Kisses From Katie - Final Thoughts

 Kisses From Katie - Final Thoughts

So I finally finished reading Kisses From Katie!!!

And you need to read it. It was one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard. I almost want to move to Africa. Almost.

Anyway, I'm just going to share with you the biggest thing I took away from this book.

Let God lead your life.

I struggle with this on a day to day basis. I want control over my life. But, the truth of the matter is, this is not my life. I did nothing to earn it. God created me and he gave me everything that I have. So where in the world did I get this crazy notion that my life is mine? Katie struggled through a lot of the same thing as she wrote in her book. And obviously God's plan for her life was pretty drastic. Moving to Uganda and adopting 13 girls on her own. But that doesn't mean that He can't lead my life in a simpler way. I do not feel called to move to Africa. And I really don't think that will ever change unless God does some pretty miraculous things. However, even though I can't move to Africa doesn't mean I just say to God, "Ok, you can't use me so I'm just going to do what I want to do". No. It means I follow Him here. I follow Him in the life I have going for me now. Because, everything I do needs to be for His glory. No matter how small.

This is one of my favorite parts of the book.

"I would like to be able to say that I always do exactly what the Lord asks of me. I would like to say that I always seek Him first when a difficult situation presents itself. While I am getting better at it, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I still think what I do with my life should be my decision. God asks, and reasons, and encourages. He gently explains that I do not know what is best for me and that I do not always get what I want. And I just look at Him, not understanding at all what He's trying to say. Sometimes, I even whine and sob and shriek, just like a tired, angry three-year-old. So God picks me up, exhausted from struggling, and plops me in the center of His will for my life. And then a funny thing happens. As I kick and scream and struggle, I remember: I like being in the center of God's will for my life. God's plan is usually pretty great. It is a whole lot better than mine anyway. I am so glad that He does not allow me to win."

Wow.

Anyway, I also learned something else.

I learned that so much of what I am spending my life thinking about does matter in the long run.

Do you think Katie's girls are worried about finding out what they want to do so they can take the most AP classes and get the highest test score and get into the best college? Do you think they worry about making sure everyone at the event they're planning gets something to take home? Do you think they worry about finding a new dress to wear to a wedding, or finding a new pair of shoes just because you want some? Everything that I may even think is good is so miniscule compared to them.

Not saying they live in a slump and never get anything. Not saying they live all alone. Just saying their priorities are different. And mine should be too.

I read Katie's blog after I finished the book and saw that she got married in January. Her life is a little different than what she first imagined, but in the end she got the same result. A husband, a job she loves, and beautiful children. The picture is just a little more colorful.

Princess Ever After

Princess Ever After

I am still working on Kisses From Katie, it needed to be returned to the Library, so I'll post a final post on that later. But, I did finish the second book in the Royal Wedding Series during all of the testing we had at school the past two weeks. It was also very good! I enjoyed the first one better than this one, the characters in the first book seemed more, I don't know, more ideal to me. Not saying you shouldn't read Princess Ever After. That book was also amazing. I would definitely recommend it. The whole plot is so entertaining and it leaves you thinking, what would I do?? Here, I'll give you the low-down.

 

Imagine you are in your late twenties and living in the same city here in America you've lived in your whole life. It's all you know. The only place you've ever lived and worked. It's where your friends and family are. Now let's say you just saved up enough money and worked to get to your dream job. You LOVE this job. It's what you live for since you're not married and don't have a family of your own. A couple of years ago your mom died, and then your great-grandma died. (Your grandma already died) So currently your life consists of you, your best friends, your dad and stepmom, and the dream job you LOVE. Okay, got all that? Now one Friday you're just living your life, the job you LOVE just breaking through, when some young man comes up to you and says you're in line for the throne in some European country. And he's not lying. The man says that if you come back with him you can restore the kingdom and either rule until you die, or rule until you abdicate the throne and leave the country in anarchy. Or if you don't come at the all the country becomes a part of another country and looses its independence. You ask how is this possible? He says your great-grandma was a princess there who had to flee during WWII. And if you come back... well you know. What would you do? You know going back is the right thing but you've never led anything in all your life, let alone a country. You would have to leave your job, at least for a while. You would have to leave everything you know.

 

Okay, wow, that was a mouthful. See what I mean!! I don't know what I would do!! And if you want to know what Regina does, you better read!!

 

 

Once Upon A Prince

Once Upon A Prince

So shortly before break I found through another blog (not for school) a series of books that looked really good. It had everything I loved in a book or story all rolled up into one. Romance, Princesses, Weddings, Summertime, and written by a Christian author. I couldn't believe such a book existed. Honestly. So I read the entire 338 paged book in less than 24 hours. It. Was. Amazing. Not entirely sure that literary professors who study the every meaning of every word would like it, but I did.

Here is its description from goodreads:

Once Upon a Prince, the first novel in the Royal Wedding series by bestselling author Rachel Hauck, treats you to a modern-day fairy tale.

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation. It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God's will or their own?

I loved how the book set up the story and even though you could probably figure out the ending pretty quickly it still had a few unpredictable moments. The characters were very lively (my favorite was Avery) and had some of the same problems we do... haha.

The setting was written very well and made me wish it was summertime at the beach so bad! Just listen to this, "Sand washed out from under her feet as the afternoon tide pulled the waves back into their ocean boundaries." That sounds so good as I type this looking out my window into the cold and dark day.

Anyway, I loved this book and I loved the story. Can't wait to read the next three!!! :) 

 

 

 

 

Camilla-Final Thoughts

Camilla-Final Thoughts

So I did it, I finally did it. After working on this book all semester I finally finished it. It was a very long and slow book but definitely worth the read. I don't want to spoil anything in case you end up reading it (not that anyone will), so I will only share a few broad points.

1. This book has sooo many, wow I didn't really expect that to happen, parts. Which is good, it helps out with the extreme slowness of the book.
2. I really learned to appreciate my life a whole lot more. Poor Camilla just keeps having her world fall apart more and more, losing everything she once knew.
3. I learned how radically different culture was in her time period compared to ours. At 15 she would be treated like a child, then be given alcohol. 

Overall, I thought the book was really good and can't wait to keep reading next semester!

Where the book takes pkace...

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

For my summer reading I read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. It was one of my favorite books I've read as you can see from My Top Ten! The best part about this book was the perspective it was written in, death. This makes it a little confusing at the beginning but once you figure it out it makes it sooo interesting. The Book Thief  was also a little slow since the events were spread out with lots of time in between.

It's going to be really hard trying to explain just how good this book is without giving away the ending, but I'll try. Markus Zusak is a genius. The figurative language used in his book is some of the most inventive I've ever read. (Okay, maybe I've been exaggerating a little bit, but it is a really good book.) I also really like how he would give away hints to the ending of the book. Some people might not like this, although I think it adds to the story.

Whenever I found out something that hinted at the ending it pushed me to want to read more. This helped with some of the book's slowness. It also made the parts leading up to the ending so much more meaningful. The characters seemed more alive to me.

 

The above picture is from the movie. I watched the movie after I finished the book and as good as it was, it obviously didn't measure up to the book. So many of the scenes that meant the most to me never even made it into the movie. I know they couldn't of added every scene or the movie would be 5 hours long but, I still liked the book better.

 

Okay, I'm going to just keep going off on random rants so I will wrap this post up. Basically, read the book. That's all this post really needs to say. Power through it and finish it. By the end you will have learned more than expected and gained a great story in the process.

 

 

Ok, I had to add this adorable quote from the book. :)

 



The Chance

The Chance

Okay, so I just finished this book I got for my birthday called The Chance. It was sooo good. A little cheesy, as most of my friends made fun of me for reading a "hallmark" type book, but I loved it! The main storyline is pretty simple. Boy meets girl when they are 8. Boy and girl become best friends. Boy and girl start to fall for each other. Girl finds out she has to move. Boy and girl write letters to each other to open in 11 years and burry them beneath a tree. Wow, hard to guess the ending huh? Anyway, even though the ending is predictable the whole process on how they got there wasn't. I loved the book and can't wait to read the quote-on-quote prequel around Christmas.

(by the way the author is the same as my previous 23 book series)

 

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

 

 

Here is the book trailer to show you even more of the storyline...