Books I Read in February 2023

Another month has come and gone. Is it just me or does it seem that the days fly by faster as we age? My first granddaughter is about to have her first birthday. My youngest son is about to finish up his first year of college. I just want to savor my days a little more. Some ways I am using to try to do that is to savor my meals, time with family, and books and reading time a little more. I find that when I turn off the electronics and just put it aside for awhile I feel more “plugged into” my life in the real world more and things feel a bit slower. I really crave the slower days. With that being said I am now sharing books each month instead of waiting until December. My hope is that you will join in the conversation with me and share what you are reading, too. I love to hear what you guys are doing and reading.

I have read 10 books so far for 2023 and four of them were in February. My husband and I traveled for about a week this past month so the audio books were listened to as we were on the road. We spent about 15 hours in the car. Two of these books were review books that have posts already but I will still count them here and link you to the reviews. There were also two books I wanted to read this month but did not. They are still in the stack for later in the year.

I am still on track with my current Bible reading plan. As of this morning I was 756 pages in. My plan is a 120 day reading plan so I am averaging about 10 chapters per day. I love this plan but one time through at this pace is probably all I have in me this year. I will slow it down to a 6 month plan starting in June and in between I will be reading the Psalms and some 40 day challenges with our church. We are in a 40 day plan right now with the Chronological Holy Week of Christ in all 4 Gospels. I will attach that for those who might be interested.

Here is my February overview…

Dead Ringer by Louis L’Amour – this is a collection of three stories. The first two are short stories that go by quickly and then the third one is a longer novel length story. I can always count on a few things to happen in a L’Amour story. There is always a clear hero and a clear bad guy. There is always a love interest that happens with the hero at some point in the story. There is always someone who is shot and definitely gun play. There is always a happy ending with the bad guy getting it in the end. LOL Predictable can be good when it comes to these stories. They are enjoyable and my husband gets his western.

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers – This was my first Sayers novel and I am hooked. It was a fantastic story and made even better in the audio book format. My husband and I are huge mystery fans so this one was a perfect road trip read for us. I have now added Sayers to my audio book wishlist.

Everything is Just Beginning by Erin Bartels – I have linked the review for you for this one. Definitely a book that is in the running for my top 10 of the year.

The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin – I have linked the review for you for this one. This one makes the top 10 considerations, too.

What did you read in February? Do you have some reading goals you are working on?

Ok, here is the pdf for that 40 day challenge if you want a copy. My husband put this one together and was glad to share it with whoever wants to read with us. He posts videos on our church youtube to go along with each day’s reading also. We started them Monday so it is easy to catch up.

40-days-on-holy-weekDownload

Photo by Elaine Howlin on Unsplash

Advent 2021 Printables

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Advent begins tomorrow… November 28th. I want to encourage you to take time to focus on Christ this season. I put our daily readings and weekly candle lighting themes into printable form if you are interested in using them in your home. I will also share some books I am have read or am reading to help me focus on the “reason for the season.” If you use these I hope you will come and give me some feedback if they are useful to you or if you would like to see something different for next year. I want to share things that are helpful to you. 🙂

advent-daily-readingsDownload

advent-weekly-themesDownload

I am also using an Advent Scripture Writing printable from Simple Moments Stick this year. There are several different ones to suit a variety of preferences available online with a simple online search.

Do you do anything special during the Advent Season you wouldn’t mind sharing? Do you read special books? Do you celebrate and light candles each week with your family? Do you have any other special Christmas traditions that you do with your family?

As we begin the season may the hope of the season bring you and your family joy! Until next time…

Happy Advent!

~Leann

Happy Reformation Day 2021

What Was the Reformation All About?

CH Spurgeon and the 5 Solas of the Reformation

The Quiet/Crazy Easter Day by Jill Roman Lord

This book has been released just in time for Easter. It is the second book in a series. I shared the first book with you back in December 2018 for the Christmas season. It is just as sweet as the first one. It is a larger sized board book with a sing-song rhyming style like the previous one.  It focuses on the day Jesus rose from the grave. It has precious artwork of animals and people and scenery that were all celebrating the day Jesus arose. With all the excitement it was surely a noisier day full of rejoicing over Jesus victory over the grave.

It is sweet and engaging for little ones and I love that it is in a board book format so it is durable for busy little hands.  The illustrations are also bright and colorful.  If you have little ones in your home or other settings like church or daycare this is a great addition to your collection.

It is available through Lifeway online or other Christian or bookstores everywhere right now. I will be sharing this one with my grandsons as soon as I get the chance.

This book came to me free of charge with no obligation to read or review it from B&H Publishing.  I am excited to share it with you for the coming Easter season.

Social Media Fast: Week 1

Happy Wednesday to you all! It has been a whole week since my social media fast began. I cannot say I have been 100% offline but I have not checked any social media on my phone with the exception of something someone sent me and a photo of a grandboy. LOL I deleted IG and FB from my phone last Tuesday evening before bed and have not put them back. I read a book that helped a great deal.

The book is entitled How to Break Up with Your Phone and it is written by Catherine Price. I had picked it up on a sale on my NOOK some time ago. I know I didn’t pay much for it then but I don’t know how much it is now. I worked through her four week break up in about 5 days. It really helped me to gain control over it quickly. I highly recommend her method.

I found that it took a few days to settle on what I wanted to keep on my phone and what was just not necessary. I currently have…

• a YouVersion Bible app
• email app (because I cannot stop checking my email if I want books to review)
• Goodreads app to log what I am reading
• banking app
• weather app
• and two folders with listening and reading apps for books and podcasts
• The Later app was added to upload to IG without actually being on IG
• Messenger Lite stayed so people could reach me in a pinch

Everything else is nonessential so it either went away or went to the bulk app section. I don’t see them unless I intentionally go digging and so far I have not.

A funny thing happened five days in. Facebook noticed I wasn’t logging on and they pretty much sent me a “we miss you” email. I laughed as I deleted the email. LOL

Some pretty cool things have happened. I am reading a ton more. I have banned phones in the bedroom and in the dining room now. We are having conversations more than we used to. That is not revolutionary in this house because we do converse a great deal but now we are more intentional with where phones are allowed. Dan is putting his phone down more without me even saying a word. He does have instructions to show me baby pictures of grandboys, though. I don’t want to miss those.

My house is cleaner and I am getting some stuff cleared out instead of scrolling on IG. I still find myself jonesing for the phone out of habit. I am not sure when that begins to really go away but I am totally aware of when it happens and have been noting what was happening when I start craving it. I tend to reach for it when I am waiting on something to happen. I have started keeping a book by my chair and reading a few pages when I am waiting instead of scrolling.

I am focusing more on the little stuff like dinner prep, folding towels, collecting trash to go to the curb, sorting things, grocery shopping or just being in public and looking around me instead of sticking my head in my phone. It really is freeing and I notice so much I never did before… like people and how much they are all on their phones ALL THE DANG TIME!

Here is the best thing, though. I am reading and developing a really consistent morning Bible reading and study time. I wake up and grab my NOOK for the YouVersion reading instead of my phone. I get coffee and head to my reading chair for study, devotional, and scripture writing and memory work now instead of groping for the phone and scrolling. It is a game changer, folks. I love it!

I am not done reading on this topic. I have a few more books in the stack to go through. Here is the lineup…

This book is available in audiobook from Christian Audio… I got it back in January. They offer a freebie every month. If you don’t have the Christian Audio app this is a good one to have.

So, a week in that is where I am. You might have also noticed I am blogging more and about more than reviews. I am hoping to keep doing this. My brain is less foggy and I can think past five minutes from now. It is amazing how technology blocks creativity especially in the form of social media. I am thinking to make some permanent changes to the way I do social media. I am not sure I want to go back to hours a day doing nothing but scrolling. There is so much more to life than social apps. I am glad I took this step. It has been good for me so far.

Are you fasting from social media for Lent? I would love to hear your experiences in the comments. Please feel free to open that dialog and share.

Goals for Lent: An Adjustable Plan

First and foremost I want to clarify that fasting is only for spiritual purposes. The world distorts fasting for diet and health reasons. This is not why fasting exists. It is only intended to be used for growing in our relationship with Christ in some way. Can you benefit in ways through health or weight loss? I am sure many have but that is not the purpose. I just wanted to say that up front. God ordained it… it is for HIS purposes.

Second, fasting is a command. God does not say IF you fast… He says WHEN you fast. We are expected to engage in fasting throughout our lives to draw closer to Him in certain times and seasons and for specific purposes. Since this is not a Bible study on fasting I won’t go into depth on it but just know that Matthew 6:16-18 will show you that it is a command and you can also see some basic guidelines in this passage.

Third, fasting is for a season and not for everyday. There will be periods of times in our lives where we need answers and focus and God might call you to fast and pray. It is not a lifestyle nor for everyday for your entire life thing. God will show you when and why. Trust Him. Lent was ordained by human endeavor and can be a great time to fast but it is not mandatory in God’s word that we observe “Lent.” It is mandatory to fast, though. It can be a cooperate endeavor, too, for a church to fast together to pray for their impact in their community or for church needs and direction. It can also be an individual choice but just because it is “Lent” does not mean you have to fast. God, again, will show you what He desires for you and your time. Don’t let this be source of guilt if you do not feel led to fast for Lent.

Fourth, it is important to be flexible. God will teach you and direct you and you need to be pliable. Many times I start with a tentative direction and halfway through, or sooner, God says, nope… I need you to obey me and go this direction. Obedience is the most important thing here. Stay teachable and don’t push your goals and plans when God says no.

Ok, with those four things said here is what I am doing this season so far.

• I have felt prompted since the first of the year to step away from Social Media completely for a period of time. This might become a permanent thing but for now I am stepping away for 40 days. I joined a group of ladies through an email response and downloaded a few resources from the group to help in this. The challenge comes from Wendy Speake. She is the author of a book I am also reading called The 40 Day Sugar Fast (which I reviewed a few weeks ago). I downloaded phone screen wallpaper to remind me to step away, 40 scripture memory cards, and am journaling each day in a personal notebook based on her template she shares. What is hilarious about this group is that you commit, download resources and then don’t see each other online again until day 41. LOL I loved the idea so here I am. You can find this group and resources here. It is not too late to sign up for your free resources. Check her out!
• Since I am reading through The 40 Day Sugar Fast I am also doing that. I am not doing a Whole30 or a Paleo diet or anything for weight loss. I am merely paying attention to my cravings and if it involves sweets and junk I am turning to my Bible and prayer instead. My goal for eating is to be a as nutritionally dense as possible with meals but only truly abstaining from sugar. I thought I would keep this one super simple since social media fasting is in the plan for me, too. I will try to share a few recipes along the way with you that fit this goal.
• I work outside the home 2 mornings per week but the rest of the week, unless there are errands and such, I am a true homebody. I love being at home. The problem with being at home all day is the temptation to turn a television or radio on and just veg. I am not turning the television or radio on during the day for this 40 day period. I will watch some specific things with my husband in the evenings when he is home. I will be intentional about choosing and watching a movie on weekends with my family, too. Outside of that I am turning it off and choosing other things to feed my spirit. I will do a post with some alternatives I am using in a few days.

When we cut something out it is best to replace it rather than leave a big gaping hole. We see a story about this very thing in Luke 11. We see that a demon is chased out and the house is swept clean but nothing filled the space at that point. Once the demon realized it was empty he brought 7 of his friends back with him and it was so much worse than before. When we clear out the junk in our lives we need to replace it with something valuable and tangible to shape us in the likeness of Jesus. Here are two major areas where I am going to focus on filling my spaces so that good things come from the removal of less than good or downright bad things in my days.

• Spiritual Input – When the noise of social media and television are silenced what do I want to put into my day? I have decided that things that bring me closer to Christ can come in the form of daily Bible reading, spiritually uplifting books, music, sermons, scripture writing, podcasts, and prayer journaling. I will elaborate more on these things as the series continues but this should get the thoughts flowing on how to focus on more valuable things in our days.
• Routines – When I grab my phone first thing in the morning and start scrolling through the social noise I find that I get behind or neglect other things that I once found valuable and beneficial. For one, I don’t clean the house like I should. I also find myself being reactionary instead of intentional. Some of the things I want to add back to my days more consistently are the habits of daily reading, chores and clearing clutter, menu planning and intentional meal preparation, working through a monthly budget, working in my bullet journal to organize my days and thoughts better, hobbies I once enjoyed such as playing music, crocheting, sewing, photography, and so forth. I also want to get outside for some fresh air, a walk and maybe some gardening as the season permits.

We were created for so much more than scrolling on a device. I want the routines of my life to reflect my purpose and mission. I want to be able to be creative like our Creative Father. I recently read a great book on this topic if you want to check out the review here.

Are you observing Lent?

Do you have a focus or some special resources you can share?

Please feel free to leave me a comment below and share what you are doing and how God is working through your time of fasting. Leave a link to your blog if you are posting on these things over the next 40 days. I love hearing from you!