Scripture Memory Encouragement

I have been following a fellow Christian on Instagram for quite some time. Her name is Glenna Marshall. She is very candid about her life and struggles. She is a fellow pastor’s wife and an autoimmune warrior. I have read one of her books that I reviewed as part of the Crossway.org review program called Everyday Faithfulness. In that book she shared a chapter on scripture memory and it was very helpful. I was thrilled to hear that she was writing a whole book on that for publication on August 1, 2023. The book is entitled Memorizing Scripture: The Basics, Blessings, and Benefits of Meditating on God’s Word. I pre-ordered the book and just received it last week. It is everything I have been looking for in a scripture memory instructive text. I highly recommend this book!

I am not doing this for a publisher if some of you are wondering. This book is just that helpful. I know it will be beneficial to anyone who wants to take a serious step toward memorizing more scripture.

Some of you might also be interested in her book about her infertility story. It is entitled The Promise of His Presence. It is about how Christ is with us through the suffering in our lives. It is a beautiful book, too.

In the realm of scripture memory I also want to share a pdf with you that our church is working through right now. We have a 40 day challenge with 40 verses/passages that every Christian should know from memory. I know some of you enjoy following along with some of our reading challenges. We typically do one per year but we added this second one this year because we did our first one so early in 2023. I hope that this printable is helpful for you guys.

40-day-verses-pdfDownload

Thanks for stopping by today and let me know if you enjoy printables. What kinds of printables would be helpful to you or someone you know? I am hoping to start adding more of these in the coming year.

~Leann

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

40 Day Reading on Suffering

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Every year between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day our church does a 40 Day Bible Reading Challenge. I have shared a PDF of our past reading schedules for anyone interested in a focused reading plan. this year our theme is passages on suffering. I suspect this is pretty relevant for many of us and our families in some way. These are free to use and share away. If you would just link back here to this post if you share online I would appreciate it because this is put together by our pastor.

40-day-challenge-20221Download

Some other things you might be interested in if you like this…

40 Day Reading from the Writings of John (2021)

Ten Things to Help You Study God’s Word More

I have a few more 40 day reading plans in my files from years past that I can add to the list. I will try to put them up in the sidebar or a tab at the top if anyone is interested.

A Book Haul and a Menu Plan

Photo by Alex Padurariu on Unsplash

We have arrived at the second week of January. I have several “online pals” that have completed anywhere from one to about 7 or 8 books already in the new year. LOL I have not finished one yet BUT… I do have about four in progress currently. I do this all the time. I have a fiction, nonfiction, audiobook, and theology book going at the same time most months. I tend to finish them all at the same time so it looks like I read quickly but I just spread them all out over a few weeks reading bits each day until they are completed. I am a distracted slow reader lately. It is a season and it will pass.

I talked myself down off the FOMO ledge and now I am moving forward. I have had college kids in and out over the break and loads of family time so I have not missed anything of value. I will get to the books when I get to the books. In the meantime, I did spend some Christmas money. You know where I spent it. I bought MORE BOOKS! It truly is a sickness. LOL I will share my haul with you here in a second.

I have also jumped back on the menu planning bandwagon this week. I meant to post it yesterday. It is simple and quick food this week. You can guess that I am totally into “food in bowls” lately. I just like a cozy bowl to warm my hands. I am adding a salad into the mix because I need to use stuff up. As the weather warms I will be adding more and more salads.

I am trying to move back toward my Autoimmune eating but it has been slow going. My family is still “sugar binging” but I am opting for hot herbal teas and sparkling water instead of hot chocolate and soda. There is one problem, though. I am reading a lovely book right now about a chocolatier and she sells a great deal of drinking chocolate. The craving is real, folks. I will be reviewing that book sometime in the next 7 days or so. It is a lovely read so far.

Let’s get to this week’s menu first.

jan1015meal-planner-menuDownload

Wednesday’s soup recipe can be found over at Carlsbad Cravings and the Lion’s Head Meatballs are on the I Heart Umami website. These are two great recipe sites! Wherever you see a “bread” item in the menu I am making those things gluten free with a great new flour I purchased from Premium Gold. It is not “paleo” friendly but it has none of the top 13 allergens and it has proven to be really safe for me to eat.

Ok, now to the Book Haul. I have purchased books from a few different places using Christmas money. I bought three new books from Crossway.com and some used books from Thriftbooks.com.

From top to bottom…

• Be Confident: How to keep your balance in the day we live by Warren Weirsbe – a small lay commentary on the book of Hebrews
• Selfie: How the West became self-obsessed by Will Storr
• The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing and Life by Marion Roach Smith
• Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray
• The God Who is There by Francis A. Schaeffer
• God, Technology, and the Christian Life by Tony Reinke
• Live Your Life for 1/2 the Price by Mary Hunt
• The Holiest of All by Andrew Murray (also a commentary on the book of Hebrews)
• The Tyranny of Big Tech by Josh Hawley
• Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special: soups, stews, salads, and extras by The Moosewood Collective (founder of Moosewood Restaurant is Mollie Katzen)
• Simple French Paleo by Sophie Van Tiggelen (A Squirrel in the Kitchen Blog)

There might be a few themes you notice in that stack. My analog and writing goals have me reading some interesting nonfiction. I have a Crossway.com Book of Hebrews coming soon, too. I will be digging into the Book of Hebrews for at least the first half of 2022. I am also only reading from my shelves this year except for review books that come in the mail. I am now on a spending freeze until further notice. LOL

For a variety of reasons we are freezing spending on all nonessentials. We have some big expenses coming in 2022 and want to just save up for those. We have recitals, concerts, the arrival of a new grandbaby, graduations and a wedding coming with multiple children. It will be a busy year. Looking for money, debt, and saving help in a crazy economy? We are applying Dave Ramsey principles along with Mary Hunt, Randy Alcorn and Money Wise to make it all happen.

What are you cooking this week? What are you reading for 2022? Are you reviewing books or sharing recipes on your blog? Leave me a comment below so I can check those out. I love finding new blogs. Until the next post…

Happy Reads and Cozy Eats!

~Leann

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