Brother Lawrence

Nick loaned me this book. And it is good. Really Good. I’ve been challenged and just finished reading it for the second time this week, and just bought my own copy so I can return Nicks and start marking up my own! You should buy a copy here for $3.64 and read it for yourself! Brother Lawrence lived like 300 years ago, and his sole purpose was to be in Gods presence. He did not see the difference between working, praying or sleeping. He worked to think on NOTHING but God. Here are just a few excerpts from his book …

If the vessel of our soul is still being tossed by winds or storms, we should wake the Lord who has been resting with us all along, and He will swiftly calm the sea. … I honestly cannot understand how people who claim to love the Lord can be content without practicing His presence. … Although I beg Him to do whatever He wishes with me, He does nothing but caress me. … once we get to know Him, we will think about Him even more often, because where our treasure is, there also is our heart! … Because of all He is to us, we owe Him our thoughts, words, and actions.”

#6

I finished the Anne of Green Gables Series. It took me about a year and a half, because I had to slowly track down and purchase the series book by book, I own all but one – I borrowed that one from Harmony. I even read the pre-quil, written by L.M. Montgomerys Grandson. And I read the Last book, The Road to Yesterday. The last book is not always included in series because it does not focus on the main characters but rather others from the Community.

My favorite of the books was #4, Anne of Windy Poplars. Montgomery wrote this book 20 years after she finished the series because her readers wanted more detail. It is a book of letters between Anne and Gilbert from the 3 years they were apart before marriage. This book, more than the others really focuses on their characters. After this book, Gilberts Character all but disappears.

I am glad to have read the series so spread out, it helped me not get caught up in the unreality of it. Because no mom, Anne is not real. :) I deeply appreciate this series and feel that every girl should read it.

My conclusions :

Having the middle name Anne is pretty cool.

Some day I want to name my son Blythe.

The cookbook with recipes from the book is really cool. (Thanks Sarah!)

The movies are really true to the works.

Oh, and I didn’t tell you the best part! Did you know that Anne and I share the same Birthday? March 5. I knew we were Kindred Spirits! After I read this and screamed, I called my mom and told her the coolest thing ever happened! Her response? “Honey, cooler things will come.” Yes mom, cooler things will come, but this one is pretty cool.

Sensible?

Not but two minutes have passed since the completion of my reading Sense and Sensibility. Some of you know the struggle it was for me to complete this literary masterpiece – but I did finish.

I have had a two day average on book reading this summer, this particular book took me twenty and seven days from start to finish. I have begun this book at least five times over the years, but was never drawn in enough to finish.

Harmony has been talking to me about the elegant writing of Jane Austin and how much I would truly enjoy it if I would simply get past the first few chapters. I got through the first ten and was still struggling, but my mom encouraged me to keep going.

I got through the next 10 chapters and still found myself re-reading pages to try to grasp the previous described events. I had to go ever so slow, not my normal speed reading, and it was somewhat confining to not just whip through the pages with ease.

Sarah was of great comfort to me when I shared my difficulties with her this week, encouraging me again, to finish. That the last third would be the best (that was exactly where I was) and that next time I should choose a book I have not seen the movie too, perhaps Mansfield Park. Very good advise Sarah, I should have followed that from the beginning when my conscious told me that… but I was too cheap to buy something I didn’t own.

The past two days I read more than I have the past 20 combined. I reached the end of the book and it became thrilling. I opted to sit alone, with classical music on, and read it almost out loud, really grasping every word. How much clearer it was then when SpongeBob was not cackling in the background!

Oh how wonderful the ending. Even though I was not able to imagine the faces of the charters because Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant were pictured on the front… I enjoyed it immensely. The writing was sensational, I feel somewhat smarter and have an urge to use large words.

Thank you Jane for this book. I will read Mansfield Park… but for now, I will head back to my beloved Anne, the sixth book should be arriving in my mail box and I checked out seven and eight from the library to finish off the series. My devotion still lies to L. M. Montgomery.