Newton & Polly: A Novel of Amazing Grace

I'm here again with another review!  This time it is Newton & Polly:  A Novel of Amazing Grace by Jody Hedlund.

This book is based on the life of John Newton, author of the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace".  It is so popular that even non-Christians know of it.  Yet, the words of that hymn are achingly beautiful, despite having become common.

This is Jody's take on John's life.  She did the research, and put together a story based on real-life events.  Long before the hymn was written, John could care less about God.  He pretty much lived life as he pleased.  As the story begins, he is fairly likable.  After he meets Polly and falls in love almost instantly, he isn't such a bad guy.  He is smart, funny, and very helpful to the Catlett family.   But he begins a series of bad decisions, poor judgments, and a lazy, who-cares-I'm-doing-whatever-I-want attitude.  Though Polly is a devout Christian, John runs farther and farther from God.

We know the outcome.  We know God will get a hold of John, and that John would lead a godly life and write an amazing hymn.  We don't know exactly how he'll get there.  Jody weaves a story about a man who rejected God time and again.  But when John finally realizes just how much God loves him, finally, finally, he comes face to face with what a wretched sinner he is.  And finally, he experiences amazing grace.

Through it all, Polly has a choice to make.  Will she wait for John?  She loves him, but he has repeatedly rejected God, and that simply is not what she desires in a husband.

This story really touched me.  John was indeed wretched, sinking deeper into the mire of his own sin. Yet, in him, I glimpsed parts of myself.  I am no better, no less in need of God's grace than he.

I am reminded of Psalm 139: 7-10.  "Whither shall I go from thy spirit?  or wither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:  if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

God sought after John with a love so fierce, it would not let him go.  His pursuit was relentless.  Had John ignored God, we would have missed out on a hymn so beautiful, and we would have lost the many hearts that have been softened because of it.

Jody's research was in-depth, and I enjoy her writing style.  She puts us there, directly with the characters, and for a brief moment, I am sitting in their shoes.  The attention she pays to detail, how a character reacts and shows emotion, for example, is thorough and almost artistic.

*I received this book in advance in exchange for a positive review.  All opinions are my own.  Typos are due to the awkwardness of trying to type with a sleeping baby on my lap.

Random Updates

Brian has gone back to work, and it is now just me and the boys again.  In the middle of the summer, it is so hard to think of resettling into one's routine, but here we are at it again.  I get used to Brian being home, to having someone else here.  I can simply say "Watch Silas!" and run off to the bathroom without worry, but by myself, I have to make sure he's out of harm's way.  (And can I just say, having an extra hand for diapers is wonderful?!)

The boys and I are getting acclimated to our more rigid routine once again.  No more we will be going out and taking trips to the zoo, the mall, or whatever else.  It is time to buckle down once again.  For me here, that means starting some sort of teaching with Caleb.  He is very resistant to us teaching him, to be honest.  He makes it very difficult.  He is behind on things, not just because of his delays, but because he is just plain stubborn.  I was just trying to teaching him days of the week, and he was saying "No.  No."  Lovely, right?

We have managed to teach him the alphabet, and he knows that very well.  Body parts we did long ago in the bath.  He knows basic colors, but we still need to do more.  Lots to do, if only he weren't so resistant!

He is also extremely resistant to potty training.  We cannot get anywhere with him right now.  He is so fearful and doesn't want anything to do with it.  We even put big boy underwear on his stuffed animals.  Nothing works.

Silas took one shaky step last night, while trying to get from one wall to another.  He's not quite ready yet for walking, but it was neat to see him take one step for now!  He will be starting occupational therapy soon.  I already had him evaluated for his self-feeding delay, and we were approved, so I am just waiting for his therapist to call me.

He still isn't sleeping through the night, but what else is new?  His wake up time varies all over the place.  I am so tired, I am practically falling asleep while talking to Brian at about 8:50 p.m.  I'm trying get to bed earlier these days.

We still sleep out here in the living room, because it is impossible to share a room with him, and I feel like we are living out of a suitcase.  I can't keep things in the room that I need, because he is sleeping!  It kind of drives me crazy, but that is life right now, and I simply have to accept it.

I have started a gluten-free, casein-free diet for the boys and me.  I have to do it, too, because Silas is nursing.  It is hard!  No more cheese!  Let me tell you how hard it is to be without my coffee creamer in the morning!  I have replaced Caleb's yogurt with an almond milk yogurt, and while I can tell he doesn't like it as much, he is eating it, though less than normal.  And let me tell you, these gluten-free, casein-free groceries are super expensive.  Oh, and no more milk chocolate!  Boo!

I will be trying this out for three months to see if it has any positive effects on the boys.  If it does, it will become permanent.  Many autistic children do well on this diet, but my boys aren't your typical cases, so only time will tell.  There are other food sensitivities we might have to figure out, but I'm going to start with this for now.

Changing topics, I was stung by a bee two days ago.  It was Brian's last day home; thank God he was here!  We were enjoying his last day out on the deck.  I saw a bee fly by my right side, and Brian said, "There's a bee by your arm."  All my life, when there has been a bee anywhere in my presence, I ignored the old advice to "sit still" and ran like crazy, screaming for good measure.  When Brian told me about the bee, I actually decided to stand still.  And you know what, I was stung, for the first time in my life.  I think I'll go back to running like a crazy person, thank you, and of course, screaming like a girl.  It kept me safe before!

Now I know why I always screamed.  Boy, did that hurt!  Not so much the actual sting, which was nothing more than a needle, but when that venom gets in there, yikes!  My arm burned for hours.  I panicked at first, fearful I was going to have an allergic reaction (I did not), and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to care for the boys.  I'm so glad Brian was here to help me with my arm and help get the boys back inside after it happened, and I'm so glad it happened to me and not the boys!  (Brian was stung by multiple bees when he uncovered a hornet's nest when he was five.  I cannot, cannot imagine!)

Brian had some changes to his classroom this year.  Some are for the best, others are awkward.  Time will tell how it goes.  I pray he has a great year!  We sure do miss him around here.  His absence is felt at every moment.

Thanks for reading!

Summer Summary Via Pics

Well, not actually the whole summer.  These photos are just from August.

Silas did not want to be in the pool.  He was in there long enough to take this photo, and that was it.  I remember Caleb didn't like to be in the pool, either, but now, he loves it.  He stayed in there for a while!

It was so good for Silas and Daddy to spend more time together!

No, Silas didn't lose weight!  That's my nephew, Isaac!  He looks so much like his big sister, Lindsey.

Never did I think my sister and I would have babies together.  She was "done" just before I got married, when her twins arrived.  God had other ideas.  These two are the closest in age between any other cousins!

I could not resist buying matching pajamas for the boys.  One cold night, they had them on instead of their warm weather jammies.  (And yes, Silas pulled his sock off.)

It might not be earth-shattering, but this is Caleb's last donut.  Not that he had donuts a lot, but because we are going gluten-free, I had to give him one last treat.

Brian's summer dream came true.  We saw a bear in the neighbor's yard across the street.  I saw four bears in our front yard back in April, but Brian was at work.  He ran outside, ignoring my desperate pleas of "Don't cross the street!" and began to growl at the bear.  Mr. Bear was too busy eating the trash to care about my husband.  Thank goodness.

This was a big deal to Caleb.  He conquered all sorts of slides this summer:  big ones and spiral ones.  He had been eyeing this all throughout one visit, but kept chickening out.  When he did it, he was so happy.  And so were we!

This was just too cute not to include.  No recollection of where we are going.

One of Silas's favorite places to be!

Caleb loves the playground!

The boys love the sandbox.  I, however, don't like how much sand they carry with them into the house!

This was on our anniversary when we went to the zoo.  Apparently the cashier taking the photo could not wait for Silas to turn around.

And today, we went to school with Daddy to help him set up his classroom!  How we are going to miss him!