Prompt Disguised as an Argument

Jesse and I were in the car the other day, headed to the city for my last day of radiation. We were in a sort of grouchy mood. (It was very early in the morning, not to mention the fact that the world is falling apart around us. Stupid thermodynamics. Not to mention the state of the nation.) Trying to make Jesse laugh, I said, “Hey, I have an idea! Let’s have an argument all the way up to the city and back, so we can know how the rest of the world feels to have strained relationships on top of all of their other problems. Then we can spend the rest of our lives being happy that we don’t have to worry about our relationship.” At first, he wasn’t amused, but then I started in complaining about his sister. (He’s an only child.) After that, we started coming up with all kinds of fictional ideas about which to argue. It was so much fun! So I thought I might share it with you all as an imaginative writing prompt or acting prompt. You will need a partner for this one though. Have fun – and let the words fly!

BTW, this exercise is also a great stress-reliever!

After All

I truly enjoyed reading After All by Deborah Raney. It tells the story of Susan Marlowe, a recently widowed woman who tries her best to run a homeless shelter in a town where nobody wants her shelter, or the “kinds” of people that it attracts. In the midst of it all is a fire chief who feels responsible for the death of Susan’s husband, a secret that her husband carried to the grave, and perhaps even a conspiracy.

This book was a pleasant read. I was touched by the emotional turmoil that Susan felt, dealing with her husband’s secret, her grown son, and her relationships with the fire chief and others. She truly seemed like a genuine woman trying to do her best for her community and family, while remaining true to herself and her ideals. This book does contain a love story, and it’s always a pleasure to read about new romance. I do think, however, that Susan should have been more careful in her choice of whom to date. In real life, things don’t always turn out as nicely as they do in books, and Christian women need to be extremely careful about men they hang out with. If he’s not a strong Christian leader, don’t get close enough to accidentally fall in love.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Glass Road Public Relations.

River’s Call

River’s Call by Melody Carson tells the story of Anna, as she struggles to overcome the difficult relationships in her life. For years she has borne the verbal abuse of her former mother-in-law, Eunice, and she is currently trying to resolve the wedge that Eunice has driven between herself and her own daughter, Lauren. Things become even stickier when Anna discovers that Lauren is pregnant, and does not intend to keep the baby.

This book was a little different than the other book I have read by Melody Carlson. Personally, I enjoyed the set-up of the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, and it was hard for me to make the switch to a more conventional method of storytelling, especially since I knew that it was written by the same author. The writing wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t as much fun! That being said, the book is heart-felt, and brings to into question many modern relationship problems, along with potential ways to resolve them. I did not always agree with the protagonists’ opinions – I happen to think that Anna should have taken her daughter in hand rather than let her figure things out for herself, and the feminist views of Anna’s new, more desirable mother-in-law, Hazel, got under my skin a bit. I don’t mean to be critical though, because everything else about the book was good! I enjoyed spending time on the river with Anna and her friends, and I will most likely read the other books in the series.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Glass Road Public Relations.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

I just read the new updated edition of I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. The first thing I want to say is, wow! I wish I had read this book as a teenager. Instead of a book filled with dos and don’ts, as you might suspect, it is mostly a book that speaks directly to matters of the heart. Its primary focus is to help you in your relationship with God; all other relationships are secondary. The book helps single people focus on what’s really important at that critical stage in their lives, and then helps them move on when romance becomes appropriate.

I loved this book! Although I have been married for over a decade, I can still look back and see where applying the truths of this book could have helped me remain pure during those years of being single. I wish I could go back and put God first! The book is still useful to married people, as we explore our relationships with God and others. Although this book wasn’t a tear-jerker, I still found myself in tears two or three times as I considered God’s love toward me over the years, in the midst of some terrible mistakes.

My favorite part of the book was the narration of a dream that Joshua Harris gives us at the opening of chapter eight. You can read it here: The dream is absolutely life-changing! In my opinion, the analogy is too perfect to be anything but God-given.  I summarized it to my husband, and even he was teary-eyed; he’s a Christian, but I had never seen him respond to God’s grace in that way before.

If you want to find out more, you can read Joshua Harris’ blog here. Or you can preview the book here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.

Becoming Me by Melody Carlson

Becoming Me by Melody Carson follows the story of Caitlin, a teenage girl who has just decided to pick up a pen and diary and record the events of her life. Immediately, we are transported to a world of youth groups and high school, friendships and cliques. She struggles with each new relationship and many old ones, and in the midst of everything, she searches for the answer to her existence.

I haven’t finished a book that quickly in YEARS! It arrived in the mail on Wednesday. Even while juggling homeschooling, laundry, and dishes, I still managed to finish it on Thursday. The author has amazing insight into the mind of a teenage girl. So many of the topics and feelings she brought up seemed to come straight from my own teenage thoughts and experiences. It was great to revisit some of these feelings, looking back on them with a little bit of humor and a whole lot of contemplation. I kept wishing that the diary were a real one, instead of fictional. The story meant a great deal to me, and the characters seemed like living, breathing people. I yearned to be able to shoot Caitlin an email to see how she’s been doing lately.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Glass Road®.