Thursday, August 25, 2011

Book Reviews

Hello everyone,

I've been reading a lot lately as well, so if you're an avid reader like me you might like my selection of books. Some of them are political and faith-based, so most likely not for young children, but I think you'll enjoy them nonetheless!


1. Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin. She writes about her childhood and young adulthood, her entrance into politics and the lessons she has learned from her forays into local and national politics. Governor Palin is also a devout evangelical Christian and says so unashamedly, not to mention she writes of God's work in her life often and boldly. Overall, the media very much knows how to make a hero look like a villian in the political world, as I knew they did to Sarah Palin even before I read the book. This book is a must-read for those who want to know the truth about Sarah Palin and her character. 10/10 points on a scale of 0 points (NEVER read this book) to 10 points (READ THIS BOOK.)

2. Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. The book is set in, if I remember correctly, New York,New York, United States of America and the fictional city of Pushan, China. Alcorn deals with the lives of the main characters, an American businessman named Ben Fielding and his Chinese college roommate, Li Quan, twenty years after they've graduated from Harvard and how their backgrounds and relationships with God affect their lives. God is relevant in both of their lives, especially to Li Quan since he lives in post-Mao and post-Deng Communist China, a country hostile to evangelical Christians like Li Quan, his wife Minghua and their son, Shen. Ben, however, once loved God but has turned his back on God and everything He is. Ben doesn't realize the extent of the evil in China, then, or how much God loves him and has a purpose for him until Ben unexpectedly reconnects with Li Quan twenty years later before a planned business trip to China for the company he may eventually own, Getz International, a marketing firm run by its founder's son, Marvin Getz. What Ben Fielding encounters in China changes all of their lives and no one comes from China unaffected. I recommend it if you want to understand what is truly happening to Chinese Christians and what we, as Americans, Christian or not, can do to help them. 10/10

3. A Year In Provence I've read this book at least three times and still enjoy the lively, raucous, confusing and yet relaxed, happy life Englishman (or Brit, if you prefer) Peter Mayle and his wife Jenny have during their first year in Provence, France. They wanted to travel to France and live their dream of living in France for a year, so they do just that. In fact, they loved living in Provence, France so much that they made their French residence their permanent home. I won't tell you why they loved France, though; you'll have to read the book for yourself to know what Mr. and Mrs. Mayle experienced! 10/10

3. A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard. Her story is remarkably powerful(beyond description, actually) and has facilitated healing from familial pain in my own life. I'm not sure how to describe the memoir otherwise, so I'll leave the description as is unless I decide to add to it when I read the memoir again. God Bless you, Jaycee. 10/10

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

If You'd Rather Not View The Blog . . .

If you'd rather not view the blog or just don't look at it often, you're not alone; I found this blog again after I discovered that a friend had one here and I commented on her blog using my Blogger/Google ID! You'll find me in many other places online:

1. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Czarnecki/105087497322

2. Twitter: www.twitter.com/Boogawes

3. Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/Boogawes

4. Google+ : http://plus.google.com/111427554428849733230.
God Bless you all!

Long Time No See!

Life gets busy, doesn't it?? I hope y'all are well and have been somewhat relaxed over the past two years! Frankly, I've been through more schooling, working on a memoir ("Marley and Me"-esque), writing songs, preparing for another year at school now that I am definitely settled on a major and so on! In sum, my goals, as I state on my Youtube account, are as follows:

1. To be an elementary school teacher, I realize I have to major in said subject by taking college courses to get an undergraduate degree in said major. As doing so takes 4-6 years for the average undergrad, and I'm in my third year to get a degree in Elementary Education; I'm still going. :-D Classes begin at the end of the month. I may even get a Master's degree, God willing!

2. I want to be a missionary to France. I love the French people in Christ, I'm of French heritage myself and I want to learn as much about the Europeans as I can, especially the French! Je parle le français bien aussi et je veux parler le français avec perfection, comme c'est ma langue maternelle! (I speak French well and I want to speak French with perfection, as though it were my maternal (native, first) language!) I've taken French language and culture-related courses since middle school and will minor in French! I may also get a Master's degree in French, God willing!

3. I want to be a performer someday as well, so I often write lyrics and music as I feel the need and inspiration to do so. :)


What's changed since I last posted an entry in this blog and what are your future plans, God willing? Let me know and I appreciate your comments. Thanks and God Bless you all!

God Bless,

Michelle