Les Liasons Dangereuses

I read this book as my 4th in the Back to the Classics Challenge in the category of "A Classic Which Has Been Banned or Censored".

I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I read this book. Perhaps I was expecting it to be more like Lady Chatterly's Lover that I read last year, but it was quite different. I liked that it was written in the style of letters. It's just fun to read from all perspectives in the first person. But since it was written this way, it takes a bit to understand what is really going on. Thankfully even to get to the point of understanding what is happening is not dull, but since it is written in letters, we do not have all the details one would have from a narrative. Thankfully it is enough for this book.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book. I've taken a couple of days to reflect on it because I can't say I liked it, but I didn't dislike it either. In the introduction, it says that this book is shocking, but honestly there is nothing shocking about it. In fact it's an excellent look at how depraved humanity really is in some respects and yet how much grace God gives in others. I like that it is evident what is happening without graphic details. But sometimes the language of the day makes you wonder exactly what is meant by "x".

So I dislike all of the lies, deception and complete desire to corrupt that comes from 2 of the main characters. I dislike the blatant stupidity of characters that are clearly not that stupid. I dislike that there is no distinction between love, lust, infatuation, etc by characters who clearly are smart enough to know the difference and that love is used to excuse many things that happen throughout the book.

What I do like is the clear battle between flesh and spirit, though not done in an overt way. I like that work has to be done and not everyone simply gives into their feelings just because they want to (though some of them do). I like that those who are seeking to corrupt are brought to justice, but sadly, those directly effected by their corruption are also brought to ruin. There is not any sign of redemption for the others involved, which I realize may be true in life, but often times redemption is present, especially for those who are seeking God.

I think another thing that personally struck me in this book is how easily I could have been any of these characters, not only the innocent, but those who do the corrupting. For me it was a great reminder of how much grace God has given me to not be those people who merely seek the pleasure of the flesh, but seek after God and His ways and the true pleasure that following Him brings.

This is one that falls into I cannot say I recommend, but would say not to read either. You have to know yourself. On a light note, some of the "love letters" written could be a great lesson for men today who don't know how to express their feelings. But again, I can't say I would necessarily recommend the whole thing.

With all of that I would probably give this book 3 stars.

July Blessings

July has flown by in a blur! It has been good and challenging. Through it all God has taught us and blessed us. Here is a picture of our blessings in July.

1. Kids singing and dancing to praise music
2. Boys growing in singing
3. Writing and planning
4. Swimming and breakfast with Becca
5. Learning to make an online registry for Norwex!
6. Finishing 2 weeks of school
7. Fraps
8. Going to the Bats game
9. Victor coming with our family
10. Good sermon on Deborah and women 
11. God using unexpected people or things to accomplish His plans
12. Pizza for dinner
13. Jim working 4 extra hours
14. Getting ahead in school work
15. Time to read
16. Hanging out with friends at the Brown's house
17. Sara helping us be able to go
18. Morning with the Vander Weerts
19. Kids playing well together
20. Dairy Del
21. Meeting new people
22. Jim being off
23. Nehemiah having a good doctor's appointment
24. Working on things for Childbirth Conversations
25. Time with Sara
26. Booking 3rd Norwex party for July!
27. Going to a new co-op playgroup
28. Jim getting a lot accomplished at home with the older kids
29. Learning to work through things when they happen
30. Aviana arriving safely (Friend's baby born early) and getting to see her and Brienne
31. Great sermon on meals with Jesus
32. Teaching opportunities
33. Whole house napping
34. Krispy Kreme
35. Safe drive to Lexington
36. Yummy Ceprese sandwich
37. Delicious lemon ice cream
38. Getting 12 people in our van
39. Kids getting in the pool
40. Sam trying to swim
41. Delicious breakfast
42. Going to the Ark Encounter
43. Learning more about the flood
44. Cheap IHOP
45. Kids actually petting animals
46. Kids enjoying the Explorium
47. Cousins being together
48. Snuggling with Nehemiah
49. Good hard work
50. Getting everything ready for current parties
51. Dance party with the kids
52. Sleeping in
53. Talking with Becca
54. Great Norwex party with Meagan
55. Having a nice evening at home
56. Seeing the Thoni family
57. Staying off the computer
58. Book Club
59. Being prayed for
60. Fellowship and friends
61. Hearing other's stories
62. Much needed CG time
63. God working in hurt and confusion
64. Growing in trusting God
65. Learning together
66. Playing with Cinchshare
67. Learning new ways to help with business
68. Mama's Day Out
69. Prenatal massage
70. Fun Facebook party
71. Talking blogs with Margaret
72. Time with Jessica
73. Great sermon on Zaccheus
74. Talking as a family over lunch
75. Getting space and clothes ready for baby
76. Jamey reading John 1 at dinner
77. Sam helping clean up
78. Parents getting here safely
79. Nehemiah dancing and singing to music
80. Lillian cheering the baby out
81. Baby looking healthy and big
82. God continually teaching me to trust
83. Pieology for lunch
84. RAIN!
85. Looking at Co-op classes
86. Seeing Rachel for a few minutes
87. Nehemiah eating really well 3 days in a row
88. Good nutrition visit
89. Becca's bridal shower
90. Making it through the day
91. Time to relax and nap a little during a stressful day
92. Contracting more than normal
93. Snuggling with my babies
94. Low-key day at home
95. People praying for us

How has God blessed you in July?

July Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- God has definitely grown my prayer time this month, some days have more prayer time than others, but every moment praying is a blessing
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Most days this happened
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- 1 for me so far and started "Mission of Motherhood" this month

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! 
• Go out for a date once a week- I think we actually accomplished this this month
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- No and is not likely to happen at this point
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- A little better but still needs improvement

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- All got some time but not sure how much
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- No individual dates this month
• Family fun activity once a month- We got to meet up with my parents, niece and nephew in Lexington for a couple days and go see the Ark Encounter! That was a blessing!
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- I am caught up! God is good! Ready to write about the birth of our newest one when he/she gets here
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- No work was done on this, likely will not happen at this point

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Still struggling with schedule
• Keep up with my calendar- A little better than before, but still need improvement
• Being fully present when with my family- Struggled more with this this month
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (8) Still at 8 for the year
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- Nope It's gotten hard with being really pregnant and heat
• Begin gardening in the spring- This is not likely to happen and obviously not in spring since we are well past spring

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- I finished "Les Liasons Dangereuses" with my classics challenge (review later this week)
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon" and is well into "Eldest"
• Journal 5 days a week- Yes! God is gracious
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- Yes! Love these Sisters
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Yes! Such a great time of encouragement and fellowship
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Yes! God has been gracious in this

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Got some in, but not as much as I would have liked
• Maintain weight until birth- Definitely gained this month, baby is growing a LOT!
• Lose weight after giving birth- 

I'm not really sure where July went! It has been a hot and busy month. We are prepping for baby #7. We finished up the current school year with the kids. We had the blessing of going to the Ark Encounter and teaching our kids more about God through that and got to explore some of Lexington. We have been striving to find a good routine while we wait and seek what God would have us to do right now. I'm working on building the Childbirth Conversations blog with the help of a sweet Sister! We are also working on building our Norwex business and loving how God has worked in it this month with 3 parties! God provides! Our biggest thing now is waiting for baby to come and attempting to not go insane. God continues to show me and teach me that my life is His not my own and that He is doing exactly what He wants with me. It is growing our relationship and teaching me to cry out as well as listen. It is also HOT so staying cool has been a huge challenge.

Please pray for our baby to come soon! We're so excited about meeting our precious addition!

How was your July?

Dolphin Treasure

This book is part of our Core A curriculum through Sonlight. This book we all enjoyed reading together. We all like that it is short, which means short chapters for short attention spans with littles. This was also a great fun adventure book. You can feel the danger, the suspense, the emotion that is portrayed in the book even with it being short. It is full of fun, real life drama that makes you want to know what is going to happen. I also appreciated the practical lessons I was able to teach my kids about greed and appropriate risk taking. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

I'd give this book 4.5 stars.

Product Spotlight #8

Today I want to share with you the Microfiber Variety Pack (MVP) that is part of this months Microfiber Magic customer special. (p. 7) This pack includes a smaller version of the Envirocloth, Window Cloth and Body Cloth with a clear pouch for carrying them. I have shared about each of these products previously and how much our family loves and uses all of them.

So what makes the variety pack special? You have a small set ready to carry with you anywhere you go! This is similar to the Travel Pack, except that it contains 3 different types of cloths, so it is ready for different types of tasks. Need to wipe down a grocery cart? Pull out the Envirocloth. Smudges on your windshield? You have a Window Cloth. Need to clean off your hands? Got a Body Cloth to wipe them down.

All of these can be used for a variety of different things, and with the MVP you're ready for anything!

How could the MVP help you?

Please Contact me with any questions
Emmie Manor Independent Norwex Consultant
Emmie.reducingchemicals@gmail.com
www.emmiemanor.norwex.biz
Catalog (p. 7)

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

This book was part of our Sonlight Core A curriculum this year. I can't say I loved this book nor did I hate it. It was just OK. My kids liked the adventure aspects of the book, as did I. They liked hearing about the crazy things the animals did. It was definitely good for building imagination.

I personally am not a huge fan of animal books, so that immediately deterred me from this book. I did think it interesting that the man could understand all the animals, but as I prefer realism as a whole, giving animals so much intelligence to outwit people was kind of annoying. I also did not like that this man who was so "head in the clouds" went and did whatever he wanted and everything still worked out for him in the end. That's just not a super great lesson for kids. The saving point of the book was that Dr. Dolittle was intent on getting back home to repay the people who had lent him items for his journey. He did not want people to think he had run off and taken advantage of them. I did appreciate that.

I would rate this book around 3 stars.

Year 6 in Louisville

Hard to believe 6 years have come and gone since we said good-bye to Smyrna and hello to Louisville. Each year becomes harder to believe the amazing journey God has us on, and each year He comes through in His ways to show us more about Himself and putting our faith completely in Him. I shared last year about the 5 year plan being up. Another year has come and gone and we're still in Louisville. We are thankful to be here but it is still hard as it has been another year of seeking and wondering what God has in store for us.

Currently we are awaiting the arrival of our 7th baby any time in the next 5 weeks, though hoping it is sooner rather than later. Jim has 3 classes left which should be completed in this next school year. Our kids are finishing up another year of school. Five out of the six love school and want to learn at all times! Jim and I are growing in our marriage and learning how to really love God, each other and our kids while leading them to the cross day in and day out. We are seeking together where it is that God wants us long term, while learning to really be present where we are and living each day to the fullest here and now.

The most important thing I have learned this year: if I'm not caring for my family and leading them to Jesus, how can I do this anywhere else? I must know how to seek God in the everyday and prioritize here and now if I am going to do more for the Kingdom. It's like the parable of the talents. I must be a good steward with what God has given me now in order to be given more responsibility. I want to be a good steward of my family, my talents, my gifts and my resources, and I'm learning more and more how to do that.

I have seen this as God is helping us to grow our Childbirth Conversation ministry and grow our Norwex business and I pray God will continue to teach us and grow us in these things and how they can be used for long-term mission.

God has been so faithful and that is what matters.

I'm excited to see what the next year holds, especially as we seek where God would lead us after the seminary journey is over.