to God doesn't look like a good option. At all. No way am I going against the God of Moses, Jacob, and David.

I'm entering the fourth month of this fast. I have twenty-six books to go, which puts me at just over 60% finished. And at this point it is a daily fight to keep going. I'm exhausted by all the fighting and disobedience. And honestly, I am just dying to pick up a trashy romance or Harry Potter or some French fairy tales. But, like I said, it's not even an option. But the temptation... Oh, the temptation is wearing me thin.

I wrote out a long prayer this morning, begging God for his help and sustenance and strength to keep going. I prayed for a better attitude, and refreshed sense of adventure and thirst. I prayed that I would stay focused on him rather than on all the books I'd rather be reading right now.

And, surprise surprise, he is so wonderfully faithful. The next Psalm in line was 69, which he steadily reminded me that I will not drown- he will rescue me. I continued through Psalm 74, which excited me at the mention of Leviathan. And I received encouragement from two people, one with a phone call, one online- without having reached out to them myself.

So I continue, steadfast and determined.

Something Beautiful

"Pocket Dragon" by blepharopsis on DeviantArt

I want a chameleon. Badly. Just look at its face! So cute I could die!