It pays to be a book junkie...

Confession: I read a ridiculous amount of books. When Bri and I moved out here to San Diego, we had to buy two MORE bookshelves, added to the 3 I already brought from MO. Sadly, I left another one full of books and a few boxes of them back at my parents house! Before the books took over our small abode and ate us, my wonderful Father-in-law bought me a Kindle. If you don’t know what a Kindle is, first of all, shame on you for being more out of the loop in the digital age than I am, and second of all, GO BUY ONE! It holds up to 1500 books and has saved my poor husband from having to sit among piles of books, and from going broke. I’ve yet to buy a book that was more than 9.99 and most of them cost me over 15 at B&N! I’ve read 16 novels in the past 5 months and am almost done with #17. Needless to say, Brian loooves my Kindle too.

What on earth do I read you ask? Well, I try to mostly fill my head with things that encourage me and keep my thoughts on the right track… so I’ve read almost everything written by; Phillip Yancey, Beth Moore, C.S. Lewis, Terri Blackstock, Brandilyn Collins, Francine Rivers, etc. I’m not a total Nun, so I also must admit to having read every single book written by Nicholas Sparks, and sadly, the entire Twilight & Harry Potter Series (Gasp!)

Every so often a book really hits home, and after reading Francine Rivers’ The Scarlet Thread, boy was I feeling convicted! I should tell you that it takes a LOT to convict me… I’m a bit ornery.

It’s no secret to my close friends/family that when Bri and I first got out here, and even in recent days that I was angry to be out here in So Cal and so far away from my wonderful friends and family. I could go on and on about the daily discoveries that made me cringe to be here … and I know what you’re thinking… “You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!” Well as many times as I heard that when I first got out here… I swear I was about to smack someone. Seriously. The fact that I pay TWICE what the mortgage payment is for a 4 bedroom house, two car garage and a YARD for a 2 bed/2 bath apartment is something I struggle to swallow daily. The people here are different, there aren’t the same stores as back home, the same laws, the same weather (I sure miss a good thunder storm once in a while!) It costs twice what it costs to fly from a coast to the Midwest as it costs to fly most other places, so getting back to visit MO became where every penny I made went. The conservative churches here are scarce, I was sweating in a tank top on Halloween, I pay $240 to register my car EVERY year… need I go on? Besides all that, even when I escaped my small abode to sit on the beach and remind myself how amazing this opportunity is, I’d end up sitting in a puddle of my own tears feeling homesick for my family.

My point? God’s got me here for a REASON! Duh. Ten months later, it took reading about the two strong-willed ladies in Francine’s book to finally hammer that into my thick head! The minute I started reading about the first character being uprooted from her home and family and moving for her husband’s new job, I was seriously angry at the husbands character! Can you imagine? I’m sitting there on the couch telling my husband what a jerk I think the character is! Dense huh? The more I read, the more I realized that the longer the characters begrudgingly went, and took out their anger on their husbands, the more MISERABLE they were. It took literally decades for the two characters to figure this out… and I found myself desperately wanting to AVOID a lifetime of misery, simply because I was too stubborn to accept that THIS is where God’s got me right now and I better make the best of it. Not only is it about “making the best of it” but I think it’s about letting God use me for his purposes wherever I am… not where I think I should be to start my life. As of today, that purpose is volunteering in the children’s ministry at our church; Daybreak, honing my domestic skills and being open to whatever God’s got for me next! The funny thing is, when I finally realized this, things started seeming a whole lot better out here on the Sunny west coast… shocking I know.

This post is obviously a bit deeper than my typical “Here’s a recipe” posts, but this realization has been a long time coming and boy am I thankful that it’s finally sinking in! Kinda makes me want to shout it from my patio, but then the neighbors would just add another strike against us crazy Midwesterners… better not do that!

I hope this blesses ya’ll!

Love,
Candace