2009, In Books

This post is about a month late, but I don't care. I just haven't had any down time lately, but the recent snow has changed that, at least for today.

Here's the list of books I read in 2009:

1. Night by Elie Wiesel
2. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
3. Twilight (all four of them, sadly) by Stephanie Meyer
4. Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
5. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
6. River Town by Peter Hessler
7. The Cry of the Dove by Fadia Faqir
8. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (hands down the best book I read in '09!)
9. The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus
10. Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
11. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (second best of '09)
12. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield (least favorite)
13. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
14. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
15. Sister India by Peggy Payne (second least favorite)
16. Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
17. Light Force by Brother Anrew and Al Janssen
18. Peace Child by Don Richardson (if you love missions at all, read this book!)
19. The Opium Clerk by Kunal Basul (third least favorite)
20. There is No Me Without You by Melissa F. Greene (ties for second favorite with #11!)
21. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
22. Dragonfly by Fredric S. Durbin
    
23. The Midwife of St. Petersburg by Linda Lee Chaikin
24. Redeeming Love by Francis Rivers (this was my 3rd attempt, finally did it!)
25. Tamar by Francine Rivers
    

So if you count the Twilight series as just one giant book, I read roughly two books per month. This year I'm really looking forward to what's ahead of me! I felt like last year I had to get some of the books I felt obligated to read because I had bought them out of the way. I still haven't read all the books I own, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

And may I ask, what's one book you plan to read this year? You know, the one that's been sitting on the shelf, staring you in the face. Mine is this:

Fact: This book is 1349 pages long and it may weigh more than my cat. Behemoth!

The Kingdom is Welcome in Haiti

I'm an unashamed NPR junkie. I listen to it on my way to work, on the way home from work... and even on the weekends. (Car Talk, anyone?)

Of course like every other news media organization, NPR is offering extensive (heartbreaking, tiring, gut-wrenching) coverage of the earthquake(s) in Haiti.

And there is a message coming from the devastated country that not even NPR can hide: the Kingdom of God is in Haiti, it's welcome in Haiti, and even now is advancing in Haiti!

Take a listen to these two short audio snippets I found on NPR's website, you won't be sorry:

This first one really got me around minute 2



This next one made me weep openly in my car, around minute 2:43, and I'm not a cry-er...

A Gamer is Born

24 Comes For Everyone

Last week it was her birthday, now for her hubby!

What can I say about Garrett Gilkey?

He does not like to be sweaty but he'll still help a friend move out of her house in the middle of August.

Yea though some have said he plays a girl guitar (I honestly don't really remember where that came from...) he's rad musician!


It's always questionable when stepping into the Punisher whether or not Garrett has enough gas to get your to your destination.

So here's to Garrett (pictured here with his lovely wife)! I'm glad you transferred from Murray to Campbellsville. I'm glad we got to make music together. I'm glad we've gone on adventures together. I'm glad you're friends with Dusty. And I'm glad you married one of my best friends.

Happy 24th year!

"Old Man Winter Can Die In His Sleep"

I Want One

Photo shoot with Sophia Grace, age 5 weeks


(Is it just me or are BIG bows on little girls just the sweetest things in the world?)

Belated Birthday Blog (How's that for alliteration?)

I've been meaning to get better about recognizing important people's birthday and I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge shoutout to someone whose birthday was, I'm afraid, yesterday.

The King! Wait... oh, shoot. Wait, that's not who I meant:

It's Erika! My first friend in Campbellsville waaaaay back in 2004. We've shared a lot of, shall we say, interesting experiences together. We've laughed together, cried together, prayed together, gone on double dates (I think, right Erika? I mean anytime the four of us hung out together it could be considered a double date!)

And even though she lives in another land (ok, or just Western Kentucky) I know she'll always be among my most cherished friends.

So Erika, have a great 24th year!

PS: I've got a quite terrible case of BSA in this picture.