Isolation

I called Jesse this morning to ask him to check into the side effects of the hip injection I received last week. I've had such a burst of energy the last few days, I thought that perhaps it was a steroid I received. Whenever I upped my prednisone usage, I always had a few days of ceaseless activity before my body adjusted to the new dosage. But he just called and said that this change is not due to the medicine, but suggested that maybe it's because I've had a break from the constant pain for the first time in years. This may sound odd, but I feel like myself again. I'm not the melancholy, self-absorbed person that illness has made me over the last few years. I feel energetic. I want to take care of my home and family. I'm smiling at people in the grocery store and even being friendly to the cranky checkout lady. I could have company drop by unexpectedly and it would be perfectly ok. I'm even feeling the urge to bake something. It's crazy; this person is someone I haven't had a glimpse of in so long I forgot who she was. My prayer before bed each night now is to wake up feeling this same way. I didn't realize the real impact constant pain has had on my personality until now. I told Jesse that I want to call the doctor and ask (insert Cockney child's voice) Please sir, may I have some more?

Isolation by Travis Thrasher is a haunting, frightening book about the malevolence of Satan, and at the same time a striking, life-affirming view of the power of God. James and Stephanie Miller are missionaries recently returned from the field of Papua New Guinea with their children 8-year-old Zachary and 4-year-old Hannah. Their faith has been deeply shaken by failures there, and they are looking for a way to reconnect with each other and God when the opportunity arises to spend time in a remote mansion in the mountains of North Carolina. But Stephanie is seeing visions of blood pouring down the walls, James doesn't believe her, and Zachary has some secrets of his own. This book made me turn on every light in the house, and I didn't dare go to sleep until my husband came home. Stephanie's visions and the chapters in the mind of the villain are startling and jarring. Thrasher never crosses the line between frightening and titillating the reader, keeping the adrenaline level high. Stephanie and James have grown apart in their marriage and instead of talking to and confiding in each other, they rely on themselves, which allows Satan to trick both of them. The revelation at the end about the glory of God is wonderfully done giving insight not only into the story but as to why suffering exists in the world. This is Thrasher's best work to date.

Have you been watching American Idol? I'm rooting for David Cook. I called in and voted as often as I could for him last night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him.

The Heretic's Daughter

Yesterday the strangest thing happened (for me at least!). I had a ton of energy and I couldn't seem to sit down. Driven describes my mood best. I whipped through the house doing all of the laundry and hanging it on the line, straightened the bedroom and bathroom, plus doing my normal errands. Any one of those chores would exhaust me on a normal day, but yesterday even when the pain set in, I still kept going. It felt good to accomplish so much; I felt like I actually blessed my family. Today I did the living room and a little picking up around the rest of the house. Again, I know that for most moms this isn't a noteworthy event; it's just a part of existence. But for me, it's a milestone. Maybe it's the beautiful weather we've been having and my spring cleaning/nesting instincts are kicking in. Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it, and I hope it sticks around.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent is a stunner of a debut novel. Kent is a descendant of Martha Carrier who was hung as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. She takes Martha's story and tells it through the eyes of Martha's daughter Sarah, who was forced to testify against her mother and confess to witchcraft at the age of eight. The book is an incredibly powerful historical novel with plenty of accuracy along with dynamic characters. Sarah (who in the book is a bit older than the real child) lives a hard life working beside her taciturn parents and three older brothers on their hardscrabble farm. She is responsible for caring for her one-year old sister Hannah when the two are forced to live with her aunt and uncle during an outbreak of smallpox in the home. Her aunt and uncle are loving and friendly and Sarah's hard heart slowly blossoms under their care. This only hardens her heart even further toward her mother when she's returned to them several months later. But things are changing in their Andover, Massachusetts home. Witches have been discovered in Salem, and whispers and rumors are sweeping the countryside like wildfire. Kent carefully lays the case for Martha's charge of witchcraft: a jealous nephew, an angry neighbor, a humiliated serving girl. Each person becomes a strand in the noose around Martha's neck. Kent does a masterful job of portraying the suspicion and dread as more and more neighbors are arrested, including Sarah's kind uncle, who isn't who she thought he was. She makes a promise to her mother that both imprisons and frees Sarah. The descriptions of the horror of the jails the accused (including infants and small children) inhabited are unspeakable, and yet Sarah endures to learn what real love is. Of her mother's quiet, unfathomable, deep, unspoken love versus the shallow, easy, uncomplicated love of her aunt and uncle, Sarah learns which one stands in the face of adversity and so Sarah learns to stand and love as well. The ending alludes to a secret story in Sarah's father's past, one I hope Kent tackles with her next book. This book will change the way history remembers the Salem Witch Trials when seen through the eyes of a child.

We have a pair of turkey vultures roosting in the silo across the street, so they are often flying over our yard. It is an impressive sight to see that huge wingspan flying just overhead.

Embrace Me

Molly had her final choir concert of the year yesterday. It was a lot of fun to watch, as usual. She sang with a small group, Jazz II, and did an introduction. I took pictures, but I'm still looking for the adaptor to my digital camera. Doogie was working behind the scenes as the official school videographer. He's also been asked to videotape graduation this weekend. He's been trying for the past year to figure out just what he wants to go to school for. As a junior, it's time, but it's been hard. Until he took videograpy class. He's made several videos in different formats. The one I have here won the award at Oconto Falls High School for Best Film. He's seriously considering going to college for cinematography. I'm so glad that he's found something he really loves to do and is good at. I'm pretty proud of him. The video is inspired in part by personal experience. He has failed his own driver's test twice. Can you feel his frustration?

Embrace Me by Lisa Samson is another jewel in Samson's crown. Valentine stars as the Lizard Woman in a travelling freak show along with her friend, Lella, the Human Cocoon. While it's not a great life, it's one that she has come to terms with until returning to winter in a small North Carolina town. There she encounters Augustine, a tattooed and dread locked monk, who shakes up her ordered existence with his talk of God and faith. Samson's books are not for those readers who want to be comfortable and comforted in their reading. Her books with self-mutilating pastors and chain-smoking characters make me squirm in my seat like a good sermon. She delves into topics and places few Christian books dare to go, and God bless her for it. Her books are not to be read lightly and tossed aside. They weigh on my soul and heart and never leave me untouched. Augustine quotes Mother Theresa: You only love Christ as much as the person you love the least. Did that make you squirm in your seat? That's what Embrace Me will do to you, make you re-evaluate the strength of your faith and love for God. Samson writes like no one else in the business; each sentence is carefully crafted and weighted. Read this book and be transformed within.

Last weekend was hospitality weekend at our church. Each family was asked to spend time with another family they didn't know very well. Molly's friend Beth's family (the young woman who first invited us to the church) invited us over yesterday for lunch, and then we attended the concert together before heading back to their house for dessert. It was a wonderful day. Mia fell in love with their 13-year-old twin girls, even falling asleep on one's lap during the concert, and Jesse and I got to know the parents far better. I'm hoping that we can reciprocate this summer.

Healing Promises

Yesterday I received my first hip injection, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Thank you for your prayers, they definitely helped! Jesse took the day off to drive me so I was able to have conscious sedation, which I needed! The nurses could tell I was absolutely petrified with fear, but when they put the medication in the IV, there was no more fear. In fact, I don't remember anything after that until about 5 pm last night when I woke up in bed. I have very fragmented memories between those times, but none at all of the procedure. My hip does feel better today, but I'm taking it easy for the next couple days to give it time to work. If this works, I hope to get injections in maybe my knees and shoulders as well.

Healing Promises by Amy Wallace is the second book in the Defenders of Hope series. Clint Rollins is known throughout the FBI for his competitive nature, his toughness, and his faith, but all three are tested when he gets an unexpected diagnosis of cancer. His illness throws his family, especially his oncologist wife Sara, into turmoil. He desperately doesn't want to stop working, because he's on a tough case involving a serial kidnapper. Clint's best friend Steven Kessler returns from Ransomed Dreams and continues his romance with kindergarten teacher Gracie. While the suspense story involving the kidnapping is thrilling and compelling, the story really shines in during the scenes about Clint's cancer and how it effects his marriage. Wallace describes his illness and its side effects, physical and mental with no holds barred clarity. Clint's cancer robs him of his strength and control until he starts to trust in God to take care of those things for him. Sara also struggles not to base her happiness on circumstances or people but instead on the Lord. The next book will feature Steven's sister Hanna and co-worker Michael. It promises to be a terrific read.

The winners of my contest for a copy of this book were Tammy Wagner and Cindy Magnin. Congratulations to both of you!

A Whisper of Freedom

For the blog tour for Tricia Goyer's book A Whisper of Freedom, I'm participating in a Meme tour. Consider yourself tagged! Please post your answers to these questions either in the comments or if you have your own blog, do it there. Read below for a good reason why!

1. List three things you would do with a chest full of gold (assuming you got to keep it!)
Build our dream house, pay off our debts, donate donate donate!
2. List three charities/missions/organizations you support (and why).
I support my church, Gillett Baptist. We support 65RosesforPattySue, and the local food pantry, Kingdom Come.
3. List three ways you have volunteered your time/services.
I used to be the youth leader at our former church. I regularly chaperone field trips for Mia's class. I donate a TON of books to my library.
4. List three things you keep "hidden" when company comes over.
Laundry, the girls' room, Doogie's bedding.
5. List the last three things you've lost.
Control, the adapter for my digital camera, the charger for my cellphone.
6. List the last three things you've found.
New friends, a new church, a little girl in my bed.

Now that you've read it, do your own. Three brave "players" will be selected at random to win their own lost gold (Gourmet chocolate coins and all three books in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series). To enter all you have to do is answer the MEME on your blog and then leave a comment on Tricia’s blog tour post here http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/whisper-of-freedom-meme-sticky-post.html that you’ve posted your MEME. Easy.

And wait, there are more chances to win! During the tour, you can enter to win one of FIVE signed copies of A Whisper of Freedom by signing up for Tricia's newsletter here!

A Whisper of Freedom by Tricia Goyer is the third and final book in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series. It picks up almost immediately after book 2 (I recommend reading the two back to back). Sophie, Phil, and Walt have escaped with the truckload of gold they stole from Michael. Deion is still fighting, not only in the trenches but his feelings for Gwen as well. Jose and Ramona remain separated by their individual quests, and Father Manuel is still in Paris trying to find for what purpose God brought him there. Each one of these stories is powerful in its own right and could carry a book, but Goyer wraps them all together under the mantle of the Spanish Civil War and creates a book that is filled with tension and drama. Secret brothers, hidden gold, and politics make for a book that's tough to put down. Goyer has a talent for creating realistic characters and dialogue that allow the reader to be in the moment. She ends this series well, while there are some loose ends, the book ends with hope.

I had the injection today. Jesse took the day off to drive me so that I could be sedated for the procedure. That's why I'm posting so late. I just woke up, and I don't really remember anything of the day, especially the shot. Thank God for that!

Do Hard Things

It's May 15th, time for the Non~FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 15th, we will featuring an author and his/her latest non~fiction book's FIRST chapter!

The feature author is:

Alex and Brett Harris

and their book:

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations

Multnomah Books (April 15, 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHORs:

Alex and Brett Harris founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today at age 19 are the most popular Christian teen writers on the Web. The twins are frequent contributors to Focus on the Family’s Boundless webzine, serve as the main speakers for the Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured in WORLD magazine, Breakaway, The Old Schoolhouse, and the New York Daily News. Sons of homeschool pioneer Gregg Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett live near Portland, Oregon.

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

MOST PEOPLE DON’T…
A different kind of teen book

Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last.

Well, we do.

This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You’ll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it’s like being a teenager. You’ll find a lot of cheap throwaway
books for teens because young people today aren’t supposed to care about books or see any reason to keep them around. And you’ll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice—because the message is dumbed-down. Like, just for you.

What you’re holding in your hands right now is a challenging book for teens by teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn’t promise a whole new life if you’ll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we’ve noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked
and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it’s also more difficult.

We’re nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We’ve made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don’t think “average teenagers” exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.

Still, we’ve had some extraordinary experiences. At age sixteen, we interned at the Alabama Supreme Court. At seventeen, we served as grass-roots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen, we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We’ve been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally and to reach millions
online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it’s not because we’re somehow better than other teens, but because we’ve been motivated by a simple but very big idea. It’s an idea you’re going to encounter for yourself in the pages
ahead.

We’ve seen this idea transform “average” teenagers into world-changers able to accomplish incredible things. And they started by simply being willing to break the mold of what society thinks teens are capable of.

So even though the story starts with us, this book really isn’t about us, and we would never want it to be. It’s about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation. It’s about an idea. It’s about rebelling against low expectations. It’s about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world. And we want you to be part of it.

This book invites you to explore some radical questions:

• Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we’re actually missing out on some of the best years of our
lives?

• Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie and that we are its victims?

• Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-alifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments—as individuals and as a generation?

• And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely—a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?

We describe that alternative path with three simple words: “do hard things.”

If you’re like most people, your first reaction to the phrase “do hard things” runs along the lines of, “Hard? Uh-oh. Guys, I just remembered that I’m supposed to be somewhere else. Like, right now.”

We understand this reaction. It reminds us of a story we like to tell about a group of monks. Yep, monks.

On the outskirts of a small town in Germany is the imaginary abbey of Dundelhoff. This small stone monastery is home to a particularly strict sect of Dundress monks, who have each vowed to live a life of continual self-denial and discomfort.

Instead of wearing comfy T-shirts and well-worn jeans like most people, these monks wear either itchy shirts made from goat hair or cold chain mail worn directly over bare skin. Instead of soft mattresses, pillows, and warm blankets, they sleep on the cold stone floors of the abbey. You might have read somewhere that monks are fabulous cooks? Well, not these monks. They eat colorless, tasteless sludge—once a day. They only drink lukewarm water.

We could go on, but you get the picture. No matter what decision they face, Dundress monks always choose the more difficult option, the one that provides the least physical comfort, holds the least appeal, offers the least fun. Why? Because they believe that the more miserable they are, the holier they are; and the holier they are, the happier God is.

So these miserable monks must be poster boys for “do hard things.” Right?

Wrong!

We’re not plotting to make your life miserable. We’re not recommending that you do any and every difficult thing. For example, we’re not telling you to rob a bank, jump off a cliff, climb Half Dome with your bare hands, or stand on your head for twenty-four hours straight. We are not telling you to do pointless (or stupid) hard things just because they’re hard. And if you’re a Christian, we’re certainly not telling you that if you work harder or make yourself uncomfortable on purpose, God will love you more. He will never—could never—love you any more than He does right now.

So that’s what we’re not doing. What we are doing is challenging you to grab hold of a more exciting option for your teen years than the one portrayed as normal in society today. This option has somehow gotten lost in our culture, and most people don’t even know it. In the pages ahead, you’re going to meet young people just like you who have rediscovered this better way—a way to reach higher, dream bigger, grow
stronger, love and honor God, live with more joy—and quit wasting their lives.

In Do Hard Things, we not only say there is a better way to do the teen years, we show you how we and thousands of other teens are doing it right now and how you can as well.

Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris is an amazing book by two amazing young men. These teenage twins are determined to shatter the image of teenagers as irresponsible and lazy. They've already interned at the Alabama Supreme Court and worked on political campaigns. They have a top-rated blog at The Rebelution. This book is a powerful read, not just for teens, but for their parents as well. All too many teens, and even those in their twenties, are underachieving with society's permission. Alex & Brett use examples from the Bible and history like King David, Timothy, George Washington, and Clara Barton to prove that young people can do amazing things by listening to God and trusting Him. They also include several stories from young people they know who have made a difference in their community and the world. Along with these anecdotes they include lots of Scripture and encouragement to find your own calling and do your hard thing. This inspiring book should be required reading for all Christian teens. I'm impressed by the Harris brothers aside from their book. Alex just joined Shelfari on Saturday, and I was one of the first people he asked to be his friend (probably because I had Do Hard Things on my reading list), and he included a warm message. These are young men who are going to do not only hard things, but great things as well.

Please pray for me tomorrow at 1:30. I'm going in for my first hip injection for pain. I'm terrified of needles, so I'm tearing up just thinking about it. But I'm going to go in with my memorized Psalms and the prayers of those who love me to keep me strong.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

Last Friday night when Mia was snuggling in bed with me, I explained that I would be gone Saturday morning when she woke up, because I was going to the Amish quilt auction. She immediately burst into tears and said, "But what if you don't come back, what if you die and I never see you again?" (She's known around the house for her melodramatic moments) I tried to reassure her that nothing was going to happen to me and that I'm not going to die any time soon. After more tears and hugs, I said, "Honey, God isn't going to let me die too soon."

She replied with, "But what if He's not looking?"

I said, "He's always watching. Did you know that there's a verse in the Bible that says that God knows even when a little bird dies?"

She insisted that I find it immediately and read it to her. I couldn't find it in my concordance, so I went to Bible Gateway and found the verse there: Matthew 10:29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin ? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. The smile returned to her face and she said, "More Mommy, read more!" So I read her verse 30: And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

"Mommy, how many hairs are there on my head?" I said, "I don't know, but God does, because he loves you that much." She wanted me to keep reading, so I skipped around in the chapter and read her more verses filled with the promises of God's love for her. She went to sleep secure in the knowledge of His love and with a thirst to know more about him. Again her faith awes me.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale is an indepth look at the beginnings of the detective in both police investigation and literature through a single case in England in 1860. A little boy's body is found slashed and thrown into a privy pit on his family's grounds, and everyone is suddenly a suspect. Inspector Jack Whicher is called in from Scotland Yard two weeks after the murder when the local constabulary is unable to come up with the name of the murderer. Whicher uses material evidence and listens closely to the statements of everyone involved to try and unravel the case. But when he arrests the 16 year old half-sister of the victim, the press and locals turn against him. Whicher, who was the inspiration for investigators by both Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, had developed an excellent reputation for sussing out the truth, but this case essentially destroyed his career, and even the sister's subsequent confession didn't rehabilitate him. The book is excellently researched and written. Summerscale maintains taut suspense throughout and raises several questions about the truth of the confession. She also exposes how the police and detectives were viewed by the public: first as intriguing geniuses, later as nosey, low-class bumblers. Summerscale writes an terrific book about the birth of the detective and traces his early formation in literature and life.

We have had very little nice spring weather yet. Most days in April were below average temperature. And yet, on Sunday I found a wood tick on my arm, and this morning I woke up with a mosquito bite on my ankle. This does not seem fair!

I made a mistake yesterday, I actually have TWO copies of Healing Promises to give away. So you're chances of winning have just improved! Drop me an email at christysbookblog@gmail.com before midnight, Thursday May 15th to enter.