September Reading Roundup

It's the end of another month.  I managed to finish five books in September - two fiction and three nonfiction.  By far the best book I read in September was the first one, The Indigo Girl, by Natasha Boyd, which I wholeheartedly recommend.  Here is a brief review of that book and the others I read in September 2025. 

The Indigo Girl *****

by Natasha Boyd

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Format:  Kindle (library loan)

In 1739, sixteen-year-old Eliza Lucas' father leaves her in charge of the family's three plantations in South Carolina, while he goes off to pursue his military ambitions.  Eliza's mother is unwell, and Eliza's brother is away being educated, so she must figure out a way to make the plantations profitable so that the family doesn't lose everything.  When Eliza hears about how much the French pay for Indigo dye, she comes up with a plan to grow Indigo plants and manufacture and sell the valuable blue dye.  However, Eliza knows nothing about growing the plant and making the dye.  As she tries to learn the process, her efforts seem to be thwarted at every turn. This wonderful book is based on actual events and the real letters of Eliza Lucas, who overcame all odds and learned to produce Indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports of the American South. Eliza not only gave the colonies a valuable export that helped finance the Revolutionary War, but she was also the mother of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. George Washington was a pallbearer at her funeral, which shows the respect and esteem our nation's founders had for this woman.  Eliza's story is fascinating, and the book is one of the best ones I have read this year, which is why I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

Letter to the American Church ****

by Eric Metaxis

Genre:  Christian nonfiction

Format:  Audiobook (library loan)

In this book, author Eric Metaxis draws a parallel between American Christianity and the German Lutheran Church in the 1930s when Hilter was rising to power. Deitrich Bonhoffer, a German pastor gave his freedom and ultimately his life to speak up and defend the scriptural truth about the Jews and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of Nazi persecution. Metaxis says that American Christians also have a responsibility to speak up about the evil we see in our modern society, including abortion, transgender ideology, the destruction of the family, and other ills. The church has an irreplaceable responsibility to call out and confront evil, and according to Metaxis, American Christians have become complacent and accepting of  sin and evil.  According to Dietrich Bonhoffer and Metaxis, "silence in the face of evil is evil itself. God will not hold us guiltless."  This book is a real wake-up call to Christians.  We must stand for what is true and Godly in the face of the evils becoming more and more entrenched in our society.  This book was interesting to listen to, and more, it was a true inspiration to me.  For this reason, I gave the book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

52 Churches in 52 Weeks ****

by Dave Boice

Genre:  Christian

Format:  Kindle Unlimited

I have always enjoyed learning about churches and religions different than the one I was brought up in, so when I saw this book available for Kindle Unlimited, I had to download it and read it.  After his fiancée unceremoniously dumps him, author Dave Boice, takes a hard look at everything in his life, including the church he was brought up in and had attended his entire life.  He had always been told that his church was the "one true church" (he was protestant - I believe Methodist if memory serves), but when Boice felt that his life had been turned upside down, he went on a quest to find God in other places.  He began attending other churches, (mostly Christian, but some non-Christian), and he wrote about his experiences with different denominations.  Boice traveled across America from New York to L.A. exploring numerous faith traditions and attending many different churches. He also started a Youtube channel about his experiences with other churches, also called 52 Churches in 52 Weeks.   I enjoyed reading this book. Boice has a dry wit and a bit of sarcastic humor that makes the book interesting, but sometimes feels irreverent as he describes different faith traditions.   By the end of the book, the author had still not found a new church home, but he had been dumped by another fiancée.  He vowed, however, to continue looking for God and truth wherever He could find them.  After the book was published in 2019, Boice continued his search for God, which he documented on his Youtube channel.  Earlier this year, he found an joined his new Christian home and you can find out more about that here.  I gave the book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.  

$2.00 a Day ****

by Kathryn Edin

Genre: Socio/Political

Format:  Audiobook (library loan)

This book details the lives of several families and individuals from different parts of our nation who subsist on next to nothing. It's hard to imagine how someone could survive on $2.00 a day, but according to the book, such poverty is not uncommon in our nation.  Nothing about life is easy for those living with this kind of destitution, and this book allows some of these very poor people to describe their lives in their own words. I found this book interesting and heartrending.  I can't imagine living and trying to raise a family in this extreme kind of want.  There are government programs and policies designed to help the poor, but, as the author explains, they are mostly ineffective and don't solve the root causes of poverty.  The book gives a voice to some people who have very little voice or say in their lives.  The portions of the book about laws and policy were not as interesting or impactful as the stories of the people, so I gave the book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.  

The Vanishing Girls ***

by Lisa Regan

Genre:  Suspense/Mystery

Format: Kindle Unlimited

When a number of girls go missing and the police force of a small town appears to be involved, it takes Detective Josie Quinn to unravel the mystery. This is a pretty typical suspense book, with a predictable plot, but way too much violence for my tastes.  I gave the book 3/5 stars on Goodreads because it was somewhat of a page turner, but I doubt I will seek out any more books from the prolific Kindle Unlimited author Lisa Regan. 

That's it for my September Reading Roundup. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for sharing a book you would recommend in the comments.  Also, what are your October reading plans? Anything good on your Kindle or nightstand for fall?

Until next time,

📚Deb📚

On My Mind - Keeping It Real

I won't pretend that I haven't been very much affected by the horrible church shooting and burning that took place in Michigan yesterday, because I belong to the same denomination, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am borrowing the text of today's post from an excellent post I read on Facebook yesterday, in the interest of spreading some light and understanding about the Christian church that was attacked.

Hey friends- in light of things going on in the world today, I have read lots and lots of comment sections (bad plan) and seen lots and lots of confusion, and I feel led to make this little post about my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to refer to us most respectfully, but commonly known as "Mormons." Not the same as FLDS or RLDS) in case anyone wants some clarifying info.

First off- We believe in Jesus Christ! We worship Him! He is our Lord and Savior! We have a modern, living prophet lives in this world today, and we believe our prophet receives revelation from God for the people of the world, just like the prophets in Biblical times did. He is the prophet of the world, and the President of our church. Our now-previous prophet, Russell M. Nelson, died last night of (presumably) natural causes at the age of 101. He was not killed in the shooting in Michigan. (Major misconception I've seen several times.) We love him and mourn his loss, but believe that he will be reunited with his family gone before him and our Lord, Jesus Christ, in joy and peace that he truly deserves. We will sustain a new Prophet in a worldwide meeting next weekend (coincidentally- this is a meeting that takes place twice every year in April and October, not a meeting specifically due to the death of President Nelson) called General Conference.

It is heartbreaking for these two events to have occurred within hours of each other, but at the moment, there's no evidence of a connection or lack thereof between this attack and the death of our Prophet.

Next, some terminology I've seen causing confusion. Our church is very well organized. We attend weekly Sunday meetings in geographically-divided groups called "Wards." There are several Wards in a Stake. Most of our church buildings house anywhere from one to four Wards, depending on the population density in the area. When more than one Ward attends meetings in the same building, they are generally on either reversed, staggered, or overlapping schedules, to use the building most efficiently. These buildings are separate from our Temples, which we reserve for our most sacred worship.

Our main Sunday meeting, comparable to communion or Eucharist, is called "Sacrament Meeting." It's an hour long, and we partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's Atonement and the promises we have made to God. Our Sacrament is passed by boys ages 11+ (deacons), prepared by boys 13+ (teachers), and blessed by boys 15+ (priests). All members of the ward attend Sacrament Meeting together, from newborn on up.

During our second hour, where we divide by age for our Sunday School classes. The children's Sunday School is called "Primary," and serves children from 18 months to 3 years old in a Nursery, and 3-11 in groups divided by birth year (and sometimes combined). The meeting that was attacked today was a Sacrament Meeting, meaning that all ages of one Ward were together in the chapel of the meetinghouse at the time.

Our Wards are led by Bishops, who have counselors, and together make up what we call a "Bishopric." They are lay ministers, meaning they are volunteers who devote their time to leading the congregation without payment. In most cases (unless they're retired) they have full-time jobs and families just like the members of the congregation. Bishops do not "preach" in our Sacrament meetings- they preside over the meeting, but we (Ward members) take turns speaking during our meetings. All Sunday School teaching, music, maintenance, etc., is facilitated by members as volunteer services.

You may hear/read rumors that this was "Primary Program Week," which I have seen posted in many places and may or may not be accurate. A "Primary Program" is the one week of the year that the children ages 3-11 take over Sacrament Meeting and share the Gospel of Christ in song and spoken word under the direction of the Primary leaders. This (fall/Q4) is the time of year that Primary Programs traditionally take place, and they tend to be some of the best-attended Sacrament Meetings of the year.

We have a lot of terms that are used in other religions, but don't quite mean the same thing, and like I said I'm already seeing tons of misunderstandings in response to media reports (and frankly just a lot of reporters doing their absolute best in an awful situation that don't know quite the right terminology). If you see something that confuses you or sounds strange, please feel free to comment here or send me a private message and I'll be happy to do my best to clarify. That goes for jargon, doctrine, cultural references, anything.

I believe the better we know each other the easier it is to love each other, so I'm happy to offer an opportunity for you to get to know Latter-day Saints, "The Mormons," a little better here, if you'd like. Heaven knows we desperately need more love in this world.

I'm not sure who to give credit to for this explanation, but it is true and correct as far as I am concerned. I love my Christian brothers and sisters in Christ - all who are trying to believe in and follow Jesus, no matter what their denomination. I love the church I have belonged to all of my life. It is where I have come to know and love Jesus. I pray we can all come together as Christians and seek and spread the love that Jesus taught instead of divisiveness and hate.

Until next time,

💔Deb💗

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; 

for God is love.

~I John 4: 7-8

The Final Weekend of September

It was a busy, but enjoyable weekend.  Here are some highlights. 

On Friday, I finished my one-week assignment at Wasatch Junior High.  I liked this school. The students were nice and respectful.  It is one of the nicer parts of Salt Lake City on the East Bench near the mountains.  This school was about five miles from my house and it only took me about 15 minutes to drive there in the morning. Beginning Monday, I will be at another junior high about twenty miles west of my home.  As the old saying goes, "variety is the spice of life" and I am sure getting a lot of variety this school year.  Some people have asked me if I miss teaching at the high school where I taught for five years - the answer is not at all.  I am happy to be away from that toxic environment. 

Friday night, Charly and I went to worship at the temple.  I love going to the temple at the end of a busy and sometimes stressful week. 

Saturday morning, we walked at the mall before the stores opened, as usual. 

We then went to Utah County to take our son-in-law to lunch for his birthday which is next week.  He wanted to go Zupas, and we all really enjoyed the excellent food they have there.  Our son-in-law is a great guy and we really enjoyed having lunch with him. We also got to see and visit with our daughter and some of the grandchildren who were home.  It was a great afternoon. 

Later, we went to Costco, out of necessity, because I never enjoy going to Costco.  It was super busy and crowded.  I decided that a Costco pizza would be a "quick and easy" dinner.  We haven't purchased a Costco pizza in years, and I forgot how huge they are.  We waited, what seemed like forever, for our order to be ready, but at last we left the store with our dinner in the pizza box.  We couldn't eat anywhere close to all or even half of it, so we decided to have pizza leftovers on Sunday, which would be a nice Sunday cooking break as well. 

When we were at our daughter's house earlier on Saturday, she gave us this cute little round watermelon that she grew in her garden this year.  We had the watermelon for desert and it was pretty good!

After dinner, Saturday evening, I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  I didn't get back to the house until sunset, which is shown in the picture.  It was a beautiful sunset, and the picture doesn't really do it justice.  It was a nice, cool evening - definitely fall.

Sunday morning, I woke up to a news alert about the death of the current prophet of the church I belong to, Russell M. Nelson.  He just turned 101, so his death was not really unexpected, but it is always sad when a beloved, inspired leader dies.  Our prophet is much like the Pope is to the Catholic church. 

Just before we went to church on Sunday, we found out the horrendous news that there was a mass shooting at one of the chapels of the church I belong to in Michigan.  Four people were killed, a number were injured, and the church was burned to the ground.  It was another horrible, senseless act of violence.  It is all so sad.   So many very troubling and evil things have taken place recently.  

Sunday dinner was leftover Costco pizza, two kinds of green salad, and fruit.  

I took a walk after dinner.  You can see how cloudy it was.  Rain is in the forecast.  We sure need some.  I must admit that my mood today, with the horrible attack on the church in Michigan, has been just about as gray as the clouds during my walk.  Today has been a very heavy day. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Spending time with our daughter, son-in-law, and their family. 
• Worshipping at church. 
• Receiving a lovely email of prayers and condolences from a blogging friend after the terrible church shooting in Michigan.  She knew I would be upset since the shooting took place in the denomination I am a member of. 
• Accomplishing some things on my "to-do" list.

Praying for:

• A couple of family members who are having a rough time.
• Those injured in the church shooting and arson in Michigan and their families.
• Our nation.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.  Praying that this week can be a good and hopeful one.  

💔Deb💔

"Each day is a day of decision,

and our decisions determine our destiny."

~Russell M. Nelson

Tuesday 4 - It's Time for Fall!

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4... are you ready for Autumn?

Monday,  September 22 is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of the Autumn season.  

Autumn is the name of the season, and fall is the term for the time of Autumn when leaves begin to fall from the trees.   Let's discuss it.....

1. Are there pumpkins or chrysanthemums on your porch or are you planning on putting some out?  

I have two pots with yellow chrysanthemums on my front porch.  The plant in the pot on the right is farther out in bloom, as you can see, but hopefully in a week or two, I'll have lovely yellow blooming chrysanthemums on both sides of my front porch. I have a "Give Thanks" pumpkin hanging under the flag and a smiling scarecrow on the front porch with a "Welcome Fall" sign, although it is hard to see in the picture.  The flags have been up since the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and they also honor the victims of 9/11.  It just felt right to keep the flags up for a while.   No pumpkins out yet because I didn't grow any this year.  I may get one to put out on the porch nearer to Halloween.

2. Are stores around you showing Autumn clothing and decor now?  

Last time we were at our local mall (we walk there every Saturday morning before the stores open), I saw lots of fall clothing in store windows - notably, stores like Hollister, American Eagle, and Nordstroms.    A few places have already started on Christmas, and I expect decorations will be up in the mall before long. 

3. Do you have plans for Thanksgiving yet?       

Yes, right now, our plans are to go to St. George, Utah for Thanksgiving. We will probably eat Thanksgiving dinner at Black Bear Diner like we did last year, and then do some hiking.  Josh will come with us, and we will stay in our timeshare condo.  These plans are subject to change.   

4 . If we can arrange an autumn trip or get away for you, where will you choose to go and why?

We have a fall break trip to Eastern Idaho planned.  It won't happen until mid-October when I have fall break from school.  We aren't really going to see the fall leaves, but I suspect we will see some.  We are going to the town where Josh went to college, Rexburg.  He would like to move back and wants to check out job and housing possibilities there.  

That's all for now.  Here's hoping that your autumn is colorful and beautiful in all the best ways!

Until next time,

🍂Deb🍂

"Autumn is the season that teaches us

that change can be beautiful."

~Heather Stillufsen

A Good Weekend at the End of Summer

Here are the highlights of our three-day weekend at the end of summer.  The weekend was a good one! 

I had Friday off as a comp day for parent-teacher conferences, which, because I am a district long-term sub, I did not have to attend.  I was very happy to have Friday off, and slept in, and then Charly and I went to mall for our morning walk.  

After the mall, we went grocery shopping. We shop at a large store that is a Kroger affiliate and a "marketplace" store with a clothing section.  There was a summer clearance sale in the clothing section going on, and these shoes caught my eye, because I am always looking for comfortable shoes. They were 50% off the already marked down price so I ended up getting both pairs of Reeboks for $16 each  - $32 for both.  I thought that was a great deal. I always like to have shoes on hand so that when I wear out a pair, I have something waiting in the closet.

Friday ended up being a day of shopping and getting some great deals, although we didn't really plan that.  After grocery shopping and lunch, we went to one of my favorite bookstores that was closing and had everything marked down.  We got some fun children's books to take to the grandkids, and I also got new 2026 calendars for my daughter and I.  Everything was between 75% and 90% off.  

Friday evening, I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  It was cool and cloudy - great walking weather.  We got just a bit of rain overnight on Friday, but we need much, much more.  It has been a very dry summer. 

Meanwhile, Josh took Friday night off and went to a speed dating activity.  I didn't know speed dating was still a thing, but he went and said it was pretty fun.  He is still looking for that special lady to marry. 

Saturday afternoon, we headed down to Utah County.  You can see the orange leaves just starting to show on "Y Mountain" so called because of the big Y for BYU which you can see if you look closely on the middle right-hand side of the picture. 

We went to another open house in Utah County, and we really liked this one, but we can't put an offer on anything until our investment condo sells.

We had an early dinner at The Creamery on the BYU campus - one of our favorite fun, delicious and cheap places to eat in Utah County.  We had cheeseburgers and onion rings and topped the meal off with some of their locally famous Creamery ice cream.

While we were in Utah County, we went to one of our favorite thrift stores.  I didn't intend to buy anything, but it's always fun to browse for unexpected treasures.  I found this brand-new Columbia Omniheat rain jacket for only $6.  I looked online, and a jacket like this, in the store, would be $80 to $150!  So I got another unexpected great deal on something I will be able to use a lot as the weather gets cooler, and hopefully wetter!

Sunday, we went to church with our daughter and her family at their congregation about 40 miles south of where we live. The service was well attended, and about 50 children participated in the program, including our two youngest granddaughters.  It was a wonderfully delightful worship service, and I'm so glad we could attend!  After the main service, we attended Sunday School with our daughter and son-in-law.

Our daughter and her husband made us a wonderful spaghetti dinner as an early birthday dinner.  Everything was so good!

Our daughter also made us a delicious triple berry cobbler as birthday cake.  Here's the family singing happy birthday to us.  

We love to spend time with our daughter and her family and Sunday was a very nice day. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having an extra day (Friday) off.
• Enjoying lots of time with Charly. 
• Attending church and having dinner with our daughter and her family.
• Getting some great deals on things we need (and maybe didn't need).

Praying for:

• Our nation.
• Help in my new long-term sub teaching assignments.
• Josh in finding a good place to live when he moves out in a few months.

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Courage is contagious. 

When a brave man takes a stand,

the spines of others

are often stiffened."

~Billy Graham

Another September Week - Favorites and Gratitude

It's hard to believe that fall is literally right around the corner, but here we are, almost to the last quarter of the year.  Here are some of the things I am grateful most grateful for from the past week.  I am joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 This week, I finished my assignment at the junior high where I have been teaching for the past month. I can't say that I'm sorry to be leaving.   The assignment has been a bit challenging some days, but I am grateful for the things I learned and that I did make some connections with some of the students. 

😊 I was given two new long-term sub assignments at the two junior high pictured above. The two assignmnets will both be in special education classrooms and will go until mid-October.  I am grateful for all of those special education classes I took a few years ago in Arizona and I'm grateful to have a job with good pay and benefits until I retire in a few months.  

😊 In the evening, Charly and I watched an episode or two of this series on Netflix,  called Untamed.   It is excellent.  My blogging friend Faith over at Gold in the Cloud recommended it.  It takes place in Yosemite National Park and the surrounding area of Central Valley California where we lived in the early 1990s. We finished the first season Thursday night. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm grateful for something interesting to watch as I take a few minutes to relax in the evening. 

😊 I'm grateful for lovely late summer/early fall weather that made walking outside each evening this past week a delight. 

😊 I get Friday off this week, as a comp day for two parent teacher conference nights.  I didn't have to be at parent teacher conferences and went home at the regular time each afternoon, and I still get Friday off!  I'm grateful for an extra weekend day to relax, rest up and get things done!

That's all for this week.  Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend. 

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

"Happiness cannot be

traveled to, owned, 

earned, worn or consumed. 

Happiness is the 

spiritual experience of 

living every minute with

love, grace and gratitude."

~ Denis Waitley

Mid-September Weekend

 Here's how my weekend went.

Friday night, Charly and I went to worship at the temple. We both needed some peaceful time of worship and prayer after all the crazy things that happened last week.  

Saturday was my birth mother's 86th birthday.  I sent her the blanket you see folded on the left side of the paper.  I called her and we had a nice talk. 

Saturday morning, after walking at the mall, we went to Utah country to take our daughter Tiffany to lunch for her birthday.  as we drove under the overpass in Orem, Utah, near Utah Valley University, we saw all of these flags.  The flags were to honor Charlie Kirk. We also saw people flying flags from their vehicles.  

I think that many in Utah and the Orem community near Utah Valley University are just heartbroken by what happened last week.  What happened DOES NOT in any way represent Utah or Utah values at all. 

When we got to our daughter's home, it was about 12:30 p.m.. She wanted to have Mexican food for her birthday lunch, so we went to Beto's in Spanish Fork, a town near her home. 

When we got to Utah County, the clouds were low on the mountain.  I thought we would get rain before the day was through, but we didn't. 

After we got home, my 14-year-old grandson texted me this picture.  He loves to fish and went fishing at a nearby lake Saturday afternoon and caught this huge fish.  I loved getting this picture.  

Later, when we got home, I went for an evening walk.  I passed the yard of a 90+ year old woman who has the most beautiful rose garden I have ever seen! I also love to pass her yard and stop and smell the roses!

Sunday, I slept in much later than I usual do. I was pretty tired - it was an exhausting week. I got up and hustled to get our dinner, hamburger soup, prepped and in the crock pot before we went off to church.  We had wonderful messages at church.  We heard from a man who was raised Jewish and another who was raised Hindu, but both became Christians and bore powerful testimonies of what Christ had done in their lives.   There were a lot of people at church today, and I was glad that so many were there.  Did the assassination of Charlie Kirk have something to do with that?  I don't know, but I am glad that so many were there to worship Jesus Christ. 

After church, I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  It was cloudy and cooler than it has been for a while. Fall is definitely on the way!

I was in a bit of a cookie-baking mood Sunday afternoon, so I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and then a batch of gingerbread cookies.  It wasn't much work because I had the chocolate chip cookie dough, and I made the gingerbread cookies from a mix.  

Sunday dinner was slow-cooker hamburger soup, green salad, and Ciabatta bread.  I won't include the recipe for the hamburger soup because, while it was very good, I want to tweak the recipe a bit next time I make it.  After dinner, we took some cookies over to the home of friends from church and visited with them for a bit.  

After dinner, Josh and I went to a favorite walking trail to end our Sunday with a peaceful walk in a beautiful place.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Going to our daughter's house. 
• Traveling safely.
• Spending time with friends and family. 
• Worshipping at the temple and church.  

Praying For:

• Our nation.
• Our grandchildren - one in particular who is struggling.
• Our children.

That's all for this weekend.  Have a good week. 

God bless America!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"All death can do to the believer

is deliver him to Jesus."

~Charlie Kirk