My Reading List 2011 - February Update

I started this year saying that I am going to be intentional in my reading this year, reading the Bible twice this year as well as a biography and spiritually challenging book each month. And shared my Original List in January, noting that I did not go very far out because that is a recipe for disaster as far as I am concerned as a new book catches my eye, or I feel the need to read about something or other for some reason and then my list is impossible and I get discouraged. And good thing too, because suddenly it seemed like I was a book magnet finding new books to read and books I had started and not finished!

Since I last updated I finished reading

Ruth, A Portrait: The story of Ruth Bell Graham which was an excellent book! It was a delight to read and encouraged me so much! To hear how she lived her life in obedience to God, always seeking to grow in her relationship with Him and knowledge of His Word encouraged me to press forward! She was so humble and in reading this biography it made it feel like all Christians could accomplish what she did. It also strongly emphasized the importance of faithfulness in the every day of life! I loved this book, and will likely read it again soon.

I also finished

Release the Power of Jesus which gave me fresh perspective on praying for healing and really made me feel like this was indeed an area I was equipped to pray in!

I also read

True to His Word: The Story of Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

I loved this book and it reminded me how much I love BSF - which is good because I returned Monday night for the last half of the study of Isaiah! To read of God's faithfulness in growing this ministry that encourages people to grow in God, His Word, and leadership to bless their churches. This is a ministry that thinks of itself as the arm of the church. They are in no way wanting to compete with Church programs, rather they want to equip Christians so that they can bless their churches! I cannot recommend this book or BSF enough! But I might be biased! :-)

Currently Reading:

Bible - I am reading on a 6 month plan that I made up and am on track.

Believing God Day by Day: Growing Your Faith All Year Long

This devotional was a gift and I am loving it! I start with this one, and no, it is not uncommon for me to use two devotionals to start my quiet time!

My Utmost for His Highest - Deluxe (DELUXE CHRISTIAN CLASSICS)

I love this devotional - at the end of last year I simply moved my bookmark back to the beginning. Unbelievably rich!

When Sinners Say I Do: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage This is the book on our Church book table that our pastors are highly recommending, and I can see why, it is excellent! The author uses a conversational style to discuss and share deep truths! I am a big believer in preventative maintenance and every marriage would benefit from this book!

Reluctant Entertainer, The: Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality Our new home will have room for hospitality, and I want to do a good job at this, but have a hard time finding a balance. This book is excellent, and I am enjoying it tremendously! This was a book that disappeared between my night stand and my Bible reading bag because it is a larger size! I am so glad I rediscovered it!

Mommy Manual, The: Planting Roots That Give Your Children Wings This was a book that disappeared and reappeared. I am slowly working my way through it because it is rich.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette

This is a huge book, and I am almost half way through it. I read a bit, then put it aside for a bit and then pull it out again. Lots of great tips for saving money - I can see why it is referred to as the top resource for making changes to save money! While some of the ideas are a bit extreme, she is up front about saying that not all the ideas work for her either! It is about finding what works for you and your family.

Inkspell (Inkheart)

I picked up this whole series at Costco in hardcover with each book being under $7! I had read the first one while Miss Pear was recovering from her surgery last winter, and loved it, but I had to finish the first one up fast when we were suddenly moving and I had to return the borrowed copy. So now I have the full set and am slowly reading through it. While this second book is good, it is not as good as the first book, Inkheart, or at least not yet. I had buried this book under other ones and was pleased to discover it under my stack of books and look forward to reading it again!

On the To Be Read Pile (prioritized, the whole pile would be a book in itself!)

The Normal Christian Life

Friendship for Grown-Ups: What I Missed and Learned Along the Way

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

The Magnificent Obsession: Embracing the God-Filled Life

Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi (Compass)

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

For the Family's Sake: The Value of Home in Everyone's Life

Books I Finished in February 2011

True to His Word: The Story of Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Books I have finished in January 2011:

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting

Release the Power of Jesus

Ruth, A Portrait: The story of Ruth Bell Graham

Books Are Multiplying!

I have discovered something very interesting.

Ever since I posted this reading list I think I have become magnetic for books - whatever that is called!

Here is why I am suspicious of this phenomena:

I have found 2 more partially read books that are partially read because I lost track of them!

I have added at least 3 books to the drawer where I had stashed all the books together, and did I mention there were already books I wanted to read in there?

Plus our church is reading an excellent one for the adult Sunday School class, and even though we cannot go, I am reading it and it is excellent.

Plus 2 more books that I simply HAVE to read are out, and I had to order a book for Miss Pear, so those two kind of fell into my amazon basket. Umm...oops, I think.

And then I won a book I am eager to read over on a friend's blog, and I am not listing it here because she did not list the winners on her site, but you will probably figure it out when I update my reading list. Hysterical thing is that she is a great friend and it is a book on friendship!

It is becoming apparent that I don't have time to read fiction right now because there are so many non fiction books I want to read! And a lot of them are in the house!

New Goal - keep reading and start doing word studies again! And get my address book updated finally!

And while I will probably regret asking this because it will make my list longer, what are you reading RIGHT NOW, the book on your night stand or wherever you keep it, and is it any good?

My Reading List 2011, part 1

Remember I mentioned that I am going to be intentional in my reading this year, reading the Bible twice this year as well as a biography and spiritually challenging book each month? Well, I guess you could say this is where the rubber meets the road - my list.

I did not go very far out because that is a recipe for disaster as far as I am concerned as a new book catches my eye, or I feel the need to read about something or other for some reason and then my list is impossible and I get discouraged. So instead I will just have a few books on my list and will just keep adding to it as I go along.

Let's start with Books I have finished in January 2011:

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

What I appreciated about this book is that it was about encouraging the reader in the disciplines for the express purpose of growing in God. It took each discipline and explained it clearly making you confident that you can indeed do this!

Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting

This one was from our Church book table, with all the books being carefully selected by our pastors. It was on my list to read before, but the ease of picking up a copy and my daughter reminding me certainly helped move it up the list, and I am so glad it did! It is basically about parenting in light of the Gospel, of parenting with a high view of God. It sets a high standard for parenting, no question, but makes it clear that as children of God, we can do it in His power. I seriously could not put this one down!

Currently Reading:

Bible - I am reading on a 6 month plan that I made up and am on track.

Believing God Day by Day: Growing Your Faith All Year Long

This devotional was a gift and I am loving it! I start with this one, and no, it is not uncommon for me to use two devotionals to start my quiet time!

My Utmost for His Highest - Deluxe (DELUXE CHRISTIAN CLASSICS)

I love this devotional - at the end of last year I simply moved my bookmark back to the beginning. Unbelievably rich!

The Complete Tightwad Gazette

This is a huge book, and I am almost half way through it. I read a bit, then put it aside for a bit and then pull it out again. Lots of great tips for saving money - I can see why it is referred to as the top resource for making changes to save money! While some of the ideas are a bit extreme, she is up front about saying that not all the ideas work for her either! It is about finding what works for you and your family.

Inkspell (Inkheart)

I picked up this whole series at Costco in hardcover with each book being under $7! I had read the first one while Miss Pear was recovering from her surgery last winter, and loved it, but I had to finish the first one up fast when we were suddenly moving and I had to return the borrowed copy. So now I have the full set and am slowly reading through it. While this second book is good, it is not as good as the first book, Inkheart, or at least not yet. I had buried this book under other ones and was pleased to discover it under my stack of books and look forward to reading it again!

Release the Power of Jesus

This book was highly recommended to me as it talks about healing and how sharing our testimony of what God has done glorifies Him and teaches others about Him. "Remember, in every story of what God has done, there is an unveiling of HIs nature and an invitation to know Him experientially in the same way." (pg 80)

On the To Be Read Pile (prioritized, the whole pile would be a book in itself!)

The Normal Christian Life

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

The Magnificent Obsession: Embracing the God-Filled Life

Ruth, A Portrait: The story of Ruth Bell Graham

Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi (Compass)

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

For the Family's Sake: The Value of Home in Everyone's Life

Thank you for the suggestions of books to read, I am enjoying looking into them! This list is the books I want to read that I have copies of! But it is always being added to, so I always love hearing what others are reading and loving, or not loving, it is sometimes good to know what was not as good as one thought it would be!

I am Booking It in 2011...

Preparing

It seems like I am always preparing for something:

• the next meal
• the pantry for winter
• presents for Christmas
• baking for a baby shower
• baking for Christmas
• Oh, yes, Thanksgiving
• Advent - our family celebrates it!
• Did I mention Christmas and all the crafting we planned this year - fun but lots of work.

In the midst of this preparing, it is easy to miss some important preparing:

• One's heart with Thankfulness for the Lord's Provision
• One's heart to celebrate the Lord's Birthday

There is only one way I really do well at this, and that is to have the bulk of the outside the house stuff done before Advent so that Advent really is a time of preparing our hearts and looking forward to the joy of our Saviour's Birth!

Much is done, much more needs to be done.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to a book store to find some new Christmas reading. Each year we add a book for each girl and so does my husband's mom who is so dear to us - she also supplies the Advent Calendars each year!

So what books would you recommend we add to our library this year?

I will share my list next week....

Read Aloud Handbook

This book is foundational to how we read in our house, I cannot recommend it enough!

Lindsay has a great review of it this week, and I left my comments.

Busy Mom Bible Review

A few weeks ago I received a complimentary copy of the "Busy Mom's Bible: Daily Inspiration Even If You Only Have One Minute" to review. While I was given a Bible, rest assured my opinions are my own!

You might be wondering why it has taken me so long to review this? Well, mostly it is because two little girls think the two tone pink leather with a thin vertical brown strip down the center is most attractive and they like to pretend to read it....pen/pencil in hand. (However, the pen is closed and the pencil is unsharpened, they save the open pen routine for during the sermon).

First off, let's get the basics out of the way. The Busy Mom's Bible is currently priced at $16.50 at Amazon, a nice price for a leather bound Bible. It is only available in the NIV, so you do have to like that translation to like this Bible. It has no study notes, just the study guides on the insert pages and at the back. There is no cross reference within the text, but the concordance at the back is great and surprisingly robust for the size of the Bible. It also has a great, easy to read layout with room for notes.

While a great concordance may not seem like a huge deal, my current kitchen Bible does not have a great one and it annoys me when I am looking for something and cannot find it. In fact, I am fairly confident that the concordance in this Bible is better than the one in my Study Bible!

Now, on to the good stuff. I have to admit I was skeptical about how much you could get out of a study note in a minute, but I was game to try because with two littles there are days were I desperately need to drink deeply from the Word but the girls or sick, or are particularly active that day, or things just seem to be going wrong and leaving me overwhelmed, and this can happen on days when I have managed to get up early and have a solid hour or more of quiet time. Therefore I was willing to give it a shot.

The Study inserts are spread throughout the Bible with each insert page having 4 mini studies (2 on each side). Each study features a 1, 5, and 10 minute study with the 10 minute study sending you the study guide at the back of the book. And while I was initially annoyed that the note was not right by the passage, as I used the notes I found that having the key verse written out right there was great when all I had was literally a minute because I could quickly find the spot to study read. In all cases they do have a longer selection of scripture referenced for you to go read if you can, and if you have the time to go read the passage then the fact that you had to flip does not bother in the least.

Some of the studies I found to be a bit light for where I am at, some were perfect, but overall I think this makes an excellent Kitchen Bible, at least that is where I plan to keep mine for those times when I just need more. This means that in about a year I should be able to tell you how well the cover and binding hold up! Provided I can convince my daughters to let me use it too.

I would recommend this for other moms who are struggling to get enough of the Word in their every day.

Morning Reading This Week

This week in our morning reading time we are enjoying:

Bible Time

1. Everything a Child Should Know about God
   Excellent basic Bible doctrin
   
2. The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
   We finished it this week and started again
   
3. A chapter of the Gospels. We are in Matthew
   

Story Time

1. God Knows My Name
   At the end when I read "I will give glory to the Lord for ever for He loves me so much" both girls put their hands up - so cute! I have lost count of how many copies of this book we have given as baby gifts!
2. Baking Day (Rod and Staff)
   A sweet story about a little girl helping her mom bake
   
3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) a long standing favorite around here
   
4. Jonah & the Great Big Fish a great retelling of the Bible story
   
   

Read Aloud Time

We are almost finished reading Bunnies in the Bathroom. Miss Pear loves the Animal Ark series, and I love that she will beg for another chapter! We got our copy of this at PaperBackSwap.com.


What are you reading this week?