May Reading Roundup

 

May was  a prolific reading month for me.  I read seven books, but only one was fiction.  The other six were all spiritual or religious.  I didn't plan it that way - those were just the books that appealed to me this month.  Here is a closer look and some brief reviews of the books I read. 

Another Gospel? *****

By Alisa Childers

This is an excellent, well-researched and documented look at the tenants of traditional Christianity in light of the challenges of "progressive" Christians.  The author, Alisa Childers experienced a faith crisis of sorts when she participated in a class taught her then pastor who was a progressive who labeled himself as a "hopeful agnostic."  As the faith that Alisa had loved all of her life as disassembled piece by piece, she reacted by deciding to find out for herself what was true.  Her well-documented research findings explaining traditional Christian beliefs such as the deity of Jesus Christ, the need for the atonement, the reality of the resurrection and the veracity of the Bible rebuilt here faith even stronger than it was before the progressive pastor's challenge.  Childers' book also strengthens the faith of the seeker who wants to know if Christ is truly the son of God, who offers us salvation, if the Bible is really the word of God and if Christianity is true.  I listened to the audiobook read by the author and found myself wishing that I had a hard copy of the book to highlight and mark up for future reference.  The book was compelling, yet enjoyable.  I finished it in only three days.  Highly recommended to those who might find their traditional Christian faith challenged and who want to know what is really true.  I gave this book five stars ***** on Goodreads.  (Audiobook, library). 

The User-Friendly Old Testament ****

by Marilyn Green Faulkner

This is an good companion book to a study of the Old Testament.  I enjoyed the author's insights, as well as the stories that related teachings of the Old Testament to our modern lives.  My main complaint about this book is that is is too short.  I would like to have had it go more in depth about more of the Old Testament, but overall I gained a lot from reading this book along with my Old Testament study.  I gave this book four stars **** on Goodreads. (Own, paperback, purchased new from publisher).

Forgiving What You Can't Forget ****

by Lysa Terkeurst

I had heard about this book from a Christian blogger who has many family relationship challenges, similar to those that I deal with.  I listened to the audiobook that I checked out from the library, and almost immediately, I wished I had my own hard copy to mark and highlight.  In the book, Lysa shares the challenges she had with forgiving her husband after he had an affair.  She is open, honest and vulnerable about this painful situation and how she dealt with it.  This book was enlightening and inspirational in so many ways, but I also found parts of it triggering to the depression I deal with as I was reminded of relationship problems in my own life.  Ultimately, however, the book left me feeling hopeful and uplifted.  The book was scriptural and Bible based.  I finished the audiobook and returned it to the library, but I still want to get a hard copy to reread and mark.  I gave this book four stars **** on Goodreads. (Audiobook from library).

Apples Never  Fall ****

By Liane Moriarty

Stan and Joy Delany have been husband and wife and tennis partners for over fifty years.  They appear to have it all - good health and an active lifestyle, a great marriage, four successful grown children, and an enviable retirement after selling their prosperous tennis coaching business. But do they really have the great life and relationship they appear to have?  When Joy disappears, and Stan is suspected of doing her harm, will the children believe that that their father could never kill their mother? What happened to Joy?  Is Stan responsible, or possibly the strange young woman who showed up at their home one night? I enjoyed this book once I got into it, but it took me 150 pages to decide if I liked it enough to keep going to the end.  Also, the last twenty pages the author seemed to have been added just to make the book more current and relevant by adding in Covid and lockdowns.  That seemed contrived to me.  Moriarity should have ended the book at the end of the story.   Other than that, the book is good with a twisting plot that kept me turning pages, wondering who did what and even laughing out loud once in a while.  This was the first book by Liane Moriarty that I had read, and I suspect it will not be the last.  I gave this book four stars **** on Goodreads. (Library book)

Don't Miss This in the Old Testament *****

by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler

This is a good companion to Old Testament Study. The authors expound upon one verse in almost every chapter of the Old Testament, giving Biblical insight and relating a teaching from the verse to modern life through personal stories. The 185 devotionals in the book are short - most are one page or less - and there is a reflection question at the end of each lesson. This would be good source for daily family scripture discussions. I gave this book five stars ***** on Goodreads. (Own, purchased new, paperback)

The Rock, the Road and The Rabbi****

by Kathie Lee Gifford

Talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford takes the reader along on a journey through the Holy Land.  There is a lot of interesting and faith promoting background that gives insight into many scriptural stories.  The book is very readable and offers the reader much to contemplate about both the Jewish and Christian faith traditions.   All of the testimonials of trip participants at the end of my Kindle edition were somewhat tedious. Still I learned a lot by reading this book, and it is well-worth investing a couple of hours to learn much about Judeo-Christian and Biblical stories and traditions. I gave this book four stars **** on Goodreads. (Own, Kindle edition)

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way ****

by Lysa Terkeurst

I recently read TerKeurst's book, Forgiving What You Can't Forget, and found it very uplifting and helpful.  When I had the opportunity to listen to this audiobook, I found that I liked this book even more.  It spoke to me because of many things going on in my life.  I would recommend this book for Christians who need some encouragement during tough times. The audiobook has a bonus Q & A with the author and a lot of scriptural declarations and affirmations.  I gave this audiobook four stars **** on Goodreads. (Library audiobook)

What have you been reading lately?  Please share in the comments.  See you again soon!

😊📕Deb📙💙

"A writer only begins a book.  A reader finishes it. "

~Samuel Johnson

Happy Reading!

Rainy Memorial Day Weekend and a Few Thoughts About the Last Two Weeks

Three day weekends are always nice, especially after stressful, hectic and heartbreaking weeks like this last one has been.  Memorial Day is the final holiday weekend of the school year.  We have three days of school next week, and then we are finished for the school year, and summer vacation 2022 begins on Friday, June 3. 

Because classes were over early on Friday, we were able to come home from school early with the principal's permission.  I brought home the plants I have had in my classroom this past.  I have two nice east-facing windows in my classroom and the plants have flourished.  I hope they do as well in our office this summer.  Friday evening, we visited family graves to take flowers. 

Saturday morning dawned cool and cloudy.  Charly and I took a walk in the morning.  The clouds hung low in the mountains. By late morning, it was raining. 

At 12:30 p.m., we met friends for lunch.  The food was good and we always enjoy getting together with this couple that we have been friends with for over 43 years. 

After lunch we returned to one of the cemetery where we went on Friday night. We wanted to find Charly's grandparents, and didn't know where their graves were.  We decided to go back Saturday afternoon,  get more information on the location of the graves and take flowers there.    Fortunately, by mid-afternoon, the rain had stopped and we could do just that.  We are grateful that we were able to visit and take flowers to the graves of both sets of parents and all but one set of grandparents. 

Sunday morning, we woke up to more clouds and rain. Charly and I went to church in person.  Josh stayed home today and watched the service on Zoom.  He hasn't been feeling the greatest.  After our main service and Sunday School, Charly and I met with our bishop (Pastor) to discuss some family issues and concerns.  Our meeting was very good and the counsel we received was just what we both needed. We left out bishop's office feeling uplifted and encouraged.  Our bishop is such a kind and inspired man.  The painting above is on the wall just around the corner from our bishop's office in the church. I was looking at this picture as we were waiting.  It filled my soul with peace and hope - something I really needed.   

After church and lunch, I indexed some military and tax records over at familysearch.org   I also took a nap. The rain stopped just a bit after church and the sun even came out, but by late afternoon, it was raining steadily again.  The rain prediction is for about 1 inch of rain here in the valley this weekend and 12-18 inches of snow in the mountains.  It is late in the year for mountain snow, but the moisture is needed, so we are grateful for it. 

We had a good Sunday dinner of beef and broccoli over white rice, with Sesame Asian Salad on the side. 

At Charly's request, I made another bread pudding for dessert.  He is becoming as big a fan of bread pudding as I am. 

The rain stopped for a while after dinner so Charly and I went for walk.  I wore a flannel shirt and my winter coat on the walk, and I was not too warm.  It felt more like mid-March than the end of May. Everything is lush and green outside with all the rain we have been getting and the rain started up again before we had finished our walk, so we had to cut it short. 

When we got home, we watched another episode of The Chosen. 

After The Chosen, I relaxed and read. I am reading these two books - Setting Boundaries with Negative Thoughts and Painful Memories by Allison Bottke (nonfiction)  and Sign and Wonders by Philip Gulley (fiction). 

On my mind tonight are the horrible events of the past two weeks - in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.  Among the calls for additional laws and restrictions, and politicization of tragedy, there seems to be no real hope that anything we come up with can significantly change the trajectory of our society. I am a mom, a grandma and a teacher of young people close in age to those committed these heinous crimes.  I am brokenhearted about the relentless horror of the world we live in, and yet I am not surprised.  Our world and our society is broken.  Our families are fractured and young people are growing up without strong family connections, listening to strangers on social media sites as they form their values and ideas of right and wrong, good and bad.  We are more concerned with being able to do ANYTHING than with doing the RIGHT thing.  For too many, life has little value, people and relationships are throwaways and there is no right or wrong.  I have no idea what the solution is, or if there is ANY solution that our world and society would accept.  I just look around and see that our world, our society, our country has changed in a dark way, and I don't think that many even want to see the light.  Personally, I look to God for help, answers and peace.  I believe that our society would be better if more people lived the Ten Commandments and followed the teachings of Jesus Christ, moms and dads were married, emotionally present and involved in their children's lives, families worshipped together, and our society wasn't awash in guns that have no purpose other than killing innocent humans. Nothing I think or say will change the brokenness of our world.  That is something only God can fix. I just try to be kind, love those around me and offer encouragement and help to whoever I can.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• All those who have given their lives for our freedom
• Rain
• Visiting family graves with Charly and Josh
• Lunch with friends
• Friends I have made in our church congregation family
• A good Sunday worship service
• A wise and loving bishop
• Counsel from our bishop
• Opportunities to help someone in need and give encouragement this weekend
• My toe is still bruised and tender, but the infection is much better
• Monday off
• Summer vacation is close!

Coming up this week:

• Monday - Memorial Day - day off!
• Tuesday - Back to school for the last three days of the year.
• Thursday - Final day of the school year
• Friday - Summer break begins 😊

That's all for now. 

🙏💙Deb💛🙏

Friday Gratitude

With the events that took place in Uvalde, Texas, and earlier in Buffalo, New York, this has been a heartbreaking couple of weeks.  When horrible things happen it is easy to allow feelings of grief and depression to overtake us - at least I find that is the case with me.   To make matters worse, we had a "copycat" threat of sorts at the school where I teach, and while it did not amount to anything, it was unnerving and anxiety producing.  It was helpful to me to take a few minutes tonight to focus on good things.  Here are some of the things I am grateful for this Friday evening. I am joining again with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and Rebecca Jo at Knit by God's Hand for Friday evening gratitude. 

Relief! - I have been dealing with an badly ingrown and infected toe this past week.  I tried to take care of it myself, but it got worse and worse and by midweek, I could hardly walk I was in so much pain.  I called our family doctor and got an appointment for the next day.  The doctor removed the troublesome nail and prescribed antibiotic to deal with the infection.  The whole procedure was definitely not pain free, but I am on the mend.  The infection is abating and the pain is lessening.  I am grateful for a good doctor and modern medicines that can help with problems big and small. 

Garden -  I admit that I haven't done much out on my back patio container garden this year, but I have some snap peas that I planted coming up, as well as some gorgeous Clematis and Peony flowers and some baby grapes and ripening strawberries.    I am grateful to have such beautiful plants right out on my back patio.  

Graves - Friday of Memorial Day weekend is the day we like to visit and take flowers to family graves.  Josh came with us this year.  I am grateful for family members who came before, for my faith that this life is not the end and for being part of God's eternal family. 

Walks - Josh wanted to go on some walks with me this past week, and one of our walks took us to an area north of here near to where I grew up and my parents lived before they passed.  After our walk, my toe was really throbbing with pain, but I did manage to stop and get a picture of the this awesome view of the Great Salt Lake as seen from the "Bountiful Bench" where we were walking  It was a lovely evening for a walk and I am grateful that Josh still likes to walk and hike with his mom. 

Books - I finished a couple of good books this week.  I am always grateful for good, uplifting books, especially on weeks filled with things that aren't very uplifting.  

Thanks for stopping by to share my late Friday gratitude.  Prayers for all of the families and hearts shattered by the horrible events in Texas and New York.   May God grant us all peace and grace and heal our brokenness. 

🙏💔Deb💔🙏

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us."

~Anne Lamott

Our Weekend

Here's a little about our weekend:

Friday the temperatures dropped a lot (gardeners were warned to cover tomatoes and other tender plants due to freezing temps overnight).  We had some rain in the afternoon.

After I got home from school, I had a dental check-up and teeth cleaning.  Everything was fine - I had no cavities or other problems. 

We got Subway Sandwiches for an easy dinner.  They were very good.

After dinner, the rain had stopped, so Charly and I put on our coats and went for an evening walk.  

I was badly in need of new walking shoes, and I had a coupon for a nearby shoe store, so we went there Saturday morning.  Charly and I both got a couple of pair of new shoes.  

After lunch on Saturday, we headed out to a smallish town about 50 miles South of where we live.  Since we are looking for a place to move when I retire, we decided we should look at places here in Utah that we could comfortably afford after selling our house up here in Utah. We met up with a very nice young realtor and explained that we are just looking, but she was kind enough to take us through the three homes shown above.  They are all nice homes, but none were as nice as they looked in the pictures.  We weren't very impressed with the town, so decided that next time we will look in another community.  At this point, we are just exploring our options. We don't know if we will stay in Utah, or move to another state.  When school is out, we are planning a trip to look at possibilities in Idaho and Northern California, then later in the summer, we will probably go to  Colorado. 

I made "White Trash Sliders" for dinner. This was another recipe idea from Mari over at My Little Corner of the World. The sliders were good and we all enjoyed them.   Mari always shares excellent recipes on her blog. 

After dinner, Charly and I went for an evening walk, then we headed over to the gas station to fill the car up and run it through the car wash. 

Sunday morning, Charly, Josh and I all gathered in our living room and listened to Zoom church.  

Shortly after church, Josh and I headed out to an area about 18 miles south of here to get back on the Jordan River Trail. We hiked about 36 out and back miles on the trail last summer, but had to stop due to construction and a detour on the trail. Today, we figured out the detour route and hiked 4.72 out and back miles from Parry Farms Park to Jordan Narrows.  It was a perfect day for a hike - sunny, but not at all too hot. There was also a nice breeze blowing to help us not get too warm.  Here are some pictures from today's time on the trail.

Josh and I were the only people on the trail for most of our hike. There were a few bicyclists as we neared the end, but for the most part is was incredibly peaceful and quiet.  As I walked, I loved listening to birds and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees.  It was a great day for a walk, and we were very happy to be back out on the trial. We hope to complete the entire trail before Josh goes to school in July. 

When we got back home from our hike, I spent some time out on the back patio, watering and checking on my container garden.  I was pleased to see that my clematis is out in bloom.  

And there are little green strawberries.  I'm really excited about these. 

I finished two books over the weekend.  The first was this devotional book, Don't Miss This in The Old Testament by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler.  

The second book I finished was Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty.  Both books were good in different ways.  I will include them in my reading roundup post at the end of the month. 

Dinner was tacos and Sesame Asian salad.   It was delicious. 

I made another batch of bread pudding for dessert.  Bread pudding is probably my favorite dessert and it always reminds me of my mom. 💕

After dinner, we watched another episode of The Chosen to end our Sabbath Day.   

Coming up this week:

Monday - Friday - Last academic week of the school year

Monday - Appointment after school

Thursday - Book group meeting

Friday - Jury Duty for Josh

Saturday - Meeting friends for lunch

Weekend Gratitude:

• Good dental check-up
• A little rain and cooler temperatures
• Sunshine and warmer temperatures
• New shoes
• Hike with Josh
• Delicious meals
• Finished two books

Thanks for stopping by. Hope your weekend was good. Have an awesome week.  😊

🙏💙Deb💛🙏