7 by Jen Hatmaker

New Year's Day is only a few days away and I shared yesterday about the Empty Shelf Challenge from Jon Acuff.  I added my first book today.  O.K.  I admit, I didn't read an entire book in one day but with a little head start and a day at home I was able to finish this amazing book and feel challenged for the New Year.

7 has a subtitle, "an experimental mutiny against excess"  The author takes us along with her as she identifies 7 areas of her life that she wants to focus on reducing the excess.  Some are as tangible as only wearing 7 items of clothing for an entire month ( I could do this if I didn't have to wear scrubs to work-I'm thinking about modifying it).  Some were a little more complex, like reducing stress.  In addition to these two areas, she also tackles, spending, waste, food, possessions, and media.  

The most refreshing part of the entire book is that she didn't get all legalistic on us.  She was authentic when she screwed up, and she also allowed others to bless her or take a challenge alongside her.   I've been in a minimalist mode for the past several months.  Slowly and methodically, clearing the clutter.  It is much easier said than done, when you have 6 people living in one house, we got a lot of STUFF!  What I'm finding though is exactly what Jen was able to identify in her experiment.  The less I have, the more I can focus on living the life God designed for me.  

My favorite quote of the entire book came near the end, when she said, "when did the church stop living the Bible and instead start studying it?"   I want to live the Bible and if cutting the excess stuff out of my life can help direct me down that path-I'm all for it.   Let's see how many passengers will come along with me.  Oh, By The Way, I'm not cutting down my reading or blogging to 7, so get ready to help me fill that Empty Shelf and I bet by the end of the year, we'll all have at least 7 ways reading has impacted our lives!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Empty Shelf Project

I follow Jon Acuff on several social media sites and he has a challenge that I want to extend to all of you...It's called the Empty Shelf project.   I'm attaching the link to his blog, you'll have scroll down to his 12/24/2013 entry to read it, but the 4-1-1 on the project is to find an shelf in your home and empty it!  As you read books through the year, add them to the shelf.   At the end of the year, you're shelf will have a whole new look and you will have a whole new reading list that you've developed.  Who knows, maybe it will spur you on to write your own reading blog!   So get going...empty that shelf, start reading and see what exciting things happen through the world of books in 2014!


http://acuff.me/

Amy

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Every once in a while, you need a book that is a total escape from reality.  Gone Girl is certainly that kind of book.  Writing a book review for this book has proved to be difficult because as the book kept me guessing until the last page, any specific information that I share with my readers has the potential to spoil the surprise. 

The book is full of surprises and interestingly, it is written from the viewpoint of both main characters over a period of time.  When Nick’s wife goes missing, his side of the story begins to unravel.  One minute I found myself rooting for Nick and the next, just like the supporting characters in the story, I found myself unsure about Nick, but of course at this point in the book I am only hearing Nick’s story.  Enter his missing wife, Amy, and my swaying back and forth between how I feel is compounded. 

 In a series of entries, written by either Amy or Nick, the author succeeds in causing me not only to doubt Nick’s story, but Amy’s as well and in turn, doubt my response as the reader.  Do I like the characters or am I mad at them?  Do I believe Nick or Amy?  Do I stay up just 30 more minutes and read or do I turn out the light so I can start my day in the morning?  I tended to stay up too late, get honked at in the drive trough as I was reading to get to the next part, and urgently read before I needed to return it to the library.  These are all components of a successful fiction book filled with escape and mystery.  

You’ll keep reading until the end and find yourself wishing for just a little more!

Bread and Wine

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

I love it when I chose a book that I know nothing about and absolutely fall in love with the book, the author, and the words.   I had that experience with Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  Ms. Niequist writes about some of my favorite subjects, food, family, and her Christian walk and she does it with honesty and humility. 

From the introduction, where she says, “Food is the language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don’t know what to say, when there are not words to say. …  It’s the think that connects us, that bears our traditions, …our ability to live and breathe each day.  Food matters”, to the closing chapters where she pens the words, “And the table is where we return to stitch our hearts back together after the breaking”. 

Along the way she shares recipes and stories that are from the heart.  The stories make me want to recreate not only the meals but to create my own memories surrounding them.  I believe that is her intention.  She hopes to instill in each reader, a love not only for the food but more importantly for the symbolism that we can begin to associate with each family dinner, with each bar-b-que with friends, and with each breaking of bread in our faith. 

I fell in love with the book, I am now a faithful reader of her blog and you can absolutely be sure that I am ready to read her other two books but I think I’ll do that after I enjoy a little “Bread and Wine”.  

Paris In Love

Maybe it’s the secret desire I have to reinvent myself, or maybe it’s the recognition that life is as full as we make it; but something drew me to the title of this book and the synopsis which shared the author and her family relocating to Paris for a year.   Although I am not sure I would be quite that adventurous, throwing caution to the wind, and spending a year reconnecting with myself and those closest to me doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Ms. James is extremely candid throughout the book and though brutally honest at times, I found myself wondering how much rebellion she must have truly faced when she uprooted her husband, and two children, ages 15 and 11 to leave the life they had created for one entire year.  In my home, we would have had a revolt.  Her family seemed to embrace the adventure even with the hurdles they encountered along the way.

The memoir is broken up in to little tidbits of her life.  Some as short as a facebook post, and most no more than an “blog”, but in these short essays she covers the entire year, highlighting both the high and low points.  I chose to listen to this book on audio tape but I would recommend the paper or electronic version since her writing style in this book, jumps quickly from one moment to the next.  Listening on audio could quickly lead to confusion.  Once I realized the writing/listening style.  I found myself eager to listen to her next essay.  From the friends they made, to the struggles her family had,  from the 27 pound chiuaua to the death of her dear friend Rose, you’ll find yourself laughing and crying within the same few moments. 

Moments that replicate life for all of us, whether in a small rural community, a large city, or even Paris France, are easily identified in her honest sharing of Paris in Love

U Is For Undertow

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

No one weaves a story like Sue Grafton and there are very few private eyes, like Kinsey Milhone.  There are very few authors that I have read consistently for over 20 years, but Sue Grafton has captured me from the early 90’s with A is for Alibi and although I have had gaps in my years of reading, I have finally made it to U is for Undertow and it kept me guessing until the end.

The story opens with Kinsey investigating a case of a missing child that occurred over 20 years ago.  In addition to reading Kinsey’s narrative, we are also transported to the mid 60’s to be introduced to what appears to be unrelated characters, but of course Ms. Grafton, expertly weaves the stories of their lives into a related story that has you guessing the relationships, the history, and the potential outcomes.   All classic elements of a great mystery.  Along the way, we continue to pick up bits and pieces of Kinsey’s family history, which is a mystery in itself. 

From the well defined descriptions of the people and places, you are transported to Santa Theresa, California in both the 1960’s and the 1980’s.  As I recently realized, it takes great expertise to write a novel set in the technology of the 1980’s, while living in the 21 century.   There are times, when as a reader, I even wonder to myself, “why didn’t she just call on her cell phone?” 

As the plot begins to reach a close, all the seemingly unrelated pieces fall into place with an element of suspense and of course an end to the investigation.   I will quickly starting reading “V is for Vengance” and will have to admit that when she finally roles out the “Z” novel, I imagine I will spend a few day s in mourning, as I think about the history of my life and the times I have read Sue Grafton novels.

Everyday

Everyday by David Levithan

It always thrills me when one of my kids says, “Hey mom, I think you should read this book.  You’d really like it”.  It makes me feel connected to them in several ways.  One is that they are sharing my love of reading but the second is that the books they usually have chosen reflect that they understand something about me and what I like to read.  That means a lot when you are living with young adults, who will always be your babies.  

Recently, my almost 21 year old suggested I read the book Everyday.  She said she knew I liked books about time travel and this was kind of like that, in a way.   She was right, I did like the book and before she was born, I used to love the show Quantum Leap, although she didn’t know about that one.   The book is a “Quantum Leap” style story where, “A” wakes ups as a different person everyday.  He is always the same approximate age but his gender and location can vary.  He spends one day in the life of another person before moving on to a new body the next morning.  He is able to access his own memories as well as the person he inhabits.  This has been all he has ever known and until recently he had accepted it and chosen to never get attached or develop relationships.  One encounter changes that.

He meets a young girl and everything changes.  He wants to know her better, he wants to see her again and he begins a quest to see her again and for the first time in his life, he must share his story and his life.  Of course, it is difficult for anyone to believe but after a few meetings, she is able to be convinced that he is speaking the truth.  

This book, will keep you guessing but it will also challenge you to think about what really matters about a person.  What it means to look beyond the external and how difficult that can actually be.  It is a quick read and one that will keep you thinking about the outcome and the way you interact with those you encounter differently.   The next time my daughter says, “Hey mom, I think you should your this book.  You’d really like it”, you can bet, I’ll be heading to the nearest library to check it out.  Connections made over books, can be some of the foundational of that ever tumultuous relationship of two adult women learning how to be independent, yet knowing they can depend on each other.  

Until I Say Good Bye by Susan Spencer Wendel

One of my favorite songs is “Live Like You Were Dying”.  I recently finished reading “Until I Say Good-Bye”, and it reminded me of how I wish I could live by those words,everyday, even though I don’t have a terminal illness.

Susan Spencer, leads me through her journey and makes me want to enjoy each day.  She makes me actually want to embrace each day and to relish each moment that I am blessed with and each person that I encounter.  Early in the book, she quotes Dr. Suess, “Don’t cry because it’s over.  Smile because it happened”.  She challenges us to “enjoy life more because of the uncertainty, not less”.  It is a reminder to me that life is full of uncertainty and the way I respond to that uncertainty is what develops my character. 

As she describes her relationship with her mother, I am reminded of my own, not because of the harshness Tee sometimes provoked Susan with but instead because she describe Tee as “always smiling and insisting everything was wonderful, even when it wasn’t”.  In the past few years of my life, I have attempted to be more authentic in who I am as well as who I am becoming.  As she shares her life with her father, she recognizes his love language is doing, not saying.  This is so similar to my father and the love language he has demonstrated throughout his life that I found myself tearful, not because of her impending death but how closely I identified with her relationships.

Even in the midst of knowing her future, the author is able to be glad in the moments, to create lifetime memories, and to focus on the life, not the illness.  Her husband is a pillar of strength and their love transcends all that is real and perceived.  In his words, “The least I can do for you is everything”.  These words are the foundation of every successful marriage.

As she becomes introspective, she realizes the importance of inner strength.  She pens, “listen to what your soul is saying, and not the people around you”.  Sometimes this is much easier said than done.  She also realizes the value of relationships and specifically her sister, who she grows closer to, They allow each other to unburden their hearts, un-crowd their minds, and listen to what their souls are saying. 

As she admits her depression, I begin to feel bold enough to share some of my own struggles.  She wonders if there is a stigma to admitting depression, to admitting her moments of anger and despair.  She quotes, “If so, I chose to ignore it (the stigma) because my mind is healthy.” What a different world this would be if we could all have the courage to say these words, whether suffering from physical or emotional illness.

As she begins to draw closer to her final days with ALS, she choses to “dwell in what there remains to be grateful for.” She has learned not to want things she can’t have or can’t do.  One thing that became apparent to me is that in the midst of illness and death, life continues to go on around you.  Teenagers still have messy rooms, she can’t helicopter parent, you can’t force anything.  She looks to her children’s future, she wants them to be happy, she hopes someday her daughter finds someone that makes her happy and treats her well.  She wants to them to not fear the possible.  She wants their lives to continue. 

Susan is a fighter, she continues to fight ALS, she continues to be an inspiration for those around her and those that inspire her and her life.  As you read this book, may you also be inspired and want to “live like you were dying”.  

Wild

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Audio Book Review by Amy Hanson

Listening to an audio book is an entirely different experience.  Sometimes I find myself actually driving around for an extra ten minutes because I am so engrossed in the book.  Wild by Cheryl Strayed was one of those types of books. I would leave early to drive places just so I could sit in the parking lot for a few minutes and listen a little longer before I started my next task.

The disadvantage to listening to an audio book is that when the language is harsh or brash, you can’t just skim over it and you can’t just push fast-forward without skipping to the next tract and missing a segment of the book.  I learn to just think of it as words that have no purpose to the story and that becomes my version of “skimming”.  I had to do this a few times in the book but putting that aside, this book helped me find a little of myself, while Cheryl was finding herself in the Wild.

Cheryl is in her late 20’s when she begins to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  As she tells her story of what led up to the trail hike, I found myself both laughing and crying as she shared with raw honesty how the pain and trials of her life developed her into the person she would become by the end of her 1100 mile hike. 

She shares her childhood, which was filled with an abusive father who her brave mother finally left when Cheryl was about 6 years old  and of the step father, Eddie, who loved her “when it mattered”.  She shares the terminal illness and death of her mother and the consequent separation of her family.   As Cheryl so eloquently writes, “without my mother, we weren’t who we had been”.  It was heartbreaking to hear her share the hurt but at the same time, I was encouraged because she shared so openly and with a candor that many of us would try and hide.  She talks freely of her divorce, her spiraling downward through Heroin use and the feeling of being ready to “self disttuct”.  She does not sugar coat any part of her life or her journey but because of the openness of her hurt, she draws the reading along on her journey and brings us each to the place in our lives where we are, at least virtually, at the start of the PCT.  Beginning a journey with a “monster backpack”, unprepared in many ways but taking one step at a time. 

I couldn’t help but recognize the similarities of the baggage of Cheryl’s life with the monster backpack she was bringing along on this journey, in boots too small.   The surprising part to me was that even though she continued to carry the burdens of her life and the monster backpack, somewhere along the way, her load began to get lighter, both literally and figuratively.  

As she begins walking alone she is literally unable to stand fully erect under the weight of the backpack and has grossly underestimated the amount of miles she will be able to cover in a day.  She has thoughts of turning back and walks at times without seeing another person on the trail, listening only to the “song tracks” she has embedded in her mind (her journey was long before the IPOD made it’s appearance).  When she does encounter others along the way, she initially doesn’t want them to see her struggle to put the pack on or take it off so she would not let them assist her.   As she becomes more comfortable on the trail, she allows others to help her lighten the load, including a father son duo who help her rid the supplies that she would not need and I think also as those things fell away, she also began to lose so much of the burden she had been carrying. 

It has been said, that sometimes people go on long hikes, trips, places of solace to find themselves.   I believe Cheryl did find a little of herself along the way but more importantly I believe she learned exactly what she reminded me near the end of her story, “sometimes it’s enough to trust”.  

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake

I just returned from vacation.  I always accuse my kids of over packing when we go on a trip.  My one daughter packed six pairs of shoes, and because we traveled with 4 kids and dog, the car seemed loaded down from the moment we pulled out of the driveway but I of course, over packed as well, not only too many clothes for a week at the lake but too many books to read in 5 short days.   However, I did finish 3 books during the week and got reacquainted with one of my best friends. Ann Quindlen's book, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake  was the perfect read to round out the week.   Ms. Quindlen and I share very few of the same beliefs when it comes to politics and religion but I knew we were kindred hearts when she shared her views on marriage, family, and mothering.   I am a little behind her in age, although only by about a decade but I am already sensing much of what she has experienced and shared in this recent memoir.  From her initial penning of what she would grab in a fire, (a few old pictures and her dogs, and the jewelry she was wearing, which would include her wedding ring), she insightfully reminds me that "she'd miss the rest, but she wouldn't mourn it."   I too have found myself taking that approach towards life.  I can find myself lost in her life when she writes, "I find a pronounced urge now to shrink my surroundings, to stick to  just a few comfortable rooms, to have less instead of more".  One thing she does not wish to have less of is love.  She illustrates this well in her writings about marriage.

As she shares part of her wedding vows, I am drawn into her love for her husband.  She recognizes that at the time, the words may have been borrowed from Walt Whitman with the romantic notion of two young lovers, but she recognizes that those words were a preface to the journey they would endure.  "A journey that includes shared setbacks, challenges, knowledge, and many many things that make you crazy as well as some things that make you happy"   She goes on to say, "it's love, sure, and inside jokes, and conversational shorthand but it's also families, friends, traditions, landmarks, knowledge, history.  It's children, children whose parents' marriage is bedrock for them even when they're not children anymore, perhaps especially if they're not children anymore".

When Ann shares about her friendships, I found myself close to tears.  I have a few of those treasured friendships, some in my sisters and sister-in-laws, and some in dear friends, who offer us time at their lake house.  I have those friends that she describes, as "real friends offer both hard truths and soft landings and realize that it's sometimes more important to be nice than honest".

As Ann has realized and writes so fluently in her memoir, as we age, women especially become more insightful to the lives around us but more importantly to ourselves.  We let loose of the illusion of control, we let loose of the illusion of a being a size zero, we let loose of many of the things that we previously thought were impossible.   I am beginning to reach that phase in my life, although being a size zero still appeals to me.  I love the words she says as she talks about growing older, "by the time you've lived for fifty or sixty years, you are better armored to embrace the things about yourself that are true, even if you might think the world sees them as odd, eccentric".

She embraces solitude and embraces the happy and sad moments that life has dealt her. She helped me begin to understand what it means to be the parent of an adult child, which is applicable since my oldest will turn 21 next month.  As I read her analysis of the doctor telling her to "push" as her child was born, I began to cry as I completely understood her next sentence, "little did I know I would have to do that from then on, push to do the right thing for their sake, push to be a better because of their example.  The older I get, the more I want to be like them".

As Ms. Quindlen says near the end of her book, " I couldn't have imagined it would be like this",  I finished her book saying, I couldn't have imagined that a woman, older than myself, from a feminist generation, whose religious and political viewpoints so differ from mine, could impact me so greatly.  That, in my opinion, is the mark of a great author.  She drew me in, she opened her heart, and somewhere along the way, I opened mine too.

Deep and Wide

Today I was part of an amazing experience in my local community.  I was there for the first Sunday of a start-up of a new church.  I've been on a journey for about the past 18 months that has many times felt like I was climbing up a huge mountain and that the air was thinning and it was getting more difficult to breath the harder I had to climb.  What I didn't realize was that in the quest towards the top of the mountain, I would be growing closer to God.   I read my Bible but also read a lot about what Christianity really looks like, not necessarily what it means to be "religious".  Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley was one such book.  The subtitle on this book, is "Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend.  The whole concept of this book, caused me to pause and think about how I view my own faith and how God wants me to live that faith out.   A quote from The Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards summed up many of my feelings over the past year, "Beginning empty handed and alone frightens the best of men.  It also speaks volumes of just how sure they are that God is with them".  It is reading quotes like this that reinforce to me that when I felt truly empty as I headed up that mountain, was when I began to be assured that God was with me.  As Mr. Stanley points out, "What began as unexplainable, became institutional.  Before long, the church was less movement and more establishment.  Two thousand years later, the church is still struggling to regain it's original identity, purpose and passion".  This morning, I was blessed to feel the passion of those around me, to once again be reminded of the purpose, and to be filled with hope of what the future holds.

I wish I could say that the path will be easy now, but that would be assuming too much, and I have come to realize that it's at the times when I begin to think it will be easy, that Christ brings me back to that place of empty handedness so that I can be reassured that He is with me.  However, I spoke of the hope I felt, and although much of that surrounded the church launch, more importantly a key point from Deep and Wide was demonstrated to me.   In summary Andy Stanley says, " the cornerstone or foundation of "the church" is the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God".  He goes on to say, that "two millennia later, that is still the unifying factor within the church".   This concept of unification was so clearly illustrated by other local churches, who bowed their heads in prayer that through this church, the Kingdom would grow and that others would come to know Christ.

The author shares many thoughts throughout the book on transitioning, reaching the lost, and bringing about a new generation of young adults who are passionate about the church.  This is what motivated me to look at my life, my religion, my spirituality.  I have four kids, ages 13-21 and just as scripture says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth".  Because of this, I join Andy Stanley in staying, "surely we can find some common ground around out passion to recapture the attention and imagination of a generation of kids that is growing up in a church that can't wait to leave"   I believe this morning, I was standing on some of that common ground, in the midst of my city, singing, "Greater Thing Are Yet To Be Done In This City", all the while humming softly to myself, that old childhood Sunday School Song, "Deep and Wide"  Thank you Andy Stanley for being one of many that God has used this past year to grow my faith Deep and Wide.

Starting Over

                                    


I just finished listening to Once Upon A Time by by Debbie Macomber on audio book as well as being in the process of finishing Start by Jon Acuff and both authors challenged me that it is never to late to start over and that sometimes it is just the process that helps set me on my course to awesome or my very own happy ending.   Both authors write in different styles and both would agree that their faith is evident is all they write, although they both express it in much different ways.  Mrs. Macomber brought me to tears at times as she shared her life story and Mr. Acuff, brought me to tears of a different kind as I laughed out loud as some of his challenges to get me started on the road to awesome.  

One way that God worked through both of them is that He helped me identify that I sometimes just need to begin the process, or in this case, start the process again.  I hope you'll join with me as I write about what I am reading or which book I am listening too and how they have brought me a little closer to my "Happily Ever After" while traveling the road to Awesome.

I'll be getting up a few minutes earlier to write and study a little everyday, so I don't take time away from my precious family (thanks Mr. Acuff), and I'll be writing something everyday without concern for if it is good or if others will read it (thanks Mrs. Macomber).  If all goes well, I'll be sharing my book blog every couple weeks.  Of course, in the process, life will get busy and some weeks, you may get a repeat or a guest blog or even possibly a little glimpse of the life of a wife, mother, nurse, and wanna be writer.  

I hope as we journey together, you'll aspire to "Start" and  reach your awesome and maybe along the way,, your "Once Upon A Time" will end up with a happily ever after.

Solomon's Oak

Solomon's Oak was an escape read that I got to enjoy during the hectic time of the holidays.   Sometimes, I need a book that allows me to escape and do nothing more than fall in love with the characters in a book.  I find myself, in the midst of these books, becoming so involved with the characters that they become an extension of my "real life".  I realized the other day, it is kind-of like playing make-believe, as a grown up.  
This is the first book I have read by this author but Jo-Ann Mapson does a wonderful job of making the characters come to life and allowing us to see the authenticity of the hurts and pain of life, while keeping the aspect of hope as an ongoing theme throughout the story.  

We are introduced to Glory Solomon, Jiniper McGruire, and Joseph Vigil.  Each character brings the "baggage" of life into new relationships.  One of my favorite quotes was by Glory at the end of the book, "I'll survive Glory said and that was the problem.  Survivial was being stuck in the same place for months without a shred of comfort."  I've thought a lot about that statement and the times I have heard it used in life.  We often refer to people as "survivors".  When asking a friend, going through a traumatic time how they are doing, the answer is often, "surviving".  I, myself, have used this phrase in response to that simple question.    It makes me think about what the counter response should be.  Don't we want to live life as much more that "surviving"? 

Glory, Juniper, and Joseph all learn this through facing the reality of "surviving" life and loss.  They learn , as Juniper so eloquently states, that "people make mistakes.  They want immediate answers to life's many mysteries.  If you want a few generations, you learn bigger truths than you would have if you found answers right away" 

Solomon's Oak reminds each of us that we need to "put down roots, stand up the weather and hold fast".  Those lessons make us much more than survivors!

In the midst of all I have been reading, I haven't taken much time to blog about the great books I have been reading but I resolve to do better!   If you want a preview of whats coming up, here are just a few of the titles...Hipster Christianity, Deep and Wide, The First Noel, The First Gardener, A Week At The Movies, Fearless, Solomon's Oak, The Vow, The Lens and the Looker, and right now I am in the midst of The End of Your Life Book Club. Wow, I already have enough to blog about for several weeks and yet, I am like a kid in a candy store and have over 150 books on my wish list!  All this is to say, stick with me, I'll be back, blogging, and reading, reading and blogging but in the meantime...post a comment-what are you reading?  I'd love to add it to my wish list!