Looking Forward

March 29, 2017

Every now and then it's fun to take some time to think about things that we are looking forward to. I think it's safe to say that Kiki is the one who got me started on this. I don't do it alllll the time, but when I do, I'm glad that I did. It's a short-term bucket list of sorts.

I'm looking forward to...

* Reading the rest of C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy.

* The first swim of the summer.

* Planting my garden.

* Taking a trip to SC. I never travel. Except for when I do.

* Some seriously HOT days. I'm a freak and I can't wait.

* The first iced toasted marshmallow latte of the year.

* Hearing the results of the writing contest. UPDATE: I placed!!!

* Taking naps in the sun again.

* The next time Jay comes to town.

* Reading MHC's newest release.

Your turn! What are some things you're looking forward to?

In Every Season

Nearly 7 years ago, I came across a post that has been challenging me every August since then. The post consisted of these two lines:

"Don’t say 'It’s August? The summer is almost over!'

Rather, ask 'How can I, today, enjoy God’s glory in a way that I can’t in winter?'

Someone named Chris left this comment, "“How can I enjoy God’s glory in these bone chilling temperatures and snowstorms that I can’t in the warm and sunny summers?"

As summer fades and then a few months later as I watch as fall turns to winter, the sick feeling in my stomach is accompanied by a little voice, "How can you glorify God in this season in ways that you can't in the others, Victoria?"

I've put a lot of effort into looking for ways to glorify and enjoy God's glory during the winter. I like to think I've grown a lot, but I also know that I still have a long way to go. It shouldn't surprise you that I was soooo excited about Alicia's course.

On Friday evening I made a batch of enchiladas along with some rice and beans and settled in for my annual viewing of Brigadoon. I nibbled on some Christmas candy and managed to stay awake long enough to see one scene that I had never seen before.

This tradition is one that got started after a particularly rough winter. Christmas was over, but there was no sign of winter letting up. On top of that, I was dealing with the fact that my brother had recently moved to SC. One February evening I curled up on the family room floor with some of my Christmas candy and I've been doing it every February since.

I look forward to setting aside one February night for this tradition because it's the only time I watch Brigadoon. My family kind of groans about it, but I smile and give them the option of joining in or not.

In Christie Purifoy's book  "Roots and Sky", I came across this line, "I would have limited God's glory to sunsets and rainbows...But in August I understand that the earth is full of His glory. It soaks everything, seeps from every seam."

God calls us to glorify Him in everything and at all times. He surrounds us with His glory. He teaches us how to glorify Him. It's imperative that I approach each season with my face turned toward His. Staying in His Word and praying are crucial. After that, I employ Ken's "fake it till you make it" tactic.  My point here is this: There are good things in every season that provide us with unique ways to enjoy the glory of our Creator! Looking for them and nurturing them and then thanking God for them are key ways to receiving them as the gifts that they are.

Here's a list of some "only in winter" things that I  use to glorify God during my least favorite season:

Longer Nights - I learned to appreciate these during the "Domino" winter. Every evening, as darkness fell my Mom, brother, sister, and I would gather in the living room to hang out. We played a lot of dominoes that winter and it was the one that convinced me that it wasn't so hard.

Movie Nights - Movie watching is a great way to spend time with each other. As you know, we do a fair amount of this, especially during the winter.

Fluffy Socks - I actually look forward to pulling out my stash of "winter only" socks.

Hot Drinks - Whether it's a fancy hot coccoa, a peppermint mocha, a cup of tea, or a regular cup of coffee, cooler temps allow for hotter drinks. I take full advantage!

Baking - This hobby of mine gets unleashed when there isn't any danger of heating up the house.

Longer Lasting Manicures - I discovered this one this winter. I haven't been working outside and my nails manage to look nice for most of a week.

Comfort Food - When the weather is cold people are ready to eat! I've got a recipe book full of our favorite recipes to keep their plates full.

Reading - This winter my Mom and I have spent more Sunday afternoons reading than we have in years and it's been really nice. Winter reading  is special because it calls for cozy blankets and a hot drink.

Shoveling Snow -  This is my first time living in a neighborhood that receives serious snow. Over Christmas and New Years I started looking forward to this terrible job....The whole neighborhood seemed to be working together. When Don offered to bring his snowblower over and the morning that I stood outside visiting with our next door neighbors and their company, I was convinced that this job was actually a gift.

There you have it...A rambly post to help you (and ME) make the most of these last few weeks of winter! It's felt a lot more like spring than winter here lately, but my soul needs to be reminded of God's call to glorify Him in every season.
 

What winter things make your list?

Is there a sentence or two that comes back to challenge you at a certain time?

Do you have any late winter traditions?

On Writing: Goals for 2016

A few days ago I shared an essay on the writing life. Today, I'm sharing a list of ten goals that I jotted down in my journal on the 4th of January.

If you're a writer, maybe this list of mine will help you make a few goals of your own. If you have some other task you hope to accomplish, maybe my list will inspire you to break it down into manageable steps to get you a little closer to the mark.

Pretty much everything I have ever accomplished found its beginnings in a list. Here we go!

Tasks:

*Make a space for writing

* Enter library writing contest

*Watch videos on plotting/character development

*Establish a writing routine and keep it

*Work on a novel

*Watch for and enter other writing contests

*Share pieces (polished?)

Style Goals:

*Get rid of or at least use fewer (  ) with under your breath explanations in them.

*Make use of your Thesaurus.

*Take time to let pieces sit and then edit, edit, and edit some more. Improve them. Put the work in. With journaling and blogging, things get recorded and stay as they are. There are no rough drafts. Change that.

*Learn more about writing narrative.

What's a goal your working towards right now?

Do you have any writing goals for 2016?

May Stack

Over the winter and spring I didn't make a single reading list for myself! Sometimes it's nice to choose one or two books at a time and see where they take you. I stayed in my comfort zone with some non-fiction, some memoir, a handful of mysteries, a bunch of historical fiction, and a few classics.

I've already started putting together my Summer Stack which led me to put together a stack just for May. It looks like I'm in the mood for more nonfiction this month! As always, I'll be sure to post my thoughts on each book after I've read it!

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan // This book is a collection of essays that were compiled after Marina's death. There is an intro from one of her teachers, an essay that made her famous, a fiction section, and then a non fiction section. Marina's style of writing is raw, honest, unguarded, and even a little brutal. I skipped around, leaving quite a bit of her fiction and some of her non-fiction unread. 

If you're a writer, you might find this book inspiring. Know that parts of it might shock you a little bit and that some of the content is real-life at its finest. Marina didn't hold anything back. (May 3, 2015)

From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg // This YA book has become a classic among 4th Graders for multiple generations. That being said, I made it to this point in my life without even hearing of Konigsburg. This story of two kids who run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is just about as exciting as their adventure sounds!

I enjoyed Konigsburg's style. She included details and struggles that kept me on my toes, but didn't shy away from writing up a mystery for the children to solve. My favorite thing about this book were the bits of wisdom that I'm confident are what has caused parents and teachers to put this book into the hands of their children since it was first published. (May 27, 2015)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt // I'm nearly 400 pages into this 700+ page book and I've already made up my mind about it! Tartt wrote a strong beginning that sucked me right in. I'm really eager to find out what becomes of Theo and the famous painting. I'll be honest, there is WAY too much language in this book. It started out with a bunch of jr high age boys fumbling to use the language and then progressed to the point where I just started skipping entire chunks of the story. I'm really not sure why Tartt felt the need to drag the story out so long, but I'm going to stick this one out!  UPDATE: I ended up sticking with it for 100 or so more pages and then abandoning it.

My favorite parts are when Theo and Hobie are together in New York. The language stops and the city takes center stage. I know everyone has read this book, but I think you can safely cross it off your list without digging in. It's one of those books that's really not all that good. (May 13, 2015)

From Good to Grace by Christine Hoover // I ended up taking my time to read this book! Hoover had so many things to say. Sometimes she was a little bit repetitive for my tastes, but there were so many places where she came back around and summarized what she had been saying in one POWERFUL sentence. Those sentences kept me excited to read more!

A few times (especially in chapter 8), I wasn't sure that I agreed with what Hoover was communicating. There is a great danger in taking grace too far and forgetting obedience. I'm confident that she was not advocating that extreme, but sometimes it came across that way. Again, her summary really helped to clarify her intentions: "In other words, we must live in responsible freedom, not taking advantaging of God's grace by living for ourselves, not mocking grace through blatant sin and taking opportunities for our flesh, and not taking lightly the impact we have on others around us...Grace grants us the ability to not force ourselves onto others or to set law-imitating standards of behavior for people, because we believe God is powerful, God will act, and God will convict. Our Conqueror goes before us, and his Spirit can change hearts." p. 166-167

Overall, this book gets three stars. If you've been struggling with a gospel that is not rooted in or centered on Christ, it might be just the book you need to read. (June 26, 2015)

Death Wears A Beauty Mask and Other Stories by Mary Higgins Clark // I especially enjoyed reading "Death Wears A Beauty Mask" because I was really interested to see how she decided to finish writing it 40 years later. "Stowaway" (the first piece she ever sold) showed how much her style has changed and grown into something more mature. Anything Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite and this collection of short stories did not disappoint! (May 19, 2015)

Called by Ryan Pemberton // I'm struggling between whether to give this book 3 stars (I "liked it") and 4 stars (I "REALLY liked it"). I pretty much devoured it and couldn't stop talking about it and took the time to write out quotes from it that I wanted to remember. All of those things usually mean that a book is going to end up with 5 stars. BUT...As I moved into the last half of the book I was finding that he seemed to be repeating himself. There were even entire sentences sprinkled here and there that I had already read in a different part of the book.

I loved the stories about CS Lewis (I learned some pretty hilarious stories about his wife Joy and her shotgun as well as Lewis's sense of humor when it came to teasing Americans about their useless ways of saying things) and the ways that BEING in Oxford made a difference in Pemberton's life. I was challenged right along with Pemberton as I read about his struggle to realize that being called by God always means being called to truly follow Christ. If you pick up the book you'll most likely have the same thoughts that I had, but that won't change the fact that you're glad you read it! (June 3, 2015)

What's on your reading list this month?

What's the last book that you finished and LOVED?

Reading Challenge

Good Reads is pretty much my favorite way to keep track of what I'm reading. My list for 2015 is coming together and Anne's reading challenge seems like a fun way to branch out a bit. Here are just a few of the books I'm looking forward to reading this year!

"The Maze Runner" by James Dashner // We watched the movie over Christmas vacation with the Walkers. It fits the "a book I've been meaning to read" category and the movie made me pretty sure that I'll love it.

"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins // I hope this one is clean! I'll read it for "a book published this year" or maybe "a book you chose because of the cover" instead. 

"The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak // This book has been on my list since last summer. Every time I bring it up, somebody is sure to encourage me that I MUST read it. Obviously, it's the perfect book for the "a book 'everyone' has read but you" category!

"A Severed Wasp" by Madeleine L'Engle // This one seems like the perfect book for the "a book by a favorite author" category. I read the first book in this little mini series last fall and loved it. Needless to say, I've been looking forward to this one ever since.

"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath // I've read a lot of assigned books, but this one has never been assigned to me. When I read it I'll be checking off the square for the "a book you should have read in high school" category.

What are three books that you are looking forward to reading this year?

You can learn more about Anne's Reading Challenge HERE.

Fall Reading List

I started making my fall reading list earlier this spring. Slowly but surely, it's been filling up with titles that I'm really looking forward to. I noticed that my historical fiction avoiding self didn't pick one single piece of contemporary fiction this fall. Here is my list of possibilities.

I'll add a few comments about each book after I'm finished with it. 

The titles in bold will be ones that I'm currently reading. 

Also note that each title is a link to the goodreads profile of each book! 

Fiction

"The House Girl" Tara Conklin //  I couldn't get enough of this novel! The story flashes between NYC in 2004 and Virginia in the mid-1800's. The times weave together perfectly. You learn what really matters and enjoy digging up history with the Lina (the "modern" woman) and you are reminded of the horrors of the past and the hope the Underground Railroad offered with Josephine (the woman from the past). If you're looking for a good novel that takes a bit of time to read, this is a book for you! (September 10, 2014)

"The Alchemy of Murder" Carol McCleary // I decided to check this book out from the library after seeing it on my friend Shauna's goodreads page this summer. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that it was set around Jack the Ripper and more specifically a detective posing as a prostitute. The cover looks great, the jacket made it sound wonderful, but I just didn't make it very far before I realized that this was NOT a book for me. (September 13, 2014)

"The Small Rain" Madeleine L'Engle // I absolutely loved this book! Before I started I knew that it L'Engle's first novel, but I had ZERO expectations. I assumed that I would probably hate it. I didn't! It was first published in 1945 and is set in New York City. You'll follow a young pianist named Katherine as she deals with growing up in the world of the theatre. I read a 1984 edition that included a note from L'Engle that I found especially helpful.  (November 10, 2014)

"The Devil in the White City" Erik Larson // I started this book, but I decided that it was a little too much for me. The fact that it's based on true crimes started getting to me!

"A Severed Wasp" Madeleine L'Engle // I didn't even touch this one! I enjoyed "The Small Rain" so much that I am saving this for later because I don't want the story to end just yet. There were 40 years between the two books and if L'Engle had to wait that long, I think I need to wait at least a little while!

Added:

"Deceived" Irene Hannon //  I love a good mystery! If you are a fan of Mary Higgins Clark or Dee Henderson or mysteries in general, you'll probably really enjoy Hannon's style. This particular book is more of a HOW did they do it and less of a whodunnit which was refreshing to me. I found myself enjoying the writing and not really trying to hurry up and solve the mystery. You can read my full review HERE. (September 21, 2014)

"Call Me Zelda" Erika Robuck // I got into a Fitzgerald mood this fall. This fictional biography was very well written and appears to have given a very fair sketch of the life of Zelda Fitzgerald. It inspired me to pick up a collection of her own writings and to consider her as I read her husband's work. Her story is nothing fairytale or dreamy...but it's reality and I truly enjoyed it. (September 29, 2014)

"Save Me the Waltz" Zelda Fitzgerald // I ended up sending this back to the library before I finished it...I'm going to keep my eye out for a copy of my own at used book sales! (November 3, 2014)

"The Christmas Cat" by Melody Carlson // You can read my full review of this book HERE! (November 8, 2014)

"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan 

Non-Fiction

"The Wonder-Working God" Jared C. Wilson // Although this book did not live up to my expectations, it wasn't all bad. You can read my full review by clicking HERE. (September 21, 2014)

"The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield" Steven Lawson // This is an EXCELLENT book! Whitefield is one of my favorite "Georges" from history past and I never tire of hearing of his walk with God, his influence in the world, and the stories of God's faithfulness to him in his ministry.

Pick it up, be inspired, and learn about more about one of God's greatest tools. (September 10, 2014)

"An Autobiography" Agatha Christie // This book reads like a history of days gone by. Christie fans and Downton fans will like it because it's a very real person's account of what life was actually like in the first half of the 1900's. I especially enjoyed hearing about how and why Christie wrote what she did. (October 28, 2014)

"Dispatches from the Front" Tim Keesee // This is one of those books that is made up of a collection of journal entries. It's the kind of book that I pick up and put down, never reading it all at once or all the way through. I checked it out from the library, read portions of it, and returned it. I'm looking forward to coming back to it again and again. The stories of God at work in and through Keese and the people he has found himself working among are refreshing and inspiring. This is a great, yet unique book! (October 4, 2014)

"By Searching" Isobel Kuhn // I'm putting this book on my list of all time favorites! This is an autobiography of sorts. Kuhn writes about what it was like to be a young woman in the 1920's. She writes about the years she spent questioning her faith, the years she spent questioning God's plan for her life, and touches on the years that came after those two difficult seasons. Trust me, this is one you MUST read. (October 15, 2014)

"My Life in France" Julia Child // I learned so much about Julia from this book...Memories, travel stories, cooking tricks, and the little things that end up forgotten were all very interesting to me! I really enjoyed it. It was amazing to hear about HOW Julia became Julia Child. You'll enjoy reading about her, food, cooking, France, and life in the 1940's-70's! (November 17, 2014)

Added:

"Cold Tangerines" Shauna Niequist // I think I'm the last person on the internet to read something of Niequest's! This collection of essays was beautifully written. I read the first eight of them all in one night because I just couldn't stop. My favorite piece was titled "Swimming" and close seconds were: "On Waiting", "Island", "French Class", "These Are the Days", "Pennies", "The Hook", and of course, "Cold Tangerines". I haven't completely finished this book, but I'm putting it down for now. Like "Lessons From the Front" (above), I want to come back to it later. If you've read Niequist, you know that she writes short pieces that have everyone nodding their head saying, "Yes! Me too!!!". If you haven't, you will and you'll want to stop and think and listen and maybe even write a short essay of your own. (October 14, 2014)

If you're looking for more book recommendations, check out these posts:

Summer Stack 2014

2013's Top Reads

What You Can Accomplish in 90 Hours