A Young Woman's Call to Prayer by Elizabeth George

This is the book the girls in my Sunday School class have chosen for their next study. They arrived last Sunday and I can never leave a new book alone, so I brought a copy home to preview. This will be the fourth book we travel through together...and the one that, by far, intimidates me the most.

Early in the book Elizabeth (I know it is proper form to refer to authors by their last name, but by the time you finish a devotional you typically feel as though you know the author on a more personal level, and it just seems awkward.) includes the quote, "He who has learned how to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life." As a teacher professionally, I always feel as if I need to "be the expert" in my content before presenting it to my students (not that I always, if ever, succeed). How intimidating is it to think I have to explain this "secret" of a life of holiness and happiness?

I was able to find reassurance in the statement that "no one prays enough...no one prays as passionately as she would like to pray or should pray...no one prays for as many people as need to be prayed for." So, maybe, I am not alone in my feelings of inadequacy when it comes to prayer...and, maybe, like one of my students said this week, in the act of education sometimes the students can teach the teacher.

I do know I can't wait to get started because I happen to have the most amazing class of girls. I know we will all leave this study purposing to answer God's call to us to pray, purposing to to hide away with Him in prayer, and with changed lives.

Courage and Consequence by Karl Rove

I love politics and political theory. I love history and the stories of our national past. It is always a unique experience, though, to read about the events of your lifetime from those who were there. I know Karl Rove is a controversial character, I know I am more conservative in my politics than many (perhaps even more so than Mr. Rove himself), but I would encourage even his staunchest critics to take the time to read his book.

Reading about the events that made Karl Rove from his own perspective rather than that of a news commentator adds a depth to his character and personality that is normally missing.

One of my favorite parts of reading Rove's account of so many political events of the past ten years was to find archived video and watch what he was discussing. It brought many forgotten moments from the past to life.

Longitude by Dava Sobel

I have had this book on my classroom bookshelf for the past four years. I have wanted to read it, I have even started to read it (a couple of times), but I never managed to make it very far. A day or so after reading In the Heart of the Sea, we had MAP testing and I needed something to keep myself busy while the kids were testing, so I grabbed this off the shelf.

A strange but wonderfully enjoyable mix of astronomy and history, politics and science. Reading about the struggle to accurately determine the earth's longitude helped clarify parts of Philbrick's book that I didn't even realize I hadn't understood.

In the Heart of the Sea

I finished this book about two weeks ago but have been struggling with what to write about. It isn't that I disliked the book, I actually found it fascinating. I just haven't been sure how to portray the horror that these men experienced.

The story begins by explaining the draw felt by the men of Nantucket to the sea. By the time the crew sets sail, the reader is ready to jump on board to take on the adventure of a lifetime. This excitement quickly fades a few days later when they run into a storm. It is this unexpected, and poorly handled, storm that sets the tone for the rest of the crazy, chaotic voyage.

It is hard for the modern mind to comprehend the unknown quality of the world at the time of the nineteenth century. The sheer size of the oceans, the lack of technology, the unpredictability of the prey, all led to the sinking of the Essex and the following months of uncertainty, starvation, isolation and cannibalism.