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Saving Grace by Annie Jones: A Review

January 13, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

From the description of Saving Grace, I thought I would love it. It’s billed as the story of Grace Grayson-Wiley, a reclusive old woman. She is the subject of small-town gossip because of her annual vigils on the night of the Splendor Belle Gala on her front porch, dressed in the dress she wore the night her love and hope for marriage stood her up.

The blurb on the book also mentions the story is about four women, introduced in a previous novel who decide to help Grace in an effort to strengthen their bond of their own friendship. “Will their joint project instead tear them apart forever?”

The book itself didn’t seem to live up to this description. First, the story focused much more on the lives of the women in the friendship than it did on the story of Grace Grayson-Wiley, and while her story was interesting–even a mystery of sorts that isn’t unravelled until the end–the story of the women never threatens the dissolution of their friendship, so it didn’t feel that the stakes were as high as suggested.

That’s not to say that the lives of the women don’t spark interest in the story–Naomi is the new bride of a man with a teenage daughter who doesn’t seem impressed with her, Gayle is fighting suspicions that something is wrong with her husband, Rosemary is keeping a beau at bay while dealing with the return of her grown daughter, and Lucy fears she will never find true love, thinking herself unworthy of the right kind of man. Although the story is told from the viewpoint of Naomi, its in Lucy’s voice that the author seems most at home.

But I found it difficult, despite their descriptions to pin down the age of the characters, who seemed to waver between thinking of themselves as senior citizens to acting like giddy teenagers. While I cared about whether Lucy finally gave in to love and what might be wrong with Gayle’s husband, I just wasn’t invested enough in the characters to drive me to keep reading. It wasn’t one of those books that called me from my nightstand when I had to put it down.

At times it felt as if the story were interrupted by fashion news. One paragraph reads: “Lucy tugged her black cardigan on over her white turtle-neck. Her full pink skirt, which shrouded her hips while accenting the inward nip of her waist, swished over her white stockings as her black flaps slapped out a rushed pace as she went to meet Ben.”

I wished I could peel these details away and get to the story, because the story itself had potential and the dynamic between the characters and the mystery of Grace Grayson-Wiley were worth reading about.

To be fair, this was the second in a series of books, the first of which I have not read, and it’s possible that reading the first book would ground me deeper in the character’s identities.

Note: I received this book as an ebook from Multnomah Waterbrook Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Cultivating a Positive Family Atmosphere

January 10, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

As we prepare to go back to China, we’re seeing lots of interesting emotions in our children. One moment, they’re ecstatic, looking forward to being settled into a routine and a life they’ve become familiar with and that they love.

Another moment, they’re sad about leaving behind friends and family and the country and lifestyle they’ve reacquainted themselves with in the last year and a half.

Even though the particular circumstances of our life might be different from those of other families, every family faces ups and downs. At times, every family faces the unknown.

In the midst of potential chaos, it’s helpful to have a solid foundation and a healthy family culture to provide strength to the family. But how do you build that?

Here are some things we’ve done in our family to ensure a positive family environment:

Dinners together – It’s wonderful to have a point in the day where everyone comes together and shares food. It’s a place we laugh and talk and share memories. I’ve been in homes that just aren’t set up for a family time together at the table, and it simply lacks the warmth that coming together around the table lends to the family environment. There is something about the family meal that strengthens the bonds of family. Experts are still scratching their heads about why it works, but they agree that “the less often a family eats together, the worse the experience is likely to be, the less healthy the food and the more meager the talk. Among those who eat together three or fewer times a week, 45% say the TV is on during meals (as opposed to 37% of all households), and nearly one-third say there isn’t much conversation” (quoted from Time magazine)
Traditions – Every family has traditions, but cultivating ones that are unique to your family is important. Last week marked one of the traditions we have inaugurated in our family–the annual celebration of Three King’s Day–the 12th day
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of Christmas, January 6–the time to celebrate when the three kings visited the Christ child. It has become as special to our children as Christmas day itself, and a way to properly mark the end of Christmas festivities. Another tradition we have kept is the annual Christmas tree hunt.
Memories – Whether you keep your family photos in a scrapbook, or keep a gratitude journal, or a family box of mementos, memory-keeping is tremendously important.
For more ideas about how to do this, check out Passionate Homemaking’s posts on Simple Ways of Treasuring Family Memories and 24 Ways and Reasons to Keep a Family Journal

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Family Activities – I’ve visited in homes where the family calendar would make you dizzy. While our lifestyle is always busy, it has never involved shuttling our three children to three different activities. We have always maintained that the activities we share together are the ones that matter most. So while our children have at different times participated in ballet, and karate and swimming lessons, we keep a strong focus on those activities we share together.
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We have always enjoyed riding our bikes together, and still remember fondly the bike rides we took with two strapped securely in their bike trailer while one pedaled furiously to keep up! Nature walks have given us other family together times we cherish.
Together Times – We have tried to cultivate an evening family time with games or reading together. We want our family to know that our times together are valuable, and to enjoy quality times together. We will occasionally watch movies together, but we try to keep our family times ones that encourage togetherness and tradition.
One-one-one time with each child – As our children have grown a little older, and especially as we’ve gone through a number of adjustments, moving around from place to place, we’ve learned how important it is to spend time alone with our children. It’s a time they can feel treasured and special and when direct one-on-one mentoring can occur. Questions and discussions come up that would never be raised when everyone is together.

What do you do to create a positive environment in your family?

Grateful for Grace

January 9, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Seven years ago, I read a book with a title that reflected my heart’s desire:Writing a Book That Makes a Difference. It was a high hope, and I despaired at times of being able to achieve it. There were many times along the journey I was ready to give up. In the midst of my writing journey, there were diapers to change, runny noses to wipe, boo-boos to mend and kiss. Things that seemed–and were–more important than even a book that made a difference.

This week, I’m overwhelmed and humbled by reader feedback. Through all the effort of creation and writing and revision and revision and more revision, all the waiting and working, in the end, it seems this novel I’ve written is touching hearts. My heart is full.

January – Bring it On!

January 8, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

It’s January. I’m trying not to make New Year’s resolutions, which are not easily kept, but instead focus on goals. I am ready to put giant goals behind me and aim for small changes in my life this month that will make a big difference.

The biggest hurdle to conquer: getting to bed on time. I know from experience that when I get to bed on time, it’s easier to get up on time, which means it’s then easier to begin my morning routine.

It’s very important for me to be up and starting my routine before everyone else is awake. I need that time to feel like I have a jump on the day. But I’m sunk if I go to bed late.

The challenge: I find it hard to leave a job half-done. I’ll press on until it’s finished–often even if that means I’m up half the night. Bad idea.

On top of the normal challenges to get a jump on my routine, we are preparing to leave for China. My to-do list seems to be growing instead of shrinking.

With all this in mind, here are my January goals:

Go to bed at 10:00 p.m. – For half of the week, I did well with this, and my mornings and days followed suit.
Spend at least an hour a day purging and sorting in preparation for our move. So far, so good. I’m trying to do it in between other tasks, and that’s working for me. For example, the kids got out games for family time at the end of the day, and while they were playing, I did some consolidating with game boxes.
Keep homeschool time sacred – With so much to do, it’s tempting to encroach on homeschool time, but in the midst of the potential chaos, my children need structure. I did okay with this this week, except for one day which, honestly, was an utter failure. But we did manage to still have family time at the end of the day.

What are your challenges this month? What’s your plan to conquer them?

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