1) For those of you who follow my blog in a reader, I recently linked to an article in my Shared Items (on my sidebar) that I wanted to share with you. It was written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Foss, and is called Hope for a Gentle Summer:
“Children can teach us gentleness, if only we have teachable spirits. Gentle mothers make an effort to speak softly and less often, to listen carefully and more often. Mothers who are able to permeate the atmosphere of their homes with gentleness can see God’s hand when a child interrupts her work. Like the monastery bell calls a monk, the child calls Mother to service and her work with the child becomes a prayer. If she is wise, she will see opportunity to grow in holiness in every interruption. She will count every call to gentleness over exasperation a blessing. “
You can read this wise and thought-provoking article here. I highly recommend it. It’s been on my mind all week.
2) Is anyone else as obsessed as I am with So You Think You Can Dance? I know, I know. Mary Murphy’s screaming is pretty near intolerable but the dancing. Oh, girls, the dancing. I don’t have a favorite yet (or rather I have about five)–they are all so good this season!
3) It’s no secret that I am a Shappy Apple fan. Well, I’m now a member of their Affiliate Program sooooo if you happen to ever be dress shopping over there would you do me a big favor and click through from my site? Thank you!
4) For all you Catholic gals out there, have you checked out Faith and Family’s new site yet? It is wonderful! I am especially excited about Faith and Family Connect which is (in the words of the their web editor and all around awesome chick Danielle Bean)…
“…our own interactive community and an online social network just for moms. It’s free and it’s a great way to interact with other moms on the site. It’s like Facebook on a smaller, more intimate scale—just for Catholic moms.“
Check it out. I’ve been having a ball over there.
5) My sweet husband is still on the hunt for a job. He has a couple of exciting, solid leads. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Thank you!
6) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
7) I am also reading The Mitford Years
What a beautiful quote by Elizabeth Foss! I need to remember this one.
I really like Linda Nichols' novels. She writes christian fiction and sometimes I get frustrated with those because they just end up seeming juvenile instead of uplifting. But Nichols hasn't failed me yet.
Also, Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorites. Or, I always fall back on Jane Austen, or the Bronte's! They comfort me for sure!
And, I hate to even suggest it if you're opposed to such things as this…but I loved the Twilight series. I know, I know…I'm not a teenage girl. But. But. They're just really entertaining! A good summer fluff read?
I just read my first Mitford book and I loved it!
Thanks for the tip on the article…it sounds like a good one!
The Guernsey book is waiting for me at my library on the Hold Shelf, so your post today made my smile even brighter! I guess I'll hurry over this afternoon to pick it up! :)
I LOVE the Mitford books and have to say they are some of my favorites. And I, too, am a Christian, but I have to say that the Harry Potter books are some of the best writing I have read. I know that they are still a hot topic in the Christian world, so that is a personal decision, but I really enjoyed them.
And even though they are juvenile literature, some of my childhood favorites were the "Betsy-Tacy" books by Maud Hart Lovelace. And a recent non-fiction favorite is "If You Lived Here I'd Know Your Name" by Heather Lende about life in small-town Alaska.
5 – Praying hard!!
6 – I've heard so many good things about that book. Last time I looked it up at the library it had about 300 requests. Yikes! I'll give it another look and see if there's a better chance of getting it now.
I have recently really gotten into anything the Kristen Heiztman has written. I am waiting for book 3 of her Diamond of the Rockies series to get to the library. It's great, I think you'd especially like this series. The heroine is so feminine, and so real.
Jan Karon was inspired by the British author, Miss Read. I love her books, especially the Thrush Green ones.
Hi Betty —
Re: The Potato Peel Society, the book club at my local independent book store is reading this book for July. I am soooo excited. :)
They also have a Jane Austen book club where they read one book from that period per month. July is going to be Jane Eyre. :)
I hope you're having a wonderful summer — sorry I've been MIA recently! God Bless!
Just wanted to say thanks for linking to the Faith and Family sites – I'm Catholic and have never heard of them – pretty awesome stuff!
Hi! Just surfed over from Conversion Diary.
Favorite feel-good novels — the Regency novels of Georgette Heyer. If you like Jane Austen, you'll love Georgette!
I love the series by Janette Oke that starts with Love Comes Softly. My favorite series ever!
hi, I came to visit you from Conversion Diary. You might like the novels by Miss Read.
I'm addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. They're all such amazing dancers!
And I'll definitely say a prayer for your husband!
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is haunting and beautiful. His second book, So Brave, Young and Handsome is also good. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is also good reading, if you haven't already. It took me a while to get into the first book, but once I did I couldn't put it down.
Found you through Jen's poop story! You are amazing! If you like Jan Karon, you may also like the Big Stone Gap novels by Adriana Trigiani. I am from the Blue Ridge mountains and love both Karon and Trigiani as light reading (that isn't fluff-I am an English major), perfect for summer.
My SO, who is a HUGE SYTYCD fan, says that listening to that woman scream is a bit easier now that he has seen her great legs on the dance floor (last season). :OP
I just wandered over here from Jen's site, too. I'm glad you are getting lots of bloggy love–you should. I am really enjoying browsing your site.
By the way, I am reading through the Mitford series for the second time, too. If you are at a loss for what to read after this, I just asked my readers for suggestions and they came up with some great ones. Check the comments too!
the Betsy-Tacy series — especially the high school and post-high school volumes. Written about a delightful family at the turn of the (20th) century. Loosely autobiographical. Written for children (although the reading level increases as the series goes on), but just as if not more enjoyable for adults. I'm 27, and whenever I need to feel that all is right with the world, I reach for Betsy-Tacy.