Growing in My Pleasure Reading

My prayer is that the Year of Growing will encompass all areas of my life. Two of my goals are to grow in my appreciation of beauty and in my willingness to do hard things. I hope my lengthy reading list will help me in accomplishing both. I've chosen most of these works because I think they will be beautiful, they will inspire me to do hard things, or they are beyond my normal reading fare (which makes the actual reading a hard thing).  I want my reading this year to stretch me, teach me about life, and captivate me so that I won't be tempted by lesser amusements.

In no particular order, here are the books I've chosen to read for pleasure in 2013.


~Ethan Frome because I've never read anything by Edith Wharton

~The Scarlet Pimpernel because I can't quite think of tackling Les Misérables and I'm hoping this will inspire me to try.

~The Pickwick Papers because a college professor gave it to me and it's well past time I read it!

~The Kitchen House because I've heard excellent things about this one.

~A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael because I want to know more about her story.

~Home because I loved Gilead and its characters.

~Agnes Grey because I've never read anything by Anne Bronte either.

~Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption because I've really wanted to read this one for a while now and haven't gotten to it yet.

~The Nine Day Queen of England: Lady Jane Grey because her story fascinates me.

~Desperate Sons: Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and the Secret Bands of Radicals Who Led the Colonies to War because I love learning more about the American Revolution.

~A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy because Queen Victoria intrigues me.

~Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times because I want to read the book before I watch the miniseries.

~Ellen Foster because I keep hearing about this one.

~Cry, the Beloved Country because I've been meaning to for a while now.

~Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life because even though I don't always agree with her, I think Barbara Kingsolver writes beautifully. And this topic really interests me.

Next up, the books I'll be listening to this year.

2013: The Year of Growing

I've typed numerous versions of an opening sentence for this post - none quite right. I suppose the best way to begin is to do just that. And so I start typing, on the cusp of a new year. I wonder what it will bring. After 2012 - a year filled with joy and grief unspeakable - I'm hesitant to even venture a guess. I have a shadow of an idea floating in the recesses of my mind, a slight thought of what I want the coming months to look like. I close my eyes, breathe deep and put them in the hand of the One who holds time in His hands, praying for grace to accept the shape in which He chooses to mold them. The reluctance with which I do so brings conviction, and the knowledge of what I need most in 2013 - growth.

Growth in my understanding of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Growth in my relationships.
Growth in my appreciation of the beauty in this life.
Growth in my willingness to do hard things.

And so I have deemed 2013 the Year of Growing. Where it will take me, only God knows.

December Thoughts

This space has been quiet for a while now.  I've been reluctant to put fingers to keyboard, to attempt words that could perhaps explain my absence - if anyone still reads and cares. There are a number of things I could write about...

~tears that threaten to brim my eyes constantly. When I set out the nativity Mama painted for me. When I hung my favorite set of ornaments from my childhood. When my girl decorated Dad's Christmas tree this weekend, just as she did with Mama each year. When I think about how strange it will be to gather in the church fellowship hall for a family Christmas gathering, with Mama's name etched in stone just a few feet away. When I can't help but wishing I'd known that last Christmas would be Mama's last Christmas.

~ a season that's been much busier than I've wanted it to be.

~that the parties and shopping have left me empty and craving something more. While I have prepared my home for Christmas, I've failed miserably in preparing my heart for Christ.

~the fact that 70° weather in December depresses me.

~the disappointment of a particular circumstance.  Being obedient to the Word of the Lord is sometimes difficult, even when I trust and believe that the outcome will be for my good. It reminds me that this is not my home, and for that I am so very thankful.

~the simpler, happier, more productive and less dramatic life I discover when I take a break from the internet.

~how much I'm enjoying Little Women, The Christ of Christmas, and Behold the Lamb of God: An Advent Narrative.

Trying to find words to expand upon these things either cheapens them or gives them more value than they deserve. And so, I return once again to my quiet and small life marked by an incredible and enormous God.