The Captive Kingdom and The Shattered Castle

by Jennifer Nielsen

Jennifer Nielsen is quickly becoming my favorite author.  I re-read/re-listened to the first two (The False Prince and The Runaway King) and was mid-way through the third book (The Shadow Throne), when I decided to go ahead and just read/listen to the last two.  Up until this point I had been reluctant to do so.  The first three were SO well written and SO well tied off when they concluded, I was sure it would be a mistake to finish the series.

I could not have been more wrong.

Even though there is a six year gap from book three to book four, she did a fantastic job tying them together.

I don't want to do into too much detail, because NOTHING is worse than having a book's plot spoiled, especially when it is an edge of your seat, cannot turn the pages fast enough type of book.  I will say this though:

I spent the ENTIRE book four being mad at several characters (reminiscent of the resentment I felt towards Sage in book one) and the ENTIRETY of book five being REALLY angry at Imogen. 

*sigh*

I am glad I stuck it out thought.

Even if it did keep me up at night trying to read "just one more chapter" and then having the GREAT idea to switch to audio so that I could keep "reading" as I fell asleep.  Except the action and intrigue was so all-absorbing I could not fall asleep.  😏

But, the lost sleep was well worth it.  HIGHLY recommend this series!

The Story That Cannot Be Told

by J. Kasper Kramer

This author is brilliant.  This book is so engaging.  With sentences like :

"Most of my quirks as a storyteller, I picked up from my father or uncle, but my habit of never telling the same story the same way more than once, that came from my mother alone.  

"How can anyone learn to tell your stories like you if you're always changing them?"  Uncle Andrei complained.

"They shouldn't tell stories like me," I replied.  "They should tell my stories like them." " pg 83

how could you not be drawn into the story?!?!

The book opens with this statement:

"Once upon a time, something happened.  If it had not happened, it would not be told."  

And what unfolds is totally unexpected.  You are at once swept up into what life is like for Ileana and her family who lived in Romania during post-WWII communist rule.  I've never read about a book that so well describes how communism absolutely destroys a country.  

Just shreds it.  

But the ruin doesn't stay confined to the country/governing level, it continues ripping until it reaches the very seams of society, the families and farming villages.  

The Pizza Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

This is one of my girls' favorite, favorite books.  This week as we started pulling up carpet, we listened to this delightful mystery and I loved it. The only downside, is that I craved pizza.  

EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  

The 100-Year-Old-Secret by Tracy Barrett

This was a clever idea for a story.  I wish I had taken the time to read about ten years ago, my kids would have appreciated it so much then...but there are only so many hours in the day.  Brother and sister Xander and Xena find out they are related to the famed detective Sherlock Holmes.  They have recently relocated to London and embark on a journey to solve a missing painting mystery that has boggled the minds of many brilliant thinkers.

The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

Re-listened to this over the past week and a half.  LOVE this series - every time I hear it, I love it more.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary

by Susan Elia MacNeal

I did NOT like this book.

The language and the personal lives of the characters was absolutely deplorable.  I could never find a character that I could connect to, to get behind in the story.  There were also several implausible plot points that did not line up, leaving me trying to figure out "how in the world could x happen, if y just happened?" which completely interrupted the flow of the story.  

I was NOT impressed with this book and would NOT recommend it.

This Week:

Disney/Pixar Inside Out 2 Junior Novel - I cannot wait to see the movie now!!  This looks to be SUPER cute.

Discovering Daniel by Amir Tsarfati - I was so thankful to have this book on hand!  I recently completed Daniel (first time chronologically) and it interweaves with Ezekiel (another tough book to understand).  Although I LOVE the book of Daniel, it always leaves more questions (especially in light of today's day and time) than it does answers.  Highly recommend this book.

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (I guess this is going to be a summer tradition - I re-listened to it again and loved it just as much).

We are finishing the week off with a cold 😔, so I am off to lay back down.  

Follow Through

Following through on things, also referred to as perseverance, steadfastness, constancy, and endurance; this is such a stumbling block in my life.  I recognize some good that I need to do, some change I need to make, or simply a need that I would like to help meet and set out to do those things, only to inevitably slam up against something(s) that challenge that resolve.  

Some of the things that challenge my resolve are truly unavoidable, but some just need to be pushed through and born until they pass. 

It is that bearing up under, that patient endurance that I feel like God is working in me to strengthen this year.  

And I will be honest: I do not like it.  

Not one little bit.  

The nature of chronic medical struggles is that each day is so unpredictable.  You can make plans, but truly it isn't until the very last minute that I can say for certainty we can go or do, or whether I can complete a task that I have planned...because somedays are truly just about surviving and keeping everyone afloat as best as I can.  In this struggle, this up and down, the temptation for me is to think that because we have so many hard days, it is unfair to expect myself to stick to a goal or habit that is hard because I am already doing "hard"...does that make any sense?  

This year has been chocked full of problems.  Most of them have been minor when taken in isolation, but the amount of them, the frequency of the frustrations, inconveniences, problems, and trials stacked one on another = this year has been a tsunami of struggle. 

And if I am honest, it is another year that has topped last year, that topped the year before, that topped the year before that...to where I am reaching the point of accepting that this is our lot in life.  It may never get easier, it may always be something else, it may not be just a "season".  In this dawning realization this morning as I read my Bible and worked my way through a list of questions that Kari Denker posted last week, I realized that God is calling me to strengthen my "follow through", my patience, my endurance.  

I was curious what the Bible had to say about the concept of "follow through" so I googled it.  One site that I use frequently is called Open Bible.  It is simply an online topical Bible and so useful when you want to examine a concept or topic through the lens of the Bible.  I also love its warning about how to make sure you keep the verses that it lists in context.  

This morning as I perused the list regarding "follow through" one in particular caught my attention, so I decided to look deeper.  (for that I use the Bible Hub app - I LOVE Bible Hub!) 

Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

In my experience and journey through the hard, it has been a constant temptation to complain, to lose hope, to feel sorry for myself, and to become so discouraged that bitterness creeps in.  But this verse, this verse points to hope through the encouragement of Scripture and through developing endurance.  I decided to take a deeper look at the word endurance to see what the original word meant - and this is what it said:

HELPS Word-studies - properly, remaining under, endurance; steadfastness, especially as God enables the believer to "remain (endure) under" the challenges He allots in life. 

and Thayer's Greek Lexicon states that the original word means - steadfastness, constancy, endurance - in the N.T. the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.

WOW!  This inevitably brought to my mind these verses in 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 5 through 8:

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance (also translated patient endurance or steadfastness); and to perseverance (patient endurance or steadfastness), godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

And that is what I prayed for this morning before I even opened my Bible.  To truly know Jesus as I read through the Gospels.  God is so, so good.  He hears our prayers and is working in the unlikeliest of ways to shape us into who He has called us to be.  

May I stay the course He has called me to. 💖

Summer...

I am NOT a fan of summer.

It is too hot.

And there are bugs.

And did I mention the heat?!?!

So, I had three Junior Novelizations to read this week...I got two of them done.

Wish (the Disney movie) and The Garfield Movie.  We often will snag the jr. novels as a way to preview a new movie in which we aren't certain if the content/language will appeal to our family or not.  We have found it to be more reliable than reading reviews.  

I am SUPER excited to see The Garfield Movie - it looks to be a really, really cute storyline.  I did not get Inside Out 2 jr. novel read yet...hope to tomorrow.  I also hope to get back to my TBR list, there are soooo many I need/want to get read. 

We actually had a pretty bumpy week this week, so I also pulled out 8 Class Pet + 1 Squirrel / 1 Dog = Chaos by Vivian Vande Velde and you know what?  No matter how old we get, how many times we read this book, it is always a favorite.  

I finished the Old Testament chronological and am now reading the New Testament.  I decided to follow the Blue Letter Bible chronological plan for the New Testament portion (I followed an app called "reading plan" up until now). 

Here is hoping to a better week ahead than the one we just walked through.  💖