Book Nook

Where do you like to read?  Do you sometimes see pictures of a place and just KNOW that you could read there?  There are several places that do that for me... a chair on the beach.. a little nook in a home... a book stuffy chair!  It's not like it's really all that hard to be inspired to read.  I sometimes dream of the elevator getting stuck between floors for hours so that I can just sit and read my book.  The nightmare end of that of course involves too many people on the elevator, the need to use the bathroom, or not having said book with me at the time.

I found this picture of a perfectly dreamy place to spend the day relaxed and reading.  I'm imaging it next to the ocean with lots of cold seltzer water and fruit at my disposal.  Where do you dream of reading?

My First Book Review - Pearl in the Sand

Until recently I was not a big fan of Christian fiction. I found the genre to be predictable, simple, and not based in reality. Recently this has changed. I have been introduced to many new authors and books by my fellow book lovers Tanya and Leigh Anne and I've truly come to embrace the genre, almost to the exclusion of most other fiction.

For quite some time now I've wanted to review books and I think that "Pearl in the Sand" is the perfect one to start with. The book is the telling of the story of Rahab. We know the basics... she helped the spies hide, the Lord spared her life and blessed her with the distinction of being in his lineage. Within the telling of the lineage it mentions that she was married to one of the leaders of Israel. That is all that the Bible tells us, so this is truly a fictional account of what their lives may have been.

While at times I found I had to make a concerted effort to distinguish between Biblical reality and fictional prose, this book truly brought this story of the Old Testament alive! It makes the wanderings in the wilderness real as it walks you through what their daily life may have been. As I now read through the Old Testament I notice small details about the law because I can now think what that might look like.

This book is a story of redemption. We know that Rahab was a harlot and she ended up married to a leader of Israel. The Lord forgives and redeems for his purpose and for his glory. I love the picture of purity that her marriage brought to her life. Without giving too much of the story away, there was a line that brought tears to my eyes. "She learned purity in her husband's bed". What a beautiful thought when we are surrounded by sexual impurity, to be reminded that God created sex and it is a beautiful, pure thing when it is from Him.

I LOVED this book! Let me know if you have read it and what you think.

What brought me joy today...

Dinosaur Invasion
As I walked in to the home office tonight I almost tripped over this guy -- although he looks quite scary in this picture, he's actually much smaller. The joy of this little guy being in the middle of the office floor is what it symbolizes... it means that little Rodney was playing with it and the toys surrounding it. Little guy took a nap on Grampy's "piddow" this afternoon and then spent some time at Grammy & Grampy's house playing with the toys. Everyone knows that knows that the toys that you don't get to play with every day are better than the boring ones you can play with whenever you want. ALSO -- if I know my dad, I can pretty much guarantee that this involved Grampy down on the floor playing with little Rodney bringing endless delight to both of them. Grammy was probably close by either spoiling him with treats or hugs.

Arrival of Books

I can't think of many things that bring me more joy than new books... but new books for my babies bring with it the anticipation of the look on their faces when they realize that Nonni got them new books. Recently a friend needed some help reaching a goal of selling Children's books, so I decided to see what she had available. (See her great site here). The Shapes Jigsaw Puzzle book is for little Rodney - all the other kids LOVED any puzzle books I brought home so I am sure that Rodney will feel the same way. Sammy, on the other hand, is fascinated with "diggers" -- can you believe that I found a book called "Diggers". He's going to love the endless entertainment this brings him.

Lest you stop and think "only books for the boys, what about the girls, you cad" - have no fear, they are spoiled rotten in their own right, this time just happens to be for my beloved boys. Can't wait to give these to them on Sunday along with some stickers. Oh and I have some jewelry and stickers for the girls too. :-) Sure do love my babies!!!

Thanks for sharing in my joy today!!

A new Ted Dekker.... Bone Man's Daughters

Ok -- so anybody who reads Ted Dekker should really be surprised that he has a new book coming out - well, because he has written 22 books already.  

This new book is with a new publisher though and so I'm excited to see if it has a new story line and a new tone ... so many of his books in recent times have started to run together.  

Just by looking at the cover I knew that something was different.  It's a new design and looks much closer to competing with the top authors in suspense right now.

The book comes out April 14th... I've requested an advance reader's copy so I'm hoping they grant my request and I can let you know what it's like before that.

Do You Dare?

In theaters starting today is a movie called "FireProof". This movie is so very crucial in the fight for marriages that are falling apart. I've seen the movie and it brought me to tears. Kurt Cameron stars as a firefighter who's a hero to everyone except for his wife. As he's about to give up and walk away, his father challenges him to "The Love Dare". It's a 40-day challenge to love your spouse. A challenge a day, of a new way to show your spouse true love, in a journal format!

My employer publishes this book -- but that's not why I'm talking about this book. I'm talking about it because of the tremendous impact this book/movie can have on the state of our marriages. We have already printed 500,000 copies and have to go back to reprint because of the high demand. People across the country and the world (Spanish edition will be available in Nov.) have been clamoring for this book. We've received emails from so many sources, requesting praying for their marriages as they try this last time to save what has gone bad.

Let's stand up! I challenge everybody, even if you think that your marriage is good, to take this challenge. Our families is where the devil is attacking right now, let's not give him a stronghold!