Favorite Reads of 2014

Time for the annual "Review of Books!"  No particular ranking here--just the order that I read them in.


1.  "A Fine Romance:  Falling in Love with the English Countryside" by Susan Branch.
This one, to me, is just plain pretty and fun.  If you know anything about Susan Branch, she is primarily an artist.  Her books are filled with her watercolor writing style.  It is lovely, and sometimes a little busy.  Since I am drawn to watercolor AND lovely writing AND the English Countryside, this just seemed a perfect fit.  I read it as a sort of respite that drew me to dreaming of visiting Beatrix Potter's Hilltop Farm or Jane Austen's Chawton, and taking long walks in the countryside, enjoying the flowers along the way.  It is a travel memoir by the author, so includes biographical sketches I could do without at times, but overall I found it just a lovely, easy read that was inspiring.



2.  "Celebrations of Faith" by Randy and Lisa Wilson.
This one was my inspiring visionary read for the year.  Celebrations are important to me.  This title just reaffirmed some of my own thoughts and provided some new ideas to bless my family with.  I was both convicted and encouraged in my own goals for training our children and giving life to my home and family.







3.  "Man of the Family" by Ralph Moody.

We are slowly working our way through the "Little Britches" series.  I have a bunch who enjoy Western stories and these offer tales of grit and character development.  One caveat:  There is occasionally some language that takes the Lord's name in vain.  It seems an effort to make certain characters seem real.  Since I read these aloud, I edit the language out when reading.







4.  "Sacred Influence:  How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of their Husbands" by Gary Thomas.
 
Perhaps this one makes the list because I spent a good couple of days pondering it while on a personal retreat to Glen Eyrie (an amazing and rich time).  I think it also does because I just needed many messages this book had to offer at just the right time.  I found it both deeply convicting and practically helpful in continuing to learn to love and respect my husband.  I even learned some valuable things about the physiological differences between men and women that make conflict resolution more challenging.  And this lesson stood out to me the most, regarding the wisdom of Ephesians 4:26 (...do not let the sun go down on your wrath."):

"The Bible never says we have to resolve all differences or problems with our spouse before going to bed.  If you're still dealing with your anger, you can let that go by yourself, before going to bed even if your spouse won't or isn't able to discuss the issue until later."

I highly recommend this title!

5.  "Through Gates of Splendor" by Elisabeth Elliot.
Classic missionary biography, primarily of Jim Elliot, but also of his four comrades and their wives.  I read this aloud to the children and just found it a fascinating true story of men who were ready to give everything, including their lives, for reaching the Auca people with the Gospel.








6.  "Women of the Word:  How to Study the Bible with both our Hearts and Our Minds" by Jen Wilkin.

Finally!  A book devoted to not only teaching women about the why of spending time studying the Bible in depth, but she outlines a straightforward and fairly simple method of personal Bible study for any book of the Bible you want to study.  Don't read that as meaning easy, however.  In-depth study does require time and discipline--and the author does point that out in her book.  But she also does not approach it in a sense that overwhelms women with the sense that they will never have time to do it!  I found her approach very similar in many ways to methods I have used through our participation in the National Bible Bee, so it was kind of a natural extension of something I was already doing.


7.  "Glimpses of Grace:  Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home" by Gloria Furman.

This being the final title I completed in 2014 also means it is the most prominent in my mind and heart at the moment.  I appreciated the author's mix of her own circumstances with the Gospel lessons she was trying to convey.  I came away with some challenging thoughts, not necessarily new, but in need of being refreshed:

"Keeping a home, serving strangers, 'settling down,' raising a family--none of this was ever about us.  It was always for the sake of the gospel."

And this quote, because it is something our former pastor and his wife did so well, and of which I was a personal beneficiary of, and something I am seeking to become better at (pointing others to the Gospel):

"...God has prescribed fellowship with other believers as one of the means he uses to release gospel truth into our lives."

8.  "When Sinners Say I Do:  Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage" By Dave Harvey.


I am going to cheat a little bit here.  I am actually not finished with this one yet, but I want to record what I am gleaning from it already.  Tender Warrior and I are reading this together, at the recommendation of the above-mentioned pastor and his wife, and we are finding it rather powerful.  We are a little more than halfway through it, but I think I can safely say it is going to rank up there at the top of the list of marriage books to recommend.  There are some hard truths in this book and the author doesn't sugar-coat them.  At the same time, the power of the Gospel (as the subtitle says) shines loud and clear.  The chapters on mercy and forgiveness are my favorite thus far.

"Mercy doesn't change the need to speak truth.  It transforms our motivation from a desire to win battles to a desire to represent Christ.  It takes me out of the center and puts Christ in the center.  This requires mercy."

Mercy has been a key theme this year.   It is at the forefront of the book of Jonah, which we studied this summer.  I have much to learn here, and am looking forward to finishing this one out slowly enough for it to make real impact.  Very highly recommend!!

My Bible reading plan of 2014 was this one, Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System, where you read 10 chapters a day.  It was rigorous, but I liked it because it had me in different parts of Scripture and kept me from getting bogged down somewhere in Numbers or something.  I admit, I like the bookmarks too!  I kind of left it, though, in June, when Bible Bee season started and my time was devoted more to in-depth studies of books.  This year I completed studies of the books of Genesis, Jonah, Nahum, Jude, and started one in Hebrews.

With my children, aside from the above-named read-alouds, I explored several new titles, like "Roverandom" by Tolkien and "Owls in the Family" by Farley Mowat.  I also enjoyed revisiting some old friends like "All-of-a-Kind Family," "Little House on the Prairie," and "Little Women."

This year I did not get to some of the classics I had hoped to.  Still on my list are titles like Elizabeth Gaskell's "Wives and Daughters," Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment," and Arthur W. Pink's "Profiting from the Word," all of which I have started but am not far into.  I am hopeful to get to these in 2015!

The Music of 2014

Music.  Doesn't that word just stir up a whole lot itself?  There are whole histories and a gamut of philosophies that can be expounded on.  Let's not forget theology in there, either.

As I am thinking through my end-of-year book post (coming soon!), I couldn't help but reflect on music.  Now quite possibly that is because it is Christmas and our home has been filled with music...both on instruments and on players.  Adventure Girl and I were lamenting at the close of the evening yesterday, as we sat listening to some beautiful choral renditions of Christmas carols on Pandora, that the music of the season will soon be over.  And why does it not carry over past the Christmas season?  I think we concluded that it doesn't conclude.  It is just different.  The music of Christmas is its own entity and beauty.  The music of the rest of the year can be so in its own right.  It is also different, and perhaps there is a seasonal characteristic to it too.

But I think it is also because music tells something about us.  The what and why of our listening choices speaks something about the heart.  Like reading choices, I can tell something about a person by what music they listen to before I know very much more about them.  Which is probably about as far as I'm going to venture in this post on waxing eloquent about the meaning behind music

Which had me thinking...what have I listened to this past year?  What has been new?  What is on my playlists?  Have my musical choices been a growing experience?  It is true at this season of life, that what is on my children's (or husband's) playlists tends to be what dominates our home.   I don't often state, "Let's listen to....."  Except when it is related to purposeful education, or at the end of the day when I just need. some. calm.  Or Sunday mornings, when I can be picky about what style of music I want to hear.

What indeed IS a great blessing to me, is that by carefully crafting the sounds of our home over many years and hopefully giving them an appetite for beauty in all things, my children's music choices have echoed my own in some form or fashion.  We all have slight variations in preferences at any given time.  But we have a great deal of harmony about music in our home--in listening, that is!  We're still working on the singing part!

I think our music was most expanded on a local scale this year.  That is, we were introduced to music of a "locally grown" fiddler, Rebecca Lomnicky, and her duo partner, David Brewer, early in 2014 at a concert.  Country Girl, Adventure Girl and I went and we thought it one of the most fun concerts we have ever attended.  Maybe it had something to do with the homecoming enthusiasm for the musicians.  Or that we had never seen a bagpiper with so much energy or enthusiasm while playing (or Christmas lights and decorations on a set of bagpipes!)  Or the stirring strathspeys, lovely airs, and toe-tapping reels of Scotland and Ireland that we enjoy.  Or that she could make her fiddle play "Amazing Grace" in the sound of bagpipes.  All of it combined meant we had to listen to it often, so "Inspired" entered our home playlist.



I am not sure where this one has been hiding.  I mean, I have heard of Keith and Kristyn Getty many times the past few years.  Somehow I finally looked them up more closely and this is what I found:



"Joy, An Irish Christmas" has been our Christmas treat in music this year.  It has a very fun combination of traditional songs mixed into jigs or reels (to which I often give in to the call to practice my Irish dance steps we learned at a class earlier this year) and then their gift of hymn-writing shines through.  I think "Jesus, Joy of Highest Heaven" might be my new favorite hymn.  Kristyn Getty's "Magnificat" is beautiful and full of worship as well.  I only wish their tour this year had come to our part of the country!

But we did get to enjoy this concert, instead.  Tender Warrior and I went on a date night to "Winterdance" with the Celtic band, Molly's Revenge, Christa Burch, and Irish dancers.  I looked this one up, being introduced to Molly's Revenge, when David Brewer (the bagpiper mentioned above) noted that he had a Celtic band and that they annually came through our town every December. (You can click on the link to find a sample video from their tour in 2013).



It was full of energy, some lovely tunes, and the very Irish sing-songey voice of Christa Burch.  We enjoyed how she sings with hand motions.  All of it was accented with some phenomenal Irish step dancers with gorgeous costumes!  I kept thinking of how my little girls would be gasping "Wow!" at their glittery costumes.  David Brewer called it, "Irish Dancer Bling."

I do have to say, that Irish and Scottish folk music can very often feature songs that amount to "drown- your-sorrows-in-a-bottle" tunes, and those I do not care for (and we already know are not biblical)!  There are a couple of these on this album.  As with all things, discernment is in order.

These are just some new albums we've added this year.  They happen to have more of the Irish and Scottish folk music flair this year.  Having fiddle players in the home, and being a family who enjoys making music together, we have grown quite a bit in 2014. It's always a journey and doesn't come necessarily "easy" for Tender Warrior and I, as we seem to think it does for some families.  Maybe that is an illusion.  I know all who are musical work hard at it.  I just always feel like I have SO much to learn in this arena, even having played the clarinet for many years in my youth.  One of my joys is learning alongside my children, even if their abilities and understanding far surpass mine.  Warrior and I learn from them, too.

Aside from listening to music, we had several opportunities to play music throughout the year.  We had opportunities to play during church worship many times.  The older girls and I played piano, fiddle, guitar and harp for a women's ministries special event at church.  We gathered the courage to pull together a song as a whole family at the annual music camp we attend.  We participated in two fiddle contests.  Most memorable was probably blessing my 95-year-old grandmother with a concert on the porch of her care home, which filled her up immensely, and returning to sing some Christmas carols with her this season.

We look forward to the musical adventures of 2015, both in playing and listening.   And how we might continue to grow, expand, and hopefully improve our playing to bless others with God's gift of music!

Life-Giving Celebrations Continued

One of my kindred spirit friends sent me a sweet birthday email recently.  And in it she asked a very interesting question.  She wanted to know how one who loves to give life through celebrations, is celebrated when it's her turn?  (That is a rough paraphrase, but the general idea of her question).  Before you continue, maybe you would like to check out my first post on this topic here.

I spent many years thinking that my family would naturally just "get it" on occasions like my birthday or Mother's Day.  And it is true that they have picked up much of their ability to bless others by participating with me in these celebratory endeavors over the years.  I think it is a very similar idea to how husbands and wives relate.  We think we know each other so well, that the other just ought to KNOW without saying a word exactly what will be a blessing.  Well, maybe in your marriage it is different, but I can tell you that I have learned (and am still learning a great deal, mind you) that it helps to actually communicate in words the hopes or expectations we have, or just to give ideas.  It isn't easy to do because....well, it can feel rather selfish.  For one, I usually struggle with the notion that verbalizing something makes the other feel obligated, even when that isn't the intention.  And secondly, that it will take something away if I give them ideas. 

In short, I think most Mamas are used to giving of themselves so much, and they don't want to be selfish.  After all, if we are believers, we want to honor Christ in all we do, and to have a character like His which is the epitome of selflessness.  And this is good.  At the same time, we can sometimes adopt a "martyr" mindset when we secretly hope our family will just automatically know the best thing to do.  And sometimes they don't.....not because they don't love us.  Sometimes they forget (because we don't offer reminders, like we do for other people's occasions).  Sometimes they are just wired differently.  And I know for me, there were times and seasons, especially with younger children, where I would be upset that I would have to give reminders.

In recent years, I have been thankful for a bit of wisdom to enlighten this aspect of our home.  I read this book, "Celebrations of Faith," this year and so enjoyed it.  Mostly because it echoes so much of what I believe in, and much of what we were already doing in some way.  I also found it very convicting.  I found many things I hadn't done well when my older children were younger.  And they were things that just took some purposeful training.  So I am working more on some of these ideas now.  

Then it occurred to me, that it isn't any different with regards to teaching how to give life through celebrations.  Yes, some will have a greater gifting toward that than others.  But all can learn how to show honor to another.

So, in recent years, I have given more direct guidance to my children.  And often some hints to my husband of how he can help them think of ideas.  Not ultimately for the goal of receiving something myself (though this is nice).  But because I see that it is training ground for their own future families and the general principle of honor.  And honoring father and mother is of prime importance in God's Word for children.

Now I will share a bit of what this looked like this year.

My girls take turns making the family breakfasts.  This day was Country Girl's turn.  She asked me what I would like for breakfast.  I let her choose the rest, but the one thing I chose were some Chocolate-Raspberry Muffins.  I will say that blessing people with food is one of the ways we do celebrations here, so don't be surprised if you see a bunch of food :)

On the evening before my birthday, Tender Warrior blessed me with some "Birthday Eve Roses."  I am blessed indeed!  

Cards are usually a big part of celebrations here too.  We like art and we like drawing.  And I have never had to encourage my children to make cards.  I love every one of them! (Children, and their cards!)

During the afternoon, I had a lunch date with my beloved.  It's a tradition for the children to go to "Daddy's work" for their birthday and go out to lunch.  It hasn't always worked for me to do this, but this year we definitely planned for it.  No pictures.  Just lovely time spent together.

When I returned home, one of my birthday gifts was that the children cleaned the house.  And wow, did they clean it!  What a gift!  It looked beautiful.  And also made it easy to prepare for company arriving in a few days.

At dinner time, Tender Warrior gave me a guitar serenade.  He is both sweet and funny and has a way of keeping me from being too serious all the time.

Adventure Girl made dessert for me.  One of our favorites....we call it Air Force Dessert.

I mentioned cards.  I had to take photos with these, because I wanted to capture their artwork.  Adventure Girl did this one.  And she also submitted it to the county fair and received a blue ribbon.

And Country Girl's beautiful card as well.  (Reminder to self:  Keep encouraging the younger children to learn drawing.  It pays off!)

And one of my gifts was this beautiful calligraphy/artwork version of the book of Psalms.  A lovely friend gifted Country Girl with one of these for graduation.  I immediately put it on my wish list.

I am grateful for all that the Lord has taught me about celebrations and about helping my children gain a vision for blessing people in this manner.  Really, with older children who now are able to bless others on their own initiative (including me), it is so rewarding in so many ways.  There are still plenty of moments for instruction in thoughtfulness.  We all need help thinking outside of ourselves at various times.  And there are still several younger ones to learn along with us.

Rocket Launch

In May and June some of the children worked on building rockets with their American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA Boys groups. If you have not heard of these organizations, they are Christian-based scouting programs.  Some local groups started this year, and our children are enjoying the challenge of working toward badge requirements and gaining skills.

After the rocket projects were completed, the troops scheduled a launch day for the finale and excitement of seeing them in action.  This was a fun father-son and father-daughter project.

Warrior boys set up their launch pad.

 While Littlest Warrior looks on, busy with popsicle.

There were a few scrapped launches, but eventually everyone was successful at getting their rocket to the sky.

And then the fun of chasing down the parachuting rocket.  In some cases, the parachutes did not open, so they fell quite fast.  Also, it was rather a breezy day.  If the rocket was not aimed well into the wind, they were at risk of landing in someone's backyard outside the park!  My Warrior meteorologist did a great job making sure the rockets were launched the right direction.  We did have one that landed right at about the fence, but was still "in-bounds!"

Adventure Girl, true to her patriotic self, chose a rocket model called "Freedom" and painted it a lovely red, white, blue and gold.

Ready for the launch countdown!

We have liftoff!

Well, I know it's hard to see in this picture, but there really is a rocket returning to the ground in there!

Altogether, a very successful day of enjoying the hard work spent on a project together, and watching it do what it was designed to!

Giving Life through Celebrations

We officially enter what I like to call "The Season of Celebration" in May.  I guess that is because the string of family birthdays begins.  We have sort of a pause for a few months, and then a succession of birthdays.  But honestly, celebration is a theme in my life.  I suppose I would call it a "life message" that God uses to speak to others.  So celebration is really a theme all year-round, and there never really is a pause.  It is a primary way I give life to others, especially my own family.

Every year May is a "crazy month."  End of school year activities, birthdays, recitals.....just plenty of activity, and a little more than I prefer all at once.  Yet lots of opportunity for memory-making as well.  This year, we added a graduation to the mix.  That took months of energy, time, and planning, but was a tremendous blessing.

It has become a tradition for the birthday daughters to get to go out to tea with Mommy in honor of their birthday.  This year we found a new and oh, SO lovely spot run by a sweet older woman who loves Jesus!  You can also tell she is fond of the color purple, or rather, lavender.  I wish I had a photo of her darling sparkly purple apron (I want one!).  When I complimented her on it, she remarked, "I tell people it's because I am the daughter of a King!"  Love that!

The tea was perfect, the food was beautiful and scrumptious, and the environment so lovely and peaceful.  My Princess Girl soaked up every minute.  Even the food has a lavender theme--lavender cookies, lavender-almond cake, lavender scones.  But there were strawberry tarts!  Delightful!

Princess Girl took this picture of me with my tea.

On the day of her birthday, one of her gifts was a book on ballet.  She just cannot wait to take ballet lessons!  For the time being she is learning some at home and this book is so lovely and inspiring.  She has spent hours creating her own little ballet studio in the room with a wooden floor and a wardrobe with a mirror.

Parties with friends are a big deal with little girls.  I have done these for years, but have had some seasons with less "party activity" than others, particularly when these ones were younger.  Now I can hardly escape the "I'm planning for my NEXT year's birthday party!"  Yes, some times I wish for a little less activity, but I usually find that even the simplest little gathering is a tremendous blessing to these girls.  And I know my own birthdays are some of my biggest memories (maybe that's because I'm a "celebration girl?"  It did NOT sit well with me the year that, as an older teenager, I felt like my whole family forgot my birthday!  But that's another story...)

So.....even with graduation planning in full swing and on the immediate horizon, we found a way to make a simple party with just a couple of friends.  It was a sewing themed party, though these cute little cupcakes don't have much to do with sewing.  They were something I "pinned" and Princess Girl loved them and thought they were the perfect thing for her birthday!

We also had these button cookies.  Cute and easy! (And wheat-free to accommodate a guest)

The girls made these embroidery hoop art projects with their own initials and embellishments.

All in all, a very successful party without a lot of stress!

Now we move on to the big graduation!  This was our first time through this.  It all came together so well, and I think was a wonderful blessing to Country Girl.  It was a precious time for her Daddy and me too!  After all, it marked not only a new season of life for her, but the fact that we had guided one child all the way through her home education years!

I suppose it could be easy to not mark graduation by any special ceremony or recognition when you home educate.  After all, we teach them that learning is lifelong and doesn't really end.  One season can easily blend into another and sometimes the child may not seem to care too much about all the "pomp and circumstance."  But I believe it is an important marker--for BOTH the parent and the child.  I have had a few moms confirm this.  Ones who have had children commemorate the occasion, and ones that haven't.  The ones that haven't usually wish they had.  Again, it is an opportunity to mark and celebrate life.  And I don't pass those up!

We had a two-part celebration, as is common for many graduation celebrations.  There is the Open House for family and friends, and then the actual ceremony itself.  Our Open House had a bit of a garden theme to it, as it is the primary pursuit and delight of Country Girl.  This rocking chair arrangement greeted our guests upon their arrival.

Just a small part of  the table display that showed some of her accomplishments over the years.  In the place of a regular guest book, we chose to have guests sign a "real" book--a lovely gardening book about methods used at Colonial Williamsburg.  It was one of those perfect provisions, combining both her love of American history and her love of gardening.  The basket was just the right holder for cards and small gifts.

We had a dessert reception, which was so much fun to make even if a bit of work.  You could say this table was a lot about Country Girl's accomplishments too.  For she loves to bake, and she helped me with a significant amount of the work here.  We always like to look our for our wheat-free and gluten-free guests, so we adapted some recipes.  Strawberry lemon cake, fruit bouquets and skewers, strawberry-rhubarb tarts, fruit pizza cookies, graduation cap chocolates (very fun for all children to help make!), oreo chocolate mini cheesecakes, and lavender cookies.  Plus a couple of cookie bar selections contributed by friends!

A lovely and blessed evening to share with family and friends!

Now onto the ceremony.  This was put on by our state Christian home education association and they did a most fabulous job!  I really like how there is room, with a small group, to read a biography on each student and to see each student's life in a few photos.  And that the parents presented their own students with their diploma (and that the students presented Mom with a rose :)  Who can argue with roses?)  Everything was meaningful and beautiful.

Fixing the collar

Class of 2014

The reception.

Table display for all of the graduates

After the flurry of graduation activity, it was time for some relaxation and fun with friends for the girls.  So Country Girl and Adventure Girl invited a couple of friends over for a "Pride and Prejudice" movie marathon.  It was a bit of training for my girls in hospitality, event planning, and caring for guests as well.  They did a lovely job putting together some fun food ideas and making it all beautiful.  And I think they had a wonderful time together.

I encourage you to take a little extra time to bless someone you love with a memorable little outing, gift, or celebration.  Even if you aren't a "Celebration Girl" like me, you will certainly bless someone by a little extra love and attention shown by giving someone life in the simplest way that you choose to celebrate.