The Saturday Six

One.

Christmas is coming you know. {We're under two months now - EEK!!!} And in case you're a lover of small-shop support and even more specifically, Etsy support, this 31-Days blogger covered a whole list of Etsy shops, so I wanted to direct you to her list. Quite a range of ideas and prices are covered here. Happy Etsy shopping!!

Two.

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A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends texted to ask my opinion on day planners, because she said when she thought of people who were passionate/obsessed with such things, I came to mind first. {Not EVEN embarrassed about that! WOOT WOOT!!!} I am actually making my own 2017 planner, but I found this post by Brittany at Where My Soul Belongs, and she compared a couple of planners that were new to me, so I feel it's my duty as a passionate, obsessive planner lover to pass the news on to you in case you're on the hunt!

Three.

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As I've mentioned many times this year, I've been doing Beachbody workouts and eating plans, but our one-income budget does not allow me to keep up with daily Shakeology treats. It is crazy expensive to buy a bag of that every month, so we've had to resort to making our own versions of healthy shakes at home. Dashing Dish is my favorite go-to site for clean eating {I've told you about it multiple times before} but this week I tried out the Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie. Oh. My. Word. It was a thousand times better than I even expected. {I used plain Greek yourt in place of cottage cheese for the thickener, and I did not add the cream cheese because I didn't want to open a whole package for a little tiny smidgen. But it was so creamy and tasty.} NEW FAVORITE!!!

Four.

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 Back to Christmas for just a moment...I wanted to tell you that Dayspring is having a big sale that ends in a couple of days. {I'm not a Dayspring affiliate, so this isn't a push for personal gain; I just love their stuff!!!} Some of my family members might recognize the chalkboards from this page as one of the gifts I gave last year. This set of stuff makes a great gift because you can add to them to complete the gift! {Make a cake FOR the cake plate, add coffee to the creamer/sugar set, etc.}

Five.

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NEXT WEEK is time change weekend!!! As always, I have some pretty strong opinions on time change, but at least this is the change that affords me more sleep, so my complaining is not quite as harsh this time around. But in light of this event, I found an article that suggests some household tasks that need done with about as much frequency as the time change, so tying them to the time change is a good way to remember to do them! Here you go!  

Six.

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This week, I read the conclusion of the Emancipation Warriors trilogy written by my real-life friend, Marissa Shrock. I've reviewed books one and two on the blog before, so you can check those out if you missed them before. The First Principle was the first book, and The Liberation released just earlier this year. The final book in this series is called The Pursuit, and just like the first two books in the series, The Pursuit is suspenseful from start to finish!

Marissa is a middle school teacher, and she writes for a young adult audience. But as I said in my first two reviews, I enjoyed reading them and think they appeal just as fully to an adult audience. These books are set in an undisclosed future year, when the United States is no more, and the world at large looks very different from the world we know.

The main character of the series, Vivica Wilkins, is almost eighteen years old, and finds herself a bit stuck in life. She wants to attend college, but her mother, who is the President of the United Regions of North America, hasn't been able to find a school that can assure her Vivica will be safe from the attack of political enemies. So Vivica feels trapped, living day after day in the presidential compound, unsure of how to move forward when she can't move beyond the gates of the property.

The world had seemed unstable before, but grows more so each day. Biochips implanted in citizens keep the government informed on everything from their whereabouts to their health status. Mysterious illnesses that seem to attack certain regions come from "nowhere," destroy lives at alarming rates. And most people have no idea just how deep the government's power runs, including recent technology that experiments with weather control.

When the President dies under suspicious circumstances, and Vivica's friend, Drake Freeman, invites her to join the Emancipation Warriors in their pursuit of complete freedom, she cannot resist. The wars of disease, deception, and determination in the world are large, but even bigger battles rage inside Vivica. A born-again Christian {in a world that does not tolerate its beliefs}, she feels the weight of sharing her faith and seeing those around her, even the enemies, as people created by God. She feels the weight of fighting for anything that will make the world a safer place for her son, even though she gave him up for adoption. And she feels the weight of submitting to God's plan for her life, even if it looks different from what she "feels" it should be.

As was true of the first two books, The Pursuit offers a difficult look into parts of our future that may not be so far away or far-fetched. In those respects, for a scaredy-cat like me, some of the concepts were difficult to face. But the writing itself is excellent, suspenseful, and carries the Gospel message clearly. My own faith was strengthened by the needed reminders that God is bigger than any government entity and always faithful to care for His children, regardless of how hopeless the circumstance.

You'll find love, intrigue, danger, faith, and so much more in this book, and I am so proud of Marissa for completing her trilogy and bringing a faith-based option of dystopian literature to young adults. I'm excited to see what she ventures into next in the world of writing!

 * Marissa sent me a complimentary digital copy of The Pursuit to read. All opinions are my own! *