Well, January is almost over, how in the world did that happen??? I started a reading challenge at the beginning of the year and I am as astonished as anyone, but I am actually sticking to it!!
Of course, everything I did to prepare for it has made the BIGGEST difference, but the challenge has also been inadvertently helped by the fact that I either retore my ACL or tore through some scar tissue (I first tore my ACL six years ago) and now my knee is unstable again. I am going to weekly PT appointments because I do NOT want to have the surgery. As a result, I am not running (at all) or walking (much) so now I have more time to squeeze in some reading. Silver lining!
The girls and I finished Freedom Crossing by Margaret Clark, Monster in the Hollows #3 in the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper (almost done with this one), and Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury. I want to do a separate post about these - but we loved all four of them - they are such, such good books, but each for very different reasons.
Now for my reading challenge:
I read Boxes of Butterflies (this was the first book I chose for the challenge) by Roma Downey. This was a book given to me by my mom and I have wanted to read it for the longest time. I am so glad that I read it first, I thoroughly enjoyed it - it really hit home as I started off the year feeling so discouraged, by our hard days, by my knee injury, by just the little constants in life that seem to pop up at the most inopportune time. This book is one of those books that you read if you want a good dose of encouragement. It has beautiful artwork sprinkled throughout and if you grew up watching "Touched By An Angel", it will mean so much to read about what was going on in her life while she was filming. Some of my favorite quotes from the book were:
pg 68 - this is one of my very, very favorite quotes in the entire book.
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired." As a special needs mom - this is the BEST quote I have ever read that I need to pray over both my husband and I. May we love without getting tired.
pg. 192 -
"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation, it means understanding that something is what it is & that there's got to be a way through." Michael J. Fox - this is a great quote for those that suffer chronic illnesses of any kind. It is so hard to move from trying to find a fix to accepting this is (at least for the foreseeable future) my cross to bear, so to speak. This hard thing is what God has called me to bear up under.
and finally this quote on pg. 195
"That's why simply saying thank you throughout the day attunes you to what is right - not what is wrong - and reminds you where God has shown up, rather than where He is missing." I absolutely love this quote, because so often I stumble in ungratefulness.
The next book on my list was A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot. This is a biography about Amy Carmichael and OH MY - this book has gripped me and gotten under my skin. Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India in the late 1800's - early 1900's. I have heard Amy's story many times before, but never actually read a book about her. First of all, I really, really like Elisabeth Elliot, she was such a fascinating woman of God, but this is the very first book of hers that I read and I definitely want to read more. She is an excellent writer. I have taken copious notes as I have read and know that this is one of those books that I want to reread again - maybe a yearly tradition. Amy's story is one of those rare jewels that just empties you of everything superfluous and lays in front of you in plain terms - this is what God has called you to do, now, are you going to do it? I have so many quotes written down, I hardly know which to choose - but I want to include some, so here are a few that gripped me - but please know that this is a book I believe every single Christian should read.
pg 51
"all that pleases is but for a moment
all that grieves is but for a moment
nothing is important but that which is eternal."
pg 85
"Satan is so much more earnest than we are - he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost."
pg 98
a note from her beloved Misaki San - "I know you will miss me, but Christ is sitting by you now, so please talk with Him to forget me."
pg 99
"To any whom the Hand Divine is beckoning; count the cost, for He tells us to, but take your slate to the foot of the Cross and add up the figures there."
Inside Amy Carmichael's Bible was written:
These children are dear to Me. Be a mother to them and more than a mother. Watch over them tenderly, be just and kind. If thy heart is not large enough to embrace them, I will enlarge it after a pattern of My own. If these young children are docile and obedient, bless Me for it; if they are forward, call upon Me for help; if they weary thee, I will be thy consolation; if thou sink under thy burden, I will be thy reward."
pg 241 & 242
My vow.
Whatsoever Thou sayest unto me, by Thy grace I will do it
My constraint.
Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.
My Confidence.
Thou art able to keep that which I have committed unto Thee.
My Joy.
To do Thy will, O God.
My Discipline.
That which I would not choose, but which They love appoints.
My Prayer.
Conform my will to Thine.
My Motto.
Love to live, live to love.
My Portion.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.
Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will, O Lord our God.
Third - I have been on the waiting list for several books at our library for what seems like foooooorever - so when they come available, I stop whatever I am reading (in this case I was reading The Last Harbringer by Jonathan Cahn) and read as fast as I can the book that becomes available before it's due back in two weeks - because there is a loooong list behind me of people waiting to read. This time it is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I love to read about World War II. The realities of the holocaust and Germany's assault on surrounding countries - I cannot wrap my mind around how such evil grew so quickly, at times quietly, and destroyed so very much. It boggles my mind. This book is told in two parts - one from a German boy and one from a little blind French girl. I am almost finished with this book, and I highly recommend it. It is superbly written and gives two very unique perspectives.
(The second book that became available is 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson - a book I want to preread for the girls. I hope that I can get through both of them without derailing my reading challenge, and before they are due back in two weeks, we will see how it goes).
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Have you seen Frozen 2?
If you have not and are wanting to please DO NOT read this post as it may contain spoilers.
On Christmas Day we were in the midst of a very, very difficult few weeks. There had been several medicine changes made by our kids' doctor at the end of October/beginning of November and the fall-out from that was at a fever pitch. Those four or five weeks felt impossible. It was truly, truly one of the most difficult sets of weeks we have been through in this roller coaster journey of mental (and neurological) chronic illness. On Christmas Day we drove around trying to simultaneously get out of the house and get a change of scenery and to break up what was shaping up to be a very awful day. Our usual fall back of finding a store to walk around in, was not an option, as most stores were closed since it was after all Christmas Day.
As we drove around town we somehow ended up in the parking lot of our local movie theater. Now for reference the first movie we made it all the way through as a family was Frozen (the original one), the second one we were considering trying was Frozen 2. My kids just do not do well in large crowds, loud overwhelming noises and lights etc;. And no it has NOT gotten easier as they have gotten older, if anything, it has gotten more difficult. But once in a blue moon, we will try something crazy and it will actually be a good experience. This idea was one of those blue moon ideas. It worked. My husband even left the movie in the middle to go home and give our puppy his anti-seizure medication (he has to take it three times a day) so that none of us would miss a moment of the movie (my husband is quite literally is the most thoughtful and considerate person I know, a prince among men).
An added bonus, on this day, at the time we tried, there was not a lot of people there, and it was a matinee performance which meant it did not cost an arm and a leg to go!! The staff went above and beyond finding us seats since one of my kids was in a wheelchair - it just was a great experience, a moment of respite in what had been a very dark, very heavy, very difficult month thus far.
To my surprise, at one point in the movie when Elsa (the lead character) discovers the source of the voice who had been calling to her, she started singing a song and I just lost it. I am not sure why I became so emotional, but buckets of tears fell. Weeks later, as my kids play excerpts from this movie on Instagram, I still tear up at this section of the song:
(Show Yourself is the name of the song).
Where the north wind meets the sea
Ah ah ah ah
There's a river
Ah ah ah ah
Full of memory
Come, my darling, homeward bound
I am found
Yesterday I went to have my annual mammogram and my kids sent me a link to this song and it hit me. I understood in that moment what moved me so deeply. In the movie Elsa becomes who she is meant to be, she is home, she is found. She is transformed into a beautiful white flowing dress and I realized there will come a time - there will be the moment that we reach home. Where we will be fully found. We will gaze up into our Savior's eyes and NOTHING will be able to harm us again. Nothing will shake us, nothing will terrify us, nothing will be able to hurt us ever again. Hard days, medicine changes, doctor office phone calls and appointments, cancer screenings - all of it will be gone. We will be home. We will be safe. Forever. He will clothe us in garments of pure white, and we will be fully tucked in His presence forever and ever.
On Christmas Day we were in the midst of a very, very difficult few weeks. There had been several medicine changes made by our kids' doctor at the end of October/beginning of November and the fall-out from that was at a fever pitch. Those four or five weeks felt impossible. It was truly, truly one of the most difficult sets of weeks we have been through in this roller coaster journey of mental (and neurological) chronic illness. On Christmas Day we drove around trying to simultaneously get out of the house and get a change of scenery and to break up what was shaping up to be a very awful day. Our usual fall back of finding a store to walk around in, was not an option, as most stores were closed since it was after all Christmas Day.
As we drove around town we somehow ended up in the parking lot of our local movie theater. Now for reference the first movie we made it all the way through as a family was Frozen (the original one), the second one we were considering trying was Frozen 2. My kids just do not do well in large crowds, loud overwhelming noises and lights etc;. And no it has NOT gotten easier as they have gotten older, if anything, it has gotten more difficult. But once in a blue moon, we will try something crazy and it will actually be a good experience. This idea was one of those blue moon ideas. It worked. My husband even left the movie in the middle to go home and give our puppy his anti-seizure medication (he has to take it three times a day) so that none of us would miss a moment of the movie (my husband is quite literally is the most thoughtful and considerate person I know, a prince among men).
An added bonus, on this day, at the time we tried, there was not a lot of people there, and it was a matinee performance which meant it did not cost an arm and a leg to go!! The staff went above and beyond finding us seats since one of my kids was in a wheelchair - it just was a great experience, a moment of respite in what had been a very dark, very heavy, very difficult month thus far.
To my surprise, at one point in the movie when Elsa (the lead character) discovers the source of the voice who had been calling to her, she started singing a song and I just lost it. I am not sure why I became so emotional, but buckets of tears fell. Weeks later, as my kids play excerpts from this movie on Instagram, I still tear up at this section of the song:
(Show Yourself is the name of the song).
Where the north wind meets the sea
Ah ah ah ah
There's a river
Ah ah ah ah
Full of memory
Come, my darling, homeward bound
I am found
Yesterday I went to have my annual mammogram and my kids sent me a link to this song and it hit me. I understood in that moment what moved me so deeply. In the movie Elsa becomes who she is meant to be, she is home, she is found. She is transformed into a beautiful white flowing dress and I realized there will come a time - there will be the moment that we reach home. Where we will be fully found. We will gaze up into our Savior's eyes and NOTHING will be able to harm us again. Nothing will shake us, nothing will terrify us, nothing will be able to hurt us ever again. Hard days, medicine changes, doctor office phone calls and appointments, cancer screenings - all of it will be gone. We will be home. We will be safe. Forever. He will clothe us in garments of pure white, and we will be fully tucked in His presence forever and ever.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Reading Challenge
This year, like so many other years, I printed out Tim Challies' yearly reading challenge. But this time, I decided to do something radically different. Something that I hope moves me closer to my goal of reading a LOT of great books.
First of all
1) I took an entire afternoon and made a notecard for each category. Here is an example on his list for number one he says to choose a book recommended by someone else, number two a biography, number three a Christian novel...so on and so forth. So, I took an index card and wrote the challenge - a book recommended by someone else and the title I chose A Box of Butterflies, a biography A Chance to Die...you get the idea. On the back, I want to write a quick note of what I thought of the book and the date I started and finished. Here is a picture of all of my cards, as you will notice I have not chosen a book for every card yet.
Second of all
2) I went through our bookshelves towards the end of 2019 and wrote down every single book that we own. I then went through the list and noted what I/we had read, what I/we had not, and what I wanted to read (both personal and read alouds - since we homeschool and since I spend a large portion of our days reading aloud, I chose a fair number of books that would accomplish both my personal desire to read more and the obligation I have to teach my kids. I chose the books from my shelves first and fulfilled any category that I could utilizing what we had, for the categories I could not fill, I will select books or check them out from the library when I come to them.
Lastly
3) In order to make sure that I would read the books on my notecards, I went one step further and pulled everything off of the shelves and stacked a tub with my book selections.
First of all
1) I took an entire afternoon and made a notecard for each category. Here is an example on his list for number one he says to choose a book recommended by someone else, number two a biography, number three a Christian novel...so on and so forth. So, I took an index card and wrote the challenge - a book recommended by someone else and the title I chose A Box of Butterflies, a biography A Chance to Die...you get the idea. On the back, I want to write a quick note of what I thought of the book and the date I started and finished. Here is a picture of all of my cards, as you will notice I have not chosen a book for every card yet.
Second of all
2) I went through our bookshelves towards the end of 2019 and wrote down every single book that we own. I then went through the list and noted what I/we had read, what I/we had not, and what I wanted to read (both personal and read alouds - since we homeschool and since I spend a large portion of our days reading aloud, I chose a fair number of books that would accomplish both my personal desire to read more and the obligation I have to teach my kids. I chose the books from my shelves first and fulfilled any category that I could utilizing what we had, for the categories I could not fill, I will select books or check them out from the library when I come to them.
Lastly
3) In order to make sure that I would read the books on my notecards, I went one step further and pulled everything off of the shelves and stacked a tub with my book selections.
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