Loving God with All Your Mind, written by Elizabeth George
This book encourages the reader to not allow negative thoughts to consume them. There's guidance on how to focus on what's actually true in various situations, not give in to worry, and to trust in God's goodness when our circumstances aren't good at all. I chose this book for the "green spine" category of a reading challenge I'm doing this year.
p. 32, However real the pain, the hurts, and the disappointments of your life are, you must remember the greater reality of God's love, power, and redemption.
p. 52, The future exists only in the imagination. < snip > Plan for the future and set goals for yourself, but also be sure to leave them in God's hands. Use your energy to draw close to God in the present and to train your thoughts to think about and deal with things that are true and real ... right now!
p. 66, Taking our thoughts captive to Christ - to the Word of God, to what is true and real - calls for energy, effort, and a heart commitment to obey God. It is a battle - a battle fought in the mind and a battle for the mind. And it is a battle fought one thought at a time ... for victory over one thought at a time.
p. 96, I was not to speculate on my future because God wasn't asking me to handle my entire life all at once. Instead, His wisdom was telling me to limit my thoughts to today, to what was real right now.
p. 124, We cannot make progress when we are resting on our laurels, resting on past successes.
p. 125, (quoting Chuck Swindoll) Dig in and pay the price for solid, challenging years in school, and apply your education with all your ability, but please spare others from the tiring reminders of how honored they should feel in your presence. Reach the maximum of your potential - but don't talk about it.
p. 156, We are called to live for Christ every day, not just until some magical, arbitrary age or income level when we stop serving others and serve only ourselves. No, we are called to press on and to finish the race.
p. 213, To remind yourself of God's message to your heart during hard and difficult times, take to heart - and to memory! - these ABCs.
A - Acknowledge God's Hand
B - Bloom Where You Are Planted
C - Concentrate on God's Promises
D - Do Something Useful
Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck
Painted Horses, written by Malcolm Brooks
A dam is about to be built in Montana and there's controversy over whether or not it will ruin ancient, sacred sites. A young archeologist is tasked with confirming that nothing of historical value will be ruined before the project starts, an endeavor that will not be without challenges. This book was the July part of a year-long gift from a friend, one book to unwrap and read each month.
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee
A single dad who works as a small town lawyer. A mysterious man the lawyer's kids have never actually seen. A black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. These men's stories join together in a novel that addresses serious issues in a way that doesn't feel oppressive. Multiple characters with messy lives. Multiple complicated situations. It's heartbreaking, endearing, maddening, and inspiring. I chose this book for the "read in school" category of a reading challenge I'm doing this year.
p. 23, Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
p. 130, "People in their right minds never take pride in their talents," said Miss Maudie.
p. 149, "I wanted you to see something about her - I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."
p. 210, "A mob's always made up of people, no matter what."
p. 295, "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."
World in Between, written by Kenan Trebincevic and Susan Shapiro
Trebincevic fled his country as an eleven year old and this young adult book is based on his story. The story spans twenty-six months - from the life he loved in Yugoslavia, through multiple moves in multiple countries, to finally starting to feel settled in the United States. It's a book about safety and danger, kindness and cruelty, loss and gains, remembering that we never know someone's whole story, and actively looking for ways to help others. I chose this book for the "topic you're passionate about" category of a reading challenge I'm doing this year. Trebincevic also has a book about his experience that's written for adults called The Bosnia List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return, co-authored with Susan Shapiro, which I haven't read.
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