Two, two, two books for one!

Something I failed to mention in Monday's post is that I kind of threw out my back (again) last Thursday morning. I was doing something extremely dangerous and hazardous--pulling a box of cereal off the top shelf of our kitchen cabinet. Thankfully, Kay was here so I was able to lie down a lot and give the strained muscles the rest they needed. So, I had a little bit of down time. Actually a lot. Suffice it to say, I ended up reading TWO books last week. Two pretty think ones!

The first book in Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series, A Voice in the Wind, was on the top of my stack. This book came highly recommended by several of you and also others that don't read this fantabulous blog (imagine that!).

I have to admit that this was a tough read for me. I'm not sure if it was the totally foreign time period or the repulsive behavior of the Roman citizens. I could not drum up concern or love for the characters for the first 75% of it. Even Hadassah seemed out of reach. As a Christian in the United States we have never had to suffer the persecution that was an every day occurrence and danger for her. As a result, Hadassah's faith was much stronger than mine. She was forced to lean on God for his leading in every situation. She was forced to weigh the balance in every conversation of wanting to share the Truth, but fear for her life.

As I was reading, God reminded again and again to pray for those brothers and sisters in Asia and Africa who face this same danger and persecution unto death daily. I've been prompted to ask for my own testing, that my faith may be strengthened. I think we can be certain that testing is coming, even to America, in the not so distant future.

So, my final analysis is that it's worth the read. It's not necessarily a fun read, but a good one. I picked up the second book in the series at our church library this Sunday and look forward to reading how God continues to work among these broken people.

And now for something completely different!

The next book in my pile was the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. This book was a roller coaster ride that just didn't quit.

After a seemingly innocent incident, Edward and his family decide to leave Forks and Bella behind; certain that if they stay they will only be hurting her. After they leave, life is anything but boring, as Bella forges deeper friendships with some and leaves other friends behind. She's never able to get over the loss of Edward and begins doing riskier and riskier things in order to hear "hallucinations" of his voice. Bella's final daredevil act results in a domino effect adventure that takes her all the way to Europe.

I was entranced by the book from cover to cover and didn't want to put it down for anything this weekend! Needless to say, I've already put the next two books in the series on my queue at the library! Hopefully I don't have to wait too long otherwise I may be dragging the kids to Barnes & Noble for some extended play time at the train table!

Happy reading everyone!