I'm left with this one thought: How well do we truly know anyone, how deeply and honestly do we allow others to know us?
On the surface this memoir is a story of one marriage, one husband, one wife, one secret. What lingers in me at its conclusion... this is the story of many relationships, and the multitude of secrets we all keep in an effort to conform, to portray the ideal, to keep hidden our perceived flaws.
Engaging piece of nonfiction that read effortlessly through difficult and heartbreaking revelations.
I have been reading the book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions. I am highly emotional, and not in a good way, I allow emotions to dictate a lot of my life. I don't want to be emotionally ruled any more, so hence the book....
One of the very first things Lisa (the author) makes clear is that you need to accept the fact that change will not happen over night, and that change won't even be linear, instead we need to come to face the reality that progress is progress, even imperfect progress, and be glad of it.
I am trying to remind myself of this right now as it seems that I am being given a plethora, over abundance, of opportunities to practice what I am learning. But I am failing miserably, and don't see the progress. Maybe my progress is the inner progress.... I may not be showing outwardly a different reaction, but I do hear my inner voice queuing me... "reply vs. react" "perspective" and "is this an issue I will care about tomorrow or in 4 months?"
So maybe I am making progress.... but I don't like this at all! It seems that my life has become one big arena for me to practice taking control of my emotions- which means I am being bombarded with irritant after irritant and I can't seem to catch my breath!
The truth of the matter is that I just want the results, so let's just skip to that part of the process.
REALITY CHECK!
I know this is ridiculous, as a runner I know that I can't increase distance or pace without putting in the effort. I know as a teacher that my students won't know the material unless they put in the time doing the work. I know as a wife, that my marriage wont grow unless WE put effort into it.
Knowing and demonstrating that knowledge are two different things.
I know all of this, and I know that I don't want to be ruled by emotions, but it is painfully exhausting living in the practice phase. This is precisely why most people don't choose change, change is uncomfortable, change is hard..... change takes us through a process. The key here is through, I am not meant to be stuck in the middle place called "practice", just as the Jews were not meant to be stuck in the wilderness on their way to the promise land.
I'm at the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's army is closing in, at this moment, I have a choice to continue through to the promise land or give up and return to be a slave of my emotions.
As I picked my Bible up this week, the bookmarks still at the beginning of 2 Kings where I last left off (in February), I thought it only fitting that I would be reading about the kings of Israel and Judah as this week was election week for the United States of America. As in every election there is political drama, and this election was no different. It was easy to allow myself to get caught up in the drama, and even allow fear, panic, and anger to take root.
This week while looking back through 1st Kings, I saw that Israel had its overwhelming share of terrible, ungodly, and even evil rulers, and God was there with His people. Just as God is with me in the midst of this countries abominable political situation. Whether Obama continues to drive our country farther and farther into debt, or IF Romney would have brought the extinction of the middle class and taken away "women's rights", my trust is NOT in man but in God who has promised to never leave or forsake me.
Rulers- they come and go as we've see through out the Bible, only God is truly constant. Therefore, my focus is not on complaining about the politics of this country, but seeking God with my entire being, and finding ways to love people as He loves them.
Because in the end, that is the only thing that will matter. (1 Cor 13:13 Psalm 94:14)
I am breathless, having just read 637 pages of adventure, love, secrets, betrayal, heartache, and sacrifice. I must admit that there were times I wanted to give up on the book. Like when I first picked it up from the library and it was so huge! Not that I don't like reading, or couldn't finish that many pages, but it seemed like a really big commitment to make to a book! Then again during frustrating - no maddening- arguments between Tatiana and Alexander! I could hardly bare the intensity and insanity of it. And again during such deep heartache and loss; if I could barely make it through another page, I couldn't see how the characters would manage another breath. But isn't this what great books do to us, don’t they evoke such intense feelings and create vivid images that we feel as though we are living along side it? At one point, during the blockade, when food was scarce and rations were dwindling, I was called away from the book to have lunch with my family. It was the strangest feeling eating, I felt as though I needed to save part of my meal for later, not knowing where or when the next bite of food would come. That’s how immersed I became.
The second World War has always fascinated me, and I have read many historical fiction books from this time period, though none have been from the perspective from the Communist Russia. I found this love story set during WWII Soviet Union, spellbinding. Reading about communism from the perspective of someone who never knew any different. The living conditions, shared kitchens and bathrooms, multiple generations sharing two rooms, bread lines, and ration cards are so foreign to me.
It was intriguing to see how the ideals of communism broke down during the time of war, and in its place self enterprise was rewarded with food and money. How some Soviets viewed Hitler and Stalin as two sides of the same coin. . .
It was, again, appalling to see just how fierce and strong the Germans were, and just how close they came to reaching their goal. This book is a brutal reminder that many suffered, many starved, and many died at the hands of one man's ideals.
But this is not the heart of this story, just the intricate weaving of place and time. This story is much, much, more. It is a story of love, and the sacrifices one will make for that love. Whether that love be for family, for country, for self, or for a lover - a soul mate, love demands sacrifice. That is what this story is, it is a story of sacrifice.
I took a break from the dystopia genera for a bit, but this read was a nice welcome back. Imagine living in a society where only 5 virtues remain, and at the age of 16 you must proclaim your faction, the virtue you will live by for the rest of your life. While most people choose the faction they were raised in, some choose to convert, and in a rare case they find themselves Divergent. Faced with the choice of abandoning her faction of selflessness and following her heart to the faction that embodies fearlessness, is only compounded when her faction are being scrutinized and blamed, bringing the society to the brink of a revolution.
When Beatrice discovers that she is Divergent she has no idea the danger she is in or the impact she could have in the revolution. Making her choice to join the fearless, she soon realizes that there is a fine line between being selfless and fearless, while seeing the truth behind her divergent nature.
Excellent young adult read, full of rebellion, thrills, and even love.
Think diary of a wimpy kid + crass hormonal high school boy + a lot of surprisingly deep meaning of life lessons.
It was funny, funny enought that I chuckled out loud multiple times.
I'm not sure I can recommend it to my students though, as I think the only thing they will get from the book is this dude talks about masterbation (only like 3 times in the whole book), but that is what a middle school boy is going to remember.
I am really impressed with Kate Morton's ability to weave an intriguing tale of mystery that spans several generations. The fluidity with which she moves between past and present makes for an enjoyable rather than difficult read. Though I liked The Forgotten Garden better, I was not disappointed in this in the least. The fact that it took place (partly) during the 2nd world war was intriguing, this time period fascinates me. I also love the setting of a castle in the English country side. She portrays the strength of family, what one would do to hold a family together with great emotion. I loved each of the unique, strong characters created. They were vivid in my imagination from their mannerisms and style to their moods and personality.
I am not one for thrillers, or bloody mysteries, so Morton’s languid style of mystery appeals to me; I desire to keep reading to know her characters more, to follow the thread that unravels the truth in the end.
My only dislike, the end was to neatly wrapped up, too forced into coming full circle in all aspects. Though dislike is too strong a word for how I really feel this because I typically want a nice neat ending, but it just felt a bit too contrived.
Digging out the mass of books that were piled in my room I happened across our collection of the Magic Tree House series. In a moment of nostalgia I remembered how much Madison had enjoyed them, all the adventures they took us on. I know I had been saving them with Maddox in mind, and wondered if he was ready for this new reading adventure. The moment you change from sight word-picture books, to chapter books is a gigantic reading leap. The transition from using pictures to help bring meaning to the story, to relying solely on your imagination takes a great deal of reading comprehension. Not that he is anywhere close to being able to read the chapter book, but I though he may be ready to exercise his imagination.
Why not give them a try. . .
How fortunate that the first book in the series is about Dinosaurs, every book Maddox has brought home from the library this year has been about Dinosaurs; he was instantly hooked. He loved that we were reading a chapter book, pointing out each new chapter as we read, hanging on my every word. At one point he wanted to see the picture, and I told him that chapter books don't have pictures on every page, that you have to close your eyes and imagine, let the words make a picture in your head. As I continued reading, I glimpse his eager face scrunched up, eyes closed... imagining... "I can see it mom!"
As we drew to the end of our agreed upon 2 chapters, we are left with a cliff hanger... his excitement at wanting to know what happens next oozes out of him, coercing me to read on. Another two chapter later, two chapters filled with exclamations of excitement, surprise, and gasps, I close the book. He cannot contain his eagerness, wanting to read more, when he realizes he won't win another chapter, he offers a compromise of letting him stay up and look at the rest of the pictures to see what might happen, how could I say no.
The next morning he awakes, book in hand in hopes of squeezing another chapter out of me before school. After dinner he brings the book down again, and I agree to read another chapter before the family begins showing up for the party. Then at bed time, the book appears with his huge, toothless grin, begging to finish. What mother could say no to that?
Not me, so we finish our very first chapter book together, and it was every bit of what I hoped. Almost making me come to tears. . . My son is hooked on books, I couldn't be more proud.
This whole book is about the kings who ruled over Israel. Basically the whole lot were a disgrace and did not follow or bring honor to the God who had delivered them from Egypt and set them apart. Instead they turned to the pagan gods of the people they were supposed to drive from the land in the first place. Remember back in the earlier books when they were coming into the promise land and God said "drive out ALL the inhabitants..." and they didn't and let some of them stay entering into a treaty with them. Well surprise, surprise... God knew what he was talking about. He knew that if the original inhabitants stayed, their pagan beliefs would seep into His peoples lives and hearts causing them to sin.
What really surprised me is that Solomon, the wisest and the richest of all the Kings (some say the wisest man that ever lived), a king who lives most of his life honoring God, in the end took foreign wives who then influenced him to begin worshiping pagan gods. Because of his disobedience God said he would take the throne away from his descendants... which He did. The nation of Israel was then split, all of the tribes of Israel left with Jeroboam, and only the tribe of Judah remained in the line of David with Solomons son Rehoboam.
Jeroboam didn't want the people of Israel to return to Rehoboam for their sacrifices and trips to the temple and risk them becoming loyal once again to Rehoboam; so he crafted two golden calves and told the people of Israel that these were the gods that delivered them from Egypt, and led the whole nation of Israel away from God. A prophet from God goes and tells Jeroboam that he will be wiped from the Earth for his grievous sin. Jeroboam is paralyzed and the pagan alter crumbles before him releasing the paralysis as a sign of what the prophet said was true. God had told this prophet to not eat or drink while in the city and return home a different way than he had come. He is able to refuse Jeroboam's offer of dinner and a place to sleep. But an old prophet hears of his message and goes out to find him offering a place to eat and sleep. He refuses, but the old prophet lies saying "An angel appeared and told me to have you over for dinner." So the man listens and goes with him, of course God calls him out on it and says because he didn't listen he would not be buried in his homeland with his ancestors. The man leaves to go home and is attacked, but not eaten, by a lion on the way home. The old prophet who had tricked him goes out and finds his body with the lion still sitting next to him and the donkey.
After reading this, I realized how often we choose to listen to the world, our flesh, or even what others have said God has spoken to them, instead of what God has spoken to our hearts and in His word. Sunday at Church we had talked about how Satan uses our own doubt to get us to sin..."did God really say that, surely He didn't mean you would die..." When the reality is, God told us (fill in the blank with: love your neighbors, do not murder, respect your husband, don't have premarital sex or any other truth we choose to ignore) for a reason, and that reason was FOR OUR OWN GOOD.
See, the fundamental truth here is that GOD IS GOOD and He loves us, He is our creator; who knows better than Him what will hurt us, what will heal us, what will destroy us, what will bring us peace, than Him. Satan knew that we would become like god's knowing good and evil if Eve ate the apple and that she wouldn't die when she ate the apple, that is die as in instant death in the flesh. The problem was that we would become like gods knowing good and evil BUT unlike GOD who has no sin nature, our sin nature would not have the self control to resist the temptation of evil, and that is what brings our death, physical and spiritual.
Back to Kings: The only redeeming kings for Judah (sorry Israel doesn't have any yet) was Asa, who returns the tribe of Judah to God and removes all the pagan idols from the tribe, even removing his own grandmother from her position of honor as queen mother. After Asa's death his son, Jehoshaphat, continued ruling Judah in his father's example. Israel's kings continue in a downward spiral each doing more evil in the sight of God than the previous. Then we get to Ahab, Jezebel and Elijah. There was a constant feud between these three and to me Jezebel was the one that continually stirred the pot, causing problem after problem. Even after Elijah was taken to heaven she continued to do great evil. The book ends with the son of Ahab and Jezebel ruling as king of Israel "he served Baal and worshiped him, provoking the anger of the lord, just as his father had done."
This journey through the old testament is eye opening to the truth of God's unconditional love. My human nature can not fathom having the capacity to continually bring redemption and forgiveness, second chances, to people who continue to abandon me, blatantly choose counterfeit over real, authentic and genuine. It has been a lesson in loving others, because if God can love us through all of this, who am I to not love others?
ME: I RAN: I ran at least 560 miles this year. This included training and running my best ever half marathon, The Rock and Roll Denver, in 2 hours and 56 seconds. I READ: I exceeded my Good Reads goal of 24 books by ONE book. My favorite reads of this year would be Cutting for Stone and The Forgotten Garden. I have a goal to read through the entire bible, as of today I have completed through 2 Samuel. I really thought it would be a whole lot more boring to read the Bible, but I am really enjoying it. It's surprising how helpful having read the first 5 books of the Bible has been when reading some New Testament passages...shedding new light on a lot of questions I have always had. Two books that really challenged me to think and grow were Blue Like Jazz and Heaven is For Real. I (started) GROWING UP: I did a lot of self reflection and resoluting to grow up and get over some of my issues... I have a lot to do still, but it feels good to be opening my eyes to the possibility of embracing change for the better. I BECAME A BIT CREATIVE: I made a jewelry art piece for my room, canned jam, and convinced my husband into letting me have his grandpas antique stove and used it as a entertainment stand. I (almost) DIED: discovered the hard way that I am allergic to peaches and now have to cary an epi pen... this caused me some depression, and several dreams where I indulged in peaches, only to wake by trying to make myself puke them up. I JOINED A GYM: joined Allison and hired a trainer for a few weeks of the summer, who pushed me to do some stuff that is harder than running 13 miles. I TAUGHT: started my 9th year of teaching, taught a class on standard based grading at a district inservice, and embraced a lot of top down change with the best attitude I can muster... in truth my students are great and make it all worth while. I GAVE: Anne and I continued to make our monthly meals for the homeless shelter, and this year we took on making gift bags for the ones that would be spending Christmas Eve at the shelter. (In truth ANNE organized it all). But it was great to be a part of assembling and delivering. I PLAYED TENNIS: Finally Jolene and I signed up and played in the Taco Bell Tennis tournament (we've been talking the talk for a few years). We quickly found out that our 3 weeks of preparation was not enough to hang with the big dogs (old ladies who play every day) and win the whole thing, but we did pull out a few wins and didn't get eliminated immediately.
Madison: Madison finished 6th grade still loving school, and started (and continues) 7th grade the same way. She has a great group of friends and is very into the social thing (as evident by her 1400+ texts a month). She started taking bass guitar lessons and is now playing in the school Jazz Band. Madison also took a hunters safety course and earned her hunters safety card, though not in time to get a license this year. She had a Halloween party complete with a haunted house that I had to chaperone (thankfully for me it was cheesy), and at this party they set a goal of saving money to go to Hawaii for their senior trip. Madison got a new soccer coach, and the change in her attitude, confidence, and play is incredible; in fact the whole team did a 180 going from not winning but 2 games, to no losses. Madison also got her braces off, and WOW her smile is amazing! She turned 13, and continues to be a wonderful daughter, growing into a beautiful young woman.
Maddox: Maddox had a year of milestones... he learned to ride a bike, lost his first tooth, graduated preschool and started Kindergarten. We had our first parent teacher conference, where Maddox sat like a perfect angel, and we were informed he is the model student always tries his best, works hard, is kind, and learning like a sponge. I am a bit embarrassed to say that we were surprise by this, and had been expecting to hear that he can't sit still, is a crazy rambunctious boy. He also started his first season of T-ball, and absolutely loved it. Maddox started his second season of wrestling and in the first tournament he got second place. We celebrated his 5th birthday with an ear infection that delayed our zoo trip by a day, but we still made it and he loved it. Maddox has a strong conscience, and is highly compassionate.
Brian: Brian continues to be an amazing dad and husband. He coached Maddox's T-ball team, and his expertise was evident in our teams superior skill and behavior on the field during practice and games. He is also coaching the Palisade Little Dogs Wrestling. He has been working with the older kids, as we have realized that Maddox receives wrestling instruciton better from someone who is not dad. He took Maddox on his first hunting trip, but Madison continues to be his lucky hunting charm and they got a really nice doe that added 80 lbs of burger, italian sausage, breakfast sausage, and steaks to our freezer. He got sick for Elk season, which bummed him out (and me... I love elk meat).
We Traveled: We went on our first Caster Family vacation, driving 18 hours to Northern Idaho, 30 miles from the Canadian border; arriving in Priest Lake ID. This was a magical trip, while we were there my soul felt at home, and since we left my soul has longed to return. We also spent almost a week in Steamboat for a soccer tournament, since we travel so much for soccer, we try to make the trips mini vacations; and Steamboat was a nice little get away. We opted for camping out in the pop up at a KOA type campground, complete with a pool and games. I think we all had a great "camping" experience. Another soccer mini vacation was the annual trip to Vegas, the focus was strictly soccer... though we managed a drive down the strip for Maddox, and a dinner in Cesar's Palace. Brian and I took a weekend trip to Ouray, this may be my favorite "him and I" get away ever, complete with a beautiful hike. We also had a mini family retreat with my mom and Dan and all 4 of us kids... they rented a beautiful cabin between Ridgeway and Ouray, that was so massive all 17 of us slept and lived very comfortably. Dan had a great dinosaur dig activity for all the grand kids to participate in, and we enjoyed playing on the lake and campfires at night.
Major Random Events: Nik and Megan got married in June, the wedding was beautiful, and my kids were perfect, Maddox got hooked on the mother son dance and couldn't wait to dance it again at Brian's cousin, Patricia's, wedding in July. Brian's grandpa passed away, and we had a beautiful service that surprised me with its huge sentimental impact for me. This spurred a massive house cleaning/estate sale to get their house ready to be sold and Grandma moved into a retirement community. My brother had his third little girl, Teegan. My cousin Christa played tennis for the US team in the Special Olympics in Greece, and she came home with some medals too... like silver and bronze... I am so proud! My aunt Pepper moved to GJ, to live with my grandma. This has been such a blessing for my mom to have her sister close, and between the two of them, my grandma is in good hands!
I have come to not expect much more than superficial entertainment from this series, and because of that I continue to enjoy them.
These books are always entertain, quick reads, where I find myself chuckling out loud. This one, of course, followed the typical story line of Stephanie stumbling into some major problem while still trying to apprehend some skips (unsuccessful as usual). Lula, who always makes me laugh, finds herself under a love potions spell. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of appearances of Morelli and Ranger. I keep hoping that someday Stephanie will wise up and choose Morelli for good, but until then I enjoy the struggle she continues through. I was also hoping that mysterious Hawaii trip would play a larger part of the story, but it took a back seat early on.
I have to admit that even though I am a Christian, I typically trod a bit sceptically when it comes to peoples accounts of heaven. Call me jaded, call me gun shy; I don't lack in faith in God, just people. But as I read, some scepticism began to fall away and I was pulled in to a beautiful revelation of Heaven.
Through out the book my heart was captivated; as a parent I ached at the thought of going through what this family had gone through with their son. As a Christian I was intrigued at the completely child like clarity this boy described Heaven, and how each of the things he shared matched perfectly with what the Bible says about Heaven, from what Jesus wore, to who sat in the throne room of God, the absence of darkness, and the melding of time past, present, and future. Time and time again this young boy astonished me (as well as his parents) about his knowledge of Heaven and the people there. I loved that his parents were hungry to know everything about heaven, as many Christians are, but they were patient.
I didn't have to read this book to believe in Heaven, or reaffirm my faith in God, but sometimes it nice to read something that sits right with your spirit, and gives you just enough to keep going in a world that continues to drift further and further from God.
I could either hate this book or like it depending on how I approach it. If I think of it from a biblical perspective I hated it, if I see it from a fictional story of life at that time I like it.
The part that I had a difficult time with was how the family of Jacob, son if Isaac and Rebecca, grandson of Abraham and Sarah, saw God as just another god, more powerful and foreboding than their other gods; and they kept idols and paid homage to these other gods. I guess this is true to the big picture of what happens in the bible...God rescues his people, they worship him, time passes, they forget His wonders, turn back to their old ways, fall into despair, and God rescues them again. So it really isn't that big of a stretch that the wives would have kept and worshiped the idols of their family.
If I see it as a complete work of fiction depicting life during that time, it is a wonderfully woven tapestry of the bonds between women, of coming of age, love, loss, and finding purpose and happiness. A story that celebrates the beauty of womanhood, and our ability to create and sustain life. I loved how the tale came full circle in the end bringing closure to the life of Dinah, daughter of Jacob.
I am not sure if I would recommend this book or not, but if you choose to read it, know that it is a work of historical fiction, where an author took many creative liberties to paint a picture of life during the time of the sons of Jacob.
I really enjoyed the first book of this trilogy, and thought the second would be just as amazing. I was mistaken. I liked it all the way up to the final page... then a total let down that almost ruins the book. It's as if Condie just put in a thoughtless ending, reminiscent of my partially proficient students who write "and that's all I have to say about that" as the conclusion to their papers, to meet the publishers deadline.
Through the whole book you're in pursuit of these young lovers finally being reunited. There is adventure, mystery, suspense, and finally they find each other. Together perusing a rumored civilization with hopes of joining the rebellion. In this effort Cassia and Ky decide to separate, knowing they will meet up in a few day. Cassia reaches the rebellion first and is immediately sent away to her assigned mission. Ky makes his way just as she departs. And that's it... the end.
All this hard work to find each other and the rebellion, is met with a complete cop out... there is no emotion, no fighting the deployment, no cries of love lost, no final moments together proclaiming their everlasting love that knows no bounds of time or space, no speeches of "though we will be separated, we are fighting to ensure a future that can be spent together freely"... it just stopped.
There are great elements of foreshadowing... finding out that Xander joined with the rebellion early on in the first book, the cave of samples, Ky's lack of desire to join the rebellion, and Cassia's strong desire to join, will all make a great conclusion of this series... hopefully.
I really enjoyed reading this mystery, though not your gory typical mystery. A young girl, Nell, is found guardian-less on the docs of an Australian harbor, when one of the workers takes her in. After no one comes to claim her the man and wife choose to raise her as their own. When she has come of age, the man who she has spent her life believing is her father, tells her the shattering truth, thus beginning the intriguing search for who she really is. But as life often thwarts our best efforts, Nell is unable to discover the truth, and the search is taken up by her kindred spirit granddaughter. This beautiful story spans 4 generations, 2 continents, and the vast ocean between them. All in search of "Past. Future. Family." and the truth held in Forgotten Garden.
My favorite quotes: "...How bright such memories seem when the life they catalogue is threatened!"
"Nell knew better than to let exhibits of hindsight into the court of self-blame."
I am really in shock that I picked this book. I knew that it was going to be an adulterous type book, and currently I have no patience for reading about affairs. I am really disturbed by societies nonchalant portrayal of dishonoring marriage and commitment. I blame this book choice on the excitement of getting my Nook and wanting to read something "right now!", and seeing that the movie was made... so there... a thoughtless pick.
What else I am surprised about is how conflicted I felt the whole time. I hated Darcy, but then felt so bad for her as more of her character came to light, as I started to see why she was the way she was. I also was conflicted by the main character, I felt bad for her, and was even thinking she was justified in having the affair, but at the same time pissed that she would do that.
The ending didn't help me at all either; I glad it ended the way it did, but at the same time here is another story that seems to justify, even empower the act of betrayal.
So, I didn't like the story (my fault for picking a topic I personally despise), but the author did a fantastic job of pulling me from one side of the argument to the other and back again.
Cutting for Stone was amazing. I am afraid any thing I write about it would fall far short of its splendor. This story revolves around the lives of twin boys born to an Indian nun and British doctor working together at a hospital in Ethiopia. Immediately following their births their mother dies and their father vanishes, yet these boys both grow to embody their own greatness. We see the power of love, the depths of betrayal, the true meaning of sacrifice, how interconnected our choices are. I will be reading this book again!
This first book of Samuel follows the people of Israel from the birth of Samuel, the fall of Saul, and the rise of David; through out this whole time the nation of Israel are battling with the Philistines.
The first chapter begins with anguish and heartbreak... Hannah was unable to have children and was continually ridiculed by the other wives. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and cried out to God for a child, vowing to give the child to God. When Hannah gave birth to a son she named him Samuel {which sounds like the Hebrew word for "asked of God" or "heard by God". I love the how names in Hebrew have so much meaning.
Chapters 2-7 tell the story of the rise of Samuel to becoming Israel's Judge. When he is old enough Samuel goes to work in the temple with Eli. Eli is warned that his sons are committing evil and dishonoring God, but he does nothing. So God calls out to Samuel 3 times one night; he keeps thinking that it is Eli calling out to him. Finally Eli says it is God, when he calls you again tell him your servant is listening. God tells Samuel that because of Eli's sins and the sins of his sons, no sacrifice will ever redeem them, and the sons will be killed on the same day. This was interesting to me, continual blaspheme and defiling of the temple permanently removed this family from god... How do I honor God, How do I treat His temple? This comes to pass during a battle with the Philistine army, Phineas and Hophini are killed and the Arc is taken. A 98 year old blind man ran all the way from the battle to Eli to tell him of the news. I of course thought this was pretty cool! He's 98 and blind and runs for quite a distance, I don't know how far, but it says he arrived later that day. While the Arc is in the possession of the Philistines, they continue to find their gods lieing face down in front of the Arc. The city is struck with a plague, so they decide to send the Arc back with a guilt offering. Samuel then becomes judge of Israel and drives out the Philistines.
Chapters 8-13 are when Saul becomes king, but because of his disobedience his reign as king will be short. In these chapters the people of God demand a king, which breaks Samuele's heart, God tells him "they are not rejecting you they are rejecting me, they no longer want Me as their King." Samuel is shown that Saul will be king, he is tall and handsome, and again from the least family from the least tribe. To prove he is king Saul is given signs and prophecies. Saul lead a massive army to free Israel from the Amorites and with a decided victory, there is no doubt that Saul is meant to be king. Later, while fighting the Philistines, the Israeli people scatter at the sight of the Philistine's huge army. Saul is supposed to wait for Samuel to offer a sacrifice, but does not and offers his own. Because of this disobedience Saul is told that his reign will end, and a man after God's own heart will rise to be Israel's king.
The rest of 1 Samuel is a bit confusing chronologically for me; it seemed like David met Saul twice, as well as Samuel died twice... David is chosen to be king by Samuel and goes and plays music and serves Saul. Then there is the story of the bravery of David facing Goliath. We all have heard this story, but what struck me reading it this time was that David was so outraged at the blasphemy coming from Goliath that he takes the challenge, knocking him out with a stone then cutting off his head. David goes to live with Saul (see he meets him twice). For the remainder of the book Saul waffles between loving David and wanting to kill him, and David running around the wilderness freeing Israel from oppression and hiding for his life. David is given 2 chances to kill Saul, but each time spares his life, and Saul repents for trying to kill David, but then resumes his jealousy and begins to hunt David again.
In the final battle of the book against the Philistines Saul and his remaining 3 sons are killed. Saul is fatally wounded and in order to keep from being captured and tortured by the Philistines he falls on his own sword.
It saddened me that King Saul was so overcome with jealousy for David that it really corrupted and consumed him. He was even confronted by David who told him, Who am I that a king spends all these resources on finding and killing one man... It makes me think about how much I let other people get to me. Maybe they are complete strangers that just do stupid stuff and it annoys me, or an acquaintance that drives me to speak judgemental and harsh, or a friend that wounds me deeply. The truth in all of this is that humans are just that, human, fallen, corrupt with sin, only redeemed by Jesus. Even though we are redeemed, we have to continually work to not indulge our sinful nature. Only in God can I place full confidence, knowing He will never let me down. Knowing this to be true doesn't make it any easier to act upon, after all our only experience is that of being human...
I think having a break from these books is the key to enjoying them more. In typical fashion Stephanie has found herself in the middle of trouble. This time a serial killer is leaving dead bodies addressed to her. She has 3 people threatening and attempting to kill her and 3 men lusting after her. Of the "easy skips" she is supposed to bring in one thinks he's a vampire, another is never clothed. On top of it all Stephanie has been cursed by Morelli's Italian grandma which is proving to reek havoc on her skin and sex life.
In typical fashion, I laughed out loud throughout the book... a great sinful indulgence.
I am so happy that I didn't know this book was written as letters between characters; I typically find that format disengaging and the characters shallow. This was not the case here. Instead I found myself not want to put the book down, falling deeper and deeper into Juliet's life and life on Guernsey Island. At time I burst out with laughter, while other times with tears.
The story takes place just after the end of the second world war depicting the German occupation of the Channel islands. This period of history has always been one that captures my interest. I have never read a book from this perspective, and I found it captivating as well. Someday I would like to visit the Channel islands.
I loved how literature was woven though out, and it tied all the characters together. I am not one that much enjoys classics, but this book made me want to read some.
Some favorite quotes:
"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books." How true this is, the more good books I read the less tolerant and patient I am with books that are just..ok.
"Did it ever give you pause, that men used to have a soul-not by hearsay alone, or as a figure of speech; but as truth they knew, and acted upon! Verily it was another world then...but yet it is a pity we have lost the tidings of our souls...we shall have have to go in search of them again, or worse in all ways shall befall us." Thomas Carlyle from Past and Present. This have given me pause and I have been chewing on it for quite a while. It seems to tie in with thoughts I have been pondering for quite a while- how society keeps pushing the envelope, trying to be more and more edgy. How we are disregarding the tidings of our souls, the whisper of our conscience, how worse seems to continue to befall.
"the writer assumes you know nothing about cookery and writes useful hints- 'when adding eggs break the shells first.'" I burst out laughing when I read this, imagining someone clueless enough to add eggs with out first removing them from the shell.
