A Young Wife’s Tale

David and I had the opportunity to watch a new movie “I’m Just Like You – Children With Psoriasis” tonight, and it was wonderful!

The film follows the lives of five families dealing with Psoriasis, an auto-immune disease that affects more than seven million Americans. We appreciated hearing the stories of young people struggling with psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis just like David. Some of the children had parents with the disease. It was great hearing their perspectives.

Haven’t written a blog post in a week? Can’t get past chapter 3 in the novel you’re writing? Here’s what to do when you have writer’s block.

1. Read your favorite book or blog. Perhaps you could analyze the writing style a bit.

2. Read a book by an author who’s work is unfamiliar to you. Bonus: pick a book in a genre you don’t normally read.

3. Vacuum, knit or exercise. These always work for me. Activities like these make me feel like I’m accomplishing something, but my mind is free to wander.

Jenny B. Jones has a great sense of humor. Every chapter of her book, Save the Date, had me laughing out loud.

It tells the story of Lucy and Alex. Lucy is a klutzy blonde who runs a group home for young women who have aged out of the foster care system. She grew up poor, and disdains people like Alex Sinclair, a wealthy former professional football player who is running for congress. He proposes they fake an engagement to help him win the election. In exchange, he promises funding for her group home.

An Amish Love is some of the best Amish fiction I’ve ever read. The book is composed of three novellas, and includes questions for reading groups and Amish recipes. In “A Marriage of the Heart” by Kelly Long, Abby Kaufman tricks Joseph Lambert into marrying her so that she can get away from her father, but Joseph ends up moving in with them. “What the Heart Sees” by Kathleen Fuller tells the story of how Christopher Miller returns to his community after leaving to escape the death of his girlfriend in an accident that also blinded Ellie Chupp. And in “Healing Hearts” by Beth Wiseman, empty nesters must try to learn to live together again after almost a year apart.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time. Reading the heartbreaking story behind Now Thank We All Our God so close to Thanksgiving was very timely, and makes me feel ashamed for not giving thanks more often. Another hymn of Thanksgiving, We Gather Together, had a surprising story behind it. It was written in 1597 to celebrate Holland’s freedom from Spain. There were so many hymns written during times of religious persecution. It was truly inspiring to read of the faith of Christian brothers and sisters.