BOOKS!

I love to read. It took me awhile to figure that out, surprisingly, because reading was just something I did. Like eating or sleeping. And everyone around me liked to read, too. Sure, I had friends as a kid who didn't enjoy it, but I thought they'd grow out of it, because all the adults around me had houses bursting with books.

As an adult I learned that reading is one of my favorite things, and, while many people share my enthusiasm, not everyone does. Different sources cite different numbers, but the typical American reads less than 10 books a year (how much less is a subject of debate).

I've been tracking my reading since 2005, so I know I'm well above average in this area. [That's not to brag. I certainly have other areas of life where I don't do as well as I'd like] .

I was hovering in the 25-50 books-a-year range before my children were born. Then in 2015 I found myself with low milk supply, feeding a newborn for about 10 hours a day. Thank the Lord for the Kindle, which I could balance on a pillow in front of me while I nursed him. I read 100 books that year.

Halfway through 2016 my daughter was born, and although I spent almost as much time feeding, I was visually and verbally supervising a toddler instead of reading. I still read 70 books, though, mostly things that kept me awake during middle-of-the-night feedings. As the kids got better at sleeping and (sometimes) napping in 2017, I read 77 books. Again, mostly things that kept me sane in a world full of small children hanging onto me at all times.

Last year I set a goal to read 100 books. And I did it! It was by the skin of my teeth and maybe with a little cheating, but still. By that I mean that I intentionally read a few short children's chapter books at the end of the year to pad my numbers. But I didn't include picture books - if I'd included them, I would have read THOUSANDS of books (if you include re-reads). We read at least 2-3 picture books a day around here, usually more.

So what did I read? Well, if I get around to writing about it, I'll tell you. :)

It's Been Awhile... Again

As I said the last time I didn't blog for awhile, this blog is just for When I Feel Like It. It's not another thing to add to my To Do list.

That said, I've wanted to post new content over the last three (!) years since my last post, but it's never been the highest priority for my time. Mostly this is just a place for me to talk to myself.

Here's what's been happening in my life since my last post:

• My then-six-month old baby is now an almost-four-year-old boy. He's 43 inches tall and 40 pounds, so I don't know if the appellation Little Guy works any more. 
• My daughter was born 2.5 years ago. She's now a walking, talking human being as well.
• The baby stage was HARD. Sometime I'll elaborate on that. Let's just say that I am not one of those parents who wax nostalgic about their babies. I'll take toddler tantrums and preschooler defiance any day over the constantly-having-a-bundle-of-supposed-joy-in-my-arms-at-all-times-while-I-teeter-on-the-brink-of-burnout. 
• We helped launch a new church. That's a lot of work, people. And a total blessing. 
• Probably a lot of other things happened, too, that I can't think of right now. 

Mostly I'm posting this because I want to talk about the books I read over the last year and didn't want to dive into that post without commenting on my Absence first. We'll see if I get to another post sometime this decade. :) 

Thoughts on Thoughts

My old job kept my brain fully occupied. It wasn't unusual to be simultaneously talking to someone, remembering something that applied to the situation, reading something on my computer, clicking my way through screens...

My new job gives me more time to think. When I'm holding a sleeping Little Guy, or feeding him, or taking him on a walk, or folding his laundry, my brain can also do something else.

So I'm praying the Lord would guide my thoughts. Here are some scriptures I've been contemplating:

Do not be children in your thinking; be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.  - 1 Corinthians 14:20

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Philippians 4:8

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect. - Romans 12:2

We live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

I think the next step is to memorize these and speak them over my son. May his thinking be tuned to God's truth from an early age! 

 

Hello, Pluto!

The New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto today. 

This image is from yesterday:

Image Credit: NASA

Pluto is about 3.6 billion miles from the sun (40 times further away from the sun than Earth is). 

God put this out there in space a loooong time ago. We humans are just getting to see it clearly now. And it is just one of millions of objects like stars, galaxies, planets, nebulae, etc that God created and knows every detail about. How cool is that!?!

For more info: 

New York Times article

NASA article

Prayers for the 4th of July

This week I treated Little Guy to a medley of patriotic songs. He especially liked Mommy's silly dance to "America the Beautiful". 

Some of the lyrics reminded me how important it is to pray for our nation. We can be pessimistic about our country, our leadership, our people... just about everything. And we can all disagree with each other about every issue/hot button topic. But for those of us who are believers in the Lord (the same Lord of most of our founding fathers), let's all agree on one thing: to pray! 

"America, America, God shed His grace on thee! And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

America, America, God mend thine every flaw! Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!" 

-"America the Beautiful" words by Katharine Lee Bates, music by Samuel A. Ward

 "God bless America, land that I love, stand beside her and guide her thru the night with a light from above."

-"God Bless America" by Irving Berlin 

 Another prayer I've been singing isn't from a USA-patriotic song. Rend Collective are from Ireland, but I don't think they'd have any objection to God moving mightily in the USA, too! 

"Build your kingdom here, let the darkness fear. Show your mighty hand, heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire, win this nation back. Change the atmosphere, build your kingdom here, we pray!"

-"Build Your Kingdom Here" by Rend Collective 

Lord, we are so blessed to be free to worship you! Mend our every flaw, stand beside us and guide us, and heal our streets and land. 

Books, Part II: Dystopian Futures

I've read several books recently about future societies on Earth. Question: Why do most of them have a love triangle (one girl, two boy love interests)? Am I the only reader who likes to know from the beginning who 'gets the girl' and then enjoy how it unfolds? 

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins:

I won't describe the premise of these books because they are so well known at the moment. My take: they are engrossing, and I will probably re-read them, but I still prefer Harry Potter.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass:

A future where a strict caste system dictates profession and wealth. The society has a selection process whereby the prince chooses his future wife. I'm not a huge fan of "The Bachelor" but I still enjoyed these books. The ubiquitous love triangle is more complicated here because the boy also has multiple love interests (that's fair, I guess?). 

Matched series by Ally Condie:

This series is about a future where everything is carefully controlled by the society, including who each person marries, when they die, what they eat, etc. I liked the heroine better than the girl in The Selection and the love triangle was slightly more bearable. 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel:

Finally, no love triangle, just pandemic disease and the collapse of society as we know it. A mega-flu bug wipes out most of the earth's population. The story includes scenes from before the flu and from many years after. I read this quickly because I was so curious to see what the Earth was like after society falls apart. This story is aimed at an older audience, so it does feature a bit of swearing and "mature" themes. [Discussion for another day: why do books aimed at adults (and even teens) get called "mature"? If a book stays clean, is it immature? I don't think so!]

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry:

I read the first book in school (the other three books hadn't been written yet at that point). Jonas seems to live in a utopia where there is no disease or poverty or discontent, but there is also no color, no love, and no real choices. The second book, Gathering Blue, is set in a different society, where people with any disability or imperfection are not allowed to live. But Kira, a girl with a limp, has an amazing talent for embroidery that saves her. The third book, Messenger, mainly follows characters from Gathering Blue as they face an insidious evil. Then the fourth book, Son, circles back to the time of The Giver and includes the characters from the other books as well. 

The Giver series was my favorite dystopian future story. Not surprising, since I tend to like kid books more than teen books. 

Books, Part I: Perspective Changers

I've read 81 books over the last year. I know this because of my nerdy book spreadsheet, of course. 

This "Part I" will cover nonfiction books that changed my perspective on life/situations/stuff.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: 
The story of runner Louis Zamperini during World War II. After his plane crashes, he floats in the Pacific for weeks before being captured and tortured by the Japanese. Afterwards, he deals with the repercussions of his experience – unhealthily at first, then gracefully after becoming a believer. I read this mainly while pumping in the middle of the night. Suddenly my lack-of-sleep problem didn’t seem so bad in comparison to the physical and emotional pain he had experienced. This is also a reminder of God's BIG grace. 

Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn: 
This one took me awhile to finish, because like most of Alcorn's books, it's quite long. He also wrote the Heaven book I blogged about in 2013. In this book on money, he compares our attitudes and habits pertaining to money with what the Bible says it. It unpacks how to live in light of eternity.  

Spiritual Parenting by Michelle Anthony:
"Now what if we as spiritual parents agreed to do something different than merely manage our children's behavior? What if we put our energy toward setting our children in the path of the Divine and watching them fall in love with Jesus?... One option warns, 'Don't fall in love with the world' while the other option offers, 'fall in love with Jesus and the world will look less attractive.'"

A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity by William Wilberforce:
How's that for a title? I read this book because I read Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper. Wilberforce was an English politician during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He worked to abolish the slave trade within the British Empire, a goal which was finally achieved a few days before his death in 1833. In his book, Wilberforce points out the differences between most "Christians" and the Christianity described by the Bible. Talking about sin and morals, he said, "Religion is suffered to dwindle away into a mere matter of police. Hence the guilt of actions is estimated, not by the proportion in which according to Scripture, they are offensive to God, but by that in which they are injurious to society."

The best "perspective-changers" are the ones that point me back to God and His Word.