Another Book Review

If you're friends with me on Google+ or Facebook, you may remember I accidentally stayed up really late a few nights ago reading an entire book. Which one, you may ask? Heaven is for Real. My mom recommended it a while ago, and I finally had the chance to check it out from the library. Originally I was just going to read a few chapters, but I ended up finishing it before I put it down. It's a quick and easy read; it's also one I've been thinking about for days.

I hate spoilers, so as usual I'm not going to give anything away. Heaven is for Real is the story of a Pastor's son (Colton) that almost dies at the age of three. A few months later, after turning four, his parents start to piece together what he really experienced: heaven.

When Colton makes a few offhand comments about God that most 4 year olds wouldn't grasp, his parents attribute it to amazing Sunday School teachers. But when he starts going into detail about God, heaven and his family's time at the hospital - including what his parents were doing while he was in surgery - they realize it's more than anything he was learning at church. They begin asking him open-ended questions about his experience, trying to find out more about it while not confining his answers to their preconceived answers.

There are a lot of things I liked about this book. One thing I really like is that it doesn't try to be more than it is; it's a father sharing his experience of a terrifying experience with his son, and his struggle to really understand what happened and allow his son to teach him about God and heaven.

I previously shared that we're going through the 40 Days of Purpose at my church, and one of the concepts Rick Warren shares is that we were made for eternity. We want to live forever, and we will; just not on this side of death. With that in mind, it's not surprising that a story about heaven is riveting enough to keep me enthralled into the wee hours of the morning.

Another important element is that everything Colton says fits with what's described in the Bible. Plus, with everything described through the eyes of a four-year-old, ideas that are revealed but hard to grasp even seem more simple.

Heaven is for Real tells Colton's story better than I can, so I'm not going to go into specific details. Instead, I'll just recommend that you find a copy of it online, in a local bookstore or at the library.

The Hunger Games

I have a new favorite book trilogy: The Hunger Games. Okay, to be fair, this doesn't replace my other books as favorites, it's merely added to the list of those I re-read from time to time. But back to The Hunger Games...

These books are popular right now, and for good reason. Although they aren't a challenging read, they're a fun one. Without giving too much away, the trilogy is about a suppressed society that the government controls through taking advantage of its citizens and their need for food. The books follow the story of Katniss, a 16 year-old girl that's grown up in a coal mining district.

A few things I like about the story, without spoilers:

• It's told through Katniss' eyes, which helps you see her growth and development over the course of the story. You can also see the character development of her friends and family through her eyes, too. Character development is always a key part of a good story.
• It takes place in the future in the United States (although it's not the U.S. anymore). No, we don't know what the future will bring, but there are elements of the society described that seem fairly realistic.
• It's a quick read. I've already read it twice; the first time I read all 3 books in 6 days (it would have been much faster if I didn't need to work, sleep, eat...).

I'm also excited to see the movie, although I'm sure the books will be better. The official site seems like it has a lot of fun stuff to help prepare for it, including a separate site mimicking The Capitol where you can get your District Identification Pass. Here's mine:

And here's the teaser trailer:

Anyone else into the Hunger Games? Did you get your District Identification Pass yet? What's your assigned occupation?

You Can Call Me...Four Eyes!

Okay, here's a confession: I've kind of always wanted glasses. I mean, I'm sure I probably would've hated them as a child, but I like all the different types of cute frames, and it seems like everyone else had them (I tend to be a bit of a sheep sometimes). I even remember this one time I was at the glasses store with a friend of mine in elementary school, and I got so excited when her mom told me I could try on the frames.

Well, I went to the optometrist a little while ago because I noticed it was kind of hard to read things in the distance (street signs, posted menus, etc), and he said I needed glasses. So last week Matt went with me to pick out my first pair, and they came in a few days ago! I really like the two-tone design. What do you think?

It's amazing how much of a difference they make. My vision isn't terrible; I can still legally drive without glasses, but when I put them on it's like the whole world is in HD. I've always liked how pretty everything looks this time of year with the leaves changing color, the constant drizzle and the way certain colors just pop. It's even better, now! Now that everything is crystal clear it's like the colors are even more vibrant and alive. I wonder if there's some scientific reason for that...anyone know?

40 Days

My church is doing the 40 Days of Purpose right now. I have to say I was intrigued by it when they did it at the church I grew up at back when it was really popular, but I was in college at the time and when they actually started going through it I happened to be studying abroad in Norway. I did get really excited when I saw a 40 Days of Purpose poster outside a church in Hamar, though!

So I was excited to hear my church was going to do the series. I also thought this might serve as a good time to reign in my sweet tooth, so while we go through the series I'm not eating any desserts. I figured 40 days is a good amount of time to let my body get used to less sugar, and this is an easy way to keep track of how long 40 days is. I have to say, a week in and it's really tough! I know the first week is the hardest and then I'll get used to it, but it seems like all I want is chocolate, cake, chocolate cake, cookies...I think I already would've broken down if it wasn't for Matt holding me to it.

Despite the not eating desserts, I've been enjoying the series so far. We're even hosting a mid-week small group for it, which is exciting as well. I really enjoyed our first meeting this week. It was fun to hang out with a couple of friends we've known for a little while and get to know a couple of new friends, too. Plus, in addition to our small group, we're going through the study with the youth - so Matt and I are going to know the material well!

Anyway, I'm excited to see where the rest of the 40 days go. On that note, I'm going to go eat a pear.

A Night For Blogging

It seems to be time to blog again. It's been a while. Almost a month. I really have been intending to update more, and even have a bunch of ideas for blog posts, I just haven't felt like taking the time to write recently. Well tonight that changes.

Compelling intro, huh?

Anyway, I think the focus of this blog post will be...(drumroll please): 

Being a Real Adult!

Okay, I still don't feel like an adult, but my older and wiser father told me a few years ago that he doesn't feel like an adult either, so I've gotten used to the idea of faking it. So why am I a real adult now? We have Costco cards! At least, that's Matt's definition :) 

Anyway, I think I also sound more like a "real" adult because of the nature of our day-to-day activities:

• Matt's heading up the high school & middle school groups at church.
• I'm the Communications Director for an alumni organization. 
• We're hosting/leading a weekly small group.
• We get a bi-weekly box of produce from a local farm.
• We've actually been keeping our apartment decently clean.
• I had the opportunity to help my company hire someone new. I created an ad, conducted initial interviews and made recommendations to my boss. It was pretty cool to have such a big role in the process, and my boss and I have both been really happy with the person we hired. 

That being said, we try to remember to keep having fun and acting the age we feel. Check out this Bed & Breakfast we just booked for our anniversary: The Red Caboose Getaway B&B!