My God Is...

As part of my young married group from church, I am reading Experiencing God by Blackaby. I have just started but already the book has been a great motivator to want to experience God in His many characteristics and by his many names.

My God Is...

• the great I AM
• My witness 
• the bread of life
• my hope
• my wonderful counselor
• the strength of my salvation
• my comfort
• my hiding place

My God is all of that and so much more. I want to fully experience God in all of these areas. I can "know" that He is all of these things, but I want to truly experience Him. That is my prayer today.

Books You Have to Read!

So I have read a couple of great books this past week and thought I would share with you all.

The first was The Thorn by Beverly Lewis. Beverly Lewis writes fiction books based on the Amish people. She has spent a lot of time around this type of lifestyle and writes stories that are based on real places and are very true to the Amish customs and ways. I have read three entire trilogy sets of her books (which I will also list) previously, and just this past week read the first of her newest, The Rose Trilogy. The Thorn was a really great and captivating book (I read it in only 3 days). This book is great for teen girls and women.

The other trilogies I have read by Beverly Lewis are:

• Annie's People
• The Courtship of Nellie Fisher
• The Heritage of Lancaster County

Although those are the only full sets I have read, I would recommend ALL of Beverly Lewis' books based on my reading experience with the others.

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**Best Book of the Week Award**

The second book for the week was Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury. This is truly the very best book I've read in a long time. From the first chapter I was hooked. I honestly could hardly put it down. Holden Harris is an autistic eighteen-year-old who is bullied at school. Ella Reynolds is part of the 'in' crowd—a cheerleader and star of the high school drama production who befriends Holden but has problems of her own at home. In her trademark way, Kingsbury tackles real-life issues of high school bullying, autism, suicide, and ultimately ... acceptance. The book goes through the journey of watching Holden, a completely non-communicative autistic, be unlocked from the bounds of his autism. It goes back and forth between the way his family and the people at school view things and what is going on in Holden's own little world.

I spent only two days reading this book ... I honestly could not put it down. This shows how important it is to look past the outer appearance of a person and see them for who they really are. I went from one chapter to the next excited and then crying ... sometimes out of sadness, but more often - happiness.

This book would be wonderful for any teen or adult, it really tackles a lot of issues.

I Want To Be Reckless

At this particular time in my life there is a lot going on. I'm in my second (and final) year of school, which is prooving to be quite stressful and somewhat tough. In with that, Ben is up at Liberty and I miss him terribly, and I am working diligently on wedding details and trying to get everything ready. The realization that the wedding is only 6 1/2 months away and I still have quite a bit to do is starting to sink in. I guess that all of that could get quite discouraging and overwhelming, but God is proving each day that His word is true and he is giving me the strength to make it through.

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary, No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."       Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT

 I have been reading the book Reckless Faith by Beth Guckenberger for the last two weeks. This book was a recommendation by my Aunt Leah, and I am so glad that I have taken the time to read it. The book is a compilation of stories from her time in Mexico working with orphans. It tells how God led her, and how when she had reckless faith that God showed up and showed off. The things God asks us to do don't always make sense, but I really want to have the reckless faith it takes to let go and be led by God.

I'm getting my practice in on reckless faith, and I have a feeling that I'll be getting even more in the near future. Since Ben and I will be getting married in May (two months before I finish school & while he is just ending his first year at Liberty), there are a lot of things still up in the air as to where I will be able to find a job, and where we will be living, but Ben and I are pray for God's guidance and wisdom to make the right choices as we enter our marriage. We as a couple have to have reckless faith and trust that God will provide me a job and show us where he would have us to go, whether it be somewhere in North Carolina, Virginia, or all the way across the country in Oregon. The coming months will definitely prove to be a time of trusting for Ben and I.

I want to live my life with reckless faith, letting go and letting God do the leading.