November 3, 2014

long time no spin!!

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Classics Club, Classics Spin, Reading Event ¶ Tagged ccspin, challenge, classics club, classics spin ¶ 3 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in a Classics Club event and I’ve missed all the fun! What’s more, I’ve missed the last 4 Classics Spins! Jumping into #8 with my list of 20 titles. No categories or bells and whistles, just a random pick from my master list :)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings//Maya Angelou
Fahrenheit 451//Ray Bradbury
What Katy Did//Susan Coolidge
An American Tragedy//Theodore Dreiser
Invisible Man//Ralph Ellison
Silas Marner//George Eliot
Madame Bovary//Gustave Flaubert
The Old Man and the Sea//Ernest Hemingway
Portrait of a Lady//Henry James
Heaven to Betsy//Maud Hart Lovelace
The Death of a Salesman//Arthur Miller
Anne of the Island//Lucy Maud Montgomery
Pygmalion//George Bernard Shaw
The Jungle//Upton Sinclair
Of Mice and Men//John Steinbeck
All-of-a-Kind Family//Sydney Taylor
The Warden//Anthony Trollope
The Age of Innocence//Edith Wharton
Little House in the Big Woods//Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mrs. Dalloway//Virginia Woolf

Next Monday the spin number will be revealed and I will post which of my twenty I’ll be reading this winter. The rules state I have until January 5 to complete whichever book is chosen.

Can’t wait to see what I get! :)

Happy spinning!

September 4, 2014

what are you waiting for? | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Singleness, Spiritual Growth ¶ Tagged christian behavior, Christian life, dannah gresh, lifestyle, non-fiction, purity, sex, sexual purity, singleness, spiritual growth ¶ Leave a comment

So I’m going through the list of reviews I have waiting for me to write and I realized I had one more in the little series I was doing on books about singleness and purity a few months ago! Here we go with another fantastic read by Dannah Gresh!!

What Are You Waiting For? The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex by Dannah Gresh

Rating: 4.0 – 40

In my review of And the Bride Wore White I mentioned that it is geared more for the high school aged girl. Well, What Are You Waiting For? is where it picks up for the ladies in the college years and beyond. Once again, Gresh, with her honesty and openness, superbly addresses sex and what the big deal is about waiting for it.

Sex is a sensitive, intimate topic but, nevertheless, needs to be discussed. Gresh doesn’t mince words – she’s straightforward and to the point about the struggles, challenges and addictions that so many in the church find themselves grappling with. Intimacy is more than physical – it’s emotional and spiritual and God designed it to be an incredibly awesome experience. Unfortunately, the world has made a mess of this amazing gift and has left us confused, deluded and frustrated. What does the Bible have to say about all this? Gresh tackles all the tough questions, addressing them biblically and, in many cases, with scientific research to back it up.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re a single gal with questions about what the big deal is and want to know that one thing no one has ever told you about sex, read this book!!! I guarantee you won’t regret it!

Happy reading, y’all!

Elyssa

September 3, 2014

twentysomething | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Life ¶ Tagged book review, growing up, inspiration, life challenges, lifestyle, margaret feinberg, non-fiction, spiritual growth, twentysomething ¶ 1 Comment

Hello, hello!!

I hope everyone has had a beautiful, adventure-filled summer! My summer has been a whirlwind to say the least, leaving me with absolutely no time to read or blog! But as summer winds down and a new season settles in, I enter a new life season of my own filled with many changes and life questions… But none of that right now, I’ve got a book to share!

Twentysomething: Surviving and Thriving in the Real World by Margaret Feinberg

Rating: 3.0 – 4.0

I started reading this book back in the spring and only now just finished it this morning. I wish I had finished it awhile ago, I could have used some of the counsel and encouragement this summer!

Like any season in life, the characteristics of being a twentysomething will differ from person to person. For some of us it means the hustle and bustle of a brand new career, for some of us it means seemingly endless job hunts and wondering if, perhaps, you’ve started down the wrong path, and for the rest of us it means minimum wage grunt work until you get your big break. No matter what twentysomething looks like on the outside, we’re all trying to figure it out – who am I, what do I want to do, how do I get there, and who do I want to do it with? And further more, where is God in all of this? What does He want me to do with my life? Feinberg offers great wisdom and encouragement on how to make the most of this great life season. Everything from making and keeping friendships to handling stress, facing hard times, taking risks, setting priorities and learning from mistakes, she addresses some of the questions you may have asked yourself and maybe some you didn’t think to consider.

I gave it a 3 star rating because sometimes you have to take what you read with a grain of salt. I didn’t agree with all she said but it was worth the read and I’m glad I have a copy on my shelf. It’ll be good to refer back to it in the future or lend to someone else.

If you are a twentysomething like I am, I recommend this one. It’s a light, encouraging, read that could jumpstart all sorts of thoughts and considerations. It definitely has for me!!

Happy reading, y’all!

May 19, 2014

and the bride wore white | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Purity, Singleness ¶ Tagged dannah gresh, purity, relationships, sex, sexual purity, singleness ¶ Leave a comment

Hello Readers!

Picking up where I left off at the end of last month and continuing on this series of reviews about singleness and purity. I finished this one during my finals week and it was worth every extra minute away from my textbooks! (Not recommended behavior by any stretch, I’m just bein’ honest!).

And the Bride Wore White by Dannah Gresh

Rating: 4.0 – 4.0

My Thoughts: This book is a gem! It’s no wonder why it has sold so many copies over the years. Gresh is completely honest and real and I super appreciated that about her writing! As the subtitle says, she goes through seven secrets of sexual purity and encourages women to embrace them for all the wonderful benefits they offer.

Gresh goes through the big sex-lies that Satan has fed our culture and how those lies effect our lives when we embrace them. She talks about the beauty of purity’s dreams and importance of nurturing a strong relationship with Jesus. She speaks practically about dating and candidly about the purpose of sex. She gives in-depth advice about forgiveness and freedom from past mistakes and shares the sweet joys of waiting emotionally and physically. She’s honest about the struggles and challenges as well as the victories and rewards.

This book is, I suppose, geared largely to high school-aged girls. As a twenty-something, I still recommend it to my demographic. I also highly recommend it to moms of girls as well. Whatever age bracket you you fall into, it’s a beautiful place to start or pick up the conversation on purity. It’s a message that needs to permeate through the church.

I highly, highly, highly recommend you pick up a copy as soon as you can! In fact, I’ll do you one better: why don’t you CLICK HERE to purchase it on Amazon right now! You’ll love it, I guarantee it!

Happy reading :)

Elyssa

April 30, 2014

when God writes your love story | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Life, Purity, Relationships, Singleness ¶ Tagged relationships, romance, sexual purity, sexuality, singleness ¶ Leave a comment

Good Morning Everyone!

So I continue in my reviews of books on relationships, singleness and purity. This is turning into a bit of a series! It has been more than a few months since I’ve finished this one so I have to go back aways in my brain but this is a super fantastic read and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you!

When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy

Rating: 4.0 – 4.0

My Thoughts: For anyone who’s read my review of When God Writes Your Life Story and Teaching True Love to a Sex-at-13 Generation you know that Eric and Leslie Ludy are two of my favorite authors. I’ve read almost every one of their books (several of which I’ve yet to review :P) and I think they’re pretty awesome writers and Christians!

When God Writes Your Love Story is a beautiful, practical look at romance God’s way. True to their style, Eric and Leslie serve up honesty, humor, and biblical counsel on all things romance and purity. I love their personal stories, struggles and victories. They challenge readers to consider what/who controls their life, to evaluate their current relationships, and seek after a “sweeter song” than the one this sex-saturated world is singing. They challenge readers to pursue honor and God-driven passion.

When you think about, the message is simple: follow where God leads, but the application can seem ambiguous. Where exactly is God leading? Eric and Leslie offer practical ways on how to follow His unique plans for your life. They show that romance is a beautiful thing when we let the Author of romance script His special story for us. He knows our hearts, our desires, and our needs and His plans for your life are so much bigger and better than anything we could ever dream up for ourselves. But first, we’ve got to give Him the pen!

As you can imagine, I highly recommend this book, it’s fantastic. It’s filled with Bible verses and discussion questions to prompt further study and conversation. Read it, share it, read it again. You won’t be sorry, I can promise you that!

Happy reading!

Elyssa

April 27, 2014

praying for your future husband | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Purity, Relationships, Singleness, Spiritual Growth ¶ Tagged Christy Miller, faith, future husband, prayer, purity, relationships, singleness ¶ 6 Comments

Hello Everyone!

As I said in my last post, I have several books on relationships, singleness and purity to review so I’m just going to pick it up with the next title I want to share with you.

Praying for Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer

Rating: 3.5 – 4.0

My Thoughts: When we were in junior high and high school, my best friend and I read Robin Jones Gunn’s Christy Miller Series. Not only were we captivated by the story, we were introduced to the intriguing notion of writing letters to your future husband. A decade later, and I’m happy to say I’ve got a growing collection of letters of my own. So when I saw this book, it didn’t surprise me at all that Gunn co-wrote a book on this subject. I knew I had to read it and I’m so glad I did!

He’s not someone you really think about. Your future husband, I’m mean. Yeah, you might dream of him, think about all the qualities you want him to have, all the characteristics that would make you tick if he possessed them. You dream about how great life is going to be when you’re finally part of a couple. And you know that looks shouldn’t matter but you pray that God would please give you someone you’re attracted to! These are all natural, of course, but when we’re single, we still don’t think about our future husbands as living breathing human beings who walk around working, playing, learning, struggling, laughing, and crying just like we are! But he most certainly is. Think about it, if marriage is in God’s plan for you, then your future mate is out there somewhere in the world. Some minds have just been blown. Or maybe you’re thinking, well, duh! Okay, so what are you going to do about this piece of information? Gunn and Goyer encourage us to pray for him. Right now. Even if you’ve still yet to meet him.

Proverbs 31 contains the beautiful Virtuous Woman passage and one of the things you find out about this wonderful lady is that she does her husband good and not evil all the days of her life (verse 12). All the days of her life would include the days before she meets him, yeah? Now that verse alone contains so much I could unpack but that’s a post for another time – staying on topic! If being a virtuous woman means doing your husband good all the days of your life then why not pray for him? I’ve come to the conclusion that it is, indeed, a beautiful thing!

The authors walk readers through different areas of life in which to pray for both your future husband and yourself. They share personal accounts of their struggles and victories in their own love stories and offer advice and counsel on how to handle different life situations. There are even discussion questions and places to journal throughout the chapters.

I personally found it a bit of a light read which is why I didn’t give it a 4.0 rating. I felt like they could have gone a tad deeper in places. But that doesn’t deter me from highly recommending this book to any single gal who wants to enhance her present single life in faith while holding on to sweet dreams of the future!

Happy reading!

Elyssa

April 25, 2014

passion and purity | book review

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Purity, Relationships, Singleness ¶ Tagged elisabeth elliot, passion, purity, relationships, romance, sex, sexual purity, singleness ¶ 3 Comments

Hello Dear Readers!

I am one paper away from the completion of this term at college and the start of a month-long break from all things scholastic. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’m looking forward to this vacation! My fried brain will get some relief and I’ll have some much deserved time for other things in my life, like blogging! How about some regularity on this site, yeah? It’s coming, I promise :).

I just finished my final paper for my Interpersonal Communication class earlier today, in which I discussed relationships and communications from the perspective of a single woman. As a single twenty-something, this is a subject that is always sort of apart of my thought processes in one form or another. And as a single, twenty-something bookworm, I’ve often got my nose buried in some read about relationships, purity, and singleness. Over the past several months, I have read a a number of really, really great books in this genre and it’s about time I took time to write my reviews!

Passion & Purity by Elizabeth Elliot

Rating: 4.0 – 4.0

My thoughts: First word to describe this book – DEEP. The subtitle says it all: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control. Romance is one of the most personal areas of our lives and it’s so easy to forget that just like every area of life, it should be brought under the control of our heavenly Father. Agh! What a scary concept! But, if Christians are truly who we want to be, and Christian means to be a Christ follower, how can we do any less?

In Passion & Purity, Elliot tells her sweet love story with Jim Elliot through journal entries, correspondence, and memories. She shares the challenges, victories, mistakes and sacrifices they made as a young couple. It was AMAZING to see how much love flowed between them and yet how committed they were to making Christ their priority in their lives both together and individually even it that meant they weren’t meant to ever be married. I know, scary, yeah? I was on the edge of my seat, so to speak, on more than one occasion.

I loved how candid and real Elliot was. She didn’t mince words and used scripture to back what she said. Again and again she showed how the Word carried her through dark days and times of heartache. As a woman who is not a stranger to the cravings of romance, I found this extremely touching and encouraging.

Elliot proves that passion and purity can exist side by side, one doesn’t have to be sacrificed for the other, and God can reign over it all. She also proves that we do indeed serve a God of impeccable timing and He works all things together for the good of those who love and follow Him (Romans 8:28). We can trust Him with every area of our life, including, maybe especially, romance.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK A THOUSAND TIMES OVER. But I will warn you – it’s not for the faint of heart! You will be challenged and you will counseled. But trust me, it’s soooooooo worth it!

Happy Reading!

Elyssa

April 1, 2014

15 Book Blogger Challenge | Days 12, 13, 14, & 15

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Challenge, Writing & Blogging ¶ Tagged Bible, blog challenge, book blogger, books, questionnaire, writing ¶ Leave a comment

Here we go! I’m going to knock out the rest in one final post!

[12] How do you fight off blogger fatigue?

I’m not the best person to ask this question because I’m not great in this area. However, I will say that I’ve become more aware of one fact lately – I write pretty decently under pressure. School papers with looming due dates have forced me to squeeze out ANYTHING related to the essay prompt and then somehow mold it into a readable paper for submission to my professors. So far, not bad! I think that’s one very great way to fight blogger fatigue – you just have to take it seriously and do it. Answer a prompt, write a list or how-to, ramble about your day. It’s not getting graded so don’t worry about it being fabulous! And sometimes you have to crank out a few mediocre posts before you come out with something you really like.

Writing posts in bulk also helps a lot! That’s what I’ve been doing with these challenge posts. I wrote them ahead of time and scheduled their posting. This way I can write when I have time and/or when I’m in the mood and have material for the next few days!

But there is something to say about stepping away and taking a break. Take a walk, a nap, a snack break, a sabbatical, or whatever you need to clear your mind and refocus on what your priorities are! You come back to your blog refreshed!

[13] Describe one under appreciated book EVERYONE should read.

All I know is that I don’t appreciate the importance of the Word and too often shove it in the corner to read at a ‘later time’ that never comes. Everyone should read this book be it for religious or literary purposes – there is no way your life won’t be affected by the wonderful words contained inside!

[14] Tell us your deal breakers.

Unsatisfactory endings. Have you ever seen Hitchcock’s Vertigo? Yeah, I hate endings like that. Or Steinbeck’s East of Eden. I don’t remember the ending…but I remember I wasn’t satisfied. Everyone has their version of what ‘unsatisfactory’ is. I don’t necessarily need happy, but I need closure or resolution or something!! Gone with the Wind didn’t end with any closure but I was so done with O’Hara that I was like, “Whatever, good riddance!!” I was satisfied with Rhett’s decision.
Bad Grammar. No explanation needed.
Rambling. Even if it’s a great story, if there’s too much description and rambling, chances are I’m going to start skimming until someones starts dialoging!
Boring. You’ve got to grip me or I’m not interested!

[15] Who are your book blogging mentors?

Ummmm…I don’t really have any :P. I kind of just flounder and figure things out in bits and pieces!

FINISHED!

Well that was fun!

I’m still behind on many book reviews and some housekeep-y things but I’ll get to it slowly but surely! For now, I’ve got school assignments beckoning me!

Have a beautiful day!

March 30, 2014

15 Book Blogger Challenge | Days 9, 10, & 11

By Elyssa Nalani ¶ Posted in Challenge, Writing & Blogging ¶ Tagged blog challenge, book blogger, books, questionnaire ¶ Leave a comment

I thought I’d knock out a few in one post this time :)

[9] Why do you blog about books?

A blogger blogs about what interests her, what excites her, what she loves. I’m a book nerd, how can I not blog about books? ‘Nuff said. ;)

[10] How do you choose what book to read next?

I’m currently reading through a series so that’s a no brainer – I read the next installment. Other than that, it really just depends on my mood. Some books will grip me right away, others take a couple tries before it hooks me at just the right time.