Late January, our family realized we had gotten into some
bad habits. We were quoting movie lines constantly, and scripture almost never.
We realized that in the evenings we had exchanged conversation and books for
movies and TV shows. It was easy to justify it, we were working hard, we were
tired, and we were watching clean movies, sometimes even Christian ones. We
also realized that our speech had become sarcastic, harsh, and often mean under
the guise of being playful (you think those movies had something to do with
it?). So we decided to do something about it.
After some talk, we decided to take the month of February
off of all movies. Some of my siblings took it a step further, my sister Rose
took a month off of all secular music. Some of my siblings chose not to play
computer games during the month either. On the third of March (because we had
been busy on the first two days). We sat down to watch our first movie in a
while but before, we had a discussion about what we had learned.
While I was awed and pleased by what my siblings had
learned, I was even more shocked when I really took stock of what I had
learned. Like the fact that I had missed spending quiet evenings reading, and
that being without TV had made me crave non-fiction more than fiction. I also
realized how much time I had been wasting.
I know this will shock you (not) but I also realized that
much of my unkind, sarcastic, and otherwise ungodly speech was being fed by
what I was watching. I had become more worried about being witty and clever in
my speech then being kind and wholesome.
Yes, we decided to keep the TV, however it hasn’t been on
much this month. However, we all came out changed from our experiment. We now
have a way to kindly chastise each other when we quote a movie line, and it is
working to make us think more about what we say. Most evenings can find us on
our family couch reading, the TV shut from view. I know that I still have a long way to go, but
I am learning.
Have you ever gone a month without watching movies?
Sometimes, I forget to just take joy in what I do, and the everyday gifts that God has given me. Over the past few days, I have been reading a great little devotional that has reminded me that we are to take joy in all things.
Joy is not the same as happiness, it is a deeper feeling that comes from God. One that I am trying to learn more about and dwell in. While happiness is fleeting, joy endures even in the hard times.
What has God been teaching you this week?
Other posts you might enjoy:
Join me at every stop of the tour for fun peeks into my latest book, reviews, and much more!
March 16~ The Destiny of One
March 17~ Thoughts and Rants
March 18~ Rachel Rossano’s Words
March 19~ Wildflower Acres
March 21~ God's Peculiar Treasure
March 22~Kelsey's Notebook
March 23~ In The Bookcase
March 24~ God's Peculiar Treasure
March 25~ Wildflower Acres
March 26 ~With a Joyful Noise
March 27 ~ Author Jaye L. Knight
March 28 ~ The Destiny of One
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Buy
it Here
Description:
Born a baron's
daughter, Lady Merry Ellison is now an enemy of the throne after her father's
failed assassination attempt upon the king. Bold and uniquely skilled, she is
willing to go to any lengths to protect the orphaned children of her former
village--a group that becomes known as "The Ghosts of Farthingale
Forest." Merry finds her charge more difficult as their growing notoriety
brings increasing trouble their way.
Timothy
Grey, ninth child of the Baron of Greyham, longs to perform some feat so
legendary that he will rise from obscurity and earn a title of his own. When
the Ghosts of Farthingale Forest are spotted in Wyndeshire, where he serves as
assistant to the local earl, he might have found his chance. But when he comes
face-to-face with the leader of the thieves, he's forced to reexamine
everything he's known.
Sometimes books like this are hard to
review. I enjoyed the setting, and parts of it were interesting, but I never
felt connected to the characters, which greatly decreased my enjoyment of the
book.
Merry Ellison is like a female version
of Robin Hood, only she does what she does to protect a group of children that
were orphaned during a raid on her home village by King John. She is a strong
girl, and while she doesn’t act very girly, neither does she spend time wishing
she was a guy. While the setting and plot make her sound like a really cool
character, she ended up falling short for me.
All the other characters, even Timothy,
were rather one-dimensional. Now that I
think about it, the whole book would have been better marketed for youth
fiction rather than YA. The whole style of writing felt more suited for a 10 or 12
year old, except for the romance.
The romance in this book was heavy and
very shallow, lots of talking about how they are feeling toward each other but
not a lot about each other’s character. Also the love triangle was a bit
awkward, because Merry refers to Allen along with the rest of the band as the
children, which made it hard to keep in mind that he was really sixteen.
Timothy was very likable and was one of the better parts of the book, as he was
more mature than most of the other characters.
The story was interesting, and it did
keep me turning pages. I think it took me only three or four days to get
through the book. The plot was interesting and different enough from some of
the things that I have read that I wasn’t bored.
I think those who like romance, Robin
Hood type stories, and are looking for clean YA will enjoy this book.
I received this book from Bethany House in
exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive
review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
Into the midst of the dire predictions and the punishment that is being heaped upon those who have done wrong, God gives the promise of hope over and over again. He reminds them that the darkness will not last. He reminds His people that he has a plan for them and is willing to forgive them. He tells them that this time of darkness will not last forever.
This is a powerful reminder for all of us. God's anger lats only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. The darkness may seem never ending, but dawn is coming. Even when things seem to be in chaos all around us, God has a purpose and a plan.
What has God been teaching you?
Other posts you might enjoy:
I am very happy to announce that Brothers and Betrayal finally has a publication date! Get ready, because the second installment of the Tales of Taelis series will be coming out March 28th!
The cover was once again designed by the talented Jessica Greyson.
You can pre-order it on Kindle for only $2.99, which is a discount from the regular price.
You can also add it to your Goodreads shelf here.
Would you like to help promote this book as well as my other books? You can join my newly formed street team!
So, I was going to wait until I was in a better mood to do this review, and then I decided that while I was feeling sarcastic and a bit grumpy and a bit silly (I don’t understand how those two go together either, but sometimes they go together with me) I would go ahead and write the review. Perhaps it will come off sounding funny instead of irritated.
Before I get started, let me first say that both the main characters show two qualities that I admire. The first is that they both have faith in God. Second, the both not only strive to, but do treat each other in honor and purity even though they are very attracted to each other. I also would like to say that the author did keep me turning pages even when I didn’t particularly care for the book, which is why it got three stars.
Now, let me begin on what I thought of MOST of the book. The beginning was the worst part. Could it have been anymore cheesy? One girl is about to be forced by her parents’ vow to enter a life of celibacy (which, obviously is the worst fate that could befall any girl, right?). But then *gasp of surprise* someone discovers that there is a way out: if she finds true love and marries before midnight of heir eighteenth birthday (seriously, I am not joking.)
So, three men compete for her hand. You will be shocked at who they are. A rich guy that flatters and gives rich gifts, a poet that brings flowers, and a tough guy who just plays hero sometimes, remains silent most of the time (what? You aren’t surprised?).
The middle part of the book was rather interesting, when mysterious accidents happened, but that part didn’t last long. Guess which guy she went for? (How did you know it was the hero guy? Whoever sees that coming?)
My biggest complaint really was who the bad guy turned out to be. Yes, she did succeed in horrifying me. Seriously, what is with Christian authors and making the priest into the evil guy? I wanted to throw the book away at that point.
Although this book wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great either. It was far too predictable and cheesy.
I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own
