This month I have read and listened to a few books from, and in addition to my 2012 list:
Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson. Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World This book was given to me by a friend during a discussion about missions and unreached peoples. It confirmed to me that yes, while it is a task given by the Lord to go out to share the Gospel, unreached people groups do have in their belief systems a knowledge of the One True God.
What’s the Big Deal? Why God Cares about Sex. by Stan and Brenna Jones.
A few years ago I purchased this series, God’s Design for Sex, at the recommendation of friends who also have a household full of daughters. Coming from the childhoods that Beloved and I had, I wanted to gather resources and information to better pass on truth regarding growing up and womanhood to our precious young ladies.
Each of the books in this series has been helpful, although the presentation of What’s the Big Deal? is less appealing to me. It is written as a dialogue between mother, father, son and daughter. After reading it one evening, I decided to simply use it as a spring board for conversations.
One Bite at a Time, 2 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider – The title of this book immediately grabbed my attention. In our immediate and extended family we have a saying when a project or duty looms big…”how do you eat this elephant?” “one bite at a time”.
This book is the helpful tool that helps me put into practice what I gleaned from Organized Simplicity. One bite or project at a time.
The project “Eat that Frog” was the launching point for the 2 important changes I made in my morning routine. Getting that frog eaten first thing every day has been a funny way to established my small exercise routine and to remember to take my medication each day.
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.
An encouraging read and a helpful tool to develop a deeper prayer life, specifically for my husband, but also in general. Many of the “prayers” helped me to find a fuller vocabulary as I pray throughout the day.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
This story was a surprise to me. About a year ago our Mae asked about reading the book but I asked her to focus on her book list. With the movie coming out I decided to read the book with the hope that I could hand it to her and be able to discuss it as she read it. In keeping with my hope to give our children “good” food for their minds, this is not a book we will circulate at this time.
While this story is well written, and there are several messages to discuss and to think on, the subject matter is very heavy. I believe it is more suited to older young adults, more in the later high school, college years.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
Family Reading
Mathematicians are People, Too, Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians by Luetta Reimer & Wlibert Reimer.
It has taken us about 6 months to read through this book, as it is a once a week or less often read during our family learning time. Mathematicians are People, Too has been a real boost to our math studies.
Reading about the very real people who made the discoveries and often fought to make them known, has given us a different understanding of these this subject. We enjoyed the stories and have been inspired to pursue our math studies with more enthusiasm. We are looking forward to starting Mathematician’s are People, Too, Volume 2 in the next school year.
The Lord of the Rings Part One, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. After reading The Hobbit in January, we jumped right into Frodo’s quest. As a youth, I don’t think I read more than one or two pieces of classic literature and it is very exciting to be sharing great classics as a family. I hope that reading these together not only brings great enjoyment to each member of our family, builds some good warm memories, but I also hope this lights a fire of interest in the hearts of each of us to enjoy a good book, even a classic book very often throughout the rest of our lives..
So rich are the discussions that have sprung up during these 6 weeks, and so fun are the “at the right moment” quotations. It is a sweet reminder when any one of us is holding too tightly to something for a sibling, daughter, spouse to say in a fun voice “my precious.”
Much to my disappointment, I have found myself casting a cloud on the story in my over preachy urgency to interrupt the story to talk (me talk) about the accurate reflection of the darkness of our human heart. This is a matter of prayer as we plan to read The Two Towers after a short detour into the works of Shakespeare.
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey ~ Chica and I had some time over the weekend to read a couple of pictures books, something that has fallen by the wayside in our busyness.
This is the delightful story of little Sal and her mother during a day of berry picking, to can for winter. I am so thankful that Chica pulled this one off the shelf, as it brought back some fond memories and the idea to make some new ones!
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AudioBooks~
The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by Crystal Paine. As a part of a blog tour I wrote a review for this audio book here.
A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada. My thoughts from this book are here.
By Quiet Waters 
