book, jewelry, song, & verse

Last night, I once again stayed up way too late finishing a book: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. This is a very interesting story, but very sad to me. I don't know if there's any truth to the book, but just the idea of little girls being raised with the sole purpose in their life being to entertain men is SAD!!!! I'm going to watch the movie of this book next week sometime (if the library gets it processed by then) and am expecting to be pushed even further into sadness to see this lifestyle played out in front of my eyes instead of just in my head. A friend asked me once why in the world I keep reading books that make me sad or upset or depressed. I don't have a good answer to that question. I guess the only explanation I have is that I'll read just about anything that is interesting and draws me in to feel like I'm part of the story. When I was in gradeschool, I read mysteries (Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and later Agatha Christie). These books made me absolutely paranoid and terrified of the dark; but I kept on reading them until I was in my late twenties and decided it was ridiculous for me to be scared all the time. Apparently I traded "scared" for "sad."

I've been DYING to post these pictures of the necklaces I made for Christmas gifts. I made a total of ten necklaces, I think: seven for gifts, one for Makenzie, and two for myself. The pictures don't show how pretty they are (not to brag -- i'm not saying that the design or craftsmanship is pretty, but the way the colors blended and shone and the beads themselves are prettier than the pictures show):






I REALLY enjoyed making these while I "watched" movies :-)

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song of the day: "All That Matters" by Addison Road

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verse of the day: I Peter 1:6-9
Even though for a little while I've been upset by various trials, I keep on rejoicing because those trials bring out the genuineness of my faith which is more precious than gold. My faith should praise, honor, and glory about Jesus Christ, whom I love even though I've never seen. I don't see Him physically right now, but I believe in Him and rejoice with "joy inexpressible and full of glory" because I know I will receive the reward of faith in Him (which, by the way, is a gift from God because of His grace), and that reward is the salvation of my soul.
(Michelle's paraphrase)