2012 Reading and 2013 Goals

My goal for 2012 was to read 35 books.  I surpassed my goal by 5 books. 

1. Water for Elephants - Gruen
2. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist - Piper
3. Eat, Pray, Love - Gilbert
4. The Wind in the Willows - Grahame
5. The Hunger Games - Collins
6. The Help - Stockett
7. Finally Alive: What Happens When We are Born Again - Piper
8. The Woman in White - Collins
9. Catching Fire - Collins
10. Who Made God?: Searching for a Theory of Everything - Andrews
11. Radical Together - Platt
12. Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life - Eliot
13. The Litigators - Grisham
14. Mockingjay - Collins
15. Gospel Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting - Farley
16. Soul of Science - Pearcey
17. Coming to Peace with Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology - Falk
18. Genesis in Space and Time: The Flow of Biblical History - Schaeffer
19. The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out - Manning
20. The Last Child - Hart
21. Best Friends Forever - Weiner
22. A Change in Altitude - Shreve
23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Haddon
24. The Brethren - Grisham
25. The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor's Plan Designed for Rapid Results - Moreno
26. The Midlife Miracle Diet: When Your Diet Doesn't Work Anymore - Puhn
27. Organizing the Disorganized Child: Simple Strategies to Succeed in School - Kutscher
28. Icons of Evolution: Science of Myth? - Wells
29. Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love - Sobel
30. Old Yeller - Gipson
31. Philosophy of Science: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective - Ratzsch
32. Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown - Wiedemer
33. Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach - Poythress
34. Should Christians Embrace Evolution: Biblical & Scientific Responses - Nevin
35. The Handmaid's Tale - Atwood
36. Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution - Giberson
37. What the Best College Teachers Do - Bain
38. Divergent - Roth
39. Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution - Miller
40. Anna Karenina - Tolstoy

I was again surprised by how much I enjoyed the classics I read.  Anna Karenina & The Woman in White were both very good!

I'm not sure of the length of some of the books I will be reading this year, so I think I will stick with a goal of 35 books.  I plan to rotate still between classic literature, non-fiction, and something I want to read (possibly recent fiction). 

So what did you read this year that you really enjoyed?

Musings following the books, 'Desiring God' & 'Eat Pray Love'

The last 2 books I read have been Desiring God by John Piper (2^nd reading) and Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Both had been hanging on my ‘To Read’ list for at least 2 years. They were not in this order on my list, either.  I think it is so amazing how God in His sovereignty had me read these 2 books in this order. 

While reading Desiring God, I was struck again by my own lack of joy and how I so often lose my focus on what my ultimate source of peace and comfort are.  It inspired me to a greater desire to cultivate prayer in my life.  I have been constantly dwelling on the fact that I am to find joy in God and thinking about how that works itself out practically in my own life.

I then started reading Eat Pray Love.  This book is somewhat of a memoir of Gilbert’s journey through searching for peace and contentment.  While she never really claims a religion, it seems to pull together religious ideas from many traditions into something she feels comfortable with.  In the end, she finds wholeness and contentment and happiness.  She sees herself as good and loving and whole.

I feel that I can relate to the deep heart struggle of Gilbert throughout the book.  I have struggled with having happiness in various circumstances and being melancholy.  But I don’t understand the road she chose to examine her questions and longings.  My thoughts swung between disagreeing with Gilbert’s approach to the realization that ‘but for the grace of God, there I go’.  As I read and considered these things, the following thoughts were never far from me

1.       There is only 1 way to true happiness, contentment, and joy.  The God revealed in the Bible created us and is therefore the only way to fill the void in our innermost being.

2.       Eat Pray Love was a best-selling book, and all of the reviews I read focused on people’s opinion of Gilbert’s actions in the book.  Either they thought she was completely selfish or envied her year of self-discovery.  It seems telling about our culture that not one review focused on what she believed (as I feel I am doing here).  We have bought into the idea that WHAT you believe is not that important.  Truth is whatever works for you and makes you happy.  I am not sure how we retreat from these positions and return to a healthier place of appreciating Truth.

Piper has a chapter in Desiring God where he talks a lot about what if the Bible is not true.  He quotes I Corinthians 15:19 “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”  As Gilbert searches for life’s deeper meaning in Italy and Bali, I found this an interesting contrast.  Because the Bible IS true and we have a hope for eternity, I found myself feeling really bad for Gilbert – pitying her, even.  She is sitting in what might be considered a paradise here on earth, but because she is not a Christian, it is temporal and fleeting.  But because I belong to God, I am greatly blessed (which to me the opposite of being pitied) even while I shuttle children, clean house, put out fires at work, and deal with difficult relationships.  Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift.

Thoughts from December and 2011 Reading

As usual, our family travelled to Tennessee for the Christmas holiday.  This past Christmas fell on Sunday, and during our morning worship, we celebrated Communion.  I was really struck by how appropriate that is in many ways, but particularly on a personal level. 

Some trips to Tennessee are fun and enjoyable.  Others are filled with strife, complaining, and general 'un-niceness' between family members.  This seemed to have many elements of the latter description.  During Communion, I was struck afresh with the reality of my own sin, my own involvement and participation in these activities.  I commented to my husband that partaking in Communion in that setting was a good thing.

However, over the next 2 days, the trend continued.  Many things were said that were just not nice and should have been left unsaid.  I was hurt by unkind words by those who are supposed to love and care for me.  While driving home and during the following days, I was struck by my own hand in the culture and attitude that was present within my extended family over the Christmas holiday.  I certainly don't condone or excuse the hurtful words thrown at me, but the Lord has graciously shown me more of my own sin through this.  In the busyness of the semester and holidays my time devoted to Scripture and prayer had greatly diminished.  I see again that I cannot be the sister and daughter (or mother or wife) I am called to be without daily saturation in His Word.  I do not love my family as I should.  I do not build them up or speak truth to them.

I am sad that I 'blew it' this Christmas, but I am even more thankful that the Lord has shown me this sin in my life and promises that He will never leave me or forsake me.  I am thankful for his sanctification and pray that He will allow me to be a beacon of love and kindness to these same family members in the future.

I'm also listing here the books I read in 2011.  I believe my goal was to read 30 books this year and work on my BBC list of books.  I did pretty well on both.

Books Read in 2011
The Hitchhikers Guide Trilogy - Adams
Darwin's Black Box
Charlotte's Web
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Hardy
Good Things I Wish You
Knowing God - Packer
Alice in Wonderland - Carroll
Through the Looking Glass - Carroll
Age of Opprtunity - Tripp
Engaging God's World - Plantinga
The Confession - Grisham
Persuasion - Austen
The Associate - Grisham
Artermis Fowl (Book 1)
Ford County Stories - Grisham
The Davinci Code - Brown
Lacemakers of Glenmara
Life of Pi
Treasure Island
Why Pandas Do Handstands
The God Delusion - Dawkins
The Dawkins Delusion - McGrath
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
Saving Leonardo - Pearcey
DNA - A Graphic Guide to the Molecule that Shook the Universe - Rosenfeld
Total Truth - Pearcy
Fever 1793
Catch 22 - Heller
Humility - Mahaney
The Velveteen Rabbit
Rebecca - duMaurier
Bonhoffer - Metaxas
The Unlikely Disciple
Les Miserables - Hugo
Total = 36 books

My goal for 2012 is to read 35 books in the coming year.  Reading and exercising are probably the 2 best stress relieving activities that I participate in.  However, I have always enjoyed reading and can't wait to continue to my lists of books that I want to go through.  I always learn neat and unexpected things in all of the genres I read.  I would challenge everyone to branch out and read something you never expected to read in the coming year.