We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Thomas understood much more this year and it was fun seeing him so excited about Christmas. We taught him whose birthday we were celebrating and when we asked him, he would say, "Baby Jesus." Of course, we learned that children don't "perform" as you would like. Example: We were at the retirement home having breakfast with the chaplain and director and we asked Thomas, "Who is Christmas about?" Fully expecting to hear, "Baby Jesus," but instead he said, "Ho, ho, ho!" Yes, we were embarrassed! We aren't anti-Santa, but he knows Christmas is about Jesus.
Our New Year was spent low key with some close friends. If you know me, then you know that I am not a night person. I would be happy going to bed at 9pm every night (if you think that is weird, you should meet my mom. She goes to bed around 8pm and she is young - the big 5-0 this year!). Plus, the kiddos need to get their rest as well. We didn't even stay up to ring in the new year, but it was here when I woke up Friday morning!
One of the goals I had last year was to read through the bible in a year. Through God's grace, I did it! I used D.A. Carson's For The Love of God and loved it, although I didn't complete the plan. Using his plan, which is the M'Cheyne plan, you read the Psalms and New Testament twice and the rest of the bible once. After Josiah was born, it was hard to keep up. Thankfully, I had read through almost all of the NT and half of the Psalms before he came, so I decided to skip reading the NT and Psalms again. There were some weeks I had to read many chapters at one time, but I was at a point in the reading (prophesy and OT history) that it actually flowed well and helped me to see the overall picture of Israel's history and God's grace to them through the prophets warnings and promises of restoration.
My goal this year is the same as last year: read through the bible in a year, but hopefully following M'Cheyne's plan. Last year I used Volume 1 of Carson's book and this year I'm using Volume 2. The only difference is the passage of Scripture he highlights in the devotion. I have already learned and appreciated the book of Ezra more this year than last.
Another goal is to begin doing daily learning activities with Thomas. Here are a few of the resources I am using as I plan our days and activities:
- Children's Learning Activities
- Our Preschool Homeschool Blog
- The Toddler's Busy Book - Trish Kuffner
- Slow & Steady Get Me Ready - June Oberlander
If you know of any more good resources, please share!
A goal that I have every year is to read more. This past year, even with having a baby, I was able to read some excellent books. I should write a short, un-academic, review of them at some point. Here are some of the best books I read last year:
1. Respectable Sins: Confronting The Sins We Tolerate - Jerry Bridges (has forever changed the way I view my sin).
2. God is The Gospel - John Piper (given me new eyes to see my Savior and the glorious news).
3. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859-2009 - Greg Wills (Dr. Wills led the mission trip to China in 2005 and he was beginning the research for this book. Outstanding book!).
4. Radical Womanhood - Carolyn McCulley (gave me a deep understanding of the roots of feminism and how we as Christian women can fight it).
There are a few more, but this is all that is coming to mind right now. Do you have any book suggestions for this new year?
2 comments:
I've been reading Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood by Piper and Grudem. It's A Response to Evangelical Feminism and I've really appreciated it - especially the exegetical essays. I'm about 1/2 way through. Your boys are adorable!
I think you'd like Alsup's Practical Theology for Women" and VonVonderan's "Families Where Grace is In Place." Both are meaty, but unpretentious.
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