Pages

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Recent Reads // October

{ H E L L O ! }

Not sure if I already announced this or not, but I am currently in the final stages of moving to a new state. As a result, there has been very little posting going on for me. Hopefully things will settle down a bit soon. I'm looking forward to posting photography of new places I visit!

For now, I wanted to drop in to review a few of the books I have read recently!

Image result for chains seeds of america

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I'd read a different book by Laurie Halse Anderson before (Fever 1793), which I rather liked, so I turned to the Seeds of America Trilogy. This one had some darker themes, as it is based on slavery. I finished Chains, but I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy. 

Image result for everybody always

Everybody Always by Bob Goff

This book had lots of inspiring and interesting stories. It is well written, although it wasn't super deep it was relatively thought provoking. 

Image result for a summer to die

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry

Since I rather like The Giver, I wanted to explore other books by Lois Lowry. A Summer to Die was actually her first novel. It follows the story of two sisters. It is VERY sad, but I really loved the relationship between Meg and her older neighbor.

Image result for miracle for jen

 Miracle for Jen by Linda Barrick with John Perry

I heard about this book after reading an article on TheRebelution. This book was sad, painful, and amazing. The writing was kind of repetitive sometimes, but I read all the way to the end. It tells the dramatic true story of 17-year-old Jen Barrick. After getting hit by a drunk driver on the way home from a church choir performance, Jen's family encounters miracles, pleading prayers, and heavy struggles. God answers Jen's prayers in the most astounding way through her accident. After I read the book, I looked up Jen Barrick on YouTube and was amazed. 

Image result for called to create

Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, there were some good insights in it. It focused more on being an entrepeneur, rather than an artist. But I especially liked the section on how we will use our creating gifts in heaven. It also presented ideas about God as a creator, and how we being an artist is a gift from God, because it is one of his own characteristics.

Image result for the unexpected adventure

The Unexpected Adventure by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg

Since this is basically a devotional, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sometimes I find that devotionals don't dedicate enough time to just one point or story. This book, however, was very engaging, interesting, and inspiring. There were great stories about how the authors have stumbled across sharing their faith, and then Bible verses and important points after the story. I recommend!

Thanks for reading! Have a great week!

Monday, October 1, 2018

Yellowstone National Park // July 2018

It's been three months since this little 2-day road trip, but I still wanted to post about it and show some of my pictures!




We stopped at nearly every side road, and one of the first was the Artist Paint Pots Trail. We didn't make it to the Paint Pots (it was very hot and unshady), but went to the Thermal Basin.


Then, we drove all the way up to Mammoth Hot Springs.


We of course had ice cream before eating lunch.


Buffalo Chip ice cream sounds very appetizing, don't you think? XD (That's the flavor that I got actually)





This other store was by a waterfall, which I took pictures of but realized afterwards that they weren't in focus *facepalm*



We were bummed that this geyser had just one off one week before we were there!


The second day we spent time at the Old Faithful Lodge.




Quite the crowd turned out to watch Old Faithful.



We peeked at some of the artifacts and antiques.


I ate this same sandwich both days at the park, so it deserves a picture.


We saw many of the cool-looking pools. I took half a billion pictures of them, but will spare you :)



I'm so happy I got the chance to visit YNP again! It had been a while since I was there last. I hope you liked seeing my photos!