Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Journal ... of books read

My goal for 2013 is 55 books. That is just a little more than one book a week. I am disappointed in myself. I am already a book behind. I have one that I have only 50 pages left to read... and I hope to finish it soon... but now I have to finish at least 5 books next month. I need to spend some time every day reading and I have not been.

I have done a good job keeping up with the reviews and I have done each review soon after finishing the book and then add it to a post I keep ready. That way at the end of the month all I have to do is add a few comments at the top and post it.

I am currently reading 6 books. You can see what they are on my right sidebar. I am trying to finish up some book I started before I start reading new ones. You would think I would be challenged because I want to read the new books on my list. But, that does not seem to be enough to get me reading faster. I am determinied to finish the books I have started last year. I do not want to quit on them. I want to finish them.

Mystery at the Inn (Tales from Grace Chapel Inn, #19)Mystery at the Inn by Carolyne Aarsen
303 pgs.
My rating: didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing (my current rating)
Started reading: Dec 28, 2012
Finished reading: Jan 07, 2013
Another of my favorite series. I loved this one. A mystery dinner at the inn, a mystery in town with one of it's residents, helping a charity, and a possible romance for the pastor of Grace Chapel. A great read, lots of fun. Light Christian fiction, for fun, great Christian characters set in a lovely little town.

When I read these books I get so involved. If I need to get a book or 2 read in a week.. sometimes more.. these are the books I go for. Once I start reading I can't stop til I am done. I read this book in just a little over a week which is pretty good for me.

I love this series and again thank the Holman family for introducing me to them. This book I actually own, thanks to the Holman's, they gave it to me for Christmas, and it was the next one on my list to read from this series. It's a God thing! Perfect timing. I actually had the book checked out of the library already but hadn't started it because of the hecticness of Christmas. Thanks Holmans!!! Sorry I could only tag one person as recommending it to me... but count it as recommended by all of you. :-)

George Washington: True Patriot (Benge, Janet, Heroes Of History.)George Washington: True Patriot by Janet Benge
223 pgs.
My rating: didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing (my current rating)
Started reading: Aug 15, 2012
Finished reading: Jan 20, 2013

This was a GREAT book. I have read a lot of books about George Washington and I still learned new things when reading this book. Like... I never knew that after the Battle of Trenton, when George Washington and his men crossed the Delaware and attacked the British the day after Christmas 1776, that he had trouble with part of the army.

"The Philadelphia militia had not shown up for the battle because their commanders assumed it was impossible to attack in a blizzard. He was even angrier when he received word on December 27 that the militia were finally in place for the battle." pg. 139

Now Washington had men stuck in Princeton, NJ when he was back in PA. And they needed rescuing from the British.... how annoying. They could not follow orders when given, arrived late, did not know the battle had already taken place, and were now a further problem for their commander.

I also learned some things in chapter 18 about our First President. It is hard to fathom the many decision he made that set a precedent for the Presidents of the future. Decisions on whether a President should: ride a horse, go to friends homes for dinner, how a President should mourn a family members death, and especially how a President should step down once his term was over. For Kings never step down and the world was watching.

We have much to thank President Washington for. His dependence on God helped to guide him and give him a firm foundation on which to stand.

Honestly  by Sheila Walsh
My rating: didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing (my current rating)
Started reading: Nov 23, 2012
Finished reading: Jan 25, 2013

This is a really good book. Sorry this is a long review but it was a really good book and really affected me, more than I thought it would.

It is an autobiography/memoir type book about Sheila's struggle with clinical depression. I read this book, firstly, because it was from my cousin who died from cancer last year. She allowed me, a couple years ago, to choose some books from her shelves that she was done with... this was one of them. I also read it, and chose it from her shelves, because the title and description on the back drew me in. I need some honesty in my life. "... Sheila shares the story of her pilgrimage - the story of a soul as it moved from hopelessness, to honesty, to freedom, and ultimately, to a life of deepened faith and joy." (from back cover)

I too am on a journey. I don't think I was ever clinically depressed but I have had times of hopelessness and struggle with the circumstances of our unemployment for 3 years, plus the injury my husband had to his back in 2004 and the 3+ years of workman's comp., pain, and struggle with the insurance companies and lawyers.

"The truth is that there will be a day when all sorrow and suffering will be dispelled and every tear wiped away. That is a promise, but it is a promise of a day to come. How shall we live til then?" pg 40
That is so true. This world is so hard to live in some days. We are all broken people, full of troubles of our own that rub off on each other as we travel this road to heaven together. Some day we will all be made new/perfect, until then we have to learn to live here and we have to learn to live with each other.

Some of the topics that especially hit home to me were: fear, anger, lonliness, shame and unforgiveness. I was surprised, though I should not have been, how much of these things there still are in my life. I have been in a place of darkness many time before. Some times the darkness seems to last a long, long time. Some times it seems as if day will never come. But, God is with us, even in our darkest times.
"None of us would seek pain in our lives, but when you find yourself in a bleak place, it is time to pay attention to what God would say to you in the darkness. You might be surprised by what he will show you about your life. I know I was." pg. 122
Sheila was surprised by what the Lord showed her. I am surprised by what the Lord is showing me, through his word and the books I am reading. I was surprised how much unforgiveness for others I had in my life. I am holding on to so many little hurts. It is time to forgive and let the hurts go. This is what I want to do...
"Whenever names or faces would come to mind and I felt some of the old resentment stirring, I would immediately begin to pray for those people, that God's blessing would be upon them." pg 137
"The turning point for me was listening to the input from people I love without being defensive" pg. 174
I have to admit... I am NOT there yet. I still get defensive... though the Lord is working on me in this area. It is hard to see each other, to stop in our busyness and take the time to really care. To speak words of comfort, hope, or encouragement. I pray that I can be and do this for others and that God will bring into my life others who will truly LOVE me enough to do the same for me.
"God gives each one of us unlimited resources in Christ to rise above small earthbound dreams and to live lives that reflect eternity in our hearts. But it is hard, even heartbreaking sometimes, to step out from behind our masks and be known." pg. 207
"Only in surrendering ourselves to living transparent, accountable lives, can we be God's picture show to each other and to the world - a visible, tangible demonstration taht God is real." "There is a place for each person that no one else can fill, and there is something you bring with you, when you step out of the shadows, that no one else can bring." pg 210
I want to know and be known like that... in honesty... being real with one another... not afraid of what others will think of me. Able to share the real me and know that others really care.

View all my reviews

I will be linking up with Chantel 
@ life, laughter and little things
if she puts up a linky
click the button below for more information.



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Think Back Thursday ~ Black and White

 
The purpose of Think Back Thursday is to link up a photo post about something from the past. You can reach back all the way to your childhood and bravely post pictures of you in your wild clothes and hair styles or post something from last year and tell us about it. I'm not picky. Hey, even yesterday was the past... LOL I hope you will join us.
Today
Today 
Black and White

Today I will be sharing photos that were taken in Black and White,
NOT photos that were changed to B&W with a photo editing program.

This is my mother when she was young. Mid 1920's I'd say since she was born in 1922.


This is me when I was young.I'd say about 1966.
Do you see a resemblance??? Do I look at all like my mom from her picture above?
I think I do.


This is my daughter Rachel
 October 1987
 My hubby took this with a Cannon AE1 with B&W film.



The pictures below here were taken with my Nicon Coolpix on Aug. 25, 2010
It has a setting on it to take photos in B&W.
I was playing with my camera trying to learn all about it
thanks to a 365 photo meme I was part of where you take a photo every day.
I really got to know my camera well that year and it was such fun.
 So, these were taken in B&W with my camera... not changed to B&W like one photo will be next month.

 Nathan, in the car

Ominous looking clouds... epecially in B&W.


My kids being silly outside of Shady Maple

A cropped photo of my hubby that was part of a larger photo like the one above... it came out really well so I cropped a portion so I could have one of just a close up of him... No other changes were made to the photo.
http://zaazu.com
my hubby.


I hope you enjoyed these photos.

Now it is YOUR turn.
http://zaazu.com
In February
2/7, 2/14, 2/21. 2/28  a series on Playing with Photos
What program do you use to fiddle with your photos?
Let us know and show some of the things the program does.

If you don't want to join in on this one... mine will be a series for all of February...
you can choose your own topics and post what you would like.

I have been wanting to do this on my blog and decided to do it for Think Back Thursday since I use a lot of photos for this meme. It will take some planning ahead to get this one ready so I am giving you all of Jan to work on it. 

I look forward to seeing what you show us... whether you do Playing with Photos or your own thing.

Here are the Rules for participating:
  • It can be about you, about your kids, about your parents, whomever. You can include video, I will not exclude video alone posts, but I prefer them along with photos, as this is a photo meme. I am doing a weekly theme now. That should help narrow it down from the myriad of photos we all have. For ideas check out the other posts in my label Think Back Thursday. 
  • Link up below. Please use a permalink that sends readers directly to the correct post. If you are not sure what that is click the word permalink for an explanation. 
  • Mention my blog and offer a link back. This is a requirement to take part and a kind gesture to me your hostess as well as your readers--they will know where to join in the fun, too. You can put the Think Back Thursday button on your site and in your post. You will find it on my right sidebar. Please use it to link to my site, to spread the word about my meme. Using the button will help others know how to find me and how to join. Tell others to click on the button in your post to find us here.
  • Leave me a comment. First so that you can let me know what you think of my pictures and secondly so that I will know a new post has been linked up and I can come visit your blog and comment on your photos. 
Join me!


all content on my blog is ©

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Think Back Thursday ~ reminder for tomorrow

 
The purpose of Think Back Thursday is to link up a photo post about something from the past. You can reach back all the way to your childhood and bravely post pictures of you in your wild clothes and hair styles or post something from last year and tell us about it. I'm not picky. Hey, even yesterday was the past... LOL I hope you will join us.

Now here are the themes:

Tomorrow
1/31 Black and White 

I have tomorrow's post all ready and scheduled and I started working on the photos for Feb. and have the photos for the first 3 weeks done and only one week to go. I do still need to work on the posts but the photos are ready for the first 3 weeks and that is GREAT! I will be working on the first post and the last week's photos in the coming week.
http://zaazu.com
In February
2/7, 2/14, 2/21. 2/28  a series on Playing with Photos
What program do you use to fiddle with your photos?
Let us know and show some of the things the program does.

If you don't want to join in on this one... mine will be a series for all of February...
you can choose your own topics and post what you would like.

I have been wanting to do this on my blog and decided to do it for Think Back Thursday since I use a lot of photos for this meme. It will take some planning ahead to get this one ready so I am giving you all of Jan to work on it. 

I have been working on this and it is going to be GOOD! I can't wait to share with you.

I look forward to seeing what you show us... whether you do Playing with Photos or your own thing.


all content on my blog is ©

Monday, January 28, 2013

Goal Planning Monday ~ Week 105


 Time to write some goals and strive to accomplish them this coming week??

Join us by clicking on the button above...
after you read my goals.

SICK... AGAIN. did NOT expect that. Monday night my bronchitis started coming back. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed, resting. I mostly watched movies on my laptop. Luckily Wed I already had a Dr. appointment scheduled. So I was on antibiotics again... this time a Zpack that only lasted 5 days instead of the 20 days of antibiotics the ear/nose/throat Dr. had given me. I took my last antibiotic yesterday. I am still coughing but it says symptoms may still improve after you take the last dose. I hope so. I don't want a second round of antibiotics if I don't have to.

Other than being sick 2 days I had a pretty good week. I do have more things Not Done than I like... but that could not be helped. I ordered a class I wanted to take on Doodling. I have been looking at it for years. I used some Christmas money. I am enjoying it already. I did a little yesterday. I have a few supplies I need want, that are suggested for the class, to buy.


My goals for this coming week:
Spiritual Goals   
  1. Morning Devotions - including Bible reading, prayer, listening to music and reading a spiritual book. Read through Proverbs each month. Prayer will be a focus this year as that is my word for 2013. I am currently reading Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper. Done - working on the questions for chapter one... will be done them tomorrow.
  2. Participate in the Joy Dare in 2013. Writing down 3 things each day that are gifts from God, things to be thankful for totaling more than 1000 gifts in 2013. Done - going good.
  3. Done- Hubby and I read some of  The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness before be on 2 evenings... we are finally getting going on it again. 
Homeschool Goals
  1. Keep up with planning and ordering materials for school. Done - Science is the thing I am struggling to plan the most this year.
  2. Be consistent with reviewing Christopher's daily work and logging it in. Done
  3. Check Christopher's hours for his school subjects so I know how much he has done, how much he still needs to do in the next 80 days or so of school. Not Done - gotta get this done this week!!!
Blog Goals   
  1. Comment on the ladies blogs that link up to Goal Planning Monday. Done - I commented at Katrina @ Real Life: Unscripted at Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm and at Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
  2. Post reminder and future themes for Think Back Thursday on Wed. Done
  3. Post Think Back Thursday. Done
  4. Comment on each person's post that links up for Think Back Thursday. Done
  5. Post a blog post that is not linked to a meme. Not Done
Fitness Goals
  1. I want to exercise at least 15 minutes on 3 days and something the other days. I hope to work up to http://zaazu.comdoing more than this. Not Done -planned to but sickness put me in bed instead.
Personal/Other Goals
  1. Write my weekly goals down on paper, add some details I want for me. Done
  2. Read, Read, Read Done - finished a book and wrote the review... working on a few other books.
  3. Work on saving files to my external drive. I have a lot to do because I have not kept up with it as I should. Not Done
  4. Finish getting the stacks of books out of my bedroom, they are books Christopher used for school that I need to finish logging and then put back on the shelf. Not Done - today... maybe... hopefully.
  5. Work on a Valentine project for decorating my house... check pins I have saved and Pinterest boards my friends have. Find some project that I can do with things I already have. Not Done - I did start looking but have not decided on anything or started a project. I do have almost 3 weeks til Valentines day but I wanted it up to enjoy until then. Gonna try and work on it today/tomorrow.
For this week that is  10 Done, 0 Partly Done, and 6 Not Done.

My goals for this coming week:
Spiritual Goals   
  1. Morning Devotions - including Bible reading, prayer, listening to music and reading a spiritual book. Read through Proverbs each month. Prayer will be a focus this year as that is my word for 2013. I am currently reading Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper. 
  2. Participate in the Joy Dare in 2013. Writing down 3 things each day that are gifts from God, things to be thankful for totaling more than 1000 gifts in 2013. 
  3. Read  The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness to/with my hubby. I am putting this back in since we started reading again last week. Hopefully we will continue. 
Homeschool Goals
  1. Keep up with planning and ordering materials for school.
  2. Be consistent with reviewing Christopher's daily work and logging it in.
  3. Check Christopher's hours for his school subjects so I know how much he has done, how much he still needs to do in the next 80 days or so of school.
Blog Goals   
  1. Comment on the ladies blogs that link up to Goal Planning Monday. 
  2. Post reminder and future themes for Think Back Thursday on Wed.
  3. Post Think Back Thursday.
  4. Comment on each person's post that links up for Think Back Thursday. 
  5. Post a meme or 2 I like to participate in.
  6. Post a blog post that is not linked to a meme.
Fitness Goals
  1. I want to exercise at least 15 minutes on 2 days and something the other days. I hope to work up to http://zaazu.comdoing more than this.I am only putting 2 days because I have been sick and don't know. If I can do more I will. 
I really want to get more healthy. My blood tests were pretty good. I have low vitamin D and have an extra vitamin to take for that. My blood sugar was good, that worried me more than anything. My cholesterol was just a little high and the Dr. did not put me on medicine for this. I am trying to eat more fruit and veggies and less junk. I want to take better care of myself. The Dr. said my blood pressure was up also. She put me on medication for that. I don't want to take it. I am monitoring my blood pressure and hoping the eating right and exercising will bring it down even further. My blood pressure is always high at the Dr.'s office because my Dr. makes me sooooo nervous. I really would like to find a new one... I don't really like her. Please be in prayer about that for me.
Personal/Other Goals
  1. Write my weekly goals down on paper, add some details I want for me.
  2. Read, Read, Read 
  3. Work on saving files to my external drive. I have a lot to do because I have not kept up with it as I should. 
  4. Finish getting the stacks of books out of my bedroom, they are books Christopher used for school that I need to finish logging and then put back on the shelf. 
  5. Work on a Valentine project for decorating my house... check pins I have saved and Pinterest boards my friends have. Find some project that I can do with things I already have.
  6. Work on my Doodle class
That's it for this week. How about you? It's a new year!!! A great time to set some goals and work to attain them... join us. Click the link at the top of the page


all content on my blog is ©

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Think Back Thursday ~ SILLY

 
The purpose of Think Back Thursday is to link up a photo post about something from the past. You can reach back all the way to your childhood and bravely post pictures of you in your wild clothes and hair styles or post something from last year and tell us about it. I'm not picky. Hey, even yesterday was the past... LOL I hope you will join us.

Today's theme is
SILLY
http://zaazu.com

For this silly theme I will be featuring one or 2 silly photos of each of my 4 children. I tried really hard this morning to find 4 similar type of photos. I chose silly dress up photos.  I sorta found a silly dress up photo of my youngest son.

I hope you enjoy, and sorry this is late getting posted. I am trying to do better at getting these ready ahead of time, but sickness and other physical problems keep bombarding me without warning.


 Silly Rachel
February 1991
at my mom's house
 in her bathrobe, and my mom's scarf and hat


Silly Nathan
July 1995
in one of the girls dresses



Silly Jessica
July 1999
 I'm not usre if that is her dress but the hat is my mothers and the veil is probalby some leftover material from something else.. adorable, silly daughter.


Silly Christopher
August 2002
 Christopher the caterpillar
I hope you enjoyed my silly photos
and I hope you will join in and post some silly photos of your own.

January Themes
1/31 Black and White
http://zaazu.com
In February
2/7, 2/14, 2/21. 2/28  a series on Playing with Photos
What program do you use to fiddle with your photos?
Let us know and show some of the things the program does.

If you don't want to join in on this one... mine will be a series for all of February...
you can choose your own topics and post what you would like.

I have been wanting to do this on my blog and decided to do it for Think Back Thursday since I use a lot of photos for this meme. It will take some planning ahead to get this one ready so I am giving you all of Jan to work on it. 

I look forward to seeing what you show us... whether you do Playing with Photos or your own thing.


Here are the Rules for participating:
  • It can be about you, about your kids, about your parents, whomever. You can include video, I will not exclude video alone posts, but I prefer them along with photos, as this is a photo meme. I am doing a weekly theme now. That should help narrow it down from the myriad of photos we all have. For ideas check out the other posts in my label Think Back Thursday. 
  • Link up below. Please use a permalink that sends readers directly to the correct post. If you are not sure what that is click the word permalink for an explanation. 
  • Mention my blog and offer a link back. This is a requirement to take part and a kind gesture to me your hostess as well as your readers--they will know where to join in the fun, too. You can put the Think Back Thursday button on your site and in your post. You will find it on my right sidebar. Please use it to link to my site, to spread the word about my meme. Using the button will help others know how to find me and how to join. Tell others to click on the button in your post to find us here.
  • Leave me a comment. First so that you can let me know what you think of my pictures and secondly so that I will know a new post has been linked up and I can come visit your blog and comment on your photos. 
Join me!



all content on my blog is ©

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