Happy Monday Guys :)
It's been longer since my last post than I intended it to be, and for that I do apologize.
Unfortunately, I've been taking some things more to heart than I should have, and as such, I haven't really felt like doing much of anything the last week. I mentioned in my last couple of posts that I was dealing with some drama in my personal life, and it just hasn't gotten any better. Without giving away too many of the details, as I'm not the type of person that likes gossiping and causing extra drama, I've basically been at the receiving end of negative treatment by people I've always been really close to. This has been going on for far too long, and I finally came to the conclusion this past week that if I constantly have to change who I am to please them, then maybe it's time to stop trying, and realize that if they're never going to like me for who I truly am, then there's nothing I can personally do to change that, and it's time to stop beating myself up over it.
A popular saying that I'm sure most of us have all heard is that when God closes one door, he opens another, and that definitely became clear to me this weekend. I've been spending a lot of time inside my house just hanging out with my hubby, but on Friday my mother in law invited me to go plant shopping at the local greenhouses with her. I love my mother in law, but in the almost eight years that Neil and I have been together, her and I have actually never done anything just the two of us. Usually Neil and I always go together, so this was definitely something different, and I had such an amazing time. It was like the eye opener I needed that there's other people who care, and if you're so wrapped up with the ones you're trying to impress, you might just miss out on some amazing times with the people who should be getting your time and energy.
Lol I know that was the longest introduction to a book review ever, but it's actually going to all tie in with the biggest message I took away from the book.
I grew up reading Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series, and honestly, Katie Weldon was always one of my favorite characters throughout them both. However, for some reason I never got around to reading her personal series. A few months ago though, I picked up the first book in the Christy and Todd The Married Years series, and realized I'd missed a lot of what was happening with the forever friends since I hadn't read Katie's stories yet, and that was finally the nudge I needed to catch back up with one of my favorite book besties growing up.
Peculiar Treasures: The Katie Weldon Series Number 1 by Robin Jones Gunn:
Source: Library
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: March 30th, 2008
My Review:
Katie Weldon is definitely different from her best friend Christy Miller. She's always been loud, full of life, and slightly accident prone, and she grew up knowing she wasn't a truly welcome addition to her family. As well, her road to discovering Jesus was a lot different than her friends, but now she considers her forever friends her true Christian "family", and she's worked hard to get to this point in her life: her senior year of college, and finally moving in the direction of being able to define her relationship with her longtime crush, Rick.
Katie's always known that life seldom works out the way we want it too, and that becomes even more apparent for her as her senior year of college fast approaches. Christy and Todd are married and settling into their lives together, Doug and Tracy have welcomed their first baby, and Katie's left feeling a tad out of place. On top of all that, she's reached a crossroads in her life where she honestly has no idea what she wants to be "when she grows up" and having to declare her major has her seriously stressing out.
Life adds even more craziness to the table when she's offered an RA position for one of her school's dorms, which seems like a dream come true, but might end up sacrificing the progress that her and Rick have made with their friendship. All in all, Katie's about to learn that God has a plan for her no matter what, and that she will always be one of his "peculiar treasures."
Katie's story was honestly such a pleasure to read. Her upbringing was so different from the other forever friend's stories, and I found myself glued to each page. Katie's always had such a big heart, and sometimes likes to jump in without truly thinking about the consequences. I wasn't Rick's biggest fan in the earlier books, but I definitely think his character has been redeemed in this one, and I loved how he and Katie are determined to think everything through, and wait for God's direction, instead of jumping into something that neither is ready for.
However, my absolute favorite part of this book is how Robin Jones Gunn used the Bible verse Exodus 19:5 as the basis for the whole story "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine." Katie struggles throughout this book with feelings that she doesn't belong, and doesn't know how to fit in among all these people who's journey to their faith was so different from hers, however she needs only to remember that no matter what she's one of God's "peculiar treasures", and He loves her in a way that no one else could ever compare too.
Robin Jones Gunn has created another heart warming, thought provoking, faith filled journey in the Katie Weldon series, and I honestly cannot wait to continue on with the next three stories. I gave this one four out of five stars, and it really helped me with everything I was going through at the time. I may not be how everyone wants me to be, but I'm one of God's peculiar treasures, and that's good enough for me.
I thank you guys all so much for reading, and I'll see you all on Wednesday for a fun book tag I'm excited to do.
This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
It's been longer since my last post than I intended it to be, and for that I do apologize.
Unfortunately, I've been taking some things more to heart than I should have, and as such, I haven't really felt like doing much of anything the last week. I mentioned in my last couple of posts that I was dealing with some drama in my personal life, and it just hasn't gotten any better. Without giving away too many of the details, as I'm not the type of person that likes gossiping and causing extra drama, I've basically been at the receiving end of negative treatment by people I've always been really close to. This has been going on for far too long, and I finally came to the conclusion this past week that if I constantly have to change who I am to please them, then maybe it's time to stop trying, and realize that if they're never going to like me for who I truly am, then there's nothing I can personally do to change that, and it's time to stop beating myself up over it.
A popular saying that I'm sure most of us have all heard is that when God closes one door, he opens another, and that definitely became clear to me this weekend. I've been spending a lot of time inside my house just hanging out with my hubby, but on Friday my mother in law invited me to go plant shopping at the local greenhouses with her. I love my mother in law, but in the almost eight years that Neil and I have been together, her and I have actually never done anything just the two of us. Usually Neil and I always go together, so this was definitely something different, and I had such an amazing time. It was like the eye opener I needed that there's other people who care, and if you're so wrapped up with the ones you're trying to impress, you might just miss out on some amazing times with the people who should be getting your time and energy.
Lol I know that was the longest introduction to a book review ever, but it's actually going to all tie in with the biggest message I took away from the book.
I grew up reading Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series, and honestly, Katie Weldon was always one of my favorite characters throughout them both. However, for some reason I never got around to reading her personal series. A few months ago though, I picked up the first book in the Christy and Todd The Married Years series, and realized I'd missed a lot of what was happening with the forever friends since I hadn't read Katie's stories yet, and that was finally the nudge I needed to catch back up with one of my favorite book besties growing up.
Peculiar Treasures: The Katie Weldon Series Number 1 by Robin Jones Gunn:
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: March 30th, 2008
My Review:
Katie Weldon is definitely different from her best friend Christy Miller. She's always been loud, full of life, and slightly accident prone, and she grew up knowing she wasn't a truly welcome addition to her family. As well, her road to discovering Jesus was a lot different than her friends, but now she considers her forever friends her true Christian "family", and she's worked hard to get to this point in her life: her senior year of college, and finally moving in the direction of being able to define her relationship with her longtime crush, Rick.
Katie's always known that life seldom works out the way we want it too, and that becomes even more apparent for her as her senior year of college fast approaches. Christy and Todd are married and settling into their lives together, Doug and Tracy have welcomed their first baby, and Katie's left feeling a tad out of place. On top of all that, she's reached a crossroads in her life where she honestly has no idea what she wants to be "when she grows up" and having to declare her major has her seriously stressing out.
Life adds even more craziness to the table when she's offered an RA position for one of her school's dorms, which seems like a dream come true, but might end up sacrificing the progress that her and Rick have made with their friendship. All in all, Katie's about to learn that God has a plan for her no matter what, and that she will always be one of his "peculiar treasures."
Katie's story was honestly such a pleasure to read. Her upbringing was so different from the other forever friend's stories, and I found myself glued to each page. Katie's always had such a big heart, and sometimes likes to jump in without truly thinking about the consequences. I wasn't Rick's biggest fan in the earlier books, but I definitely think his character has been redeemed in this one, and I loved how he and Katie are determined to think everything through, and wait for God's direction, instead of jumping into something that neither is ready for.
However, my absolute favorite part of this book is how Robin Jones Gunn used the Bible verse Exodus 19:5 as the basis for the whole story "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine." Katie struggles throughout this book with feelings that she doesn't belong, and doesn't know how to fit in among all these people who's journey to their faith was so different from hers, however she needs only to remember that no matter what she's one of God's "peculiar treasures", and He loves her in a way that no one else could ever compare too.
Robin Jones Gunn has created another heart warming, thought provoking, faith filled journey in the Katie Weldon series, and I honestly cannot wait to continue on with the next three stories. I gave this one four out of five stars, and it really helped me with everything I was going through at the time. I may not be how everyone wants me to be, but I'm one of God's peculiar treasures, and that's good enough for me.
I thank you guys all so much for reading, and I'll see you all on Wednesday for a fun book tag I'm excited to do.
This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
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