Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Lost Stories by John Flanagan

I couldn't even begin to tell you about this book when I finished it, I had to take a day or two to let the emotions settle down.  Yep.  It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry.

I read John Flanagan's foray into adult literature with Storm Peak, and though the plot line was amazing, and the story itself very intriguing, I felt that all of the "adult" elements (really bad language and very graphic sex scenes) really detracted from the actual story and made me not really want to read anymore.  I definitely wouldn't keep it on my bookshelf!

I am really looking forward to checking out the Brotherband series, and have just picked up the first from my holds at the library!  

The Ranger's Apprentice series has been amazing from the beginning.  I read my first one when I won it at the school book fair.  I was teaching a Second and Third Grade Combo Class, as well Seventh and Eighth Grade English at the time, and it was a great read aloud for all of them!  Will is an awesome character, and to see him learn, grow and mature over the years has really been a wonderful experience.  I love gruff old Halt, who really makes me think of my Papa and some of the wonderful memories I have with him, every time I pick up a Flanagan book.   Brash and Bold Horace, and the amazing friendships that grow between them make me smile.  Every single one of these books has stirred my heart as I've read it.  I am always on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out how they're going to get out of the hot water they've just landed in, and I live each moment with the characters as they travel across Araluen and faraway lands.

I had tears in my eyes when I read The Emperor of Nihon Ja, because it was a wonderful book, but especially as I neared the end and I realized that this was the end of an era, that there would be no more Ranger's Apprentice books, and I was saddened by the thought of saying goodbye to all of my friends.  The Lost Stories made me laugh, made me bawl, and made my heart swell with joy for my friends between the pages.  I do have to tell you that if you haven't read the rest of the series, it will probably just be a very entertaining story to you, but if you're die hard Flanagan fan, this book will take you to realms where you have visited before, and share with you the future of all your beloved characters.

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