Happenings in My World...

Hello, everyone! I don't exactly know why I've taken a 3-month leave of absence from the blogosphere. I will try to catch you up on my life the last 3 months, so bear with me if you can.

My family and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent in Marlin, TX with the Cunningham side of the family. We ate obscene amounts of food, had great fellowship time, watched football, and ate some more. You know, the traditional and customery Thanksgiving Day activities. To celebrate Christmas, we stayed in good ol' A-town and had time with my mom's side of the family. We went out to my aunt and uncle's house in Ovalo, TX for the day and most of the evening. Another onslaught of hunger ravaged all of us on Christmas Day as well and it seemed like all we did was eat, talk, and nap. It was so fun. My brother and SIL came to visit mom, dad, and I the week before Christmas and we got to enjoy them for an entire week. I love having my brother and SIL around. We miss them terribly. All in all, our holiday season was a very blessed one.

Here are some things that have kept me busy and entertained in my time away from blogland. You may see a recurring theme. I love to read, watch movies, and do bible studies as you know, so I didn't stray too far away from the things I thoroughly and completely enjoy too much in my time away from all of you. :) My pictures of the items are out of order with the reviews, so just scroll down and you can see the image that corresponds with each review. I'm not the world's best spacing genius.

I got this little book, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young for Christmas. It was actually given to my mom, but after I had talked about it so much she gave it to me. It is a devotional book written as if God Himself was talking to you face to face. I have LOVED it. It helps me a lot to have a beginning thought in each day before my feet hit the floor and I get out of bed to welcome my day. Having something to chew on spiritually also helps bring God's Presence into my ordinary earthly days, it helps to center myself in what is truly important and eternal. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in daily devotional thoughts.

Every week, I meet with Sarah Campbell, one of Highland's Youth Ministers, to discuss life and books. We began this time last year some time. I can't exactly remember when it officially became part of my weekly routine, but I love it. Last year, we did Max Lucado's "Experiencing the Heart of Jesus" study. In January we started reading and discussing Christa Black's new book, "God Loves Ugly." It is so rich. It deals with her self-image and tells the story of how God completely restored her identity in Him. It is my very humble opinion that every mother, daughter, youth worker, teacher, or anyone else who invests in the lives and character of girls so read this book. At the end of each chapter she has a very practical exercise that helps to put what she has talked about into practice in our everyday. You can also check her out on Amazon or at http://www.christablack.com/.

I am very devoted to all things Avonlea, so imagine my delight when I discovered that our library had copies of the Road to Avonlea series on DVD. It is based around the lives of the King family in a quaint farming village, Avonlea on Prince Edward Island in Canada. It is produced by Kevin Sullivan, the same man that brought us Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. I love this series. It is my goal to own all seven seasons. I currently own seasons 1-3 and thanks to the library am almost caught up on the happenings of the series. I'm halfway through season 6 right now. To find out more you may find it all here, http://www.sullivan-ent.com/ or just google Road to Avonlea and you will be able to find it quickly.

Just this weekend, I began "Her Mother's Hope." This is the first book in Francine Rivers newest two-part series, "Marta's Legacy." Francine Rivers is a masterful storyteller and one of my favorite authors. I love everything I've read of hers. It seems that every time I come across one of her series, I devour it because I love the different, very detailed, and lavish worlds her words can transport me into. This is a story set in Switzerland and Canada that is very good so far. I'm already four chapters in and excited to see where Marta Schneider will go and what she will do next.

Finally, the Ladies Bible Class at Highland has just started a new Priscilla Shirer 6-week study on Jonah. I've heard the story of Jonah since cradle roll, and as I grew older, on a flannelgraph, but I've never done an in-depth study on his life. I'm excited about what God has in store for me and the entire group as we dive into this four chapter book in the Minor Prophets. I've also never done a study with Priscilla Shirer before and I've found out that I really like her. She's practical, funny, and seems authentic. She is also a very good teacher. I also did not realize that she is the daughter of Tony Evans. I've heard my daddy talk about Tony from his trips to Promise Keepers while I was growing up. It's pretty neat to know a tiny bit about the family Priscilla comes out of.

So, you've finally made it to the end of a very, very long post and recap of the last 3 months. Bravo to anyone who stuck with me and actually cares about where I've been and what has been happening. Now, go and reward yourself. :)