Gravel Road Musings

 I can't get the picture to upload for some reason, but the front cover gives a shadowy, stormy look that really goes well with the story line.  The first thing about this book, that, while kind of a spoiler, might also be necessary for trigger warnings. There is a lot of death, not graphic or violent, but lots of people have died and do die in the book, along with a perceived suicide. There is also the mention of domestic violence.  But Emily shines through it all. She shows up her family's home only to discover her mother has died and her sister is very angry. This is not a spoiler as it all happens in the first couple of pages, but Emily persists. She is gracious and kind, while hiding some deep hurts of her own. I just can't help but like Emily, even if she seems almost too good to be true. Of course, the school master comes along and is all kind and wonderful too, but I have to like him too. In an age where intellectually disabled children were shunned or institution...

  Discovering Who You Were Meant to Be When Life Goes Off Plan Jillian is pregnant with her second child when she received the diagnosis that her son has a 99% chance of having Down Syndrome. She struggled and wrestled with feeling like her life had gone off script. She had a plan for her life that included smooth roads, ideal living conditions, and perfect children. This is her story. If I'm being honest, I found her a bit whiny about the whole thing. I want to be gracious because everyone's story is different, but I too have experienced that call from the doctor that said your child's ultrasound showed some suspicions for Down Syndrome. I too have cried over the idea. And I would say that is where the similarities ended. I will not deny that it is hard, but it felt a bit like wallowing to me.  But even so, I felt like there were things to be learned on the journey of the unexpected until I started to realize that her theology and mine were very different. She seems to que...

  8 Surprises That Make All the Difference This is a book that's a bit hard to talk about and review.  I found the book helpful and insightful, but also deeply personal to the point that I'm not super comfortable sharing a lot about it in a personal manner. However, I would recommend this to every married couple out there: there is something for everyone here and the authors did their research thoroughly in the writing of this book.  A few things that stuck out to me that are applicable in all areas of marriage that I will mention here are communication and acceptance.  Talk things over. Learn to have the hard conversations. Learn to listen and hear what the other person is saying both in their words and actions. Acceptance: don't focus on what your spouse isn't, focus on who they are and be grateful for that.  "Once you truly accept that your spouse isn't everything you wanted, you can see and enjoy what you've got."  Our spouses are not perfect and a...

  How to Juggle a Lot, Enjoy Your Life, and Accomplish What Matters Most You might say, not another time management book, and if you do, you mirror Crystal's original thought too when asked to write this book. This book gives details to a very simple plan. Sadly, there are no fancy planners or fun pens, which I love, but that is also a good thing. All you need is some paper and Google calendar.  Crystal outlines four steps to good time management, stressing that time is like money and should be budgeted out. The first step is by far the most important in my opinion. It is to pray over your day. Ask God for guidance, for direction, for help along the way. Be detailed, be specific and be ready to pray all throughout the day.  Another guideline she gives is to brain dump everything into Google calendar. This one feels a little out there for me yet, as I don't use Google calendar for much of anything, but I think I will try it out and see how it works. A time-blocked to-do li...