Books 1 and 2 of 52 Books in a Year

Okay, I am almost ashamed to post the first two books of my 52 books in a year because they are somewhat “twaddle” books. However, they are so good I am posting anyway.

A Promise of Hope by Amy Clipston (Book 2 in the Kauffman Amish Bakery series)
This was a book about a woman, Sarah Troyer, who loses her husband in a tragic fire. She is expecting twins when she finds out some very disturbing things about her husbands past from a relative that shows up months after his death. A good book about moving on after hurts. Overall a good read and what is best about it is the recipes that are scattered throughout the book.

A Place of Peace by Amy Clipston (Book 3 in the Kauffman Amish Bakery series)
This book is about Miriam Lapp who fled the Amish community after a tragic accident. She returns after her mother’s sudden death to face everything she has left behind. This book is about forgiveness and second chances. I thoroughly enjoyed it and, again, it has recipes scattered throughout the book as well.

52 Books a Year Challenge

I was listening to a message from Doug Phillips of Vision Forum and he said that he challenges each member in his family to read 52 books every year. I thought how amazing that would be, considering how young my children are, if they started NOW reading 52 books a year just how much they would learn. Now, this is a pretty simple concept --your goal is to read a book a week, or 52 books in a year – however, just think of the amazing results you could potentially see in your life as well as the lives of your children. Now, this takes some discipline. It means turning off the TV, getting away from the computer for lengthy periods of time, etc. So, this challenge is not for the faint at heart.

Now, keep in mind when I think of books I am thinking of books I can learn something from. These are not “twaddle” books as Charlotte Mason would call them. These are books for the mind. Books to enhance your walk with the Lord; books to encourage you as you take the path the world considers “weird” (you know, the no TV, bake your own bread, actually learn some life skills – kind of weird.)

So, having said all that, who is up for the challenge? By the way, I tried to retrace my library history and could not so I am basically only now starting to count my books (meaning, I have some catching up to do.)

A Boy and His Frog

I love watching little boys explore the outdoors. My little man found a friend today as we started working on the garden. It might have made it into his bed tonight if his mom had not intervened.

Science Class in the Garden

I love it when opportunities present themselves for us to learn while we work. We started working on our garden today and were excited to find several little creatures to examine in the process: frogs, worms, and a salamander. Overall, a pretty good science day!

Keepers at Home and Contenders for the Faith

I love learning new skills! I did not grow up cooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting, or anything remotely domestic. I had never heard the term “keeper at home” (Titus 2:4-5) even though I had grown up in church, and “staying home” was never a career choice that appealed to me. That is why I felt so strongly when I had my daughter that I wanted her to learn the skills that I never took the time to learn when I was younger (which I knew to be so important now that I was older.) So now we learn together (remember I never learned these things myself but you are NEVER too old to learn a new skill.) One of the ways we do that is by hosting a Keepers at Home group at our home. I, along with some other great moms, teach the young ladies. It is so amazing when you look around the room and see young ladies sitting at the feet of their mothers learning these skills. My husband teaches the young men (which is a Contenders for the Faith group) skills that are quickly becoming a lost art. Our desire is that these young men and young women will grow up to be well rounded Defenders of the Faith (and their families) and Keepers of their homes. You can check out these clubs at their website: http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/KeepersClubs. Maybe it will inspire you to start your own group.