I thought I would share my daughter's favorite books. She is an avid reader and aspiring novelist. You will rarely find her without either a book or pen and paper in hand.
l. The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
2. The Brotherhood Chronicles by John Flanagan
3. Both Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
4. The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
5. The 39 Clues by various authors
6. The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
7. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
8. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine
9. Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene
10. The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon
11. Jack Blank by Matt Myklusch
12. Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
She has read these books over and over while still managing to fit in new reads. She is amazing!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Horror of The Hunger Games
I must confess, I did read The Hunger Games. Not because I wanted to mind you, but because my 16 year old son is enthralled with it, as well as a teen cousin of his. Or maybe entranced. And that concerned me, especially since my son is not a big reader.
So, I sat down one night and read the whole book. And I was shocked at what was in The Hunger Games. I had thought it would be part fantasy, part science fiction, but I was wrong. It is pure horror written for kids. Stephen King for the young, if you must.
The violence was shocking and horrible. And so unfeeling. That stunned me. And where were the "good guys" ? I couldn't find them. The whole tone of the book was hopeless, disturbing and thought-provoking in a bad way. And, in a way, almost hypnotic. As my 19 year old daughter said, she hated the book, yet wanted to keep reading, and that fact bothered her as well as me.
The book is about the future where the government, in retaliation for an uprising, selects children from 12 and up through a lottery. These chosen children are then placed together in a designated area where they are to eliminate all the other children in any way necessary. The last child alive is the winner and their family is compensated with food and supplies. And, by the way, this whole scenario is watched live by the nation on a reality TV show.
Why are we allowing our children to read The Hunger Games especially as Christian homeschooling parents? There is no redemption, no love, no faith in these books at all. They are the opposite of what we are trying to instill in our children.
Isn't anyone else concerned about the way The Hunger Games has become an obsession with children and teens? I beg you to read one of them so you at least know what your children are being exposed to. It will be an eye-opening experience for you.
Please let me know how you feel about this issue and leave a comment as I feel very alone in my thoughts on The Hunger Games.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Overwhelming Worry
It happened again. A new study came out about bacon and sausage causing pancreatic cancer. Just one more thing to worry about. I'm not sure if this study will stick, but just in case, since we have pancreatic cancer in our family tree, we'll scale down our bacon and sausage intake to just special occasions.
Worry, worry, worry. It gets so overwhelming sometimes thinking about all the bad things out there in this world that can hurt us. I begin to feel that life is scary and I worry about that!
Every time I pick up a newspaper or magazine, or watch TV, there is something to worry about. Coffee is bad, there is a deadly virus on the horizon, ticks live in the yard all year, Lyme disease is running rampant, a child was abducted, the car has safety issues, Norovirus is in the area, a cruise ship sank, a candle caused a house fire, immunizations cause autism, e coli is in the meat, salmonella on the vegetables, is that mole cancerous, well, need I say more?
But I am determined not to let worry overtake my life and my family's. I am doing my best to focus on the best in life. As St. Paul says, "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things" Phillippians 4:8.
God doesn't want me to focus on the dangers and perils of life. He wants me to focus on the graces and blessings of this life, and to realize that this will all pass when we are with him in heaven.
So, these days, when I begin to worry (which is often) I say the little prayer, "Jesus, I trust in you" and know that whatever comes my way, He will be there by my side helping me to deal with it.
May God bless you all today!
Worry, worry, worry. It gets so overwhelming sometimes thinking about all the bad things out there in this world that can hurt us. I begin to feel that life is scary and I worry about that!
Every time I pick up a newspaper or magazine, or watch TV, there is something to worry about. Coffee is bad, there is a deadly virus on the horizon, ticks live in the yard all year, Lyme disease is running rampant, a child was abducted, the car has safety issues, Norovirus is in the area, a cruise ship sank, a candle caused a house fire, immunizations cause autism, e coli is in the meat, salmonella on the vegetables, is that mole cancerous, well, need I say more?
But I am determined not to let worry overtake my life and my family's. I am doing my best to focus on the best in life. As St. Paul says, "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things" Phillippians 4:8.
God doesn't want me to focus on the dangers and perils of life. He wants me to focus on the graces and blessings of this life, and to realize that this will all pass when we are with him in heaven.
So, these days, when I begin to worry (which is often) I say the little prayer, "Jesus, I trust in you" and know that whatever comes my way, He will be there by my side helping me to deal with it.
May God bless you all today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)