I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

I have so many things to be grateful for right now. Most importantly, that I am currently in Orlando, and have the precious opportunity to say goodbye to my home and friends of the past two years. I spent last week playing with my family (especially my brother and sister-in-law) at Disney World. It as all been wonderful:) Getting here was my own Christmas miracle. I don't expect any other gifts; I don't need anything else!

I went sailing today. Thrilling and relaxing all at once. Tomorrow, I will watch the Christmas Eve parade and fireworks at the Magic Kingdom, and then we're going to the beach on Christmas Day. Did you catch that? I'm going to the beach for Christmas. I LOVE that! Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?!!?

I wish I could stay. My heart is definitely here, but I know that somewhere out there - unfortunately in cooler climes - the Lord has a different path prepared for me.

In the meantime, I am trying to live in the moment and treasure every experience. I haven't slept much, but it has been so good to visit with so many of my favorite people. You certainly see who actually cares about you and who was just there for the social factor.

I am so very blessed! I feel so humbled and grateful for the lessons I am learning. And on top of all that, we get to celebrate with the whole world the birth and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is a most wonderful time of the year. And a most wonderful way to end one very tumultuous year in my world. Merry Christmas all!

Just getting started!

I figured Recovering Charles deserved a post of its own, since it got the ball rolling, but now I get to tell you about the other fun things I've been reading. Oh yes, I'm officially literate again.

My next book was another one by Jason Wright called The Wednesday Letters. It is an intriguing story about 3 grown children who come together for their parents' funeral. In the process of saying goodbye, they discover all sorts of family secrets in a collection of letters their dad wrote to their mom every Wednesday of their whole marriage. It may sound simple, but it's got plenty of exciting twists. And isn't that such an adorable thought? I would love an honest letter from my husband on a weekly basis. What a way to document the ups and downs of a marriage! I suppose I'll have to secure a man before I try to push that idea... Anyway, it is another great book. I just love the author's writing style! And in true Jason Wright fashion, this book also comes with a surpirse ending. (Well, I suppose I've only read 2 of his books so I can't really say that's his style, but they both surprised me.)http://www.thewednesdayletters.com/

Sadly my copy of Christmas Jars, Jason's other book, is back in Florida, so I will have to wait a few weeks. Since I've run out of my new favorite author, I took a couple weeks off.

Then I saw the movie City of Ember. I hadn't heard much about it, but it was playing at my dad's movie theatre so we watched it one night. (With only my parents and little bro, and for free. Perks, my friends.)

It had a very intriguing story line about a city in the future that was built underground to preserve the human race from an impending disaster. I left the theatre with so many questions. So I bought the book by Jeanne DuPrau - and discovered that there are three more in the series! Then I hit another milestone. I finished The City of Ember in less than a week; 5 DAYS! Granted, I do have a little more time on my hands now, but I still am rarely on my own with nothing to do. I made an effort to read! It was a great book and now I'm more than halfway through the second book, The People of Sparks. Every explanation I find leads to more questions. I can't wait to read the remaining books: The Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold.

These books are classified as teenaged fiction, but I love them. Probably because they leave out the smut and profanity of most adult novels. And they make you think.

There is so much chaos and commotion in our world today. There is so much anger, selfishness, greed, and betrayal. Yet in the midst of all that madness, it only takes one person to stand up for good and be a light and hope for humanity. We each have a light within helping us to recognize good and choose the right. Everyday we have choices to make. If we stand firm and feed the good within us, the light will grow. Before long, it will begin to spread to those we love, those we serve, and soon the light will touch everyone we meet! But if we choose the lesser path even once, we begin to let the darkness in. It will quickly take over, snuffing out the light, spreading deceit, anxiety and pain. I wish somehow we could all see past our differences and simply live our lives. We've only got right now. Use that time to build up not tear down. We can learn so much from one another!

Ok that's my rant for the day: Go do something good for the world... and read a book. It all begins with one.

Recovering Charles

Something amazing has happened in my life: I'm reading. Its making me think - about important things. And I love it.

That may not seem like a big deal, but for me it's monumental. And it began with just one book.

I don't remember the last time I read a book successively and in its entirety. (Besides the Book of Mormon of course) It's been 7 or 8 years at least since I read a full book, even longer for a fictional one. But in September I received a book written by a friend of mine, so I decided it was about time to break that trend. It's called Recovering Charles; a story of a man seeking his estranged father in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And it only took me three weeks to read!

That may not sound like a great feat, but my schedule at the time was pretty chaotic. I was always crazy busy with work, play, or travel. I also discovered recently that I kind of struggle with reading. Its not that I dislike it, and I’m perfectly capable but it just takes too much effort. I mean, I can process the words and everything, but I have the hardest time focusing my attention on the story. I tend to get distracted, and one sentence can set me off on a thought pattern that takes me to a completely different place. Before I know it, I’m thinking about a million different things and it takes me 20 minutes to read one page. And then I have no clue what I’ve just read! I can handle excerpts, talks, and magazine articles but books just don’t hold my focus.
However, this book was excellent and it helped me conquer my ADD brain. The chapters jumped around from the past to present and to different perspectives, which kept me on my toes. Before I got a chance to be distracted, he was already on to a different part of the story. It worked perfectly for my attention span, plus it forced my brain to work and stay involved in the book to keep all the details straight. Before long, I could hardly put it down! I thought about the story all the time. Learning about the characters was like putting together a human puzzle. I actually cried as I read the final chapters. That has NEVER happened to me before.
Even if you did not live through Katrina, Recovering Charles is a story for everyone. It is just one man’s story of waking up and making a new beginning in his life, which represents that change every man must make at some point. Sometimes we choose to change, sometimes we are compelled, but each of us has the opportunity every day to renew hope and open up to the possibilities of a “second verse;” maybe even a third or fourth! I think I’m in the process of writing mine...
I highly recommend this book. No wonder Jason Wright is a “New York Times Best Selling Author!” He's genius. And he got me back on the book wagon. Woohoo!

http://www.recoveringcharles.com/