Great Book Giveaway Bonanza Winners!

The luck winners have been chosen!
The winners for the great book giveaway bonanza are Sarah, Sadie and Cryslyn. They have all been notified and will be receiving their book soon in the mail!
Thank you everyone for joining in! It was a lot of fun!

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Emma 200th Anniversary Read-Along

A few weeks ago I mentioned I would be hosting an Emma read-along but life got in the way with two family weddings so I'm now finally getting around to setting it up!
I was already thinking about re-reading Jane Austen's novel Emma this year but then I found out that this year is the 200th anniversary of it's being published I knew a read-along was in order!
Now I've never hosted a read-along before so be patient with me... please? :)

The schedule I'm going to try for is five chapters a week for a total of fifty-five chapters and eleven weeks of reading.  At the end of every week I'll post about the five chapters we read that week and hopefully have some deep questions for y'all to ponder and comment on. At the end, I think a giveaway would be in order. :) So be sure to share this delightful news with your friends and family and be sure yourself to join in for this fun read-along! :)

NEXT MONDAY (July 6th) we are starting!
If you want to do a guest post comment and let me know and we can get in touch. I would love to see some film reviews and character reviews. I know everyone has their favorite film version of Emma so I think it will be interesting to compare.

So if you're interested in joining up with this fun read-along be sure to comment! If you aren't sure yet that's fine. I know everyone has a busy schedule during the summer. I don't expect you to comment on every post related to the read-along I post nor do I expect you to perfectly adhere to the schedule. The idea is that readers from all around the world come together to read a book and participate in discussing it.
So grab your copy of Emma and next week let's start reading!

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Birthday Month Reading Challenge- July

The heat is coming and congratulations we are now over half way through the year and through the Birthday Month Reading Challenge!
Here's the list of authors with a July Birthday and you can check out he more complete list HERE.

• J.K. Rowling
• Ernest Hemingway
• Nathaniel Hawthorne
• E.B. White
• Stephen R. Lawhead
• Owen Wister
• Ruth Krauss
• Joseph Kesselring
• Bernard Shaw
• Emily Bronte
• Bill Watterson
• Beatrix Potter
• Laura Numeroff

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Top Ten Books I've Read So Far in 2015

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is  the to ten books I've read so far in 2015. I've broken them down into first time reads and then re-reads, though I only came up with six for re-reads I felt deserved inclusion in this list.

First time reads

1. The Valley of Vision by various Puritans 
2. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
3. The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde
4. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. Beowulf by Unknown
6. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
7. Armadale by Wilkie Collins
8. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
9. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
10. Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson

Re-reads

1. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
2. Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom

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It's Monday! Loving Call the Midwife!

As you can see from the title of this post I'm in LOVE with the show Call the Midwife! I'm watching it with my little sister and we just finished season two but yet to watch the Christmas special (maybe tonight?). I'm so happy with how the season ended. :)))))
This week has been crazy! With my brother's wedding two Saturdays ago and then family at the house all this week to stay for our cousin's wedding this past Saturdaythere were no spare moments to be found. However, family weddings are over now, though there are many more friends with weddings this summer but thankfully I'm not involved in them. :) I've had enough weddings for this summer. It has been fun though and I do love weddings. :)
Reading has not been going well though and I need to finish How Green was My Valley before the end of this month, which, you know, is only in a couple days. I'm halfway through though and hopefully the last half is a breeze. :)

Finished this week

• none

Currently Reading

• How Green was My Valley by Richard Lewellyn
• Swallowdale by Arthur Ransom (re-read) 
• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)

Coming Soon in July! 

• Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
• The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
• The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
• The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander
• Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
• The High King by Lloyd Alexander 

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Book Review- Trusting God

As I said on Goodreads (and if you aren't my friend on Goodreads where have you been?), I think Jerry Bridges book Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts is one of the best books I have ever read and is a vital read for all Christians no matter what stage of life they are in. Since my grandfather passed away this last December, I have really been wanting to read this book. God's sovereignty was not something I was doubting, but I wanted that reassurance. One of my favorite parts of Trusting God was how heavily it referenced scripture throughout.
Throughout this review, I'm heavily going to quote the book, because Jerry Bridges says it better than I ever could. :)
The crux of the book is this question that Bridges poses: Does God actually control the circumstances of our lives, or do "bad" things just happen to us because we live in a sin-cursed world? If God really does control the circumstances of our lives, why did He allow my friend to get cancer? Can I really trust when the going gets tough in different areas of my life? 
I love the purpose of the book that he lays out: The purpose of this book is twofold: First, I desire to glorify God by acknowledging His sovereignty and His goodness. Second, I desire to encourage God's people by demonstrating from scripture that God is in control of their lives, that He does indeed love them, and that He works out all the circumstances of their lives for their ultimate good. 
So that kind of lays out the basis of the book. Now I'll speak to some of it's content.
I love one portion of it when it talks about how sometimes it is easier to obey God than trust God because obeying God is often straight forward in that we know the laws that God has set out for us but the instances in which we trust God oftentimes don't make sense to us. I found that very relatable. And then there is this beautiful and thought-provoking quote; When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness.
Next, Bridges talks about the truths that we must adhere to if we are to trust God during the bad times. The are:

• God is completely sovereign 
• God is infinite in wisdom
• God is perfect in love

Bridges quote a verse from Lamentations that I unfortunately don't recall ever having heard before but I thought was absolutely excellent, revenant and reassuring. 

Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? It is not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?- Lamentations 3:37-38

He also references Romans 11, saying that; We must learn to trust what we do not understand. 
Another quote I love is; Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him.
There are so many other great points and quotes from this book but I think my review will go on for forever if I keep going so I'll just leave you with the charge to read this book!

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It's Monday! And they lived happily ever after...

Since my first post back in 2011 my best friend eBeth has shown up in my posts here and there. What I never told you all, for reasons I'm really not sure... I'm absent minded and easily distracted, and.... where was I? ;) Anyways, what I never told you all was that back last February she and my brother started courting... a match I had been making for years and they had finally come around to realize I was right. ;) Last November for Thanksgiving my brother went up to North Carolina with her to meet some of her extended family and there underneath a waterfall he proposed to her. :)))))))))))))
This last Saturday they were married! Naturally I was one of the bridesmaids and I'm pretty positive that besides them I was the one beaming the most! :) It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony. We were incredibly blessed to have lots of family come.
I am so excited for their marriage and new life together. I love them both so much and I know that they will be very happy together. Finally I can officially call eBeth what I've always called her anyways... my sister. ;)

And in lesser thought (just this once).... reading.... ;)

Finished this week

• The Valley of Vision 
• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (re-read)

Currently Reading

• Swallowdale by Arthur Ransom (re-read)
• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)

Coming Soon

• How Green was My Valley by Richard Lewellyn 

As a final note, be sure to enter in the Great Book Giveaway Bonanza for a chance to win a copy of Tom Swayer, Huckleberry Finn or Killer Angels. The giveaway ends at midnight this Wednesday! See more details and enter to win HERE. 

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Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR List

I basically did this list on my 20 Books of Summer 2015 post but I've read a couple book since then and this is only ten books so obviously this is a very different list. ;)

1. How Green was my Valley by Richard Lewellyn
2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (re-read)
3. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee 
4. That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
5. Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
6. Germinal by Emile Zola
7. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (re-reads)
8. The rest of the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransom 
9. The rest of the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott
10. Emma by Jane Austen- I know I said I was going to do a read-a-long for it and I'm still planning on it. This week and next are pretty busy but after that I think I can get it up and running! 

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The Great Book Giveaway Bonanza!!!

Hamlette from The Edge of the Precipice is hosting the Great Book Giveaway Bonanza!!!
Several blogs are linking up to host book giveaways thus it being a great book giveaway bonanza!!!!! See more details at Hamlette's blog!
For my part for this bonanza, I am giving away my extra copies of Killer Angels, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn! Don't ask me how I was absentminded enough to accidentally buy two copies. ;) Let's just think about how you are lucky enough to possibly win one of those books! ;) Also, they are used copies... used with love! ;)
I have a Rafflecopter set up so you all can sign up to win! If you have glitches with it let me know. This is the first time I've used Rafflecopter myself. You will need to arrow over to enter for each book.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have fun!

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It's Monday! New Job.... New Life!

I had a pretty good first week at my new job and while I definitely felt overwhelmed, I'm enjoying learning about what it is really like to be a nurse.

Finished this week

• Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

Currently Reading

• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)
• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (re-read)- I was reading this aloud to my brother but he has lost enthusiasm for the book (which boggles my mind!) so I decided to go on without him. 
• The Valley of Vision- Almost done!

Coming Soon! 

• How Green was My Valley by Richard Lewellyn 

Book Reviews posted this week- Hopefully more soon... I'm frightfully behind on my book reviews

• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

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