2009 December

Dec 31, 2009

Y2K+10

We’ve already played boardgames tonight (my family indulged me and we played five whole games — I loved it!), and did some Wii-playing (Extreme Challenge). We munched on numerous snacks. And now, as I type this post, Chad, C (11), and I have just settled in to watch a movie, figuring it would be a good way to stay awake until midnight and welcome the new year, the new decade.

Speaking of decade… For some reason, today has found me thinking back to ten years ago.

You remember, right? Y2K? When the whole world was going to implode, or disintegrate, or just fall into extreme chaos?

Can that really be ten years ago already?

Ten years ago.

Back when we had just one kid — C. was just a tad over one year old.

Back before I even heard the word “blog” (though I was already seriously attached the Internet for email and message boards).

Back when Chad and I were in our mid-20′s. (Yikes. It’s really been ten years since my mid-20′s? Let’s not think about that fact too much, ‘K?)

I’m not sure why, but I clearly remember what I did on December 31, 1999.

There was a party at my in-laws’ house — people everywhere. My mom babysat C for us so both Chad and I could attend the party for a while, but I came home early to relieve her in case she wanted to be home before midnight.

Then I settled in to watch TV, alternating between the Times Square celebration (for entertainment) and the news (to see if the world really was falling apart as clocks in various time zones clicked over to midnight).

Australia had seemed to weather the millennial transition without a hitch, and Europe was following in its footsteps. It looked like we’d be fine. Banks were not scrambling bank accounts wildly, computers were not banding together to confound the human race. Y2K was arriving without so much as a hiccup. (Well, perhaps the people who were partying like it was 1999 were getting some hiccups, but you know what I mean.)

This year, we’re not waiting for a new millennium, but we’re still entering a new decade. The Aughts or the ’00s or whatever you’d like to call them have come to a close. We are not threatened with an impending computerized date-related disaster, but we still face the unknown in 2010. I’m sure there will be obstacles, sorrow, times of confusion, but I also know there will be joy, and many moments to treasure.

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I’m going to wrap up this post now, because I’ve made about ten attempts to write more, but it’s all coming out rambling, random, and unfocused. I guess that’s what I get for attempting to write a blog post while watching a movie with my family.

Instead, I’ll just say:

I hope you have a very Happy New Year!

And while you’re here, I’m curious.

What were you doing ten years ago, on December 31, 1999?

Filed Under: Etc. 5 Comments

Dec 29, 2009

Some winners and some rambling

written by katrina · 13 Comments

Oh, hello there.

Yes, it seems that I temporarily dropped off the face of the Earth.

There was the usual, expected stuff. The two straight days of baking Christmas cookies (yummy), the celebration of Christmas (very nice), the family gatherings (enjoyable).

But then there was also the onset of post-Christmas germs.

And so this week, when I had planned on doing fun things with the kids, cleaning up all the Christmas fallout, putting away decorations, and generally being productive…I’ve instead been coughing all night and spending my days on the couch. I implore my fever to go away, I plead with my lungs to cease their spasmodic coughing, and I hold my head still, hoping to stop the pain. But alas, my body is not cooperating.

Blech.

In the midst of all the blech, I kinda-sorta forgot that I owe you all the names of some winners. Two book winners and two Fall Into Reading winners, to be exact. I’m sorry. But I’m here now to give you the winners.

The winner of 40 Loaves is: Mark (Comment #6)

The winner of Watch Over Me is: Margie (Comment #16)

The winner of the $10 Amazon gift certificate is: Kristen @ A Day In The Life

The winner of the $5 Amazon gift certificate is: Shelly @ The Attic Girl

Congratulations to all of you!

And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to head back to my couch. And hope that these germs will leave my body as a New Year’s gift to me.

I hope all of you had a delightful Christmas and that you and your families are managing to stay healthy!

Dec 22, 2009

Book Review: Primal by Mark Batterson

written by katrina · 3 Comments

Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing recently sent me a review copy of Primal, the latest book from Mark Batterson.

From the Publisher:

Our generation needs a Reformation. But a single person won’t lead it. A single event won’t define it.

Our reformation will be a movement of reformers living compassionately, creatively, courageously for the cause of Christ.

This reformation will not be born of a new discovery. It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient.

Something primal.

What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible? You would have more, not less. You would have the beginning of a new reformation — in your generation, your church, your own soul. You would have primal Christianity.

This book is an invitation to become part of a reformation movement. It is an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down two thousand years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again.

My thoughts:

Well the first thing I would say is:

Warning: Do not read this book if you want to stay happily ensconced in your comfort zone. Don’t read this book if you’d rather not be challenged. Don’t read this book if you prefer your old familiar ruts. Don’t read this book if you don’t want to re-examine what it really means to live out a love for God in your everyday life.

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He replied with:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

In Primal, Mark Batterson encourages readers to take a fresh look at this command. He explores what it looks like when we apply every dimension of our being to loving God.

The book is divided into four sections, appropriately: The Heart of Christianity, The Soul of Christianity, The Mind of Christianity, and The Strength of Christianity.

In The Heart of Christianity, Batterson asserts that loving God with all our hearts means that we will be passionate for the things about which God is passionate — our lives will be characterized by a deep and holy compassion. That compassion will be obvious by the way we spend our time and energy, but also by the way we spend our money.

In The Soul of Christianity, the author reminds us that God is not just a God of logic; He is a God of wonder. And when we love God with all our souls, we’ll be caught up with a holy wonder, an amazement at the mystery and depth and creativity of the God we serve.

In The Mind of Christianity, Batterson discusses the importance of using our minds — yes, our brains — to love God by seeking to learn more and more about Him and about the world He created. God has given us minds and expects us to use them. We glorify Him when we are life-long learners, when we use our imaginations, our creativity, our humor, and our capacity for knowledge and logic to seek and honor Him.

Finally, in The Strength of Christianity, readers are inspired to expend “tremendous amounts of energy for kingdom causes.” In other words, loving God through the use of “good old-fashioned hard work.” When we love God with all our strength, we’ll invest our energy in things that matter.

Primal is not an overly-long book (it’s under 200 pages), and it reads easily. Each chapter is woven together from Scripture, stories, interesting facts, and Batterson’s personal experiences.

And in my opinion, it packs a punch.

Primal will challenge your thinking and it will challenge your way of life. It will make you take a good hard look at your priorities, your stuff, and the way you fill your days. If you give it a chance, it will shake things up in your heart.

I read through Primal fairly quickly, in order to finish in time to be part of this blog tour. But this is a book I will definitely be re-reading. Even as I read through it the first time, I was underlining concepts and jotting down quotes — ideas and challenges to contemplate further. The next time I read through Primal, I’ll be taking my time, digesting each chapter. There is much to think about — but also much to do.

If you’re looking for a change for the new year, if you want to re-evaluate your walk with God and get to the heart of what it means to love Him through every aspect of your life, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Primal (you can get it at Amazon, of course, or directly from the Waterbrook Multnomah website).

Filed Under: Book reviews 3 Comments

Dec 21, 2009

Fall Into Reading 2009: Wrap It Up!

written by katrina · 25 Comments

There’s a growing pile of presents under the tree and baked goods on the kitchen counter. If the snow blanketing our front yard didn’t convince me that fall is over, the fact that Christmas will arrive by week’s end would. As we welcome(?) winter, it’s time to bring Fall Into Reading 2009 to a close.

I want to thank each person that participated in this year’s challenge. So many of you kept me posted on your reading progress over the last three months. You were enthusiastic about your reading, you spread the word about the challenge, any many of you wrote book reviews — all of which contributed to the success of Fall Into Reading 2009!

As we wrap things up, I just have one more thing to ask. Would you please write a final wrap-up post, letting all of us know how Fall Into Reading 2009 went for you? I would love if you’d take the time to write a final post and link to it using the Mr. Linky below.

Last week, I offered some suggestions for what you might want to write in your wrap-up post, but of course, feel free to write it however you’d like. Once your post is up, come here and sign up on the Mr. Linky below. Don’t forget—include the URL to your wrap-up post, not just your general blog web address, to make it easy for people to find your post.

Also, if you have any final book reviews you’d like to post, I’ll leave the Mr. Linky on the Fall Into Reading Book 2009 Reviews post open for a few more days.

And don’t forget…there are still two Amazon.com gift certificates ($15 & $5) up for grabs. To be eligible, please post your wrap-up post (and put it on the Mr. Linky) by midnight EST on December 23rd to get your name in the drawing. I’ll announce the winner a few days after Christmas.

Thanks again to all the participants. I’ve enjoyed reading with you!

Filed Under: Fall Into Reading 2009 25 Comments

Dec 21, 2009

Fall Into Reading 2009: My Wrap-Up Post

written by katrina · 18 Comments

I have to say, it was a good fall for reading. I had been in a reading slump for pretty much the entire summer, so this challenge was exactly what I needed to jump-start my reading and get me back into a good reading routine.

My goals for Fall Into Reading 2009 were fairly modest. I wanted to finish two books that I was part-way through at the start of the challenge, and read nine additional books. You can see my goal list here.

The final result? I finished the first two books, and read 8-and-a-half of the remaining books on my list. Plus, I read three additional books for blog tours. Oh, and one more novel, just for fun. (And a couple audiobooks too…I forgot about those.)

Not bad.

I still need to finish Treasuring God in Our Traditions, and I will. After Christmas. My reading time took a drastic nosedive around Thanksgiving that has continued right up until this week. I’m still reading, but not nearly as much as I was earlier in the fall. Clearly, the holidays complicated things for me, reading-wise.

As far as favorites go… It would be very difficult for me to pick a favorite book this fall — I honestly have thoroughly enjoyed almost every book I read.

However, the fiction book that kept me up way too late because I just. couldn’t. put. it. down. — was Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games. I don’t know how she does it, but the author, Suzanne Collins, sucks me right in, pulling me along from page to page, making it impossible for me to close the book, because I simply have to know what happens next. When is the third book in this series coming out? I’m ready for it right now!

I also found myself fascinated with The Unlikely Disciple, a non-fiction book from my list. I would sit down to read “just a few pages,” and then finally look up… three chapters later. In part, I’m sure I appreciated the book because it was about the college I attended. But I also think it was engagingly written, and the author’s voice was easy to like.

I’d also like to include an honorable mention. I am just finishing up an audiobook that was not on my initial Fall Into Reading list, but that I have absolutely loved. It’s The Help by Kathryn Stockett. My friend, Jennifer, recently blogged about it, and though I’d had the audio version on my iPod for a while, I hadn’t felt particularly compelled to listen to it. But that all changed, as soon I gave it a chance. Excellent book. Absorbing, interesting, compelling. All those adjectives that glowing reviews tend to use? Definitely apply to The Help. If you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to seek out a copy.

Speaking of audiobooks, I have to say that even though my physical-book-reading dropped off during the holiday season, my audiobook-listening did not. They’re perfect to use while baking cookies, wrapping gifts, or even (as I did yesterday) grocery shopping with the insane crowds on the Sunday before Christmas.

Overall, the thing I appreciated most about Fall Into Reading 2009 was that it snapped me out of my reading slump. I look forward to continuing to curl up with good books throughout this winter. My to-read pile is incredibly long, so I have no shortage of books to keep me entertained and/or informed.

Be sure to check out the official Fall Into Reading 2009 Wrap It Up post to see how everyone else did this fall.

Filed Under: Books/Reading, Fall Into Reading 2009 18 Comments