I think I’ve finally figured out why we love church camp.
You know. The retreat that so many of us go on once or twice a year.
We all bring terribly bad-for-your-health junk food, money to order pizza at midnight, and tissues to cry into when we have those heart-to-heart conversations.
And more importantly, we bring our Bibles and those journals that we dust off to use once or twice a year.
And with many other things, the memories are lovely things that we visit often after it’s over.
And we look forward to the next one that’ll come up next year.
But why do we enjoy this so much? And why is it so different than our normal lives?
I’m not going to talk about the goofiness that goes on (or why we play Do You Want to Buy a Duck? After the clock turns 12:00). I’m here to talk about the fire that is sparked in our hearts.
Dear Christian Teens,
You know that feeling. You know how it feels to raise your hands in worship with sincerity. You know how it feels to regularly read your Bible and just get it. You know how it feels to enjoy listening to the chapel sessions. You know how it feels to connect with your small group after.
It’s that fire that sparks in your heart after hearing compelling messages.
That fire to live out your faith no matter what.
But sometimes, we get home from church camp, and the fire burns out.
You’re ridiculed at school because you’re viewed as intolerant.
You come to the realization that you’re imperfect…and life is hard.
And then there’s a lot less motivation to read your Bible, so you kind of don’t do it.
Church camp becomes just another experience, and we see it as completely separate from normal life.
But it shouldn’t be.
I think I know why we love church camp. We love it because it sparks a fire inside of us. Our faith becomes even more real to us.
But seriously, when we go home, it shouldn’t end. Even though life gets harder when we aren’t surrounded completely by Christians, we can’t just give up.
Jesus isn’t the Savior of Youth Group Excursions.
He isn’t the Savior of Summer Camp.
Jesus is the Savior of our lives, and His love isn’t any different for us when we are at camp than when we are at home.
We love church camp because we feel God’s presence. We hear His voice. Things become clear to us.
But that doesn’t mean that the other 51 weeks of the year need to be boring.
No. Those 51 weeks can be the best weeks of the year. Wanna know why?
Because we get to live it out. We get to read the Bible on our own free will. We get to pray about things in our daily life, not just out loud in front of our friends. We get to trust God in tangible ways. And we get to grow in Him, which takes much longer than five days out of state.
We get to see God work things out in our lives.
So Dear Christian Teens,
We love church camp because it’s a great experience and we are on fire for God.
However, real life is the experience that we’ve been given for the rest of the year.
Let’s take that fire in our hearts and bring it into our daily lives.
For this is what we’ve been given. Let us not let our fires burn out.
And if we let ourselves be under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will not burn out.
I’m sorry, people. I miscalculated the blog tour dates in July. I thought this post was supposed to go up tomorrow, because I like posting bookish things on Thursdays.
So yes, I know it’s the middle of the day instead of 5:00 in the morning because I usually preschedule posts.
Just some proof I’m not perfect.
Anyway. Onto the post at hand.
Book Description:
When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.
Despite the fact that she’s on track for competing in the Olympics, and he’s practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland’s hope will be lost.
What is to come will change their lives forever.
Author Bio:
Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She’s been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, “Finish your story, Kendra”, is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children’s tales that also glorify God and His Word. You can read more about her on her blog, knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.
I interviewed Clara this week in Rizkaland. That trip was fun. Long, yes, but so much fun.
Disclaimer:
In bold are my questions, and her answers are directly after them. I did not change her answers, only added to some of them (and I added her actions and dialogue tags, by the way.) Some of her lines are written by me, but not her original responses to my questions.
Yes, I did take full advantage of my fangirl license. I apologize if it’s not 100% accurate to the book.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s a snippet of this week’s trek down to Klarand.
The KastleClara, except her eyes should be blue.
***
I walk across a field of wild grass, my eyes and mind trying to take in the scenery. Mountains surround me, as do flowing waterfalls that are distinctly blue.
The tallest Mountain holds a castle, built so solidly and intricately that only the most skilled Architect could do such a thing. It’s breathtaking. I know this to be The Kastle, but the pictures I’ve seen do it no justice. I’m awed.
I can barely take it all in, being obsessed with mountains and all that, but I’d better hurry. I have someone that will be waiting on me if I take too much time.
I was told that there was a small café built into one of the smaller mountains (it’s connected to The Mountain that The Kastle sits in), and that’s where I’m going. I’m excited to be meeting someone special. She hasn’t met me yet, but I know her very well, and we are more alike than she probably thinks.
I’m a little nervous. I can be awkward with new people. But no matter. I’ve been looking forward to meeting Clara for a few months now.
Now I see the café. The sign is faded, but I can tell wood from rock. I’m glad to be somewhere I can sit, after walking a few hours.
I open the door and the bell on the door jingles. I’m greeted by a short and plump woman, with smooth, wavy brown hair to her waist. Her white apron is crisp and neat over her simple red dress.
“Hi there, darling, can I help you?”
“Um, yeah,” I say softly. I clear my throat. “Is the Water Princess here yet?”
She looks at me and smiles with sparkling eyes.
“Not yet, but she should be here soon. Why don’t I show you to a table in the corner where you two can talk in peace?”
Gratefully, I oblige, and I am shown to a little table with a window. We pass a dozen small tables with people chattering and drinking hot drinks.
The waitress gives me two mugs of hot water upon my request, and I thank her.
I sit down in the corner, right in front of a window. Pulling my backpack off, I sort through the things I brought. Hot chocolate mix, check. Three books, yes. And a clipboard full of questions. I hope Clara won’t hate me for this.
I pull out Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and start to read. Becoming engrossed, I feel as though I’m turning the pages faster than my eyes are reading the words. I love this sensation, and if I had the choice to live in a library, I would take it. I know I would.
I feel a shadow over me, and I quickly look up from my book. It’s the Water Princess. I have not even the slightest idea of how long I’ve been reading.
I instantly stand up to my feet, place a fist over my heart and start to curtsy, but she waves me off.
“Water Princess,” I breathe.
“I’m Clara to you, remember?”
“Right,” I reply feeling suddenly shy. My tongue is tied for a second and I blush slightly.
“I’m Amanda,” I say, looking into her face. She seems to resemble me in some ways, from our blonde hair and blue eyes to our build and stance. I’m not sure if she’s pleased or not about that. Clara keeps her emotions concealed for the most part.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” I offer with a smile.
“At least I’m here,” she replies. “I was on my way back from exercising in the fresh air this morning, when I remembered I was supposed to meet you. I quickly changed, and here I am.”
“It’s a good thing we both made it, then,” I interject.
Clara just shrugs.
“That’s a great book, by the way.” She motions to my book.
“Yes, it is.”
I’m afraid she’ll be weirded out if I tell her that I’m only reading it because of her, and because I love the references she makes to it. She doesn’t know that I know a lot more about her than Kendra has told her. I don’t say anything else on the topic.
Not knowing exactly where to start, I clear my throat slightly apprehensively.
“I have a few questions for you, so thank you for being willing to answer them.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whether I’m willing or not is not the issue. Kendra’s forcing me.”
“Right. I, uh, sorry about that. Authors can be quite forceful people. Regardless, you’re here now, and like I said, I do have some questions for you.”
“Well, get on with it.”
Before I start, I try to break the ice by grabbing her favorite drink out of my backpack.
“Want any hot chocolate?”
“Yes, thanks. I haven’t had it in a long while.”
I had a feeling she’d say that.
“But it isn’t a bribe, right? To get me to say things that Kendra wants me to?”
I snort.
“No, of course not. I know you like hot chocolate, and so do I, so I figured we should make this as pleasant as possible.”
I pour the mix into the two mugs of hot water, and try to continue with my questions.
I clear my throat and glance down at my clipboard.
“I happen to know that you have many athletic hobbies and your family and best friends do too. What do you consider your strong suit?”
Her answer doesn’t hesitate.
“Fencing, closely followed by Tae Kwon Do.”
“Talented girl,” I say to her. Clara shrugs again. It’s not like she hasn’t practiced her whole life.
“Do you have any aspirations or life goals?”
“To compete in the Olympics. Probably in fencing.” Her answers are confident. This girl knows what she wants.
“Well, I’m sure you will,” I reply. “Go for the gold, sister.”
I ask her another question, hoping she’s not getting bored.
“According to the Myers-Briggs personality test, what kind of personality do you have?”
Clara stirs her hot chocolate, and looks into my eyes to answer.
“Kendra says I’m ENFP, which is the same thing she is, so I don’t know how I feel about that one.”
“Ah, a free spirit. Lionhearted girl. That’ll come in handy, you know.”
I bite my lip, not knowing how she’s going to respond to my next questions.
“I know of course that you are much too young to be married, but what will you be looking for (or not looking for) in a future husband?”
Clara blinks, and then answers quickly.
“My mom and I have discussed this one. He has to be able to cook. That I know for certain.”
I barely hold back an impish smirk.
“That makes sense. I like to think myself a chef, but I burn tea water. I guess we all have our gifts.”
“You burn tea water?” She asks me.
“I…okay, it happened once. Apparently science and cooking just don’t like me.”
“And I thought I was a terrible cook.”
We both laugh, then after a moment, I clear my throat for the next question.
I take a sip of my own hot chocolate before asking the next question.
“What is your opinion on romance?”
She looks at me thoughtfully, like she already prepared to answer this.
“I have nothing at all against it, as long as it’s between MATURE adults. Honestly, I am looking forward to one day falling in love and getting married, though finding a guy who measures up to my dad might be a problem. My parents have set a good example for me. I intend to follow it.”
I like her answer. Sounds like something I would say.
“Maturity is quite important. I’m sure it’ll be the right time when you finally do marry, for we both know that Alphego (God) knows best.”
“I hope so,” she replies.
“Tell us about what it feels like to be the Water Princess, with all that insane responsibility of holding the weight of an entire country on your shoulders.”
Clara sarcastically flickers her eyebrows.
“Like there’s an elephant sitting on me. The sword they gave me is cool, though.”
I grin. “Hey, swords are always a plus. Elephants are heavy.”
By this time, our hot chocolates are almost gone. I tell her that I’m close to being finished with my questions, and she looks relieved. I don’t think I’m annoying her, but who likes being interrogated by someone who could be your twin? Or anyone, for that matter.
I flip over the sheet on my clipboard to ask her the last two questions.
“What is the most difficult difference to get used to between the world of Rizkaland and our world?”
“The way they talk. I mean, the colors and the food are easy to accept, but it’s almost like learning a new language. They don’t like the letter c, and they have words that we don’t.”
“I know, right?” I passionately respond. “Rizkan spelling and speech is confusing. I was mispronouncing a bunch of your friends’ names and names of places until Kendra told me the right way to, and I never doubted my reading skills more in my life. I guess you just have to live with the differences.”
Clara nods in agreement, and I can tell she’s trying not to laugh at me. Still, she keeps her composure quite well.
“And now for the last question,” I tell her.
“What feelings do you have toward your author, seeing that she puts you through so much in this book?”
Taking one last sip of her hot chocolate, I can hear Clara laugh quietly. She puts down her drink at meets my gaze.
“I’d answer your question, but my mother taught me to be polite, so I think I’d better not. There is some resentment involved, however.”
I knew she’d say something like that. I try not to laugh, but I fail.
“That’s okay. Most characters don’t like their authors, because like I said, authors can be quite forceful people. Though, you can always do things and surprise Kendra once in a while. Have fun.”
“Oh, you know I will.”
And I’m sure of it.
“Thanks for meeting me here, Clara. I enjoyed getting to know you better.”
“Glad I could answer your questions.”
“I guess you didn’t really get to know me, though,” I say to her.
“We’ll have to meet for hot chocolate another time. But I should go now. Have fun reading Alice, Amanda. See ya.”
“Goodbye, Water Princess.”
As she walks out, I smile. I hope I’ll get to meet with her again soon.
***
Free Books! Currently, the following books by Kendra E. Ardnek are free:
When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.
Despite the fact that she’s on track for competing in the Olympics, and he’s practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland’s hope will be lost.
What is to come will change their lives forever.
If you know anything about me in real life, you’ll know how much I don’t like picking up a new book.
“What if I hate it and decide never to read another book again? What if I’ve lost faith in all books because this one is horrendous?”
It’s pathetic, and I should really try to kick that preconceived notion. But I haven’t yet.
I almost always start a book extremely skeptical. I didn’t like fantasy before March of this year, mind you.
I hadn’t read much Young Adult fiction until I started at fourteen last November. I expected all Christian fiction to be preachy and shallow.
I’ve always loved books…but indie books made me skeptical. If everyone thinks themselves an author, of course those books won’t be good. Right?
(No. Just…No. Sorry, Clara, but indies can be great too.)
Anyway, in March, Kendra invited me to participate in the cover reveal for her book. I was like, “Sure, why not? Kendra is sweet and she probably writes well by all the good reviews I’ve read on Goodreads.”
On her website, I signed up for the reveal, but I also signed up to beta read.
I read the then-description, and decided it intrigued me a little. (This was when the placeholder description was the only description, so I didn’t know what exactly to expect.)
I’d never done anything ever remotely close to beta-ing before.
So this was new for me, and I’m not sure how helpful I actually was. But I did it.
I picked up the book with low expectations…and I was blown away.
My jaw is sore from it smacking the floor so many times.
I fell in love.
My Review: FIVE HUMONGOUS STARS
A lot of times, I mistakenly write a review on a book and end up using it as an outlet for fangirling. The problem with this is, that 95% of my blog readers have either never read the book, never heard of the book, or aren’t interested in it.
So let me try to explain before I freak out and make it known that I’ve been waiting for this release for months and gushing every chance I get, parading around my sapphire ring, spiced pomella cider, shortness, and gymnastics skillz.
Water Princess, Fire Prince centers around two teenagers, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson. In a whirlwind of events, those two end up in another world called Rizkaland, in the country of Klarand. A prophecy is thrown upon them stating firstly that Clara and Andrew will fight the Lady Dragon, for she has been tormenting the people of Klarand, turning them to ice, and melting them. An unescapable fate. And the second part of the prophecy? Their union will be the key to the country’s salvation. Did I mention that Andrew is declared the Fire Prince and Clara the Water Princess?
Problem is, Andrew and Clara are meeting for the first time, and they don’t want to be united. Not at sixteen. And Andrew can’t exactly fight. He could probably whack someone in the head with a frying pan, but that’s about it. Clara’s attitude is highly uncooperative, and that’s putting it kindly.
How in Rizkaland is it all going to work out?
Water Princess, Fire Prince tugged ever so strongly at the strings of my heart. The message is clear, strong, and inspiring, and I related to it so much. I identified with Clara. (I’ve heard that most people did not. However, she’s a lot like me when it comes to interests, looks, and personality.) I became her, and I fell in love with Andrew. (Is that a problem?) I laughed, I cried, I squealed, and I glared right back at Clara in her glaring moments.
The dialogue is witty, hilarious, deep, and I felt at some points as though I would say the exact same things. I felt everything along with Clara and Andrew, and even Amber at some points. Because you’re inside Clara and Andrew’s heads (at different times) throughout the book, you see the rationalization of actions and motives behind choices. It’s so wonderful because it’s so real. IT IS JUST SO REAL.
The worldbuilding was magical. Literally magical. It was like a whole new Narnia, and absolutely amazing. DID I MENTION THE PART ABOUT IT BEING SO REAL?
Every part melted my heart. The faith aspect is so deep, and theologically accurate, but never preachy.
It’s so amazing, and I can’t say enough good things about it.
The romance aspect was done ever so well, and very tastefully. No insta-love here. (That’s one of my top pet peeves in today’s mainstream novels.) Water Princess, Fire Prince demonstrated that love is something to fight for, and not something that is anything even remotely close to easy. It’s one of the sweetest love stories I’ve ever read. It’s raw. It’s real. It’s heartbreaking and tear-jerking, and also something you’re cheering for and fangirling over the entire time.
The dynamics of the entire story are absolutely perfect. I can’t talk enough about it.
I’ve been squealing to my family and friends about it since April when I read it. I wasn’t a prior Kendra E. Ardnek fan, but I did know her a little bit from Goodreads and other online author-y book-y read-y things. So I went into it somewhat unbiased and definitely skeptical. I didn’t expect to dislike it per se, I just had no idea how much I’d fall in love with it.
But I did.
And I’m speechless.
If you like Young Adult fiction, read it.
If you like fantasy, read it.
If you like plain ol’ fiction, read it.
If you like to read any kind of literature at all, read it.
If you don’t even like to read, read it anyway.
Go ahead and buy it.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want it in the paperback format to read, and hug, and sniff, and cry tears onto, and caress the pages of.
Yes, it’s that good, and every person I have talked to has gushed over it.
Trust me, you’ll want to read it.
I received an e-ARC and beta copy from the author for review, and all opinions are mine. Like, seriously, I loved this book so much. Thanks, Kendra. I’m going to go PURCHASE the paperback now.
Author Bio:
Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She’s been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, “Finish your story, Kendra”, is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children’s tales that also glorify God and His Word. You can read more about her on her blog, knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.
Want to see the list of other blogs participating in the tour this week? Check it out here.
Also, come back on Thursday for an awesome interview I got to do with Clara.
Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She’s been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, “Finish your story, Kendra”, is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children’s tales that also glorify God and His Word. You can read more about her on her blog, 
Scattered Journal Pages 