Book Review: Forever with You

Yesterday I finished reading the latest book in the Christy Miller Series, "Forever with You" by Robin Jones Gunn.

Robin is one of my favorite authors in Christian fiction.  I love her stories, and I love her pictures of God.

If you have not read the Christy Miller series, I highly recommend it.  It starts with Christy's first true encounter with God on the beach in Newport Beach and follows her journey through high school and college, and finally into married life.

Robin has a way of making her characters come to life and also weaving goodness and grace and friendship into her tales.

This is one of my favorite books in the series.  

Without giving a way too much of the plot I will say that much of this book finds Christy and Todd going through a rough patch in their marriage.  Their faith is tested and God's plan remains clouded from their sight for longer than they would have thought.

This theme of the book is highlighted in the following quote from Todd,  "He squinted his tear-filled eyes, looking like a miner who had been doing the best work he could in a dark place and was now coming out into the full sunlight."

This is a beautiful picture of faithfulness.  And a reminder that God will never let us down.  It reminds me of the verse in 1 Peter 2:9.

"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

Happy reading!

Success

What is success?

In order to answer this question, we should first consider the goal.   For it is against a goal that we can measure success.

For example, if your goal is to finish college, you will know you succeeded once you obtain your degree.  Or if your goal is to get married, you will know you succeeded when you stand before an officiant exchanging vows of matrimony.  If your goal is to make $1 million dollars, you will know you have succeeded when your assets total $1 million.

But if your goal is to succeed at life in general, this is much more complex and hard to measure.

Life is full of goals and milestones.

Of emotions.

Of people.

And to 'succeed' at life you first need to know how to live life.  And to live it well.

For what appears to be success in one area may bring disappointment to the overall picture.
And what may appear to be a step back in another area may bring great joy to your life in general.

I read the quote below many years ago and its words have stuck with me as a beautiful description of success in life and a response to the question:  What is success?

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Comments Section

Thanks to social media, sharing blogs and articles from writers around the world has never been easier.
Which means commenting on blogs and articles written by authors from around the world has never been easier.

And goodness, the things people say.

Sometimes the comments section provides more entertainment then the actual article.
It can also be a jarring display of how easy it is to disagree with and to criticize the thoughts of another.
Especially when the commenters take an openly rude tune and are seeking to discount the article all together.

Now depending on if you agree with the author or the critic, you may view the availability of such a comments section differently but in many cases, it exists, a simple scroll away.

There is an old saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

On its own, this expression is lacking balance; sometimes the things that need saying are not nice.  But consider the above saying combined with the additional words of wisdom below.

"To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable."

"Choose your battles"

Together these proverbs become a strong trio of council when it comes to reacting to opinions whether online or in person.