Pinprick of Light in the Darkness

@WriMo: A Review

Are you a writer? Do you want to be a writer? Well, November is the perfect time to start! November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s a 30-day challenge to write a 50,000-word novel. It’s fast. It’s crazy. It’s exciting. It’s fun.

This year, there is yet another thing to look forward to for NaNoWriMo: Kevin Kaiser’s (brand manager, blogger, and writer) new book @WriMo: A 30-Day Survival Guide for Writers. Before I tell you about the book, here’s one great reason to buy it: 100% of the profits ($4 a book) are donated to support the future of NaNoWriMo.

@WriMo counts down your 30-day challenge with an inspiring and motivating quote for each day and then a short story or other nugget on how and why to keep going. It's basically like having a cheerleading squad right on your Kindle (or other eReader of choice). From slaying dragons to physics, dungeons to coffee shops, and writer’s block to shin splints, Kevin shuts down myths and gives advice to writers who don't have the time, the courage, or the motivation to keep writing.

Here are three things you'll learn:

How to be a citizen of Kickassistan
How to be the 14%
Anticipatience and why you need it

If you want to participate in NaNoWriMo and actually finish, this book can help you get there!

About KEVIN KAISER: He makes things up for a living. He’s penned graphic novels, short stories, novels (mostly under names other than his own), and the occasional screenplay. In his spare time he blogs about the writing life at www.storysellerpro.com and drinks a worrisome amount of espresso.

Follow him on Twitter: @KevinSKaiser
Find him on Facebook: Facebook.com/KessK

This book was provided for free from the author. I was asked to honestly review it, and a positive review was not required.

Posted by Sara Rassler | at 10/04/2012 01:35:00 PM | 0 comments

Radical Review

I have finally gotten far enough into Radical to be able to write a review on it. I found it difficult to make time for this book--I just wasn't captured by it. Now, this probably has to do with the fact that I have five or six books ready to read and review and I've been working on a lot of other projects.

Without further ado, here is my review:

Radical challenged me to re-think my Americanized faith. Platt showed me that Christians around the world abandon everything just for the Gospel. They put their lives on the line every day to follow the God they love.

They take up their crosses daily.

I certainly don’t live like that. No one I know has faith like that. People in churches today argue about the right music, the right color carpet, the right sound board, the right time to have church service, etc. David Platt challenges all those who read Radical to believe and obey what we have read and what we have heard from the Gospel. He explains that the American Dream isn't compatible with authentic discipleship.

I really enjoyed reading this book--I think Platt is a great author and he wrote the book from his heart. I love books that cause readers to think. I love books that challenge me.

In the end, Platt encourages his readers to join the Radical Experiment: a one-year authentic discipleship journey that transforms their lives.

In the end, the only question is:

Will you make your faith radical?

Posted by Sara Rassler | at 4/02/2012 02:15:00 PM | 0 comments

John 3:16 Remembered and Remixed

God loved humans so much, that he sent his own blameless son in order to wipe away the sin in our lives, so that we may have an everlasting life with Him.

Great is His unconditional Love every second of every day.

This is the Light shining into our world. This is the Light shining in our lives.

If we let that Light shine in us and around us, we, too will be pinpricks of light in the darkness.

Philippians 2:15 "so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe" This is the mission statement of this blog and of my life. Shine like the stars. Shine like the stars. Be the Light in the world.

Praise be to God in all things.

Posted by Sara Rassler | at 2/29/2012 11:11:00 PM | 0 comments

The Hunger Games Review

The Hunger Games series brings the reader to Panem, hundreds of years after America has fallen, and creates a new reality with the perfect mix of the world we know with fantasy. Katniss, a tough teenager in the slum of District 12, shows independence, courage, stupidity, and bravery. She experiences more pain than most can imagine and learns how to find her soft side. By the end, readers are left asking “Real or not real?” and sometimes the answers can get a little fuzzy after spending three books in another world.

Despite the enthusiasm my friends displayed in regards to this series, I was a bit apprehensive going in. I’m not usually one to fall head-over-heels for young adult novels, especially really popular ones (remember Twilight). But, I borrowed it for free from Amazon on my Kindle and thought I’d give it a shot. Wow. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down; and once I finished the first book, I immediately bought the next two.

This series blew me away with its realness. Suzanne Collins wrote pain, suffering, and loss so well that I was actually feeling it. Yes, I’ve read other books that do this—but this series was exceptionally real. The imagery in these books is phenomenal. I felt the fear of the Games, I smelled the roses, I heard the bombs, I rallied with the Mockingjay, I fell in love with characters and loathed other characters. I was in Panem.

Another thing I loved was how pure the relationships were. Katniss’ relationships with the boys are not destructive and filled with sex. I think she sets a pretty good example for readers, which is definitely saying something with the way mainstream novels are written these days.

No matter how many movies they break it up in to or how big the budget is, the movies can never do this series justice. The Hunger Games are definitely going on my list of favorite series.

Blogger note: I tried to write three separate reviews for The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, but due to the fact that I read them all rapidly within 24 hours, it is all one story to me and breaking it up isn't possible in my mind yet.

Posted by Sara Rassler | at 12/29/2011 12:35:00 AM | 0 comments

Spirit Day 2011

I support Spirit Day and if I owned purple, I would wear it. (I need to invest in this color.) Instead, I deck out my social profiles in purple and I post about Spirit Day.

Today, October 20, 2011, is Spirit Day. What is this day, you ask? It is the day sponsored by GLAAD where people intentionally wear purple to show support for LGBTQ teenagers who are victims of bullying. It started just last year, but it has caught on quickly with over 1.6 million Facebookers "signing up" for the event.

I don't do this because I think people should be gay. I don't do this because I want gay marriage. I don't do this because I want gay people to walk around swapping spit with one another in public. (I also don't necessarily think that all of those things are wrong...but I'm not getting into that here.) I do this because I believe in Jesus, and I believe that Jesus loved everyone. I believe we're called to love everyone.

I'm not asking you to change any of your social profiles, nor am I asking you to wear purple or to even acknowledge that today is Spirit Day. I'm only asking you to examine yourself and ask yourself about the way you love (or don't love) people.

This is one way I choose to be a pinprick of light in the darkness that is this world.

Posted by Sara Rassler | at 10/20/2011 01:37:00 PM | 0 comments