The Saturday Six

One.

So this happened last week. I have to say that of all the places in the whole wide world that I ever imagined to see my name, the Wall Street Journal was never one of them. {Mostly because I have always associated it with numbers, and you know how well I get along with those!} So anyway. This was pretty cool!

Two.

Ryan actually found this article, but I agree with it so much that I couldn't help but share. I do not take it for granted that I'm able to run hard after my dreams right now because Ryan is shouldering the entire financial load on his own. This is such a gift, and I appreciate it. When people find out we don't have kids, they think it's kind of strange that I don't work outside the home, but we're learning that this works best for us. We need this to thrive. And I'm grateful to him that we can do it. {By the way, the photo has NOTHING to do with the article, but I just love pictures of Ryan!}

Three.

Source

I love Jennifer Rothschild, and I love lessons learned by the water...so I loved this post. Love the reminder that even in the bigness of an ocean...in the bigness of all this world is...God sees us and loves us.

Four.

Two or three years ago, I saw these wooden letters on the Dayspring website, and they were on sale. I felt they so perfectly captured the life God has given us that I wanted to own them. I purchased them, but in our Marion house, we didn't have a good spot to put them, so they sat in the trunk of my car until we moved. Ryan hung them up in our hallway, and I have had multiple people comment on how much they love them. I figured they had long since cycled out of the inventory at Dayspring, but I happened to notice this week that they are part of the Labor Day sale! Twenty bucks - on sale from fifty!! They're wooden letters, but they are not very thick or heavy, so that's good for your wall. I love their strong presence and what they represent. I would give them two thumbs up...and they would make a great gift, if you're buying ahead for Christmas! 

Five.

Source

I told Ryan this week that it's officially been 3 years since we returned home from our Caribbean Cruise. I shouldn't have brought it up. It is like reminding a kid that his puppy died. Ryan LOVES cruises and has mourned the fact that we've not been on one since. Whoopsie! So perhaps because cruises were on the brain, I happened upon this post, which fascinated me entirely. This girl is a packer extraordinaire. Packed for a seven day cruise IN A CARRY-ON. I can't even pack for CHURCH in a carry-on. I realize she probably didn't mess with things like books and journals and tripods and such, but seriously - still!!! This is impressive.  

Six.

Source

I was a sixth grader the first time I picked up a book written by Janette Oke. I'd exhausted all the literary possibilities of young adult fiction {on the approved-by-the-parents list}, but my voracious appetite for reading remained. Mom encouraged me to try a grown-up book, and Love Comes Softly was my gateway to the fiction I now love and devour regularly. Janette Oke was a pioneer of Christian fiction, and her pioneer stories captured my heart. I read them all and still own the entire collection.

Her When Calls the Heart series, written back in the 80's and set in Canada has recently become the inspiration for the extremely popular TV series by the same name. I confess I have not watched the series, because I learned when Love Comes Softly became a movies series that it's hard on readers when beloved books translate to film. I loved the movie series, don't get me wrong, but it was hard to see so many details change. I eventually had to pretend the two were unrelated entirely.

So when I saw that a new book series existed, called Return to the Canadian West, co-written by Janette Oke and her daughter, Laurel Oke Logan, I was torn. I desperately wanted to read the books because I love Janette so, but at the same time, I saw the books were companion stories to the TV series and I just wasn't sure my little soul could handle it.

But I picked up Where Hope Prevails, the third book in this series, and was delightfully surprised to find it as easy to love as any Oke book I've ever read. I don't know how much authoring Janette did and how much Laurel did, but the spirit of the book is exactly what I remember of every single novel I ever read, and I adored the story.

I will say that while I hadn't read the first two books in this series {didn't know about them until now}, I wasn't lost in any way. I will go back and read the first two, though I now know some serious spoiler alerts about the way they'll end, based on the plot in this book.

This book is the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a city born-and-bred teacher who has moved to the Canadian West to teach in a small mining town. As the book opens, Elizabeth is just returning to Coal Valley after spending a summer back east with her family. She is shocked to find that the town has erupted in growth and change in her relatively short time away, and while the townspeople have made decisions they're excited about, the changes are tough for Elizabeth to fit into when she returns.

Beth's not-quite-fiance Jarrick, is a Mountie, and while he loves his work, his assignments take him away far too often, leaving the two of them unsure of what their own future might hold. While she prays for guidance, Elizabeth immerses herself in teaching, spending time with her students and friends, and trying to catch up with the changes in the town.

I will absolutely be purchasing the first two books in this series so I can have the complete set, and while I have no idea how closely this holds to the TV show, I have to say, I loved the book.

* Thanks, Bethany House, for providing a copy of this book to me in exchange for an honest review. And thanks for taking a chance on Janette all those many years ago.*