The End of Another Year and Beginning of Another

Well, here we are at the end of another year. It's been a very full year with a lot happening. We have seen some devastating things in the world, but we've also seen hope. We've seen man's inhumanity to man, and we've seen people reach out and make a difference. And like every year, we've seen personal disappointments and setbacks mixed with happy occasions and moments of great joy.

What lies ahead is anybody's guess. We live in uncertain times, but with a God we can always count on. What will happen to the economy? What will happen politically? What tragedies and cataclysms are ahead? I have no idea. The good news is that I know Someone who knows all of those things, and He's not worried. He tells us to be anxious for nothing. Not the economy, or politics, or global unrest. Nothing. Because He has it all covered.

So, for the year ahead, I wish you and yours, peace, above all things. May you have a year filled with blessing and joy and grace and love. May you be healthy and well provided for. May you and yours have a healthy and productive year ahead. May you have great vision to carry you into the future. Above all, may the peace of God invade your home and your life, regardless of what's happening in the world, the country or your own backyard.

Be blessed and have a very Happy New Year!

Yikes! More Reading Challenges!

Just when I thought I was all done with reading challenges, I found some more. One of the ones I enjoyed last year started up again, and my daughter decided to host two herself.

14. 2013 Why Buy The Cow Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Free downloadable ebooks
       Coupon Clipper: 12 books

15. Clocks, Cogs and Mechanisms Reading Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Steampunk novels
      Brass Gears: 1-3 books

16. What Would Jane Do? Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Books written by Jane Austin, derivative works and movies
      Jane's Wisdom: 3-5 books and 3-5 movies

I'm not going to say that's all, because as sure as I do, someone will post a fabulous challenge I can't resist! I will just say, that's all for now. :D

Reading Challenges 2013

It's that time of year again! Of course I'm referring to time to sign up for new reading challenges. I promised myself, as I do every year that I wasn't going to go crazy and sign up for a bunch of challenges, but I looked over the new crop and just couldn't help myself. So here are the newest batch:

1. Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Books you already own
      Copper:  Read 6 TBR books
2. Library Books Reading Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Books checked out from the library 
      Board Book: 3 books
3. 2013 Mystery/Crime Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Mystery or crime novels or short stories
      5 books: Detective
4. New Year's Resolution Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Jan 31 2013)
   Books to help with resolutions (mine is getting organized)
      Resolved: 1 book
5. Wishlist Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Books from your online wishlist
      12 books (one per month)
6. 2013 Fairy Tales Retold Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Young adult or middle grade fairy tale retellings
      Cobbler: 1-3 books
7. 2013 Mount TBR Reading Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Books from the TBR mountain
      Pike's Peak: 12 Books
8. Foodies Read 2013 Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Any book, fiction or non-fiction about food, cooking or chefs
      Short-Order Cook: 1-3 books
9. Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Cozy mysteries at defined by cozy-mystery.com
   Level 1 Snoop: Read at least 6 books
10. Nerdy Non-fiction Reading Challenge 2013 (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Any non-fiction books
      Geek: 4-6 books in at least 2-3 different categories
11. 2013 Operation Deepen Faith (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   I. Wonderful Words of Life: Read one book of the bible each day for 30 days
   II. Going Deep: Study one book for the year 
   VI. Christian Nonfiction: 4 books
12. Operation Actually Read the Bible (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Read the bible all the way through--actually a perpetual challenge, but I'm putting it down for this year
13. 2013 Ebook Challenge (Jan 1 through Dec 31 2013)
   Any ebook of any length or genre
      Floppy disk: 5 ebooks

And last but not least...
This isn't really a reading challenge per say, but more a reflection of the ones I signed up for already.
Reading Challenge Addicts
   Hi, my name is Terri and I am a reading challenge addict. LOL
      In Flight: 13 reading challenges (so far!)

That's it. Or at least, that's it until I run across something else that looks like fun.


         

Christmas Reading Challenge Update

Just a quick update on the Christmas reading challenge. It's not going as well as I had hoped but it's not too bad either. So far I've read the following:

The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggins
The Christmas Mystery: The Story of Three Wise Men by William John Locke
Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase
Too Much Holly, Not Enough Holy by Patricia Wilson

I'm in the process of reading The Purse Driven Christmas by Anita Renfroe

On the Christmas movie front, I've seen the following:

The Holiday
Borrowed Hearts
Christmas in Connecticut
Martin the Cobbler
Shop Around the Corner

We've also watched the following movies, that while not strictly traditional, do take place at Christmas or have large sections that take place at Christmas:

An Affair to Remember (the girls watch this before the older kids and adults watch the next movie)
Sleepless in Seattle (Horsecrazy loves the part where Annie is listening to the radio and Jingle Bells is playing and she's singing "horses, horses, horses, horses".)
Kate & Leopold
Die Hard

In case you're wondering, most the second batch were watched on our Clearplay DVD player. I don't like to have to deal with the foul language and nudity and graphic violence. If you don't like dealing with it either, or get aggravated when a cute movie is spoiled by one or two bad elements that prevent you from letting your kids watch it, this is a great option. For more information, click the (non-sponsored) link above or email me with questions.

Part of the challenge is reading Christmas stories to the kids too, so here's what we've done so far:

Emma's Christmas Wish by Sallyann J. Murphy
The 24 Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle

We are also in the midst of Advent, so I will have a couple of other books to add when that's over. We are currently reading:

Christmas Stories From the Heart compiled by Alice Gray
Bartholomew's Passage by Arnold Ytreeide

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I don't know about you, but in the midst of all the Christmas hustle and bustle, I can't help but think about the upcoming year. This has been a very challenging year on many fronts, but has also carried with it, its share of blessings. What will the year ahead hold? What do I want to do to improve my life. What left behind things do I want to pick back up and what new things do I want to add? What do I need to lay down or change? Hmm.

A Christmas Reading Challenge

This wasn't a good year for reading challenges and I blew most of the ones I signed up for. But when I saw this one, I couldn't let the year end on that note. I just discovered the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012 over at The Christmas Spirit. It actually started Monday, November 19th, but it runs until January 6, 2013, so there's still plenty of time to get involved. The challenge is all about reading Christmas books. There are add-on's for Christmas movies and Christmas children's books as well. Be sure to check it out! I plan to do at least the Mistletoe level (2-4 books) plus Fa-La-La (movies--lots of them!) and Visions of Sugar Plums (reading Christmas stories to the kids).

While you're there signing up, be sure to take a look around the blog. If you are needing a good, strong dose of Christmas, you can definitely get it here!