so long, summer

the air is cooler and crisper, and without all the heat and humidity around anymore it seems cleaner. welcome back, fall - i've missed you.

You're Beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

book nook: flavia de luce mysteries

 












   


the buckshaw chronicles, vol. 1
alan bradley

i stumbled upon the first flavia de luce mystery, the sweetness at the bottom of the pie, almost by chance one day at the library. i know they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but this is literally what happened: the cover looked good so i picked up the book, read the summary, and decided to give it a try. i'm glad i did - i liked it so much that i went back to the library after finishing the first book and borrowed the next two (the weed that string's the hangman's bag and a red herring without mustard)! (there will be six books in the series, but so far only four have been written to date).

the books are set in the 1950s in bishop's lacey (an english village) and the heroine in all of them is flavia de luce, a self-taught chemist and sleuth who is so intelligent, curious, persevering, adventurous, and witty that sometimes i forget that she is only eleven years old - especially since her vocabulary and reasoning is super advanced for her age. i love her, she is the best! anyway, each book is based around a different crime afterwhich flavia goes around town on her trusty bicycle, gladys, doing unofficial detective work to solve the cases. (where are the police in all of this, you ask? they're present and at work too, but flavia seems to be all the more resourceful on her own). also mentioned in the books are flavia's family and a few other notable characters in and around bishop's lacey, depending on who flavia needs to use as sources of information.

i found each of these books to be enjoyable, fun, and endearing to read. i think bradley is a great writer and i'm so glad he's Canadian, yay! anyway, i definitely recommend these novels to anyone looking for a murder mystery or just an overall good read. i can't wait to read the fourth installment!

this is the season to arise

"As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength and makes me blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arm can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me; and your gentleness makes me great." - Psalm 18:31-35 

The voice of the One I love is beckoning me.
He's calling me by name to His side,
to come away with Him.

Rise up, the time is now.

i'll be seeing you

not goodbye, but see you again.
love you, mom.

a psalm of david

"The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.   Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.  Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." - Psalm 23 

Come to me.

summer lovin'

i'm pretty sure it's not technically summer yet, but it sure feels like it. :)
makes me wonder how hot this upcoming summer will be...

Sunday Glorious Sunday

"He is not here; he has Risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" - Luke 24:7-8

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain,
Then bursting forth from glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Good Friday

"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"...and when Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split." - Matthew 27:45-46, 50-51

Today is Friday, but Sunday is coming.

treasures in Heaven

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in a stead. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

Before today, I never noticed that the passage on 'Treasures in Heaven' (Matthew 6:19-24) is immediately followed by Jesus' teaching on worrying. Significant? I very much think so.

perspective

here's an excerpt from a gungor blog entry that really resonated with me:

"Sometimes it is good to step back and remember the bigger picture. I think that this has something to do with what Lent is about. It’s about remembering who we are and why are here...It’s reminding us of our humanity again. We paint crosses of ash on our foreheads to remind us that we come from dust and to dust we shall return. We give up things we like as a way of taking a step back from the blur and chaos of our lives, taking a clean look at what we have set our hands to, gathering strength for another day of work in the valley. " - Michael Gungor

click here to read this entry in its entirety.

free.

You're the higher power
Darkness cannot stand
No longer bound to sin
I am free.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
- John 8:36

Yours.

My strength in life is I am Yours
My soul delights because I am Yours

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!"
- 1 John 3:1a

Your love never fails.

book nook: midnight at the dragon cafe

midnight at the dragon cafe
judy fong bates

the thing that drew me most to this book was the fact that it's centered around a chinese girl who grew up in canada, in a small town in ontario, after immigrating from china at a young age. as a canadian-born chinese female, i thought it would be a good fit.

this book tells the story of an immigrant family from china who makes the move to canada in search for a "better life". they end up owning a chinese restaurant out in the sticks and while there is no doubt that their immigration provides more opportunities for their daughter, their life is hard. plus there is the inherent tension that exists between the mash-up of chinese culture with canadian culture. oh, and there is definitely no shortage of drama in this family.

fong bates did a pretty good job of telling her story. while it isn't an autobiography per se, i think she probably drew from her own experience growing up in canada. i thought her writing style was good - clear and easily followable - but i found the strength of the story line to be inconsistent.

overall it was an ok read. i'm glad i read it, but it will be a book i only read once.

book nook: the millenium trilogy

The Millennium Series
Stieg Larsson

It's been a while since I've done a book review, but this doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Au contraire mon frere. Instead, I've read quite a number of books in the last couple of months so I actually have quite a bit of catching up to do. In anycase I thought it would be nice to kick start this book review thing again by reviewing the latest series read: the Millennium Trilogy. (This move is also strategic since this would kill 3 birds with one stone, heh.)

I wanted to read these books before watching the movie(s), so when I saw the first and second novels on a shelf at the library, I borrowed them right away. Basically the story line of the series centers around its protagonists, Lisbeth Salander (a socially awkward, kick-ass, hacker genius girl with a photographic memory) and Mikael Blomkvist (an investigative journalist and editor of a magazine named Millenium) with multiple antagonists thrown into the mix at various times. Basically in each novel there are "cases" that need to be uncovered, but while each book in the series is connected to the next, they aren't directly related to each other.

Overall, I thought Larsson did a great job of telling his story (I thought all books were written well) and even though there were some scenes that were a bit too graphic for me and others that were dark and way twisted, he kept my attention throughout the whole series. It was my first time reading novels written by a Swedish author and at times I found it hard keeping track of all the different Swedish names, but I did appreciate the various references to Ikea, haha.

If you're looking for an action-packed thriller series (and don't mind some disturbing, dark, and twisted plot lines) then this trilogy could work for you! Just don't be expecting to read light-hearted chick-lit novels when you pick these books up, because they are anything but that. :)

ginny owens | if you want me to

The pathway is broken
And the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to

No I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to You
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When You lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'll never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the sufferin' Your love put You through
And I will walk through the darkness
If You want me to