Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Season of Miracles

"A Season of Miracles" by Rusty Whitener

This book was a quick, easy read and a lot of fun. It is about a man who looks back on when he was a boy in Little League, a summer that changed him. How finding a friend who wasn't like everyone else and remembering that winning isn't everything made him who he is today. The story was funny and heart warming. It read like a story that actually happened and was a peek into how little boys act and think. The book is going to be made into a movie and I am eager to see it. "I did want to believe. Believing in miracles is the first step. Believing in a personal Miracle Maker is the real hurdle." Everyone wants to believe in miracles and actually most probably do but believing in the One who did those miracles, another story altogether. "You never know what someones going through on the home front that makes them the way they are." I try and remember this so that I don't pass judgement on people. I just never know what they have been through and if someone is going to pass judgement on me I want them to know all the facts. "When unbelievers are nervous about going to church, it often means they see it as something formidable. That can be a good sign. They may be recognizing God as a real Power, and a gathering of his people as significant." Never thought of it that way but that is encouraging. "I was ready to stop talking and come back to this God stuff later. When you're young, there's always 'later.' When we're older, 'later' becomes 'some other time.' If we stall long enough, we might not have to bow down in this life. That's what we think anyway." But there will be a time when everyone will bow down and in this life it is never too late.

Friday, December 17, 2010

A Return To Modesty

"A Return to Modesty" by Wendy Shalit

If you are a girl, have a girl or know a girl read this book and make every girl you know read it. It was such an interesting book that had so much truth to it. I had a pencil and couldn't stop underlining all the fascinatingly true things the author said. I could fill this blog with quotes, and I will give you some, but I will let you read it and find the good ones for yourself. The book describes how we as a culture have lost our modesty and how due to that we have lost so much more. It talks about how the feminist movement actually hurt woman and how we need to return to what once was. "It is no accident that harassment, stalking, and rape all increased when we decided to let everything hang out." She states how girls now are not embarrassed to show what they have and how then boys are not ashamed to take what they want. How we as women have the power to shape how men behave. "Failure to sleep with someone is now an act of hostility, whereas it was once understood to be part of the natural process of searching for one's mate." Why is it so wrong in society today to wait for marriage? "Modesty is a reflex, arising naturally to help a woman protect her hopes and guide their fulfillment-specifically, this hope for one man." Modesty was given to us to protect us. This might be my favorite, "How can we expect men to be honorable when a large number of women consistently send them the message that they do not have to be?" She poses the question that if all women said they were going to wait for marriage then what would the men have to do? Wait for marriage! "Sexual modesty says to the world, 'I think I'm worth waiting for, and worth concealing.'" I know that I hope my girls believe this. "Modesty is usually a reflection of self-worth, of having such a high opinion of yourself that you don't need to boast or put your body on display for all to see." So what does that say of those that do put their bodies on display? I was astounded by the truth in this book and think it was very well written with lots of questions to think about. And the author didn't just write what she thought but had many sources to back up her statements. I think this is a must read and one I will read again and will pass on to my girls when they are old enough.