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Book Review – Beyond the Shadows by Robin Lee Hatcher

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55583: Beyond the Shadows Beyond the Shadows

By Robin Lee Hatcher / Tyndale House

Loneliness and grief stalk Deborah Haskin after her husband’s death, but hope eases her pain when she marries Gideon. After their marriage, Deborah discovers a devastating secret—Gideon is an alcoholic! How can someone who has brought her healing bring so much hurt, too? A poignant tale based on Hatcher’s experience with a loved one’s alcoholism. 350 pages, softcover from Tyndale.

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I don’t know if I can accurately say that I enjoyed this book. One of the main storylines was how a Christian wife deals with her husband’s alcoholism, so that in itself is really not an “enjoyable” topic. But, it was a book that was VERY well written and thought provoking. So, I appreciated it even if I couldn’t really enjoy it. And, I hope that makes sense. I appreciated how Deborah’s struggles with faith were dealt with thoughout the novel and I appreciated the realism brought to each character. This is a worthy read. Very inspirational.

7 Random Things…

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I got tagged by Wife and Mommy to write seven random things about myself. Once I do this, I get to tag some of you. So, here are the rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 7 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag.

Here is my list, in random order:

I love sleeping in a room that is cool/cold so that I can get under a mound of blankets and snuggle in all warm. That’s some good sleeping for me!

I try to keep the eggs “balanced” in the egg carton. It drives me batty when the eggs aren’t in the just right.

I have an intense dislike for celery. Can’t stand the stuff. And, guaranteed, if there is even one eensy piece in a whole dish of something, I’ll be the one that gets it.

I don’t like having water on my face. When I shower, wash my face, swim, etc. I have to dry my face immediately. Water sitting there just really irkes me.

I would LOVE to compete on The Amazing Race some day. Mickey and I are forever talking strategy when we watch that show. We haven’t ever entered, but we should. We would love to give it a try.

One of my favorite foods in the entire world is cornbread dressing, but I am intimidated by trying to make it myself. My Gran and my mom makes the best dressing and I always beg them to make it for me. I really SHOULD learn though.

I can pinch with my toes.

How’s THAT for random?! Now, I get to tag some of you out there. Here goes – consider yourself tagged if you are linked: Emily, Jawan, Merri, Renee, Shannon and anyone else that wants to.

On This Rainy Day…

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It’s a rainy day here today. Sometimes when it rains here, we get just enough to wet everything and that’s about it. Other times it rains sporadically throughout the day. But, today the rain has been steadily falling and that has been a blessing because things had gotten so dry around here lately. It’s been so long since we’ve had rain that I actually had to look for umbrellas that were stuffed away in a closet when I went to the bus stop this afternoon. Glad I found them. 😉

I’ll admit that I have been less than productive on this rainy day. On days like this, I feel like hibernating. Something about the gray day and the lull of the rain just mellows me right out. (Unless I’m somehow out in metro traffic on a rainy day and then I’m anything but mellow. I suppose that’s another story) So, today I have just been in slow mode, it seems. I treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte (skinny, no whip) from Starbucks this morning and even got the venti size, but that didn’t do a lot to perk me up. I am in a fine mood, I feel great, but I’m just having a rainy-day day. Since I couldnt’ sleep late this morning or have a PJ-Day, I took a little nap with Mariana this afternoon. We piled up in mine and Mickey’s bed and had a nice afternoon snooze. The windows were open, the room was cool and that nap was so relaxing. I think that was just what I needed on this gray day.

Is it November yet?

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I really don’t want to wish life away, so I don’t literally want it to be November quite yet. I want to savor October and enjoy all of the adventures of early fall. But, honestly, in some ways I do wish it were November so that this election season would be behind us already. I am already over it. I never fail to be disillusioned by candidates and this year is no exception. All the slinging back and forth, all the he said/she said, all the fluff talk and especially all the lies. I’m just done with it. I sometimes wish we could vote “none of the above” and start over fresh. Don’t get me wrong, I have chosen my Presidential candidate and I will confidently place my vote. It’s just that I wish that campaigns were run more cleanly on both sides. I wish that candidates would just stand on their own truthful platforms and run for this nation and not against someone else. I wish they would all clean up their acts. I suppose that sounds naive and is in many ways wishful thinking. But, honestly, if my children behaved the way some of these politicians do, I’d be embarrased. Name calling, mudslinging, lie-telling. When does it end? Those are not qualities I expect in a leader of this great nation.

Another Freebie – Get a Kashi Cookie!!

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This is another free offer that I have personally done and enjoyed. Click here to get a free Kashi cookie! I did this a couple of weeks ago and got my cookie pretty promptly thereafter. I wasn’t expecting much, to be bluntly honest, but the cookie was really quite good. I liked that it was soft. The first bite I wasn’t sold, but as soon as I took the second bite I was hooked. So much so that I purchased a box of them recently. So, go grab your free cookie and try it for yourself. I think you just may enjoy it!