Books to be Enjoyed 2016

     Give me a room full of books, an endless supply of tea, and a big comfy couch and I will be lost for days.  Though I tend to be more on the extrovert side, I enjoy good introvert, shut down and recharge moments, mostly with books. This year has been a whirlwind; a wedding, friends from faraway places coming to visit, living in three places, moving twice, and figuring out how this whole marriage thing works. Despite a busy beginning of the year, I found time in the second half to rest, relax and pick up a couple of good books.

   2017 is literally a few hours away as I write this. If you're looking for things to read in the new year, here are my suggestions:

Read It!:

• A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (Young Adult or YA) - GOOD! It begins in an insane asylum, taking a look at what is Madness and what is not Madness. Clever, well written, plot twists and intrigue and thankfully, NOT post apocalyptic.
• Bossypants by Tina Fey (Memoir)  It's Tina Fey, she's funny, she tells the story well, it's great look into SNL. Immediately after- go watch 30 Rock. It makes the show that much better.
• 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup (Memoir)  He writes so poetically. The movie was hard  to watch but he has so much grace even for his horrible slave owners. It's a compelling read and I learned a lot about the time period.
• Everland by Wendy Spinale (YA)  It's a twist on Peter Pan which I, of course love, there's no real "magic" except the essence of who Peter is. It's really fun- GO READ IT!

Give it a Shot:

• A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker (Fiction)  - Quite good. Not in his Circle Trilogy world but set at the time where Jesus began his public ministry. I quite enjoyed it.
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (YA)  It's the prequel to the Mortal Instrument Series. I quite enjoyed it and I will continue with the series. Supernatural book. A good read.
• Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (YA)  Interesting concept where people who do wrong things are branded as Flawed. The main character is does an act of kindness that also breaks the rules and is therefore flawed. Interesting and a good read. It does end on a cliff hanger.
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (YA)  Easy read, fun concept, cliff hanger, likable characters- recommended. 
• Yes Please by Amy Poehler (Memoir)   Enjoyable read- I actually enjoyed Tina Fey's a bit better. However, Amy Poehler has some fun guest writers write some of the chapters. I'm a little bit more disenchanted with her as a person but her as an actress is still one of my favorite things! Park and REC!
• Tinker Tailer Solider Spy by John La Carre (Thriller)  -Spy novel- there's a movie based on the book which I have not seen. I felt it's one I had to read to be a well rounded human. I've read it, I enjoyed it, I will probably read more of his books at some point. Lots of characters to keep track of that are all involved but a good interesting read.

Not really worth it:

• Northanger Abby by Val McDermid (Fiction)   Modern telling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abby- I enjoyed how she approached it but she's an older lady writing modern teenagers and it just didn't translate. She tried to show how they would use social media and it distracted from the story she was trying to tell. I had high hopes-- it just didn't work.

Currently Reading:

• Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (Memoirs)-- two chapters in and it's great!

So at the end of 2016, I'll admit I didn't read as many books as I had hoped but I hope you find some that you might be interested in. Happy reading in 2017!

The Cost of Marriage (how my husband almost accidentally killed me three times)

Hazard! Poison! Don't jump! Cliff is eroding! Girl has life threatening unseen unnoticeable allergies! Wait, what?

Okay, so I don’t come with a neon sign or an instruction manual explaining all my food allergies or that pollen and hay will swell my entire face into an unrecognizable state. Nor do I tell people this the minute I meet them. So needless to say, I probably deserved everything that happened.

The third time Mark and I hung out, he made me an excellent grilled cheese sandwich. Gooey, delicious, cheesy and full of my kind of poison: nuts. About the time I had nearly finished said sandwich, I started to feel a change taking over my body. Warmth and a bit of throat scratchiness was occurring. The last thing I wanted was to appear weak in front of this cute boy. We were discussing youth group students and how much we enjoyed working with youth. Now would be the worst time for something like allergic reaction to occur. I coughed a few times and fervently prayed for nothing bad to happen. The thing was I didn’t know why I was feeling this way, because I didn’t even think to ask if the bread had any nuts in it. I mean, what kind of crazy person puts nuts in bread? Luckily, God spared me in that moment and I didn’t keel over on Mark’s floor. That would have ruined the relationship.

I found out two weeks later, after I confessed to my aversion to nuts, the bread did in fact have almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and probably unnamed nuts I never knew existed. Mark was horrified but I assured him I was still living.

The second time was another unforeseen allergy.  Actually, I just assumed I wasn’t majorly allergic anymore since my last major attack was twenty years ago and people grow out of these sorts of things, right? We had gone for a beautiful hike overlooking the bay at Point Whitehorn. On our way back, we decided to cut through a small trail, much of it having been overgrown by hay and grass instead of going back on the gravel road, the way we had come. So on we walk, pollen emanating from everywhere, covering every article of clothing and our faces. The grass hit at perfect short people height, a good solid 5 feet. About the time we got out of the grass, I felt a little sniffly but not bad. However, Mark’s face told a different story and soon what he saw manifested in my body. Sneezing, throat scratchy, eyes watering and gooping, the allergy was on. Luckily this time, we were close to my parents house. I ran in, tearing through their cupboards looking for benadryl, meanwhile stripping off all of my clothes and running to the shower to clean every inch of me. Six hours later, after we vacuumed out my car, showered, and washed all of our clothes, bags, and cameras we were carrying, my body finally decided it was done being allergic. Again, Mark felt horrible he caused such a reaction by his decision. But I kept a smile and was thankful for a chill night watching Hercules.

But nothing quite compares to the subtleties of the kiss of death. I’m also allergic to red meat when it isn’t cooked all the way. In other words, no medium rare for this girl! Mark knows this, respects this, and works hard to make sure all meat is properly cooked. However, as most people do, he likes his steak medium rare. So the same weekend as the hike of death, when my body was still sensitive to all things, we made steak for us and our parents. Mine was delicious and allergen free but a few hours later, I got a welt on my lip. What the heck? How? But eventually it went away and I was fine. However, the next day as Mark heated up his steak and we sat there talking we both looked up at the same time realizing that after he had eaten his steak the day before, he kissed me, just briefly. But in that brief moment, that was enough to pass along his allergen on to me. Again, horror overtook my husband and he apologized for almost killing me for the third time.

As I’ve looked back over these three incidents, I realize there is a cost to marriage. Now understand this, not only do I love my husband, I love being married to him. I love hanging out with him, we have a ton of fun, and it really is the best. But there is also a cost God has been teaching me. Being married means giving up things. Being married means abandoning self for the greater sense of team. It means I cannot just decide that I’m going to go do something or make some life changing decision without informing, asking, or consulting my teammate. I love being on Mark’s team but remembering that the team member needs to have a say in my day can be hard.

Mark and I have been living on our own, independent save our parents, for a long time. How many shows I did a year, how many cameras Mark bought a year was of no consequence to anyone but ourselves for a long time. Now how I spend my time or Mark spends his resources affects the other person positively or negatively.

I realize we’ve only been married for two months at this point, but the biggest thing I’m learning and trying to get better at is realizing and remembering my day to day choices affect Mark. They can either affirm him as my partner or they can tear us apart. I want him to have a voice in my day and I want to have a voice in his. It’s not always easy. Just as he didn’t know he almost killed me by giving me death bread, there are times I don’t realize my decision or my omittance of a certain detail of my plans, hurts him or undermines his importance in my life. That’s not team. That’s choosing to live outside of team. That is selfishness.

I’m not saying that I can’t do anything without my husband’s approval. He doesn’t hold an iron fist over me and dictate my day by any means. But I also cannot disrespect that he should know what my plans are and vice versa.

This also shows me just how much God wants that type of relationship with me as well. If I go throughout my day thinking only of myself and not giving God a chance to intervene, he’s going to intervene in my day whether I like it or not. But I want to give God first dibs. He has first control over how I spend my time. Being married has shown me in such a greater detail who God is and how he wants to operate in our lives. He’s the first. He wants conversation, he wants us to talk to him and check in with him on our day to day decisions. The things we choose to do that are not God honoring undermine him and his authority in our lives. If I made all my plans without considering Mark, he would be deeply hurt. I believe it’s the same way with God. When we don’t let him get a say, he’s hurt by it. He wants that relationship and the only way we can grow in that is to pursue him. Not pursue a to-do list but just pursue God, the amazing creator and Father that he is.

I love my husband. He is a great man of God who deserves my respect, my love, and my honesty. But I love God even more. He’s the one who deserves my respect, love, my honesty, and my adoration. There’s a cost to marriage. There’s a cost in independence. But just like with my faith, giving up that so called independence brings about a greater sense of freedom. I have a partner who’s with me. But I have a Heavenly Father who’s got me. That’s worth any cost in my book.


Photo Cred: Joe and Patience

Saying Goodbye

   It's not an easy thing to experience so much, to live through so much and to be changed both inside and out and then return to a place you once knew. But there are times when God calls us back to places. For me, God took me on an incredible journey across the pond to experience him in a whole new and different way than what I was used to. But then, his voice called me thus to return from whence I came.
    As I sit in a very familiar Woods Coffee in my very familiar home town, I can't help but become slightly sentimental, at times even wondering if everything that happened over the past eight months really happened or whether it was all just a dream. In some ways, nothing has changed in my home town and in some ways everything has changed. Now comes the challenge of readjusting to life here. There's the challenge of jobs, of friends, of church, and how to navigate in amongst everything differently with all that has happened.
     The last few weeks of DTS were awesome and rather intense. We had our exhibition where we performed a drama that our theatre track wrote and put together, we performed dances and covers, had art pieces up, and some of our writing. It was an awesome experience and a wonderful way to culminate what the past five months of DTS and eight months in total has meant to me. At the same time, God reminded me it wasn't just the ending of things in London but it was the beginning.  The things he's taught me about theatre and performing apply to coming home as well as to outreach and London. During the exhibition, we were able to speak to people in the community who wandered by and including a lady who was also a very creative person but was really looking for a community of believers to get involved with. Hopefully, God will keep putting that desire into her heart and encourage her to reach out to a church.
     Besides the exhibition, we had deep cleaning of the house, debriefs, and the "going home" lesson. We also had graduation which was a fantastic meal and a reminder of where each of us where when we started this DTS. The next couple days involved a lot of hanging out, eating awesome Argentinian food, and just being together. Then the fateful day came when I had to leave my family in London. My friends woke up early to say goodbye and three of them came with me to the airport which was such an amazing blessing.
     I could recap everything we've done, seen, experienced or everything God did and showed me over the time I was in the UK, but instead, I just want to say thank you. I want to say thank you for all the prayers that were sent up for the team and for me. I want to say thank you for caring. Coming back into the States has not been the easiest transition ever. But it's been good. I'm thankful for friends and the community I have here and the one aboard as well. More than anything, I'm so thankful for all God did. He allowed me some amazing moments and to learn some really hard lessons that ultimately have brought so much more freedom. The time could be easily sugarcoated that everything was wonderful all the time. However, to do that, would be to deny the moments of brokenness and the fact that God loves the humble and the broken because that's when his glory shows up in even greater ways.
    God was and is still in London. God is and was in Whatcom County. He has big plans no matter where we are and I'm excited to see what he has for me here. I hope to go back over and continue my adventure in London but for now, this is where God has me and I can't wait to see what's in store.

Christmastime in the City

     With two weeks left to my time in London, I cannot begin to think where the time has gone. It's been ages since my last post, I realize so much has happened. We traveled a bit, had some wonderfully traditional American meals, attended the premiere of the Hobbit, sang loads of Christmas Carols, and worked with a group who serves the homeless. But as things here are winding down, 2014 closed, there are a few things that have happened over the past few weeks that really stand out to me. The interesting thing about YWAM life, you feel like you've lived loads of lifetimes in a very short amount of time.

1. Bristol Outreach: We were able to spend a week in Bristol which was a city I really enjoyed. We met a lady who is a painter and paints beautiful cityscapes. As we began to talk to her about her art, about what we do, we offered to pray for her and as we did, we learned she is a Christian. But from all she had said, she was struggling in her walk to find hope and joy. As she encouraged us, we were able to encourage her and speak truth into her life. We went back and visited her a couple days later to exchange emails. She was absolutely thrilled. It was a moment that reminded me why we are doing what we are. Being an artist can be lonely, but we need to step out and make sure we're encouraging one another and find fellowship with one another.

2. The Hobbit Premiere: Yes, this really happened. We stood around for hours in the cold to see some of our favorite actors walk the Green Carpet and not see the movie. But it was amazing to be a part of it. We were in the second row of the pens, right across from the press. Eve though some of the actors didn't come through our section, we were able to watch them interact with each other and several of them did come our way. It was however, one of the most interesting environments to be in. The idol worship of these people was very real. We spent a lot of time in intercession for both the stars and for the people around us. We were exhausted at the end of the day, but it was amazing. Two of our team members had really cool interactions with the Producer for the film as well as Billy Boyd who played Pippin in the Lord of the Rings film.

3. Holidays away from Family: Thanksgiving and Christmas are a big deal in my family. It was hard to think about being away from them. But the leaders of our house know that. We had an awesome Thanksgiving day just gathering around each other and saying what we're thankful for. A couple of days later we had an epically delicious traditional American style Thanksgiving! For Christmas Eve, we were serving the homeless but after we came back for appetizers and Secret Santa, and loads of dancing. Christmas was another delicious meal, dressing up and just enjoying each other's company. It was hard but at the same time, it was a really good Christmas.

4. Earls Court Community Project: The day before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve we were helping with the Earls Court Community Project serving and performing for them. It was amazing! We interacted with them, learned their stories, and were able to bring joy in a really hard time. In turn, I met a Christian woman who had been homeless for about two months. Her story touched me and encouraged me. She offered to pray for me as I told her I wasn't quite sure what the future held for me. Being able to serve in this way though was awesome. We were told any entertainment we provided couldn't be longer than five minutes because their attention span wasn't that long. A twenty minute performance, we kept their attention throughout the whole thing and they really appreciated it. It was an excellent way to spend Christmas Eve.

5. New Years Eve: We could have partied inside the warm with food and drinks. Instead, we were at the top of Primrose Hill in Camden, overlooking the entire city by two in the afternoon with drumsets and guitars, saving our spot at the top of the hill in the cold. But come 10 in the evening, we were joined by a couple other YWAM teams and we had worship on the top of the hill. Surrounded by loads and loads of people, we had conversations with people, random people joined us in worship and the fireworks went off from the London Eye. All of which were amazing! People may not have known what we were singing but it totally changed the atmosphere of what could have been a really heavy day. It was one of the best New Years Eve Parties I've had in a while.

   As I prepare go home, I know God has things for me there as well but there's still things to do here. We have an exhibition in a week where we will be showing some writing pieces, performing some covers, and doing a small skit. It's a way of culminating what these last eight months have meant and all the freedom and work that God has done. To him be the glory, always! It's been amazing and I wouldn't trade this time for anything. Even though I'm leaving now, I know that London and I are not done with each other. I'm just excited to see when and how God leads me back here.

Faith and Trying Times

     To say it's been a busy few weeks would be an understatement. It's been a while since my last update. Liverpool and Manchester feel like ages ago even though it was merely a month. We have had some teachings, we traveled a bit, and we have spent a fair amount of time remodeling our house. We put in a new floors, did some painting, took apart walls and cupboards and made the house look new. It was a chance for us to show some love to our house which in the end turned out to be really fun. I always enjoy a bit of painting.
    Beyond that, we have been investing even more in London. On Thursdays we spend most of the day in the neighbourhood of Camden which is a really cool artsy area of London. However, it can also be very dodgy. It's a very spiritual place but not in the right way. We spent a lot of time praying over the area and meeting some of the people in the shops, talking with them and praying for them. The longer we spend in Camden, the more God has given me a heart for the neighbourhood. They have a huge market and loads of shops as well. One of the sections of Camden is called Primrose Hill which is the highest point of London. Climbing to the top is rough but it's a gorgeous view of London from the top. It's also a spot where a lot of witchcraft has occurred. We have also spent more time in Notting Hill but intentionally evangelizing as well. Instead of just having a one off conversation, we are able to go back and invest in the people there. There was a guy that one of the girls, Hayley and I had met when we were in Liverpool who he actually lives in London and works at a stand in Notting Hill. The other day, we were walking through the market, he saw us, and burst out of the stand, almost forgetting the customer he was helping so that he could come and talk with us. It's moments like that which are encouraging. It shows that just being in a place and talking with someone can make a difference.
    We also had the opportunity to go to Brighton at the beginning of this week. Huge thank you for the prayers sent up about outreaches. We were only in Brighton for a few days but we did some worship on the beach, evangelism and then we had a "faith day" on the last day that we were there. We were able to pray with people, pray over the area and also explore the different art that occurs there. For Faith Day, the whole idea is that you are sent out with nothing for the whole day and just see what God does.
    My team and I decided in the morning we would start with talking with people. We had some conversations with some really strange people; a lady who wanted us to pray for her cat to use the back garden instead of the front garden and a man who couldn't remember where he was or who he was for that matter. But as the day wore on, we started to get really hungry so we popped into a coffee shop just to see what would happen. We got some waters and grabbed a few sugar packets. Our staff walked into the shop, only to find out that they had sandwiches . . .which they decided not to give us. It was a bummer at the time but we found a sign for a Salvation Army and we decided just to check it out. Turns out we came right as they were finishing lunch so they gave us quiche, soda, chips, and candy all for free. We talked with them for a while and were able to pray for them. Their hospitality was amazing and their heart for God and for the city was inspiring as well. It made up for kind of a bummer morning.
     Brighton itself was fantastic. We're hoping to go on another outreach to Bristol in a few weeks which prayers for that would be awesome.
     God has also been revealing some really deep things inside of me lately. He's confronted rejection, pride, control, manipulation, and co-dependency in a lot of ways that has been really painful. It's a process I'm learning. It's a process of letting God come into every inch of me, every crevice, every facet and allowing him to be the only thing that matters. People will let me down at some point. If that's where my affirmation is, that's not fair to my friends and those around me because they cannot fulfill those desires inside of me. God has to be the center of all. It's hard, it's a deep thing that's been unearthed but God is so faithful to put people around me to point out those things and help me to walk in a greater sense of freedom. It's a process. It won't change overnight but slowly and gently he's growing me into the person he has called me to be.
     Thank you again for all your prayers, they have been greatly appreciated. Another prayer requests, all the visas for everyone in YWAM in England have been called into question. There's something that the immigration is questioning with the sponsorship of YWAM and there is a chance that everyone who is here on a visa will have to go home within sixty days of when they make that decision. It would affect most of our DTS (which thankfully, we would be able to finish out the DTS at this point), but it would affect about 80% of the staff here at the Urban Key base and over 250 people throughout YWAM England. Prayer that this issue would get resolved and be favourable that no one would have to go home would be greatly appreciated as well.

Yellow Submarine Imaginatorium

   It's hard to believe it's been four months since I arrived in London. In many ways, it feels like I've lived many lifetimes since I arrived. Sometimes life in YWAM just doesn't seem to be done in real time. We have the opportunity to experience loads of things in a very short amount of time. The DTS began about a month and a half ago. God has already began to break down walls in my heart that have needed to be broken.
     This week we've had teaching from Jorge Rios and he's been talking about being a new creation. When we are born again, something has to change inside of us. If it doesn't, then we have to question whether or not we've really been changed and whether our salvation is for real. God showed up this week for me. I realized just how much I fear failure. I've put so many pressures on myself from work, relationships, and even in my quiet times with God. I want to succeed and I stress out if I don't think I will. But God has broken through so many of those things and began to give me freedom in those moments. He's reminded me I just need to chill and let him work and do what he needs to. He'll work, he'll move, and I just need to chill and not put the pressures on myself that I have in the past. Going forth in my own strength isn't going to help me at all. Rather, it will make things worse because I will be trying to do it without God. When he's put certain things on my heart, then he's will complete them, not me.
     Besides the intenseness of this week, we also went on outreach on Liverpool and Manchester two weeks ago which was quite awesome. We started in Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles. It was nice to be by water again. It was a beautiful city. We joined up with the YWAM base there that currently only has two full time staff members. We stayed in a flat that was owned by an older couple who belong to a local church. They were super sweet. Being able to be in Liverpool allowed us to really feel like we're in England. Being in London, there's so much international influence and multi culturalness which is great but to really experience British culture, it was wonderful to be in Liverpool and Manchester and to actually get a sense of that culture. We found people to be really friendly in both cities. In Liverpool, we performed some songs and our visual track did some art pieces. We were able to talk with people and share Christ in that way. We also walked the city to get a sense of the area. The YWAM base in Liverpool is also involved with a ministry to prostitutes. They took us to the spot where the girls work. We prayed over the area where the YWAM workers have been ministering to the girls.
     Manchester was quite interesting. We stayed a church and the pastor was awesome. However, it was definitely in a more dodgy part of town. But to be able to be a light in that area was awesome. We went into the city center one of the days and performed and then had the chance to talk to people. One of the girls and I saw a girl sitting by herself. We went over and asked if there was anything we could pray for. She responded that she had been diagnosed with a tissue disease that made her really tired. We prayed for her. Then after we prayed, she told us she was a Christian but she had never had someone randomly come up and pray for her and just how cool it was. God used that moment to encourage her.
     We had hoped to be in Brighton this week but connections with churches fell through. We still hope to go but there's a chance we won't. This week we've been continuing to work on our tracks so there's been new songs to learn, monologues to write and perform for theatre, and a huge blessing for me in that I also get to join the writing track! Being able to express and release through writing has been amazing so far. To check out my writing for our writing track, please visit www.writeuponthestars.blogspot.co.uk
    As I close, prayer would be awesome for the rest of the outreaches that they would happen and we would make the right connections in all the places we wish to go. Also, prayer that God continues to do a work in our hearts and that we will be open to it. The final prayer request would be for unity amongst our team as well. I really do appreciate all your prayers while I've been here.

Oceans Imaginatorium

     As I sit and type this, I can't help but think just how crazy life can be. On September 3rd, the intent was to come home after spending a couple days in Switzerland with my cousin and one of my good friends. But as September 3rd came around, I was indeed in Switzerland, which was amazing, but I found myself flying back to London, getting on the Tube, and heading right back to the Arts House instead of making my connecting flight to Vancouver.
     Needless to say, this summer has been a time of growth, of change, and a time that God has used to refine me. He has broken down barriers, healed me of hurts I didn't even know existed and begun to show me how live out a greater sense of his calling for me. Before I came to London, I had every intention of going back home after the internship. I did know that the Arts Ministry here was going to be running a Discipleship Training School that would start just as internship was finishing. A DTS is the main school that YWAM runs that involves a certain amount of teaching and then an outreach portion to the school. The DTS here would be five months. But the idea of actually doing a DTS was the furthest thing from my mind. I actually told one of the staff, Elin, that I really didn't ever want to do a DTS. But as time went on, God kept brining the DTS to mind and I continued to fight it. I had my plan, three months and then I was going to be back to the States. Besides, the idea of doing a DTS, just didn't sound appealing to me despite hearing where the DTS outreach was going to be going be (around the UK) and what they were going to be doing (loads more theatre). But as time went on, the idea of DTS continued to come into my mind. When one of my best friends who was in a similar boat with me said that she was going to be stay, I thought that was brave of her but I was certain God was going to take me on a different path. Yet, it was in Edinburgh while singing "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson that for the first time I thought that maybe I would in fact stay. Finally, after a lot of prayers, some tears, some angry words towards God and even packing my bag to go home, God finally broke through the walls of conventionality and told me to do the DTS. Instead of coming home in September, I will be coming home in January, staying in London through the Holidays. It really was one of the hardest decisions I've made. Everything in me said I should go back and work but God has continued to confirm my decision. He's given me grace and blessings with my employer, he's given my parents peace about the decision, and already God has begun to do more work in my heart to stretch me and grow me closer to him.
     I came to the internship knowing that I was going to grow closer to God but also with the focus of being able to do theatre. I ended up doing more music than theatre but God worked in my heart and gave me so many blessing with seeing Paris, Glasgow, and Scotland. We performed in the streets and talked to some amazing people about God. However, for the DTS, both of the leaders of the theatre track have returned which means we'll have a chance to work in that area more which I'm very excited about. But I also know that God has a lot more he wants to do in my heart to break down walls of insecurity and bring me in to a greater freedom with him.
      But before the internship finished, we had one final phase: The Notting Hill Carnival. It was one of the craziest experiences I've ever had. There was stilt walking in which I was over seven feet tall with the stilts, a giant angel, people dancing on walls, a parade, and crazy drunk people all around us. We had some awesome opportunities to talk and pray with people as we lived in Notting Hill in a church for two weeks and practiced our stilts around the neighborhood which definitely got some reactions from people. One night we were talking with a couple for a while but then we ended up going back to the church, taking off our stilts and going back and talking with them for longer. They were not Christians and her dad has cancer. We had the opportunity just to pray with her and try to encourage her. It was amazing moment to connect with someone who really opened up to us. I also had the chance to talk with two guys during Carnival and we had awesome converstation about God although they were not believers. Just as they were walking away, I felt I needed to pray for them. As I finished, one of the set pieces fell over right where they would have been walking. It was in that moment that I really think he saw the power and protection of God in his life and I just continue to pray that God continues to work in his heart to show him truth.
     The past three months were awesome. As I left the church on August 30th, saying goodbye to my friends from the internship, I couldn't help but think how blessed I had been to be a part of this internship. The friendships and connections have been awesome being able to meet people from so many different countries and cultures. There's a song that's quite popular right now by Hillsong called Oceans. The bridge says, "Take me deeper than my feet has ever wandered, then my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior." I'll admit that I would sing that song with all I had . . but to be honest, I never thought that God would actually continue to lead me into deeper waters and test me in trusting in him. But as I step out in faith, I know God has blessings for me. To obey him means that he will bring blessings when we step out in faith and trust God to work. He works all things together for good for those who love him. I want to grow closer, I want to grow in my calling, and learn how to reach people in Christ in a greater way through both relationship and the arts. I'm excited to see what these next five months hold.
 Please continue to pray for me as I walk through this crazy journey. The DTS will be set up that we'll have two weeks of teaching and then a week of outreach. Next week we head off to Manchester and Liverpool for our first outreach week!

Bagettes, Bagpipes, and Bibles Imaginatorium

    When our team left on the thirteenth of July for Paris, I’ll admit I was filled with a bit of trepidation about what I was to encounter. I knew God was sovereign, I knew he was our protector, and I knew he had great plans for us. What I didn’t know was just how much God planned to teach me whilst we were gone.
    We first arrived in Paris after an eight hour bus ride for their independence day. We stayed at a church that is connected with YWAM and quickly learned a couple of important phrases, "Un pain chocolat" (chocolate crossiant) and "Merci" (thank you). Although we had learned some French before we arrived, it was a whole different world when I was actually in front of French people but soon I began to relax into the language and my limited knowledge of what to say. We were very lucky that we did have two French speakers to get us through the subway and around the city without much of a problem.
     With a lack of fireworks on the fourth of July, a fireworks show from the Eiffel Tower happened on the fourteenth for their Independence day as well as a real Parisan picnic of bagettes, cheese, and meat. It was quite surreal to be honest.
     But we soon put the wonderful bagettes and crossiants away, and got down to work. We continued to work on some covers and the tracks we had written. We teamed up with a YWAM camp, Paris Je-taime (Paris, I love you), to go out on outreach and perform. We were joined by a team from Korea who were hip hop dancers. They were amazing and you could feel the difference they brought to the area the minute they began to perform. Jesus was so evident on their faces. There was also a dancer from Seattle and a guy who rapped. The first time we began our performance, we were moved by the police after our first song but began again and a couple of our team members got a chance to talk to some people about Jesus. We also had the chance to perform in some of the poorer sections of Paris which was amazing. One place had a group of kids we interacted with and were able to share Jesus with. In one of the other places, we had a guy come up to us who told us he was touched by the performance and was in absolute shock when we told him Jesus loved him. We gave him a Bible and a list of churches. We were also able to pray for him as well. We were prayed with another lady who was really wishing for more of God and we prayed that God would show himself real to her.
     For one of the girls and I, we were often on the subway or walking the streets in heavy face paint. People were taking pictures of us but it was such an awesome opening to share what we were doing and why we were doing it. The language was definitely rough at first but we did have people translating which did make it easier and we did find people who spoke English as well.
     Although, not everything went as planned while we were in Paris, we did see God move and speak to people which was so cool. As we left Paris, we had a ten hour overnight bus ride, which included going through customs, and a ferry ride. We arrived back in London to change over our bags and pack for Scotland.
     Arriving in Scotland, I was struck by the beauty of it and how much like Washington it was. The people were so friendly. We joined up with another camp to do street evangelism during the Commonwealth Games which is basically like the Olympics but only for the nations that are a part of the Commonwealth of England. At the camp, there were all ages there from five years old all the way up to adults. There was also a Christian theatre company who performed. We got to talk to people, perform, and pray with people. We saw people come to Christ and experienced great times of worship.  We had the opportunity to perform in a park and along one of the main streets. One of the days we were in a skate park where our graffiti artists set up their graffiti and some great conversations happened. Glasgow is a beautiful city but it was also extremely exhausting as we were with a lot of young kids. But seeing them find Jesus and share Jesus with others was awesome!
    Our last stop was Edinburgh where we performed at the Fringe Festival which is a huge festival with tons of theatre, comedy, and other performance pieces. Although we were only able to perform two times, we spent most afternoons doing evangelism along the "Royal Mile" which is were a lot of the performers are. We prayed with people and we saw the impact prayer had. One of the guys we talked with was Agnostic and when we asked him if we could pray for him, he was so surprised. After we did, there was a real sense of Joy and Peace that came over him. As he left, he told us he hoped we blessed other people the way we blessed him. On one of the other days, two of the girls and I had gone to see a show. The next day during evangelism, we found some of the actors of the show and were able to pray with them. We found some people really open and others not as much. Most of the people we talked with were not Christians and many of them had little faith. We also got into conversations in Starbucks and along the street when we weren't intending on doing evangelism but God brought people into our path. There is a heaviness that resides over the Fringe as dark things happen but God is so good and is our shield and protector. He protected us and he made his name famous. People stopped, they listened, and we could see the change that God made.
    I could go on for much longer about all the cool things God did while we were away from London. But he's also done some cool things in the hearts and lives of our team. For me,  it was on a roof top in Paris that God began to speak truth to me and introduced himself to me in a whole new way. We often say God loves us and he does but to fully understand what that means, sometimes we miss the point or just don't quite understand it completely in our hearts. Yet God made his love so real to me, it has been practically bursting forth in a way that I never imagined. It's given me a peace like never before and it's really, really quite beautiful. I fell in love with God and have begun to understand in a much deeper way then before just what that means. It's amazing!
     So now we are back in London for the last bit of the internship. This week we prepare the house for the new students that are coming for the next school in a couple of weeks and for the camp that we were be putting on, Bones, which leads up to the Notting Hill Carnival.
    I know I keep on saying it but God is so good and it has been so amazing to meet God and see how he can move. God's been breaking down walls and just doing a massive transformation, encouraging me to relinquish control and let him take control. As we head into the last part of my time here, I would love prayer for endurance and for God to continue to move in awesome ways.

Independence Day Imaginatorium

    It doesn't surprise me that on the Fourth of July, no fireworks were set off in England and people did not take the day off to host BBQ's and celebrate the United States' rebellion from the mother country. The only celebration that broke out occurred when Brazil won their World Cup game on Friday. Other than that, it was a normal Friday in the UK.
    But as the week goes on, our schedule continues to stay busy as we are only a week away from heading out to Paris to perform and bring the gospel to people on the streets. Our music tracks are completed and now it's rehearsal time. We have three tracks we wrote together that we will be performing and then we also have some covers to workup as well. We've spent many hours in the church in Notting Hill practicing  within tracks of music, visual art, film, and fashion.
    But as we've been working, God keeps on reminding me that I am not able to do any of this in my own strength. If I try, I fail. There are mornings where I wake up exhausted because I haven't gotten a ton of sleep or I'm just frustrated that I didn't get the song perfect the first time through. But if that's my focus, I miss the point. I miss that I'm here to learn, grow, and rest in God's love. I'm here to learn how to worship him and go deeper in my relationship with God. I feel blessed to spend the mornings in worship before we launch into practice time. Nothing is better than focusing our efforts back to where they need to be and that reminder that everything we do is for the glory of God. If I try to make it through on my own, I really will end up exhausted and not be productive at all. We are all here to use the gifts, talents, and passions that God has given us back to him in an act of praise and worship. How freeing it is that we can turn the focus back to God, give him everything and watch as he strengthens us. It's turned into an amazing week of growth and surrender the things that hold me captive and have begun to experience true freedom in him.
     Among the track time and some great teaching from different speakers, we've continued to go to Soho. We were not able to go last Friday but the previous Friday we had another interesting time of conversations. We met one guy who was excited that we were Christians because he said Christians are always happy. But he had a problem with Jesus being the only way, the only truth, and the only life but we still had a great conversation with him. We also met a lady who was an atheist because she had been a religious education teacher. She didn't believe before she taught the class and she certainly didn't believe after. She said there were too many other cool religions to just pick one. It saddens my heart that some people can see the difference that God makes but they aren't willing to take that surrender and other people are so closed off to it that they can't see truth. But again, seeds were planted and from there, God can work and do what he needs to do.
     Side note, on the tourist front, one of my friends and I headed into Hyde Park last weekend and I was finally able to see the Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens. I know it sounds super silly but it was on my bucket list while I was here. We also saw the Princess Diana Memorial as well. One of the incredible things about London is all of the parks that are dotted throughout the city. Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park is so perfectly gorgeous and wonderful. There is also a park just a two minute walk away from our house and on the days that it is not pouring down rain (which honestly has been quite a few) it's a wonderful place just to hang out or do devotionals in the morning.  
     This summer has been incredible so far. It's been a month and God has been molding, shaping, and creating moments that blow my mind almost daily.  As we are about to head on Outreach, I know God has big things planned. I'm excited to see what he does and how he works through all of us for his glory. Would love prayer as we head out for God to really move in the people that we come in contact with and also for us as team, that we grow closer to God and each other.

Can I really survive on this little of sleep? imaginatorium

   I'd love to say I've fully mastered the Tube, the Bus, and the British currency all within the past two and a half weeks. The Tube and I may have become friends but I've found the buses still don't appear exactly where and when I want them to and the patient Barista in the Covent Garden Starbucks can tell you exactly how well British coin and I are getting along. However, as I've adjusted to the new modes of transportation, which includes loads of walking around the city and a forty minute walk in the morning to Notting Hill, the past two weeks have been incredible if also not lacking in a bit of sleep.
     We've began preparing for outreach and as we split up into tracks, I found myself not focusing just on theatre but rather in music track. I'll admit I was initially filled with a great amount of apprehension. I feel I have some skill in the area of music but not loads. However, as I've spent time in prayer and talking with one of the leaders of the music track, I began to realize that maybe God had a bigger plan for me than I realized upon arriving. I've often said within theatre that I can dance and I can act but I wish I was stronger vocally and I've been given three months to become stronger in that area. *mind blown* The leaders of the music track have incredible gifts and I'm really excited to be able to learn and work alongside of them. Our theme for our outreach performance is Joy. It is our task to write and compose three pieces that tell a story of Joy.
     But amongst our track time and learning French, one of the most challenging but incredible moments of every week occurs on Friday nights in Soho. We partner with a church there to do evangelism. They set up a tent with free coffee and tea, have worship, and just talk with people. When I first heard about it, I was super excited as it sounded exactly like what I had done in Australia. But the moment I stepped onto the busy street corner, the atmosphere was vastly different than what I had experienced. People are rushing about, there are loads of adult shops, clubs, and pubs in the area, and the heaviness is real and tangible. For some reason, both times we've been out, fear has overwhelmed me. But God is good, gracious, and always present. The first week, I worshiped, watched, and prayed with our team and for our team. But towards the end of the evening, my roommate, Elin, began to talk with a gentleman and invited me to join. The man, we'll call him Willie, is not a Christian. He is a man who is very intelligent but due to life circumstances, he is currently homeless, sleeps in a church, and is working odd jobs. Money controls and motivates him. We were able to share with him how we've experienced God's love and provision in real and tangible ways and we were able to share how much God loves him and pray with him as well. The next week, Willie was there again. I don't think he's ready to let God take over and lead him but the seeds have been planted and we have to believe that God is working.
     The second week we were in Soho, we teamed up with people from the church to talk with people. We had such a wide array of conversations. We talked with a man who was a Sikh and he was not afraid to ask us the hard questions about why we believed in our faith and why we wanted him to believe in Jesus. We talked to a group of guys who would rather go drink, party, and believe in science than believe in an awesome God. Lastly, we talked with two girls from Venezuela who were Catholic but not assured of their salvation. We were able to talk with them about truth and also pray with them which was an awesome experience. One of them had also been to Seattle so we had something in common. At the end of the evening, I was encouraged and I saw how God just changes the environment when we begin to worship, pray, and take courageous steps to talk to people.
    The longer I am here, the more I see God moving and working not only in the city but also in my life. He's revealing and teaching me about myself and all the things in my life that I've hid behind for many years. There is true freedom in him when we rest in his love. I'm so grateful for the staff here, their hearts for the city, for the arts, and also for us. It's amazing what happens when you stick eighteen people from different nations with different languages into one house. There's been loads of laughter, fun, and deep conversations. They've become my family in a very short time. God consistently uses them to encourage and refine me. Plus, I've remembering Spanish, I know how to say "thank you" in Portuguese and have learned some words in Dutch. We have three more weeks in our house before we head out on outreach. I'm excited to see how our performance piece comes together and how God continues to move and grows us closer as a group. Oh, and continues to give me energy when I go to bed late and get up early. :)

Dusky imaginatorium goes to London

  Over the past few years, books have reigned in my adventures. I've traveled to exotic places, seen lots of incredible things, and met some wonderful people. This year I returned once more to Narnia and Hogwarts. I climbed mountains with Wild, I've solved crimes with The Fellowship of Fear, and was trapped in a maze with The Maze Runner but despite all of these adventures, experiencing life outside the pages for myself can be more dramatic and wonderful.
     So thus begins my own adventure. For the next three months, I'm off to Jolly Old London Town to work with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) to do an Arts Internship with them. We will be working through different Art Tracks such as music, drama, visual arts, dance, and fashion. Then with all the different tracks, we will put together  a performance piece to take on Outreach. Outreach will begin in the middle of July and continue through to the end of August. We will spend a couple weeks in Paris, some time in Edinburgh at the Fringe Arts festival and then in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games. Lastly, we will be back in London to do an Arts Camp called Bones which culminates in an event called Carnival in London's Notting Hill. Needless to say, I've been excited and nervous about the trip since I was accepted in February.
     Upon arriving in London, making my way successfully through the tube system in the rain, I went to the coffee shop were I would be met by someone on the YWAM staff. Soon, Elin, who is from Finland, arrived with a big smile and a hug and instantly, all the nervous energy dissipated. We found Juliette, who is from Holland, and drove to the house. In the house, all of the interns and staff for the Arts Internship reside which means grace, patience, and a bit of organization is needed in a house with 17 people.
    When I arrived, most of the other interns had already come. We have people from Brazil, Holland, Mexico, Argentina, France, and Spain in the house. There are two other girls from the US on the team. One of them, Amanda, is one of my roommates, along with Elin, and the other lives at one of the other houses. YWAM Urban Key has three different houses in three different neighbourhoods in the city. However, they are all within walking distance of each other. We are welcomed to any of the houses at any time. Amongst the three houses, there are around 70 people involved in the YWAM base. We will come together as a whole base two times a week for worship.
       Immediately, the staff encouraged us to make the house our home and has provided such a family atmosphere. There is a sense of acceptance in the house and that people really take care of each other. The leaders of the house, Christian and Johanna, are intensely passionate about God, about reaching the city for Christ, and about the arts.
     We had our introduction to the internship and our very busy schedule. Along with training and working in our art areas, we will also be doing ministry in Camden Market, a place where there is a lot of really heavy and secular things. We took a tour of the area and you can just feel the oppression when you walk through. We will be there once a week for evangelism to pray over the area and talk with people. They have seen the impact of prayer as some of the darker shops have closed their doors since they began praying and walking the market. We will also do outreach in Soho, joining with a church who owns a coffee shop. In many ways, it sounds like it'll be similar to Coffee Van that I did in Australia; talking to people, serving coffee, and showing the love of Christ through our actions. There will also be work duties, teaching time, one-on-ones and small groups, all of which, I'm quite excited about . . well, maybe not the work duties all the time. :) We will also have French classes before we head into Paris. Chris and Johanna feel it's important we have a sense of the language as it makes it difficult to share and talk with people if you do not know the language.
    The second day of our internship, we took a tour of some of the major sites in London; the London Eye, the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, and the London Bridge. It was good to begin to understand the public transportation and get a sense of the crazy busy-ness of the city as well. Yesterday, we went into the city centre to the Hillsong London church. After spending time in Australia, Hillsong is close to my heart. It was a great time of worship, refreshment, and even though it is a mega church, their heart for the city, for people, and passion for Christ is very evident. There's still a sense of family when you go which is unique for that big of church. Hopefully, we'll be able to frequent that church whilst we're here.
    Tomorrow we start our official schedule for the internship. Wake up at 8 and off we go to the church in Notting Hill where we spend time working on our tracks and have some teaching time. I'm excited to see what God does through our team and through the hearts of the people we come in contact with. It's been a great experience already getting to know the other people here, finding out where they come from, but also seeing their heart for missions, for people, for arts, and for the city. With Dusky Imaginatorium, we go to adventure in London . . . more to come.

Just purely fiction imaginatorium

    At moments, it's the work of real life we are drawn to. It's real emotion, real situations, and real people who stun us to the core. The stories make us think, they make us consider human nature, and the words put us in a posture to really consider our own lives. Authors who take the real, fictionalize it, and then launch us into a very real world are oftentimes the ones we come back to again and again, knowing that each time we will receive truth we hadn't before. This month's imaginatorium authors did just that. Each was a work of fiction, but each was also a look into the very real and raw emotions of people in somewhat awful situations.  Although, I only read through novels this month, each of them had a depth to them which left me rather breathless at the end.
     The first one was The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman. Originally, I had been draw to this novel merely because it was set in Australia and after spending time in Oz, I do have a soft spot in my heart for the country. The book tells the tale of a husband and wife who live on Janus Rock and are lighthouse keepers in the 1920's. They are secluded and on their own, suffering through life and miscarriages as they learn how to endure on their own.  But when a boat washes up on the shore with a dead man and an alive little baby, they decide to claim the baby as their own. Upon leave to the mainland, they learn the back story to the man and the baby which sends them in to a moral dilemma as they learn the truth and wrestle with what to do with it.
     The book propels the reader into the midst of the action before backing up and giving what came before to then further the story. The characters are well written, the island and the lighthouse come alive, and the prose is easy to follow. There isn't too much Aussie slang either to follow. The plight of the lighthouse keeper, Tom and his wife resonates in the heart of the reader. It's a story of loss, of profound happiness and just how far people will go to protect those they love and hold on to what they think life has given them. Definitely a good read and worth it.
     Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher was a book I had held onto for a while, waiting for the right time to read it and this month seemed to be it. The book follows Clay, a high school guy, who receives a set of 13 tapes from a classmate who committed suicide. Each of the tapes, he learns, is his classmate Hannah telling a story about a different person who led her to this decision and Clay is one of them although he has no idea what he had ever done to give reason for him to be on the tapes. It's an intense, heart-wrenching, and challenging story that for me left me changed at the end. It reminded me of how little things we do and how we interact with people really can effect someone in ways we don't always realize. The story ebbs and flows between Clay's thoughts and actions and Hannah telling the stories and it is an amazing book. It's a profoundly simple thriller but one that is definitely worth the read. It gives amazing truth and a reminder that how we treat people has consequences both good and bad. It's challenged me to make the most of my interactions with people just as it challenges Clay to make sure he's reaching out to those who may seem unreachable.
      The last novel I undertook was The House at Tyneford  by Natasha Solomons. The book takes place slightly before the onset of the WWII. Young Elise comes from a privileged Jewish family in Vienna, Austria but is shipped off to England to become a housemaid when things begin to get dangerous for her and her family in Vienna. Soon she finds herself falling for the young master of the house, Kit, which profoundly changes her and the ways she views the world. Soon, they do find themselves at the start of the war and the romance with Kit has to change as he is sent off to war.
     The best way to describe this book was if Jane Austen and Ian McEwan sat down in the same room and decided to write a book, I am fairly certain this is what they would have come up with. In the same vain of Atonement, the readers crave a happy ending and find it to be a bittersweet happy. The book is well written, the main character is enjoyable and the reader really does root for her and her happiness, although the ending was a bit interesting with where Elise ends up. But it does tell of the tragedy of war and how people in the midst of despair are called upon to rise above and attempt to move on even when moving on seems to be impossible. I enjoyed the historical context as well. It was a good read and I was hooked. I do hope she continues to write and publish other stories.
     Sometimes it's just the purely fictional books that draw us in, the books that glean from real life and plunge us into a real but fictional world in which we learn and grow ourselves.  They challenge us as we learn from the characters, the new situations and the trials they go through without ever having to step into those things ourselves. Each of the books this month were excellent and I would definitely recommend all three.

Next month; Inspired by The House at Tyneford, this next month is going to be books set between 1938 and 1949 or books written between those years. Quite excited to see what comes of it.

 

The Light Between Oceans- ML Stedman

Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher
The  House at Tyneford- Natasha Solomons

Life of Pi Imaginatorium

   I admit as I sat down to write this post, I thought I'd just list out the books I read and go. After all, it's nearly November. I'm very nearly through another month of wonderful adventures. But September's month begs me to pause ever so briefly and tell a tale or two of what I read. And what were those works I dove into, you may be asking yourself? Well, with the inspiration of Life of Pi, I decided to read two other books that explored human nature.
    The first was indeed Life of Pi and I did thoroughly enjoy it. Parts were a bit gruesome but the look at human nature, the spirit, and what we search for in life was very interesting. I may have cheated a bit and seen the movie before I read the book, but the way the story is woven with the animals and then explained at the end is quite brilliant. It's definitely worth a read. I found the way Pi navigated his world as a young boy very interesting as he did search out God through being Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. His faith was certainly tested by being in a lifeboat for so long with just himself and "a tiger".
     From there, passing through the library, My Spiritual Journey by the Dali Lama was sitting on the counter and I thought, why not? It looked at human nature and the spiritual disciplines the Dali Lama has given his life to. It was also a fairly interesting read, not knowing much about Buddhism. The most interesting thing to me was how he was chosen at such an early age to be the leader and what that meant for his childhood and how he was raised. It was also eye opening to hear about his political involvement and where he stood on many world issues as well.
      Lastly, The Fifth Mountain by one of my now favorite authors, Paolo Coehlo. This novel follows the prophet Elijah shortly after he has been exiled and Jezebel has ordered all the prophets of God to be killed. I appreciated how the book was written and that there were not too many liberties taken with the character of Elijah. My vision of him had always been as an old man but he was young when he was first called to be a prophet. It was also quite a good read and I do recommend it. I was a little bummed that he didn't take more time on the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal but other than that, it was worth it.
    Yes, a quick post but more to come when October finishes and that post is revealed with works of fiction!

Life of Pi- Yann Martel

My Spiritual Journey- Dali Lama
The Fifth Mountain- Paulo Coehlo

Just a bit of quirky imaginatorium

      The indubitably creative, the slightly offbeat, the unbearably quirky, the altruistically strange, and the slightly endearing. Although many may prefer the tales where everything makes sense, the stories off the beaten path are sometimes the best. This month, the quirky tales took center stage. It began with Looking for Alaska by John Green and ended with some Neil Gaiman. Alas, I googled "quirky novels" and found some wonderful stories to read in between which filled out the month perfectly.
          Whilst reading a novel, one of the things I most appreciate is an author's ability to take the ordinary, mundane, or regular and turn it into a story worth reading.  I love vocabulary and an author's effective use of it within the tale. John Green is one of those authors. I love fell in with his writing style with The Fault in Our Stars and was quite excited to read his other works. Looking for Alaska had gotten such high praise, I was looking forward to reading it. However, I found it sub par to The Fault in Our Stars for a few reasons. It was more teen angst ridden and the characters were not all that likable. The main characters, in particular Alaska, was actually quite annoying. And SPOILER ALERT, I was quite glad when she died. However, I still enjoyed his writing style but the story he told just wasn't as enjoyable as his other book. I guess I would say read the book but for me, it just was not quite as good as I had hoped.
     However, Warm Bodies by Issac Marion, most recently turned into a movie, and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender were certainly worth a read. Warm Bodies was clever, creative, and quite amusing. I loved being inside R's zombie mind and hearing what he was thinking and what he actually was able to express. It's a brilliant novel and a brilliant take on the recent influx of zombie tales. It still has zombie killings and fights but the fact that the lead character is a zombie who slowly moves toward being human again is a fantastic story and definitely worth the read. I'm excited to see the movie now.
     The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake was certainly a quirky novel but also very clever. The main character, Rose, when she is 9 years old discovers she can taste people's emotions in the food she eats, beginning with her mother's lemon cake. As she gets older, she learns what food she can eat without tasting too much emotion. As she grows up, she watches as her parents grow apart and her brother descends into a rather solitary place.  The novel was really good. I appreciated the creativity to the story but also how rooted in reality the story stayed except for what happened to her brother. Even though I read through that part several times, I was just confused. So if you read the book, I'd be curious to know what your conclusion is. SPOILER . . . .(I think he turns into a chair . . )
     Lastly, American Gods by Neil Gaiman was also quite interesting. I thought the idea of ancient gods walking amongst us is a premise to be explored. It was a good read and I enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing. A bit of language and sexual content so be prepared. But I like the idea of taking a regular human, throwing in some ancient gods who haven't gotten a lot of worship in recent years, setting the story in America and letting Neil Gaiman write the rest. In some ways, although it's probably an awful comparison and Neil Gaiman probably wouldn't appreciate it but it's sort of like Percy Jackson for adults . . sort of . . .But give it a read. It is good.
      As one might expect, I like authors who do not follow the normal pattern of reality and allow the impossible to happen within a possible world. Creative words, interesting syntax, and quirky spins on age old stories are truly some of my favorite types of imaginatorium. The books of this month all had a sense of quirkiness to them which I thoroughly enjoyed. There are a lot more books as well that fall into this category. Do a Google search and see what you find. There's a lot of authors that may not have made the best seller lists but are excellent reads.

Next month: Life of Pi is the inspiration . . . stay tuned for what books follow.



Looking for Alaska- John Green
Warm Bodies- Issac Marion
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender
Still Life of a Woodpecker- Tom Robbins
American Gods- Neil Gaiman

And the Moutains Echoed Imaginatorium

     Small town girl, fairly affluent, educated, not much trauma has ever existed within the confines of my world. But I am very aware the lives of some spin constantly in turmoil and destruction and oftentimes, we are unaware of their plights. I know very little beyond the stories the news reports of the lives of people in war torn countries. So this month, with the book And the Mountains Echoed by Khlaed Hossani, being the inspiration, I sought out other books set in the Middle East or in a war torn country in Africa.
     As And Mountains Echoed was a work of fiction, the other two works were biographies. My favorite, was And Mountains Echoed. Although I enjoyed Kite Runner, his debut novel, I think I enjoyed this one even better. And Mountains Echoed was a sweeping novel over the course of three generations and several different countries. It begins in Afghanistan with a father, his daughter and son as the father brings his young daughter to another couple. As that family is torn apart, the novel continues following the different family members, their extended family, and those who have an influence in their lives. The ending is rather bittersweet ever though I was hoping for the happy ending. The prose is wonderful and engaging. At times, following the characters was a bit tough but it is still such a wonderful book. I was engaged to the end and really enjoyed the book. Definitely worth a read. It begins in a world of fairy tales but situates itself in our world and is simply captivating. I loved it!
    What is the What by Dave Eggers was my second choice of a novel. It is a fictional biography based on the life of a Lost Boy in Sudan who was rescued and brought to the United States. It is only called fiction because his memories cannot be absolute at such a young age. I had heard of the plight of those in Sudan but had not known much about it. I enjoyed the book to a point. I thought it was an interesting way of how he began the book with telling of the night he was robbed while living in the United States and then he began to tell his story to the boy who was posted by his robbers as his guard. However, I felt like there was too much jumping around and it didn't go in a logical order which normally I don't mind but for some reason, I just wasn't a fan of how it was written despite it being an interesting tale.
    The last book I read was My Prison, My Home by Haleh Esfandiari. It tells her story of going back to Iran on holiday to visit her mother and finding herself taken by the Iranian Secret Police, interrogated and eventually put into prison under the suspicion of plotting something against Iran. I found her story vastly fascinating and captivating. It was amazing to read of how the Secret Police operated, how they tried to find some act of treason where there was no treason to be found. It was well written and very interesting. I appreciated how much background she put into the book as I did not know much about Iran. Oftentimes, I think I had just considered Iran and Iraq to be very similar in their political outlook as well as relationship with the United States but that had not always been the case. It's a hard read to get through when learning about her struggle and the emotions she dealt with but it is so worth a read.
      Hearing other people's stories has always intrigued me and reading stories of people in other countries whose lives and experiences are very different than my own is wonderful in expanded my own world view. These three works I read this month, allowed me to experience life in the Middle East and Africa in a way I hadn't previous.  Two of them were excellent and definitely recommended.

So novels of hardship and war, time for something a bit lighter hopefully. I'm thinking quirky novels. Perhaps some John Green . . .



And Mountains Echoed- Khlaed Hossani
What is the What- Dave Eggers
My Prison, My Home - Haleh Esfandiari

It's been a while imaginatorium

    I shall admit it's been quite a while since the last bout of imaginatorium. With an onslaught of busyness, my time for reading and posting seemed to slip away. But the month of July has allowed for a renewed fervor for books. But while I was missing from posting and from my normal amount of novel consumption, I did happen to read a few noteworthy works.
     Although I attempted to read some of the books that had been on the New York Times Bestseller's List within the last year or so, I only ended up reading two of them. One was excellent and I very much so recommend it. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern was one of the most tantalizing books I've read in a while. There was just magic and mystery that surrounded the book. It was wonderfully creative and her characters were fabulous. The story follows two dueling magicians who do not know that they are in a duel with one another. Their competition takes place in and around a Night Circus, a circus, that as the name suggests, only opens at night and sweeps into the town without much warning. Brilliantly written, the imagery of the night circus itself is just magical. It definitely became one of my favorite books and I can't wait to read it again.
    I also read the Curious Case of the Dog in Nighttime by Mark Haddon. It follows an autistic boy who comes across his neighbor's dead dog and decides he is going to discover who killed the dog. Because he's autistic and doesn't know how to tell lies everything is written very factually from his point of view. At first, the book was quite interesting in the style of writing and how true to form the character was written. However, about half way through, I just kind of felt like I was done reading it. It got to a point where the pedanticness of the novel got a bit tedious. But I appreciated the book all the same.
    Within the time of not much reading, I did read a few inspirational books which were excellent and challenging. The first was The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, Crazy Love by Francis Chan and The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken. It was nice to take a break from straight fiction and read more autobiographical and academic works. All three, I definitely recommend as well.

    As the month of July has already allowed for more of a break and for the opportunity to dive into some books, I promise the posts will become more regular. The theme of this month is books set either during war or at least in foreign countries who have in recent years been war torn.

The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime- Mark Haddon
The Circle Maker- Mark Batterson
Crazy Love- Francis Chan
The Insanity of God- Nik Ripken

Winter imaginatorium

    To quote Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd; "Times is hard, Times is hard". Granted she had the worst pie shop in London so I can understand her sentiments. Yet often times, making it through the winter months can be excruciatingly painful. There's cold, there's wet, and there's darkness. I love my boots and my coats but oftentimes, curling up with a book and doing nothing is precisely what cures the winter blues. Getting enough motivation to blog about them is an entirely different story. So since we're quickly approaching May and the onset of Spring, it is thus time to close out those winter months, not dragging it out any longer but quickly saying the best and the worst of my choices.
     February was Young Adult fiction which I believe is pertinent and should be read no matter what age you are. All were decent choices, the best were Dodger by Terry Pratchett and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I love all things British and I love Charles Dickens' character of Dodger. What was brilliant about the book was Charles Dickens was a character and someone who took Dodger under his wings. It's a good read and an interesting one as Pratchett revisits and reconfigures the character of Dodger quite artfully.
    Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was unique and combined story and still photographs, photographs which, at the outset, look a little to good to be true but within the realm of the story, they worked perfectly. Super creative and the photographs added an eerie yet interesting twist to the story.
      Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick is the finale to the Hush, Hush series that I ranted over the atrociousness of about a year ago. It was still bad, still really bad but the redeeming factor was that she killed characters and she made her battle scenes legit so for that, I give her props. If you're looking for a companion to Twilight that's not Twilight, give it a read but if you're not, just stay far away.
     For March, I decided to size up my stack of books and see what I found. What I found was a lot of Orson Scott Card material I had yet to read. All were very interesting and it was interesting to see how Card's view of the world, religion, and politics are put into all of them, although Treasure Box was the least political of the four I read. Xenocide is the third book in the Ender series and I enjoyed it heaps better than Speaker for the Dead. It was interesting and it kept my attention the whole time.
   Treasure Box I also enjoyed because it wasn't just straight up sci-fi but grounded in our world with the characters fighting the spiritual forces of evil. It was intriguing his take on the spiritual battle and the way the spiritual realm worked.
    Memory of Earth and Pastwatch were both good but towards the end of both of them, my attention was waning a bit. The conclusion drawn about Christopher Columbus in Pastwatch is a bit of a leap and I don't think I really agree but I can see how he drew his thesis to come up with the idea. I won't spoil his hypothesis just in case you do read it. But on a whole, I do like Orson Scott Card's novels and writing style. I have a few more on my shelf still but they will have to wait.

The winter was long. There was lots of reading but not a lot of motivation to do other things. But alas, the sun is beginning to shine and there is hope for warmth and more imaginatorium of the creative side. With the month of April, I've chosen to read some best sellers but stay tuned for my choices! I promise it won't be another two months!
Happy Reading Imaginatorium!

Finale- Becca Fitzpatrick

The Orphan King- Sigmund Brouwer

Dodger- Terry Pratchett

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

Daughters- Joanne Philbin

 

Xenocide – Orson Scott Card

The Memory of Earth – Orson Scott Card

Pastwatch- The Redemption of Christopher Columbus – Orson Scott Card

Treasure Box – Orson Scott Card

While I've been waiting Imaginatorium

    It could be argued we wait a lot in life. The waiting comes in a variety of forms from silly things like waiting for a red light to change, waiting for the sun to rise, or waiting for a TV show to start. Other times, the waiting has much weightier consequences like waiting for a job, a school, or maybe a future with someone. Regardless, I argue we wait around a lot. Sometimes, as inconsequential as it may seem, we make seemingly inanimate objects wait for our attention as well.
     Whilst reading various novels from various different authors, I also fell in love with used bookstores and frequented bookstores in general. What I found growing was a stack of over thirty books haunting my nightstand.  With a new year, I decided many of those books had waited long enough. Inside each of the six books I swept the dust off of were unique stories, perspectives, and a fair amount of waiting the people who lived inside the world of the book endured as well. But instead of going into grave detail about each one, a snapshot view and a small blurb are what is called upon this time.

My favorite by far was The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho. Brilliantly written, it contained a wealth of truth about humanity, how we operate in society and whether we are inherently good or evil. "The Devil" goes into a small town and offers a simple conundrum. He has gold and if the townspeople decide by the end of the week to offer a victim to be murdered, they will have that gold. Based on the outcome, the man will know whether people are good or evil. I dare not ruin the conclusion. All I will say is it really is an exquisite book.

The Illusion by Frank Peretti was also at the top of my list this month. Growing up, I loved his novels and this one continues that love. The difference between the back flap of the book and what's actually contained within the story is what made the story so good. I love the fact Peretti works more sci-fi/fantasy elements into the story but still keeps it grounded in our world and with our elements. It's a really good read.

Another treasure I found almost a year and a half ago was A Good Indian Wife by Anne Cherian. Think Bride and Prejudice, East meets Western ideals. I feel it's a rare gift for an author to make me strongly dislike every single one of her main characters at some point. I was never quite sure who I was to be rooting for at various times. But she's a good writer and it's an interesting look into the culture of India, the United States and arranged marriages.

Four people come up to a rooftop to commit suicide on New Years Eve. Somehow the solidarity of a common purpose draws the four of them into an unbreakable bond to which none of them actually go through with the intended suicide that night. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby truly was an imaginatorium I wasn't expecting. With a premise like that, it's hard not to assume the depressing but instead it becomes a novel filled with humor, with real human emotion, and also a look as to how important community is and how it's the simple things which keep each of us wanting to live. A bit of language but it's an interestingly quirky and good book.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt and Pompeii by Robert Harris were the last two books I read to finish out the month. Angela's Ashes takes a look at the early childhood of Frank McCourt beginning in the United States and then as his family moves to Ireland. He has a great writing style, no punctuation for quotes which is interesting. Not my favorite book ever but definitely worth a read.
Pompeii, on the other hand, not so much. Having been there, I was hoping for so much more. It was definitely event driven with not enough character development for me. Much too scientific. I also felt like he didn't know the society well enough in writing the book. We know what happened to Pompeii as far as the science and history are concerned, now let's imagine the people who lived there and their stories but I did not feel he did a good job with that and was a bit disappointed.



    To keep some books waiting is a crime, some other books deserve a world of waiting. So my encouragement this month is to pick up that book you've been meaning to read forever. Give it a go and see what you've been missing. If nothing else, read one of the books I read this month, at least the good ones and see what sort of treasure you can find hidden.

Next month: Young adult fiction. There are some really good authors who are writing young adult fiction and I'm not talking about Stephenie Meyer either. So I'm excited to see what I'm going to discover and read for this month.

The Devil and Miss Prym – Paulo Coelho

Illusion- Frank Peretti 

A Good Indian Wife – Anne Cherian

A Long Way Down- Nick Hornby

Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt

Pompeii – Robert Harris