I spent way too much brain power last year thinking about what to do with this wee blog yet making no firm decisions. I knew I wanted to keep writing here but what I was doing wasn't working for me. It started to feel like I was writing book reports rather than passing on useful information. The posts were much too long to keep anyone's interest, let along prompt them to read the books I was writing about. Plus, there is so much wonderful writing going on in the blogs I try to get to on a regular basis and I want to be able to share that with others.
I have a large stack of books that I read in 2012 and I want to share what I learned from them with you, but in a much shorter format. So, here's my plan...
I'm going to spend the next little while posting short summaries of the books I read last year, with only a few choice quotes that will, hopefully, make you want to read the book too (if I thought it was any good). I will try to have reliable, trust-worthy links within the post so you can do your own research on the theology of what I have read.
As well, I'm going to start a post, maybe once a week or once every two weeks, with links to some of the great things I have been reading around the web. Like I've said before, I don't have a lot of original thoughts but adore reading the musings of others. Hopefully these articles and blog posts to which I direct you will help in your walk with God and play a part in your on-going sanctification. I'm thinking I will call it "You Need to Read This" (something I say all the time) but that could change.
Lastly, I would like to write more about my own journey and what God is doing in my heart and life. Here's what I'm doing this year as far as daily time with God and what will influence much of what I experience:
1) Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan - The reason I'm doing this is because I want to work through two books that have been on my reading pile for a while and both require me to work my way through the Word from front to back:
66 Love Letters - I have enjoyed Dr. Larry Crabb's books in the past and this one should be no exception. He spent four years listening for what God wanted him to hear in each book of the Bible and how that makes him part of God's story. I am looking forward to learning these things for myself as well.
How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture - As much theology as I read, there is so much of the Old Testament where I struggle to see Jesus. I started reading The Jesus Storybook Bible with my boys in the fall and we finished it just before Christmas. They loved it and there were times when I had tears welling up in my eyes while reading to them. We were very excited to start at the beginning again last night!! I'm hoping that this book will be an adult version of pointing me in that direction.
2) One Thousand Gifts Devotional & Joy Dare - Last year I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and it greatly impacted me. If you aren't familiar with Ann, please get to know her here. She is a wonderfully brave, highly original Canadian woman who is influencing Christian woman all around the world. The women's study at my church is starting the year with the study based on the book and I am very excited about it. The devotional has 60 "reflections" followed by a space to write your thoughts or a prayer. I am hoping to have time to do one every second day as well as use the Joy Dare Collection (found at the Joy Dare link above) to hunt out 1000 things in 2013 for which I can be thankful.
3) Scripture Memorization - This year, I'm not going to tackle anything major in terms of memorization. I often take on too much and my retention is horrible. Beth Moore's blog is encouraging women to memorize 24 verses over the course of the year. It can be any 24 that you want. I had on my "to memorize" list Psalm 139 and it just so happens that it is 24 verses long. I call that a clear sign to forge ahead!! Will you join me in doing this? I am so looking forward to hiding more of the Word in my heart this year.
4) Prayer - Admittedly, prayer is something that I do in fits and starts. This past year, some things happened that convicted me in a major way about the lack of prayer in my life and so I started seeking out more guidance on how to pray. One of the first books was one that Tim Challies worked through with his readers earlier in 2012. The Hidden Life of Prayer by David McIntyre is a favourite of John Piper's so I knew I had to read it. It was a wonderful journey. Then I was directed to A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther through my Tabletalk magazine. It gives you very structured direction if you are struggling with how to pray or for what to pray. He also gives you encouragement to listen to the Holy Spirit and pray as He guides you. Then, to confirm that I was on the right path in seeking out more direction on how to enrich my prayer life, I received Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon for Christmas. I had never heard of this book but the first three chapters have absolutely blown me away and I'm thinking I will read them again before I move ahead in the book. This book was written around 1685 and it is speaking straight to my heart.
So, that's where I'm at and what I'm hoping to do this coming year. I figure I should be able to post one of the "old" reviews per week so I'm praying that by the time the snow thaws I will be moving those books down to the book case in the basement (they are stacked in a cupboard under my phone counter to remind me of what I have neglected to do). Hopefully I haven't lost all of you in my confusion about how to proceed with this blog. If you can be praying for me to stay the course with this I would really, really appreciate it.
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