The Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess, written by Richard Platt & illustrated by Chris Riddell
The fictional story of a young boy who lives with his aunt and uncle for a year as a page, this book is filled with all sorts of info about what life was like in the middle ages. I've read this book four times for school, including this time with Tyler, and I always love the illustrations.
*****
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy, written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
I regularly look for the positive things in my life, but I'm also very critical by nature and slide into bitterness pretty easily. This book really challenged me in the area of being thankful, driving home both the importance of gratitude and the danger of ingratitude. I'm currently in the process of doing the 30 day gratitude study at the end of the book.
p. 17, Even in the most turbulent waters, choosing gratitude rescues me from myself and my runaway emotions.
p. 23, Try being a person who sacrificially gives of yourself - without the offering being accompanied by gratitude - and you'll find every ounce of joy drained by a martyr complex.
p. 35, Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude.
p. 68, The grateful heart that springs forth in joy is not acquired in a moment; it is the fruit of a thousand choices.
p. 82, Pride is the father of ingratitude and the silent killer of gratitude.
p. 126, But out in the byway of real life, a grateful heart must often strap on sword and shield, summon up its deepest courage, and brace itself for battle.
p. 139, Unwilling to stay mindful of the blessings we enjoy in spite of our difficulties, as well as the strength and sensitivity God grows beset in us through hardship and loss, we sacrifice peace. We sacrifice contentment. We sacrifice relationships - and freedom and grace and joy.
*****
Ugly, written by Robert Hoge
Hoge was born with a giant tumor in the middle of his face, as well as disfigured legs, and the surgery that removed the tumor left him with a radically disfigured face. This book is his story of growing up ugly, learning to be confident in who he is.
*****
The Wake Up, written by Catherine Ryan Hyde
A rancher suddenly find himself unable to to do anything that inflicts pain on animals, whether the deer he goes out hunting for or his own cattle, because he physically feels their pain. Soon he finds himself feeling what the people around him are feeling. As he struggles with this profound empathy, he finds himself falling in love with a single mom of two kids, one with some major struggles of his own. With therapy, commitment, and time, healing comes to those who are hurting.
p. 236, "I know you don't have a lot of parenting experience," Hannah said. "So let me lay my thoughts out for you like this. You hope for the best for your kids. You want them to be happy, and you want to feel close to them and help them. So when you see them moving in what you think is a good direction, or think you see it, you hope. You hope wildly. And, as a result, having a child tends to mean getting your heart broken on a regular basis. It takes courage to hope for something you know you may not get. But the alternative is not to believe in your child or hope great things for him. So I'm a big fan of the heartbreak method myself."
*****
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