Book Review: Christmas Jars

Christmas Jars
by Jason F. Wright

I have heard a lot of good things about this book since it was published a few years ago and last year I gave it to a friend of mine in a Christmas gift exchange without having read it myself. She said that she and her her husband read it together and it was such a good book. So this year I bought a copy for myself and read it over Thanksgiving Break. It's a short story and I read it in just a few hours. It's about a young girl who is the recipient of a Christmas jar during a time of need and her quest as a newspaper journalist to discover who began the tradition.

I think the best thing about this book is that it gave me the Christmas spirit and I am now ready for the holiday season. This is such a fun, busy, crazy time of year and I love it! But it's easy to get swept up in the mayhem, especially on days like today (aka "Black Friday" with doorbuster deals at 4 am!!) It's nice to sit back and really ponder the true meaning of Christmas. Serving others at Christmastime is a great way to show our love and appreciation for our Savior. I love when books can inspire you to become better and serve others and this book has touched the hearts of so many people. You can read how this book has inspired other people to create Christmas Jars of their own at the official website.

Book Review: Grace

Grace

by Richard Paul Evans

I read a few of Evan's books when I was younger and was reintroduced to him by my sister a couple of years ago with his book Finding Noel, another good read. I always enjoy his stories. They aren't too long so I can read them in just a couple of days and they always have great messages, even if they are a little sad at times. Grace is his latest book and he begins with an author's note that really struck me. I wanted to share it here (I'm not giving anything away about his main story by recapping the author's note, so you can read on without worry :)

He recounts the story of Mary Ellen Wilson, who in 1874 was the most talked about child in America for being abused by her foster parents. At the time, there were no laws against child abuse and society denied that it even existed. There were, however, laws against the cruelty to animals. Mary was rescued by Etta Wheeler, a methodist missionary that lived nearby. After several failed attempts to gain protection for Mary, Etta went to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and with its founder argued that as a member of the animal kingdom, Mary was entitled to the same protection as a dog. When brought to testify before the judge, 10 year-old Mary had this to say about the abuse she suffered:

"My father and mother are both dead. I don't know how old I am. I have no recollection of a time when I did not live with the Connollys. .. Mamma has been in the habit of whipping and beating me almost every day. She used to whip me with a twisted whip - a raw hide. The whip always left a black and blue mark on my body. I have now the black and blue marks on my head which were made by mamma, and also a cut on the left side of my forehead which was made by a pair of scissors. She struck me with the scissors and cut me; I have no recollection of ever having been kissed by any one - have never been kissed by mamma. I have never been taken on my mamma's lap and caressed or petted. I never dared to speak to anybody, because if I did I would get whipped.. I do not know for what I was whipped - mamma never said anything to me when she whipped me. I do not want to go back to live with mamma, because she beats me so. I have no recollection ever being on the street in my life" - Mary Ellen, April 10, 1874 in Watkins, 1990. Picture and quote courtesy of American Humane Association via suncanaa.com/stories6

Fortunately, Mary's story had a happy ending. However, it would be nearly a century before society was ready to acknowledge the existence of child abuse. They were further set back when in the early 1900's Sigmund Freud, a renowned psychologist, publicly theorized that his patients' claims of childhood sexual abuse were merely repressed fantasies. But in the 1960's, the medical profession formerly agreed on the existence of child abuse. In the meantime, thousands of children suffered silently because nobody would protect or believe them. Grace is the story of such a child.

Although child abuse is a sad topic, I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of the fact that life is so much bigger than myself. I tend to get caught up in what is going on with me and the challenges that I'm facing, but there are so many people out there that are struggling in so many different ways and I need to be more grateful for the blessings in my life. This book was a good reminder of that.

Lost Internet and Glitter Skin

So I have been summoned to write the next post. I am currently sitting in the school library checking e-mail and writing this because we no longer have the internet at home. We were sharing with a neighbor and she has moved away and thus taken the World Wide Web with her. This is very sad as it is about the only contact with the outside world that Dani and I have. So we apologize if our posts are few and far between but we are searching and hopefully will soon again be online at home. That's about it.

Oh yes, Twilight isn't so bad thus far, of course I am only on the second chapter. I don't see what it is about this Edward fella... smart, handsome, funny, Greek God. Bah! I'd take him on any bright, sun-shiny afternoon, with no clouds in the sky, day. Then, we'll see who's tough Mr. glitter skin!

Almost There!

Brandt logged in earlier today to create a post but then he realized he had nothing to say...so he logged back out and left it up to me to update our blog...again. Brother. I don't have much to say either other than I am so excited for Thanksgiving Break! I am one week, one competency, one test, two quizzes, and two and a half days of clinic away from Break and I cannot wait! Not that I have any big plans, but it will still be nice. My one big plan for break is to go see the Twilight movie! I read all four books this summer in about a week and I loved them (well most of them), so I hope the movie does not disappoint. I told Brandt that if he wants to come with me to the movie, he has to make an honest effort to read the book. I refuse to go with him if he is going to make fun of Edward the whole time. He started the book today so we'll see how it goes.

Feeling Patriotic

This was our first time voting and it sure was fun! I am proudly wearing my sticker :) I never bothered to vote before because I never took the time to research the candidates and what they stood for. Plus, living in the small State of Idaho, I figured our vote doesn't count for much, which is a bad attitude to have. This presidential election has been so interesting to me from the get go. I've watched all of the presidential debates and have tried to be as informed as possible so I could make an informed decision. It's exciting to have an election where we could elect the first African-American president or the first female vice president. It's great to be a part of that. But as interesting as this election has been I'm ready for it to end. It's exhausting - and I'm ready to hear about something else when I watch The Today Show in the mornings.

I'm glad that I took the time to vote; it is so great to be an American with the freedoms that we enjoy and have the opportunity to voice our opinions and a say in who leads our country. Our country is far from perfect but even with all of its issues I still think that we are a very blessed nation.

p.s. I also got my last clinical case requirement today - my last class 5 patient, which means this day pretty much rocks :)

Book Review: A Girl and Five Brave Horses

*NOTE: When I write reviews of books I've read, I will try not to have any spoilers; however, my main reason for blogging is for myself as a way of keeping a journal of things that impress me... so read at your own risk! :)

A Girl and Five Brave Horses
by Sonora Webster Carver and Elizabeth Land

I have this new thing that I do on Saturdays where I am easily distracted from homework and will end up spending hours on the internet researching something that interests me (I'm sure there will be more posts to come of random things that I have researched through this weird hobby!). A couple of months ago, I had a dream about the movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken." It was one of my favorite movies as a kid but I haven't seen it in years so I don't know what prompted the dream. For those of you that aren't familiar with this movie, it's based on the true life story of Sonora Webster Carver and the high diving horses, a popular act at fairs and the Steel Pier of Atlantic City in the early 1900's.

Anyways, after this dream I was curious to find out more about her life so I Googled her and found out that she wrote an autobiography in 1961 about her experiences with the high diving horses. Sadly, the book is out of print and the going price on Amazon to purchase a copy was anywhere from $500 to $800. I was really bummed. But then, I found out about this cool thing called interlibrary loan in my research class; it's where you can put in a request for a book you want to read to your local library and they will borrow it from a library that has it! Genius! So I put in a request at ISU's library and two weeks later I received a very fragile copy of the book for a whopping $1. (Although you have to be careful with interlibrary loan books - the fine for failing to return a book is $100 - which I guess wouldn't be that bad considering I could turn around and sell it for a neat little profit!)

Anyways, I really enjoyed her book. I thought she could have gone into more detail about her own feelings about her experiences, but it was still good. It's short enough that I was able to read it in just a few days. The movie was definitely much more romanticized than what actually took place. She writes about the distinct personalities that each of the horses had; one in particular was disgusted with having to dive before small crowds - the bigger the crowd, the more he stamped his feet and put on a show! I was impressed with how much courage she had, and also how positive she was even after becoming blind. She writes about having a spiritual experience after she realized she wasn't going to get her sight back and feeling the presence of God and knowing that everything would be ok. It was very uplifting to read about her life and personality and I would recommend it for those of you who love to read and are looking for an interesting autobiography.

November? Already?

I can't believe that it's November already. Time is really flying by. We are both very much looking forward to a week off for Thanksgiving Break. Not that we have any big plans, but it will still be nice! I still have a few more requirements to pass off for clinic though before I can relax so we'll see how the next couple of weeks go.

My brother Sammy came to visit us today which was so fun since we hadn't seen him in a couple of months. He is in his first semester at BYU and working hard with school and work. He was in town for the weekend visiting some friends and he took a few hours out of his busy social life to come eat dinner and hang out with us. It's crazy how grown up he is - it makes me feel really old! Anyways, it was great to see him. We love you Sammy!