book review: A Noble Masquerade

PG

I LOVED this book! I sat down yesterday before church and finished it last night. Good characters. Good story. Good writing. I seriously want to read it again. Right now!

Lady Miranda Hawthorne feels like a spinster at the ripe ole' age of 21. She is trying to be herself while being a lady and finding a husband who loves her for her and not for her family's fame and fortune. 

There is comedy, drama, action, and love. It reminded me a bit of "Pride and Prejudice". 

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This review is my own and I was not compensated for my opinion.

book review: Taken

PG

I finished this book a long long LONG time ago. I just couldn't make myself write a review because this book wasted my time and it made me uber mad. The first sentence on the book jacket specifically says that Shannon was abducted by the Jacoby crime family, but for the fist 200+ pages (Yes, 200+ pages!!), Shannon will not talk about who abducted her! Seriously? I know who abducted you because of the jacket. Get on with the story!

After the big reveal that the Jacoby family abducted her, the story finally moved forward and it was an interesting read. 

*I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not compensated.

book review: From the Start

PG

I loved this book! The characters and story were so well written that I couldn't put the book down; my house and kids suffered for the two days it took me to read this. 

Kate and Colton seem like every-day people that I'd meet on the street, except they are both semi-celebrities. I love that they both overcame their back stories in a very human way that was more realistic than fantasy. I also loved that they showed real human emotions that actually helped other people. Both Kate and Colton showed real love toward a lot of people, including strangers. This is a story that more people need to emulate in every-day life. 

**I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House publishers. This review is my own opinion. I was not compensated in any way.

BofM365: Omni 1:1-11

Day 90

Q: Why is it important to keep records of your family? Why should we keep a journal?

It's easier for me to connect with people that I know something about. Keeping a record allows future generations to connect with us on a personal level. I think it's important even now to share stories and memories with my kids about their aunts and uncles and grandparents so they get to know these family members that they don't get to see very often who love them. Writing down truths and experiences now even helps me remember.

BofM365: Jacob 6:1-13

Day 85

Q: How is repentance a continuous process? Why doesn't it end once you take the sacrament?

Because we're human.

BofM365: Jacob 5:61-77

Day 84

Q: The Lord also labored in the vineyard. What does this mean to you?

All of Jacob chapter 5 is about the allegory of the vineyard. This last chunk of scriptures is about the fourth and final visit of the Lord of the vineyard. There is a sense of urgency from the Lord of the vineyard, he almost sounds anxious. I love that he works right along side of his servants and is there 100%, not just supervising from afar off.

There are two other things that stood out to me in this last visit from the Lord. In verse 65 the Lord is giving instructions to graft in branches to his entire vineyard for the last time, but he warns his servants to not destroy all the bad branches:

And ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard.

I talked about something similar to this in one of my past posts; about how the wicked are permitted to be among the righteous. We are all here on Earth to gain experience and prove, once and for all, whose side we are on. The righteous and the wicked are all here, mixed together, to learn and grow and we are all gaining experience from each other.

The other thing that stood out to me in this chunk of scripture was the Lord of the vineyard declaring that the vineyard was going to be good, "like as it was in the beginning." What a promise! "In the beginning," to me, means the garden of Eden, or even our premortal lives! The peace, love, and promises for us there is a worthy goal to obtain indeed.

BofM 365: intro

One of my goals this year is to get closer to Jesus Christ. I've been working at this for the past 2.5 months and things are going pretty good thanks to, in part, for a SIL who's doing this challenge with me. We are reading The Book of Mormon.

There is an Instagram account called "bofm365" that posts a picture, scripture from The Book of Mormon, and question every day. Then, followers of that account can comment and answer the question according to their own circumstances and feelings. It has been a very awesome and positive challenge so far. Granted, I have missed a few days, but I just skip those days I have missed and read the current day's scripture. My SIL and I have been tagging, texting, and IMing are questions and answers back and forth to each other, but it's hard to go back and re-read what we have been wondering about.

So, I have decided this, my blog, will be the perfect place for me to keep a log of all of my questions and the lessons I have learned in one, electronic way. Because I have been doing this for the past two months, I will be back-posting to match the question with the day it posted on Instagram.