Friday Book Club: It Is Well

"Faith in God means we live with hope.  It means often times hoping even when it seems futile.  It means believing that God can deliver us, and often times, He will.  But it also means that at times, He may not, and if He does not deliver us in the way we desire, it means we still have faith and trust that his plan is perfect and He will make good of it all."  ~Chris Faddis, It Is Well

Today I'm joining in with Friday Book Club.  I just finished reading what might be the most heartbreaking and inspiring book that I've read in my life.  (If you want to order a copy, click here.)

It Is Well  was written by a man who lost his wife to cancer at age 32.  He was left behind heartbroken with two little ones to raise.  Hearing of him losing her---his love for her, the pain, trying to explain it to the children, seriously had me in tears multiple times.  And I'm not at all a crier. 

But for all the heartbreak, the book really is about inspiration.  Devout Catholics, both he and his wife faced this tragedy with courage and trust and amazing faith.  I usually share a list of quotes from a book.  I have dog-eared a ton of pages and could do that.  But today, I'm going to just share one.  It struck a chord with me the moment that I read it.  Being that we will all celebrate Jesus' rising on Sunday, it seems particularly appropriate.

What do you say when your lover lies in a bed, hearing the same words as you, knowing what it means, what it all likely means?  Death.  End.  Loss.  Words, they come easy for me.  But not now.  Not in this moment.  I try.  I attempt to muster some sort of comfort, but the words, they don't come.  She, the one who has a hard time with words, the one who needs comfort in this moment, she says the words, the only words that matter:  "Jesus still rose, so we will trust."

Friday Book Club and Friday Letters

All the best link ups are on Friday, so today I'm going to do a two-parter so I can link up with Friday Book Club and Friday Letters.

First up, for Friday Book Club, I've got a report on my two February reads.

Fearless by  Max Lucado

 I do love me some Max Lucado.  This guy has a gift for taking Biblcal principles and applying them to every day life that is seriously amazing.  This book is all about letting go of the fears that we let control our lives.  I can't say it was my favorite Max Lucado book, but it was good and the topic was pretty appropriate for this time in my life.  Here are some of my favorite quotes.

Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease.  Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry.  Fear never saved a marriage or a business.  Courage did that.  Faith did that.

Fear corrodes our confidence in God's goodness.

To sin is to disregard God, ignore his teachings, deny his blessings.

If Jesus' tomb is empty, then his promise is not.

Every trial and trouble has a place in God's scheme.

When Christ is great, our fears are not.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

In breaking my trend of reading pretty much only non-fiction books, I made an exception for this novel that I heard about on another blog.  It's the story of a daughter who sets off to find her father who mysteriously disappeared the day after she graduated law school.  What she finds is an amazing story of his childhood, of which she knew nothing.  I really enjoyed this book---it was interesting and sort of kept you guessing as to how things would all play out.  I can't give it my illusive 5 on the Goodreads chart (only two fiction books have ever gotten that from me....The Help and The Fault In Our Stars) but I would still highly recommend it.  Here's a few quotes I enjoyed.

And so there must be in life something like a catastrophic turning point, when the world as we know it ceases to exist.  A moment that transforms us into a different person from one heartbeat to the next.

There are wounds time does not heal, though it can reduce them to a manageable size.

It's not the size of one's nose, the color of one's skin, the shape of one's lips or eyes that make one beautiful or ugly.  It's love.  Love makes us beautiful.

Love has so many different faces that our imagination is not prepared to see them all.

He expected nothing more from life.  Not because he was disappointed or embittered.  He expected nothing because there was nothing of importance he had not already experienced.  He possessed all the happiness a person could find.  He loved and was loved.  Unconditionally.

Second, for Friday Letters, here we go.

Dear College Roomie, Thank you for being the best friend in the whole world and being on board for a ex-roomie road trip to my new casa in Texas.  I am seriously beyond excited about this.  You bring the mixed tapes, I'll bring the orange juice!

Dear Treadmill, We will be spending some quality time this weekend---about 5 miles worth on Sunday.  Be kind to me.

Dear King of Capitol Hill, You know you want to come to Europe.  Just do it.  We might even have more fun than the picture below...

Dear Creator of Magic Bullet Blender, Someone should give you the Oscar of inventing.  Your little creation changed my life and has probably tripled my veggie intake.  Nice work, sir.

Dear Cardinal Dolan,  I know that the selection of the next Pope is not a popular vote election, but when you write things like this and make speeches like this it seriously makes me want to make a "Team Dolan" t-shirt to wear while the conclave is going on.  PS, you are on my list of dream dinner party attendees, so feel free to come over any time.

Dear Super Mom,  Thank you for sending me the photo below of my precious friend dressed like Elmer Fudd.  I do not think he could be any cuter.  This made my day.

Friday Book Club: January Books

Well my 2013 reading list started out with a bang.  Not only did I read three, count them, THREE books this month (it's a record) but I loved each and every one of them!  I hope the rest of the books I've got on my to read shelf for this year are going to turn out this well!  Linking up with Friday Book Club today to share my January reads with y'all.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Well you already know that I loved this book because the author, Don Miller, is friends with my boy Bob Goff.  Sigh.  Some guys have all the luck.  Anyway, this book is all about Don's life and how instead of just floating by while sitting on his couch, eating pizza and playing video games, he decided to intentionally live a life that would make a good story.  And that changed everything.  It was a great book--easy read, inspirational, and he's got a great sense of humor.  Here were a few of my favorite quotes.

"The truth is, if what we chose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either."

"What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it.  We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given--it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."

"Did I really believe God could write a better story?  And if I did, why didn't I trust Him?"

"It is when people do not allow God to show up through them, that the world collapses in on itself."

"There is a force resisting the beautiful things in the world, and too many of us are giving in."

"The ambitions we have will become the stories we live."

"The story made us different characters than we would have been if we had skipped the story and shown up at the ending a different way."

"I think about the hard lives so many people have had, the sacrifices they've endured, and how those people will see Heaven differently than those of us who have had easier lives."

"What I really remember are the few times we made an extra effort to do something memorable."

"We don't know how much we are capable of loving until the people we love are being taken away, until a beautiful story is ending."

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Holy cow, guys.  I could not put this book down.  And I mean, I spend over three hours one Sunday reading  all but the first 50 pages (which I read the night before).  This is a sort of miracle for a girl like me who is not a fast reader and who has a super short attention span.  And because it was a fiction book, which I basically just don't read.  But this book, well, it was amazing.  I don't want to give too much away, but it's a love story about two teenagers with cancer.  I know, I know, that sounds sappy and pre-teeny, and Taylor Swift-ish.  I promise that it's not.  It was awesome.  So awesome, that I gave it the coveted and illusive 5 ranking on my Goodreads.  That don't just happen, folks.  Buy it.  Read it.  Love it.  Thank me later.

Seven by Jen Hatmaker

College Roomie got me this book for my birthday and she.did.good.  I absolutely loved this book!  In fact, I liked it so much that I've already had it sent to two other people--Dr. Kyra and Cousin SameMiddleName because I thought they would enjoy it as well.  The basic idea is that the author decides to rebel against excess and focuses on something different each month....from food to media to stuff....and she chronicles her journey.  You'll love this book.  Jen Hatmaker is hilarious.  I mean completely hilarious.  She reminds me a lot of ND Friend, who is one of the funniest people I know.  (You do have to overlook a couple of pages of hippy nonsense where she gets all free range, no antibiotic anti-ag preaching, but other than that, I had no complaints!)

Jesus, may there be less of me and my junk and more of You and Your kingdom.

I want to live gratefully, humbly, hopefully.

For whatever reason I was born into privilege; I've never known hunger, poverty, or despair.  I have been blessed, blessed, blessed--relationally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  My life is so happy it's almost embarrassing.

I won't defile my blessings by imagining that I deserve them.

Until every human receives the dignity I casually enjoy, I pray my heart aches with tension and my belly rumbles for injustice.

I have come to see tha tthe great tragedy in the church is not that the rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that the rich Christians do not know the poor.  I long for the Calcutta slums to meet the Chicago suburbs, for lepers to meet landowners and for each to see God's image in the other.  I truly believe that when the poor meet hte rich, riches will have no meaning.  And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end.  (Quoting Shane Claiborne)

Obedience Isn't a lack of fear.  It's just doing it scared.

In a culture of hero worship and conspicuous rainmakers, this concept struggles to emerge, but the story of God's people comprises a billion little moments when an average believer pressed on, carried through, stepped up.  In the quantity of ordinary obedience, the kingdom truly advances.

The discomfort is where the magic happens.

What would the early chruch think if they walked into some of our buildings today? .. They'd wonder if we had read the Bible, or worry it had been tampered with since their time.

Sometimes vigils are for waiting, when your struggle has been voiced and God's hand hasn't moved.

Friday Book Club: December Books

This December I read two Advent books, and I would highly recommend both for anyone next year.  I thought they were both really great!  Both books had daily scripture verses and writings by various people--saints, ministers, regular folks.  They really made me think and were easy reads.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

"She might have doubted, but she shut her eyes and trusted God who could bring all things to pass, even though common sense were against it; and because she believed, God did to her as he had said."

"Do you know what a stable smells like?  You know what that family would have smelled like after the birth when they went out into the city?  And if they were standing next to you, how would you have felt about them and regarded them?  I want you to see Christ in the neighbor you tend to despise--in the political party you despise--in the race you despise--in the class of people you despise."

"If though hast but room for Christ he will come and be thy guest."

"Why is the world in such a mess?  You and I are the problem.  Our good intentions are not strong enough to control our evil impulses.  We need a Savior to rescue us from ourselves."

"There may be true servants of God in places where we should not expect to find them."

"These wise men believed in Christ when they had never seen him; but that was not all.  They believed in him when the scribes and Pharisees were unbelieving; but that again was not all.  They believed in him when they saw him as a little infant on Mary's knees, and worshiped him as King.  This was the crowning point of their faith.  They saw no miracles to convince them.  They heard not teaching to persuade them.  They saw nothing but a newborn infant, helpless and weak, needing amother's care like any of us.  And yet when they saw that infant, they beleived that they saw the divine Savior of the world!  We read of no greater faith than this in the world.  It is a faith that deserves to be placed side by side with that of the penitent thief.  The thief saw someone dying the death of a criminal, and yet prayed to him and called him Lord.  The wise men saw a newborn baby on the lap of a poor woman and yet worshipped him, and confessed that he was Christ.  Blessed indeed are those who can believe in this way!"

Advent and Christmas with the Saints

"Dear God, if you were with me in any infinitesimal moments of sheer silence, then I'm sorry I missed you, because I was not silent myself."

"Keep this light burning brightly within me, I pray, that I might never lose my way, and so that everyone I encounter todaymight recognize your Spirit in my soul."

"Oh Child of Divinity, why do I seek God in the spectacular--in a glorious sunrise, a sweet melody, a sacred ceremony, an inspired prayer?  Teach me, rather, to seek the Divine in the ordinary--in my grandmother's hands or my brother's face, in my child's laughter or my own baby's wail--so that I might, finally, come to perceive God in all things and to be with God as God is always with me."

Friday Book Club: November Reads

Today I've got two great books to share with you guys!  Linking up with Friday Book Club.

The Journey to Peace by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin

My sweet friend who we'll call Super Mom gave me this book for my birthday.  She proclaimed it one of her favorites, so I knew that it had to be great.  It's a collection of homilies given by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin on various topics related to the stations of the cross.  I read one chapter a day and thought that the book was amazing.  As I always do, I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes.

"Cardinal Bernardin was not afraid to live, and therefore he did not fear death."

"For Jesus' followers, love--by God's standards--is measured not by the peace and happiness it brings to theone who loves; rather, by the peace and happiness it brings to the one who is loved."

"Is our faith strong enough to act out and live on?"

"There are times when, like simon of Cyrenee, I do not want to work in your vineyard.  When I just want to rest a while rather than help a neighbor with a burden that is not exactly mine.  Help me to say yes to  your call so that I can help those I encounter on my journey."

"We minister to others by gestures as simple as listening and as intimate as picking them up when they fall."

"We build God's kingdom as we strive to put the gospel message into practice in our every day lives."

"In the final analysis, love is stronger than death.  Faith is stronger than hatred.  Comprassion will outlast cruelty." 

 

Notre Dame Inspriations by Hannah Storm

I sort of have three categories of collectables I keep from my various travels. One of those is books (the other two are Christmas tree ornaments and cups, FYI) so while we were at Notre Dame I knew I wanted to get a book for my collection at the bookstore. I settled upon Notre Dame Inspirations by Hannah Storm. First off, I love Hannah Storm from her work on NBC Sports and the Olympics. Second off, It has a great picture of the golden dome on the front. Third, it's full of stories from famous alumni. So in my stack of stuff to purchase it went.

I thought this book was great. It's a collection of memories and stories from all sorts of alumni---from priests to rabbis to football players to authors doctors to motivational speakers---you name it. What did they all have in common? A sincere love and appreciation for Notre Dame. It was a great read. 

"Somewhere along the way at Notre Dame was understanding the fact that your Christian faith obliges you not to just kneel down and pray, but to stand up and do." -Phil Donahue

(Rabbi Albert Poltkin's father convincing him to go to Notre Dame): "What do you mean it's too Catholic? The Lady on top of that dome is Jewish. Don't foret it, because that's our claim to glory. Catholics and Jews are the two closest religions. We are spiritual brothers."

"When I would go to bed at night, I would read my Hebrew prayers and Bob (his roomate) would go with his rosary. I thought, boy, this is a combination that's one of a kind." -Rabbi Albert Poltkin

"Talent is a trust which no man has the right to ignore." -Johnny Lujack

"I always made it a point, right after our evening meal, to go down to the Grotto and thank the Good Lord and our marvelous Mary down there for me going to Notre Dame." -Johnny Lujack

"Whenever I go to Notre Dame, it gives me a warm feeling of faith in humankind. Everything that's good and decent and fair is right there on that campus--I can feel it in the air." -Regis Philbin

"Always be grateful for the opporutnity to serve." -Fr. Jenkins

"Al Sondej was a witness to me and my classmates about the poor, about the Sermon on the Mount. He worked in the dining hall, making his own meal from the leftovers. Every day, he stood outside the dining hall at mealtime collecgint change from students to help feed the world's hungry. He never took on a judgmental air or an air of moral superiority. He was always smiling and thankful for our quarters. Seeing him every day taught me what it means to have a vocation and to offer witness simply and quietly." -Fr. Jenkins

"I hate losing more than I like to win." -Joe Montana

"Listen, we've got a University named after a woman, who also happens to be the Mother of God, so I find it a bit inconceviable that at Her university she looks down and all she sees are men." - Fr. Hesburgh (on opening Notre Dame to women)

"My advice is that life is full of problems, and you need to help." -Fr. Hesburgh

"The death of a dream brings into question yoru own thoughts about reality, about what you can really do. And it's not always what you dreamed you could do. It's different." - Nicholas Sparks

Friday Book Club: October Reads!

Another month, another book report from me.  During my trip to Notre Dame, Baby Hepburn gave me one book and I bought another at the Bookstore.  Both were great and I'd totally recommend them both.  Here we go.  Check out the other entries on Friday Book Club.



The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom 

 

Baby Hepburn read this book on the plane to Chicago.  I mean the WHOLE book on the plane.  It took me over a week.  Clearly she had a good tutor in elementary school (cough, ME, cough) or something.  You guys know I love Mitch Albom, and when I watched Baby Hepburn so enthralled in the book, I was super excited to read it next.  It's the story of Father Time who was the first person to learn to track time, and was then condemned to a cave to listen to people lament about time---how it goes to fast, how they need more, how things last too long, how they hate waiting.  Then he get a chance to come to earth and help two people, one who needs more time, and another who wants less.  It was a little strange, but really good.  Here are some of my favorite quotes.

 

"Try to imagine a life without timekeeping.  You probably can't.  You know the month, the year, the day of the week.  There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car.  You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.  Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored.  Birds are not late.  A dog does not check its watch.  Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.  Man alone measures time.  Man alone chimes the hour.  And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.  A fear of time running out."

 

"We are, as we die, who we most were in life."

 

"It's never too late or too soon.  It's when it it is supposed to be."

 

"There is a reason God limits our days."  "Why?"  "To make each one precious."

 

Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox

 

 

This book has been on my list for a while.  As a true 80's child, I love me some Alex P. Keeton (I mean Michael J. Fox).  This book is all about his life, split into four categories:  work, politics, faith and family and discusses how his Parkinson's diagnosis impacts each one.  But he also discusses his remarkable optimism despite everything that he's been through.  I found the chapter on politics especially facsinating.  His foundation supports pro-stem cell research candidates, regardless of party affiliation.  Reading about someone with a political agenda so important to his life (indeed upon which his life depends) was great.  Again, a few of my favorite quotes:

 

If ten years ago, as I set out upon this second-act odyssey, I had compiled a list of everything I'd hoped to accomplish at this point, I would discover that I had sold myself short.

 

The only unavailable choice was whether or not to have Parkinson's.  Everything else was up to me.  I could concentrate on the loss--rush in with whatever stopgap measures my ego could manufacture.  I could rely on my old friend from the nineties, denial.  Or I could just get on with my life and see if maybe those holes started filling in themselves.  Over the last ten years, they ahve, in the most amazing ways.

 

Before a catestrophe, we can't imagine coping with the burdens that might confront us in a dire moment.  Then when that moment arrives, we suddenly find that we have resources inside us that we knew nothing about.  (quoting Christopher Reeve)

 

How ironic is it that sometimes the greatest believers in the possibilities for the future are the very people who have cause to doubt.

 

To characterize hope as some sort of malady or some kind of flaw of character or national weakness is, to me, really counter to what this country is about.

 

(On voting)  Then it's done.  I've dropped my pebble in the ocean, and hopefully, through the course of the day, millions of otherw sill drop theirs in too.  No single one of us knows which pebble causes the wave to crest, but each of us, quite rightly, believes that it might be ours; an act of faith.

 

(On the difference between optimism, hope and faith)  I'm optimistic that I won't be awoken by a phone ringing with bad news.  When the phone does ring, I hope it's a wrong number.  When it's not and the caller has the worst news imaginable, it's time for faith to kick in.

 





Friday Book Club (August and September)

Well, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose on a year-long goal.  This month, I lost....didn't get my 2 books a month read in August and September.  I'm still confident that I can knock out 24 books this year...hopefully!  Anyway, the three books I did read were great.  Here's the scoop, linking up for Book Club Friday!

A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal

 I'm apparently on a World War II kick lately (remember Every Man Dies Alone?) with my reading.  Well this time it was A Lucky Child and I can't recommend this book high enough.  I couldn't put it down.  What's most amazing about it is that it's a true story.  You see Auschwitz and Sachenhausen and the horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of a 9 year old child.  His description of what he saw and experienced is heartwrenching.  You see the horror of the Nazi regime as it faced this child who was put through hell merely because his family was Jewish.  In the camps he was separated from his family.  He lost his grandparents, father, and many friends.  He was separated from his mother for years, before she finally found him in a Polish orphanage.  He watched his adopted siblings be hauled away and killed.  He heard the screams from the Auschwitz crematoriums.  He participated in the Auschwitz death march.  He saw people beaten, shot and hung before his eyes.  His story is unbelievable, except that it really happened.  There is no way that he should have survived these camps, but he did and he has spent his life working for international human rights.  He believes that doing so is his duty after seeing, and experiencing, what he did.

"It remains a part of me and seves as a reminder, not so much of my past, but of the obligation I deem incumbent on me, as a witness and survivor of Auschwitz, to fight the ideologies of hate and of racial and religious superiority that have for centuries caused so much suffering to mankind."

"It took a long time for me to realize that one cannot hope to protect mankind from crimes such as those that were visited upon us unless one sturggles to break the cycle of hatred and violence that invariably leads to ever more suffering by innocent human beings."

"I doubt that we would have been able to preserve our sanity had we remained consumed by hatred for the rest of our lives.  Many of our relatives and friends in America never understood what we meant when we tried to explain that, while it was important not to forget what happened to us in hte Holocaust, it was equally important not to hold hte descendants of hte perpetrators responsible for what was done to us, lest the cycle of hate and violence never end."

"This sense of obligation had its source in the belief, which grew stronger as the years passed, that those of us who survived the Holocaust owe it to those who perished in it to try to improve, each in our own way, the lives of others."



Morrie:  In His Own Words by Morrie Schwartz

You guys probably remember how much I loved Tuesdays with Morrie.  Well this book is a collection of little thoughts by Morrie himself.  He talks about living and dying and provides great advice on how to do both.  In the book, Morrie told the story of a young man, whose father died of ALS.  The young man told Morrie that his father had not talked much of his disease or fellings, but that by reading Morrie's story, he felt like he was hearing some of his father's secret thoughts.  I guess the reason I enjoyed this book (along with Tuesdays with Morrie and The Luckiest Man) is pretty much the same thing.  While I spent a lot of time with Mr. Franklin while he was going through ALS, we did not talk about his disease and I've often wondered how he felt or what he thought.  I think that Morrie's story gave me some insight that I needed to have.

"Be grateful you have been given the time to learn how to die."

"Maybe the distance between life and death isn't as great as you think."

I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

This book was given to me by my friend Nomad because he said the author reminded him of me.  I can tell you that I'm not even close to as clever as Sloane Crosley.  Holy cow.  This book is hilarious.  It's sort of a collection of essays and stories from her life.  I think that if I ever make my dream of writing a book come true, I might set it up like this.  There are stories about boyfriends giving her plastic ponies (yes, I have one too!), her being a Jewish girl playing the Virgin Mary at a church camp paegent, being a bridesmaid to someone she hardly ever spoke to, dating woes, her crazy family.  This book is an easy read and really, really funny.  Here is my favorite quote:

"Weddings are like the triathalon of female friendship:  the Shower, the Bachelorette Party, and the Main Event.  It's the Iron Woman and most people never make it through.  They fall off their bikes or choke on ocean water."



Book Club Friday: July Reads!

"Love does things.  It writes a letter and gets on a plane.  It orders pizza and jumps in a lake.  It hugs and prays and cries and sings."  ~Love Does

It's time for Friday Book Club!  Well as I confessed yesterday, it took me an extra 7 days to finish my two book goal.  Given the fact that one of these books was over 500 pages and I had zero free weekends in July, I'm calling that a success.   I cannot say enough about both of these books--they are amazing and I would highly, HIGHLY recommend them!

Oh, sidenote, today is your last day to enter my Tiffany's Favorite Things Giveaway!)  With that, okay, let's get going here.

Love Does by Bob Goff

I learned about this book from SoulMate Friend.  One night, after talking about life and what not, she told me that she thought I really needed to check out a speaker she heard at a conference.  Enter Bob Goff.  I googled this dude and ordered his book, Love Does.  OH.MY.GOODNESS.  This guy is amazing.  He's the kind of person who makes you want to quit your job, sell all of your stuff, and just go make a difference.  Because every story he tells is about him making a difference to someone.  Whether it is helping free children who are imprisoned in Africa, or helping a stranger pull off the perfect proposal, or sitting in front of the Dean's office every day for two weeks until he finally got accepted to law school.....this guy has had amazing experiences.  I'm not kidding you, I bet I dog-eared 50 pages.  I narrowed my favorite quotes down for the blog....

"Maybe God is doing some inexplicable things in your life.  Each of us gets to decide every time whether to lean in or step back--to say yes, ignore it, or tell God why He has the wrong person."

"It's about going to extremes and expressing the bright hope that life offers us, a hope that makes us brave and expels darkness with light.  That's what I want my life to be all about--full of abandon, whimsy, and in love."

"I used to be afraid at failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter."

"Most great adventures work that way.  You don't plan them, you don't wait to get all the details right, you just do them."

"It seems what God does most of the time when He has something to say is this...He doesn't pass us messages, instead He passes us each other."

"I'd rather trade all the religious jargon for the chance to invite one person into experiencing Jesus."

"I would say probably the majority of us are just-us people, folks who don't get capes or stained-glass windows.  We just get the opportunity to do what God wants us to do without a lot of fanfare."

"God delights in answering our impossible prayers."

"God says to ordinary people like me and you that instead of closing our eyes and bowing our heads, sometimes God wants us to keep our eyes open for people in need, do something about it, and bow our whole lives to Him instead."

"You see, the problem with my plans is that they usually work.  And if they don't seem to be working, I force them to work and get the small results I aimed for."

Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada

The story of how I cam across this book is kinda funny.  Back in 2010, College Roomie and I stayed with my friend Mo when we went to San Francisco to run Bay to Breakers.  She's pretty much the epitomy of cool....she is a partner at a law firm, she lives in a penthouse suite, she owns more pairs of Jimmy Choos and Manolos and Louboutins than anyone I know.  So, when I saw this book laying on her coffee table, I felt like I had to read it and hope that some of the cool would rub off.  Now, 2 years later, I finally read it!  Sheesh, Tiffany.

This book is about German resistance to the Nazis during World War II.  (Please note how smart you sound when you get to say that to people who ask what you're reading.)  The book is so well written--extremely detailed and you really learn so much about all of the things that were happening in Nazi Germany.  It's fascinating.

It's based on the true story of a working class couple who began writing and dropping anti-Nazi postcards all over Berlin.  What they did was small and insiginificant.  It did not make a difference.  And it cost them their lives.  But they stood up for what was right.  Throughout the book, I kept on asking myself....would I do it?  Could I stand up for something that was right even if I knew it would not make a difference?  I hope the answer would be yes, but I worry it might be no.

"You ought to know that it doesn't matter if there's a handful of you against many of them.  Once you've seen that a cause is right, you're obligated to fight for it.  Whether you ever live to see success, or the person who steps into your shoes does, it doesn't matter.  I can't very well sit on my hands and say, Well, they may be a bad lot, but what business is it of mine?"

"It doesn't matter if one man fights or ten thousand; if the one man sees he has no option but to fight, then he will fight, whether he has others on his side or not.  I had to fight, and given the chance, I would do it again."

"If everyone thought like that, then Hitler would stay in power forever.  Someone, somewhere has to make a start."

Man 1:  "At least you opposed evil.  You were'not corrupted.  You and I and the many locked up hereand many more in other places of detention, and tens of thousands in concentration camps, they're all resisting, today, tomorrow..."

Man 2:  Yes, and theyn they will kill us, and what good did our resistance do?"
Man 1:  "Well, it will have helped us to feel that we have behaved decently till the end."

"They sacrificed their lives in a purposeless battle, apparently in vain.  But perhaps not entirely purposeless, after all?  Perhaps not entirely in vain, after all?"

Friday Book Club: June Books

Well the fun continues and I've now officially made it halfway through the year and my goal of two books a month is still alive!  Woo hoo!!  Today I'm sharing my June Books with Friday Book Club.  (If you missed any of my prior reviews, just click here!)

The Glass Castle

Remember my love for the book Half Broke Horses?  Well the author also wrote this book called The Glass Castle, so when College Roomie recommended it and I saw it at the airport in Costa Rica (before the almost hijacking of my plane), I knew I had to buy it.  I had finished that baby within 12 hours, and I am by no means a fast reader. 

I just could not put it down.  The author writes completely candidly about her shockingly horrible childhood.  Hunger and poverty, abuse and lonliness, parents who stole from their children and squashed dreams all the while telling the kids how lucky they were.  Examples of the unconditional love a child has for a parent, and where even that love reaches a limit.  It was unreal to read, and even more unreal to know that it was true and that the author and her siblings got out and made great lives for themselves.

I do not have favorite quotes from the book, but I'm telling you, this is a must-read if you ask me.  This woman has a gift for writing and I promise you any other book that she pens will be on my shelf.

How To Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul

In general, I liked this book.  It's probably more geared towards high school/college girls, but there were certainly some great parts that were quite applicable to my life situation.  I loved the part talking about the 10 types of "Mr. Wrongs" and looking through the list only to realize that I've had crushes on 7 of the 10 types.  The 10 types are:  (1) the flip-flopper--the guy who can't make up his mind about what he wants while the girl follows him around like a puppy dog; (2) the fixer-upper--the problem child, the bad boy; (3) the walking hormone--self explanatory; (4) the smooth criminal--like the walking hormone, but smarter and ergo more dangerous, guy with all the rihgt lines; (5) the control freak--has to know where you are and what you are doing 24/7; (6) the older guy--also self explanatory; (7) the potty mouth--it's really not attractive, guys; (8) the tearful cheater--dude is a jerk but somehow talks his way back in; (9) the spiritual midget--guys who are just not interested in faith, either their own or yours; and (10) Mr.-I-Don't-Have-Enough-Social-Skills-To-Meet-Girls-Without-The-Internet--I'm not knocking online dating, it works for some people, but there are some real losers out there as well.  And just for the record, sometimes I am good enough to like a guy who fits in the several of these categories at once.  And that, ladies, takes talent.

Maybe more than the content of the book, I like the idea behind it.  In finding the person who we are meant to be with, I think that it is critically important to not lose ourselves in the process.  We have to know--and stick to--our standards, who we are, what we are looking for, what purpose (and person) God calls us to. 

A few of my favorite quotes:

"There can only be one God.  Either we call the shots or we trust what He's revealed to us."

"So much depends on having the courage to let go of what was never meant to be."

"What the world needs is for women to climb out of their shells of fear and become who God created them to be."

"Let there be no doubt that God honors those who honor Him, and that He always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him."

"Sometimes, God's greatest blessings are when He takes away something that we desparately want."

"The Lord gives us a time of singleness to serve Him and many of us either fill it up with passing relationships or spend it miserable because a future relationship hasn't unfolded according to our plans."

"You'll notice that what saved her from throwing her life away was the fact that she dreamed of something bigger and better for herself."

"At some point in your life you have to decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it."

"Give yourself permission to hope."

"One's soulmate is only visible to the person who is living in the will of God.  Otherwise you could live next door to him your whole life and never know it, unless you were living as God was calling you to live."

"When we don't trust God, we often take matters into our own hands.  It's then that we become our own worst enemies."

"The real reason why people don't stop to listen to God is not because they don't think He'll speak to them.  They're afraid He will."

Friday Book Club: May Books

**For those of you looking for a Costa Rica update, on you're going to love next week!  I'll kick it off on Monday, so stay tuned!**

Another month has come and gone and here's another Friday Book Club...where does the time go??  Sticking with my year-long goal of two books a month, here are my reviews for May:  Through My Eyes and Thirty Things Every Woman Should Have And Know By The Time She's Thirty!  (If you missed any of the others, click here to catch up.)

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow (with Nathan Whitaker)

My parents got me this book for Christmas, and since you have read before about how much I love Tim Tebow, I was excited to read it.  Fair warning--if you're not a football person, you are not going to like this.  He talks a lot about play calls and certain teammates and goes through each game during his time at Florida.  For someone who is crazy about college football like me and remembers several of those games, it was pretty fun to read.

Two things I took away from this book.  First, one thing that Tebow does not get enough credit for was how hard he works.  He's the get there early, stay late, if everyone else does 10 reps I'll do 15 kind of guy.  This, of course, made me like him even more.  Second, I'm pretty sure we're soul mates.  We both grew up in the country, we both get carsick on rollercoasters and airplanes, we both love college football, Jesus and our mamas.  How do I meet him??  Anyone?  ANYONE?

And, as I always do, I figured I'd share a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"People often seem to think that when you're following the Lord and trying to do His will, your path will always be clear, the decisions smooth and easy, and life will be lived happily ever after and all that.  Sometimes that may be true, but I've found that more often, it's not."

"I'm not sure God is into who wins or loses--He probably is more concerned with what you do in the process and what you will do with either result, to glorify Him and change the world by hopefully impacting one life."

(Discussing the "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength" part of Isaiah 40:31):  "I wasn't real good at the 'wait for the Lord' part.  You would think that when we stop and take a look at all He has done since the beginning of time and throughout the universe--let anone in my life--it would be easy to 'wait.'  It would be easy to understand that His timign should be our timing and that ultimately everything He does is for our benefit and our god--even though the time it may not seem so and we may not understand.  God's timing, God's will.  In my better moments, I knew that."

"Somewhere he is out there, training while I am not. One day, when we meet, he will win."

(Discussing Chariots of Fire quote, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast.  And when I run I feel his pleasure."):  I always thought that since God gave these gifts to me, my rule in that exchange was to play as hard as I could and continue giving Him the honor and glory for it.  To me what would be the very best way of thanking Him for the ability.  If I didn't work as hard as I knew I could, then I think it would be a little bit like saying, 'God, thanks for giving me this ability, but I don't really care about it.  I'm goign to do something else, and I'm not going to work quite as hard."

Thirty Things Every Woman Should Have And Know By The Time She's Thirty (Paula Redman Satran)

I bought this book for a beach read in Costa Rica....but I loved it so much that I was halfway done with it just on the flight to Houston, so I had to make myself stop and save at least some of it for the beach!  The book is based on the popular list by Pamela Satran of 30 things every woman should have and know by the time she is thirty.  Things like knowing where to go when your soul needs soothing, having a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra, and knowing believing that you deserve happiness. Different famous people wrote about each list item including Katie Couric, Suze Orman, Maya Angelou and Angie Harman.  As always, a few of my favorite quotes:

There's no cheating life.  I don't care if you're rich.  I don't care if you havfe the connections.  I don't care if you're beautiful.  You can't rely on others to carry you where you want to go.  Build your own path, follow your own dreams, and I promise you will discoer how powerful you truly are.  ~Rachel Roy

Why should you wait for a knight in shining armour to give you a ride when you can afford to buy the horse yourself?  If you hold out too long, you might just miss the sunset.  ~Glamour Editors

Life is no ta fairy tale; it's a parade of events that help you accrue wisdom and courage and faith.  ~Fiona Maazel

Stay on your own mat. ~Portia de Rossi (on not comparing yourself to others--in yoga or in life)

Life isn't a contest--beauty, popularity, or otherwise.  And there's happiness to go around for all of us.  ~Glamour Editors

Having great girlfriends is better than having a bad boyfriend. ~Lisa Ling

So.....because the big 3-0 is about a year and a half away for me, I've decided to start my own little series.  First off, over the next year and a half I plan to write a blog on each of the book's list items.  Second (and more exciting for me!), I am working on my own list of the thirty things every woman should know and have by the time she's 30.  I've got a pretty good start on it, and I'm excited to keep working on it.  So stay tuned for that!  And ladies--check out this book.  You'll love it!

Friday Book Club: April Books

Well continuing on in my two books a month attempt, this month I picked two absolutely amazing books:  The Help and Half-Broke Horses.  Honestly, these are two of the best books that I've ever read.  So, it's time for another link up with Friday Book Club! 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I know that I'm behind the boat on The Help and that the book and the movie were crazy popular a while back.  Since I don't read fiction, I had not planned on ever reading the book.  But the on an airport layover it was on sale in the bookstore and I figured I'd see what all the hype was about.  This was one time that the hype was worth it!  I seriously could not put this book down.

This is the story of life in 1950 Jackson, Missisippi.  It is written from three perspectives--one white college graduate and two black maids.  When you read this book and realize that we are talking about how things were less than 60 years ago, it's shocking.  You read about what you'd expect--the help being treated poorly by their bosses, being accused of stealing and made to use their own outdoor toilets.  But what the book has that I did not expect was a sense of hope.  Hope that there are people who see other people for who they are, not for the color of their skin.  People who have strength and courage to take a stand when injustice is done.  There are stories that will have you laughing out loud one minute and ones that have you tearing up the next.  Oh, and if you think you know because you've seen the movie--you are dead wrong.  It does not hold a candle to this book!

Here are my two favorite quotes:

"Every morning, 'til you dead in the ground, you gone have to make this decision.  You gone have to ask yourself, am I gone belive what them fools say about me today?"

"We are just two people.  Not that much separates us.  Not nearly as much as I had thought."

Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

This book was not on my radar at all until I stumbled on it one night at Target.  I could tell just from reading the back of the book that the woman would remind me of my grandma, so I had to buy it.  And I'm so glad I did!  This book was the life story of a girl growing up in New Mexico in the early 1900s.  There were stories about her breaking horses, bootlegging whiskey, riding her horse from New Mexico to Arizona for her first teaching job, surviving floods and droughts, flying a plane, moving to Chicago and marrying a con man, moving home and finding love.  You name it and this lady did it.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.

"History gets written by the winners, and when the crooks win, you have crooked history."

"I realized that in the months since my sister died, I hadn't been paying much attention to things like the sunrise, but that old sun had been coming up anyway.  It didn't really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me."

"Don't you little lady me.  I break horses.  I brand steers.  I run a ranch with a couple dozen crazy cowboys on it, and I can beat them all at poker."

"Of course God exists and He hears you.  He has the right to say no, you know."

Friday Book Club: March Books

"Goals are dreams with deadlines." ~Diana Scharf Hunt

It's time for Book Club Friday!

How is it that we are nearing the end of the month again? Sheesh! As is my goal, I have finished two books in March. Last month a couple of people commented that I read books that were far more serious or thought-provoking than they did. Well, I'm here to dispel this notion with reports on two totally fun, non-intellectual reads!

Exposed by Claire Lewis

This book was not a book that was on my radar screen....until I won it through a blog giveaway at Always a Blogsmaid! As soon as it arrived in the mail I got started on it and loved it. It is written by a wedding photographer in San Francisco (so you knew I liked her already based on the fact she lives in my favorite city!) and it is seriously full of hilarious stories of weddings that she has shot. From the woman who got her lip waxed and a bad spray tan the day before the wedding, to the officiant who threw up on the bride's dress, to the Elvis impersonator who brought down the house.....this lady has seen it all. It was a super fun, easy read and I'd totally recommend it!

My favorite quote from the book: "I don't want to correct imperfections in Photoshop. I like crooked teeth and big noses, a veil blowing across a bride's face, eyes squinting up because someone is laughing really hard. The flaws are the good stuff."

How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Jordan Cristy

As soon as I saw the title of this book, I knew I had to buy it. How awesome is that? Seriously? This book was fun and a quick, easy read. It was nothing earth shattering---don't dress trashy, don't talk trashy...generally don't act trashy. Nothing that we ladies should not arleady know. But a little reminder every now and again that you are not the only one trying to be a Hepburn is not a bad thing! Here are my favorite quotes.

"Our culture is in desparate need of real women with brains, beauty, and self-respect--women who aren't afraid to take risks, dream big, and order dessert. If we don't do it, who will?"

"We live in a free country with rights, freedoms and opportunities that women would have killed for a hundred years ago--and instead of voting, getting the CEO spot, going for a doctorate, or volunteering at a women's shelter, many young women today are too busy shaking their badonkadonks in short-lived music video and diligently dedazzling their cell phones with more pink rhinestones."

"So regardless of the guy's current status, bank account, background, or beliefs, if he's interested, he will do the pursuing. There's no need to interfere with the ways of nature!"

"At an infantile stage, we're already thinking about Prince Charming and wondering exactly how he's going to rescue us, what he'll be wearing, and why on earth he's taking so freaking long to get here. When you add it up, that's a lot of wishing and hoping and praying--from the day we start walking to the day we say 'I do.'"

"Great women of history don't put their lives on the line just so that we could dance on tables and text boys all night long, so let's do them proud and start standing up, speaking out, and using our voices for good."

I'll be back at the end of April with two more books to report on. Until then, you can keep up with me on Goodreads. (Add me if you have it!)

What books are y'all reading? Any recommendations?

Book Club Friday #2: January and February Books

“The ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” ~Malcolm X

It's time for another edition of Book Club Friday! As I mentioned in my review last week, my goal is to finish at least 2 books a month this year. So far, so good. For January, I read "If You Have To Cry Go Outside" and "For One More Day." For February, I read "The Other Wes Moore" (see review here) and "One Thousand Gifts." What's next you ask?

Well my shelf currently holds Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow, Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Come Be My Light, the private writings of Mother Teresa, I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloan Crosley, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, and How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Jordan Christy....and lots more. Now you know what you have to look forward to. You can see my full lists at Goodreads.

So, finally, let's get to my reviews, shall we?

If You Have To Cry Go Outside

This book is by Kelly Cutrone--the grouchy, all black-wearing boss from The Hills. She is hard core, doesn't take crap from anyone, and built her own successful business from the ground up. Her book is a story of her life, her struggles and her successes. She is all about listening to your inner voice, building a life full of a "tribal counsel" of great people around you, and being true to yourself. Just to be clear--I totally disagree with her thoughts on religion--but if you put that aside, I really enjoyed the book. It's a super easy read.

Favorite Quotes:

- It was my journey inwards--the process of learning to listen and trust myself--that electrified and transformed my outer journey, helping me concieve and achive things beyond my wildest dreams.

- Dreams won't always take you on a straight path to destiny, but they're usually related to what your soul wants for you.

- I'd like to think of fear as a messenger that doesn't always make sense: you have to figure out who sent fear before you can dismiss it outright.

- At this point, I'm certainly not waiting for anyone else to show up and make me happy ever after. I'm busy scouting out my dream house in the country, making the money to afford it, and creating my own happily ever after.

For One More Day

I absolutely LOVE Mitch Album. You've read before about how much I enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie and Have a Little Faith. While I'd say this book was probably my least favorite of his, it was still a great read. It's the story of a broken man--an addict who has lost his wife and daughter and attempts to take his own life, and the day he was able to spend with his dead mother. He had the chance to do what so many of us wish for--have another day with someone who we have loved and lost.

Favorite Quotes:

- Every family is a ghost story. The dead sit at our tables long after they have gone.

- Sharing tales of those we've lost is how we keep from really losing them.

One Thousand Gifts

This book was not a super easy read for me. It took me quite a while to get through, but when I got to the end and looked back at all the pages I dog eared and things I underlined, it was clear that I really got a lot out of it. It's the story of a woman who has been through hardships and her focus on thankfulness (or eucharisteo) in her life. In order to focus on this, she counted up 1,000 things for which she was thankful. It's an eye opening book that really made me think about my attitude and the multitde of blessings that God has given us.

Favorite Quotes:

- There is a reason I am not writing this story and God is. He knows how it all works out, where it all leads, what it all means. I don't.

- Thanksgiving always precedes the miracle.

- The Lord has to break us down at the strongest part of our self-life before he can have His own way of blessing us.

- Perhaps the opposite of faith is not doubt. Perhaps the opposite of faith is fear.

- Use me then, my Savior, for whatever purposes and in whatever way you may require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with your grace. - D.L. Moody

Friday Book Club: The Other Wes Moore

"Life and death, freedom and bondage, hang in the balance of every action we take." ~The Other Wes Moore

One of my goals for 2012 was to read at least 2 books a month. (Check out my book lists on Goodreads.)

I recently found a great link up with Blonde...Undercover Blonde (how cute is that for a blog name, right?), so I figured why not share my books with you all! Here is Book #1 for February.

The Other Wes Moore

I first heard about this book from Christin's blog and knew I had to read it. I'm a total non-fiction fan...it's just about all I read. I could describe the book to you, but I can't do any better than the first paragraph of the book. So here ya go:

This is the story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free and has experienced things that he never even knew to dream about as a kid. The other will spend every day until his death behind bars for an armed robbery that left a police officer and father of five dead. The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the crucial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether.

I loved this book from the get-go and could not put it down. I read it in 5 days and I am a slow, slow reader. It was fascinating to read about the obstacles both of these boys faced growing up in the inner city and the small choices that they made that turned their lives down totally different paths. It's amazing how the smallest decisions that we make can have huge impacts on the rest of our lives. This book was a great reminder of that for me.

In addition to the quote at the beginning of this blog, here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

"But even the worst decisions we make don't necessarilly remove us from the circle of humanity."

"When it is time for you to leave this school, leave your job, or even leave this earth, make sure you have worked hard to maek sure it mattered you were ever here."

"Pray that when the evening comes and the night falls, I will have done something during the day for others that I can present to the Lord so that I might not feel so ashamed."

"Small interactions and effortless acts of kindness can mean the difference between failure and success, pain and pleasure--or becoming the people we loathe or love to become."