4 hours ago
As summer is winding down, and we are getting ready to dive into Autumn, I wanted to share the rest of the books I read this summer. About halfway through the summer I gave up on trying to force myself to read the light-hearted beach reads, and I just read what I felt like reading, so this list is a good mix of light fiction, memoir, non-fiction, and even one "classic". I am trying to decide what kind of reading mood I am in for the start of fall. But the near future will also be full of vacation reads for me, since despite my worrying, our trip looks like it's going to work out after all!
Enough rambling, here are the books I read in July and August.
Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter - 3 stars - I forgot to include this book in my May wrap-up. This is pure chic-lit fluff, where a high school girl convinces her next-door neighbor to help her win her crush, but ends up falling for her neighbor instead. Notes: There is one make-out scene, and the character occasionally wonders about adult-themed things (you know what I mean). I can't remember how much cussing was in it (it's been a few months since I read it now), but I think there were a few f-bombs. I actually wouldn't let my teenager read this, even though it's YA. But it definitely had a chic-flick movie vibe that I enjoyed. If it were a movie, I'd rate it PG-13 I think.
Wait 'Til Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin - 5 stars -This was a memoir about Goodwin's girlhood years, growing up in Brooklyn when the Dodgers and the Yankees were both located in New York. If you want a little glimpse of what it would have been like to grow up in New York in the 50's and 60's, this book is quite satisfying. I loved how Goodwin weaved in the baseball history, and it's a coming-of-age story as she recounts her family life and friendships from childhood through high school. I love baseball, and I love coming-of-age books, so I especially liked this book. It got a little political at the end, but overall I recommend it!
Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin - 3 stars - This is an immigrant biography, about a man that grew up in war-torn Mogadishu, but loved all things American. He dreamed of escaping to America and one day becoming an American, and this book is about his harrowing experiences growing up in a war zone, and how he finally made his way here. Unfortunately once he was here, the liberals got him, so the end of the book is less pro-American than the beginning of the story. If you want some interesting context, pick up the book Out Of America by Keith Richburg, about an African-American journalists experiences covering Africa during this same time period ( I highly recommend Out Of America, it was disturbing but fascinating to read). Ruchburg even covers some of the events of the war in Mogadishu that Abdi describes.
The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs - 1 star - I read this with my book group, and let's just say I can see why this book didn't exactly become a classic. A young man has his ship sunk by a U-boat during World War One, and along with the crew and a beautiful girl, ends up getting stranded on an island with strange creatures and different "evolutionary stages" of man. I believe God created everything, and I don't believe in evolution, so that ended up being obnoxious, but more than that, there were a few racist lines in this book about "lower races of man". Yikes! Especially considering that this book came a couple decades before World War Two, with Hitler's atrocities that were rooted in this same way of thinking about human beings, it makes sense that this book doesn't seem very well-known today (aside from being written by the same guy who wrote Tarzan).
I did find it interesting how one of the characters opines about how seeing all these creatures and "stages of man" makes her feel like there is no point or value to life. Indeed, that's where evolutionary philosophy ultimately leads. Yet, (spoiler alert) the main character ends the book with praying that they will be rescued. This book is full of philosophical contradictions like that, and it was written toward the end of World War One, when so many men were traumatized, questioning humanity, and many were losing their faith after what they had seen in the war. So in a sense, it's probably a book of it's very confusing time.
Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham - 4 stars - In this book, Baucham explains how critical race theory is infiltrating the church in America, even more conservative denominations. I have heard Voddie Baucham speak before, and read one of his other books, and I thought it was really interesting to read about his testimony and ministry experience as a black conservative pastor. I was hoping he would get into a thorough explanation about why critical race theory is incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he did briefly, but the book was more focused on defining critical race theory, and then exposing how this has been corrupting the church. Even though it was a little different than I expected, this book is a great indictment of critical race theory and it's effect on the American church.
How To Eat Fried Worms by Billy Forrester - 3 stars - I thought I'd include one of the books the kids and I listened to in the car this summer. The entire plot of this book is about the main character eating worms in order to win a bet, and the other kids' attempts to make him lose the bet. Each chapter focuses on a different worm-eating experience. My kids thought it was hilarious and gross, and I found it pretty amusing too! Note: There is some name-calling in the book, so I had to talk with my kids about why we don't do that.
North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson - 4 stars - This is the second book in the Wingfeather Saga, and I've heard from others that the plot take s little bit of a dark turn in this book - I'd have to agree. Think less Chronicles of Narnia and more Lord Of the Rings. Because of some of the possibly disturbing plot points, I'll probably wait until my kids are a bit older to read this to them (probably 11-14 for my particular kids), but I am still enjoying it as an adult.
Notes: There is some "magic" in the world Peterson has created, and it all comes from the "Maker", the creator of that world. The way these elements are handled reminds me a lot of the allegorical aspect of The Chronicles Of Narnia, so I haven't minded it as I've been reading the books. In this book, Janner discovers that he can sometimes see what is going on in other parts of the land when his sister plays on her special flute. I did have a concern about the dialogue on page 279, about why this magical "gift" is something that the characters shouldn't try to manipulate to their own ends, but something the Maker is showing them to help them on their quest.
(This is actually a picture of Book 3, not 2.)
If we're taking this book in an allegorical sense, we could think about the "gifts" in terms of spiritual gifts and it might make sense, maybe (though I am a cessationist, ha!). However, that part of the book left me uneasy since we are warned in Scripture against using divination, etc, in any way in our own real world, and the description of Janner's gift could sound a bit New-Agey. Since this is a fairytale world though, and since the gifts are completely something the Maker uses to help them and not some "power" they are wielding, I think I am okay with it. But that section of the book would definitely be something I would discuss with my kids. It is a relatively minor plot point, so we'll see how it plays out.
The Call Of The Wild And Free by Ainsley Arment - 4 stars - I read this in two sittings, and I really enjoyed Arment's holistic view of what it means to educate a child. She encourages homeschool moms that it's not about checking things off a list, but about investing in our children and building up their education around their particular bent, and ensuring they have real experiences within their education. If you need a shot of inspiration for your homeschool, I recommend this one!
Teaching From Rest by Sarah McKenzie - 5 stars - This is a re-read for me, and it was just as encouraging as the first time I read it. Mackenzie reminds us that the curriculum is not a set of books, but our entire strategy in educating our children, which should be centered around raising them up for the glory of God by showing them His truth, and goodness, and beauty. It's a blessedly short book, and easy to read in a few mornings when you need to refocus on what's important in homeschooling your children.
The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - 4 stars Whalen writes great small-town drama/suspense books, and ones that are typically relatively clean. This book surrounds a cast of characters, including a newly single mom returning to her hometown, a young mother who is harboring some secrets from her husband, and a young girl whose brother almost drowns, leading her to stay for part of the summer with an older lady who misses having her children home. There are also some mystery elements thrown in surrounding a missing girl, and a 20-year-old case of stalking that was never solved. Note: Mild on the cursing, but there is some past infidelity within the plot, though it isn't dwelled upon. Other adult (ahem) references, but nothing explicit.
Garlic And Sapphires by Ruth Reichl - 5 stars - I'm nearly done with this book, but I feel quite confident in giving it five stars. This book is about how Reichl got a job as the food critic for the New York Times (in the 90's), and how all the restaurants had her picture taped up in their kitchens - so to get a real look at what it would be like to patronize these restaurants as a normal person, she goes undercover. Her descriptions of the disguises she donned, as well as her food writing, are really fascinating to read. I don't even like half the food that she's writing about, but she makes it sound so delicious. This is a really fun memoir, and I recommend it!
What kind of books do you like to read in the fall? I'm looking at trying to knock a few books off my "unread" shelf, but if you have an atmospheric fall read you love, I'd love to hear!
This last month I have been planning for our homeschool year, and one of the things that I have blocked onto our little paper schedule is morning time.
Morning time is one of those homeschool things that everyone knows about, and a lot of people do, but everyone's version of it looks different. Morning time is a block of time (in the morning or during another convenient time of the day) that you spend on learning things together. To me, it's a time to add a little color to our homeschool day and make sure my kids are learning things I want them to know that aren't in their schoolbooks. Some people spend a ton of time on morning time, and I love the days when we have the space to do a bunch of "extras" together - reading picture books, doing a music lesson, nature journaling, etc.
But...to be honest, if I did huge, grand plans every morning time, it's one of those things that would probably rarely happen or not happen at all. Some days we get a late start for whatever reason, and we don't have time for an extended morning time (unless I want the kids to be doing work clear until dinner). Sometimes we're having a low energy day, or we're sick, or we have somewhere to be in the afternoon, and if we want to get to our regular lessons we just can't spend much time on morning time.
Even on those days where morning time is hard to fit in, I still think it's worth doing, so I've come up with a "minimalist" version of morning time for our homeschool - something I can run through with the kids in less than 15 minutes. It is so helpful to have a bare bones morning time plan like this, because I don't have any real reason not to do it, even on our busy days. It's a lot easier to be consistent with a 15 minute plan than an hour long plan. And even though it's very short, it's packed full of things I know will stick with my kids and enrich their lives and faith for years to come.
Here's what we do for our minimalist morning time:
1. Some sort of quick Bible reading or devotional. We will spend a few minutes reading a chapter of the Bible and talking about it, or reading one of these books and looking up the scriptures that go with each page.
2. A hymn. I grew up singing hymns in a little mountain church (white steeple and all), and cracking open a hymnal and singing those rich words together was one of the joys of my childhood. The hymns stuck with me, and I still randomly find one running through my head at times. The lyrics still challenge and encourage me. I really want my kids to know some good solid hymns, so we've gotten into the habit of singing one together each morning.
3. Catechism questions. When I was a teenager, the pastor's wife at our church organized a catechism class for all the kids. I will eventually write a post about how impactful that was for me, but to keep it short here, catechism is one of those things that kept me on track and helped me with discernment as I grew older. Catechisms are Q&A versions of core Christian doctrines, and I think memorizing a catechism together is a great way to imprint those truths on our minds so that we will remember them when different situations come up in our lives. That was certainly my experience with the limited questions I memorized in my teens, and I hope memorizing a catechism will be the same kind of guard for my children. We use the Westminster Shorter Catechism (though our family will be using the "baptist version" when we get to the questions on infant baptism, since our family holds to believer's baptism).
4. A Bible memory passage. Memorizing a Bible passage together during morning time has been one of the most effective ways for all of us to work on hiding God's Word in our hearts. I pick a passage I think my kids should know (we mainly do chunks of Scripture, not just single verses), and then we repeat the first verse or two a few times before moving on. After a few days (or weeks, depending on how well it's sticking), we move to repeating the next verse or two, then once or twice we say it all together adding the new verses onto the fuller passage. Eventually we get the whole thing memorized this way.
5. A funny poem. After working on memorizing some serious things, I tack on a funny poem before we close our minimalist morning time. The kids really love laughing about whatever poem we are working on, and I think knowing something light-hearted is coming keeps them focused for our more serious memorization.
After we work through those five things, I pray for us and we all move on with book work! I've been doing our morning time this way for the last 2-3 years, and it's amazing how much even my littler girls have memorized. As I said, this typically takes us less than 15 minutes, but I think the benefits for my kids in memorizing these things are something that will be significant as they grow up.
As I was planning this year and thinking about the hymns and verses I want us to work on, I got the idea that I wanted to create some sort of pretty printable of our core morning time work. I initially thought of creating something just for our new memory work, but then I got a little carried away.
The result is that I created a document with all our previous memory work from the last year or two, plus the new items I want to work on for September - and I wanted to share my morning time printable with all of you! It includes all our previous memory work (6 hymns, 4 Bible passages, 12 catechism questions), plus a new set that we'll be working on as we start the school year. I am hoping to add new memory work every month, and as I create those pages, I'll keep sharing them here on the blog for those of you who are interested. I'm hoping this can be an easy resource for those of you who like to do a similar morning time routine with your kids!
Also please note, since this minimalist approach is pretty quick, it doesn't just have to be for homeschoolers. There have been plenty of times when we've taken our morning time work in the car with us, and with these pages you could grab a few and do them with your kids anytime you are driving to school, extracurricular activities, etc.
Here are the links to download:
These links will only be good for a few months or so, before I make the documents private again. If you are a newsletter subscriber (check the sidebar to sign up) keep an eye out because I'll send out an email with the documents soon too!
Enjoy!
A Quick Note About Bible Versions: Even though I prefer the New King James Version, I became aware recently that many Bible versions are copyrighted, so to be safe I only used versions in the public domain, such as KJV, ASV, and WEB (which is a free-for-public-use version that is similar to the ASV but with less Old English - it looked solid to me). If you can figure out how to edit the PDF to include your favorite Bible version, go for it! My family will be memorizing our Bible passages in the NKJV, but for the document I had to stick with the previously mentioned versions for copyright sake.
We officially start the school year today! I have been a little hesitant to start school this year, but we're going to ease into it, and we do have some fun things to look forward to as well. I thought I'd share what back-to-school is looking like for us this year.
I also take photos of the kids with a letter board recording their grade on the first day of school. Even though I don't have social media to share it on this year, you bet I'm still taking the photos for their photo books!
2. Back-To-School Goodie Bags. Last week I received an email from Rainbow Resource with a suggestion to make back-to-homeschool fun with new school supplies. And while I do buy new supplies every year, it occurred to me that my kids would love having their own goodie bag with new pencils, erasers, notecards, and notebooks. So I'm putting together a little brown lunch bag (nothing fancy) with some new things in it, and I think it's going to add a fun element of excitement to our first day!
3. An Easy Start. Since we will be taking a trip one week into the school year, I've been finding myself dragging my feet when it comes to starting school. We won't get into a full routine until after we get back, so I'm going to start gently this week with just a few subjects. We'll introduce our full work load after Labor Day, but for now we will do an extended morning time (I have some of Pam Barnhill's morning time plans that we'll work through), history, and science. When we return, I'll go back to my more simplified morning time plans (more on that coming this week), and we'll add in all the main subjects (math, language arts, etc). By the end of the year we are always behind in history and science anyway, so this will give us a head start.
4. Flexible Friday Fun-days. I fully intend to keep our "Friday Fun Day" routine this year, because my kids loved it so much! This is a day that we take a break from normal subjects, and do more "extras" like art, cooking, music, etc. Because of our trip schedule, we will get back to this routine in September.
5. Park Days With Homeschool Friends. Over the last year I've been attempting to start our own "homeschool social group" by inviting some of our homeschool friends to meet us for regular park days, hikes, and field trips. It has been going wonderfully! I have a calendar with meetups scheduled every two weeks or so, and friends pick the ones they can attend. My kids and I are usually at different parks, and we do our own hikes frequently, so planning in advance when we will do these things hasn't made any huge change to our schedule. And this way we get friend time in at the same time! It has turned into a really nice, encouraging group, and I am hoping it is something we can keep doing in the years to come.
6. A Homeschool Support Group At Church. One big change for us this year is that I am helping to lead a homeschool support group at our church. We have a lot of families in our church homeschooling for the first time this year, and my pastor's wife wanted to get something going to help encourage those families. We are still hashing out how the group is going to run, but we've had one meeting already and another this week. It's looking like it will be monthly meetings, which is something I can manage - if we had to go down more often we might run into some of the troubles we had with co-ops. I am hoping this will be a supportive group for people who are thinking about homeschooling within our church, and I'm excited to see how it all plays out!
These are all the immediate plans that I have for our school year, and we'll see how they change as the months roll on! As you read this, we are probably enjoying our donuts and breaking out some books to read together.
As a quick, informal poll, comment and let me know what you most want to hear about on my blog related to homeschooling in the next few weeks! Here are some options, but I'm open to suggestions.
-Curriculum changes for this year
-Extra-curricular homeschooling goals
-Day in our homeschool life
I have a post coming this week about how we do morning time, including a fun freebie I put together, so stay tuned!
Outside, my little brown-haired boy, dirty shirt and bare feet, is spinning furiously on a tire swing hanging from a pine tree. A curly-haired girl laughs and her hair shines as she spins him faster.
Farther down the hill, the boy who made me a mom is jumping on the trampoline with my last baby, who doesn't look like a baby anymore. The trampoline squeaks, and he gets a mischievous look on his face while she shrieks in delight as she is bounced high into the air.
The leaves on the wax current bushes are still green, but that indescribable green that occurs when there is gold shimmering underneath. Our old hound lays on the porch, his head resting on his paws, his sides moving in and out evenly as he naps in the sunshine.
A puff of air ruffles my hair, and my husband comes to the kitchen for a midday snack before heading back upstairs to work. Sounds of the piano come from the other room as my oldest daughter plays a couple keys; and then she mutters to herself as she puzzles out the notes on her sheet music. A cheerful Christmas song fills my house as she tries again, and I realize that the season of our Savior's birth will be here before I know it.
But for now, I sit here, listening to the hummingbirds whirring outside, the shouts and joy drifting in on the breeze, the single notes being plunked in the background. The porch glistens where it's still wet from the rain, but the sun is shining, and the blue sky is taking over the storm clouds. I'm surrounded by all the most beautiful sounds in the world, the sounds of my imaginings come true.
I think now about how years ago, when I pictured my future family and home, I couldn't have dreamed up anything better.
In this moment, on this last day at home before our summer is over, I am wonderfully happy and thankful.
Currently...
Reading...a book called Lit! A Christian Guide To Reading Books by Tony Reinke. Reinke wrote another book I loved called 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You. I've had Lit on my shelf for a couple years, and I'm finally getting around to finishing it. It is really good! If you are a reader, or want to be a reader, or want a Christian argument for a healthy reading life, this book might be for you.
I'm also re-reading Jane Eyre with my bookish friends, and I treated myself to this pretty copy.
Surprised at...how much it already feels like fall at my house. When I sit on the porch in the mornings now, I can just feel it in the air. There is a slight whiff of fall spiciness now and then, and my wax current bushes have sections of leaves that are starting to turn golden. Usually I am ready for fall before the fall is, but this year the fallishness is catching me by surprise. I don't know why, but it feels too early.
Smiling about...the memories of last weekend, when we took them to a local amusement park as a reward for finishing their library reading challenge. This amusement park is fun for all ages, but also accommodating for younger kids. Georgie (3) and Clarice (5) were able to go on most of the rides. Seeing the smiles on the faces of all my kids as they shrieked and shouted on the rides was so satisfying, and I was surprised by how much the little girls loved the rides! Georgie especially had a look of pure joy on her face whenever the rides started going fast, and I hope I never forget it.
Ignoring...the fact that we are supposed to start school next week. Another odd development is that I don't feel ready to re-start homeschooling with the kids this year. Usually by August all the back-to-school buzz has rubbed off on me, but this year I find myself wishing that I could push it off a little longer. I think my compromise is going to be that we are going to start slowly. More on that next week! (Edited to add that as I was typing this, I realized the kids are playing school with their stuffed animals in the other room. Maybe they are more ready to start than me!)
Anticipating...a fun trip that we are going to be taking in less than two weeks! I must admit, I'm also a little anxious about it, because it seems that there are any number of ways that our trip could be canceled or messed up (What if the government puts on some new mandate?, What if we get sick and have to cancel?). I'm going to not say anymore at the moment, and just pray that nothing interferes. You'll read more after it happens! (Sorry, this whole section is a little unfair, isn't it?)
Spending...money on photo albums. I decided that during this last week before school, I needed to try to accomplish some of the projects I have been putting off all summer. One of those projects was to organize the photos I had printed last year into albums. Let's just say that project ended up being a general disaster. I spent hours yesterday reorganizing some of the albums I already owned to make room for more photos, and then when it came time to actually put in the printed photos (from the year 2013 - that's how far behind I am), I figured out that I had missed a bunch of photos that I wanted from that year. So I then spent hours trying to find them on my computer, re-load them onto the Walmart website, and order the missing photos. Do you see why I've been putting this project off? I was still struggling with the Walmart website at 10:00 PM last night! The uploading is going smoother today, and I ordered pretty albums for the 2019 and 2020 photos that have been sitting in a box in my closet for over a year. Maybe someday I'll catch up. I just need a month of days with nothing else to worry about but this photo project. Is that too much to ask?
Also, found this scary photo when I was sorting yesterday - I can't believe I let Derek go to bull-riding school! What was younger me thinking?
Saving...I have been attempting for a couple years to save money for a surprise for Derek's 40th birthday (actually, this is the thinking that led to the aforementioned bull riding school - it was Derek's 30th birthday present). Saving is not going well. In the last couple months my fund has been devastated by a variety of things that came up (some necessary, some that should have been avoidable). So now I'm trying to save double-time to repair the damage. The ridiculous gas prices have not helped my saving efforts. I told Derek the other day that I couldn't figure out why I was struggling so much with my budget lately, and then he reminded me that it costs twice as much to go anywhere these days, and since we live in a rural area we have always had to spend more than average on gas. The silver lining is that with the school year starting up, we will be staying home more often, which should reflect in my bank account.
Enjoying...the hummingbirds. I think we have had more hummingbirds this year than in years past, and if we just step outside the door, in less than a minute we will hear one whizzing past. A couple of them have even got trapped in our house! We find that the best way to get them back out is just to ignore them until they figure it out - when we try to wave them toward the open door they just beat themselves harder on the nearest window. They are even more active lately, and I know they are zipping around, finding the last bits of nectar before they had back south. I'll miss them when they are gone.
Admiring...the beautiful blue skies today! Our state has been covered in a blanket of smoke most of the summer, from fires in Oregon and California. It's been a little gloomy, honestly, with grey smoggy skies and hot weather - it hasn't felt much like summer. Every day that we have a clear blue sky, I am thankful. It makes everything seem more cheerful.
Watching...I've weirdly been in the mood to watch Jaws lately. I haven't seen Jaws in probably 15 years. We haven't watched it yet though - mostly I've been watching Youtube videos of my favorite political podcasts, but I'm feeling the need to ease up a bit on that. With everything going on with various mandates and Afghanistan, I'm starting to feel that bit of anxiety creep in, so I think it would be better to switch to sermons for a while. I can't imagine how much more stressful everything would seem if I wasn't off social media (see what I did there?).
Drinking...chai tea - like real chai tea with honey and cream. This is my favorite chai tea, FYI.
What are you up to lately?
A Quote
"Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning, and seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself to prayer in secret to seek it of Him."
-Harvard 1646 Rules and Precepts
One of the speakers at our homeschool conference this year shared this quote, and I loved it so much that I wrote it down and I've been reminding myself of it as the school year approaches. I hope and pray this for my kids in our homeschool journey, that they would recognize and know that the main end of their lives and studies is to know Christ! Can you believe this quote was a statement from Harvard? How far they have strayed from their original purpose.
A Bit Of Nature
Look at my little herb garden in our tiny greenhouse on our front porch. The herbs are thriving out there, much more than I thought they would! As of this writing, my lavender and my basil are flowering. I've never seen flowering basil before.
A Recommendation And A Book
I'm combining these two categories today, because I thought I'd walk you through my morning routine, which is where most of my recommendations are coming from today.
After I get the kids’ oatmeal made, I light a couple candles and then head out to the porch for my morning quiet time. During the school year I would try to squeeze my quiet time in before breakfast, but it's still summer around here. Weirdly, my Afternoon Alfresco Yankee Candle and this candle smell really amazing when burned together.
First I try to catch up on my "To The Word" reading plan. This is a reading plan put out by Canon Press to read over the course of the school year, and I've done it a couple times now, but I’m just now finishing last year’s plan. It's about 5-7 chapters a day, but I've come to realize it's more doable than I think, and it's cool to go through the whole Bible in less than a year and see the whole context of Scripture! The next reading plan will be starting soon, and I believe it will be here.
However, I'm not totally sure if I'll participate in the next challenge, or if I'll take a little time this school year to dive further into one book of the Bible. I'd like to finish studying Hebrews, and then maybe pick a new book. This little guide for studying any single book of the Bible looks great, and I am thinking I will take the questions from it and write them into my own study notebook.
Next, I started Face To Face: Praying The Scriptures For Intimate Worship by Kenneth Boa. This is prayer guide book that gives you Scriptures you can pray each day in several categories: adoration, confession, renewal, petition, intercession, affirmation, thanksgiving, and a closing prayer. Prayer is something I have struggled with for years - I get so distracted! Having this little guide to help me focus on meaningful prayer was really a refreshment today, and I'm looking forward to incorporating it into my morning devotion time.
Finally, after I've gone through all my Bible and prayer routines, I read a Christian encouragement book or two if I have time. I find that it's a nice way to lead into my day, especially if it's Bible-focused and practical. Right now I'm reading Pitchin' A Fit: Overcoming Angry And Stressed Out Parenting by Israel and Brook Wayne, and Teaching From Rest by Sarah MacKenzie (both are very good).
A Moment Of Happiness
I've had so many moments of happiness in the last couple days, it's hard to pick just one. We went on a visit to my grandparents’ mountain cabin last weekend, and had a grand time playing cards, fishing, and visiting. We went swimming with my mom and sister last night, and enjoyed a great waterslide that made me laugh when Derek and I went down it together! Yesterday my little girls made me chuckle with their game of "Queen and Servant" (exactly what it sounds like), which entertained them for hours. And this morning, as I was sitting in the cool air for my quiet time, watching the kids explore the yard and jump on the trampoline together, I just felt really blessed. A lot of crazy things are happening in the world, but this is a season where I'm pulling in and focusing on those closest to me, and I'm finding there is so much to be grateful for in the midst of the chaos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
