Crazy Love

So.

Crazy Love.

I've read it.

This is a review.



This is a really, really great book. Very well-founded in Scriputre. The author does use other speakers, but they are speakers who obviously got their words from the Bible. Some may accuse him of taking the Bible "too literally", but--come on, that is the lamest excuse ever. He proves every point he makes, and he proves it with God's own words.

In fact, one of the biggest "supports" I can give for this book is Matthew 7:17-20 (Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.). Look at the fruits of this book, this teaching. Look at the lives that have been changed, and what results from people not only reading the book but applying what they learned from it to their lives. Even without 'firsthand knowledge', if you don't know anyone affected by this book, just think about it. What can come from this but good fruit?

Also, a caveat: this book is NOT meant to be read and checked off of a list of "good books to read" and then forgotten. If you have an intention anywhere even remotely close to such a thing, check yourself. Be prepared to change a lot of things in your life. History's main character, God, doesn't share face time nor should He, and He certainly won't say, "oh, I'm glad you have such a laid-back approach to Me. Take your time wasting the time I gave you and the things I gave you--no rush." Don't read this book if you don't want your life to change.

If, however, you do want your life to change, if you realize something is missing in your life and your everyday thoughts and actions, if you are willing to sacrifice things, then read this book.

If I may say so, God has got to be the biggest romantic out there. Prince Charming isn't even worthy to be compared to a faint outline left by His shadow. He woos us with His world, He proves His love with His action, and what can we do but return His love? His literally otherworldly, fanatical, crazy love?

Tagged (or not) List of Things that Shouldn't be on the Internet

Or, you know, that one game where people list 11 facts about themselves and then answer 11 questions. Both of these sets of 11 one should be wary of posting on the Internet. People read these things, you know. People you might not actually want reading 22 facts about yourself. Da Web can be a scary place.
Etc.
So...I decided to post 11 things about one of my story characters. I think...I'll choose Jasmine. Mayhap because I feel immensely sorry for Odhranna. (her name is subject to change without notice)
So Jasmine's 11 things about herself:

1. I am an elf.

2. I have the ability to mindvoice, which is using my mind to communicate.

3. I am friends with dragons, most specifically 2.

4. 3, later on.

5. I never knew my mother or my father.

6. My author finished writing my story during NaNo, which means that it is incomplete and she needs to finish it.

7. I am responsible for finding the last dragon egg of a certain tribe.

8. A dragon who lived long before I was born foretold my existence, dreaming of me and making a mosaic of Amethyst (one of my dragoness friends) and me.

9. I am engaged in war with Decevir [author's note here--I may change his name. *cough you can tell what it was derived from cough*], a he-elf from a different tribe than I.

10. My mother fell in love with my father when she rescued him from Decevir's prison.

11. I follow the Maker of All.

And this is me, not Jasmine now. I don't believe she can answer the certain questions I have from a certain someone. So no questions answered.

So in retrospect, this ended up being an advert for a story. Ah well. I shall not tag anyone, as per the instructions, but start a whole other thing for my fellow authors (and authoresses and authoresses who dislike the -ess part--you know who you are).

So the rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post eleven fun facts about one of your story characters. (from their point of view, if you like)

Or...just do the other one floating around. Write about yourself. Your choice. :)

Oh yeah, and do the facts about Jasmine interest anyone?



From the Mouth of Elijah

Bryan Davis' newest book in the Children of the Bard series is here! Woot!
Well...actually, it isn't here. Not yet. BUT! It is available for pre-ordering, which I have just done. The link to do so is...http://www.daviscrossing.com/MouthElijah.htm <-- there.
As far as I know he doesn't have a specific release date, but sometime around July or August.
I do believe I'll have to have two counts on my calendar now: how many days till the Hobbit (249) and how many until July. Ah well. :)

So here's to hoping publishing goes well.

(a word which here means extremely fast)

I love you THIS MUCH!!!

You know when you're kids, and somehow or another the conversation turns to subjects like who is the strongest? Invariably, it will become a discussion that uses hand gestures to get the point across. "I'm this strong!" *holds hands about a foot apart*
Then there's those conversations where the subject is who loves Mom the most. Same hand gestures are used. "I love Mom THIS much!" *holds arms straight out*
Then there's that one guy who said "I love you this much", and he held his arms out.

I think He wins the contest.

Dear, dear neglected page...

So it's either good or bad that I haven't posted in a while. Good because it means I'm busy with more "important things". Yes, observant people, I put that in quotes because it relates to the bad part a bit more. The "more" important things, in this case, would be things like (writing) stories, (reading) fanfics, monkeying around on Pandora, catching up on TV shows, etc.
Instead of the really more important things like spending time with my family, getting into the Book, praying, school, exercising *cough I'm really out of shape and the sun is calling cough*, and other things that should take my time away from posting on here. So I suppose my excuse for not posting is that I feel guilty about not having a valid excuse to not post.
Yes, I realize it's a bad excuse. Ergo, the post. :)

Random update: I have discovered Pandora. My favorite part is when it goes from a soft Chris Tomlin song to hard Thousand Foot Krutch song. I loves it. =D
Random update 2: Be sending thoughts of encouragement and prayer my way, if you could. I have decided (about *counts* 6 lines above) to spend more time outside this spring/summer. Walking, gardening, digging trenches because our dirt here is mostly clay and does not absorb the water and therefore we have to guide the water away from the house because otherwise it floods our basement, and building a treehouse. Or, you know...a board nailed to a tree upon which we can sit. A treechair. Sounds good.

To the Author of Spring and Giver of Colors, Sounds, and Textures, I salute You.

Killed off Characters

While aimlessly wandering around YouTube, I recently stumbled across an interview with Bryan Davis. It was a relatively old interview, put up in 2009, but still good. After one question which it appears I have forgotten, Mr. Davis stated, "All my stories have a theme of redemption." Which is VERY true. Anyone who has read his books knows that, and I blurted out, "Translation: he kills off our favorite characters." (whether or not that's exactly true is open for interpretation)
However, that got me thinking about another great Author, one who effectively 'killed off' the main character.
I'm talking about the Bible and Jesus. Do we ever think about how it actually is one story, and one in which the main character dies? And yet! And yet it's so much more than that, because this main character came back to life!
I don't know where I'm going with this, but it is food for thought, I suppose. The Bible is THE most AWESOME book ever, and God is THE best Author EVER.
So here's a book recommendation: A book that has it all, the book that is so cool it has a Greek word for its title, one that simply means The Book.

Running by Trees on a Sunny Morning

So...for an elective writing class I'm taking we had to rewrite a Robert Frost poem (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening). In it we had to stay close to the original meaning, but change all the important words and keep 'unimportant words' (like whose, his, I, etc.) Hence the name. Running instead of stopping, trees instead of woods, sunny instead of snowy, etc. And that's just the title! (wow. I sound like an infomercial. I'll stop now.)
My rather loose interpretation of "original meaning" in this poem is "okay...the guy is enjoying nature"
So here it is!

Whose trees these are my mind will hold.
His dwelling’s in the city bold;
He will not care if I run by
To dash around his leaves of gold.

My racing feet must think they fly
Above the ground and in the sky
Beneath the sun and sparkling blue
The warmest morning of this time.

They brush the grass perhaps in lieu
Of asking earth to spring anew.
The only other touch is felt
A gentle breeze and warm sunbeams.

The trees are orange, red, russet.
But I have places, things to get,
And far to run until sunset,
And far to run until sunset.


Hope you guys like it!