Unwind, Unwholly, and UnSouled

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

More dystopian fiction--I seem to be in a rut here.  But two friends have repeatedly recommended this series, so I thought I should check it out.

What if there was a huge war between pro-life and pro-choice groups and the eventual peace treaty/compromise provided a way for children to be "unwound" and their body parts used for transplants between the ages of 13-18?  This is Shusterman's premise, and his story of a few characters running to escape their fate.

I didn't love this book, but the characterization was good enough that I wanted to read #2 to see what happens to Lev, Connor, and Risa.


UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

I wasn't thrilled with the first installment in this series, but kept reading for the characterization and I'm glad I did!  Book two was significantly better than book one.

Shusterman introduces his book with "Wishing you a nail-biting, sleep-depriving, thought-provoking read!", and he delivered on all three accounts.  I love dystopian literature, it always makes me think.  A good dystopian writer can take a philosophy held by people in our current world and take it to its extreme consequence, leaving the reader shuddering at the possibilities.

A few quotes I enjoyed:
"The whole place is a petri dish of angst, generated by kids whose parents gave up on them, which is the worst kind of angst there is" (23).

Of the compilation of the parts of many people:  "'Eventually your body will learn the alliances it has to make with itself,' Kenny had said--as if Cam was a factory full of strike-prone workers, or worse, a clutch of slaves forced into unwanted labor" (56).

"The sad truth about humanity is that people believe what they're told.  Maybe not the first time, but by the hundredth time, the craziest of ideas just becomes a given" (86)

"With the failure of the public school system, the nation was overrun by teenagers out of work, out of school, and with nothing to do even before the war. . .One side claimed the ferals were created by the collapse of family values, while the other side claimed the ferals were a product of rigid beliefs that no longer met the world's needs.  Both sides were right.  Both sides were wrong--but it didn't matter when people were terrified to go into the streets at night from fear of their own kids" (123).

"Does a sick society get so used to its illness that it can't remember being well?  What if the memory is too dangerous for the people who like things the way they are?" (255)

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

Number three in the Unwind series and I continued to enjoy it very much. The characterization of this series is really quite good, and I think the plot just keeps getting better as each new book unwraps another layer.

The pursuit of money becomes more important than the value of life and the harvesting of body parts leads to the creation of a "super human" when a scientist's discovery for good is taken over by those who have evil plans.

Shusterman challenges the reader to consider previously held views and inserts his perspectives in clever little phrases throughout the book such as:

"It never ceases to amaze Starkey how far society will go to protect the children it loves and to discard the ones it doesn't" (109).

"How can she not see that when you are defined, you lose the ability to define yourself?  In the end he will become that definition.  He will become a thing" (215).

I just downloaded the last two books onto my Kindle from the Wilbor (free ebook library) site and am hoping for a leisurely Sunday afternoon to see what happens to the characters I've come to know.

Raising Real Men

Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys by Hal Young

I was pleasantly surprised by Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young.  I've owned the book for almost two years, but just never felt like reading it.  I've read so many books about raising boys in the last 17ish years, and couldn't seem to get excited about reading another one.

But I actually think this is one of the better books about rearing boys that I've found.  It's easy to read, the writing is conversational in style, and they address both practical and philosophical points.  One of my favorite chapters was entitled "Who's in Charge Here" and was about leadership.  It highlighted both the struggles young men have with submitting to authority and the need for them to rise to servant leadership in a way that they can "carry the burden of leadership without creating a dictatorship of 'me'" (98) and I think I'm going to have Destry read this chapter.

As a believer in everyone pitching in to make the household run, I especially liked their admonition that "every job in the Air Force was meant to support the larger purpose" (191), so it isn't just Mom and the girls' job to take care of housework.  They further supported their point with I Samuel 30:24 and say "any service that advances the family's mission is worthwhile and needs to be valued" (192).  I think this is especially relevant as I've seen some families so concerned with making their boys be "men" (read "manly") that they relegate all household maintenance to the women and end up with lazy, inconsiderate slobs.

Now as my firstborn son approaches independent manhood (he'll be 18 in just four short months), I really got a lot out of the last couple chapters about launching arrows.  "This is why we work to raise real men.  There is a time to protect our sons and a time for them to start protecting others.  There is a time to teach and disciple and control the influences our sons face, then there is a time for them to instruct others and to meet those influences and conquer them" (230).  We're in this season.

I was convicted by Hal's admonition to Melanie "If you don't have time for devotions, you don't have time for school" (132) as I have been remiss this year in putting our Bible study time after academic studies.  I need to get my priorities back into shape.

A couple other quotes I liked:

"If he hasn't faced the trial yet, or he's in the midst of it--encourage him.  If he's been to the wars and is limping home wounded--comfort him.  Once the wounds are bound up, encourage him to rise and face the fight again" (54).

"God made men to be warriors, some with sword, some with the pen, all with the will to resist temptation and strive for righteousness" (78).

I'm glad I finally pulled this one off the bookshelf and can cross it off my TBR Pile Challenge.  It was well worth reading, and a couple of the chapters were especially beneficial in this season.

Involved in Working and Serving

Briana's dream job is coming to an end in less than a month.  She has been working in the state capitol for a representative during this legislative session, and she has been loving every minute of it.

Last week was "Homeschool Day at the Capitol" and our family got to go see Briana at her work, in "Briana's capitol", as the younger children call it.  She brought us into the house chambers and we got to see her desk, meet her boss, and meet several other representatives she interacts with daily.

While there, we also got a picture of our entire family with our local representative, who Briana inspired us all to help with his re-election this past year.

I am very proud of Briana for her work ethic, for setting this goal to get this clerking position and attaining it, and for the reputation she has developed with her co-workers.

I am also very proud of her for the way she has jumped in and contributed in ways beyond just doing her job.  The capitol workers sponsored a drive to raise supplies for a safehouse for victims of domestic abuse.  In her few hours at home, Briana made two quilts, one for a baby and one for a young child, to donate to this safehouse (I wish I had taken a picture of them, but I didn't think of it then).  She also volunteered to be in a choir which is performing at a memorial for a state representative this coming week.

It just pleases me so much to see her jumping in and getting involved, to see her doing more than the minimum, to see her doing what she can to help and serve others without any expectation of a reward or payment for herself.

She is also getting to know several other people, including these clerks with whom she got to experience a trip up into the very top tip of the capitol dome.  This was just one of many highlights of her experience, and I've loved watching her grow and spread her wings these past few months.

It's What You Do

What are you doing these days?  I decided to have fun with a meme I saw on Stephanie's blog (instead of writing the guest post I should be writing--because it's not due until April 15 and why would I do anything early?!).

AS FOR ME, I'M:

realizing Briana and Destry will be out on their own before I know it.  More and more often, we have just four children with us when we go places.  Wondering if we've made the best use of the time we've had.

checking the calendar multiple times a day.  April is always full of opportunities, and I have to keep checking what dates are available while deciding what all we can handle.

remembering why I'm doing what I do.  It's easy to get caught up in the day-in and day-out of homeschooling, but we had a Moms' Night Out meeting of homeschooling moms last week and I was reminded that it's all about pointing my children to their Savior and keeping their hearts.  Academics are important, I'm not saying they aren't, but they aren't the MOST important.

reading several books at once, as usual.  I'm reading Great Expectations with Destry for literature, Unwind on the recommendation of a couple friends, and trying to finish Raising Real Men.  We also have one week left on our book study of The Prodigal God.

anticipating homeschool conference season.  I'm a homeschool conference junkie!  Alan and I are going to one in Kansas City the end of this month, and then a good friend and I are going to the conference in Des Moines.  Two is always better than one!

watching Aryana learn something new each day.  She stands up in the middle of the floor, but has yet to take her first steps.  She'll be one next week!

trying to write in my subject journal at least 3-4 times a week.  A good friend shared her Bible study journal which is divided into subjects, and I couldn't resist pulling one together for myself.  I think it's the neatest idea, to study a subject off and on and build my understanding "line upon line, precept upon precept".

cooking has been scarce of late.  I have been using several freezer meals lately, but Briana and I just worked up a new menu plan and went grocery shopping.  Some tasty meals in our near future will include Cranberry Mushroom Brisket and Lamb Roast with Plum Sauce.  I'm actually ready to cook something yummy again, and a plan always makes me feel better.

eating at Bonefish Grill with my husband and our friends, the Knights, this weekend because we got coupons! Yummy!

looking at colleges.  Destry has visited UMKC (Kansas City, MO) and Drake University (Des Moines, IA) He still wants to check out the University of Iowa (Iowa City) and Indiana University (Indianapolis).  He's interested in music, music, music (what else?!).

Destry dominated the teen boy races last year, hat and all

Kiana's softball throw last year

planning our upcoming Homeschool Track and Field Day. It's always lots of fun for the kids and most of our local homeschool community participates, which makes it a fun end-of-the year wrap up.

Tyrell's race (he's to the right)

sharing my home.  Freezer cooking, hosting a party to welcome new friends, hosting the book study of The Prodigal God, hosting a planning meeting for the Track and Field Day.  I tell the kids to pick things up and they immediately ask "Who's coming over?"  That's what our home is for, right?  (and it does help keep things picked up!)

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Wow, what a weird book!  I read it rather compulsively as the story and the narrator's voice sucked me in.  But the ending!  I'm so mad. . .

This is a dystopian novel, a genre I really enjoy.  They always freak me out a little bit, and make me wonder if I would notice my freedoms being taken away (hello! It's happening all around me!) as well as question whether I would be brave enough to stand up.

This book seems to be making a simultaneous point about both extreme feminism and extreme patriarchy.  I am fascinated by each of the characters, and would love to chat this one out with someone!

Welcome New Friends

It was just over three years ago that we were the new homeschoolers in town.  We know what it's like to move to a place where we don't know anyone, and where our children, especially, have no friends.

So when I met a new homeschooling family with three boys ages 13, 11, and 8 and one almost-3-year-old girl, I could relate to the story she told of these last few months meeting younger homeschoolers with children 8 and under, but the difficulty in finding friends for her older two boys.  Several of our friends have boys these ages, so we decided to have a party and introduce our "old" friends to our "new" friends.  (Good excuse, right?!)

We negotiated a price for some pizzas from a local pizza place as life has been crazy and I needed to plan a menu, grocery shop, AND cook in order to make the food.  This time, we went with easy.  I include this detail to remind you that practicing hospitality doesn't have to be about going all out with delicacies.  Or about cleaning your house.

We picked up toys, swept the kitchen and dining room, and vacuumed the living room floor.  No kidding--that's all we did.

Anyway, the plan was to eat pizza, play a few minute-to-win-it games to "break the ice", and then let everyone break into their groups (adults, teens, young boys, young girls) to play games and visit.

The guests of honor, Matt and Tami, playing Face the Cookie in which you have one minute to move the sandwich cookie from your forehead into your mouth using only your facial muscles:

Our friends Aaron and Rachel:

And some other friends, Brian and Cheryl:

Cheryl won the adult round.

We also played Baby Blocker, in which you have one minute to balance a plate on your head, then build a tower out of five blocks and get it all to balance.

The younger children had a really hard time with this, but the teens and adults were able to do it more easily.

 Finally, we played the classic game which makes everyone laugh and laugh--Bite Me, in which you have one minute to pick up five sacks of varying heights (2", 4", 6", 8", and 10") with your mouth.  The only part of your body which can touch the floor is your feet.

This is the game the adults have a harder time with, but the kids find easy.  I'm not including the pictures of the adults who tried, although Alan and Matt both accomplished this game.  I think a 13-year-old boy was the final winner of this game as he completed the challenge in only 6 seconds.  Destry was right behind him with a 7-second time.

I can tell Tami is going to be a great friend to have, because when I shared the party idea with her, she asked if she could bring supplies for the kids to make little houses out of graham crackers and icing and some peeps and eggs to go inside. What a great and fun idea!

We ended up doing these right after supper, which was a perfect ice breaker for all the kids to get to know one another while working together on a project and before playing the Minute-to-Win-It games.

Even all the teenagers (3 girls and 4 boys ages 13-19) got in on the fun.

8 adults + 23 children + pizza + dessert craft + games + laughter = 

a night to remember and friendships made.

The Pursuit of God

(My review is also posted on Carrie's blog, but I include it here to find more easily later.)

A.W. Tozer wrote The Pursuit of God in one night while riding a Pullman train on his way from Chicago to speak in Texas.  He sequestered himself in his roomette, refused all food but some toast and tea, and "wrote all night long, this thing coming as fast to his heart as he could write, and when they pulled into the station, about 7:30 the next morning, at McAllen, Texas, that book was finished and all he had in front of him was just the Bible. . .Beginning with publication in 1948 and continuing for well over a half century, this book has inspired and encouraged pastors and missionaries, as well as a wide range of devout men and women with hearts after God" (A Passion for God, Dorsett, 120).

In the introduction Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer, an author, evangelist, and leader in the Reformed Church of America, describes the book as "theology not of the head but of the heart" (7).  Zwemer also described the book as "a masterly study of the inner life by a heart thirsting after God, eager to grasp at least the outskirts of His ways, the abyss of His love for sinners, and the height of His unapproachable majesty" (6).

Biographer Lyle Dorsett described The Pursuit of God as "one of the most striking manifestations of the truth that if a man will concern himself with the depth of his ministry, the Holy Spirit will take care of the breadth" (121) which certainly seems true as I consider the wide-spread, interdenominational, and enduring fame this admittedly deep book has achieved.

I have heard many references to The Pursuit of God, have always wanted to read it, and can now finally say I have read it.  That may be about all I can claim, however, as I'm not sure I can speak intelligently about it after only one reading.  I didn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped to.  I found it difficult to read as I wasn't always sure what point he was trying to make. After plowing through several pages, I would finally think "Oh!  That's where he was going", which was frustrating.  As a busy homeschooling mom with a baby (read: sleep-deprived!), however, I'm willing to concede that might have been my problem and not his.

I find it an interesting parallel that I actually enjoyed Dorsett's biography of Tozer more than I enjoyed Tozer's writings.  Just as Tozer himself longed to more fully know God the more he read God's Word, so I also found myself more curious about Tozer as I read his writing.

There were many very good lessons in his writing, of course, but I'll try to limit myself to highlighting only three of them.  One of my favorites was his assertion that individual personal growth toward Christ is more unifying than people purposing to compromise for the sake of unity.

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.  So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.  Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified.  The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier.  The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life" (53).

I also really appreciated his chapter  about meekness leading to rest based on Matthew 11:28-29.  Coming to Jesus, giving Him our burdens of pride, pretense, and artificiality, frees us from worrying about ourselves all the time--what people think of us and where we stand in relation to others.  "Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is His method.  The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. . .he has stopped being fooled about himself.  He has accepted God's estimate of his own life" (61).  "Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed.  Only an evil desire to shine makes us want to appear other than we are. . .The rest he offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend" (63).  That is profound insight, in my opinion, and a different application from those verses than I've ever heard or considered before.



Finally, I found this the scariest passage in his book: "Current evangelicalism has laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that THERE IS NOT A SIGN OF FIRE upon the top of lofty Carmel. But God be thanked that there are a few who care. They are those who, while they love the altar and delight in the sacrifice, are yet unable to reconcile themselves to the continued absense of fire. They desire God above all" (8). (emphasis mine).


While I understand the concerns some have expressed about how we shouldn't "attack" the church, I also remember God sending prophets of old to His people with stern warnings (far more scathing than Tozer's) in order to bring them back to Him. I never got the impression that Tozer feared the church would fizzle out or become unusable, but rather that he was calling us to a higher level, to desiring God above all else and not contenting ourselves with the prescribed procedures of church services. While not all congregations of the Lord's people have this challenge, I have seen some for whom I would share Tozer's concern that they might be religiously "straining at gnats" with "never a care that there is not a sign of fire". Unfortunately, we humans are quick to become complacent or to substitute rules for God's presence, and thankfully God equips people, through His Word and Spirit, to bring us back to Him.


I'm out of space (and likely your indulgence!) to linger in his chapter about the "blessed poor no longer being slaves to the tyranny of things" as they have "rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing" (17), although I would love to discuss it more.


So I will end with the hope Tozer also expressed, that we each will "get still to wait on God. . .alone, preferably with our Bible outspread before us" (45). I would also invite you to read the biography Dorsett wrote about Tozer. I thoroughly enjoyed it. He had the respect and admiration of the leaders of his day, particularly in the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination of which he was a part. They identified him as a transparent and meek man who "loved the Bible and unflinchingly preached what he believed people needed to hear, regardless of what they wanted" (Dorsett, 17), and a man who "truly knew Jesus Christ rather than just knew what the Bible recorded about Him" (103). While some might criticize him for being self-educated, I personally am an admirer of lifelong learners and believe that seminary is far from necessary for one to adequately share God's Word which is all we need to learn "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). Like John Wesley, he was a "man of One Book, but the student of many", and his biography details many books he read. He was an imperfect instrument, of course, and I found it very sad to read of his wife's and children's hurts as they were pushed to the background in his quest for deeper intimacy with God yet "he had no inkling that his zeal for God's house was undermining his own" (109). I think this is yet another lesson we can learn from his life, in addition to the lessons he voiced.


While I didn't agree with every word in this book, I would like to read it again for I think it's a book to be carefully mined and not casually read. This is the first book I have read by Tozer, and I hope to someday read another. What would you recommend?