Unlocked

I believe that all of us keep pieces of ourselves locked away from the rest of the world.  It is a simple way to protect what we fear will be ridiculed.  But why do we have to live with this fear?  Where does it come from?  My belief is that as kids grow up and work their way through the years of school, they begin to build a wall to protect themselves from being different.  To protect themselves from being bullied.

I just finished reading a new book from Karen Kingsbury called Unlocked.  This wonderful story focuses on the struggles faced by a family who have an 18-year-old son suffering from autism.  In the story, "Holden Harris,..., is locked in a prison of autism where he's been since he was a happy, boisterous three-year-old. At school he is bullied by kids who do not understand that despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal on the inside, where he lives in a private world all his own".  This novel touches on very important issues and reminded me of how important it is to teach our children that it is okay to be different.  Through the novel, I struggled to read about the bullying that took place in the high school.  It was even harder when you saw the teachers ignoring the issues.  The main main female character of the book, Ella Reynolds, struggled with ignoring the bullying of Holden and other students or standing up for them and being mocked herself.   It made me sit back and think, were there times that I ignored the issue and should have stood up for someone?

Later in the book, one of the students who was continually made fun of and bullied by the jocks, committed suicide.  This completely broke my heart that this child didn't see any other way of coping with the madness he lived through daily.  It was also disheartening to see that the mother didn't even recognize the signs of depression in her son because she was too busy trying to make ends meet.  I know we all have days that we just wish we could be alone and we don't even feel like talking to our family, but I pray that we can always remember to take time out for our children to remind them that they are loved and that they can share their fears and troubles with us.   In, Unlocked, Ella discovers that it is okay to stand up for others and the change in her are seen throughout the school and community.  "The greatest miracle is the change in Holden, himself, and everyone is stunned by the transformation they witness. Ultimately, the community comes to understand that many people walk around in a personal prison and that only by love and faith can the doors become unlocked, the way they dramatically do for Holden Harris".

I would encourage everyone of you to grab a copy of this book and then share it with a friend. It is a story that everyone needs to hear.  After finishing it, I'm sure you will be hooked on Karen Kingsbury.  She has an extraordinary gift and her writings are always inspirational and life-changing.  I've read them all and not a single one disappoints.  Happy reading!

Recipe Corner: Apple Enchiladas

Are you looking for a delicious new dessert? Look no farther. If you love apple pie, you’ll love this yummt recipe from allrecipes.com. Enjoy! And don’t forget to contact me if you are interested in having your blog and your yummy recipe featured in a Fabulous Food Friday Post. Whether you bake it, sauté it, or just microwave it, send it in! Share your yummy food and you may find yourself with new visitors. Please email me directly if you are interested. (betweenthelines-kam@hotmail.com )




Ingredients

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
• 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.
3. Bring margarine, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
4. Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12.

Reading Review: Dee Henderson

Dee Henderson is an amazing author! I was so surprised when I discovered not many people were familiar with her wonderful books. Although all her novels are worth a read, my favorite (and my sister’s) series is The O’Malley Series. The O’Malley series follows an astonishing family as they face roadblocks in their road to finding Christ. This family is like none I’ve ever seen, and not just because they all have COOL jobs! These seven young adults met each other when they were younger and orphans. They created a bond so tight that after they were old enough to move out on their own, they all legally changed their names and became a brand new unique group. Each book in the O’Malley series focuses on one of the siblings. While the rest of them are present throughout the novel, they are there as a support team.


The first in the series is called The Negotiator. It follows Kate O’Malley and her life as a police negotiator. Throughout the book, Kate struggles with falling in love, accepting Christ, and keeping herself alive.


The second in the series is called The Guardian. The Guardian follows Marcus O’Malley and the struggles he faces as a U.S. Marshall. Marcus has always been the big brother of the group. But as he struggles to rediscover his faith, he may need some support from his family.


The Truth Seeker is the third book in the series. This novel follows Lisa O’Malley and her investigations as a forensic pathologist. Lisa is good at what she does, but so is the killer. After discovering the truth of some recent murders, Lisa goes missing. Will her secret admirer Marshall Quinn Diamond and her family find her in time?


Jack O’Malley is the focus of the fourth book in the series. As The Protector, Jack works as a firefighter who is up against a heartless serial arsonist. In this fast paced thriller, we are introduced to Cassie Ellis. Together they will struggle with the dangers of past, present, and future fires. Will they find their faith in the process?


The fifth book in the series is The Healer. This book focuses Rachel O’Malley. Rachel specializes in working with children who have suffered trauma. The Healer follows Rachel as she deals with a school shooting in her community.


The final book in the series is The Rescuer. The Rescuer follows Stephen O’Malley as he struggles to deal with a personal tragedy while maintaining his job as a paramedic. With one love one dead and one in danger, will Stephen be able to pull it together to be The Rescuer?


I know you will enjoy all these thrilling and fast paced novels. This is definitely a series you won’t want to put down. After you are done, go back and read Dangers In The Shadows. This is a prequel to the O’Malley series. Enjoy!

Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

***This wonderful book review was written by a close friend of mine, JennG.***

This book definitely belongs on my top 10 best reads of all time. It is a richly layered story that takes you in a few different directions, but instead of leaving you confused, you feel hungry for more when you finish. Lucky for you, the author, Steig Larsson, wrote two subsequent novels (sadly, Larsson died in 2004 shortly after finishing the three manuscripts).
The book is set in Sweden (amps up your international cred just by reading it!). The main story involves a craggy, old, very successful businessman, Henrik Vanger, who hires a journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, to write his memoir. Blomkvist quickly realizes this is a cover; the old man really wants him to work under the radar and dig into the disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger, which occurred over forty years ago; Vanger believes his niece was murdered but her body was never found. AND he is convinced someone in his large, disgustingly wealthy, and dysfunctional family did it. So Blomkvist finds himself knee-deep in family drama and intrigue.

 Blomkvist is no stranger to drama himself: as the book opens, he is being found guilty of aggravated libel of a shady, uber-rich industrialist named Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Our Man in the White Hat Blomkvist knows the guy is a creepy criminal, but he found himself in a no-win situation and he lost. So before he serves his three month jail term, he finds himself getting ready to hunker down in the barren, northern outpost of Hedestad to open up some raw family wounds in the Vangar compound.

 As Blomkvist peels back layer after layer of dysfunction and intrigue, we meet one of the most complicated and unconventional heroines of fiction I’ve ever encountered- Lisbeth Salander (aka the girl with the dragon tattoo). She is a private investigator who is an all around genius and technological wunderkind, all wrapped up in a skinny, sullen, tattooed package. Calling her a broken individual from a horrendous background would be an understatement- as we slowly learn everything she’s been through, it’s astonishing that she is still standing. She is originally called on to investigate Blomkvist for Henrik Vangar; she then becomes interested in what the journalist has done, and especially about the crook Wennerstrom. Eventually she and Blomkvist meet and she becomes invaluable as he discovers the killer and almost loses his own life. She also deals out a little revenge, for herself and Blomkvist, along the way.

I especially loved Salander. She is as complicated as a character can be, she defies stereotypes, she has had to deal with unspeakable things in her past (some things we don’t get to learn until the second book, The Girl Who Played With Fire, also a fantastic read), and yet she perseveres. I found myself wanting to yell out loud and do a little fist pump during some of her triumphs in the book. Larsson does an unbelievable job taking on the voice of a young girl in her twenties; his sensitivity and insight are at times astonishing.

 About the only thing I could complain about regarding this book is having to figure out how to pronounce the foreign names of the cities and characters. Also, without a working knowledge of the country of Sweden, I found myself confused about what city was where, and how all the locations related to the overall story. Be prepared to stay up late my friends- you will not want to put this book down!

Reading Review: Jane Austen

Sometimes it is necessary to step back from the world speeding ahead of us. We all have our own ways of doing this. Going to the spa, taking a walk or maybe catching a movie. My own peaceful spot of serenity is inside a good Jane Austen novel. Nothing is better than slipping back to a period of friendly courting, esteemed honor, and good old 18th century English “society”. Jane Austen satirizes English society flawlessly through her romantic comedies.


Pride and Prejudice, debatably Austen’s most famous novel, follows Elizabeth Bennett, a witty young country girl. Elizabeth stands out from the majority of the other characters in the book because she is determined to marry for love rather than stature and wealth. Jane Austen proves that Elizabeth is an oddity of sorts by opening the book with a cynical insight to the 18th century view of love. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a gentleman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife!” As Elizabeth’s mother searches for “agreeable” men to marry her daughters, Elizabeth is forced to recognize her own prejudices against a proud man in order to find her true love.


Jane Austen’s, Emma, is perhaps my favorite book of all time. Austen’s title character, Emma, is a rich young girl who has decided her mission in life is to be a matchmaker for her friends and acquaintances (whether they ask for it or not!). Despite her past failures and warning from her brother-in-law, Mr. Knightly, Emma is determined to set her new underprivileged charge up with a man above her station. Along her journey, Emma learns the price of meddling and hopes her chance at love hasn’t passed her by.


Other books by Jane Austen include Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey. What is your favorite Jane Austen Novel?

Grab a latte, put up your feet, and join the discussion!

Reading Review: It’s A Vampire World

What is it about vampires that have all of us women enthralled? If you had asked me even two years ago if I wanted to read a book about a vampire, I would have laughed and said no. 95 % of the books I own are written by Christian authors (mainly Karen Kingsbury). So when my friend and neighbor handed me a copy of Stephenie Meyer’s, Twilight, my expectations were very low. But somehow after the first chapter I was hooked. Not only did I finish Twilight by the end of the next day, but I had finished the entire series within two weeks.


If you think about the most popular vampire series, Twilight, The Southern Vampire Mysteries (TrueBlood), and the Vampire Diaries, you can start to see a connection. Women are falling in love with the thought of true love. A love so true, it lasts for an eternity. However, that theory falls apart when it comes to the House of Night series. This series, written by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast, is completely different than the others, yet just as alluring. The heroine from the House of Night series is not the helpless human girl that we are used to reading about. She is the vampire. She has the power. If this is a series that you have somehow missed, I definitely encourage you to check it out. You won’t be disappointed.


Do you have a book to recommend? Post your suggestions below. Do you have a book you would like to review? Shoot me an email with your review to betweenthelines-kam@hotmail.com and I can post it on the blog.

Grab a latte, put up your feet, and join the discussion!