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July 21, 2008
passing time
well, i certainly have no good excuses for not blogging more regularly this summer. with orientation over, the month of july is a time when more senior employees of ISU use up some vacation time (to recup for the August rush) and newbies like me stay back to hold down the fort. thankfully, there is a smattering of prospective meetings to break up the weeks.
i've had quite a bit more time to read in these past few weeks so i thought i'd post some quick reviews of some of my choices.
Sold by Patricia McCormick. This was a tough, but good read. It tells the story of a girl from Pakistan who is sold into prostitution in India. The book is written as a series of poems and somewhat disjointed thoughts. It ends happily with the intervention of a western missionary group.
The Jericho Sanction & Assassins by Oliver North. I originally bought The Jericho Sanction at a garage sale for a quarter. I thought Jensen might be interested in reading it. By the time I needed a new book for the rec, he hadn't started it yet, so I picked it up. It turns out that it is the second book in a triology about a Marine Lt Col. Thankfully I wasn't lost at all as they reference the important parts from the first book quite a bit. The plots are crazy intersections of Russia, the Middle East, Cuba--you name it! A great combination of military technology, history, and life on the home front. Although I didn't know this before I started, the three books are written from a Christian perspective.
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Ewen. Based on the true story of the author's grandmother and grandfather's experiences as missionaries in Siam during the 1920s. Although, fiction, a very realistic portrayal of the difficulties faced by both the grandfather (a missionary doctor) and the grandmother (a professionally trained singer who gives up her career for her marriage). The cover made me leary that this was some kind of Christian romance novel, but I was (thankfully) proven wrong.
When Sinners Say I Do: The Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey. Wonderful! Should definitely be added to the list of "Read this before you get married" books. I would say that the book focuses mostly on communication and conflict resolution. It definitely included aspects of sin, forgiveness, mercy, and persistence that I greatly needed kicked in the butt about! It's not so much a "how to" book as a reflective guide for reminding ourselves and our spouses of the need for a Savior.
Meditations from Iraq by Lance Kittleson. This is a devotional-type book (each chapter is only a few pages long) written by a chaplain from Des Moines who served in Iraq. Very encouraging and thoughtful.
well, there might be a few more than that, but those are the ones that come to mind from the last few weeks. some of these i own--if you'd like to borrow them--and some of them i got from the Ames Public Library. my cousin-in-law just gave me a bag of military history books to bring home for Jensen so i might start on them this week. stay tuned :)
Posted by Autumn at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)