My One Word for 2014

While thinking of a word to focus on for 2014 every idea I kept coming up with could be summed up in the word "time"--a word I don't really care for.  So why focus on it, you may ask?

This year I want to focus on two different aspects of time. The first is using my time wisely. My oldest recently turned 18 years old and it really drove it home for me how quickly time passes. I have struggled the last few years trying to use the time I have been given efficiently and feel that I can really improve in this area.

I want to use my time wisely and focus on these areas: 

• Devotions
• Home management
• Preparing my son's transcript (Yes, I know I should have started that a loooong time ago.)
• Organizing photos
• Scheduling time to sew

On one hand while time flies by, there are many times that time seems to creep by slowly. There have been a few situations in my life in the past couple of years that I honestly wonder if God even knows I'm alive. I feel like I have been waiting forever for God's timing, which isn't coming soon enough for me!

So while I working on using my time efficiently my biggest focus for this year is to wait for God's time and to put my trust in Him instead of fretting and worrying about when His time is going to come.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11a

 

See more at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

What's On Your Nightstand - December

{Affiliate links enclosed.}

Another month has come and gone. Even though December was a busy month I did get quite a bit of reading in. Like last month I finished up some more books that I had started reading and hadn't finished (marked *).  I do want to note here that Les Miserables may show up on next month's list also. I am not going to delude myself into thinking I can get that read in a month!

For January:

 

 From November's Nightstand I read:
Fiddler's Green: Or A Wedding, a Ball, and the Singular Adventures of Sundry Moss by Van Reid The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (audio)
Secret Water by Arthur Ransome {read-aloud}
The Fruitful Wife: Cultivating a Love Only God Can Produce by Hayley DiMarco
The Point Of Low Points by Ken Gurley

I also read:
4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions - 4 Experienced Moms*
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens {read-aloud}
Easy Homeschooling Curriculum by Lorraine Curry*
Lead Your Family Like Jesus: Powerful Parenting Principles from the Creator of Families by Ken Blanchard, Tricia Goyer, & Phil Hodges*
Your Goals This Year: A Year by Year Guide to Homeschooling High School (Coffee Break Books) by Lee Binz

I listened to:
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer

See what others have read over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Keep tuned I will be posting my Reading Goals for 2014 later this week.

Favorite Reads of 2013

Here is a list of my favorite reads from 2013. These are not in any certain order. {Affiliate links enclosed.}

 1.   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Just finished this book as a re-read. Just as good as the first time I read it.

2. Frederica by Georgette Heyer - A Regency romance filled with rambunctious  children, a ravishing beauty, a sensible sister, and a bachelor--fun, fun, fun!!

3. Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther (review) - A book filled with vignettes of Mrs. Miniver's life. Beautifully written.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (review) - Another thought provoking read.

5.Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (review) - Anne is my all time favorite book series. No need to say more.

6. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (review) - One girl and seven boys equals a lot of fun!

7. Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (review) - This continues the story of the cousins from Eight Cousins. This is one of my favorite books from my childhood.

8.

The Moosepath League Series by Van Reid (Cordelia Underwood review, Mollie Peer review, Daniel Plainway review) - Adventurous and humorous stories set in Maine in the late 1800's. These books kept me laughing!

9. Marva Collins' Way by Marva Collins & Civia Tamarkin - A story of a woman who stood against a system and succeeded. Inspiring read!

10. At Home in Dogwood Mudhole - Franklin Sanders (review) - A fun memoir about a family who started homesteading and all the adventures it entailed.

11. Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy: Guiding Your Son from His Tweens to His Teens by Dannah Gresh (review) - Do you have a "tween" son? This is a must read. Encouraging!

12. The Fruitful Wife: Cultivating a Love Only God Can Produce by Hayley DiMarco - I am going to be truthful and say that this wasn't really a "favorite" read, but a needful, thought-provoking read, so it made the list. 

  I am linking up over at: