Goodbye June, Welcome July!

Hello! 

Today I wanted to summarize the month, and I welcome you to share some of the things that happened in your lives this month. 

The major events that happened this month are these: I moved into a new apartment with a roommate, I started blogging and writing again, and toward the end of the month, I was offered a job editing for a Christian missionary magazine. Fun things! There were some hard things too, but I don't want to go into too much detail on that. 

Bible Verse of the Month

This verse is very meaningful to me. It was written on the Bible cover I received when I was 12, and I memorized it and even pained it on my bedroom wall as a teenager (with permission, of course). 

The verse is in the middle of probably the saddest book in the Bible. The author is crying out to God about how horrible everything is - his city is being pillaged by marauders, and thousands of people are being horrifically killed, mistreated, and/or carried off as slaves. And the author cries about the suffering. But in the middle of all the pain, the author says: 

Even in the middle of horrible circumstances, the author of Lamentations clings to God’s promises, faithfulness, and love, because those things never change. 

My life hasn’t been nearly as bad as that writer’s, but some hard things have been happening in my life as well as all over the world. But this verse is the reminder that our God is still here and still faithful. I’ve quoted it to myself many times for encouragement, and I hope it will encourage you as well.

Books Finished

I read or listened to 19 books in June. Here are my top 2: 

A Mosaic of Wings by Kimberly Duffy

Set in the 1880s, this book is a mix of romance and coming-of-age, featuring a young American woman who loves entomology. Half of the book takes place in India, which was fascinating to read about and transformational for the main character who began to see the struggles of others, not just herself. Feminism was also a huge theme -- imagine, a woman in the 1880s going to college to study insects, of all things, and doing a professional internship overseas? How dare she! Much more could be said about this book and its contents. Overall, it was very well-done. 

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley

Spindle's End is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea because of the slow, roundabout way it was told, but I really enjoyed it. It was rich with detail, a masterfully created storyworld with much humor woven into its telling. The ending was somewhat unexpected, and I always love it when plot twists catch me by surprise since it happens so rarely. I want to buy it now and reread it - and read everything else the author wrote! So yes, definitely a new favorite.

And if you’re interested, these are all the rest of the books I read. They're all good (though Pegasus ends on an eternal cliffhanger), so check them out!

         

         

   

    

Words Written

As I briefly mentioned at the top, but I am working on writing a book. It is a Christian portal fantasy. I haven’t been terribly motivated to write these past (cough) years, and wasn’t getting anywhere. But I joined the Go Teen Writers 100 for 100 challenge, and have been writing at least 100 words per day throughout the month of June. I have a couple accountability partners, and the challenge is pulling out my tiny competitive streak. So the grand total of words I wrote on the story (and a few odds and ends) this month is: 

16,750 words