June Book Club Cancelled

Due to some scheduling conflicts, we have to cancel book club for June. However, Emily Bylund has already volunteered to host July's book club, so we should be looking forward to that. And we'll move the June book (Dreams from My Father by Obama) to August.

July Book Club

Date: Wednesday, July 31st
Location: Emily Bylund's home
Book: Son by Lois Lowry

This is the final book in The Giver series.  I would highly recommend these young adult books!  They are literally some of my all-time favorites!  They are a thought provoking but fast read.  There are 4 books total--The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and the final book Son.

June Book Club

Date:  THURSDAY June 20th***  (Note: the date change)

Location: MaryAnne's

Book:  Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

May book club

May' 29th 8:30pm
Endurance by Alfred Lansing 
at Mary's house.

February book club

Book club for February will be at Celeste's house. We'll be discussing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Next month will be at Shelly's and I believe the book is State of Wonder.

January book club

Just as an FYI for those of you that have some extra time to read over the holidays, our January book club will be at Alyssa's on Jan. 30. The book is Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. It should be fun!

December Christmas Book Club

For December I, Emily B, volunteered to host book club.  So it will be December 19th at MaryAnne Hunter's home.  I'm super excited to read and discuss the three stories President Monson reads each year around Christmastime.  I have done this in the past and always enjoyed those years when I do (even better when my husband reads them with me).  I love the Christ-centered perspective it brings amid the hustle and bustle of the season.

The three stories are:

1. the story of the birth of Christ as told in the Gospel of Luke (available online or in the Bible)
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (available online or download to a kindle free). 
3. The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke  (available online or download to kindle free).

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from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 2011

“There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ,” President Monson said. He spoke of witnessing the annual commercialization of Christmas, of seeing Christmas become less about Christ and more about sales, parties, and presents.

And yet, President Monson said, “Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christ.”

Three Christmas Stories

President Monson said that each year for Christmas, he reads the story of the birth of Christ as told in the Gospel of Luke. He also reads A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke, and he remembers the change of heart undergone by Ebenezer Scrooge and the lessons about the true meaning of giving learned by John Weightman. Both characters learned that a reward in heaven is based on forgetting oneself and not seeking worldly gain or recognition.

President Monson pleaded with each of us to not spend Christmas but to keep Christmas in our hearts and lives.

“Because when we keep the spirit of Christmas,” he said, “we keep the spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit. It will block out all the distractions around us, which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning.”

President Monson then summarized some of the many gifts we receive because Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Son, sending Him to earth as our Redeemer.

“Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example, which if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others.

Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence.

Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or in distress, wherever they may be.

Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came.

Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life.

Because He came, we are gathered tonight to worship Him in bonds of brotherhood and love.

May His precious Spirit be with us, and may He ever be the center of our celebrations and indeed of our very lives.”