My Winter Library

I had a goal this winter break to read at least 5 books. Break is now over and I am in the middle of my 5th. I'm pretty proud of myself. The first one I read was a present from my sweet roommate. Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris. Cheesetastic, I'm not going to lie. Maybe it would've been better if I was in a relationship, because it did have some good stuff. I'll probably re-read it in a couple of years if I ever get into a relationship. 2 stars.

The next one was Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Very good.

I loved his first one - Crazy Love, and so was excited to see he had another one. This is about the Holy Spirit, the "forgotten God". 4 1/2 stars.

Next was my personal favorite of the break. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. So good. He wrote Blue Like Jazz a couple of years ago and apparently they are making a movie about it. This book was written while they were in the process of making the movie. Donald's life wasn't exciting enough to make the movie about, so they have to add a lot of things to the plot of the movie. This was a wake up call for him and he explains what he does to fix his boring life in this book. It's all about writing your story and after reading it, I wanted to conquer the world. What I like about Donald Miller is that he is a writer. This sounds silly you may think. What I mean is that Miller is not a Christian who decided he had something to say and wrote about it, like Francis Chan or Joshua Harris, who aren't bad writers, don't get me wrong. But Miller is an actual author. That is his profession. And he just happens to be a Christian too. Would recommend this to anyone. 5 stars.

Next was Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. This one seemed oddly appropriate after Million Miles. There is so much good stuff in here that I don't really know how to summarize it. Basically, don't waste your life. Simple enough. Don't get caught up in the "American Dream", but don't quit your job just to be more 'godly' and join a ministry. Your job is your ministry. Good stuff. 4 1/2 stars.

And the one I am just getting into is in no way Christian or spiritual. Which I kind of like. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, but it has intrigued me so far. I haven't seen the movie, so I have no idea what happens, but everyone has told me that it is extremely sad. Oh great.

All of my reading from here on out will be my textbooks. Which is not a bad thing. I go to Bible School.

I amsterdam

When asked what ministry I would do if no money was holding me back, I said I would love to run some sort of boarding house where people could come in and out and I could take care of them and it would be all about relationships. "Kind of like a hostel?" Yes, kind of like a hostel. I was then told about a hostel in Amsterdam that is operated by Christians. You can work at this hostel for one month to three months to even a year. The workers put in 5 or 6 hours at either the front desk or in the kitchen and then the rest of the day is open. Most people choose to stay at the hostel to talk to the guests lodging there, or take one to coffee, or perhaps travel on bike to the nearest city. I was hooked from the moment I heard about it. I didn't really know anything about Amsterdam so I've begun researching. Did you know that prostitution is legal in Amsterdam?

And that most "coffee" shops are actually places people exchange drugs? Maybe you've heard of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, but I never had. It is the place where all of the prostitutes live. And all of the tourists come to gawk. It is literally lit up with red lights at night. Women sit in the windows and wait for men to come into their room. 79% of the women in prostitution in Amsterdam are not there by choice. This is human sex trafficking. There is an organization called "The Scarlet Cord" that is working in the lives of these prostitutes. They walk on the streets and reach out to these women, girls, who are selling their bodies and show them the love of Christ. They have a mentoring program for when these girls do come out of prostitution, but have no where to go and no one to talk to. The mentors get them set up in a church community and take care of these broken women.

Lord willing, I want to be a part of showing these women the worth they have in Christ. Please pray for Amsterdam and the women in prostitution there. Pray that they will be rescued.

Back on Board

I was one of those little girls who always wanted to keep a diary and got all the pretty ones and the matching pens and faithfully started writing in it. One week later and I was done with it. I guess the same goes for this little blog. Well, I'm here to tell you that I've been working on my faithfulness and perhaps this is a good thing for me to do - a test of self-discipline. So here goes.