Melanie's Must Read List #5

I think I bought this book for myself for Easter.  I like to buy devotion books at that time of year.  My sister had it and was raving about it and I had heard others say good things so I picked it up.  All the hype you have heard, true.  It is fantastic.  It is written like Jesus is talking to you and probably the biggest negative I can say about it is that I am afraid I will start quoting it like scripture.  I want to memorize a line or two practically every day!

I think the biggest theme I have noticed is Jesus calling us into his presence.  To be aware of His presence and live our lives accordingly.  It speaks to me every single day as if it was written for the specific moment and issue I am having in my life.  Amazing.  Then she adds 2-4 scriptures at the end to back up the theme she has written for that day and that is where I have gotten some of my guiding scriptures these past few months.  They give legtiamacy to her writing and create an even richer time sitting in Jesus presence.

I love a good devotional book.  One that is short and leads me to some scripture that I can then meditate on and further discover God's truths on my own.  And this book meets those requirements.  Plus there is a devotion for every day of the year, 365 devotions, so you won't have to find another great book anytime soon.  As a writer I often think about the time and work that must have gone into coming up with 365 different yet wonderful ideas for this book.  I am in awe of it.

In case you aren't quite ready to commit to a year long devotional book I also really loved "A Journey into Spiritual Growth" by Evelyn Christenson.  I have to admit that in the book store that title probably would not have convinced me to take it off the shelf but my sister had in on the shelf in her guest room so I started reading it and somehow it mysteriously jumped into my suitcase on the way home and I looked forward to my time with God every morning just to read this short devotional and prayer.  Like with Jesus calling I often felt each devotion was written just for me and couldn't believe the power of God to cause a woman to write a devotion years before knowing that I would be sitting in my gazebo reading it at the exact moment it was relevant for my life.

2 more books to check out.  I will add that I have added links to the books so you can click and order them if you want.  Or not, either way.  But I noticed you can get the Evelyn Christiansen book used for 1 cent which is not as good a deal as stealing it from your sister but comes pretty close.  I will make about .0004 cents on it so you will be helping build my empire.  One brick at a time.  Or in this case a tablespoon of the mortar to attach the bricks once I get them.

Melanie's Must Read List #4

I mentioned this book earlier this summer after we built our tree house but I thought an official entry in my must read list was also necessary.

I grew up in a house in the "woods".  My parents bought a wooded lot to build our house and wisely did not remove all the trees. At the back of our lot was a drop of about 200 feet to a railroad track.  It wasn't a cliff but a very steep hill.  The lot next to ours was sort of land locked and owned by the railroad and so was never developed.  We were at the end of the road, not a cul-de-sac but a true dead end and for most of my childhood the road gave way to a farmers field, although I don't remember him ever planting anything near our home so it was always just a big grassy prairie.  That was my childhood playground.

In the summer we lived back there.  There was a tree on the side lot that had started up growing right on the edge of the hill and at some point had fallen over.  But it's roots managed to find their way back into the ground and so this tree continued to grow, bud and spring new leaves every year.  It was quite large by the time we found it and was the perfect place for a child to spend all day climbing, exploring and dreaming. 

The hill down to the railroad tracks was also irresistible and we climbed/slid down it many summer days to lay pennies on the railroad tracks and wait for a train to come.  Then we would run back to the hill and be hanging on somewhere halfway up the hill while the train came rushing by.  It was never safe as the track was curved where we lived and could easily have snuck up on  us, even as a child I knew it wasn't safe but it was so wonderfully thrilling.  Then back down to find our flattened pennies.  My brother spent an entire summer building a tree house next to a tree growing out of the hill.  Complete with stairs and paths dug into the hill to get there.

While we didn't spend a lot of time in the grassy field we did run through it regularly enough to beat down a path.  I remember one time running barefoot through the field and seeing a Gardner snake quickly crawl across the field right in front of my feet.  It was terrifying and fascinating and while I did keep going I wore shoes out there a little more often after that.

There was also poison ivy.  I spent many summers in misery with the bubbling blisters of poison ivy rash.  I even remember missing school one time because it was so bad.  But it never stopped me from going back.  We had beat a path through the woods and eventually learned to stay on it.  You would think I would be a master at identifying poison ivy after that childhood but sadly I am still not always sure if something is poison ivy or not.  But I tend to err on the side of caution now that I am an adult.

It was the best kind of childhood.  I didn't spend my summers off watching tv, I was out living life, experiencing, exploring.  Those summers playing in the woods are part of who I am today.

And that is why I could not resist reading "The Last Child in the Woods".  Because I had noticed that there aren't that many woods anymore and the ones we do find don't seem to want to let kids off the path.  But while the paths are nice it is off the path where you truly experience nature and life.  This book was all about the important role that nature plays in a child's development and encouraged me to seek out opportunities for my children to play and explore the way I did as a child.  I wish I had found more but I know my kids have loved every moment they have spent in the woods and I hope they will continue to find joy in nature throughout their lives.

Melanie's Must Read List #3

For several years I sort of stalked a book at Barnes and Noble called "Home Comforts: The Art and Science of keeping a home" by Cheryl Mendelson.  I loved the idea of the book, loved to glance through it but did not love the price.  Even when it went on clearance I was too cheap to buy it.  Then Martha Stewart came out with "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The essential Guide to caring for everything in your home."  It was even more expensive.  But I was in a homemaking zone one year and put them both on the Christmas list.  I got the Martha book as a gift and found Home Comforts at a used book store for a price I could live with and then I had both. 

(Hey I suddenly realized I could be getting pictures of my favorite books to put on these posts.  I am smart like that.)

They are both about 2 inches thick and while they have similar information they are totally different books.  The Homekeeping Handbook is written in Martha's usual detailed, informative, high brow style and has lots of photos of her various homes.  The Home Comforts book is more well...comfortable.  Its style is more like your grandmother's advice, which makes sense since the writer learned to care for her home from her two grandmothers.

I just love reading about housekeeping.  While I am hardly a great housekeeper, I call it the "illusion of clean", I like to know what to do when inspiration hits.  It helps keep the dirt and grime at bay.  Every spring and fall I think about and read lists for seasonal cleaning.  They are so entertaining.  Sometimes I actually do a couple things on the list.

Mixed in with all the tips for keeping a house is some of the history behind why we do what we do or why our grandmothers did what they did and I find that to be the best parts of these books.  It really gives me an appreciation for how hard the women before me worked and how blessed I am with something as simple and basic as a washing machine or a clean burning furnace.  I don't have to spend an entire day hand washing and drying my family's clothes and I am not left with a layer of soot over the entire house when winter comes to an end.

Now that I have read them both, I actually have read the Home Comforts book twice, they just sit as reference guides on my shelf.  Just a couple months ago it came out when Jake needed to iron his kilt.  "Mom, could you show me how to iron pleats?"  No problem I told him.  Of course I didn't really know if there was a trick or not so I just lead him to Martha's book, it was the one closest to us, and looked up pleats in the index, turned to the page and discovered a very simple method for ironing pleats.  I did have to explain to him what an ironing cloth was and then he was off to iron perfect pleats back into his kilt.

Definitely going on housewarming list for when he gets his first apartment.

Melanie's Must Read list #2

When John and I were dating and first married we both worked for a wholesale Christian book distributor.  I sat at a desk next to John's mom doing the accounts receivables while she did payables and John worked in the warehouse pulling and shipping orders.  You would think this would have resulted in quite a collection of Christian books but I was in high school and quit just a few months after we got married.  If I worked there today I would be in trouble.

One year at the company's national conference I found myself sitting in on one of the writer's talks.  Emilie Barnes.  She had written some home organization books and while I don't remember much of what she said I remember her sharing a tip for spinning lettuce.  Put it in a delicates bag and spin it in the washing machine.  I was18 and then, as now, I thought that was an insane idea.

None-the-less I noticed one of her books, "The 15 Minute Organizer", on my Mother-in-Law's bookshelf shortly after we got married and asked to borrow it. She never saw the book again.

I literally read this book once a year for the first 10 years we were married, maybe more.  She helped me understand how to organize my storage space, kitchen, bathroom, closets, my kid, garage sales, etc.  And how to clean them out and purge, purge, purge.  Unfortunately in one purging session a couple years ago I purged this book, one of only about 2 or 3 things out of the hundreds I have purged which I have regretted getting rid of over the years.

While I don't know if you can still buy this book in bookstores you can definitely still get books written by Emilie Barnes.  She has broadened her writing outside of home organization to wonderful devotion books and another of my favorites, "If Teacups Could Talk".  A wonderful book about the relaxing and connecting nature of tea with lots of different tea party ideas.  I should be doing a whole post about this book I love it so much.  While the book is about tea it's not about just tea.  It is really about spending time with people, really stopping and connecting, relaxing, making your guests feel special.  Or sitting down by yourself for a cup of tea and taking care of yourself for a few moments.  Not just the sitting down but the whole process of making and serving tea is a ritual that is part of the tea experience.  It has inspired me to share many special cups of tea with family and friends and I am thankful for the tradition of tea which she added to my life through this book.

Your library reading assignment of the week:  Get a book by Emilie Barnes.

Melanie's Must Read List #1

In the course of a couple weeks I had 2 friends ask about books that have changed my life.  While I know there are several I really couldn't come up with a comprehensive list off the top of my head.  But as I was thinking recently a couple came to mind so I thought as inspiration hits me I would share some of my favorite books with you.

"The Read-Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease definitely tops my must read list.  The first half of the book will inspire you to read aloud to your children not just when they are little and can't read but throughout their childhood.  Sharing wonderful stories with your children giving them a love of reading, learning and dreaming. 

It even inspired me to read aloud to my husband on occasion when I come across a particularly good passage in a book or article I am reading.  Sharing those stories and knowledge brings us together, and has caused my husband and I to enjoy a few books together. 

What is really fun is when the tables turn and your child can read to you!  I remember around 3rd grade Jake and I were reading "Mossflower" by Brian Jacques.  It was getting really good and Jake wanted to just read it without me but I wouldn't let him.  I was too busy to read to him so I proposed he read to me while I worked on my project.  What a treat to have your child read aloud to you!

And he doesn't just talk about picture or story books but encourages you to read all different genres.  I found myself checking poetry books out of the library after reading this book.  While I haven't passed on as much poetry to Jake as I would have liked the book caused me to give him an introduction I would have otherwise avoided.

The second half of the book is basically a reading list.  A "treasury" of read aloud books.  He lists hundreds of titles with brief descriptions starting with a listing of "wordless" books and moving through picture books, novels, poetry, etc.  You couldn't possibly read them all before your child grows up.  I bought my version at a garage sale and it is an original from 1982 when first published but I know I have seen updated versions which probably have updated book lists with even more books.

I must confess that Isabelle being a typical second child has not gotten nearly the attention in the book reading department as Jake did.  If I try to read to her in the middle of the day she starts crying and telling me it is not her bed time.  But while watching Isabelle this summer my mom has taken up the mantle and has been working through "The Secret Garden" with her.  I taught her a few of my favorite tricks used with Jake:  Tell her you will quit reading after 2 or 3 chapters if she doesn't like it (we never didn't like a book by that point) and let her play quietly with another toy while listening.  Some kids are happy to sit and listen but if Jake wasn't also playing with Lego's forget it.  I knew from conversation and the fact that he at times begged me to keep reading til I was hoarse that he was listening and learning so I was happy to let him do other things.

Now head to your nearest library and check this book out.  Definitely on my must read list.