Purposeful in 2014: July

 

In order to help keep myself accountable the goals I set at the beginning of 2014, I’m going to try to post monthly with updates! If you have any updates on your goals or word of the year, I would love to see them!

Don’t forget about my FREE printable of my PURPOSE for 2014 — Glorify God and Enjoy Him Forever!

Goals

So, I’m not using the Lift app anymore and I’m not attempting this list of goals. Gasp!!! Ugh. I still have the *goal* of exercise and drinking more water, etc, but I’m not tracking it here. Sorry!! I’m attending a Piloxing class and LOVING it, so that is my exercise right now. 🙂

I do, however, want to keep up with my books I’m reading in 2014.

Books Read Thus Far in 2014

1. Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine ~I loved this book. I don’t think that ordinarily I would have finished a book on goals, but because I have felt the Lord prompting me to be more disciplined and get more accomplished with my time, this book was EXACTLY what I needed at exactly the right time! God is good! {I wrote a full review and the points that spoke to me the most here.}

2. Fifteen Minutes: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury ~ If you enjoy American Idol or other such shows, you might enjoy this novel where the main character is a contestant on one of these type shows. 🙂 I enjoy Karen Kingsbury’s fiction and they are easy, quick reads that also are faith based. I don’t like that this one includes more romance, and it’s not inappropriate in any way, I just don’t like or need to read a lot of books with romance in them.

3. Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism ~ I have a looooong post coming up on this book in the next 1-2 weeks. This book was amazing. I will say upfront that there are a few things in it that I don’t agree with 100% but overall this book is fabulous. If you want to be challenged in how you share Jesus with the world around you, I highly recommend this book!

4. Chasing God ~ I loved this book. I wrote a lot about it here and had a give away, that is now closed.

5. Being OK with Where You Are  ~ this book by Stacey Thacker (who I love following on I nstagram and was blessed to meet at Allume) is wonderful. In fact, it happened to be what I needed at just this time in my life! It contains great encouragement. It is on kindle and a great read!! I happened to get it when it was free, but I also think it’s worth $4.99.

6. 33 Prayers of Gratitude: Overcoming Negativity Through the Power of Prayer ~ I’m not even linking to this one because I was disappointed in this book. In the first place, this is just a book of simple prayers. That’s it. No expounding on prayer or gratitude. For instance, Day 4 or Prayer 4 just says “Thank, you, Father, for bread and meat. Thank you for the friends we meet. Thank you for our moms and dads. Thank you for the love we have. Thank you for our work and play. Thank you for another day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.” That’s it. Each day is just a different prayer. Now, I do have some prayer books that I love!! But, this one didn’t fully sit right with me. Prayer 5 starts off by saying, “God, Goddess, Divine Spirit of all there is…” I’m not sure I feel comfortable with praying to a Goddess and I’m not all together sure what the author meant. But there is no explanation or such to go with it. Day 18 is a prayer to the Cosmic Mother?? There are also famous “prayers” or poems listed in it from saints and poets. While I enjoy reading this type of material, i was hoping for more with a title that claimed “overcoming negativity through the power of prayer.”

7. The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life ~ I read this book for book club and OH MY HEAVENS. Y’all have got to read this book. When I read Melanie Shankle’s first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, I thought…”this woman has GOT to write more books! Because I need to laugh more often!” Her first book was her memoir on motherhood, this one is her memoir on marriage. Both are amazing and wonderful and will make you laugh out loud.

8. Esther Queen of Persia by Jim Baumgardner. I hope to do a more full post on this book, but if you are in ancient history and get to the point of Esther in your schooling, READ THIS BOOK!! I loved it!! Warning — I would only read this with junior high level and UP. But this book truly opened up the story of Esther to us. I did read it aloud to my kids, but I had to change a little bit of it as I read…if it had only been my girls i probably would not have changed any of it. There is much talk of how the kings of that time had multiple wives, his harem, Esther’s fears of these facts, etc. But I love it because I have a feeling she really did struggle with much of this!!

9. Uncharted – wow. We just read this book for book club and WOW. This is one of those stories that you just can’t believe. You get to the end and it all makes sense. 🙂 Very thought provoking…but I don’t want to give the story away. Great book to read and discuss!!

10. Even-Tempered Mother: Tips from a Mom Overcoming Rage and Depression {BONUS CONTENT} – this book is a very practical and REAL book from a fellow homeschool mom who has struggled with anger and depression. She shares her story as well as several others stories (including a small excerpt from my own blog!) She gives practical ideas for survival, tips for controlling anger, and much, much more! I think this is a much needed resource for moms struggling with depression!

11. Christian Unschooling – such a fabulous book!! I wrote a whole post about that book here!

12. Teaching From Rest – such a book of encouragement for homeschool moms. I wrote more about this book here. MUST READ for all homeschool moms! Seriously. 🙂

13. Y’all. A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion) — this is our next book club selection and I am soooooo glad I read it and brought it to the beach with me. Seriously, going down as one of my all time favorite historical/Christian fiction books. This is the story of Hadassah (not Queen Esther, though) set a few years after the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. Some of the story takes place in Rome, some Ephesus. I love stories that make me think about what it must have been like to live in this time period. Such a gripping story. I will tell you — PLEASE read past the first 1/4 of the book and give it a chance. 🙂 The first part was hard for me to get into…it’s lots of names (don’t worry about keeping them straight) and lots of the history of Jews and this time period. Keep reading. 🙂 You won’t be sorry.

14. This is the 2nd book in the series by Francine Rivers. An Echo in the Darkness (Mark of the Lion #2) — the end of the first book had a HUGE cliff hanger. This book picks right up and continues the story with plenty of twists and turns. Couldn’t put it down.

15. Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! I actually read this book up there between #4,5, etc. But I forgot to list it! This book is a MUST READ for any mom with an iPhone. 🙂

I’m in the middle of several awesome books that I can’t wait to share with you…keep checking back. 🙂 

One of those is the 3rd book in that series, of course. 🙂 I will share the others as I finish them too!!