Thursday, January 12, 2012

Booking It 2012



I set a goal to read 2 books a month in addition to my Bible reading.  I'm a bit of an overachiever, so I'm reading 3 books right now. 



Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham is a book full of wisdom.  I'm only on chapter 2, but I have already gleaned some great things.  The premise of the book is to pour into your family as the family is a great means God uses to pass on the faith from generation to generation.  

I love the author's use of the Scriptures and his view on marriage.  "Our marriage serves as a strategic command where we plan and oversee the discipleship of each of our children;  it functions as a counseling center where our children come to feel safe in the midst of a frightening world;  and it functions as a laboratory where our children watch and learn what marriage is about." (p. 47) 

What I find interesting is that Voddie did not grow up in a Christian home.   He had a teenage Buddhist mother.  However, God stepped in and taught him how to walk with him and raise a godly family.  There is hope in the midst of unideal circumstances for anyone to know God and follow his ways. 



Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy has been sooo good for me.  I struggle greatly with procrastination, so this book is lighting the fire under me that I need to get things done.  Crystal from moneysavingmom.com said it was one of the top 7 books she read in 2011 (and she read 60 books).  Eating a frog means doing the thing(s) that you least want to do at the start of your day.  In so doing, you will be motivated to do other tasks throughout the day because your worst task is already done.

I'm working on putting a new habit in my life every month.  My habit for January is to Eat a Frog everyday.  So far, so good.  I completed our newsletters, edited my husband's paper, did my hair, emptied the laundry baskets, written out our budget, and many other tasks as a result of eating a frog everyday. 

I'm taking notes as I work through this book.  Rules of frog eating: 
     1.  If you have to eat 2 frogs, eat the ugliest one first. 
     2.  If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it very long.

I have shared lots of principles from this book with friends and I think the author is spot on.  If you struggle with procrastination, I highly recommend this book. 



Another book along the same lines as Eat that Frog is One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider.   I printed out this e-book and I'm slowly making my way through it.  The tasks don't build on each other, so you can start on whatever task would serve you best.  You can see a list of the projects here.

I'm working on Project #1- Eat your Frog, #2 Make a debt-free plan, and #3 Establish a morning routine, #19 Dump your brain.   Three of these four projects really go together for me.  As part of my morning routine, I dump my brain using this to-do list and write out my frog for the day.  I know it's important not to bite off too much at one time, or else I'll burnout and get nothing done.  I think the key here is for me to pick just a few things and get them going really well and then start on others.  After all, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. 

I'm looking forward to finishing these books this month.  In February I want to read Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  Eddie picked up a copy of The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller for us to read together.   I'm glad he did that because one of my goals for the year was for he and I to read 2 books together. 

I'm linking up this post to lifeasmom.com.   Go here to see what other's are reading. 


Have you read anything good lately?
 




    

1 comments:

Zhodges said...

Hey Lady! We need to catch up!! LOL Glad that you're doing some reading. Here's my list:

1. "Every Women's Battle" by Shannon Ethridge
2. "Spiritual Mothering" by Susan Hunt
3. "Preparing Him For The Other Woman" by Sheri Rose Shepherd
4. "Becoming A Woman of Influence" by Carol Kent
5. "Living With Your Husbands Secret Wars" by Marsha Means
6. "The Blessing of Brokeness" by Charles Stanley

I try to read one chapter every friday of each book. Plus, I've been reading the bible in chronological order. Take care, hope to hear from you soon.