Encouragement for Life: Words of Hope and Inspiration

by Charles R. Swindoll 

This was an inspirationally helpful book! It really came at a great time in my life...a time when I really needed to hear some positive thoughts to give me a fresh new perspective on life. A quick read...I recommend this book to anyone who suffers from anxiety, fear, loneliness, or a sense of loss.

Becoming the Woman of His Dreams by:Sharon Jaynes

I finally got a local library card, and today I came across this book near a book about commitment phobia in men (my next great borrow!).

So far, I find it to be a bit gospel-preachy, but I know there will be some valuable information as well.

The book so far has really focused on women being Godly as a healthy and successful woman in any man's life. But perhaps it is the feministic qualities in me that wants to puke over the fact that a Godly man would be a nice portion of a relationship as well! In fact, half of the things men go for in a woman don't spell "God" to me at all. Could this book be just another one of those ultra-conservative viewpoints from a typical bible-thumper? We shall see. I should read more.

Now don't get me wrong. I DO believe that God's blessing is placed upon the sanctity of marriage. I for one, take matrimony very seriously. That is why I never married the two men I was previously engaged to. I simply couldn't marry someone whom I thought lacked the ambition and willingness to work on problems we were already having. The man I will marry will stay by my side and give equally to the same degree I will, which is pretty darned devoted. It's a hard quality to find in a man (or a woman) these days.

But one sentence from this book really spoke to me, and because of it...I'm dying to read the rest..." 'However, In the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman' (1 Corinthians 11:11 NASB). We were designed to depend on and complement each other."

Yes. The truth is...we are never complete until we have found our soul mate! I totally knew it! It's what I've been saying all along.

The question that remains...is our soul mate predestined for us by the Lord? If so...why does he allow divorce to happen in the first place? Does getting it wrong for some people constitute a sort of "training" period for some who still have lessons to learn before they can find their soul mates? Do some who find their soul mates later in life still have growing up to do in their younger years?

So many questions I don't know if I'll ever have the answers to. Nevertheless, I will read on.


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I Love the Book Blog Hop!

Thank you to my new friends from the Book Blogger Hop for visiting and leaving their mark!  To learn more about the Book Blog Hop, visit here.

Since there are no giveaways (yet) at THIS blog...allow me to share some from other blogs!

Hello folks!  There are some amazingly great book review blogs out there, many of which have inspired THIS blog!  I really wish I had the experience under my belt to achieve these blog authors' amazing luxuries of having publishers send them books for review.  What a fantastic literary partnership!  Because of their status in the review world...they also have the privilege to hold awesome book giveaways in which their readers compete for the chances to win copies of newly-released titles!  I'm new to this whole book-review thing, but certainly not new to expressing my opinions!  So...that's what brings me here today, to share with readers my experiences and relationships with literature!

To see what I'm talking about...visit crazy-for-books.com to participate and enter to win!

Here is the most recent book give-a-way that I have participated in.  The two books in this collection look really good, since I am a lover of wolves!

A paperback copy of Shiver and a hardcover copy of Linger (due out July 20)!  visit link

Next on my summer wish-list.

The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers

A happy series of accidents takes Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Brent, to the doorstep of the magnificent (and fabulously “For Sale”) Beekman Mansion. One hour later, they have transformed from uptight urbanites into the 200-year-old mansion-owning Beekman Boys, a.k.a. the Fag Farmers. Like Oliver and Lisa Douglas in Green Acres, Josh—a full-time New Yorker approaching middle age with a successful advertising career—is suddenly a weekend farmer, surrounded by nature’s bounty and an eclectic cast: roosters who double for a wedding cover band, Bubby the bionic cat, and a herd of 60 goats courtesy of their new caretaker, Farmer John. Tart and sweet, touching and laugh-out-loud funny, The Bucolic Plague shows what happens when two middle-aged New Yorkers (one, an ex-drag queen) do the unthinkable: start over, have a herd of kids (the four-legged kind), and get a little dirty.

After T-Voing and nearly becoming obsessed over night with their reality series on Discovery-Planet Green "The Fabulous Beekman Boys", I simply MUST read this book.  I saw the episode where Josh Kilmer-Purcell did a book reading at a book store with a brief excerpt from this book.  It sounds quite humorous, and I simply can't wait to read it.  He is the New York Times bestselling author of "I Am Not Myself These Days," and "Candy Everybody Wants." Kilmer-Purcell is a monthly columnist for OUT magazine and a contributor to NPR.

More on the show...
"Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge are not your average couple. They have transplanted themselves from New York City to Beekman Farm in upstate New York, where they are raising 80 goats, two pigs, a dozen chickens and a narcissistic llama. These guys have urban professional backgrounds and they're now making goat milk soap." ~ planetgreen.discovery.com

You can visit their amazing website at http://beekman1802.com/ where you can see gorgeous images of their beautiful farm, animals, and amazing products. (Yes...you can even buy the goat milk soap!)

A Designer's bible.

Design Basics Index by Jim Krause


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A required text for our Web Page Layout & Design class at school. I love this book! It makes discovering design techniques creative! The whole book is laid out in a unique and creative fashion. Very inspiring!

View all my reviews

A refreshing summer read.

This is a beautiful novel written by Françoise de Graffigny.  It is a timeless literary treasure that I just happened to stumble upon.  I couldn't put this short book down.  It is a beautifully written novel from the perspective of an Inca virgin from ancient Peru.

Letters of a Peruvian Woman recounts the story of Zilia, an Inca Virgin of the Sun, who is captured by the Spanish conquistadores and brutally separated from her lover, Aza. She is rescued and taken to France by Déterville, a nobleman, who is soon captivated by her. The novel portrays Zilia's feelings on her separation from both her lover and her culture, and her experience of a new and alien society. By fusing sentimental fiction and social commentary, Françoise de Graffigny created a new kind of heroine, defined by her intellect as much as her feelings and challenging traditional assumptions about the role of women both in fiction and society.

You can buy it here on Amazon.com.