A couple of recommendations

I'm home today with a sick Eliza; she was supposed to go to school today, and I had breakfast planned with a friend, and a relaxing, care-free day of errands. Instead, we have been curled up on the couch watching Sesame Street and other various cartoons. But that's OK. That's my job as a mom, and I love being able to comfort her when she feels bad. She came running in our room last night at 2am trying to talk with her mouth closed; thank goodness Stephen was a little more coherent than me, and he rushed her in to the bathroom where she puked on the floor. Evidently she had been HOLDING it in her mouth. Bless her heart. But we were actually grateful as that was a much easier clean-up than carpet.

So anyway, she is settled for now so I wanted to take the time to do a post.

Ok, for some reason I get a little annoyed when reading someone's blog and they say things like "you need to go out today and buy this book; it will change your life" or "you are not a productive citizen until you read this book." It's not necessarily the recommendation that bothers me, because if there is any platform in which to express your opinion, by golly, it should be your own blog. I think it is more the tone, as in "I'm obviously more educated and well-read and more informed than you are so it is my duty to enlighten you." So as I make these recommendations below, I promise it is not that place that I am coming from. In fact, I am probably the least-informed person I know. I only watch the weather portion of the local news so I'll know how to dress the next day. I prefer reading blogs to newspapers. And the presidential debates literally put me to sleep. If it's not a Comcast headline, then I don't know about it. So, please don't feel like I'm trying to "educate" anyone by recommending any books or movies. Rather, I'd rather just tell you about something that has changed me, and just might lighten your load.

• This past weekend, we saw the movie"Fireproof" , which was fantastic. Sure, the acting is a little weak at parts, but the message about marriage is wonderful. And since I'm not great at critiquing movies, Here is a good article about the movie, actually from the New York Times. And sweet Stephen surprised me with 2 copies of the accompanying book "The Love Dare", which provides 40 days worth of devotions and ideas of ways to serve your spouse. Your marriage doesn't need to be "in trouble" to benefit from the wisdom and message about marriage that God speaks through this movie and book.

• I just finished the book The Shack, and to put it simply, it changed my life. If you've ever felt that God couldn't possibly love you, that you were too small or insignificant for Him to notice you, or just ever been confused by the concept of the Trinity, then please read this book. It has been controversial, even within Christian circles, as seen in this article , but I am in the camp that found it profound. It changed my entire perception of how God views us; I've always known that God loves us, but this book shows us just how deep and lavish that love is.

And one more thing that I found especially poignant after just finishing the Shack. Aunt Amy forwarded this post about Eliza and the rainbow to a couple of friends of hers, and this is what one sweet friend had to say. I've so appreciated all the precious comments on that picture!

" And second favorite would be the rainbow shot. Before you even told us the story about your neice and not ever seeing a rainbow before, I could tell in her face how much that moment meant to both of them. I love photographs that tell more than just one story. I could see soooooo many things in that picture. First, the little girl's expression. Pure Joy in her face. Her mommy is holding her, protecting her, she's at the beach, the wind is blowing and to top it off, she gets to see a beautiful rainbow. Second, Mommy is loving her baby girl, holding her, protecting her and just absorbing the moment with her child. Third, God working in the background. Loving them, showing off some of his best work, looking over them and protecting them. Through the clouds something beautiful appeared. Isn't that how God works. When something ugly or nasty appears in our life, God shines through somehow. I love it when pictures make me say, "wow" out loud. That one did. Keep up the good work."