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...

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Roaring 20's Reading Challenge and Progress

Each year we have a Staff Reading Challenge at my workplace. This year's challenge is based on a 20's theme, and contains 20 separate categories (sometimes I am tempted to use one book for two categories, but that would be cheating).

I haven't finished the list completely at this point (3/31/2020), but I'm getting fairly close and have either read or requested nearly every category at this point, so I thought I would share! You can check out my Goodreads to see ratings and reviews for individual titles (not always a complete review, but I always rate them).

I will have to wait awhile before I finish anything that I don't have in hand, because my holds are not going to be available for a bit.

I have completed 18 categories in the challenge, with 2 to go. I'm still working on: A book with an upside down image on the cover and a book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title. I do have books that will fill these on my shelf and will get to them as soon as I finish the two I'm reading right now.

I will update the post as I finish the categories! If you'd like to be my friend on Goodreads, that's right here!

(Graphic from the free ClipArt Library with no royalties)


Roaring 20's Reading Challenge
1. A book that is published in 2020
2. A book that takes place or was written in the 1920's
3. The first book you touched on a shelf with your eyes closed
4. A book with an upside down image on the cover
5. A book with a map
6. A book recommended by a blog, online source, or podcast
7. A book that takes place in a city that has hosted the Olympics
8. A book by or about women in STEM
9. A book that won an award in 2019
10. A book on a subject you know nothing about
11. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins
12. A book with a bird on the cover
13. A fiction or non fiction book about a world leader
14. A book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title
15. A book with at least a 4 star rating on Goodreads
16. A book you meant to read in 2019
17. A book that has a book on the cover
18. A book you picked because the title caught your attention
19. A banned book
20. A book with a three word title

Progress:

1. A book that is published in 2020 
                       
                               I just finished this one not long ago, it's Long Range by CJ Box. I left a
                               review and a blog post on this one. You can't go wrong with Joe Pickett!


2. A book that takes place or was written in the 1920's

                              I placed on hold Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot mystery, first published in 1920. I haven't read it yet, but I have enjoyed several others, so I don't expect it will be a disappointment.

Update: It was not a disappointment :). I do enjoy Hercule Poirot! Can you solve the mystery?



3. The first book you touched on a shelf with your eyes closed

 Merry Christmas Cowboy by Janet Dailey - It's a sweet story.



4. A book with an upside down image on the cover





 This one is on my bookshelf but I haven't read it yet. The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard




5. A book with a map


Peoples of the Old Testament World by Alfred J. Hoerth. I read this one as a follow up because I was reading The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, and this is one of the experts he interviewed.


6. A book recommended by a blog, online source, or podcast




Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
I read this one with a notebook, one chapter a day, so I could take notes and highlight things that were important to me.

I have a whole list of quotes from this one, but I think you'd better read it for yourself :).

One of my friends left this review: "This book was a life-changer for me. One of the best, most meaningful things I've read all year."



7. A book that takes place in a city that has hosted the Olympics


The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam JenoffI have a word for this book. It's poignant.


8. A book by or about women in STEM




9. A book that won an award in 2019



I put a hold on Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall, which won the Caldecott Medal in 2019. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children (via the Association for Library Service to Children). 

Update:  This was a neat story and I enjoyed the illustrations.



When I was looking for award winners I also found one that was a Newberry Honor book a few years earlier (2016), and it was fantastic. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley was just an absolutely powerful story, and I intend to read the second book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20912424-the-war-that-saved-my-life?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jV2jclYNyK&rank=1




10. A book on a subject you know nothing about




Well there are plenty of those! I chose Hero & Friend: My Days with Pistol Pete Maravich by Darrel Campbell. I do know some things about basketball, and Pistol Pete was amazing and still holds many of the records he set in college (with one less season and no three pointers)...and that point I did not know until after I read the book. I didn't really know anything about Pete as a person, and I got to read really neat stories about him and his dad, and both of their personal testimonies, which was pretty amazing. I definitely recommend this book to any basketball fans, anyone who just loves a good story, and fans of biographies, memoirs, or human interest stories.


11. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins



Bloody January by Alan Parks was full of deadly sins. There was more than one deadly sin in this book. I saw prideenvywrath, lustsloth, and greed. Pretty much everything but gluttony, though if you actually look at the dictionary definition which says food or drink, then there was gluttony too, because there was plenty of drinking and drunkenness in this one.



12. A book with a bird on the cover

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke This one is on my shelf and I will read it when I finish The Magicians. Update...this was a weird one. At more than 700 pages, I just wasn't that excited by the story and it was a challenge to slog through it.


13. A fiction or non fiction book about a world leader



Cinder by Marissa Meyer - I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next.


14. A book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title




The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston is on my bookshelf.

Update: Very good book. I struggle with stories that shift from present to past or future and from character to character, but it helps when they are in separate chapters and clearly labeled. The story was fantastic and I enjoyed reading it very much.


15. A book with at least a 4 star rating on Goodreads



A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott. I liked it.


16. A book you meant to read in 2019




Well I put it on my hold list at the library in 2019 and I  may have even checked it out in 2019, so I think it qualifies. The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen


17. A book that has a book on the cover



I saw this book a long time ago and thought "how cute", but I never read it until this year. I knew from the opening page I was going to cry, and I did. I ugly cried with great gasping sobs and huge tears. My youngest came in to see if I was okay, then saw the book in my hands, nodded and left.

I don't usually double up in a category, but I just happened to have this one on my bookshelf because it looked cool and I put it on my Goodreads "Want to Read" list, then on hold at the library. 



This one took some serious reading to get into, but once I got hooked I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know. I did figure it out, but I had a couple of wrong guesses along the way.


18. A book you picked because the title caught your attention



Cartier's Hope by M.J. Rose

I did rate this one a five, because it has an intriguing storyline and it is well written. I would probably not have chosen this book if I had known some of the content, because it really doesn't fit into my usual comfort zone. I did really like her in depth look at female journalists in that era and what challenges they faced.


19. A banned book

The Giver by Lois Lowry was listed on one of my searches of banned books. Since I hadn't ever read it I thought I should. And I'm glad I did. Very good read.

20. A book with a three word title



The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman was my first one by her, and I really enjoyed it.


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