Marking the Year in Reading & Looking Back

This year my reading goal was 25 books. Once I reached that level any extra reading I did was to be enjoyed whenever I had time. I am now up to 44 books (those in the picture below) and I have no end goal. Right now I am trying to read and learn from some fashion and cooking books. The only problem is usually when I want to do that there is a queue of people who want the books too and sometimes one cannot renew them. Our library system allows 2 renewals if you are not caught up with too many people needing the book so altogether you can borrow a book for 9 weeks.

In addition to reading the library books I am reading chronologically through the New Testament. I try to read about 5 chapters a day.  Right now I am in the last chapters of the Book of John.  I am also reading the Book of Revelation. I haven't much read the Book of Revelation since I was a child and it isn't a book that many churches teach about. Once I've read this Book a few times on my own I will go over a third time with a Bible Study series on the book. I think it's important to be prepared in better understanding as I look around me and I hear the events happening the world over.

It was Thanksgiving the other day and I shared some Fall colours in my post. You can look here for Fall colours in 2019.  I thought it would also be fun to see what October looked like last year by way of comparison.  The following photos were taken in early October 2018. I remember the day well. It was a gorgeous, sunny and warm day. The Fall colours were not yet that in full array.

The Go Fund Me campaign button is now ready in the side bar.  This is to help
Eunice with hospital and medical needs. For those who are new to this campaign you can read all the details at the link (in the side bar at top right).

Thank you for visiting.

I hope to see you again soon.

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This and That

In my last post I mentioned the long delay in planting my garden due to inclement weather. While I was waiting to plant  I've been catching up on other things like reading.

Here is a photo display of the books I've read so far. I've mentioned before that I have a modest goal of 20 books but with current books I'm reading I will soon surpass the goal.  Once I achieve it I don't have ambitious plans to set a higher goal. Instead I'll spend time doing other things like arts & crafts, sewing, gardening, decluttering and simply enjoying life as much as possible this summer. It seems there is never enough time to do everything but stopping to enjoy life is very important especially enjoying time with family and friends while you can.

I'm in the process of building a new life as it's been 2 years since my late mom passed, 1 year since my sister in law passed, 1 year since a dear old friend passed, almost 1 year since we lost Grandma Sally and 2 months since a young cousin passed.  The last while has been a time of many losses.  Though I do believe I will see all of them again one day it has still taken it's toll on me. I miss them and the losses leave a void in my life.  I've had to try and rebuild my life without them, with some it is a bit easier to do than others simply because of distance or time spent with them but they were all a big part of my life and now they are are no longer here.

I've kept super busy over these past two years trying to move forward and clear out a lot of things that are no longer needed.   I've also spent time trying to catch up to my own personal needs and business.  Some of that will continue.

A while back I mentioned I wanted to change financial advisors. In serendipitous timing my current advisor called me late last week to let me know he is moving on to a different company. It will cost me money if I follow him to wherever he is going.  Though he is willing to split the cost with me I think the time has come to move on though I'm still mulling it over.

This week I met with a possible new advisor.  We had a good first meeting but I'm still exploring options, pros and cons and so on. In my next meeting with the new advisor I will see what he has to say about my current investments and what he might recommend. I also want to learn more about him personally. I don't know about you but when you see a financial advisor you basically lay your whole life bare because your whole life is tied up in your finances, your spending, future spending, income, investments, retirement, wills and so on. So I think it's only fair that you learn something about them personally.  Also, there are many people out there who call themselves financial advisors or planners but they have no real credentials or experience. Canada is thinking of regulating this area (you would think this would have happened before now). It pays to do your homework.

If any of you have experience of changing financial planners and/or investment advisors please let me know in the comment section how you went about it and whether you were satisfied with the outcome.

I've also been trying to carve out more time for personal prayer and study. I'm currently participating in a forty day (40) prayer and Bible study.  This is a huge commitment because it adds hours a day to my already busy schedule.  I have 18 days left in the commitment. Once it is done, I'm hoping to be able to establish the right balance and daily and weekly routines. At least I'll try.

But right now I'm enjoying this intensive time of prayer, Bible study and fasting (from meat and poultry).  As you can imagine, something has to give in the schedule so it means I'm spending less time chatting with friends abroad as well as less time blogging and on entertainment activities.

To be honest, I'm also feeling quite tired. On top of that my knees have gradually begun to bother me again to the point where they are almost constantly in pain.  I've been needing to take pain relief nightly which I've never done before.  I'm not certain how much fatigue is health related, pain related, or even related to the fast and change of diet (I've increased my supplementation with Omega 3, broad based vitamins and turmeric or perhaps more accurately I've started being more consistent in taking them).  Thankfully I haven't really been craving meat or fowl that much but I'm not used to going long periods without meat protein and I'm finding I just don't feel good so I'm trying to go easy on myself.  Today I managed to make a more nutritious and filling meal (vegetarian curry  made with onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach and peas over rice). It was nice and of course there will be left overs which is always helpful.

Finally, I was pleased to get the community garden plot in yesterday. I was so happy and blessed to have the help of the young woman who has the garden plot right next to mine. My knees were so bad and though I didn't share that with her she just pitched right in and volunteered to turn my soil, recommended where to plant my various seeds for best results and dug out a huge rosemary bush which I asked if she wanted.  She was very happy to accept the rosemary bush as she said she had been admiring it for awhile.

Night descends on the community garden at a small, well used park near my home.

Now I just have to make sure to visit the plot often enough to keep it well watered.  The young lady offered to water the plot today because she was visiting her plot anyway.  I will make sure I get over there tomorrow since I still want to plant a few carrots and some kale. I need to buy the seeds tomorrow.  One thing I'd like to learn more about before next year is companion planting. I don't tend to plan my garden too much because I usually use starter plants.  I have to go with whatever plants are available when I shop in the stores.  Often they don't have what I want. With the veggie garden I'm mainly using seeds.  It provides more options and ability to do some companion planting.

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Difficult Times

Hello dear friends,

I'm just stopping in to let you know I may be missing in action for awhile.

My mom had a massive stroke yesterday.  

Thankfully she is still with us and alert.  She knows what is happening but she can no longer speak
though she can  mumble a few words and move her hands a bit.

She is undergoing more tests and observation at the hospital.
Today she received a feeding tube. Today she failed the swallow test to receive a feeding tube but it seems like she may have had a slight improvement by end of day. No more tests will be done until next week as specialists are gone now for the weekend.

 I don't have much more information to share at this time.

Since I'll be busy dealing with her needs and responding to family and friends, I won't be here updating on a regular basis.

If you wish to keep her and the family in prayer that will be much appreciated.

 Thank you.

Bible App

Photo Credit:  Fountain Hills Christian Center, Arizona (website)

Last year I made a goal to read through the Bible chronologically. I got as far as the 2 Chronicles in the the Old Testament. I've probably read the Bible several times over since I was a child but I've never done it chronologically and I've always felt there was something missing as a result. I've renewed my commitment to reading through the Bible chronologically in 2014.

One thing I discovered is that I really like to "read" the Bible by listening to it and reading along silently or out LOUD,  rather than just reading the Bible like I would any other book.   I used the on-line resource Bible Gateway last year to hear someone read the Bible out loud.

The problem is that in order to listen to the day's readings it took me a good hour and more if I want to include time for praise, prayer and study.  What happened is after spending time doing Bible readings I would then sit at the computer to do other things.  This led me to sit at the computer for too long each day.  I was also a "captive" to my headset at the computer for listening to the Bible readings for the day. Ultimately the lack of flexibility about where I could do my readings (I prefer my desktop to my laptop for ease of use), led to my inability to sustain a reading schedule.

Recently, I wrote here, about how I picked two words to help guide me through the year and help to set the tone and direction for where I want to go with my goals for the year.

The words are "simplify" and "streamline".

In 2014,  I plan to resume my readings and "simplify" and "streamline" by using a "new to me" and free Bible app on my cell phone.  I've downloaded the app and I listened to 6 chapters of the Book of John.  I enjoyed it as much as listening on my desktop or laptop and I also love the freedom and flexibility that listening to the Bible on the cell phone brings. Listening on my portable cell phone is much easier than listening on my desktop computer. Also I can make notes about where I left off in my readings (literal notes rather than bookmarks) instead of keeping track on a separate paper or computer document.

It took me a short while to discover that I can read the Bible chronologically using the app, instead of using one of the Bible Study Plans or devotions.  I still have to navigate through the app and figure out if there is a way to mark where I've left off each day beyond making a note.

If you don't already use a Bible app, and want to, you can use one of the many Bible reading and study plans and different study helps. You can also choose from different versions of the Bible.  For now, I prefer the King James Version (KJV) though I know many people don't use this Bible any longer. {I always find it difficult when Churches I attend use different Bible versions to what I prefer reading when they are giving the Sunday Sermon because the language in the KJV is so different. Maybe when I get more proficient on the app, I can simply read from it at Church too.}

There are a number of free Bible apps for smart phones.  The one I'm using is called You Version.

 Have any of you tried it?
I'd love to know what you think of it.

What Happens When I Finish my Reading Goals for This Year?

 The campaign to help Jonah & Little Linet continues. Please read here.

Yippee, I am ever closer to completing my reading goals early. I had a goal of reading 24 books throughout the year and being ill this past week gave me a chance to read 4 complete and finish two others that were "in progress".  I just have to read one and half more books (several in progress) and when I complete my 24th book, I am going to use the rest of the year to read the Bible from cover to cover.

In fact, I've started already. It is something I've wanted to do for a long while but for some reason felt it was too big of a challenge.  Of course I often read the Bible in different studies, but reading it from cover to cover is something different.

I recently came across a post on Fred Alton's blog about reading the Bible from cover to cover and decided to give it a try. He encouraged me to use audio bibles and to read along as I listen.  I think this is going to work out great for me. I just love to hear the Bible read out loud by a rich, strong voice, like Max McLean on Bible Gateway.  (If interested, you can google Max McLean on youtube and listen to him narrate the Gospel of Mark on video).  I hope to read the Bible from cover to cover over the course of the year, but may actually finish much sooner.  One thing I'm doing differently with the Bible reading is giving myself permission to do my reading and study late at night. I am a night owl so this will work better for me.  Despite spending years trying to change my habits to study in the morning, I acknowledge that so far my efforts have not worked. It is better for me to find a way to work with the kind of person God made me.

I've also put a Bible App on my smartphone but seldom use it for more than reading a daily Bible verse because the phone uses so much battery before it needs charging. I try to save the battery for actual phone calls.  I guess I really should use my Blackberry Playbook more often as I have the same app on there too. I tend to use the Playbook as a backup to my camera to take videos and photos and for downloading several books for back up reading material. I really should get some headphones to use with the Playbook and then I can sit in my living room and listen to and read the Bible.

In addition to reading the Bible, one of my goals is to study the Bible more consistently and systematically.  I have many Bible studies and different books but I've been looking for just the "right ones".  I think I've finally gathered together a few tools that will really help me and more importantly, tools that I will actually use.

One book is this, What the Bible Is All About, by Dr. Henrietta Mears.  What I like about this book is that it has an overview of each book of the Bible to help you understand what you are going to read and to set it into context for you.  It's a great Bible reference at just over 400 pages which is an average of 6 pages of information about each book of the Bible.

I also bought The Essential Bible Companion published by Zondervan. It has beautifully coloured maps and photos that help bring the Bible alive. It summarizes each book of the Bible in two short pages for those that want a concise description of each book. It was developed by two world-class Bible scholars and the creator of The Bible in 90 Days curriculum.

 I also picked up this book at a used bookstore.

Ancient Israel, 2nd edition, was published in 1960.  It is a concise, simply written account of the society that produced the Bible. The author traces the fluctuating fortunes of the Hebrews and Israelites between about 2000 and 300 B.C.E., so the reader can see how Jewish religious concepts developed in the context of actual historical situations.

These three books now form the core of my daily study and along with my daily readings, I am hoping to get deeper into what God has in store for me.

If you have particular Bible resources that really helped you, feel free to share them here.

Reading Goals

My get together with friends on Wednesday proved to be a good thing to get me out again but I over exerted myself and I spent the next day taking it easy again and reading.  I also managed to get out for a bit of grocery shopping and to run an errand at the post office.

I finished the book, Medicine River by Thomas King.  The book had been on my "to read" list for many years and at last I can now say that I have finished it and it is no longer on my mind.  My mind does remind me from time to time of things that I have not done.  I found the book to be a satisfactory enough read but I wasn't overly impressed by it.  Perhaps my expectations were too high as I'd long been thinking about it.  The book is not so long and is written in an easy, conversational style which made me read it more slowly.  I read it as if I was hearing the characters in the book speaking.

What distinguishes this book from many other books I've read, is that it was written by a Native American author of Cherokee, Greek and German-American descent.  The setting of the story in the book is a reserve in western Canada, probably because the author lived and worked in Lethbridge, Alberta for many years. Those of you who live in Canada may have see the television movie based on this book.  I think that it is good to be exposed to more Native American writers but I don't think there are that many of them.

After finishing that book, I read, The Empress, written by Shan Sa. Shan Sa is the pen name of Yan Ni, who was born in Beijing, China, and later moved to France with her father in 1990.

Her novel is based on the life of  the Empress of China, Empress Wu, the only reigning female in the history of China (c.625-705). The book started and ended rather interestingly, with the Empress telling the story of her own birth and death. The rest of the book was a bit disappointing to me.  I was a bit taken aback by the amount of debauchery attributed to that time period. But if you are interested in the history of China, female leaders throughout history, and early history of China, then this book is loaded with detail.

In the notes at the back of the book the author says,

"Empress is the encounter of two Chinese women, myself and Empress Wu. I came to Paris in 1990 at the age of seventeen.  Coming from post-Cultural Revolution China to Paris, this city of luxury and lust, I felt the shock and suffering that my heroine experienced when she entered life in the Forbidden City.

The historical research took three years, and I made several trips to China to explore the regions where the Empress had lived."

I think the following quote from p. 317 of the book sums up the story quite well.

"Time passed. The wheel of fortune turned. Skills vanished in the flames of war, and men no longer knew how to build palaces tall enough to touch the clouds. The Tatars streamed in from the deserts and the steppes, one dynasty followed another. Women abandoned the arts and bound their feet. Emperors continued with the Mandarin competitions I had instigated and still used the urn of Truth I invented. But I had become a symbol of a corrupt woman. The Annals told how I had strangled my daughter so that I could ascribe the crime to Empress Wang. Misogynistic historians accused me of poisoning my son Splendor who contested my authority. Novelists invented a life of debauchery for me, attributing their own fantasies to me. With passing time, the truth became unclear, and the lies took root."

It is difficult for me to know how much of the personal details of the Empress were true and how much was the author's imagination.  The quote from the book leads me to think that much was the author's imagination. However the author's notes suggest that the tremendous detail about the cultural aspects and ceremony of the times are based on historical facts.

My next book is The Help, which has already been made into a movie. I am also going to finish People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

I've also been in touch with my blogging friend, Fred Alton, whom some of you know. He has encouraged his readers to read the Bible in one year. I've always read the Bible but I don't think I've ever read it from cover to cover, or in one year though it's been something I've wanted to do for some time. Fred has given me some good tips and this reading project fits in nicely with my goal of studying the Bible.

 I'm making good progress on my reading goals for this year.   

What about you dear reader. Have you set any reading goals? Have you read either of the books in my post or the Bible from cover to cover? I'm interested in your thoughts on these books or about your experiences with the Bible reading.