The End of My Winter Reading

The Winter Reading Challenge over at A Joyful Heart is almost over. She extended it another week because of her own busy schedule and I was grateful because this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write any sort of post.

I feel I did pretty well on my list. Some other books crept in and since I have a tendency to have more than one book going at a time there are a couple on my list still unfinished. I think I've started them all but there are some that still have a chapter or two waiting to be read.

So here below are the books I planned to read with some brief thoughts on their content, enjoyability and/or usefulness.

Passionate Housewives Desperate For God - I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was challenged by it's call to selflessness and servanthood. I wrote a whole post about it here. This is a book I will be definitely picking up again in order to spur me on toward being that Titus 2 woman I really want to be.

The Hermit of Eyton Forest (A Brother Cadfael Mystery) - I must admit to enjoying a good mystery novel. Sit me down in a cozy chair with a steaming mug of coffee and a cozy mystery novel and why, it's sheer bliss. I enjoy this particular series because it is also historical. (Although I don't particularly enjoy historical novels, just ask my Mom. She's been trying to get me to read them for years!) The author, Ellis Peters, writes not only a great mystery but includes insights into the social structure of Medieval England and the civil war that existed at that time in history. (The 1100's.)

The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) - This book is in the "juvenile" section of our library. I picked it up because I had so enjoyed The Westing Game by the same author (Ellen Raskin). They are both labeled mysteries but what they really are are elaborate word puzzles. A great, fun and challenging read.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - I missed this one as a kid. Probably because I saw the movie first which, of course, it bears little resemblance to. (This is why Son can not see the Lord of the Rings trilogy uneil he's read the books.) Even so, I found the book just as delightful as the movie. This was a read-aloud and my kids hated to have me put it down. That's a pretty good vote in favor of it, I think.

Black Ships Before Troy - We are about halfway through this one. It is also a read-aloud. Son is enjoying every minute it. Daughter, at six years old, not so much. This retelling of the Iliad by Homer is quite engaging and readable. (Where, I would like to know, was it when I was slogging through the original in Humanities 101 twenty some years ago?) We actually read the Aenead for Boys and Girls just before this. A little out of order I know. Don't worry, I keep reminding the kids this is the prequil to that.

Archimedes and the Door of Science - WOW! You could do a whole semester of science using this book. We haven't finished it yet but even when it gets a little abstract in talking about geometry the kids have enjoyed it. Each chapter explains in an understandable way just what Archimedes discoveries were and how important they are to us today. I highly recommend this book!

HTML, XHTML & CSS: Visual Quickstart Guide - After the first few chapters this is really a "how to" book. I am not finshed with it yet. It's one of those books that, for myself at least, I need to read and do. I haven't had a lot of time to practice "doing", hence the reading isn't happening either. However, what I've read so far is clear and easy to understand.

Age of Opportunity - This is a must have, must get, must, must use parenting book for parents of pre-teens and teens. Paul David Tripp is the brother of Tedd Tripp who wrote Shepherding A Child's Heart. They must have had some awesome parents. I've been telling friends that Paul's book is the sequel to Tedd's book. It is insightful, convicting and practical. For a more indepth review, check out this over at Amazon.

The Borrower's - I love this book. I loved it as a child and I loved reading it to my children. This was another one they would have been happy if I would have just read it straight through. My daughter spent days looking around our 1970's ranch-style house in search of holes where a Borrower might live. (It's a slab foundation and no holes were forthcoming.) She's now been checking for evidence outside. This is another one I recommend.

The One-Year Bible - Well, what can you say about the most awesome book of all time. I try to read through the Bible using this format every year. I don't follow the January to December format exactly. I usually get back to Genesis sometime in August. So, I've been at it this time since last August. I just finished up Esther in the Old Testament and did you know that the Jews celebrate Purim tomorrow!? God is so awesome in how He arranges our lives. I, of course, am not Jewish and don't celebrate Purim but it was neat to look at the calendar and know what that holiday was that was listed there.

Well, there it is. My winter reading list. So I think having completed five out of nine books is pretty good. Especially when a few were read-alouds to my kids. (Giggle) I would tell you what is on tap for the spring but there is another reading challenge over at Callapidder Days and that means a different post. I hope you enjoyed this and will maybe pick up some of these books!

A Call To Serve Selflessly

Well, I finished a book on my list.

The book I finished (obviously) was Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. It is a book I was more than ready to read and embrace.

This book is a call to service. Biblical service. Service to husbands and service to children. Most importantly service to God. Not only a call to service, but a call to selflessness. A call to follow the example of Jesus Christ. The example of laying down my life for another.

This book was encouraging to me right now because the Lord has been leading me in this very direction for several years now. He's been asking me to follow Him even when those around me may question what I am doing. He's been asking me to follow Him even when folks make valid sounding arguments about not losing myself in others, not being a doormat, about letting others control me. He's been showing me His life and asking me if I could live like that, selflessly, as a servant to His sheep.

I have taken a small step toward that in saying yes. Yes, I can serve others, I can be selfless toward those I love. Toward my husband, toward my children.

It's counter-culture. Even, dare I say it, in the church.

If I say, yes, I can be a servant toward God's sheep and view the sheep as people outside my family that is looked upon as noble. I am sacrificing great things for the the Lord. But wait a minute...what or who am I sacrificing? I am serving the sheep in the neighboring pastures. But what about the sheep in my own pasture? The kids who just want a book read to them, who need to have the safety and security of Mom being close by. What about just tending the pasture to make sure that there are no weeds growing up in it or other plants that can make the sheep ill? What about the husband who is out in the world doing battle and just wants a safe and sane, warm and secure place to come home to?

I can not possibly get into the depth of explanation here, in a short blog posting, of why my focus at this particular time of my life, needs to be my husband and my kids. There are numerous Bible verses I could quote to you (Eph. 5:21-33, Titus 2:3-5, Proverbs 31 are just a few) and arguments that I could make to try and convince you. However, the authors of this book have already done that.

Suffice it to say, I have been called. I have been called to lay down my life for others. I have not been called to go to deepest, darkest Africa. I have not been called to move across the country. I have not been called to even move down the street. I have been called to serve right in my own home, with my own husband, with my own children.

I may not ever get any recognition. I may not get much thanks. But I will know that I have done what God called me to do.

A Winter Challenge

I usually stumble on things.


I'm not just talking about my own feet here. I mean I'm kind of one of those people who have a tendency not to notice something until I trip over it. Whether that is my own feet or less literally, great ideas and opportunities.

So last Wednesday I was wondering around the Works For Me postings at Rocks in My Dryer and I happened upon a lovely blog called A Joyful Heart . Don't you just love the name...A Joyful Heart. Anyway I love it and it made me want to stay and see what all she had going on over there. Of course one of the first things I noticed was the banner you see here. Winter Reading Challenge.

Now, I have to back track a little here because I need to explain that I not only "stumble" a lot, but I'm also a little slow to catch on sometimes.

When I encountered my first bloggy carnival I was, um, kind of confused. A carnival? On a blog? Where's the ferris wheel? Where's the cotton candy? Where's the sideshow? Then, after "stumbling around" a bit, I got it. It's a gathering. A place to meet others and exchange ideas, encouragement, recipes or ...well anyway....I got it.

So last Fall, as I stumbled around the bloggy world, I noticed at a few blogs there were people participating in a reading challenge. Huh? Didn't get it and moved on.

Then, as I said before, last Wednesday I wandered over to A Joyful Heart and the light bulb went on! I got it. A "carnival" of sorts to challenge myself in my reading, be sort of accountable and also find some great books.

And I've needed some challenging of late. Oh, I've been reading, but it's been mostly fluff. Not that there's anything wrong with that but, just like cotton candy, it's not very filling and you find yourself craving more.

So I made a decision to find some more nourishing fare. And here is what I decided on. Some I have already started. And a couple I'll be reading to my kids. Here it is, my Winter Reading List:

The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters (because I like a good medeivel mystery)

The Borrowers by Mary Norton (this one is for the kiddos)

HTML,XHTML & CSS by Elizabeth Castro (because I'm determined to understand how all this web stuff works and how I can make it work)

The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon(I mean Noel) by Ellen Raskin (I loved The Westing Game by the same author)

Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming (I've only ever seen the movie and I wanted to read it to the kids too)

(Not pictured and on order from Amazon):

Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff (Homer's Illiad for kids; it has 5 - star reviews over at Amazon)

Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick (this is another one to read to the kids)

(Also on order from Amazon and for ... ahem... growth and developement purposes):

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald (I can hardly wait for this one to come, I've read sooo many good recommendations)

Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens 2nd Edition by Paul David Tripp (this one is because in about eleven months we will have an official teenager living in our house)

The One-Year Bible by God (I have been reading this since last August so this is a more of a just keep going read)

There it is, what I am going to try and read between now and March 17th. With the weather being what it is in my part of the world that really shouldn't be too hard because it looks like this:

And if I'm lucky and it stops looking so snowy on our roof I'll also have a nice wood stove to sit by while I read. (The man can't put the wood stove in until the snow melts off our roof.) In the meantime I'll curl up underneath my electric blanket and read away the cold winter evenings!

Proper Training- A Book Recommendation

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
I have heard a couple of different interpretations of this passage. The first, and the interpretation that it is most frequently quoted to support, is that if we train our children to be moral, God-fearing and honoring individuals they will always go back to that training. The other, however, that resonates with me is the interpretation that we are to train our children toward their bent. That bent being the person, the individual, God created them to be. The bent being that special mission that God designed for them to fulfill in their lives.
As you all know Son was in public school from Kindergarten through the Fourth Grade. He was an eager and happy student until he hit the Fourth Grade. Then he suddenly was a kid who saw school as drudgery and learning as a necessary evil. I believed that the contributing factors for this attitude were class size (he went from a class size of 18 in the Third Grade to a class size of 32 in the Fourth Grade) and peer attitude transferance. I thought that when we began to homeschool this attitude would resolve itself and he would again be an eager and willing learner.
Unfortunately this was not the case. While his attitude did improve somewhat he stilled viewed his schoolwork as a drudgery. He hadn't recovered a joy for learning. This should not have been surprising to me. My husband and I had simply taken him out of public school and started doing school at home. I recognized this about Christmas time but with our various illnesses at the time I didn't have any energy to really address the issue. What I did know was that I needed to figure out what Son's (and Daughter's) learning style was and how I needed to change what we were doing to make learning a joy.
So after we all were healthy again I went on-line at Christianbooks.com to see what was available as far as the learning styles subject was concerned. There are a number of books out there (of course) and they all offered a view of various learning styles. What made me finally decide on The Way They Learn was actually the price. Not much of a recommendation initially and initially I thought maybe I had let my frugality get the better of me. The first six chapters focus on one kind of learning style and it's four aspects. As I was reading I kept thinking, "This isn't really helping me all that much. I'm not getting a real vision of my child here!" However, as I progressed in the book she gave more information on each of the predominant learning style theories. This really gave me a fuller picture of how each of my children (and I) learn.
This new information has lead me to rethink my approach to homeschooling and to make some changes for next year in curriculum. We will be doing unit studies and lots of hands on activities with lots of hugs and attaboys (and attagirls).
I highly recommend this book as a way of understanding how each of your children learn and react to how you might be inclined to teach. Mrs. Tobias points out in the book that we are prone to teach the way we learn best. However, the way we learn best may not necessarily be how our children learn best.
The Way They Learn can be purchased at www.christianbooks.com for $10.99 + shipping or at www.amazon.com for $10.39 new (eligible for free shipping) or used starting at $1.26+shipping. You can also borrow it from me, of course. Stacey does have first dibs on it though.
I hope you all will get a chance to read this valuable resource and that it will give you insights into your children as well as tools for educating them and raising them up "in the way they should go".