A couple of years ago Luke and I made a list of our goals for the upcoming year. I love sitting and looking at the year ahead as a blank slate and knowing that the Lord has complete control to lead us where ever He pleases. I love setting goals, listing things I'd like to accomplish and making an effort to be more intentional with my time. I'm so NOT Type A that this has been a work in progress and very much a God-led desire.
One thing I love to do, but don't get to do often enough is read. For Christmas, my parents got me a Kindle Fire. I was so stoked! I often don't have the time or energy to go to the book store or library to pick up my latest desired read. With a Kindle, it's all at my fingertips...literally. (And, I just learned that you can loan and borrow books from other Kindle users! Sweet!)
So, I thought that it would superb to make a list of the books I'd like to read for 2012 and try to them all (if not more) before this time next year. Of course, I say all of that with the knowledge that the list, the goals and the results are subject to change!
So, for 2012, I've made the following list of books I'd love to read. I wish I could say that I'd read 2 books per month, but the likelihood is that I'd only read 1 to 1.5 books per month. I'm comfortable with 15-18 books on my list for the upcoming year.
Here's my start up list. So far, I've got 14 listed so that gives me room for 3 - 4 more. And if I end up having more than 18 on my list, maybe that will motivate me to read 2 per month! I've linked the titles to the books on Amazon and the authors names to their blogs or websites (if I know about them and/or they were easy to google).
Right now, I'm about half way through The Well-Behaved Child: Discipline That Really Works! by John Rosemond. I'm hoping to finish it by New Years Day.
Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis
What Women Fear by Angie Smith
When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting The Poor and Yourself by Brian Fikkert, Steve Corbett, John Perkins
When Charity Destroys Dignity by Glenn J Schwartz
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
I'd also like to finish Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper
Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A Deeper Kind of Calm by Linda Dillow
Loving the Little Years: Motherhood In The Trenches by Rachel Jankovic (This is a link to her posts on John Piper's Desiring God blog.)
Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Erasing Hell by Francis Chan
The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man On Purpose, With A Plan by Kathi Lipp
I've also got 2 books on prayer and a couple that I need to read for AIM's Outbound Training Module.
Do you make a list of goals for the New Year?
Do you have a "must read" list for 2012?
What books do you think I should add to the list?
Happy New Year, y'all!
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2011 better BRING IT
Happy New Year!
2010 was an amazing year for our family. I love looking back and seeing the highs and lows that were the journey of the last 365.
Just as we ended the year with a stomach virus, we also started 2010 with one as well. Nice to know.
I ate my words (and sort of kept them all at the same time) saying (in my pre-motherhood life) that I'd never drive a mini-van.
In span of 30 days....
My Grandmother had, survived and recovered completely from major open heart surgery...
We withstood the chaos of me being 8.5 months pregnant with my husband several states away all while prepping our house to sell...
And we OFFICIALLY adopted our daughter Olivia!
And all of that happened a mere month before my due date with our youngest, and 6th, child. Keep in mind, too, that at that point in our lives, all of our kids were ages 5 and younger. Whew!
God certainly proved Himself faithful in that season of our lives. Even while I lamented no activity with my cervix, God was busy moving in other areas. A few weeks later, we moved into our new (rental) house and our friends Overwhelmed me with an outpouring of their love and support.
While waiting on Baby #6 to arrive, we began to reveal to you all just how God had been working in our lives in the way of missions. From the Darkness of a uncertain season with God and from the Inital Cry of my heart, God began confirming in both Luke and I our calling to missions.
Finally, FINALLY at 42 weeks and 1 day Little Miss Ella Joy made her world debut.
God continued Calling Just Like Before as we began to feel, even stronger, our calling to missions. Even with questions, and doubts, AND FEARS.
We landed The Mothership and I still love it.
I admitted, and you all agreed, that Being A Mom Is Tough.
Lucas and Ashlee turned FOUR.
And a week later, Aaron turned TWO.
A month or so later, my shins went on strike after I ran my first (and so far only) 5k.
Then, my first baby, Elizabeth, turned SIX.
I realized my need for wax earplugs.
My friend GK sat her drink dangerously close to Ella AND our laptop and I, in turn, wrote The Hardest Post I've Ever Written.
After 4 years of staying land locked, we found out that Life's a Beach.
God showed me, again, why I don't believe in Coincidences. Only Providence.
Our sweet, dramatic and joyful Olivia turned TWO.
I was reminded that even during chaos, the Lord Binds Me Up and Gives Me Strength.
Aaron gave me his first scare with thinking he needed stitches...thanks to Lucas' help.
I tried my hand at being a Photographer and had the Judd's in my head for the entire next week.
We attended Africa Inland Mission's Candidate Week in New York, and were appointed as Members! (Official Missionaries!)
On our way there, we stopped and visited Washington D.C. and realized that Getting There Was Half the Battle.
We published our First Official Ministry Newsletter as AIM Missionaries and continue to wrestle and pray over a location.
We realized that Crazy Has Company and I officially gave up on Potty Training anyone else ever. Or at least for the next week.
Luke and I celebrated 8 years of marriage and we continue to marvel at how much the Lord chooses to bless us.
Wow. What a year. 2011 has some big, BIG shoes to fill.
Bring it on 2011. BRING.IT.ON.
2010 was an amazing year for our family. I love looking back and seeing the highs and lows that were the journey of the last 365.
Just as we ended the year with a stomach virus, we also started 2010 with one as well. Nice to know.
I ate my words (and sort of kept them all at the same time) saying (in my pre-motherhood life) that I'd never drive a mini-van.
In span of 30 days....
My Grandmother had, survived and recovered completely from major open heart surgery...
We withstood the chaos of me being 8.5 months pregnant with my husband several states away all while prepping our house to sell...
And we OFFICIALLY adopted our daughter Olivia!
And all of that happened a mere month before my due date with our youngest, and 6th, child. Keep in mind, too, that at that point in our lives, all of our kids were ages 5 and younger. Whew!
God certainly proved Himself faithful in that season of our lives. Even while I lamented no activity with my cervix, God was busy moving in other areas. A few weeks later, we moved into our new (rental) house and our friends Overwhelmed me with an outpouring of their love and support.
While waiting on Baby #6 to arrive, we began to reveal to you all just how God had been working in our lives in the way of missions. From the Darkness of a uncertain season with God and from the Inital Cry of my heart, God began confirming in both Luke and I our calling to missions.
Finally, FINALLY at 42 weeks and 1 day Little Miss Ella Joy made her world debut.
God continued Calling Just Like Before as we began to feel, even stronger, our calling to missions. Even with questions, and doubts, AND FEARS.
We landed The Mothership and I still love it.
I admitted, and you all agreed, that Being A Mom Is Tough.
Lucas and Ashlee turned FOUR.
And a week later, Aaron turned TWO.
A month or so later, my shins went on strike after I ran my first (and so far only) 5k.
Then, my first baby, Elizabeth, turned SIX.
I realized my need for wax earplugs.
My friend GK sat her drink dangerously close to Ella AND our laptop and I, in turn, wrote The Hardest Post I've Ever Written.
After 4 years of staying land locked, we found out that Life's a Beach.
God showed me, again, why I don't believe in Coincidences. Only Providence.
Our sweet, dramatic and joyful Olivia turned TWO.
I was reminded that even during chaos, the Lord Binds Me Up and Gives Me Strength.
Aaron gave me his first scare with thinking he needed stitches...thanks to Lucas' help.
I tried my hand at being a Photographer and had the Judd's in my head for the entire next week.
We attended Africa Inland Mission's Candidate Week in New York, and were appointed as Members! (Official Missionaries!)
On our way there, we stopped and visited Washington D.C. and realized that Getting There Was Half the Battle.
We published our First Official Ministry Newsletter as AIM Missionaries and continue to wrestle and pray over a location.
We realized that Crazy Has Company and I officially gave up on Potty Training anyone else ever. Or at least for the next week.
Luke and I celebrated 8 years of marriage and we continue to marvel at how much the Lord chooses to bless us.
Wow. What a year. 2011 has some big, BIG shoes to fill.
Bring it on 2011. BRING.IT.ON.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2008
I'm feeling much better today. Luke took the kids all day yesterday and I slept, took pain pills and slept some more. Today, I've been pain pill free since 5:30am. Man, those things made me CRAZY!
Anyway, laying in the bed for 1.5 days gave me a lot of time to think (and become pretty smelly and have some weirdy-fied dreams...but that's another post entirely).
I thought back over the last year, what I could remember hyped up on pain pills, and remembered all of the grace and mercy that my Lord has shown us this year. It's been an interesting year to say the least. One filled with some pretty big steps of faith, some obvious acts of obedience and more blessings than my foggy mind can count.
I think back to what my 3 oldest "babies" looked and acted like in January of 08. To be honest, I had to look up some pictures on my computer. Here's what I found.
It made me cry.
"Serious, funny and WHAT?!?"
Elizabeth - 3.5 years, Lucas and Ashlee 20ish months
Baby Face Lucas
about 20 months old
Ashlee's self inked Chinese tattoo
about 20 months
Then, I think about the clear calling that led us to becoming foster parents. As we took the classes, we made good friends along the way and God confirmed that we were going in the right direction. The blessings just kept piling up.
Then, we got the call for Baby D. It was scary and emotional and completely, 100% right. We knew that it was God's perfect plan being unfolded before our very eyes.
Then, just as we began adjusting to life to with 4 kids, God spoke once more and we accepted Baby Girl into our home. From the outside looking in, this year must have painted us as the picture of crazy people. Honestly, at times, I wondered if we really were crazy. However, through it all, through all the laughter, tears, arguments, frustration, sleep-deprivation, fun, spit up and poop, God has proven Himself faithful.
When I've thought there were days when I just couldn't go on, God has carried me. When I've wanted to bite someone's head off, but supernaturally held my tongue, God was there. When I've slipped, fallen and wallowed in my sin, God picked me up, cleaned me off and set me straight.
I praise Him for being new every morning and not just once a year.
Happy New Year to you all and may you see God's blessings upon you each and every day as you earnestly seek His desires for your life.
Anyway, laying in the bed for 1.5 days gave me a lot of time to think (and become pretty smelly and have some weirdy-fied dreams...but that's another post entirely).
I thought back over the last year, what I could remember hyped up on pain pills, and remembered all of the grace and mercy that my Lord has shown us this year. It's been an interesting year to say the least. One filled with some pretty big steps of faith, some obvious acts of obedience and more blessings than my foggy mind can count.
I think back to what my 3 oldest "babies" looked and acted like in January of 08. To be honest, I had to look up some pictures on my computer. Here's what I found.
It made me cry.
"Serious, funny and WHAT?!?"Elizabeth - 3.5 years, Lucas and Ashlee 20ish months
Baby Face Lucasabout 20 months old
Ashlee's self inked Chinese tattooabout 20 months
Then, I think about the clear calling that led us to becoming foster parents. As we took the classes, we made good friends along the way and God confirmed that we were going in the right direction. The blessings just kept piling up.
Then, we got the call for Baby D. It was scary and emotional and completely, 100% right. We knew that it was God's perfect plan being unfolded before our very eyes.
Then, just as we began adjusting to life to with 4 kids, God spoke once more and we accepted Baby Girl into our home. From the outside looking in, this year must have painted us as the picture of crazy people. Honestly, at times, I wondered if we really were crazy. However, through it all, through all the laughter, tears, arguments, frustration, sleep-deprivation, fun, spit up and poop, God has proven Himself faithful.
When I've thought there were days when I just couldn't go on, God has carried me. When I've wanted to bite someone's head off, but supernaturally held my tongue, God was there. When I've slipped, fallen and wallowed in my sin, God picked me up, cleaned me off and set me straight.
I praise Him for being new every morning and not just once a year.
Happy New Year to you all and may you see God's blessings upon you each and every day as you earnestly seek His desires for your life.
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
~Lamentations 3:22-25
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