Financial Purity by Jessica V. Psalidas

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Jessica V. Psalidas

and the book:

Financial Purity

Infinity Publishing (June 8, 2009)

***Special thanks to Paula Krapf of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessica V. Psalidas is the authority on purity and spiritual growth. She has impacted the lives of many and continues to do so through her bestselling books like Everlasting Purity (which also won the 2008 Christian Choice Book Award). Jessica is requested by all walks of life for coaching and the teaching on spiritual growth and purity.

Jessica is a cum laude graduate of the Inter-American University in Puerto Rico with a degree in Business. She also has completed studies such as Faith Foundations at the Institute for Christian Living with Charles Stanley and The Way of the Master at The School of Biblical Evangelism. Fueled with a passion to continue to study the Word of God and to serve the Lord, Jessica continues to have a daily commitment to learn as much as she can. Jessica also serves the Lord by helping younger women understand the importance of purity and how to apply it in their everyday life.

Jessica is a successful entrepreneur and President of two companies. A much sought after writer and coach, Jessica has over 17 years of experience working in the sales and business world and lives to reach out to people to impact their lives.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.95
Paperback: 263 pages
Publisher: Infinity Publishing (June 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0741453169
ISBN-13: 978-0741453167

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

This book will provide an in-depth look at what we spend our money on, why we should stay away from certain things that waste our money, and why we need to have a vision about money. I think money – the use and management of it – is very important in our lives. Once you develop a vision, you will have a clear idea of what you want in life and what action you will need to take in order to get there.


What is your financial purity portfolio? Many people have heard of a financial portfolio, but what is a financial purity portfolio, and why is it different? As we discover the answer to that question we will examine money in a different light, in a simple way that allows us to be clear about the use and management of our money. We will go beyond what we have in savings and investments and look into some of our day to day spending habits and frequent purchases, as well as why we save, why we tithe, why we should have a will, and what can happen when we spend our money on wasteful vices. Most importantly, in this book I will encourage everyone to develop a financial vision for themselves and their family.


Having a vision gives you clarity as to what you want and what you need to do to get there. It gives purpose and focus to your money management and to the outlook you have concerning your money. Many people that I talk to about money have a grim view of it because they do not have enough of it on hand at any given time or they do not earn enough of it. I encourage you to have a positive, realistic outlook and attitude toward money for your own financial welfare. It does you no good to be irritated or upset about your financial status right now, because with a great attitude and determination, you can change your situation.


Developing a vision for your finances is the first step in building your financial purity portfolio. Utilizing and managing your money purely and cleanly, meaning spending your money on necessary and wholesome things, is one of the most important steps in developing your financial purity portfolio.


Some people may think it is hard to focus on developing a vision due to their own difficult financial situation or, as some call it, the “financial crisis” we are experiencing in the U.S. at the time of this writing. If this describes you, please be encouraged! I would like to share with you some steps that I have implemented in my life to remain joyful and hopeful during any trying situation that comes along.


Everyone seems to be in a state of panic over the financial situation in the U.S. economy, and it both saddens and frustrates me at the same time. We are, to a certain extent, part of the reason why our country is the way it is. When our morale goes down, so does everything else. We are gripped by fear over temporary difficulties that will soon pass. This country has experienced many challenging situations before, and we have always gotten through them. We will get through this too. We need to remain positive, encouraged, and stimulated to find new and exciting ways to spur our economic growth. We need to be stronger in prayer, which will keep our morale high. If we all lifted our spirits up higher and kept a positive attitude, we would experience a change for the better. Nothing good will come out of us being depressed, upset, angry, or fearful. These emotions will not get us ahead but rather will only hold us back. Stay in prayer and remain hopeful in God.


Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7


Have I not commanded? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9


This is not the first time we have ever gone through a financial situation (or “crisis” as some may call it) in this nation. We will survive, and we will get through this. Do not corrupt your mind with negative thoughts such as, “Oh, no … the world is falling apart!” Thinking this way will cause much devastation to your otherwise positive mindset, and it will keep your fears very much alive. On the contrary, you will be amazed at what can happen to your morale and your spirits when you remain positive, jovial, and at peace about the situation. Because this is not the first time our country has experienced something like this, I know the situation will get better soon. We will get better. I believe that by changing our outlook, adjusting our lifestyles, and remaining positive, we will do a great service those around us and to ourselves. Stay in prayer, remain spiritually strong, and most importantly, remain happy.

The Week in Words: February 8, 2010

My Quote from reading last week is:

" She was tired of defining herself by her mistakes. By the things she almost got right.

She wanted to be extraordinary.
She wanted to be amazing.
She wanted to do this right.
She wanted to keep all the promises she'd made. Especially to herself.
She couldn't disappoint herself ... couldn't disappoint God... again.
Please help me keep my promises."

Excerpt from page 107 of Double Trouble by Susan May Warren

This quote really grabbed me and made me stop when I read it. Especially the middle part. Who does not long to be great at something? I screw up and make mistakes it seems like all the time and it really bothers me even though I know only God/Jesus is perfect. Solution ?

It's Monday What Are You Reading? February 8, 2010

Sheila at One Persons Journey through a world of Books has taken over this event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week. Thank you J. Kaye for coming up with and hosting it. :)

Books Read Last Week:

- A Valentine's Wish by Betsy St. Amant

- Twice in a Lifetime by Marta Perry

- Heart of the Matter by Marta Perry

- Anything but Normal by Melody Carlson

- Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan

- On Wings of Love by Kim Watters

- Double Trouble by Susan May Warren

Books to be Reviewed:

Way too many to list.

Books I am currently reading:

- Hometown Promise by Merrillee Whren

- Financial Purity by Jessica Psalidas

- Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah

Books I plan to read next:

- Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson

- A Kiss for Cade by Lori Copeland

- The Pastor's Wife by Jennifer Allee

Sunday Salon February 7, 2010

* Why do weekends have to go by so quick?

* I had a pretty good weekend. I have been a little frustrated lately. It seemed like everything was falling to pieces last week. Being a girl I know part of it was hormones.

* I read five books this weekend:

- Heart of the Matter by Marta Perry

- Anything but Normal by Melody Carlson

- Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan

- On Wings of Love by Kim Watters

- Double Trouble by Susan May Warren

* They were all good. My favorites are probably Anything but Normal and Double Trouble.

* I have not done my January wrap up yet. I am waiting to hopefully finish getting reviews written. We'll see. I might have to do it without.

* My sister and I made brownies today to take to Superbowl parties. We went over to my Mom and Stepfather's house first and then my Aunt Jenny's house. Good food and family, always a great combination. :)

* I think almost the entire South at least is celebrating the Saints Superbowl win. I am not a sports fan so it does not mean as much to me but I do think it is pretty cool. lol

* I really hope this week goes better/smoothly. Praying for calm, cool, and collectedness (is that a word?).

* I hope everyone has a great week and find lots of reading time. :)

Third Time's a Charm by Virginia Smith (Review)

Paperback: 327 pages
Publisher: Revell (January 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0800732349

About the book:

Can Tori balance career, family, love, and shopping? Tori Sanderson has the professional opportunity of a lifetime. If she can prove she's executive material, she's in line for a big promotion. But there's only room for one new account executive, and her co-worker has his eye on the job . . . and on Tori. How can she consider romance when she couldn't hold on to the one man who was supposed to love her forever--her own father? The time has come for answers, and Tori decides to search for the father who deserted her twelve years ago. Will she find the answers she craves? And will she ever be able to love again?

My Review:
I loved this book. It is the third book featuring the Sanderson sisters and my favorite. It is well written with an interesting plot line and characters. There are several lol moments amidst the more serious issues. Tori Sanderson is the main character in this book and the youngest sister. She has always had abandonment issues from their father leaving when they were children. She compensates by being a workaholic and shopaholic.

She works at a marketing firm and suddenly a job promotion comes available. A contest between her and her handsome co worker is set up by their boss and the winner gets the promotion. She also has a love interest her family is setting her up with so that adds some great tension to the story. Faith also plays a role in the book but it is not preachy at all. The ending has several twists I did not see coming. This book can be read on its own but I liked the first two books in the series too. This is the last book in the series and provides some closure as far as the other characters go but it is not wrapped up neat and perfect. Highly Recommended.



Thank you to Kathy Carlton Willis communications for providing me with this book to review.

Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah (Review and Giveaway)

***Leave a comment on this post before February 19 at midnight to be entered to win a copy.***



About the book:

Who They Are and How They Help–What the Bible Reveals…

What are angels? What is their role in God’s plan? Are they present? Do they appear? Do they give us personal insight about our work, our worship?

Many contemporary beliefs about angels are based on misconception and myth. Dr. David Jeremiah uses scripture to unveil the remarkable truth about these agents of heaven, and their role and work in our world—and lives.

My Review:
I am not quite finished with this book yet. I have been reading it before work in the car. It makes a great devotional type book. It helped clear and focus my brain. Might be all the great bible verses in it. That is what I like the most about this book. There is some speculation on the part of the author but I just ignored it and moved on. It is easy to read and keeps your interest. I really did not know that much about Angels going into it so it has been a real learning experience. Recommended.


About the Author:

Dr. David Jeremiah is senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, and founder of Turning Point Radio and TV Ministries. His radio program is carried on over 2,500 stations worldwide, while the TV broadcast is received by 500 million homes via cable and satellite. The recipient of numerous awards for broadcast excellence, his books have garnered Gold Medallion awards and become bestsellers with The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York Times. He is a sought-after conference speaker by organizations nationwide.

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601422699&ref=externallink_mlt_Angels_sec_1208_01

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Katy's New World by Kim Vogel Sawyer

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Kim Vogel Sawyer

and the book:

Katy’s New World (The Katy Lambright Series)

Zondervan (February 1, 2010)

***Special thanks to Bridgette Brooks of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bestselling, award-winning author Kim Vogel Sawyer wears many hats besides “writer.” As a wife, mother, grandmother, and active participant in her church, her life is happily full. But Kim’s passion lies in writing stories of hope that encourage her readers to place their lives in God’s capable hands. An active speaking ministry assists her with her desire. Kim and her husband make their home on the beautiful plains of Kansas, the setting for many of Kim’s novels.

Visit the author's AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Like wisps of smoke that upward flee,
Disappearing on the breeze,
Days dissolving one by one . . .
Time stands still for no one.

Katy Lambright stared at the neatly written lines in her journal and crinkled her brow so tightly her forehead hurt. She rubbed the knot between her eyebrows with her fingertip. What was wrong? Ah, yes. Two uses of “one” on the final lines. She stared harder, tapping her temple with the eraser end of her pencil. What would be a better ending?

She whispered, “Time’s as fleeting as the —”

“Katy-girl?”

Just like the poem stated, her thought dissipated like a wisp of smoke. Dropping her pencil onto the journal page, she smacked the book closed and dashed to the top of the stairs. “What?”

Dad stood at the bottom with his hand on the square newel post, looking up. “It’s seven fifteen. You’ll miss your bus if we don’t get going.”
Katy’s stomach turned a rapid somersault. Maybe she shouldn’t have fixed those rich banana-pecan pancakes for breakfast. But she’d wanted Dad to have a special breakfast this morning. It was a big day for him. And for her. Mostly for her. “I’ll be right down.”

She grabbed her sweater from the peg behind her bedroom door. No doubt today would be like any other late-August day —unbearably hot —but the high school was air conditioned. She might get cold. So she quickly folded the made-by-Gramma sweater into a rough bundle and pushed it into the belly of the backpack waiting in the little nook at the head of the stairs.

The bold pink backpack presented a stark contrast to her simple sky blue dress. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, while at the same time a twinge of uncertainty wiggled its way through her stomach. She’d never used a backpack before. Annika Gehring, her best friend since forever, had helped her pack it with notebooks and pencils and a brand-new protractor—all the things listed on the supply sheet from the high school in Salina. They had giggled while organizing the bag, making use of each of its many pockets.

Katy sighed. A part of her wished that Annika was coming to high school and part of her was glad to be going alone. If she made a fool of herself, no one from the Mennonite fellowship would be there to see. And as much as she loved Annika, whatever the girl saw she reported.

“Katy-girl!” Dad’s voice carried from the yard through the open windows.

Would Dad ever drop that babyish nickname? If he called her Katy-girl in front of any of the high school kids, she’d die from embarrassment. “I’m coming!” She yanked up the backpack and pushed her arms through the straps. The backpack’s tug on her shoulders felt strange and yet exhila-rating. She ran down the stairs, the ribbons from her mesh headcovering fluttering against her neck and the backpack bouncing on her spine —one familiar feeling and one new feeling, all at once. The combination almost made her dizzy. She tossed the backpack onto the seat of her dad’s blue pickup and climbed in beside it. As he pulled away from their dairy farm onto the dirt road that led to the highway, she rolled down the window. Dust billowed behind the tires, drifting into the cab. Katy coughed, but she hugged her backpack to her stomach and let the morning air hit her full in the face. She loved the smell of morning, before the day got so hot it melted away the fresh scent of dew.

The truck rumbled past the one-room schoolhouse where Katy had attended first through ninth grades. Given the early hour, no kids cluttered the schoolyard. But in her imagination she saw older kids pushing little kids on the swings, kids waiting for a turn on the warped teeter-totter, and Caleb Penner chasing the girls with a wiggly earthworm and making them scream. Caleb had chased her many times, waving an earthworm or a fat beetle. He’d never made her scream, though. Bugs didn’t bother Katy. She only feared a few things. Like tornadoes. And people leaving and not coming back.

A sigh drifted from Dad’s side of the seat. She turned to face him, noting his somber expression. Dad always looked serious. And tired. Running the dairy farm as well as a household without the help of a wife had aged him. For a moment guilt pricked at Katy’s conscience. She was supposed to stay home and help her family, like all the other Old Order girls when they finished ninth grade.

But the familiar spiral of longing —to learn more, to see what existed outside the limited expanse of Schell-berg—wound its way through her middle. Her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands as she clenched her fists. She had to go. This opportunity, granted to no one else in her little community, was too precious to squander.

“Dad?” She waited until he glanced at her. “Stop worrying.”

His eyebrows shot up, meeting the brim of his billed cap. “I’m not worrying.”

“Yes, you are. You’ve been worrying all morning. Wor-rying ever since the deacons said I could go.” Katy under-stood his worry.

She’d heard the speculative whispers when the Menno-nite fellowship learned that Katy had been granted permis-sion to attend the high school in Salina: “Will she be Kath-leen’s girl through and through?” But she was determined to prove the worriers wrong. She could attend public school, could be with worldly people, and still maintain her faith. Hadn’t she been the only girl at the community school to face Caleb’s taunting bugs without flinching? She was strong.

She gave Dad’s shoulder a teasing nudge with her fist. “I’ll be all right, you know.”

His lips twitched. “I’m not worried about you, Katy-girl.”

He was lying, but Katy didn’t argue. She never talked back to Dad. If she got upset with him, she wrote the words in her journal to get them out of her head, and then she tore the page into tiny bits and threw the pieces away. She’d started the practice shortly after she turned thirteen.

Before then, he’d never done anything wrong. Sometimes she wondered if he’d changed or she had, but it didn’t mat-ter much. She didn’t like feeling upset with him —he was all she had —so she tried to get rid of her anger quickly.

They reached the highway, and Dad parked the pickup on the shoulder. He turned the key, and the engine splut-tered before falling silent. Dad aimed his face out his side window, his elbow propped on the sill. Wind whistled through the open windows and birds trilled a morning song from one of the empty wheat fields that flanked the pickup. The sounds were familiar—a symphony of nature she’d heard since infancy—but today they carried a poi-gnancy that put a lump in Katy’s throat.

Why had she experienced such a strange reaction to wind and birds? She would explore it in her journal before she went to bed this evening. Words —secretive whispers, melodious trill—cluttered her mind. Maybe she’d write a poem about it too, if she wasn’t too tired from her first day at school.

Cars crested the gentle rise in the black-topped high-way and zinged by—sports cars and big SUVs, so differ-ent from the plain black or blue Mennonite pickups and sedans that filled the church lot on Sunday mornings in Schellberg. When would the big yellow bus appear? Katy had been warned it wouldn’t be able to wait for her. Might it have come and gone already? Her stomach fluttered as fear took hold.

Dad suddenly whirled to face her. “Do you have your lunch money?”

She patted the small zipper pocket on the front of the backpack. “Right here.” She hunched her shoulders and giggled. “It feels funny not to carry a lunchbox.” For as far back as she could remember, Katy had carried a lunch she’d packed for herself since she didn’t have a mother to do it for her.

“Yes, but you heard the lady in the school office.” Dad drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “She said the kids at this school eat in the cafeteria or go out to eat.”

Embarrassment crept over Katy as she remembered the day they’d visited the school. When the secretary told Dad about the school lunch program, he’d insisted on reading the lunch menu from beginning to end before agreeing to let his daughter eat “school-made food.”

Truthfully, the menu had looked more enticing than her customary peanut butter sandwich, but Dad had acted as though he thought someone might try to poison her. She’d filled three pages, front and back, in her journal over the incident before tearing the well-scribbled pages into min-iscule bits of litter. But —satisfaction welled—Dad had purchased a lunch ticket after all.

The wind tossed the satin ribbons dangling from the mesh cap that covered her heavy coil of hair. They tickled her chin. She hooked the ribbons in the neck of her dress and then brushed dust from the skirt of her homemade dress. An errant thought formed. I’m glad I’ll be eating cafeteria food like a regular high school kid. It might be only way I don’t stick out.

Dad cleared his throat. “There she comes.”

The school bus rolled toward them. The sun glared off the wide windshield, nearly hiding the monstrous vehicle from view. Katy threw her door open and stepped out, carrying the backpack on her hip as if it were one of her toddler cousins. She sucked in a breath of dismay when Dad met her at the hood of the pickup and reached for her hand.

“It’s okay, Dad.” She smiled at him even though her stomach suddenly felt as though it might return those ba-nana-pecan pancakes at any minute. “I can get on okay.”
The bus’s wide rubber tires crunched on the gravel as it rolled to a stop at the intersection. Giggles carried from in-side the bus when Dad walked Katy to the open door. Katy cringed, trying discreetly pull her hand free, but Dad kept hold and gave the bus driver a serious look.

“This is my daughter, Katy Lambright.”

“Kathleen Lambright,” Katy corrected. Hadn’t she told Dad she wanted to be Kathleen at the new school instead of the childish Katy? Dad wasn’t in favor, and Katy knew why. She would let him continue to call her Katy—or Katy-girl, the nickname he’d given her before she was old enough to sit up—but to the Outside, she was Kathleen.
Dad frowned at the interruption, but he repeated, “Kathleen Lambright. She is attending Salina High North.”

The driver, an older lady with soft white hair cut short and brushed back from her rosy face, looked a little bit like Gramma Ruthie around her eyes. But Gramma would never wear blue jeans or a bright yellow polka-dotted shirt. One side of the driver’s mouth quirked up higher than the other when she smiled, giving her an impish look. “Well, come on aboard, Katy Kathleen Lambright. We have a schedule to keep.”

Another titter swept through the bus. Dad leaned to-ward Katy, as if he planned to hug her good-bye. Katy ducked away and darted onto the bus. When she glanced back, she glimpsed the hurt in Dad’s eyes, and guilt hit her hard. This day wasn’t easy for him. She spun to dash back out and let him hug her after all, but the driver pulled a lever that closed the door, sealing her away from her father.

Suddenly the reality of what she was doing —leaving the security of her little community, her dad, and all that was familiar—washed over her, and for one brief moment she wanted to claw the doors open and dive into the refuge of Dad’s arms, just as she used to do when she was little and frightened by a windstorm.

“Have a seat, Kathleen,” the driver said.

Through the window, Katy watched Dad climb back into the pickup. His face looked so sad, her heart hurt. She felt a sting at the back of her nose —a sure sign that tears were coming. She sniffed hard.

“You’ve got to sit down, or we can’t go.” Impatience colored the driver’s tone. She pushed her foot against the gas pedal, and the bus engine roared in eagerness. More giggles erupted from the kids on the bus.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.” Katy quickly scanned the seats. Most of them were already filled with kids. The passen-gers all looked her up and down, some smirking, and some staring with their mouths hanging open. She could imagine them wondering what she was doing on their bus. She’d be the first Mennonite student to attend one of the Salina schools. She lifted her chin. Well, they’ll just have to get used to me.
Katy ignored the gawks and searched faces. She had hoped to sit with someone her own age, but none of the kids looked to be more than twelve or thirteen. Finally she spotted an open seat toward the middle on the right. She dropped into it, sliding the backpack into the empty space beside her.

The bus jolted back onto the highway with a crunch of tires on gravel. The two little girls in the seat in front of Katy turned around and stared with round, wide eyes. Katy smiled, but they didn’t smile back. So she raised her eyebrows high and waggled her tongue, the face she used to get her baby cousin Trent to stop crying. The little girls made the same face back, giggled, and turned forward again.
Throughout the bus, kids talked and laughed, at ease with each other. Katy sat alone, silent and invisible. The bus bounced worse than Dad’s pickup, and her stomach felt queasier with each mile covered. She swallowed and swallowed to keep the banana-pecan pancakes in place. Think about something else . . .

High school. Her heart fluttered. Public high school. A smile tugged on the corners of her lips. Classes like botany and music appreciation and literature. Literature . . .

When she’d shown Annika the list of classes selected for her sophomore year at Salina High North, Annika had shaken her head and made a face. “They sound hard. Why do you want to study more anyway? You’re weird, Katy.”

Remembering her friend’s words made her nose sting again. Annika had been Katy’s best friend ever since the first grade when the teacher plunked them together on a little bench at the front of the schoolroom, but despite their lengthy and close friendship, Annika didn’t understand Katy.

Katy stared out the window, biting her lower lip and fighting an uncomfortable realization. Katy didn’t under-stand herself. A ninth grade education seemed to satisfy everyone else in her community, so why wasn’t it enough for her?

Why were questions always swirling through her brain? She could still hear her teacher’s voice in her memory: “Katy, Katy, your many questions make me tired.” Why did words mean so much to her? None of her Menno-nite friends had to write their thoughts in a spiral-bound notebook to keep from exploding. Katy couldn’t begin to explain why. And she knew, even without asking, that was what scared Dad the most. She shook her head, hug-ging her backpack to her thudding heart. He didn’t need to be worried. She loved Dad, loved being a Mennonite girl, loved Schellberg and its wooden chapel of fellowship where she felt close to God and to her neighbors. Besides, the deacons had been very clear when they gave her permission to attend high school. If she picked up worldly habits, attending school would come to an abrupt and per-manent end.

A prayer automatically winged through her heart: God, guide me in this learning, but keep me humble. Help me remember what Dad read from Your Word last night during our prayer time: that a man profits nothing if he gains the world but loses his soul.
The bus pulled in front of the tan brick building that she and Dad had visited two weeks earlier when they enrolled her in school. On that day, the campus had been empty except for a few cars and two men in blue uniforms standing in the shade of a tall pine tree, smoking ciga-rettes. Dad had hurried her right past them. Today, how-
ever, the parking lot overflowed with vehicles in a variety of colors, makes, and models. People—people her age, not like the kids on the school bus —stood in little groups all over the grassy yard, talking and laughing.

Katy stared out the window, her mouth dry. Most of the students had backpacks, but none sporting bold colors like hers. Their backpacks were Mennonite-approved colors: dark blue, green, and lots and lots of black. Should she have selected a plain-colored backpack? Aunt Rebecca had clicked her tongue at Katy’s choice, but the pink one was so pretty, so different from her plain dresses . . . Her hands started to shake.

“Kathleen?” The bus driver turned backward in her seat. “C’mon, honey, scoot on off. I got three more stops to make.”

Katy quickly slipped her arms through the backpack’s straps and scuttled off the bus. The door squealed shut behind her, and the bus pulled away with a growl and a thick cloud of strong-smelling smoke. Katy stood on the sidewalk, facing the school. She twisted a ribbon from her cap around her finger, wondering where she should go. The main building? That seemed a logical choice. She took one step forward but then froze, her skin prickling with awareness.

All across the yard, voices faded. Faces turned one-by-one—a field of faces —all aiming in her direction. She heard a shrill giggle—her own. Her response to nervousness.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pull on the other kids faded. They turned back to their own groups as if she no longer existed. With a sigh, she resumed her progress toward the main building, turning sideways to ease between groups, sometimes bumping people with her backpack, mumbling apologies and flashing shy smiles. She’d worked her way halfway across the yard when an ear-piercing clang filled the air. The fine hairs on her arms prickled, and she stopped as suddenly as if she’d slammed into the solid brick wall of the school building.

The other kids all began moving, flinging their back-packs over one shoulder and pushing at one another. Katy got swept along with the throng, jostled and bumped like everyone else. Her racing heartbeat seemed to pound a message: This is IT! This is IT! High school!