Rural Simplicity

This is a stack of books I've read or am currently reading in the last 2 months. Because when you have a newborn to feed what better to do than to devour books! Peter Hessler is a journalist who knows how to keep your attention. While this book would be labeled as non-fiction it truly reads as easily as a fiction novel. Drive deep into China with Peter Hessler while learning about daily life in China. The driving rules are hilarious and scary, the daily life of peasants is sad and eye opening. Two other books by Peter Hessler that are on my shelf waiting to be read are, "Oracle Bones" and "River Town". Yes, this is the famous Julie Andrews from Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins! She wrote a delightful book about an orphan named Mandy who spends her free time at the orphanage sneaking away to a deserted cottage and fixing it up. I think this is every girls dream! "Indian Captive" was recommended to me by a friend and will definitely

Last night I misunderstood my husband while he was praying. He said Prioritize, and I heard Prayer-tize. By the end of the word I knew what he had really said, but it made me pause a think a moment. What a perfect way to summarize how we ought to be planning our day. Our priorities usually get mapped out by what would be the most beneficial, or what would hurt the most if we missed. If you work from 9-5, then you will prioritize your day to make sure you are at your job site from 9-5. Priorities are important. The way we make and keep priorities is apart of our character. Remember this though; God's timing is not the same as our timing. God has a life long perspective and a pure motive. Laying out our priorities should come through prayer. Setting aside time each day to ask the Lord what he would have you do today, could radically change your priorities. Prioritize prayer and prayer will prioritize your day.  The Bible has so many passages on prayer, because it is a cor

When you look inside yourself and realize you have nothing to say. You've turned off your thinking brain, your curiosity brain, and you have turned on zombie mode. You go about your day to day life not making an effort to impact others, or better yourself, but simply to do, move, check off. Our world is good at getting us isolated, turned off, and whitewashed. If you go with the flow, you don't need to think. You will be told what is fashionable to wear, what the most popular places to eat out are, the hottest new T.V. shows to watch and what time they will be on, you will be coached on what extra curricular classes your child should be apart of and when practice and games are, you will be guided in what foods are "healthiest" to purchase or the fastest to make, the grocery ads will tell you what stores to buy from, and social media will keep you updated on your friends lives and all of the above mentioned as well. Do you ever get to the end of a day and wonde

How do you read? Speed read for need? Cozy couch snuggle up book for fun? Reading to your kids because they won't stop asking? Whatever you're reading don't zone out - or give up. Look for these things in whatever you are reading. 1) Expand your vocabulary. Whether you already have a large vocabulary or just know the basic slang, you can learn new words. Keep an eye out for words you've never heard, or words you've never quite understood, or even words that you know, but see them used differently. (maybe in a different era of history) 2) History. Speaking of history, we all know that history repeats itself. So anytime you are reading something with history in it, you can learn from what others have learned (or NOT learned) before you. Biographies are a favorite of mine and a great way to watch history cycles and compare them to things I am dealing with today. 3) Life Lessons. Whether you are reading fiction or non-fiction they are all written by re