Good Weekend and Redeeming Love

It was a good weekend. We didn't really do anything extraordinary--Justin and I were just exceptionally kind to each other. Don't get me wrong...it isn't as if we're fighting all the time on your usual every day weekend. You could just tell that we each were independently going out of our way to make sacrifices for the other person and to intentionally do things that would be pleasing not to ourselves, but to the other.

For example, Friday night wasn't a great night for me. I didn't feel good--had pregnancy heartburn like no other, allergies were acting up, and I had a headache. All I wanted was to come home and for Justin to hold me and put on a movie. But Justin was supposed to go to a Bachelor party for his soon-to-be brother in law, and they were supposed to all be spending the night. I wanted Justin to go, but I also wanted his support. I was just having a hard time with it, and I tried my best to wait until he left to break down. About 2am, I got a text message from Justin that said, "It's been over 5 hours since I had my last beer. I'm headed home." A bit later, I asked why he decided to come home, and he said something like, "Why would I stay up there when I could be coming home to you instead?" It wasn't anything big, but I appreciated it more than he knows.

And I made a few intentional sacrifices too--like forgoing our "date night" because I could tell Justin was absolutely exhausted and just needed to stay home. It was very much like when we were doing The Love Dare, which I would really like to do again and actually finish this time.

Anyway, on to my book review for Redeeming Love:



Redeeming Love has been a book that I've been told I HAVE to read countless times. And also a book that I had absolutely no desire to read. Not only is it a romance (which I don't really read) but it's also a religious romance (which I REALLY don't read). Amazon says:

In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God's unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this "soiled dove," he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best.

I had actually tried to start Redeeming Love another time, and couldn't get into it. Saturday morning, while Justin was sleeping, I laid next to him in bed and picked this book up. And a couple hours later, I was halfway through. A few hours after that, I was done. And I was shocked at how much I actually enjoyed the book! For me, although the subject matter was difficult, it was a happy, sappy, hopeful book. One that I can totally see being made into a movie. It was a quick easy read for me--similar to Twilight--and one that I'll probably keep around and read again someday. It's not an extraordinary book, but not a bad way to spend a Saturday either. And it DID encourage me even more to continue to be kind, patient, and to make sacrifices for my spouse.