I Just Graduated...Now What?

"I just graduated...now what?" I'm sure that is a question a lot of graduates ask after they complete college. They are stepping into a new world and unforeseen territory. So...what happens next?

Katherine Schwarzenegger has brought to us a collection of stories. This was not was I was expecting. I thought it was going to be some manual on how to look for, get, and keep a career. Instead I got something surprisingly different.

Can I just be honest for one second?

I was kind of disappointed in this book. Not going to sugar coat it. We all can't be pleased with things we read, or feel personally attacked because someone doesn't like what we say. Aren't we entitled to an opinion?

It is a collection of people; from celebrities to politicians. It shows their stories from where they graduated and with what major and how that stepping stone moved them into their lives they have now. A lot of them took VERY different paths than what they originally graduated with.

While that's all well and good, I could have found very similar stories with people that I know in my own community. I didn't need "famous" people to tell me how they "got famous".

I'm not saying that's bad either. Some people will feel encouraged by these stories. I just personally didn't.

**NOTE: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest review. All thoughts are mine.***

Lovology

What does love really mean?

"Love is a noun and a verb."
"'Love' is a junk drawer we dump all sorts of ideas into, just because we don't have anywhere else to put them. Example, I 'love' God, I 'love' fish tacos. See the problem?"

John Mark Comer has a way to reach the human heart and mind. Some might find some of the things he says as crass (example would be when talking about the desire for porn he says "jacking off"), but honestly, he is using lingo that many people use in every day talk.

He helps us see what love is. From God coming to Earth as a human, to gay relationships. And everything else in between during a relationship about a man and his wife. They are your friend, partner, and lover.

I love when "Christian" authors aren't afraid to talk about sex and marriage and how they are so important and entwined. GOD MADE IT. It's NOT a taboo. After all, Song of Songs is a love poem dedicated to a man and a woman and their romance and desire for each other. I grew up in a home where sex was NOT talked about and was told how 'bad' it really is. I have a very open relationship with a man that has become my best friend and we have a long distance relationship. While we may not have the physical implication between us, we do have very intimate talks about sex. He is the only one that I have felt safe talking about things like that. I don't feel embarrassed. I think that is what God wants for us when we find our mate.

Also, I love how John Mark talks about singleness as being a gift. I remember for the longest time wanting to get married and have children. I still do, but at the same time, that intense waiting was the WORST! But, the waiting brought a very special man in my life as well a stronger relationship with God.

This book is for everyone: single, engaged, married, gay/straight. We are all in need of love. And this book reminds us what it is to love and be loved.

On the down note, the only thing that I had a hard time with was the pink pages with white writing. once my eyes adjusted to it, it was a shock to switch from the pink to a plain page! But over all, this was a very quick read and suggest it to everyone.

Burning Sky

Based during the 1700's, Willa Obenchain was a fourteen year old girl abducted by Mohawks and taken as a captive and was given the name Burning Sky. She married a warrior, has children. When her husband and children die, she decides to return to her family. But will they remember her?

Burning sky is a stunning story about heartache, struggle, and love. It is a story of real hurts and pains and you relate well with the characters. The visualization of the land and the people draw you in and create a story around you. There is beauty in knowing that from the ashes we can rise again.

Accidental Pharisees

My pastor read this book and presented it to our congregation. He said this was a challenging book. This is coming from a pastor who has read lots of different types of material. So I was happy to see that this was a BookSneeze selection. 

I agree with Pastor. It was a challenging read. It got right to the heart of things and dug in deep. Deep into scripture, deep into your heart, deep into your soul and really made you think about things. I liked the Discussion sections at the end of the each Part. This is a real eye-opening book and if you are ready to take a deep breath, jump off the cliff and learn more about God, yourself, your faith...then I suggest reading this. If you are ready to look in the mirror and acknowledge who you are, then this is the book for you. No turning back. 

Finding God in the Dark

Who hasn't been hurt by someone? Who hasn't felt the sting of doubt, fear, condemnation, guilt? I'm sure all of us can relate to something that has happened in our life where we have felt lost, alone, and in despair. I'm sure there have been plenty of times where you have felt like God wasn't around- especially when you needed Him to be.

Finding God in the Dark is a great book about learning to seek God when things don't seem to be going the way that you had your life planned to be going. I appreciate the men sharing their personal life struggles and feelings in the book. I enjoy reading books like this; it helps "bring it home" and make it more personal. The writing is easy and is a fairly quick read. It is written in a way that anyone would be able to understand. You don't need to be a philosophical genius to be able to read this and understand what God wants for you. 

Quiet

Ok. I am an introvert. I know I am. I am very quiet and reserved when I am around people who do not know me.

I was really excited to read this book. Maybe it was just me, but I felt bored with it. It was very much like reading a textbook. Not something I wanted to do in my spare time at the moment while I am reading textbook after textbook. But I pressed on. And with little luck and motivation, I found it very dull and boring. I'm sorry to say, that I was not able to finish it. Maybe I will at some other time. Here's hoping, because I was so looking forward to this.

I know a lot of people had rave reviews about it. I guess I'm just not seeing what they are.