Being More Intentional in 2012

I'm kind of tired of floating through life. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. So I've decided to become more intentional in the things I do this year. One of the areas I plan to do this is in my reading. I spend way more time reading online that I should. I look at the books on my bookshelf and think....someday. Someday never comes. So this year, I will be picking out 24 books to read- 2 a month. Most of them will be non-fiction. I want things that are going to help me grow as a person and in my relationship with God. One of the ways I can do that is by becoming intentional about the media that I am putting into my head. So, without further ado. Here is this year's reading list.

January

- Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman (I've read 5 chapters today and already feel myself being stretched)! Finished Jan. 9, 2012

-168 Hours- You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam Decided not to read this book after starting it. Substituted a book from April.

February

-Simple Steps: 10 Weeks to Getting Control of Your Life by Lisa Lelas and others

-Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

March

-The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer

-Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald

April

-Simple Hospitality by Jane Jarrell Finished Jan. 31, 2012

-Stop Dating the Church! Fall in Love with the Family of God by Joshua Harris

May

-Radical by David Platt

-Forgotten God by Francis Chan

June

-Shaping Ordinary Boys into Extraordinary Men by William Beausay II

-A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

July

-Making Life an Adventure by Dustin Beal

-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

August

-Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman

-I Sold My Soul on Ebay by Hemant Mehta

September

-Jesus Freaks compiled by DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs

-A Woman and Her God by Beth Moore (and others)

October

-The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns

-Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy

November

-Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald

-One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

December

-American Idols: The Worship of the American Dream by Bob Hostetler

-Open Heart Open Home by Karen Mains

Favorite Books for Kids

I have read some excellent books to the boys lately. I thought I would share them with you here so that you can enjoy them too! The first one is "Pickle Chiffon Pie" by Jolly Roger Bradfield. Written in 1967 but timeless. The story of a king looking for a suitable husband for his daughter the princess. This book will appeal to boys and girls alike. There are 3 men trying to win her hand and only one will succeed. In the end, goodness and kindness win. There is silliness in this book, but also a great lesson on what is important.

(Warning: There is a witch on 2 pages of this book. At one time I wouldn't have read my boys any book with a witch in it. I now take things on a book by book basis. My thoughts on witches haven't changed and the boys know my feelings on it. The morals in the story outweigh the minimal presence she has, in my opinion.)

I can't recommend the Mrs. Rosey Posey series enough! Mrs. Rosey Posey is the endearing neighbor we all wish we had as kids. The stories all have a biblical foundation that is subtle, but definitely there. Great lessons on forgiveness, being set apart, and the greatest treasure of all. These books are Level 2 readers. Too advanced for my boys, but great for me to read to them. I plan to add these to our home library. Other books in the Mrs. Rosey Posey series include " Mrs. Rosey Posey and the Baby Bird", "Mrs. Rosey Pose and the Fine China Plate", and "Mrs. Rosey Posey and the Yum-Yummy Birthday Cake".

Check one or more of these books out of your library and enjoy them with your kids!

If you click on the pictures, they will take you to Amazon where you can read reviews by other readers.

Books!

It's a good thing I never really seriously considered that whole "give up buying books for a year" thing. It never would have worked out.

This was all in the past 2 months. The first is from a library book sale. The second from the Christian bookstore. The third is from a Scholastic warehouse sale (minus one book that accidentally got in the picture by mistake). I also found about 8 (or more) books on the bookshelf that are new to me in that same time period.

Anyone know where there are any BLA meetings around? And if you have to ask what BLA means, then you aren't a BL. :)

Fall Into Reading 2007

For more on the "Fall Into Reading 2007" challenge, click here or on the picture above.

I've picked 5 books to read this fall. They all have to do with parenting in some way or another. So many times I feel like I "parent" all day, and I don't want to read about how to do it better after the boys go to bed! So I'm taking this challenge so that I can finally get through books that I want to read, but haven't yet.

1. The Heart of a Mother compiled by Wayne Holmes. This book has "true stories of inspiration and encouragement from Stormie Omartian, Beth Moore, Sheila Walsh, Barbara Johnson, Gloria Gaither, Tracie Peterson and more".

2. Raising Kids God's Way by Kathi Hudson. This book was highly recommended to me by friends of ours who have 6 kids.

3. You've Got to be Kidding by Pat and Ruth Williams. Matthew got me this book for Christmas last year. Through combined families, this husband and wife have 19 kids. Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA's Orland Magic.

4. The Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. I've wanted to read this book for so long. I have started it and now I want to finish it. It's just so hard to read about the strong willed child after I've spent all day with him!

5. The Hair-Raising Joys of Raising Boys by Dave Meurer. The back of the book says "Through the hilarious happenings of his own parenting experiences, Dave Meurer will help you learn to value each moment with a little style, grace, and humor. because sometimes you just need to laugh."

Veritas=Truth

I am currently reading a book called "The Veritas Conflict". It is by Shaunti Feldhahn author of another book I like called "For Women Only".

The back cover says this "A heavenly battle is raging for the heart and mind of a young co-ed, a college, and a nation". It is about a young girl who goes to Harvard and the forces of good and evil (angels and demons) who are fighting for her soul. You read what the angels and demons are saying (even though they are invisible to the characters of the book. It is very much like Frank Peretti's book "This Present Darkness" if you've ever read that.

What really sticks with me is when you see the main character struggle with something like pride and then you read about the demon who is so happy with himself for getting her off track from living as God would have her live. It really makes all the attacks of the enemy much more visible.

On the flip side, you see the angels that surround her and are fighting for her, they are strengthened when others are praying for her. You will see prayer in a whole new light after reading this book.

Anyways, this book has some really good insight. One of the chapters says "Every member of the heavenly host longed always to be in that golden throne room, to sing "holy, holy, holy to the King! And here these children of the King dallied and strayed like that toddler he had just seen, letting anything distract them from going into His presence". Like the heavenly hosts, we should long to be in the presence of God praising him continuously. However, often we let everything and anything distract us or take our eyes off of Him. God made us to love him, to worship him, and to adore him.

(There are heavenly beings and Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8 b )

I also liked this about God trusting us with our kids. "Well, at some point we have to let them go out into the darkness and trust God to care for them. After all, He's had the harder job trusting us with them all these years. Us trusting Him should be a piece of cake." It was an interesting perspective to think about. God trusts me with these kids. He sees the mistakes I make with them. He knows I am human. I should have no problem trusting Him with my kids. He is perfect, all knowing, and infallible. He has the perfect plan for my kids. He loves them more than I can fathom.

I'm sure I will be quoting many more things from this book as they challenge me and encourage me to become the woman God wants me to be.

There is a name for what I have...

Bibliomania: extreme preoccupation with collecting books

Main Entry: bib·lio·ma·nia
Pronunciation: "bi-blE-&-'mA-nE-&, -ny&Function: noun

Etymology: French bibliomanie, from bibli- + manie mania, from Late Latin mania: