Word Out Wednesday!

I review Lisa Samson's Embrace Me

Welcome to those of you who are visiting as part of the Ultimate Blog Party! If you're new here, please scroll down and read my party post and get to know me a little better.

I've visited so many fantastic blogs through this event...the only sad thing is that there's just not enough time to read them ALL on a regular basis. I've definitely enjoyed finding out about some incredibly interesting women.

One of the blogs I discovered through the Party is The Adventures of Wondermommy, and she has a meme I can really get on board with. It's called...ta da...Word Out Wednesday!

As I commented to Wondermommy, I've taken part in a similar meme--"Works for Me Wednesday"--but eventually faded out because I had trouble coming up with ideas. But it seems like I always have something I want to get the word out about!

As Wondermommy says, "Word Out Wednesday is where I get the 'word out' about something. It usually comes in the form of a product recommendation."

In my case, it won't always be a product--sometimes it might be a book or a link.

If you'd like to take part, just do a Word Out Wednesday post and then go here to link back to it.

I guess I'm really participating just by getting the word out about "Word Out Wednesday," but I actually do have a few things I want to let you know about.

Embrace Me, by Lisa Samson

Although I've always been a Lisa Samson fan, I have to admit I balked at reading this book! The story of a disfigured girl who travels with a freak show as "Lizard Girl"? It sounded just a little too weird to me. I wondered if Lisa had jumped the shark with this one. (I know that phrase usually applies to TV shows, but you know what I mean.)

Well, I should have known that Lisa Samson could take a premise even that strange and spin it into an immensely readable tale of forgiveness, redemption, and even joy.

The story really focuses on two people: former pastor Drew Parrish, and the girl with the disfigured face, Valentine--whose best friend is her fellow "freak," a beautiful girl without arms and legs named Lella. (Samson admits in a note at the end of the book that there are so many options now for disabled people, you wouldn't be finding them in a traveling sideshow--but she says she bent reality somewhat to make the book's point.)

The friendship between Valentine and Lella is so sweet and tender, and their lives are so full of small happinesses and infused with such gentle humor and quiet grace, you somehow fail to get really depressed about their plight.

While Valentine and Lella are taking a break from the road in a town called Mount Oak, another story unfolds that actually takes place several years earlier--that of the wildly successful preacher, Drew Parrish, who somehow finds himself completely down and out. How Drew rises to prosperity and then loses it all is a fascinating tale.

And how Drew's story intersects with that of Valentine makes for extremely compelling reading. In fact, despite my initial skepticism, I ended up reading the entire book in one evening, completely unable to put it down. While drawing me in with very special and utterly believable characters, it opened my eyes to so many lessons about Christ and about the things that are really, truly important.

I highly recommend Embrace Me. It's a book you won't soon forget.

And now for something completely different...

It's been a while since Weird Al Yankovic did his "White and Nerdy" parody, but I was just tipped off to this video in which Donny Osmond rehearses wildly geeky dance moves for the video. I dare you not to love Donny after watching this!