Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Favorite Tuesday: Pride and Prejudice

                So, I’ve decided that every Tuesday, I’m going to do a blog post on something that’s my favorite, or that I like a whole lot. Today, that means, Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite movie of all time in the history of ever. It’s the perfect classic romance, full of everything I love: pretty piano music, anything that has to do with books, history, gorgeous dresses, dances, and romance. Who doesn’t love a movie full of all of that?
                I also just love Jane Austen, I’ve read most of her books. I wish I could say all, but I can’t quite yet. I’m working on it. Anyway, aside from Pride and Prejudice, I think my other favorite so far is Emma. I have to say, Emma is definitely one of my top favorite books of all time (along with Fifteen Minutes). That may be an extremely long list, but the list of books I’ve read in my lifetime is probably three times longer.
                To get back on topic, I prefer the 2005 version over the 1940 one. Keira Knightly makes an absolutely perfect Elizabeth, and I just love Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy. It’s just a really good adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, and I love the fact that it is mostly the same as the book. There’s not many things I can’t stand more than when people make movies based on books that are actually not all that much like the books they say they’re based on.
                I hope this post hasn’t been completely boring; I just post about what I know, and there’s nothing I know more than what I like. I wish I could write a ton of funny, witty posts about things that will blow your mind, but for some reason, I just wasn’t gifted in such a way. Hopefully though, you’ll find something I write slightly interesting.

                (Keep commenting!! I love feedback, and would love to know what you think! What would you like to hear from me? Got any favorites you think I should check out? Questions about the books I’m trying to write? I’m always listening! Or reading.)

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Fifteen Minutes

Zack Dylan made a promise to God and his college sweetheart as he left his family's horse farm in Kentucky to compete on the popular reality television show Fifteen Minutes: If he makes it, the fame won't change him.
Overnight, Zack is the nation's most popular contestant, a country singer with the looks and voice of a young Elvis. As his star rises, Zack is asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs, and also something more. Something Zack could never have imagined. Just as America is falling in love with Zack, just as he's on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster.
At the same time, Reese Weatherly, a therapeutic horse instructor, is no longer sure about her relationship with Zack, or the wedding they had dreamed about. While Zack advances from one round of the competition to the next, an offer comes to Reese- one that will take her to a home halfway around the world.
Then Chandra Olson- reigning diva pop star and one of the Fifteen Minutes judges- intervenes. Chandra has suffered so much public pain and private agony since her days as a Fifteen Minutes contestant. Now she wants just one thing: meaning.
Can Chandra’s private losses help Zack find his way, or will his fifteen minutes of fame cause him to lose the life he once loved?

I just finished Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury (the book that goes to the info at the top), and I have to say, it is now on my list of some of the best books I’ve ever read. Of course, I don’t have an actual list, but if I did, it would be quite long, but Fifteen Minutes would definitely be on that list.
I’m not trying to be a commercial; this book was seriously really good. I would recommend it a thousand times over. I love to read Inspirational and Christian fiction, mainly romances, but I also like a good book that makes you realize what’s going on in this world. And I guarantee, if you like any of those things, you will enjoy Fifteen Minutes.

I would rather tell you all about the book rather than just rave about how you should read it, but that would spoil it, and then you wouldn’t need to read it. So, my point is, go read it! Let me know what you think. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

All credit for the above synopsis and the wonderful book goes to Karen Kingsbury

Friday, December 20, 2013

Struggles

                So, this being my first post on this blog, I thought I would say a little about what my goal is before starting. My goal with this blog is to obviously spread God's grace, and to use this blog as something sort of like a journal. To just post whatever I'm feeling or thinking, to talk about books I'm absolutely in love with because I'm a HUGE reader, to try to use it to share my Savior with others, and to hopefully make a few people laugh. Oh, and I write, so there will be plenty of insider bits about my books and such, one of which I will hopefully finish soon so I can put it on Amazon. Exciting, right?

               Anyway, today I want to talk a bit about struggles, particularly my own. I'm not going to go into detail, but I've had a bit of a revelation today that was a long time in coming. It goes a bit like this: No matter who sins against you, no matter how irritating it is, no matter how badly you've been misunderstood, your job isn't to rant, rave, and complain to God about how annoying, hurtful, and disappointing it is. Your job is to think back to how you sinned in those moments, and to work on what you did wrong, whether that feels like the main issue or not.

          Obviously, I’m not just preaching this to you, this is an issue for me, too. Shocker, right? Every time someone irritates me, particularly the people I’m related to, I think about where they went wrong in the situation; how they sinned. And, let me tell you a little secret, that’s the natural human reaction. That’s the way we all automatically react. We don’t normally have an argument with our mothers, then look back and think, ‘Oh, I did this and this wrong, that’s why we argued.’ We, or at least I, think, ‘Well, she did this, and she said this, and that wasn’t Christ-like.’

          Honestly, I don’t want to look back at an argument and pick out all the places where I went wrong. I want to tell myself that I wasn’t really all that wrong, that the person I was arguing with really did most of the sinning. But, truth is, whether she/he, or I, did most of the sinning, my focus still should be on my own sins. It doesn’t matter what she/he did, I still have to answer to God for what I did. I can’t make amends for my sins by turning to God and saying, ‘So-and-so made me mad because she/he said this and did that, so whatever I did wrong was simply because of what she/he did. I have no fault in the matter whatsoever.’ That sound familiar?

          Maybe this time you said something out of anger that shouldn’t have been said, or you used an unforgiving tone, or you had a bad attitude. Whatever the case may be, and no matter what the other person did, I’m sure you played a part in the problem as well. In my opinion, if you can’t honestly say you did exactly what these verses say: ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love… In your anger do not sin. Don not let the sun go down while you are still angry… Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,’-Ephesians 4:2, 26, & 29- you have at least one thing you need to repent.

I’m not trying to guilt-trip anyone, but as Christians, we should help and teach each other. So with these words, I’m hopefully teaching someone what I’ve just learned, and maybe finding someone willing to go into this with me and keep me accountable. It’s not always easy, that I live out day to day, but it will be worth it in the end. Because some day you will be able to stand and say, ‘Even when Satan used others to try to test me, I obeyed my Father and didn’t sin in my anger or frustration.’ That is so worth struggling for.

          (Now, to go along with what I said in the first paragraph, I would love to share a bit of insider information about the book I’m writing, which won’t be my first, but it will be my first on Amazon. So, if you are at all curious what Lives Changed is about, leave a comment. I will write a post with a synopsis of the book as soon as I get TEN comments. I love challenges, so get to it, and expect more in the future!)

Mackenzie