No Country For Old Men: Book Review

5. No Country For Old Men

Not too much time to write a review just yet, but I wanted to get my number 5 book of the year on here so I wouldn't forget.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the 40 days before Easter, and Audrey and I have decided instead of taking something away that we are going to add something that we do for Jesus Christ.
We are going to read through Colossians in our morning devotions, and we have committed that we are going to set aside 10 minutes each day with no distractions to pray for each other. Easter is on it's way! And so is spring! It is getting warmer here too!

This past Monday, Audrey and I went to Salt Lake City and we happened to stop at the REI store there. It was awesome, we didn't have enough time to check out everything, but I'm sure that we will return sooner rather than later. My wonderful parents heard about our camping trip last summer with some very inadequate sleeping bags that I purchased off Ebay for like 10 bucks.

So there Christmas present to us this year was some money for new ones. We figured REI would be the perfect place to buy one. And we were right! They talked us through all the different features, and we even got to lay down in the bags to make sure they would be the right ones.

So the pictures above are the type of sleeping bags that we got, Big Agnes is the brand. And that is the exact one that I got, called the Encampment. It goes down to 15 degrees and weighs in at only a couple pounds.

The best part of all is that Audrey got the female version and they zip together! Now we will be warm and cozy when we spend the night out in the mountains! Thanks mom and dad!

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11

Here is the passage of Scripture that I am going to be preaching on this week. If you have any input or wisdom that you would like to share about this passage, leave me a comment!



1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
2 Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. 3 If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. 4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. 5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed [a] in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. 6 Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. 7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. 8 However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. 9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. 10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

New Moon: Book Review

4. New Moon - Sequel To Twilight

Werewolves, Vampires, and Teenage Emotions. That is what comprises this book. I read through this one pretty quickly, and I think I enjoyed it more than Twilight because in Twilight I had already seen the movie, so I knew what was coming. With this book, I was in the dark the entire time. Stephenie Meyer does a good job of keeping things in suspense. Bella (a normal human) is in love with Edward (a vampire) who leaves her because he thinks that he is endangering her life. So she is heartbroken, and ends up spending all of her time with her soon to be best friend Jacob Black (a werewolf) as it turns out.

Meanwhile Bella keeps hearing Edward's voice in her head when she does stupid things, so she rides motorcycles, and then jumps off a cliff. She ends up being saved by Jacob, but Edward hears that she is dead. He approaches a group of Vampires in Italy who he hopes will kill him because without Bella alive he feels like his life cannot go on. Bella and Edward's vampire sister Alice find out what he has planned and go to save him.

It works out, but now Jacob and Edward are enemies because obviously werewolves and vampires just don't mix.

I am now ready to read the third installment in this series!

American Buffalo: Book Review

3. American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon

Since I am subbing at the High School here in Kemmerer, I have had a few more hours on my hands where I am able to just read because frankly that is about all I can do with the "free" time that I have there while students are doing assignments. So I have been able to cruise through a few books rather quickly which is nice.

American Buffalo is the story and history of this great american icon intertwined with the author's own Buffalo hunt in Alaska. The history and facts that he gives are actually quite interesting and he does it in a way that makes it not boring. The actual hunt details make the entire book, because it is much harder than you would think to be able to hunt a Buffalo.

I really enjoyed this book, and I like how the author used his own personal experience as well as historical fact to create this very informative and very interesting book on the Buffalo. I might be inspired to put in my name for a Buffalo tag, so that I can hunt one here in Wyoming. Wouldn't that be awesome!?

Twilight: Book Review

2. Twilight By Stephenie Meyer

This is the second book that I have read so far in 2009. I'll give you a little back history as to why I read this book. I first heard about Twilight while I was a Youth Pastor in Iowa. Rachel Mortimer was the first one who showed it to me, and I thought it was funny that she was reading a story about a vampire who fell in love with a high school girl.

Fast forward about a year and a half and now the movie "Twilight" has come to the theatre in Kemmerer, WY. Audrey went to see it with Alyssa while I was working at the Teen Center on a Saturday evening, and I basically said that I would never watch it or end up reading the book.

Sunday rolled around and Audrey said the movie was so good that I had to watch it with her that afternoon. So we did, and I'll admit that it was a good movie. So it inspired Audrey to read the book, and after she finished I read it too.

So on with the review! It is an easy read and is just under 500 pgs. The plot, a vampire (Edward) falls in love with a teenage girl (Bella), they have to figure out their relationship etc, and then there is some action thrown in when another vampire who is bad wants to destroy Bella. So Edward has to come to her rescue.

It is a good book, and I recommend it if you want a quick read, to take your mind off of something else! It is also the 1st book in a series of 4.

1st Run after spraining my ankle

Yesterday I attempted to do my first real run after I totally destroyed my ankle. And it actually went incredibly well. I didn't even wear a brace or anything. I ran 5 miles before I could start to feel my ankle throb, then I decided that was far enough.

When I first started out it was incredibly stiff, but it loosened up as I went along and didn't hurt at all until about mile 4 and half. It felt so good to be able to run again after not getting to for just about 2 weeks. And I like running way more than biking which is what I was doing while my ankle was on the mend.

I finished in 41 minutes, and my lung capacity still felt pretty decent so that made me happy. Hopefully it just keeps getting better from here on out. Audrey and I are scheduled to run 13 miles this Saturday! Half of the total distance that we are working towards!

Under The Banner Of Heaven: Book Review

1. Under The Banner Of Heaven: A Story Of Violent Faith

This book is about the Mormon faith. It is written by Jon Krakuer an investigative journalist author. The premise of the book is built around 2 murders, that were committed by Ron & Dan Lafferty (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints). They "heard" from God that they were supposed to kill these two people because they were in the way of God's plan.

The backstory goes into the entire history of Mormonism, to it's beginnings from Joseph Smith, through the persecution the Mormons face in Missouri and Iowa. How polygamy came into the picture, and how they had to flee to Utah to "escape" so they would not be persecuted.

It is a very interesting book, and I definetly recommend it if you are interested in this "cult". Living in a place where I come into contact with many Mormons it has helped in how to relate to them, and to call into question that their beliefs might not be all they think they are.

2009 Book List

I have come up with an idea. I am going to write a little book review for every book that I read in 2009. That way I will have a complete list of all the books that I have read for a year, and I can also write a little bit about what I found in the book.

And then maybe all of you out there will want to read a book that I have read because of my review! Or I can save you the agony of reading a book that really isn't worth your time.

Either way I figure it is a win win situation.

So on to the first review!