Reading, Rest, and Relationship History

Summer 2022: The One Where Leslie Learns to Rest

(Any Friends fans out there? 😉)

The struggle has been real.  For months.  Actually for well over a year.  I have been running on empty for far too long, burning out.  I’m not going to get into all the details here, but I have been working towards a few things: freeing up my schedule, resting, and sitting with Jesus more.

Practically that means that I have actually been letting some things go and giving up some responsibilities.  That hasn’t been easy.  Removing things from my to-do list has also been a challenge, yet very freeing.  

My focus for the summer is on relationships and my health and finding joy in things again.  

On the book scene, that means I’m encouraging myself to only read lighter books right now and am holding off on the heavier topics for a season.

On the “stop and smell the roses” front, I am actually doing just that: experimenting with a bit of gardening (in containers for now), spending time watering my tomatoes and peppers and taking care of the blooming flowers.  Slowing down right now.  Appreciating creation and thanking the Creator.  Breathing more deeply.

In the last couple of weeks, I have starting feeling more like myself.  I’m laughing more easily, and my creativity is returning.  This. Is. Huge.

Observations:

- I want to write again.  Thank you, Jesus!  I wasn’t sure the desire would come back.  Over the last few days, I have felt this sense of urgency to sit down with my computer and let the words flow.  I’ve done a bit of that.

- I want to read more — just for the fun of it.  No other agenda.  While I thoroughly enjoy learning, right now I just crave a bit of rest.  I’m focused on fiction right now, but no weighty subjects.  Light summer reads, some middle readers (there are some great ones out there!), books that are pleasant, maybe a little on the sweeter side.

- I’m leaving my phone behind for longer periods of time, and no major catastrophes have happened because of it.  😁  Lack of interruption can be a good thing.

- I want to create things.  Lately, I’ve been focused on ideas for a wedding reception and a wedding shower (Yay!), but I’m also thinking through some art projects.

- I want to organize.  This is something that energizes me, and I was so fortunate to use part of a PTO day today just putting some things away in my basement. It was one of my favorite days I’ve had recently.  (That’s not as sad as it sounds. 😁)

I keep telling myself it’s ok to rest sometimes.  I’m not God.  I’m a finite being and the weight of the world does not fall on me — and that’s a good thing!

And if I’m too busy, I can’t spend time with people.  As I have learned all too well, life is short.  Truly.  That’s not a flippant phrase I use anymore.  It’s a reminder that people are more important than many tasks that I put before relationships.

As I was finishing up one of my summer reads tonight, this quote jumped out at me.  Katy’s dad makes this comment referring to her husband and their marriage: “History is an asset, not a detriment.  It’s nice to be with someone who knows you, who knows your history.  It will get even more important the longer you live.  Learning how to find your way back can be harder than starting over. But damn, if you can, it’s worth it.”  (One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle)

Amen.  The work is worth it: in marriage, with children, with family, with friends. Spend the time on what’s important.

Happy beginning of summer!  And hopefully it won’t be another year before I post again.

Praying the Bible: Psalm 103

Several years ago, my pastor introduced our congregation to the book Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney during our prayer emphasis month.  This read changed the way I pray a majority of the time.

Maybe it's not an issue for you, but I get distracted when I pray.  What Whitney teaches in his book is to take a passage of scripture and pray through it, having a conversation with the Lord as you work through the verses.  His suggestion is to start with the Psalms, but obviously it can be done throughout scripture.

While most of my prayers are verbal or said in my head, journaling my prayers is really meaningful to me.  I process when I write.  Plus I have something I can go back to down the line.  It's helpful and encouraging to read old journals from years past and to be reminded of things I have prayed for and how God worked in me through the issues I was facing. This may be something to give a try to help develop the spiritual discipline of prayer in your faith journey.  

Also, I have found that if I am praying for someone else and using this model, it can be tremendously encouraging to the person I am praying for.  In those cases, I print out the chapter with a wide right margin. Then I write out the prayer along the side of the chapter and send it to the person I'm praying for.  Written notes are so important and a dying practice.  What better way to revive it?

Below is a prayer I wrote for Psalms 103 to give you an idea of what it may look like to pray the Bible.  This was a corporate prayer shared with my church, which is why there are more "we" and "our" references than "I" or "my."

Praise the Lord, o my soul.

We praise you with all that we are,

    for all that you've done for us.

We praise you for forgiving all of our ugly sins and for healing us -- whether on earth or ultimately in heaven.

Thank you for rescuing me.

    Fill me with your love and compassion towards others.

    Give us hearts to minister to anyone who is oppressed and hurting and to tell them about         the One who redeems.

We praise you for your compassion and grace and patience with us.  May we also demonstrate to others how good, compassionate, and forgiving you are by the way we live and the words we say.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your love for those who fear you, as far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our transgressions from us.

Thank you, Jesus!

We praise you for knowing everything about us and loving us anyway.

When we forget that, send your Spirit to remind us of the truth.

Thank you for not leaving us here to struggle alone.  We praise you for always being with us and for saving us from the punishment we deserve when we trust in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection as our only hope for salvation.

We praise you because your kingdom knows no boundaries, for you rule over all and love every last one of us.

Praise the Lord, o my soul.

Amen.

I am so thankful for God's word and the way He speaks us to us through it.

Be blessed.

 

2020 Reading Goals - Update

It may be a little premature for me to update my 2020 Reading Plan since I still have almost two weeks to finish up.  BUT...the last two books I plan to finish are not on my original list.

At the beginning of the year, I set out to read the following books and then would fill in with others that came up.  I didn't quite get to all 26 on this list, but my count as of today is 56 books for the year - a fair amount of fluff, but also some good quality books.

If you're on Goodreads, find me there.  I'd love to add more friends and reading recommendations.

MY PLANNED 2020 READING AND A FEW NOTES:

A Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (restarting the series) - ✔

B Becoming by Michelle Obama (Autobiography) - ✔

C Conversation Peace by Mary Kassian (Spiritual Growth/on my bookshelf)

D Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline (Fiction/on my bookshelf) - ✔

E Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption Through Scripture (Theology)

F Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott (Goodreads 2019 Choice Awards - Young Adult)

G A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (from the NY Times 100 Most Notable Books 2009) - ✔

H How We Love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich (on Marriage)

I In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick (History) - ✔

J Jackpot by Nic Stone (Young Adult) - ✔ (Nic Stone has become a favorite YA author of mine.)

K The Key on the Quilt by Stephanie Grace Whitson (First in a series) - ✔

L Larkspur Cove (#20 on my “to-read” list) - ✔

M Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (Book on my “to-read” list the longest) - ✔ (I happily

read this first, since it had been on my list the longest!)

N New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp (Devotional) - ✔

O One Blood: A Parting Word to the Church on Race by John Perkins (Church/Race) - ✔

P Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (Truman Readers Award finalist) - ✔ (Another YA favorite!)

Q Quitter by Jon Acuff (on Career)

R Rethinking Sexuality by Juli Slattery (Spiritual Growth and Ministry)

S Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (Fiction) - ✔

T Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Matthew Logelin (Book to Movie in 2020)

U The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri (Non-Fiction/on my bookshelf) - ✔

V The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus (Sequel - Fiction) - ✔

(One of the worst books I've read)

W Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life by Pamela Smith Hill (Biography) - ✔ (Laura Ingalls Wilder is

one of those people in history I'd love to sit down with and chat.)

X Exalting Jesus in James by David Platt (Bible Study) - ✔

Y You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott (Fiction - First I’ve read by this author) - ✔

Z The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe (Because there’s a Z in the title/Translation) - ✔ (It took no fewer than 5 times for me to start this book - both in audio and print -

before I finally got past the first few chapters and started seeing why the book

was worth reading.)

So what did I learn from making a list like this? Setting some smaller goals like this one

helps me read through books I want to finally get around to reading, because I'm

easily distracted when it comes to what I want to read next. I do have over 800 books

on my to-read list, and I add new ones almost weekly.

I'm excited to start on my 2021 list and see where I go with that one.

Keep reading - no matter how slow of a reader you may be or no matter how little

reading time you may get.

Happy Reading!

A Book in Hand

My 2020 goals have been written down and are now official!  I won't bore you with the details, at least not all of them.  However, each year I make a reading goal...and I will bore you with that!

Normally, I hop onto Goodreads and record the number of books I hope to read that year.  That's the extent of my goal-setting.  In 2019, I planned to read 45 books.  Instead, I managed to read 69!  What the heck?  

(My disclaimer: when I say "read" I am also including listening to audiobooks.  It counts.  This book nerd will always prefer to hold a book in her hands, but I also don't like wasting a 45+ minute commute...that's a lot of listening time.  I also always have an e-book ready on my phone for those times when I have a quiet lunch by myself or am waiting for someone/something.  It's not uncommon for me to have three books going at once.)

While considering my 2020 reading goals, I felt a need to dive into content more this year.  I admit to reading a lot of junk that doesn't take much thought.  This is not a dig on fluff books; they serve a purpose.  One purpose is to help me decompress without having to always be in "heavy thinking" mode.  These books will not be removed from my reading this year, but they will not be as plentiful.

Instead of raising the number of books I plan to read this year, I made a very deliberate list based on the idea of an A-to-Z Reading Challenge.  For those paying attention, that means I made a list of 26 books to read in 2020.  

Huh?  Not enough. 

Probably not, but this is not an exhaustive list of what I will read either.  It is, however, my priority list.  Anything else is just a bonus!

Mark Twain said (maybe), "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning.  And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."

I try to follow this idea when tackling my to-do list at home or at work: get the hardest or more intimidating thing done first; then you can go through the rest of the day knowing the worst is behind you.

Although I'm not considering reading a task that I dread, some of the books on my to-read list have been there for a long time...like for a decade.  That's how Mere Christianity became the first book I wrote down in my list.  It's not because I don't want to read the book.  However, I know it's not fluff, and it will require some actual thinking on my part...so I keep putting it off.  

Several years back, my hubby bought a hardback copy for me...and I still put it on the shelf.  And waited.  And waited.  Today, I read the first chapter.  It's my frog on my reading list.

Others on my list could also be considered my frogs, but I'm excited about this year's goal.  I may not read a book a week, but I'm ready to tackle my list.  And, yes, I'm going to share it with you, too, but you have to promise not to judge all of my choices.

Happy Reading to You!  And consider making 2020 a year that you challenge yourself by reading something you may not normally read.  I have several of those on my list as well.

****************************

My comments in () refer to a genre or attribute of a book that I used to help round out my reading list so I wouldn't get stuck on the same types of books.

What I Plan to Read in 2020:

A Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (restarting the series)

B Becoming by Michelle Obama (Autobiography)

C Conversation Peace by Mary Kassian (Spiritual Growth/on my bookshelf)

D Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline (Fiction/on my bookshelf)

E Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption Through Scripture (Theology)

F Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott (Goodreads 2019 Choice Awards - Young Adult)

G A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (from the NY Times 100 Most Notable Books 2009)

H How We Love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich (on Marriage)

I In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick (History)

J Jackpot by Nic Stone (Young Adult)

K The Key on the Quilt by Stephanie Grace Whitson (First in a series)

L Larkspur Cove (#20 on my “to-read” list)

M Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (Book on my “to-read” list the longest)

N New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp (Devotional)

O One Blood: A Parting Word to the Church on Race by John Perkins (Church/Race)

P Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (Truman Readers Award finalist)

Q Quitter by Jon Acuff (on Career)

R Rethinking Sexuality by Juli Slattery (Spiritual Growth and Ministry)

S Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (Fiction)

T Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Matthew Logelin (Book to Movie in 2020)

U The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri (Non-Fiction/on my bookshelf)

V The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus (Sequel - Fiction)

W Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life by Pamela Smith Hill (Biography)

X Exalting Jesus in James by David Platt (Bible Study)

Y You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott (Fiction - First I’ve read by this author)

Z The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe (Because there’s a Z in the title/Translation)

For the Love of Books...

"Reading one book is like eating one potato chip."  Diane Duane

I'm a reader of a variety of genres.  From time to time, I post on Facebook for book suggestions or take a suggestion from goodreads.com.  The library is my friend, and I giggle a little inside when any of the librarians say, "Hi, Mrs. H!  There's a book on the hold shelf for you."  Yep, they know me by name.  I have even considered greatly the possibility of working in library services once I'm ready to enter the workforce on a consistent basis.

I have two challenges for myself:

1.  To read the books I have on my bookshelf.

2.  To re-read (or read for the first time) some of the classics.

A little-known fact:  my associate's degree is in literature.  I started college as an English and secondary education major.  After I shifted gears in my education, I completed this degree before moving on.  I chose to read and write a lengthy paper on Anna Karenina when I was a junior or senior in high school, which my teacher thought might be a bit insane.  A majority of my classes the first couple of years in college were literature-based, including a class entirely on Emily Dickinson.  (Loved it!!)

Shockingly, my husband and I share one bookcase.  While I love to read, I rarely re-read.  Hundreds of books are listed on my "to read" list, so why re-read a book?  Again, this is why I love the library!  (I also like book trading websites, like bookmooch.com.)  

To achieve goal #1, I am making an effort to read one book on my shelf in between every library book I read.  Once I read it, I place the book on half.com to sell or on bookmooch.com to trade.  The only books I keep have to be special to me or ones that I reference often.  For example, I hold onto books like Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford.  A couple of pages buried inside this book are often read when I share about Haiti.  Another example is my signed copy of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch from when I met Alison Arngrim (Nellie Olson from Little House on the Prairie).  Two very opposite books, but again, ones that show my variety of interests.  

For goal #2, I pop onto goodreads.com to see what they recommend for me in the genre of "classics" based on my previous reviews.  This summer I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I am so glad I did!  There was so much I missed as a teenager, and my perspective as a 30-something is so different.  A couple of days ago I finished The Color Purple.  I definitely don't rank it with Too Kill a Mockingbird, but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

Books are an escape, sometimes a guilty pleasure.  Rarely do I find them a waste of time.