I am a Woman Warrior

It is not very often that it takes me this long to read a book that I actually like. I have just been having so much coloring lately, though! Anway, Lisa Bevere's GIRLS WITH SWORDS is a must-read. I love studying anything and everything to do with putting on our armor and Lisa's presentation in this book gives a perspective on the armor I had never considered. I look forward to wielding my Word Sword more powerfully as I move forward in my walk of faith!

Becoming REAL Hurts

"...once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Honestly, if you've never read THE VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margery Williams, you really should. This classic is a beautiful representation of how it's only when we have been through times that wear us down--bring scars and other things that might be considered ugly--that we become our Real selves. It is our trials and tribulations that make us who we are in life and give us the understanding of what it is to FEEL alive. 

Many of us have heard that we can't know true JOY until we have known true SADNESS. It is the same with THE VELVETEEN RABBIT: this adorable stuffed animal couldn't know true LOVE--couldn't be Real--until he had experienced life to the degree that it wears him down. 

I love this story because it is a wonderful reminder of the fact that Loving is difficult--it can hurt, but in spite of the hurt--the wounds--Love is worth it--there is NOTHING greater than Loving and Being Loved.

I also remember this sweet story because when I was in middle school, a friend of mine, Roger ? (I so wish I could remember his last name), was in the play and my parents and I went to see it. Roger seemed very pleased that I had gone to see his performance. I think it was the first play I'd ever seen. 

Where I got the picture: http://beautyisinside.com/2013/04/the-velveteen-rabbit/

I will continue to CHOOSE JOY

Reading CHOOSE JOY by Sara Frankl made me wish I had known "Gitzy" while she was still alive. She sounds like an incredibly amazing woman who was "of the race of Joseph." I just know that we would have become fast, forever friends. My heart aches as I read about all the physical struggles she dealt with in her short life, but yet not only did she hold fast to her faith, but she continually--in spite of incredible pain--CHOSE JOY. Wow.

As someone who struggles on a daily basis to find things to be joyful about because of the trials I have been through, reading Sara's story demonstrates that CHOOSING JOY is not easy--it definitely is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment choice we MUST make. Sara knew that allowing herself to wallow in self-pity would only make her pain worse than it already was--and according to her story, it was more severe than most of us can possibly imagine.

I continually struggle with depression and its ugly deception of comfort, but like Sara, I know that allowing myself to stay in that state of depression (in other words, NOT CHOOSE JOY) is worse than living with the pain and CHOOSING JOY regardless.

It is wonderful that even a few years after her death, Sara's life and words continue to make a difference. I hope and pray that others meet her, as well, and come to know that true living, finishing the race, comes only from daily CHOOSING JOY in spite of....

What do you think?!

I can't even.....there simply are no words.....

I am curious about what you all think about Will's decision? And Lou's attempt to "save him".....

I knew going into this book that I was going to cry at the end, but I was so not prepared for the powerful effect it had on me. Wow. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes is an adult novel with the power and FEELS of wonderful books like If I Stay and The Lovely Bones--for me. The controversy, the questions Moyes raises make this an incredible thought-provoking novel that I want to talk to others about to hear what they think!!! 

I respect Lou and her attempt to "save" Will. I see so much of myself in her, especially in the fact that I would so very much love to have a pair of yellow and black, bumble bee tights, as well as in the fact that I want everyone around me to be happy and to see life as valuable and worth living.

At the same time, I don't know that I think Will is so very wrong to want to do what he wants to do. I can't even imagine what life must be like confined to a wheelchair, to have to have someone even reposition my legs for me, not to be able to roll over or readjust myself at will, or even to scratch and itch by myself--not to mention having to be spoon-fed every single thing I eat and wearing a catheter 24/7--even if/when I go out in public. And the sicknesses Will has to deal with on a constant basis as a direct result of his injury and/or the fact that he isn't able to move around.....My heart aches for what people in Will's situation have to live with.

I can't help wondering....if I was in Will's shoes, would I feel as he does--that life simply isn't worth living if I can't live it as I did BEFORE.......

How about you???? What do you think?!

And yes, I started reading Me Before You immediately after seeing the new movie trailer. In fact, the movie trailer hadn't even finished playing before it was downloading to my Kindle app on my phone!!!! I am very excited for the movie to come out. It looks like it's actually going to do justice to the book. I read that Moyes helped write the screenplay, so I expect that will make a huge difference in taking this amazing book to the big screen.

I want to be Wonderstruck

I desperately want to awaken to the Nearness of God and to be Wonderstruck by Him in all things. Feinberg's book is a wonderful reminder of the fact that God paints the world as He does specifically to show His wonderfulness and how very much He loves us. I find myself being Wonderstruck more each day and to revel in the joy of others being wonderstruck! Just this morning, my husband walked from room to room, window to window throughout our house, enjoying the snow and exclaiming over and over again, "Wow!" I was Wonderstruck by the beauty of the snow, too, but it was so much fun watching my husband as he was Wonderstruck!!!

Inconceivable!!!!

The idea of someone surviving a horrific bear attack such as Hugh Glass did is fascinating beyond the norm. When I first saw the previews for the movie version of THE REVENANT, I was intrigued. If the bear attack was even half as bad as described, I wondered how in the world anyone could possibly survive. And then the men who had been left behind to care for him rob him and leave him for dead! Honestly, though, I found myself empathizing with Bridger and Fitzgerald (the two men who rob and leave Hugh for dead). Think about it: The man they are taking care of has been through a SEVERE bear attack--he has deep gashes on his neck, shoulder, and back--his throat has been laid open--his scalp has been ripped off--there is no way that anyone should have survived such an attack, especially considering the fact that they were out in the wilderness with no doctor and no way to help heal Hugh's wounds. And that brings up another point--they are in the untamed wilderness of the mid-west, hundreds of miles from any civilization. Food was scarce. They couldn't have real fires because fires drew the attention of the local hostiles--typically Indians. It's actually not until Fitzgerald sees Indians while he's hunting that he takes everything he can from Hugh and tells Bridger that they have to run because they'll be killed by the Arikara. If I had seen Hugh's wounds in person, I would have believed that there was no way in the world he could possibly survive. I don't know that I would have left him to die alone. There's a part of me that wonders if it might have been a mercy to kill Hugh and be done with it. The poor man was suffering something awful and there was no way to relieve or help in any way to alleviate his pain. 

Don't hate me for my comments. When you read about the bear attack and Hugh's injuries and the circumstances surrounding the whole situation, tell me that you don't at least have a small bit of understanding why and how anyone might believe that Hugh was DEFINITELY at death's door. 

How in the world did Hugh survive? Against all odds, he survives!! As someone who has had major surgery that opened me up from navel to privates, I know that it is impossible to move around with any level of comfort or ability for WEEKS after. Hugh begins crawling to safety within days of his attack. And less than a month later, he is walking upright and moving as if the bear attack had never even happened. It's his scars that reveal the severity of the bear attack. Worst of all, within just a few short days of having maggots cleaned out of the wounds in his back, he is up and about and even getting on a horse by himself and riding!

How?! What kind of man is able to do that?! Wouldn't he have done more harm than good in moving too much too soon?! 

I guess that's what fascinates me so much about Hugh's story. I've been "torn open" from belly button down and another about six inches across my belly. I KNOW what it's like to have an "open" wound....the pain, how every single movement brings fresh unbearable pain. And I had extreme pain medication to help me get through mine. Hugh has a poltice and a few rough stitches!

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I had such a difficult time healing because my body was already in a weakened state where Hugh was a man of the wilderness--whole, hale, muscular, and quite healthy.

I am going to watch the movie today. I'm honestly wondering if I'm going to be able to watch it. Reading about maggots in a man's back is bad enough; seeing them on screen (or, God forbid, in real life) might be more than I'm able to handle....

Addendum: in just looking at the trailer and other images for the movie version, I am anticipating being disappointed with the movie. The story is incredibly descriptive concerning Hugh's bear attack. In looking at the images of Leonardo Dicaprio, I don't see the scalping or scars running through his beard that are supposed to be there......Was the director more concerned with keeping Leo handsome than he was with following the true story?!

Per usual, Ann Voskamp writes with a beauty that cannot be

compared. I had never thought of Advent as something important to be studied at Christmas time. We simply never "celebrated" it. But reading and studying about THE GREATEST GIFT: UNWRAPPING THE FULL LOVE STORY OF CHRISTMAS, helped bring the true reason for Christmas to the forefront of my holiday. This book truly is a treasure and I hope to be able to read it every year for Advent.