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Sunday Matters

The kids returned to school last week and we all survived. I was very nervous about the first day of junior high but according to The Girl it was a piece of cake. She is looking forward to her choir activities and Peter Pan which starts rehearsing in September.

Senior year for The Teen is going to be a fun one. He will be directing a show this year which he has not done before and then hopefully get a part in the musical come spring. Between choir and theater he will be busy.

Right Now:

Since I am late with this post, I’ve already been to church, had a smoothie and now I am tidying up around the house before I head back to church for the middle school group.

This Week:

Work will be busy but I have several appointments scheduled this week as well so I will be in and out of work all week long. So be it. I am not going to stress over it.

I am going to try to paint at least one wall in The Girl’s room this week. I never got to it this past Saturday because we did end up at the concert at the park and it was sooooo hot! It is 108 right now and only 2pm.

Reading:

I finished Nantucket by Nan Rossiter. The review will be written up soon. I also finished Atlas Shrugged!! I feel so accomplished. Right now I am reading Days of Awe by Lauren Fox. Very compelling so far.

Watching:

Nothing. Not a darn thing. Well, sometimes a show called Fixer Upper. I am gearing up for Fear the Walking Dead though, which if I am not mistaken, starts next weekend.

Making:

We are grilling steaks tonight! HUGE steaks and will have them with fresh corn, baked potatoes and garlic toast for the rest of the family.

Grateful for:

My Bible app. I’m not going to get all religious on you but I’ve been wanting to read the Bible more and have not been all that successful so I signed up for some reading plans through my Bible app. Some of the plans are short, like 7 days…some are even shorter. Anyway, I browse plans, sign-up and then it sends me reminders to read the assigned reading.

It’s funny, because I set my reminders for certain times of the day but the app seems to send them whenever it wants and nearly every time I get one I am stressing over something or angry about something so it’s a good reminder to chill out and not get all wrapped-up in stuff I can’t control.

That’s it from me. What are you up to? Reading anything wonderful that I need to know about?

Atlas Shrugged PT 3

It’s the summer of the chunkster! A group of us decided to read Atlas Shrugged (#AtlasRAL) this summer and we have hit our last milestone which was to complete the book by August 15th. I am happy to say that I finished it a week before the deadline. Yes!

“You don’t have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is–say it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
— Dagny Taggart

First, a few thoughts:

Of the three parts, this last part was my least favorite. Much of it seemed a little far-fetched and the romantic undertones were overly dramatic, in my opinion.
In the previous parts, we have the build-up of what’s about to go down to look forward to, but in this part, we see it happen and was it just me, or was it a bit anticlimactic? Maybe because we all knew what was coming?
THE BIG SPEECH, which is super long and everyone warned me about, was not all that long or maybe I was more into it than I thought. I had no problems with it and didn’t even skim.
There is one character in the book, a much liked character who doesn’t fare all that well by the end of the story. This made me sad and was a little surprising.

It’s really hard for me to sum this book up because it’s so many things. While reading, your mind can’t help but ponder the ideas presented. That no one should live or produce for the good of others alone. That art, be it science, music or industry should continue on with a focus on creation, not so much what it can do for another person. Facts are facts, no matter what one hopes or desires. It all makes sense, but it’s still hard to wrap the brain around. You know?

In the end, it was a remarkable book. Much easier to read than I thought it would be. It gave me lots to think about but that romantic thread! I really could have done without it.

For those who took a leap and read it with me… Guess what guys? We are done!

Click here to read what I had to say about Part 1 and Part 2.

Chatting with friends about books and life…