Barely time to squeez a last post in before the chapter of 2009 is closed, but I've managed. And I've also managed to spend sufficient time contemplating this transition into 2010. I'll confess that I usually don't put much stock in new year's resolutions, but I'm excited to have written out some tangible goals for the next decade. Which leaves the question as to which goal to tackle first...
So, for myself and the purpose of being able to look back, I resolve in 2010 to:
Read the whole Bible through
Blog @ least once per week
Guard my family time
Lord, use these goals and disciplines in my life to bring glory to Yourself. I am a trophy of Your grace! As I look back in the past and stand on the brink of the future, I praise You for working in my life! I'm not who I want to be...I'm not who I should be...but praise God, I'm not who I was!! Only by grace...
- Posted from my iPod
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
the unbelievable pride & prejudice & zombies
i can't believe i'm posting this, but it was too unbelievable to pass up. my cousin got a book for Christmas entitled, "pride and prejudice and zombies" by jane austen and seth grahame-smith.
i can't believe i did it, but i had to sneak a quick look through the first couple chapters. interesting. not sure whether the concept of merging classic literature with zombies is original (or could even be considered original), and it seems so profane...but if nothing else the book is at least intriguing (in a morbidly clever sort of way). it is labeled as a 'quirk classic', but whether it can retain the 'classic' label is still up in the air. though i can't honestly review the book (only having read a few pages) i found the premise laughable. and a good laugh may be the only true purpose of this book (whether it was the author's original intention or not). grahame-smith tries to keep the language, time period, and setting the same or similar, but his character descriptions sound like a poor cut-and-paste job. which leads me to believe that his character development (which is my favorite characteristic of austen's novel) will be slightly lacking and finish off any chance of elevating this edition to the time-tested shelves of classic lit. but the thing that puzzles me the most is the question of audience. who's going to read this stuff?
i can't believe it, but i just looked it up on our public library website to see if it's available. me! that's who's going to read this stuff. wait. no! it's got to be a waste of time! reading this would be more embarrassing than admitting my tendency to revert back to "hardy boys" when i just need a break from thinking too hard. and what gets me is that i'm not even really into zombies and horror...
i can't believe i'm having to fight the urge to read this book, and that i'm actually disappointed that it's not available at the library...not even in circulation. whew. saved. i think i can avoid reading it as long as it's not lying around nearby. my world has been saved from zombies...for now.
i can't believe i'm even saying that...
i can't believe i did it, but i had to sneak a quick look through the first couple chapters. interesting. not sure whether the concept of merging classic literature with zombies is original (or could even be considered original), and it seems so profane...but if nothing else the book is at least intriguing (in a morbidly clever sort of way). it is labeled as a 'quirk classic', but whether it can retain the 'classic' label is still up in the air. though i can't honestly review the book (only having read a few pages) i found the premise laughable. and a good laugh may be the only true purpose of this book (whether it was the author's original intention or not). grahame-smith tries to keep the language, time period, and setting the same or similar, but his character descriptions sound like a poor cut-and-paste job. which leads me to believe that his character development (which is my favorite characteristic of austen's novel) will be slightly lacking and finish off any chance of elevating this edition to the time-tested shelves of classic lit. but the thing that puzzles me the most is the question of audience. who's going to read this stuff?
i can't believe it, but i just looked it up on our public library website to see if it's available. me! that's who's going to read this stuff. wait. no! it's got to be a waste of time! reading this would be more embarrassing than admitting my tendency to revert back to "hardy boys" when i just need a break from thinking too hard. and what gets me is that i'm not even really into zombies and horror...
i can't believe i'm having to fight the urge to read this book, and that i'm actually disappointed that it's not available at the library...not even in circulation. whew. saved. i think i can avoid reading it as long as it's not lying around nearby. my world has been saved from zombies...for now.
i can't believe i'm even saying that...
Saturday, December 26, 2009
reading for my 2020 vision
i know it's not really an original idea...in fact, it was really inspired by mark batterson a couple of weeks ago...but i put together my own 2020 vision.
we're on the doorstep of a new decade! and because that has only happened twice in my lifetime i'm determined to take this milestone seriously. these last few years in ministry have really been a turning point in my life in understanding the importance of casting vision, living on purpose, setting goals and staying organized. so it was exciting to dream and set goals not just for this next year, but for the next 10!
one of my goals is to read 100 books by 2020.
for some that may not seem like much, but although i absolutely love reading i have to confess...i'm pretty slow. if you break 100 books down by 10 years...that's uh...10 books per year (if you have to use math in life it might as well be easy math!). and 10 books a year means a book almost every month. whew. not gonna lie, that's going to be a challenge. my biggest problem in reading is not the amount of books i read, but rather the amount of books i actually finish. i usually have an average of 3-4 books going at any one time...whether i'll finish any one of them is debatable.
so in order to achieve this lofty goal i'm going to have to be purposeful. for me reading is a joy. but to really benefit from reading i have to be a disciplined reader. which means there are certain sacrifices that will have to be made to become a better reader and accomplish this goal (which i'm convinced holds invaluable benefits and blessings). i already know that books will have to schedule an appointment with my google calendar. there will have to be certain times during my week where reading time is built in. then it will also have to become a main source of relaxing and downtime (but a distant second to spending time with my girls...and our little one on the way...). and in an effort to sacrifice distractions i have voluntarily banned video games from my life (unless it is for the purpose of fellowship...which is just comical to think that mowing down my buddies with an assault rifle could be considered fellowship). and along with scheduling and removing distractions, i want to be purposeful in what i choose to read. i wonder how many words we actually read in a day...and how many of those words are just junk food compared to what we could be dining on if we chose our reading material carefully. so in light of being purposeful and realizing the need to streamline the process to accomplish the goal, i am putting together a reading list. 100 books. kinda feels limiting, but limiting may cause me to be cautious in not wasting my reading time on frivolous books that aren't truly stimulating, encouraging, challenging or inspiring. of course, a reading list will work like a budget: a flexible guide. for who knows what awaits to be written within the next decade (an exciting thought). but then again, as C.S. Lewis said, 'it is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between". so my goal is to read many of the time-tested classics on the Christian faith!
obviously this reading goal is just a part of my spiritual disciplines, but i'm so excited to see how God will use it in my life! i pray that in 2020 i will have a clearer vision of truth and wisdom.
we're on the doorstep of a new decade! and because that has only happened twice in my lifetime i'm determined to take this milestone seriously. these last few years in ministry have really been a turning point in my life in understanding the importance of casting vision, living on purpose, setting goals and staying organized. so it was exciting to dream and set goals not just for this next year, but for the next 10!
one of my goals is to read 100 books by 2020.
for some that may not seem like much, but although i absolutely love reading i have to confess...i'm pretty slow. if you break 100 books down by 10 years...that's uh...10 books per year (if you have to use math in life it might as well be easy math!). and 10 books a year means a book almost every month. whew. not gonna lie, that's going to be a challenge. my biggest problem in reading is not the amount of books i read, but rather the amount of books i actually finish. i usually have an average of 3-4 books going at any one time...whether i'll finish any one of them is debatable.
so in order to achieve this lofty goal i'm going to have to be purposeful. for me reading is a joy. but to really benefit from reading i have to be a disciplined reader. which means there are certain sacrifices that will have to be made to become a better reader and accomplish this goal (which i'm convinced holds invaluable benefits and blessings). i already know that books will have to schedule an appointment with my google calendar. there will have to be certain times during my week where reading time is built in. then it will also have to become a main source of relaxing and downtime (but a distant second to spending time with my girls...and our little one on the way...). and in an effort to sacrifice distractions i have voluntarily banned video games from my life (unless it is for the purpose of fellowship...which is just comical to think that mowing down my buddies with an assault rifle could be considered fellowship). and along with scheduling and removing distractions, i want to be purposeful in what i choose to read. i wonder how many words we actually read in a day...and how many of those words are just junk food compared to what we could be dining on if we chose our reading material carefully. so in light of being purposeful and realizing the need to streamline the process to accomplish the goal, i am putting together a reading list. 100 books. kinda feels limiting, but limiting may cause me to be cautious in not wasting my reading time on frivolous books that aren't truly stimulating, encouraging, challenging or inspiring. of course, a reading list will work like a budget: a flexible guide. for who knows what awaits to be written within the next decade (an exciting thought). but then again, as C.S. Lewis said, 'it is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between". so my goal is to read many of the time-tested classics on the Christian faith!
obviously this reading goal is just a part of my spiritual disciplines, but i'm so excited to see how God will use it in my life! i pray that in 2020 i will have a clearer vision of truth and wisdom.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
"Buh-Bo"
last night we were singing "Jesus Loves Me" with Jolie and she instantly started into the motions...pointing to her hands like nails, and then opening her hands while singing "Buh-Bo" (Bible!). when we asked her where Jesus was she ran and found her little kids Bible and opened it up looking for Jesus.
o Lord, may my little girl always run to your Word to find You!
what a joy filled my heart last night. merry CHRISTmas!
o Lord, may my little girl always run to your Word to find You!
what a joy filled my heart last night. merry CHRISTmas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
