I mentioned earlier a petition going before congress against illegal pornography, and demanding the enforcement of laws related to obscenity and decency.
It was down for a while because it was hacked by a group who’s not pleased with the efforts to crack down on the porn industry.
Anyway, it’s now up and running, and needs to be signed by noon (EST) on Tuesday.
Please take a minute and make your voice heard. Click here.
Power to the people!
Let’s talk about books, shall we?
Books I’m reading: Right now I’m reading We Were Not Alone: How an LDS Family Survived WWII Berlin and Life of Pi (my book club’s pick for the month).
Books I recently read: I, Juan de Pareja. Loved it. It’s supposedly for children (Newberry Award Winner), but it’s all about Velazquez and Spanish art history, so I really liked it. (Did you know I lived in Madrid for 3 summers as a young adult? Sigh, I miss it.) And Precious Bane. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful book. It’s one of those genius books that should have been really famous, but is still largely undiscovered. There’s one scene that’s kind of PG-13ish, but even with all my book prudishness, the writing and character’s thoughts were so compelling that I just loved it.
Books on my list: Remember Melanie? Well, she writes “LDS chick lit,” which I never read. Except I’ve read all of Melanie’s because I really like her. And I have to admit that when I read her books, I automatically feel transported to age 24, and I love her sassy protagonists and witty dialogue. She has a new one that just came out called Twitterpated and I need to get my hands on it. It’s about a girl whose roommate dares to sign her up (without permission) on an online dating site. Mayhem ensues. And probably romance. Should be a fun read. Check it out. I think they’re giving away a copy here. Yay, Melanie!
Books I’m writing: I’m writing a book. That still blows my mind. It’s about how motherhood is a reflection of all the different roles and missions of the Savior’s ministry. My goal is to have it finished by May, and published next year. Start saving up spare change so you can buy it in 2013. Then when I send a query letter to publishers, I can say, “I already have 23 people lined up to read this book.” I’m sure that will be the critical selling point. 🙂
The other book that I contributed to (and incidentally, so did Melanie), Tell Me Who I Am, is available on Amazon now. I’ve decided I’m officially famous if I’m listed as an author at Amazon.com. Don’t tell me if I’m wrong.
Books you’re reading: How about you? Have you read anything lately that you think the rest of us should read? Do tell.
Congratulations to the winner of the drawing: Wendy
Answering the question, “What has motherhood taught you about Jesus Christ?,” Wendy answered:
On those hard days, I always think about “opposition in all things”, like if we don’t experience the hard times, we can’t have the good times. I have been touched as I have had promptings about different children. I know that it is a sacrifice to have children in some ways, but I also know that if I was living a different life, I wouldn’t be who I am. I wouldn’t be as nurturing. I wouldn’t be as sympathetic to other moms. I couldn’t be as Christ-like. I am in no way perfect, but I am on a journey of working for it!
Thanks to Wendy, and to all of your great and uplifting comments. Thanks also to Mercy River for sharing their music, and especially to Whitney who wrote that great post and helped us see our role in new ways.
Wendy, send me your address and you will receive a copy of Mercy River’s new CD, Higher, in the mail.
To everyone else, pick up your own copy at the store or turn on some of your favorite uplifting music and have a great week.
It was only a couple days ago. You should totally remember.
Cue my infomercial voice.
Wait. There’s more!
For way less than the price of signing up one of your kids for T-ball (which might cause you hours of painful observation), you can have this amazing book, which is guaranteed to give you hours of reading pleasure:
Okay, all joking aside, I’m excited to tell you about this book. I feel a little sheepish because I’m one of the contributors and I’ve never been super comfortable with blatant self-promotion. (Subtle self-promotion, yes. But “Hey! Look at me! Look at me!,” not really.) It’s a book that gives insight into the lives, families, values and humanity of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
DeNae has compiled all the essays and contributed some of her own. If you’ve read her stuff before, you know that there will be some laugh-out-loud humor involved. Some of the other writers involved are Becca Wilhite, Debbie (a.k.a. Crash), Ken Craig, Kazzy, Melanie Jacobson, Jana Parkin, Annette Lyon, and more. They do not disappoint. I had the chance to read through a draft of the book before it went to publishing and there is a fine collection of heart-wrenching, head-nodding, and flat-out funny essays.
The book will be officially available on March 10th, but you can order it now (switch infomercial voice back on) for 30% off of regular list price. This is a special pre-order price. That’s right folks, for only $10.50 + shipping, you can add this treasury to your library!
The book will be available for $15 after the release date, and I believe it will also be listed on Amazon at that point. The discounted price ($10.50) comes for ordering early.
Now, if I were a blogging genius, I would have figured out by now how to put a link to order the book on my sidebar. Since I am not, I’ll just direct you to DeNae’s blog page where she has a handy-dandy link to paypal. Please don’t let the extra click deter you; go order a book (or two or more– there are deeper discounts for bulk purchases). To recap:
Go order the book by clicking right here!
Thanks, friends.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have a little present for you.
I wanted to share with you what I like to give as a wedding gift when an LDS couple gets married. I put together this FHE manual for newlyweds, a collection of talks and articles about topics that are important for married couples to study and discuss and understand. There are some really great talks in there!
I print it out, hole punch it and put it in a 3-ring binder. I print out the title page (above) and write a personal note to them about how these messages can bless their marriage and have blessed mine. I usually get one of those binders with a clear plastic pocket on the front cover, slide in the title page, and tie up the whole thing with a pretty bow.
You can download the title page by clicking on the picture of it above, and you can download the whole manual (as an 80-page .pdf file) by clicking on the table of contents below. When you click on either one, you will probably get a dialogue box that pops up asking if you want to save the file. When you click Save, it will download to your computer. Then you can open it and print it.
Anyway, I think it makes a great wedding gift, but I also think it would be a great Valentine’s gift to your husband, and something that would definitely strengthen your marriage if you study it and discuss it together. All of the talks are by prophets, apostles, general authorities, and general auxiliary leaders. (All are cut-and-pasted from lds.org or BYU devotionals or Women’s Conference talks.) Even now, I can still think of more talks I love that I wish I had included, so feel free to print out your favorites, hole-punch them, and add them to the binder. I love the doctrines and principles that are taught in these talks. I hope you will too.
“Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully. . . . . When you as husband and wife recognize the divine design in your union—when you feel deeply that God has brought you to each other—your vision will be expanded and your understanding enhanced.”– Elder Russell M. Nelson
Diapers and Divinity 