Recently Read

1. The Power of a Praying Wife - by Stormie Omartian
Thanks to my cousin Angie for this excellent recommendation! I LOVE this book and plan to re-read it or at least pray through the prayers again. The author is straight to the point with excellent Biblical wisdom and advice for wives, and she has 30 days worth of incredible prayers to pray for your husband. (Or fiance, so what if I'm a bit ahead of myself here, ha.) Guided prayers are great for when I feel like my own prayers are getting repetitive or unfocused. Prayer is powerful, no doubt about it.

2. East of Eden - by John Steinbeck
After reading Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath for school and very much disliking them, I guess the only reason I decided to give Steinbeck a try again was because so many people list East of Eden in their all time favorite books. And I am now adding it to my list of all-time favorite books! Don't let the excessive number of pages intimidate you. East of Eden is everything that good storytelling should be. I loved all of the allegories and the way Steinbeck tied so many stories together. Some of the detailed descriptions of the Salinas Valley were a bit dull, but overall it was completely captivating. I underlined so many favorite parts because Steinbeck's use of language is so beautiful and brilliant.

3. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - by Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom is one of my favorite writers. He can even make sports columns interesting, and for a girl like me who does not give a rip about professional sports, that's saying something. Tuesdays With Morrie was great and so was this book. It's a quick read and really touching. I like the way he explains how we are all connected, and why certain things tug at everyone's heart. I wish it was a true story, ha, because I would love to know which five people I would meet in heaven and to see all of the connecting threads.

4. Twist of Faith - by Anne Beiler & Shawn Smucker
You won't be able to put this book down! I love people's stories and Auntie Anne's is incredible. She has been through so much and has a number of AMAZING testimonies. The fact that she is from my hometown and most of the book is set there probably also helps to make it interesting. I love the way that it hops back and forth from one thing to another that happened at different points in her life, because there is a constant suspense. (Suspense in a story about a lady known for making soft pretzels?! Trust me, it's good!) The commitment she made to always give such a large percentage of what she earned really stuck out to me, along with the overriding theme of the book: the power of forgiveness.

5. Half Broke Horses - by Jeannette Walls
I absolutely loved Jeannette Walls first book, The Glass Castle. Maybe I waited so long to read her second book because I loved the first one so much I was afraid I'd be disappointed with her second. Nope, loved it! Half Broke Horses is a "true to life" story, meaning that Walls wrote the story of her grandmother's life based on the stories from her grandmother and mother.

Her spunky grandmother grew up in the western United States when it was still being settled and tamed so there are jaw dropping stories about floods, farming, growing up, and raising a family in the wild west. Walls has such a natural storytelling voice that you feel like you're right there for each adventure. Definitely a great read.

6. Sacred Marriage - by Gary Thomas
I heard a lot of good things about this book and since I'm devouring marriage books while I'm engaged I was eager to read it. The premise of the book is definitely good: marriage is not necessarily designed to make you happy but to make you holy. (Not that it can't make you happy or shouldn't, but too many people skip out when the happiness doesn't come easy and work has to be done, etc.) He details the way that God so perfectly designed marriage to refine us. I gleaned a lot of wisdom, but he kind of drones on and on. He quotes other authors extensively, and a lot of those excerpts are good but at the same time I tend to get bored when authors do that too much.

7. Fly Away Home - by Jennifer Weiner
This is a good beach read, if you will, that you can just coast through because the storyline is easy and fun to follow. The book details a family's life when the father, who is a senator, has an affair that is overly publicized by the media. It follows the reactions of  his wife and two adult daughters, and their lives in the months that follow the news of the affair.

I've never read anything else by Jennifer Weiner, but she wrote In Her Shoes which was turned into a movie I love. I like her writing style and it was very timely to be reading this book when the news came out about Senator Brubaker's 21-year-old son dying of an overdose. Everyone always has a story, and there are still so many lifestyles that are completely foreign to me - like the lives of politicians and their families. But that's the beauty of books, you get a glimpse into something you may otherwise never know or experience.

Have you read any of these? Loved or hated them?  What are you reading right now? I'm always looking for recommendations, even though I have a long list of books-to-read already.

letters, smoking, politics

dear chelsea,
... please pray for me, i am afraid i might beat the shit out of someone ...
love, dad

that, my friends, was the best part of the letter i got from my dad the other week. he was concerned about having a nicotine fit if his smoking breaks continue to be limited. i decided now is probably not a good time for me to approach him with the idea i had of asking him to donate to my wedding the amount of money he has spent on cigarettes in his lifetime. or even just this year - which i'd estimate to be $1300 if cigs are $50/carton and he smokes a carton in two weeks.

my "logic"  (keep in mind that logic of people planning a wedding often goes out the window, i don't know what it is but these celebrations make people craaazy) here is that i have been a lifelong advocate of him quitting, and i bet that's a job people get paid for somewhere. and i doubt those people are as awesome as me. the fact that he still hasn't quit smoking might indicate to some people that i have failed at my job as "smoking cessation advocate," but i have been as persistent and annoying about it as a piece of corn on the cob stuck between your teeth and that's what counts.

he will undoubtedly laugh and ask me why i'm so greedy, and i will say well dad, i don't think it's greedy if you don't give me any money. read the parable of the persistent widow. just kidding, don't. or at least don't read it thinking it applies at all to this situation because that really has nothing to do with this. she was persisting for justice and i really am being greedy. son of a!

oh well, it is still worth a shot. (there's the wedding crazy in me talking again!)

his letter was also quite timely because on the day i read it i shared his exact sentiments about wanting to beat the ---- out of someone. it's stupid, but i had almost hit my boiling point with people and their political rants and stereotypes and judgments. just stop it. stop being ignorant. do not act like you are taking any kind of high road when you are being completely intolerant and disrespectful of those with different beliefs. we're allowed to be different. it's actually really good to be different and i'm pretty sure that at some point it was what made america so great. please stop assuming things about people based on their political beliefs and at the very least be respectful of everyone. i sound like i'm writing to a bunch of wily five-year-olds, but in my opinion political differences can make people act worse than kids jacked up on sugar.

i don't speak up in those ... conversations ... and maybe my silence IS what makes my blood boil like that, (because God knows i had plenty of aggression to let out at the gym that night) but i have trouble imagining that words make any difference in those moments, when people already have their minds made up. maybe they could, but i know for sure that actions do make a difference. actually helping people and choosing to love and care about them.

and i also know i have a looong way to go with that too, because even though i try really hard there are still days when the best i do is exercising enough self-control to not beat the ---- out of someone. maybe that's why i'm a little cautious to speak up when it comes to bold conversations about how a country should be run.

it's sad that those important conversations too often turn into cat fights and bullying. i think we'd all be a lot better off just asking how we can help the people right in front of us. i'm challenging myself to do that. first step: don't punch people in the face. (fyi i have never actually done that, but the temptation lurks.) second step: take a deep breath and do something to help someone.

Sunday hike

me, alecia, and becky. two of my best friends who will be some of the bridesmaids in my wedding, woohoo! we went for a lovely sweaty hike on sunday at rocks state park in maryland.

progress on those summer goals

i set some random goals toward the beginning of summer and since it's labor day weekend, here is how i did ...

1. cook. get good at seven meals. make sangria. make peanut butter truffles.
i've been cooking and there have been no disasters, but i don't think i have seven "specialties" yet like i was envisioning. but i'm on my way. still need to make sangria and peanut butter truffles.

2. take more pictures. learn how to use my camera.
did not make much progress on this.

3. as much wedding planning as possible.
accomplished! now it's just waiting to find out when and praying the venue i'd like is open on that date. and all of those minor details that can't be completed until you have a date set - like mailing invitations. ;-)

4. read a book a week. read all of the books that i own and have not read yet before buying more.
i am succeeding at the book a week part, but still have not finished reading all of the books i own. (could be due to cheating and buying more books, whoops.) i'm going to keep this goal though, it's a good habit for sure. and a good way to keep me from wasting so much time online.

5. run/sign up for a half-marathon in sept.
i wasn't running much over the summer, except for the a five mile race on the fourth of july. frankly i am a diva runner - meaning that i don't like running when it's hot and humid. but the fall weather we're getting into is much more my style and i had a fantastic run last night, so maybe i will look for a half marathon to do in october or november. maybe.

6. try official Crossfit
i worked up the courage and went by myself and i loved it! so much that i joined. the workouts are so good and so fun. sometimes they are so ridiculous that i can't even work out for the next few days because i am hobbling around just trying to walk. lance is already a master "crossfitter" and does competitions, so my goal is to be at his level and beating him. JUST KIDDING. he is a beast of an athlete.

7. kayak or canoe
kinda need a truck for this, womp womp.

8. writing project. interview 10 people by labor day.
started this but i'm not even close to 10 people yet.

9. do at least one freelance piece.
i did four, woohoo!

10. bike with friends
it stormed the day we had this planned. hopefully we can squeeze it in this fall.

so i accomplished five out of 10, not bad. i am working on a monster list of goals for over lance's next deployment, and i think i will carry over #2 and #5 to that list. i love lists.

and i love this graphic. gotta admit i'm sick of how overplayed these "keep calm" images are right now ... but i love this one.

{source: pinterest}