Laudable Linkage

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Blog reading was hit-or-miss over the holidays while family was here. I’ve been catching up this week and almost have my Feedly account worked down. But this week’s list of noteworthy links might be a little longer than usual. Perhaps you’ll find an item of two of interest to you.

A Real Christmas, HT to Challies. I don’t think we’re too far from Christmas to contemplate this. “We gloss over the harsh, cruel parts of the story because they don’t fit the narrative we want. But aren’t those parts the point of it all? Jesus came because we needed him – need him still, as evil rages around the globe and even in our own backyards.”

End of the Year Journaling Prompts. There are some for the new year as well. Some would work as blog post ideas.

You Don’t Have to Read the Whole Bible This Year. “Reading the Bible is a glorious privilege; it is entirely worthwhile; it is revealing and convicting and strengthening and encouraging in ways we can barely imagine beforehand. But in the Bible itself we do not find any prescription for the amount we must read each day or year.”

We Should Trust God—But for What? HT to Challies. “I cannot trust God to answer every prayer exactly how I want them answered. I cannot trust him to orchestrate my life so there is no suffering, toil, or disappointment. I cannot trust him to give me everything I want. I cannot trust him to stick to the timeline I had planned for my life.”

How Are We to Live in What Feels Like Unprecedented Times? “Yet all these likely end-of-the-world scenarios have come and gone. G. K. Chesterton wrote, ‘With every step of our lives we enter into the middle of some story which we are certain to misunderstand.’ Our perspective is limited. We’re not God, we don’t hold the universe in the palm of our hands, and we just don’t know what lies ahead of us.”

Did the Pandemic Wreck the Church? Good news here.

Father In Every Way but One, HT to Challies. Beautiful writing here.

Let Us Rediscover the Power of Forgiveness, HT to Challies. “Is this Jesus so dangerous that a young woman finds in Him the power to want good for her father’s killer? Even that she might one day be able to tell him about Jesus?”

In the Darkest Night: Draw Near, Hold Fast, Consider Others, HT to Challies. “In the darkest season of my life, I was lifted decisively out of the pit by a passage in the book of Hebrews. The three simple commands embedded in it made all the difference.”

A Tale of Two Dogs, HT to Challies. This illustrates an excellent point.

Old Spiritual Journals—Keep or Destroy? HT to Linda. This article also shares another side of the issue: Why I Burned 90 Journals . . . And Still Journal Daily. The short answer: it partly depends on why you’re writing in the first place.

This is courtesy of Denny Burk’s Top Ten You Tube video list for 2021, HT to Challies. What a testimony—to play that song in the aftermath of such a storm.

Happy Saturday!

Friday’s Fave Five

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It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

This FFF button is particularly apt because we’ve had snow twice this week. Thankfully it wasn’t heavy and didn’t impact travel either time.

This first week of the new year ended up not being quite as back-to-the-routine as I was expecting. But overall, everything went well. Here are a few favorites.

1. Time with family and safe travels. We had one last weekend all together before my oldest had to fly back to RI. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but I so treasure those weeks together. Thankfully all his flights went as scheduled even though we heard of massive numbers of flights being cancelled due to staff shortages.

2. A hot water heater fix. On the last shower of the last day of Jeremy’s visit, the hot water heater went out. My husband cleaned out the motor area and took some things apart. He looked up the part he thought was needed, but it wouldn’t get here for several days. I began to think of all the ramifications of not having hot water for several days. He worked on it a good bit of the afternoon and got it going. My hero!

3. New calendars. One of my favorite things is setting up new wall calendars for the new year. I have two, one near my desk and one in the kitchen. I go through them and put all our birthdays and anniversaries in it before hanging it up. It’s such a pleasure to see those clean pages.

4. A good first doctor’s visit. I’ve had some digestive issues for a number of years which have steadily gotten worse. I saw a gastroenterologist when this all first started, but he was the kind of doctor who could only help if he found something he could cut out. When he didn’t, he referred me to the internet. :-/ We’ve moved since then, and I finally decided to ask my family doctor for a referral. I had my first appointment with the new doctor this week, and he was very easy to talk to and much more knowledgeable about the various facets of digestive troubles. He gave me a couple of things to try and scheduled a couple of easy tests. Then we’ll get those results and see what steps we need to take next.

5. A beautiful sunrise. Our house is positioned such that we don’t normally see sunrises or sunsets. Sometimes we’ll catch a bit of beautiful color in one window, but will have to step outside to see much more. And even then, we’re surrounded by so many trees that we only get what looks like a few feet of skyline before it’s gone. I had to leave the house while it was still dark one morning and was able to see the whole sunrise stretch across the sky while I was driving. It was so glorious and such a pleasure. I couldn’t stop to get a picture, but I enjoyed it immensely.

(Edited to add): Bonus: Help putting Christmas things away. The whole family comes over to help decorate for Christmas. This is our first Christmas without Jesse living at home, and I was not relishing putting everything away with just Jim and I. Thankfully, Jesse was willing to stay after Jeremy left and help, and Jason and Mittu also helped a bit before they had to leave. As tired as I was afterward even with help, I can’t imagine how wiped out I’d have been if we’d had to do it alone. It was also nice to get it done and not have all the totes everywhere for days.

I hope your first week of 2022 contained blessings large and small.

Reading Plans for 2022

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One of my favorite activities is setting my reading plans for the year.

For many years I just read whatever came to hand, whatever I was in the mood for. I like to allow for that and for reading new books and unplanned discoveries. But making plans for the year helps me be more intentional, work in the books I plan to “get to someday,” and broaden my horizons.

Reading challenges also help with those purposes, plus they are fun. And some offer prizes!

The reading challenges I plan to participate in this year are:

The Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. This is one of my favorites. Through this challenge, I’ve been introduced to classics I never knew about before and authors I had never tried. My usual classics taste tend toward 19th century Britain: Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Elliot. These are the cozy classics to me, and I try to read from them every year. But it’s good to branch out, and Karen’s categories help me do that. The categories this year are:

  • A 19th century classic.
  • A 20th century classic.
  • A classic by a woman author.
  • A classic in translation.  Any book first published in a language that is not your primary language.
  • A classic by BIPOC author. Any book published by a non-white author.
  • Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic. It can be fiction or non-fiction.
  • A Classic Short Story Collection.
  • Pre-1800 Classic.
  • A Nonfiction Classic.
  • Classic That’s Been on Your TBR List the Longest.
  • Classic Set in a Place You’d Like to Visit.
  • Wild Card Classic. Any classic you like, any category, as long as it’s at least 50 years old!

Since the categories were just posted, I haven’t had time to think about them and decide what to read. But I’ll enjoy contemplating them! I’m sure I’ll continue with the next in Trollope’s Barsetshire series for the 19th century classic. I might delve into The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis for the nonfiction: I’ve been wanting to read that for a while.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. She provided 12 categories of nonfiction, and participants choose which level they want to aim for. Thankfully, this year she has included a Nonfiction Grazer category where we set our own goals for how many and what kind of nonfiction to read. That will work best for me this year.

I’m going to plan on at least 12 nonfiction books. I usually read more than that, but many are in the same categories. This year I want to read:

  • At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
  • One writing book
  • One book of humor
  • One Bible study book
  • One Christian living book
  • One book of letters or journals
  • One book by C. S. Lewis that I have not read yet
  • One book on organization or productivity (I have 13 on my shelf! Some read, some dipped into, some unread.)
  • One book pertaining to a holiday (probably Christmas)
  • One book related to midlife or aging

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. The idea is to read books you already owned before the start of this year. Bev has made levels in increments of twelve, each named after a mountain, and we’re to choose a level to shoot for. Even though I’ve reached Mt. Ararat (48 books) the last couple of years, I think I will play it safe and stick with Mt. Vancouver (36 books).

There are a couple of other TBR challenges I have participated in for previous years, but the rules of each are slightly different. So, to keep it simple, I think I’ll just stick with this one. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment to get to those books!

These next to are new to me. They focus on books I usually read anyway, so they won’t require extra effort except for the record keeping.

The Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reader. Last year I listened to 25 audiobooks, so I’ll aim for that again with the Binge Listener level at 20-30.

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is hosted by The Intrepid Reader. I read 15 in this genre last year, so I will aim for that again with the Medieval level.

I’ve seen some other interesting-looking challenges with various categories, like this one. But I don’t want to get involved in too many to keep up with. I may have already! We’ll see how it goes.

Do you participate in reading challenges? Which ones?

When God Changes Your Plans

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Probably many of you have set plans or goals for the new year. I don’t usually have time to think about it much until the rest of the family’s first work day after Christmas. Then, when I have some quiet moments to myself, I can sort through what I’d like to do in the year ahead.

I don’t make resolutions. I used to be against them as a set-up for failure until I did a study on the “I will” statement in the Bible. Then I saw anew 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 where Paul prays that God “may fulfill every resolve for good.” So it’s not wrong–and in fact, it’s much needed—to resolve by God’s grace and prayer to make changes. We’re not going to float into godly living. We can’t do it on our own, but we need to “think on [our] ways” and then “turn [our] feet to your testimonies” (Psalm 119:59).

Still, though a new year is a good time to take stock, I am more likely to make those kinds of changes as I see the need for them rather than on Jan. 1.

But I do like to make plans for the year. Sometimes the tasks are mundane: reorganize the pantry or closet; complete the dress I started last year (or the year before. . . ), etc. Sometimes the listed items are more involved and will take a major shift, like the changes that will need to take place if I am ever going to finish this book I am trying to write.

I know better than to make plans first and then ask God to bless them. I try to remember to pray, asking God’s guidance as I make plans. I take into account James’ admonition:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).

When I pray and plan that way, I feel that any interruption or change of plans is a signal that something’s wrong. Did I sin? Did I miss God’s guidance? Is Satan trying to trip me up? Is someone else sinning against me? I prayed asking for God to guide me, so these plans must be His will.

But sometimes the change is part of the plan. I don’t know why God seems to lead people one way and then changes courses. Maybe to increase their trust and dependence, maybe because there was something they were to learn or do along the way. Sometimes interruptions are the ministry, not a hindrance to ministry.

Whatever the case, I am coming to learn that God’s highest blessing may not be having my plans and dreams turn out like I want.

Coming through this last Christmas season, I was struck once again by Mary’s willingness to have her plans totally overturned when the angel announced that she was chosen to mother the Messiah.

We don’t know what Mary’s plans for life were except that she was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter. He seemed to be a quiet, godly man of character. They would not be well off, but I am sure Mary planned a cozy domestic life with a good man and a house full of children.

She did receive those things, but with a major twist. Her firstborn child would come before she knew a man physically, and that child would not end up leading a quiet, obscure life once He came to adulthood.

We don’t know if Mary realized everything that bearing and carrying Christ would mean: the gossip, the possibility that she would lose Joseph, the sorrow to come at Jesus’ death. But she was willing to do whatever God wanted her to do.

I think of Moses, who had thought he was supposed to help his fellow Israelites in Egypt. But that hadn’t worked out so well. Now he was resigned to keeping his father-in-law’s flock in Midian. Then suddenly God speaks to him from a burning bush. Yes, God planned for him to aid Israel, but He had a much bigger plan than Moses had imagined.

Numerous people in Scripture were stopped in their tracks to change course at God’s direction: Abraham and Sarah were sent from Ur to a land of God’s promise; David was called from tending sheep to being anointed king; Zechariah and Elizabeth found out they’d be having a baby at an advanced age; all the disciples were called from their occupations to follow Christ.

We knew a young couple on deputation to be missionaries when one of their children developed leukemia. One of our former pastors was in seminary when he was in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic.

I think Elisabeth Elliot probably assumed she would be on a foreign mission field all her life. And when Joni Earcekson Tada went diving one day as a teenager, she had no idea how her life was about to change. But where would we be without the testimonies of these two dear ladies that came about as a result of their changed plans?

Sometimes it’s hard to know when an obstacle to our plans is from God or Satan. Isobel Kuhn‘s mother was violently opposed to Isobel’s going to Bible college. Isobel received wise advice from a mentor about how to pray and wait for God to open the way. He taught her to pray something like, “Lord, if this obstacle is from you, I accept it. If it is from Satan, I refuse him and all his works.” This stood her in good stead in later years when she and her husband were on furlough, ready to go back to China, and they received word that the way was closed. The other missionaries were ready to acquiesce and take it as the Lord’s will, but Isobel felt strongly that God wanted them to go. She didn’t argue, but she went quietly into another room and prayed—and soon they received the okay to go.

So it’s good to pray and wait when a situation isn’t clear. But when a change in plans is obviously from God, we need to accept it. I’m afraid I am more like Moses, arguing with God, or reluctant like Gideon, or, sadly, sometimes even resistant like Jonah, whether changes are minor or life-altering. Oh, for grace to be like the disciples who dropped their fishing nets or left their tax desk immediately when the Savior called, or like Mary, who readily yielded herself to God’s will.

Often it seems that when God changes our plans, the end result is a greater usefulness and greater display of His power and glory than we had imagined. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Friday’s Fave Five

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It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

It’s the last Friday not only of December, but of 2021. My heart is full. Here are just a few blessings from the last two weeks.

1. Christmas, of course. We feel blessed to have all our immediate family with us. We enjoyed the food, presents, cards, and togetherness.

2. Family time. My oldest son is here for a longer visit than usual, Jim has been off for the last two weeks, and the boys have had some days off here and there. We’ve enjoyed lots of chatting and food and games.

3. Our 42nd anniversary was a few days before Christmas, and we went to a really nice restaurant because we had a gift card. I was amused that the waitress said, “We want to be your special occasion place!” Kind of an acknowledgement that it’s not the kind of place one can afford to drop into causally. We thought it was neat that they decorated our dessert plates with good wishes and a candle.

4. Rest. Christmas and the weeks before, lovely as they are, are also super busy. This week, I feel like I am getting a bit of vacation. We met the kids for lunch Sunday, Mittu made roast and potatoes and carrots Tuesday, we got take-out Wednesday, Jesse made lasagna last night. There’s talk of getting take-out tonight, and Jeremy offered to make a middle-Eastern dish tomorrow. It’s nice to give all of us a break by taking turns and then getting something out a couple of days.

5. Trying a new place for lunch. Jason and Mittu told us about a place downtown that’s like a food court, except without a mall. I guess all the restaurants in it had food trucks businesses and were asked to be a part of this. It has indoor seating with some tables outside. There were several options to choose from–I got a club sandwich, Jim got shrimp and fries, Jeremy got barbecue, Jesse got ramen (I forget the exact name of the dish he got). There is even a gluten free chicken and donuts place for Mittu and Timothy. It was nice to try a new place outside of our usual favorites, and it’s nice to know of this place for when we do things downtown.

My Facebook memories showed that I shared this quote a couple of times. I probably shared it here before, too, but it’s a good reminder.

“‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.’ I Samuel 7:12. ‘The word ‘hitherto’ seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet ‘hitherto hath the Lord helped us!’ Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea; in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation–‘hitherto hath the Lord helped!'” Charles Spurgeon

Just as He has helped in the past, so He will in the future as we rest in and trust Him.

I wish you a very safe and happy New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and 2022!

December Reflections

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I wasn’t sure, at first, whether I’d do an end-of-December post. Probably many of our activities have been the same as yours, with getting ready for and then celebrating Christmas. But there were a few things unique to this month, so I decided to go ahead.

Family news

My oldest son is visiting, as he always does for Christmas. But he’s staying a week longer than usual, for two reasons. First, he usually leaves the Sunday after Christmas. This year, that would have meant leaving the day after Christmas, which would have been an abrupt end to our holiday togetherness. Plus, my middle son’s workplace is its busiest in December. On top of that, the temp agencies they work with this time of year promised 20 workers, but only two came. So Jason has been working nights and weekends for weeks. If Jeremy had left the 26th, he would not have seen Jason’s family much at all. So this week Jeremy is working from home here during the day, then we have more visiting time in the evenings. It has been nice to have the extra time together after the busyness leading up to Christmas subsides.

Jim and I celebrated our 42nd anniversary a few days before Christmas. We usually celebrate with a nice meal out and exchanging cards. This year we went to a ritzier restaurant than usual because when we sold our rental house earlier this year, at closing our realtor gave us a gift card to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. We had never been there before. It was very nice. I’m afraid I could get used to luxury all too easily.

Creating

This has been a banner month for card-making. I buy Christmas cards to send to extended family and friends, but I make them for immediate family. Plus we had some other occasions for cards this month.

This was for a friend’s birthday. The white part was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

This was for our pastor’s surprise party for his 50th birthday. I got the idea from Pinterest and used the Cricut for the numbers and window. The words were stickers.

This was for our anniversary. My husband was a physics major, math minor, so when I saw this idea, it appealed to me.

This was Jim’s Christmas card. The deer and trees were done with the Cricut. I printed out the words for all the Christmas cards on the computer.

I did think about saying deer/dear instead of love, but I resisted. 🙂

This was Jeremy’s. I usually do something with a fox for him. But he has a cat, so I decided to use the feline influence. The cat was made with the Cricut, the presents from scrapbooking paper.

His cat isn’t totally black: she has some brown/tan/gold colors in her fur. But there was no way I could replicate that, so solid black would have to do.

This was Jason’s. I wanted to use the fa la la paper in some way, and he’s the most interested in playing different instruments. The instruments were done with the Cricut; the frame was done with decorative scissors.

This is Mitttu’s. The door was done with the Cricut. I printed the wreath from some free clip art and cut it out by hand.

Timothy’s is supposed to look like a snow globe. I was excited to work with clear acetate for the top of it. I had some little plastic bits from a package of snowflake confetti that I used for the snow–the snowflakes themselves were too big. But static cling keeps the “snow” from moving around much. If I ever do this again, I’ll use sequins. The snowman and trees were stickers.

Jesse’s contains something of an inside joke. For his white elephant gift for a young adults Christmas party, he found some pizza socks—a set of socks decorated with different pictures of pizza toppings, folded all together in a pizza box. So, I thought, since a pizza slice is the same shape as a Christmas tree . . . I’d use that as the base of his card. The pizza slice was done on the Cricut.

This year’s Christmas cards are some of my favorites.

Reading

Since last time I have completed:

  • Christian Reflections by C. S. Lewis. His thoughts on literature, culture, church music, ethics, subjectivism, and more. Challenging, but good.
  • Be Available (Judges): Accepting the Challenge to Confront the Enemy by Warren W. Wiersbe
  • The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M. White. I had just finished this last month but had not reviewed it then. Lady Elizabeth takes her maid to the Isles of Scilly to escape the marriage her brother is trying to arrange for her. But she is mistaken for another Elizabeth and given strange notes and packages. The local vicar—the other Elizabeth’s brother—works with Libby to try to decipher the messages and find his sister.
  • Chapel Springs Revival by Ane Mulligan. reminded me of I Love Lucy, but with a Southern accent. Not my favorite, but if you like that kind of humor, you’d probably enjoy this book.
  • A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas, a Civil war-era novel. A women makes a quilt for her husband while he is soldiering. It comes back to her in an unusual way. Plus her beliefs are tested when she is asked to shelter a runaway slave wanted for murder.
  • A Christmas by the Sea by Melody Carlson. A woman plans to update a seaside cottage she inherited in order to sell it. But her son wants to stay there.
  • Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. Four friends plan to meet for Christmas in Paris after WWI ends. But it lasts much longer than expected. Several decades later, the last of the four travels to Paris for his last Christmas to read the one unopened letter remaining from their correspondence. Excellent. One of my top twelve of the year.
  • The Yuletide Angel by Sandra Ardoin. Victorian novel about an anonymous benefactor, the man who secretly guards and admires her, and another not so friendly stalker.
  • The Ornament Keeper by Eva Marie Everson. Separated after twenty years of marriage, a woman unpacks the special ornaments her husband had given her every year, remembers their lives together, and tries to figure out if they can get past the resentment and lack of forgiveness.
  • Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote letters to his children as Father Christmas for several years, complete with disasters set off by the kind but bumbling North Polar Bear. Delightful.

That looks like a lot, but most of the Christmas stories were novellas.

I’m currently reading:

I posted my top twelve books of the year here and all the books I read this year here.

Watching and Listening

My husband and I aren’t binge watchers. He can barely stand to spend two hours viewing something. We started watching the last season of the remake of Lost in Space on Netflix here and there. Then one night, after a long and busy day, we got pizza and watched the next episode. And we had to find out what happened next, so we watched on . . . and on until we finished it. It’s such a good series. I love the emphasis on family. It’s much more intense than the original version.

We also watched A Castle for Christmas, a pretty cute movie about an author who travels to the castle where her father’s family worked in Scotland and finds out its for sale. The owner needs to sell but doesn’t want to, so he tries to sabotage her plans. Then we watched Elf with Jesse and Jeremy and found out later that Jason and Mittu had also watched it. I’ve seen it once or twice before, but still enjoyed it a lot.

I listened to a podcast series by Audible set up like an old radio serial: The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure. It was a little too much at times—a little loud and bizarre. And the opening note of its intro music is the worst in the history of intro music. But it was cute and clever in places.

Blogging

In the last month, I have shared:

Writing

Of course, writing has taken a back seat this month. But in January I want to map out time to make it a priority.

Sad News

I wasn’t quite sure where to mention this. We found out a few days before Christmas that my husband’s second oldest brother died from Covid and his wife was in ICU with Covid. It’s been something of a shock. He’s the first of any of our siblings to pass. We’re still processing and waiting to hear more.

Looking Ahead

December has been a full month. I enjoyed the time with family so much. But I am kind of glad the Christmas hoopla is over and the last few days have been more relaxed (for me anyway—maybe not so much for those returning to work). We’ll still have some time together this weekend. Then it’s on to new calendars and a bright shiny new year.

I’ve shared this before, but I love this quote from Captain Jim in Anne’s House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery:

“Welcome, New Year,” said Captain Jim, bowing low as the last stroke died away.
“I wish you all the best year of your lives, mates.
I reckon that whatever the New Year brings us will be the best
the Great Captain has for us.”

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Reading Challenge Wrap-Ups

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It’s that time of year–time to close and report the results of the different reading challenges I participated in this year.

I finished the the Back to the Classics Challenge early this year! I completed all twelve categories, and I posted what I read for each here.

The Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Shelly Rae at Book’d Out encourages us to read nonfiction in particular categories. The categories and the books I read for them:

1.Biography: Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
2. Travel: EPIC: An Around-the-World Journey Through Christian History by Tim Challies
3. Self-help: Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel
4. Essay Collection: Christian Reflections by C. S. Lewis
5. Disease
6. Oceanography: Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
7. Hobbies: How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
8. Indigenous Cultures
9. Food
10. Wartime Experiences: Woman Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood
11.Inventions: The Secret War of Charles Fraser-Smith, the “Q” Gadget Wizard of World War II by Charles Fraser-Smith.
12. Published in 2021: Ten Words to Live By: Delighting In and Doing What God Commands by Jen Wilkin.

My post listing all the book I read this year shows I competed 38 nonfiction books. But they didn’t all fit these categories, so I only reached “Nonfiction nibbler” status as far as this challenge goes.

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Challenge to encourage us to read the books we already own.. Every 12 books read is another level or “mountain” climbed.

The Backlist Reader Challenge hosted by The Bookwyrm’s Hoard has the same idea as Mt. TBR.

I used to list all of the previously-owned books I read for this challenge, but that’s not a requirement, and seems redundant after listing all the titles I read this year. But I completed 48 books from my own shelves and Kindle app, reaching Mt. Ararat for the Mount TBR challenge. That feels like an accomplishment!

I enjoy reading Christmas books after Thanksgiving through the end of the year. Tarissa at In the Bookcase hosts a Literary Christmas Reading Challenge for that purpose each year. This year, my Christmas reading included:

  • Expecting Christmas, a 40-day devotional by multiple authors
  • A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas, a Civil war-era novel. A woman makes a quilt for her soldier husband. When he dies, she assumes the quilt was buried with him. But the quilt shows up again in a surprising way. Meanwhile, she has to determine how far her beliefs go when she is asked to shelter a runaway slave wanted for murder.
  • Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. An epistolary novel set during WWI. Four friends plan to meet in Paris for Christmas the year WWI starts, thinking it will be over by then. Obviously, it wasn’t, and they don’t make that date. The last of them goes to Paris for Christmas in the 1960s to read the last unopened letter. So good.
  • A Christmas by the Sea by Melody Carlson. A woman and her son travel to the beach house she has inherited. She plans to fix it up and sell it to replenish their resources after her husband’s long illness. But her son thrives in the new town and wants to stay.
  • The Yuletide Angel by Sandra Ardoin. A Victorian-era novel in which an anonymous donor, dubbed the Yuletide Angel, gifts needy families with supplies in the middle of the night. Only one person knows the benefactor’s identity is female, and he follows her unseen to insure her safety. But soon someone else stalks her in the darkness.
  • The Ornament Keeper by Eva Marie Everson. A woman unpacks the special ornaments her husband has given her each of their twenty years together. But now they have separated due to festering anger and unforgiveness. Can they find their way back to each other before it’s too late?
  • Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote letters to his children as Father Christmas for several years, complete with disasters set off by the kind but bumbling North Polar Bear. Delightful.

Letters from Father Christmas and Last Christmas in Paris weren’t on my radar when I started the challenge, but I am so glad I found them. Otherwise, I did read all I set out to read for the challenge this year.

I also listened to a Christmas story laid out as a podcast series by Audible, The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure. It was styled like a modern version of old radio serials. It was a little bizarre in places, kind of a conflation of Candy Land and Oz. But it had some clever writing here and there.

We watched a couple of Christmas movies, but not our usual White Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life. We saw A Castle for Christmas, in which an author running from her problems visits a castle in Scotland where her father worked as a child. She learns the castle is for sale, but the curmudgeonly owner doesn’t really want to let go of it. It’s a pretty cute movie. One not-good part, but nothing explicit is shown. And we also watched Elf, which was a lot of fun.

And that wraps up for reading challenges for this year! I’ll hammer out my reading plans for next year next week. I’ll probably participate in each of these again. They all enhance my reading and broaden my horizons.

Three Christmas Reads

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I thought I’d group together short reviews of three books I enjoyed this December.

Expecting Christmas is a 40-day devotional book by multiple authors. I didn’t know any of the author names except one (Jennifer Dukes Lee). It’s put out by New Hope Publishers.

The selections are short, which is appreciated in a month like December. Each began with a verse or two of Scripture, a page and a half to two pages (at least in the Kindle version) of text, then three questions for refection.

The readings cover a variety of Christmas topics, though several deal with light.

A couple of samples: Day 15 talks about how horses in past years were seen as “labor animals, forms of transportation, and even weapons of war” (p. 44). After describing war horses, the writer points out Zechariah 9:9-10: Jesus did not come as an overthrowing conqueror, at least as the kind of conqueror society expected. His second coming will be more like that. But this time, He came humbly on a donkey. The author concludes, “Take time now to thank the Lord for being both just and humble, for bringing salvation instead of condemnation, for riding peacefully on a colt rather than on a warhorse. Ask Him to help you trust Him, especially when you don’t understand His ways. When you find yourself confused by His methods, remember the salvation He brought and the joys of that great gift” (p. 46).

In mediating on Jesus being given “the tongue of the learned” (Isaiah 40:4-5), another writer says, “Jesus didn’t use His deep knowledge and gift for oratory to make a name for Himself or climb social ladders. Rather, as seen in the Gospel accounts of His ministry, Jesus used His words to unburden people, free minds from the lies they had learned from false religions, and draw weary hearts closer to the Living God” (p. 54).

Another points out that people responded differently in praise and worship of the Savior, and that’s okay. “Mary’s response was one of quiet introspection as she treasured the good news of the gospel in her heart. The shepherds, on the other hand, left young Jesus, glorifying God and praising Him with outward enthusiasm and passion. People celebrate the gospel in different ways” (p. 77).

I only wish this book was 25 or 31 days so it would fit within the month of December. I didn’t get started 40 days ahead, so I have a bit yet to finish up. But I wanted to mention it before the month was over. Overall, I enjoyed it.

The second book I mentioned in my top twelve post yesterday. I had never heard of Letters From Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien. I discovered it while looking for a short Christmas audiobook to finish out the year. This fit the bill nicely.

Tolkien sent letters and drawings as if from Father Christmas to his children from 1920 to 1943. He wrote with a shaky script because he was so old, he said (probably also to disguise his handwriting). The letters would comment on happenings in the children’s lives as well as at the North Pole. The North Polar Bear was Father Christmas’s helper and companion, a cheerful but bumbling fellow who unwittingly caused a lot of accidents. Polar Bear adds his own commentaries with a thick script because of his paws. Later an elf named Ilbereth acts as Father Christmas’s secretary. The last few letters mention “this horrible war” (WWII) and the people displaced, the shortage of supplies even at the North Pole, etc.

I got the audiobook superbly narrated by Derek Jacobi as Father Christmas and a couple of others for the infrequent voices of the bear and elf. But when I realized the book had photos of the letters and drawings, I had to get the Kindle version, too.

I thought in passing of Tolkien’s penchant for languages but figured that wouldn’t have a place in this book. But he did come up with a made-up language called Arktic that is spoken at the North Pole, and Polar Bear shares a few lines of it.

He also included some battles with goblins, who at times liked to raid Father Christmas’s supplies.

These letters are wonderfully imaginative. I especially loved the banter between Father Christmas, Polar Bear, and Ilbereth.

My last Christmas book this year is The Ornament Keeper, a contemporary fiction novella by Eva Marie Everson.

It’s Felicia Morgan’s custom to begin decorating the Christmas tree with the special, customized ornaments her husband has given her, one each year except for the last year. Each represented something special about their year: their first Christmas together, their children, her job advancement, etc.

This year, though, Felicia is dragging her feet. She and Jackson have separated after twenty years of marriage. Her daughter convinces Felicia to put up decorations as usual, but the memories are painful.

As Felicia hangs each ornament, we see a flashback to the circumstances surrounding each of them. Felicia’s marriage began with a mistake which has haunted the couple’s twenty years. Though God has redeemed and worked together for good their indiscretion, seeds of resentment and unforgiveness threaten to destroy what they have. Can they find their way back to each other before it’s too late?

I enjoyed the story and the truths brought out. I appreciated that the book wasn’t superficial or treacly.

Have you read any of these? Did you read any Christmas books this year?

My Top 12 Favorite Books Read in 2021

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I posted all the books I read this year, but I also like to share my top ten or so favorites. (Forgive me for doubling posts today—I’m trying to fit a few things in before year’s end. Plus I don’t know how many people are interested in the list of every book read this year. 🙂 )

It’s hard to narrow the list down, but I came up with twelve favorites. A few were published this year, but most were just discovered this year. I had an even list of fiction and nonfiction this year. The titles link to my reviews.

Favorite Nonfiction Read in 2021:

  1. Ten Words to Live By: Delighting In and Doing What God Commands by Jen Wilkin. This is my overall top favorite this year. Jen deals with the Ten Commandments overall and individually, what they meant to the original audience, and how they apply today.

2. The Good Portion: Scripture: The Doctrine of Scripture for Every Woman by Keri Folmar. As I said in my review, most of us don’t get excited about doctrine. But right doctrine is our bedrock. Knowing what we believe and why comforts us and keeps us on course. This book was written “to shed light on the treasure and sweetness of the sacred Scriptures. The book attempts to summarize the doctrine of the Word of God in a way that keeps the relational nature of the Bible at the forefront. After all, the Bible is God speaking to us. It is God revealing Himself with words and calling us into relationship with Him.”

3. Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund.

I wasn’t familiar with Dane Ortlund before reading this, and I was a little wary. Some who emphasize the gentleness and meekness of Christ de-emphasize His other qualities, such as righteousness and holiness and purity.

Yes, he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament hopes and longings (Matt. 5: 17). Yes, he is one whose holiness causes even his friends to fall down in fear, aware of their sinfulness (Luke 5: 8). Yes, he is a mighty teacher, one whose authority outstripped even that of the religious PhDs of the day (Mark 1: 22). To diminish any of these is to step outside of vital historic orthodoxy. But the dominant note left ringing in our ears after reading the Gospels, the most vivid and arresting element of the portrait, is the way the Holy Son of God moves toward, touches, heals, embraces, and forgives those who least deserve it yet truly desire it (p. 27).

.4. The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo. This is a true story that reads like a novel. A man in Rebecca’s father’s congregation disagreed with him and began terrorizing the pastor’s family in unbelievable ways, leading to tragedy. Though that makes the book sound depressing, Rebecca’s journey to forgiveness and the aftermath are quite inspiring.

true story of reigious persecution and forgiveness

5. The Secret War of Charles Fraser-Smith, the “Q” Gadget Wizard of World War II by Charles Fraser-Smith. A missionary with a penchant for thinking outside the box and rigging up what he needed was tapped to design or find items soldiers and spies needed during WWII. He needed not only to provide gadgets, tools, and maps, but he had to come up with ingenious ways to conceal them from enemy searches. This was a thoroughly fascinating book.

6. Write Better: A Lifelong Editor on Craft, Art, and Spirituality by Andrew T. Le Peau. I try to read at least one book on writing each year, and this was my choice this year. It catapulted to my top favorite writing book, one I need to reread regularly.

Favorite Fiction Books Read in 2021:

1. Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson. In this time-slip novel, two children escape Nazi Germany but then get separated. The one has spent his life trying to find the other. He enlists the help of a reporter because of the heart revealed in her stories.

2. Memories of Glass by Melanie Dobson. Another WWII time-slip novel, but with different characters and settings. Four friends in Amsterdam face different fates as the war escalates. Some fight secretly for the resistance. One, a Jewess, is caught in an impossible situation, but rises above her fears to help as much as she can. In modern times, a woman who was reunited with family she didn’t know she had after her mother died looks into history the family tries to keep hidden. One thread of the storyline was based on true events.

3. Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof. This post-Civil War story involves a widow who goes to help her husband’s cousins thinking they were children. But they are grown men. One is deaf. Two are attracted to her, causing strife, but she had not planned to remarry. The men strive to keep the farm going, protect escaped slaves, and battle the Klan. There were a lot of interesting layers to this book. I had not read this author before, but I look forward to reading more from her.

4. The Orchard House by Heidi Chiavaroli. Another time-slip novel, this one involves Louisa May Alcott and her home along with two modern women who work there and investigate a packet of letters they found there.

5. Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. This story is made up of letters, mainly between two childhood friends. Two brothers and a sister and her friend make plans to meet in Paris for Christmas, thinking the war will be done by then. Of course, that doesn’t happen because the war wears on for years. The book opens and closes with one of the men at the end of his life going to Paris for Christmas to read the last letter from his friend’s sister. This was so poignant and beautifully written.

6. Letters From Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien (not reviewed yet). Tolkien wrote letters to his children as Father Christmas for several years. He wrote in a wobbly script because Father Christmas was so old (and probably to disguise his handwriting. Sometimes he would include drawings of happenings at the North Pole. North Polar Bear would add a few lines sometimes. The poor bear was the accidental cause of a lot of mischief. Of course, this being Tolkien, there are battles with goblins and a little dabbling in made-up languages. I loved the delightful imagination in these letters. Plus it was interesting learning differences between a British Father Christmas in that time and our modern American version (fourteen reindeer, two white ones for when he was in a special hurry). The audiobook narrated by Derek Jacobi is delightful, but the Kindle or paper version is a must-have for copies of the letters and pictures themselves.

It’s been fun reminiscing over my reading year. What were some of your favorite books read this year?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Happy Christmas!

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Matthew 1:21, Christmas, Jesus our Savior

I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas resting in the greatest gift of all,
the Savior who provided for our salvation.

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:21-23