In Every Heartbeat

Bethany House also sent me this book by Kim Vogel Sawyer to review.  In Every Heartbeat follows three friends as they venture off to college together on the eve of the First World War.  Libby, Pete, and Bennett all grew up together in the same orphanage and have been the best of friends since childhood.  As the orphanage's only three graduates, they are also the only children who were never chosen for adoption.  They are offered scholarships at the University of Southern Missouri, where women are allowed to study alongside men; though they all have very different lives planned, each one is determined to maintain their friendship.  Libby hopes to become a famous journalist; Pete studies to become a minister, and Bennett plans to pledge a fraternity and have as much fun as possible.  It isn't long before they realize their friendship is slipping from their fingers, and when Libby discovers something shocking about Pete's family, it seems a final wedge will be driven between the three.

This book was okay; the storyline had a good beginning, but then it seemed as though Bennett's character wasn't as developed as the other two.  I was hoping that there would be more discussion about the war and how it affected the characters' lives, but it seemed as though the actual setting was somewhat of an afterthought.  What I did thoroughly enjoy however, is that the author made no qualms about presenting the characters as they are- with all of their flaws.  It is encouraging to read a book which have characters that are not the stereotypical 'knight in shining armor' and 'damsel in distress'.  I would like to see more of that; the author also did bring into light some deeper social issues- mainly poverty and class- with which I was impressed.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Masquerade

Here comes another review for Bethany House- my faithful supplier of historical fiction books.  This time around it's Masquerade by Nancy Moser.  It's 1886 and spoiled Charlotte Gleason leaves England, heading to America to marry one of the country's wealthiest heirs- a man she has never met.  Charlotte is determined to marry for love, but her family's fortunes are in a precarious position; marrying the American heir may be the only way to save face and ensure her family's survival.  But on the voyage to America, her doubts gain the upper hand and she swaps places with her maid Dora, who also happens to be her closest friend.  For Charlotte, it's a chance at a 'real life'; for Dora, it's the chance of a lifetime.  But as the two women settle into their new lives, they both realize that life on the other side is never what it seems.

The concept behind this book was intriguing, but I must admit that it was a little slow at times.  However, the slow (but usually steady) pace can easily be forgiven simply due to the sheer volume of historical information woven into the story throughout the pages.  Moser writes about the girls' experiences at Castle Garden (the place where immigrants arriving in New York were processed before Ellis Island opened), the tenement housing where most immigrants lived, the high society names of the day, and the efforts of some to better the horrid living conditions of the poor class.  One of the characters was a Scandinavian photographer inspired by Jacob Riis, a photojournalist who published the book How the Other Half Lives in 1890 in order to elicit social change in the slums.  Moser even includes an index which describes the historical truths found throughout the book.

Overall, the book was well-done, and what I liked most about it was that it was more about the two women struggling in their new lives and less about the romantic fancies.  I would recommend it, especially if you are interested to understand what daily life in New York was like in the late 19th century.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

A Swiss Giggle-Fest

I generally dislike speeches made by politicians, but this one takes the cake!  Hans-Rudolf Merz is a Swiss politician who burst into a fit of giggles while reading a parliamentary speech concerning spiced meat imports.  When he read the word Bündnerfleisch (air-dried beef), he couldn't contain his amusement, and other politicians joined in the giggle-fest.  Apparently, the outburst has caused one producer of dried beefs to advertise their product with slogan of "Never lose your sense of humor."

October's Focus: Amy in Uganda

One of my dearest friends from college is going to Uganda with her church this month, and we decided to make her and the country of Uganda in general our focus for the month of October.  While Amy is traveling with a team to do some specific tasks, I thought I would share with you some things about Uganda which I learned from the fantastic book Operation World (the new updated version is coming out later this month; if you don't have it, I highly recommend it).

Uganda is a central-African country long known as the 'Pearl of Africa'.  The capital city is Kampala and is the largest city in the country, with a population of over 1.2 million.  The economy is largely based on agriculture; Uganda boasts fertile soil and three annual growing season; the main export is coffee.  The economy was healthy in the 1960s, but warfare in the north and west and the ravages of AIDS and disease keep the majority of the population in deep poverty.  The average income per person is $330.  The official language is English, but there is a total of 46 languages spoken throughout the country; the literacy rate is sixty two percent.  The country gained its independence from Britain in 1962, and in Idi Amin seized power in 1971, brutalizing the country as the army pillaged and murdered.  During his reign, there was intense persecution of Christians; in 1979, Tanzanian and Ugandan exile troops deposed the regime after Amin invaded northwest Tanzania.

There is now freedom of religion in Uganda, and Christianity is the major religion.  There are also Muslims, those who practice traditional ethnic religions, non-religious individuals, and followers of the Baha'i and Hindu faiths as well.

Operation World listed three answers to prayer:

1) Uganda is the first country in the world with a massive AIDS problem to halve and even reduce the numbers of the afflicted from possibly 25% in 1992 to possibly 8-10% in 2000.  Both government and churches faced up to the terrible calamity and have successfully worked to achieve this reduction.

2) The East African Revival brought new life and fervency to the large Church of Uganda and other smaller denominations for 30 years after its beginnings in 1936.  Its characteristics were the centrality of Christ expressed in repentance, brokenness, and walking in the light.  Internal divisions and the awful years of persecution and suffering between 1967 and 1986 damped the fires of the revival.

3)  Renewed revival from 1986 onwards- widespread prayer movements, the amazing growth of the Pentecostal Assemblies and a revival moment in the Catholic Church in 1955 are manifestations of this.  Renewal in the latter has led to gospel preaching, healings, and the burning of fetishes.

Operation World also gives some specific challenges for which prayer is greatly needed, including healing from the devastation of past governments; unity and revival in the church, as well as the training of new workers; the AIDS issue; the refugees housed in camps throughout the country; and the remaining unreached people groups in Uganda, including the Muslims.  Please continue to pray for the people of Uganda and for Amy as she works to share the love of Christ with them.

Goals Update: September

What?!?!  Tomorrow is October?  As each month passes, I am slowly coming to realize I probably won't accomplish all of my goals this year and that even though I've read well over thirty books already, there are still some books on my 2010 Reading List I most likely won't get to finish.  But that's okay.  I'm okay with not accomplishing a goal- as long as I put worth my absolute best effort.  The thing with which I am not okay is not accomplishing something simply because I'm a slacker.  And while the reasons why I won't accomplish some goals are legitimate, I have been quite the slacker in a few select areas...and I know I can do better.  That is what I find disappointing. 

The year is rapidly drawing to a close, but I still have three solid months.  And I intend to live the heck out of those three solid months and to hopefully come a little bit closer to accomplishing my goals.  Here's an update from September:

Become a faithful member of the 5 am club.  Fail!  But I did at least get up about 6:30 this morning...trust me, when the sun doesn't get out of bed until past 7:30, it's difficult to get yourself out of bed...but my friend Heather called me this morning at 6:36, and I was already up and getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels.  So...a teensy weensy bit of progress. 

Memorize 52 verses. You see, this is one of those goals that I know I can accomplish if I would just stop being a slacker.  I'm not sure how this one will play out over the next three months...

Memorize (the first half) of the book of James. Refer to my explanation of the previous goal.  Hmmm...

Continue in the SWI program. Check, check, and check!  I am actually going to my final class of this term tonight (although I am super sad because my new beloved friend Julia will not be in class tonight).  We have a week off, and then we return for next term; I'll be taking Baptist Beliefs.
Read through the Bible. Fail.  Again.  This goes back to the being a wretched slacker.

Continue to think through our family traditions. I'd classify this as a success; it's just difficult to quantify it.  With the holiday season approaching, I am getting more and more excited about traditions; I tend not to think of family traditions throughout the summer, but tradition tends to be a big topic around Thanksgiving and Christmas time.

Communicate with our family (and friends) more. I've done well with the emailing, but I've been a bit out of it since getting back from New York.  I'm still playing catch up on some things, and I realized I am in need of some massive reorganization of some files, etc.

Build up our emergency fund. Nada.

Make a huge dent in our car loan. So.close.

Cut our grocery bill. I have no earthly idea.  I still have to meal plan and shop for October, and we all know how much Jenny *loves* grocery shopping.

Develop a consistent and workable cleaning schedule. I have been most pleased with how we've kept the house recently.  It's not perfect by any means, but neither are we!  I usually try to just pick up in the morning and then again at night; I'll do a thorough cleaning once a week, and that's it.

Read 30 books. I've had a lot of books to review lately, and I've also been focusing on the book about genocide.  However, I can't necessarily sit down and read that one for hours on end because I generally find myself wanting to do one of the following: throw the book across the room, sit down and cry, cuss (out loud), or begin packing my bags to move to another country.  I really would like to (start) and finish A Prayer for Owen Meany and Tess of the D'Urbervilles before the end of the year, however.  I think those two classics will be my focus over the next several weeks.

Scrapbook. Ugh.  This one kind of goes back to the slacker issue, but I also simply don't think about scrapbooking too much.  It's not exactly on the forefront of my mind.  I really, really do want to be consistent in this endeavor.  I know that it will be a joy to go through all our scrapbooks with our children someday, so I really need to get on the ball.

Continue blogging. Not too shabby, my friends.  I apologize for failing to comment for the last two weeks.  As I said, I have been playing catch up since getting back from New York.  I'll see what I can do for you this weekend.

So, there is the ugly (and not-so-ugly) truth.  Even though I've been quite the slacker in some areas, it's nice to look back and see what I have actually accomplished thus far.  And it's good to remind myself that it's okay not to perfect, but to see where I need some improvement.  And it's good to realize that I still have a few more months to work on some of these goals.  And it's good to realize that it's acceptable for me to begin these sentences with a conjunction because this is not formal writing.  Students, for the love of all that is holy, please take note of that.

How have you done this month with your goals?

Would You Like To Know...

...what we had for dinner last night?  Delicious Deutsche food in honor of Oktoberfest's final week.  I told you I was going to enjoy some overly-fattening German cuisine this week!  The hubs took me out to Erika's German Restaurant, where we enjoyed not only delectable food, but also the wonderful hospitality of Erika, the ridiculously cute owner of the restaurant.  Seriously, I wanted to take her home with me.  Erika is originally from Nurnberg (bonus material: I got my elbow x-rayed in Nurnberg when I broke it as a child.  The x-ray machine in Bamberg was broken...) and came to the states twenty-four years ago.  She opened the restaurant seven years ago and has been serving up authentic German dishes ever since.  Behold our meal:

Spatze, made by request.  Oh how I love this concoction.

Schnitzel and spatzel.  To.die.for.

Black Forest Cake- the best I've ever had. 

The best thing is that the portions are huge, so we took home plenty of schnitzel and spatzel.  I am so excited for leftovers!



Oktoberfest

If you weren't aware, 2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the very first Oktoberfest!  In 1810, the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese on October 12th; the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the celebration, which was held over several days.  The tradition has continued over the past two centuries, although Oktoberfest was not held several years due to cholera outbreaks; this year actually marks the 177th Oktoberfest.  While Oktoberfest has definitely changed in its content, going from an agricultural fair to what some deem a simply drunken fest, Oktoberfest is important to Bavarian (southern Germany) culture and is always something I think about when mid-September arrives (Oktoberfest generally runs from mid-September until the beginning of October).  Though I'm unfortunately not in Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest is das Vaterland, I was delighted to see that The Big Picture did not disappoint me and shared some excellent photos from opening weekend (September 18th).  A few of my favourites are below:

So in celebration, I fully intend to enjoy some delicious German food this week: spatzle, schnitzel, potato dumplings...mmm, overly-German food...sehr gut!!!