A Fun Contest and Another Reading Challenge

Trudy Morgan Cole has turned her 2009 Top Ten favorite books list into a fun contest.  She doesn't actually name the books but gives you hints to help you figure out what they are, and she's going to select 5 winners from the correct entries she recieves before  January 6.  I just finished searching her blog and finding the answers.  Along the way I also found some books to add to my list of possibilities. Give it a try and see how much fun it is.

I know I've already signed up for an over abundance of reading challenges but I have one more to add to my list.

100 books a month challenge - Now before you call to have me committed let me explain.  This challenge is to read Children's books. To meet it I merely have to read at least 3 books a day for 20 days of the month and 4 books for the other 10 days.  Rereads count.  Shouldn't be a problem.  My little one loves to be read to and we can easily read 3 or 4 or more books a day.

To be perfectly truthful, the thing that really drew me to this challenge was reading what inspired the challenge.  The lady is attempting to read through the children's section of her local library.  I like that idea!  So while I'm saying I'm going to attempt to read 100 children's books a month my real goal is to read through the children's section of our library. Maybe I should call this the Reading through the Children's Section of your local library challenge.  :)

The counting of blessings continues...

13. receiving a long awaited Nativity set!
14. watching youngest daughter play with the set
15. sharing oldest daughter's delight of having found the perfect gift for someone special
16. oldest daughter and father going on a late night last minute Christmas shopping trip out of town together
17. getting to stay at home with little one
18. oldest son calling to tell us he's asked permission for us to all come spend a night with him while his house mate is away
19. youngest daughter saying "Know why I love you, Mom? You're the bestest Mom I ever seen."
20. the delight in youngest ones eyes when she saw the decorated tree, even if it was an artificial one
21. a night out with friends - good food and good company
22. visiting with oldest son
23. a poinsettia from oldest son - I've always wanted one
24. simple toys that bring much joy
25. blessings from family and friends
26. having a puzzle to do
27. a child that also enjoys puzzles
28. an unofficially adopted son sharing time with us
29. BBQ and good time with friends
30. cleaning for company

Ann explains The Thousand Gifts challenge - to start listing the gifts in the everyday and watch as your list grows...first to 1000...and then beyond...until it becomes an Endless Gifts Lists.  Ann says that she tries to "add to the endless list of gifts every Monday... to begin the week with a heart spilling with gratitude!" I am following her example.

Everything we need!

2 Peter 1:3 says "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

"His divine power" - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead - the same power that created the heavens and the earth.

"has given us" - it's available to us - He's given it to us - it's there for our taking.

"Everything we need" - do you get that?  Everything we need!

"for life" - to live our lives on this earth - we don't need to worry or fret

"and godliness" - to live a godly live - we can't do it on our own, but we don't have to, we're not supposed to try to - it's only possible through His power working in us

How do we get it?

"Through our knowledge of Him." - as we get to know Him better - as we spend time with Him - as we talk to Him - as we learn about Him through His Word and through His servants - as we allow His power to work in us

He has given us everything we need!

Happiness is....

....doing a puzzle with my girl

Christmas is just not complete for me without having a jigsaw puzzle to work on.  I've been a jigsaw puzzle fanatic from quite an early age.  The harder and more pieces the puzzle has the better it is.  It was tradition for me to get at least one jigsaw puzzle for Christmas, until I got married.  Neither my husband or my three older children really enjoy jigsaw puzzles and so I stopped getting them.  I miss my puzzles.

Thankfully, I finally have a child that enjoys puzzles.  Today I went out and bought a puzzle for my four year old and I to do together.  I was actually looking for one just for me - at least 1000 pieces - but another one caught my eye.  The description on the box said that it was a Family puzzle with big pieces for little ones and smaller pieces for adults.  I'd never seen one like it before.  It was only 400 pieces but I decided to get it anyway.

Little one and I had great fun putting it together.   I think I'll make a point of getting one for us next year too.

Post inspired by 

Are You Ready for Christmas?

How many times have I heard that over the last month.  What exactly does it mean?  What do you need to do to get ready?  So many people have so many different ideas in that regard.  I never really know how to answer the question because I'm never really sure what it means.  I know that I don't do half the things to get ready that other people do.  If they knew how little I did they'd probably think I'm crazy.

Christmas is coming, whether you are ready or not.

Something else is coming, whether you are ready or not, and it's much more important that you be ready for this coming.

Jesus is coming.  are you ready?  Once again people have different ideas on how you get ready, but there is really just one way. Romans 10:13 "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Call on His name.  Accept His gift.  Be ready for His coming.  It could be today.

Inspired by the Christmas is coming... theme of this week's 

Stories and Movies about Christmas Miracles...

....have me thinking - why is that some people have no trouble believing in, or giving credit to, Santa, or the magic of Christmas, for miracles but they really struggle, or out right refuse, to believe in, or give credit to, God for miracles?

A different kind of gift list

Gift lists.  Most everyone has one or more on hand this time of the year.  Either it's a list of gifts to give or a list of gifts you'd like to receive, or both.  I've decided to join Ann and start writing a list, not of gifts that I want or that I am going to give, but a list of gifts that I have in the everyday happenings of life.  The idea goes right along with the  Make a List suggestion that I wrote about in yesterday`s post.

For some time now I've been toying with the idea of joining Ann's Gratitude Community.  The clincher for me was the post on her blog today - Notes of an Avid Grace-Collector: Lessons From 1000 Gifts.  I love the list of lessons at the end of the post.

Ann explains The Thousand Gifts challenge - to start listing the gifts in the everyday and watch as your list grows...first to 1000...and then beyond...until it becomes an Endless Gifts Lists.  Ann says that she tries to "add to the endless list of gifts every Monday... to begin the week with a heart spilling with gratitude!"  


I am going to try to follow her example, and so I begin with my first post for the





1.  playing games with youngest daughter
2.  healing bones in oldest daughter's hand
3.  listening to oldest daughter play her guitar and sing
4.  safe travels to the doctor in another town
5.  bumping in to friends while shopping
6.  unexpectedly seeing and having the chance to hug my "brother by heart"
7.  the time and funds to buy little gifts
8.  seeing youngest son's smile as a friend from the past shows up
9.  seeing his friend from the past
10.  being able, through the wonders of the internet, to watch oldest son perform in his church's Christmas program
11.  knowing oldest son is settled into a church, a job, and a community
12.  being able to connect with like minded people that encourage me in my walk