Sisterchicks Down Under!

Yesterday was a perfect day for reading.  It was a drizzly, rainy, chilly day.  So, I picked up another one of the Sisterchicks novels that a friend loaned me and started reading.  Sisterchicks Down Under! by Robin Jones Gunn starts off in the sunny state of California before moving to New Zealand.  With a trip to Australia in the novel, there was description of three different places.

As with all the Sisterchicks novels, there were adventures in travels, relationships, and life throughout the novel.  The learning moments/lessons for me in this book included Scripture, vocabulary from down under, some art and math lessons, and how to love God and others.

The book opens with Ephesians 5:2-- "Mostly what God does is love you.  Keep company with him and learn a life of love.  Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but extravagant.  He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us.  Love like that." (The Message)

Part of what caught my attention in this book is that the main character, Kathleen, was 45 years old and shared about being halfway through life.  As she contemplated what the remaining years might look like, part of her questioning included what risks was she willing to take.   Since I have been looking into the second part of my life for the past several years, contemplating Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, and seeking to live well into my year of jubilee, I was curious to see how this character would deal with this part of life.

The scenes and vocabulary from New Zealand were enjoyable to read.  Though I haven't had the opportunity to travel yet to New Zealand, I felt like I got to visit some sights through the book.  And, I picked up some of the lingo, too. 

Wellington, New Zealand was the setting for the majority of the book.  Lord of the Rings fans will know that New Zealand was where the movie was filmed and might know Wellington as one of the  towns where the movie was filmed.  Movie references come up in this book throughout with references to the movie and the scenes.  An interesting one was when Jill took Kathy (Kathleen) to the forest where Frodo and his pals hid after the hobbits left Shire.  (page 69) They were checking out the beauty of the area and decided to see if they could fit in the hobbit-sized holes. 

Besides the beautiful forest, the water in New Zealand and other aspects of nature and culture are described in such a way that makes one desire to visit this land. 

The sisterchick duo travel to Christchurch, New Zealand during their adventures and learn about the Maori culture during their trip. 

Some New Zealand vocabulary from the book:
chemist = drugstore
dairy = corner market
colly wobbles = queasy feeling
dunny = restroom
cotton buds = Q-tips
sticking plaster = Band-Aids
hokey pokey = ice cream
crisps = potato chips
sarnies = sandwiches
take away = to go

Besides the Ephesians 5:2 nugget on God's extravagant love, there were examples of the Scripture lived out by loving others scattered throughout the book.  Loving God and loving others and accepting God's love and the love of others were threads woven through the story line.   God's love IS extravagant.  Sometimes it takes getting out of our comfort zones to see and experience that love.  What we do with our lives, the time we have, the relationships we have.... that's what this book is about... Well, yes and no.  It is "only" a novel.  But, a novel that reflects accuracy in life.

Well, that's about all I have to share from this adventure with the Sisterchicks Down Under!  Check it out for yourself to get the details.  You will likely get more out of it than I shared here.  I didn't want to ruin it for you.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra