Reflections

Looking back over my reading list of 2008, I find it interesting the variety of books that I read. Maybe not a huge variety, but some of the choices don't seem to fit with the others. So I decided to pick out a few and explain their importance in my life and what it had to do with the year 2008.

Mountains of the Mind: This was a required reading for my Mountain Geography class for the spring semester. As my last geography class to be taken at K State, I found this class to be extremely important. I also got to take it from one of my favorite professors at KSU and it was one of my favorite geography classes. I remember staying up until about 3am to finish my big project for the class and being so excited when I found out that I got a 100% with raving reviews from my professor. Even though I'm not using my degree at all right now, I still love the subject. I had forgotten this fact until yesterday when I was talking to my boyfriend about arroyos and weather and hills. . . amazing stuff.

Elsie Dinsmore: I was a middle school intern for a church in Wichita this summer and read a few books to understand where my students were and what they cared about. This was one of them. A couple of my seventh grade girlies love the Elsie books so I thought I'd give them a try. Honestly, I was disgusted by the book. The main character is supposed to be some kind of saint who never does anything wrong and is always really sweet to the people around her, which seems to be true. But anytime she does something "wrong," she basically freaks out and repents right away and begs for forgiveness. While I understand the thought behind the creation of the character, this is not something that I would want my seventh grade girls reading, thinking that this is how it's supposed to be following Christ. Of course, we should be striving for holiness but another important thing to understand is our freedom in Christ. We don't have to go into mourning every time we sin. He offers grace freely and is patient with us as we strive for change.

Desire by John Eldredge: My friend bought this for me for my birthday and it was perfect timing that he did. Reading this book helped me understand why my heart yearned so much for relationships and affirmation and how that relates to God. This book was crucial in the healing process that I went through this past fall.