New Year's Resolutions

Although we are now well into the new year, I thought I'd share a couple of things I have determined to improve this year.  I have started various Bible reading plans, but I never seem to get to the end of them.  I start out well, but get slack as time goes by.  I tell myself that I'm a busy Mum with five children, but really, there is no excuse for neglecting God's Word.  So this year I have chosen a plan, and I intend to stick with it. 
I have been following Tim Challies' blog for a while now.  I enjoy reading his articles written from a Reformed perspective.  This year he challenged his readers to use Professor Grant Horner's Bible reading plan.  You can read all about it here.  The plan splits the Bible into ten reading lists, each list is a different length from all the others, the idea being that you will be reading a chapter from ten different parts of the Bible each day, but never reading the same combination again.  I challenged my husband to do the reading plan with me.  We began on 1st January and we have stuck with it so far.  I am really enjoying reading a variety of genres each day, and I really feel like I am being saturated in God's Word.  I am excited that it will enable me to get to know the Bible more thoroughly as time goes by.  There is a facebook group for those following the plan here.

Another challenge I have taken up this month, is to memorise the book of Titus.  Doctrines in the Kitchen is a facebook group set up to encourage mothers at home to be interested in, and to study doctrine.  Last year a group of ladies memorised Philippians, and this year they are memorising Titus.  I thought I would give it a go.  So far, I have Titus 1:1-5 memorised.  I am writing out the verses each morning and night, and reciting them to myself throughout the day.  The simple act of writing them out daily helps to store them my brain, and I find it is reasonably effortless to memorise the verses with this method.
You can find the Doctrines in the Kitchen facebook group here, and the Memorise Titus blogpost here.

Guest Post at Educating Mother

I have a guest post up at Educating Mother today, where I have shared about a few of our sewing and quilting activities.

Booking it in 2011 with "Life as Mom"

I have decided to join in Booking it in 2011 with Jessica Fisher, at her blog, Life as Mom.

I am planning to deviate from Jessica's booklist, but plan to include some of her books in mine.

Here is Jessica's list, with the "due date for reading":

• February 10 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin


• March 10 - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen


• April 10 - Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois


• May 10 - Finding your Purpose as a Mom: How to Build your Home on Holy Ground by Donna Otto


• June 10 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan


• July 10 - Dancing with My Father: How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace & Joy by Sally Clarkson


• August 10 - The Help by Kathryn Stockett


• September 10 - Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider


• October 10 - Not your Mother's Casseroles by Faith Durand


• November 10 - The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

Here is my own list for the year:

• February 10 - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen


• March 10 - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen


• April 10 - Desiring God by John Piper


• May 10 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


• June 10 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan


• July 10 - Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson


• August 10 - The Professor by Charlotte Bronte


• September 10 - A History of the English-speaking Peoples, Volume 3, The Age of Revolution by Winston S. Churchill


• October 10 - Hard Times by Charles Dickens


• November 10 - No Other Foundation: The Church Through Twenty Centuries by Jeremy C. Jackson


• December 10 - Home Education by Charlotte Mason

Most of these books are currently on our bookshelves - or available to me. I have tried to mix up the genres, and plan to be reading the heavier books throughout the year. If you're wondering why I'm planning to read Churchill's book - it's simply that I want to have a bit more background to the History studies we will be doing this year. We are working through Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times, much of which includes the Age of Revolution.

I plan to post a short review of each book here on the blog as I complete it!

As an aside, here is a list of some of the books I read in 2010:

• Van Loon's Lives by Hendrik van Loon


• Sense & Sensibilty by Jane Austen


• Persuasion by Jane Austen


• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte


• Shirley by Charlotte Bronte


• Villette by Charlotte Bronte


• The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell


• Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte


• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte


• Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmoore

As you can see, I was a little biased towards novels last year! This year I am attempting to read more books on Christian living and some History books. Van Loon's lives is a wonderful introduction to many historical characters. Read it if you can, you won't be disappointed!