2010 Goals Update: January

I thought it might be a good idea to share the progress on my 2010 goals every once in a while.  My friend Erin sets monthly goals and then reviews her progress at the end of each month.  Her system seems like a good method for keeping track of everything, and another bit of accountability doesn't hurt either.  For reference, you can see my goals (and the reasoning behind them) for the year here.

Become a faithful member of the 5 am club.  Getting there.  I usually get up between 5:15 and 5:45.  I had a rough first two weeks after New Year's, but I am becoming more consistent.  I'm hoping by the end of February, I'm up and at 'em between 5:00 and 5:15 every morning.

Memorize 52 verses.  I am taking a Saturday morning theology class with some ladies at my church; each week we have one or two verses (which pertain to the chapter we are studying that week) to memorize, and we have a few minutes during each class to break into groups and hold each other accountable.  Ah-mazing.  This month, I memorized Matthew 28:18-20, Genesis 1:26-27, and Colossians 3:18-19.  I'm now working on 2 Corinthians 7:1 for our class next Saturday.  We are also memorizing Scripture in my SWI class (see below).

Memorize (the first half) of the book of James.  It took some harping by my husband for me to get started, but we're working on chapter one right now.  I've got verses 1-4 pretty good, and will be working on verses 5-8 next.

Continue in the SWI program.  Just had our first class on Thursday!  I am excited to be back and with my girls again (but I miss you, Abby!); seriously we were so giddy when we saw each other on Thursday- I almost felt like I was back in high school or something.  I am also excited about new friendships forming- and deepening others.  And yes, I'm excited about learning from the class and instructor as well.  I love learning!  I am such a dork, aren't I?

Read through the Bible.  Isaac gave me a reading plan, and I've been pretty consistent with it.  I read in the morning before I go to work; I'm working my way through Genesis, finished Job and then moved onto the Psalms, and am also reading through Matthew.  It looks like by the end of February, I should be halfway through Exodus, a little over a third of the way through the Psalms, and about halfway through Acts.  This plan is kind of an odd one; after you finish Matthew, you skip the rest of the Gospels to go through Acts, and then go back to Mark.  I'm not sure how they determined the order of everything...

Continue to think through our family traditions. This isn't one of which I can really keep track.  However, we have started family worship night on Sundays.  I think this is definitely going to become a staple; it will be easy to tie in Lent and Advent celebrations through the years as well.  I'm mulling over some Lent and Easter ideas in my head.  I will definitely be revisiting the Easter chapter in Noel Piper's Treasuring God in Our Traditions in the near future.

Communicate with our family (and friends) more.  I've kept up the emailing, and I have called my grandparents every week.  I usually end up chatting to my grandmother for a while, but I also got to talk to Grampie on his birthday earlier in the month.  I treasure getting to talk to him because he's not much of a phone talker.  I've also spoken with other family members at random too.  I need to be more intentional about making contact with everyone though.  Isaac also tries to call his grandparents once a week.

Build up our emergency fund.  We haven't really added anything to our savings this month because we're focused on reducing debt over the next few months- see below about our car loan.

Make a huge dent in our car loan.  We made four extra payments this month- one at the beginning, two mid-month, and one that will post today!  Though the payoff information changes constantly, it's exciting to realize that we are getting closer to that zero balance.  It will take some time, but we are determined to do this sooner rather than later and are very excited about what that extra cash flow each month could mean for paying down student loans and building up our savings.

Cut our grocery bill.  I don't know if I did this or not, but I am definitely trying to be better about meal planning and only going to the grocery store twice a month (once for just about everything needed for the month and the other halfway through for milk, dairy, and produce supplies).  The next step is couponing, but I think my coupons will focus on toiletries, since I like meal planning once a month.

Develop a consistent and workable cleaning schedule. Well...I'm still working on that, but I did make huge strides in that I cleaned out our guest bedroom/office/craft area/library.  So...that one is still in process.

Read 30 books. I've finished five and am currently reading three others (plus some snippets of others for my two classes).  I'm trying to get a good mix of genres read throughout the year, and I think I've done a pretty good job of that thus far.

Scrapbook.  Haven't touched a thing, but I did order pictures at least.  My friend is having a scrapbooking evening next weekend, so I'm hoping to get a few pages done.  Still, it's going to take a lot more than a scrapbook get-together every once in a while for me to get caught up.

Continue blogging.  Well, I'm posting now, so there you have it.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I am still shooting to purchase the vast majority of our Christmas presents with Swagbucks.  And yes, I still need your help (so sign up)!  I exchanged my Swagbucks I earned in December and January for $25.00 in Amazon gift cards, and I've almost got enough to get another $5.00 gift card.  Excellent.

How about you?  Are you making progress on your goals for the year?

Announcing My First Ever Giveaway

I am beyond excited to announce I am hosting my first ever giveaway on my blog!  I have been toying with this idea for some months, but I never could figure out just what I wanted to give away.  I think you will be pleased to know what I determined as the best possible giveaway item: a SpendYourself shirt.  

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know how much I love this company- and the people behind it.  SpendYourself is a non-profit apparel company that seeks to bring hope to the hopeless and empower those who are oppressed by highlighting different social justice projects around the world; a t-shirt is designed for the project and sales of the shirt go directly to the project.  Not only does the money support the project, but each and every time you wear a SpendYourself shirt, you are telling their untold story; you are giving a voice to the voiceless.

SpendYourself has released shirts benefiting several projects.  They have raised over $6,000 since their inception last year!

I am giving one reader a SpendYourself shirt of their choice so that they, too, can give a voice to the voiceless.  To enter the giveaway:

1. Become a follower (nothing wrong in shameless self-promotion, folks, but if you are already a follower and leave a comment, I will give you two entries).
2. Leave a comment telling me which shirt you'd choose and why.
3. Write about the giveaway on your blog and include a link back to this post (two entries for this one, but you've got to give me the permalink to your post).

The drawing will be Saturday, February 13th, so hop on over to SpendYourself and check them out!

Buried Alive

Buried Alive recounts the experience of American contractor Roy Hallums while working in Iraq. In November of 2004, Hallums was in his office when a group of individuals burst into his office, bound and gagged him, and threw him into a car as they sped away from the compound of the company for which Hallums worked.                                                                                                     
Like hundreds of other foreigners working in Iraq and thousands of Iraqi citizens, he was kidnapped. Hallums continues to tell his story of being moved from safe house to safe house until he was finally placed in a small house literally in the middle of nowhere. At various points, other hostages were brought in to the safe house for keeping as well. Eventually, he and the other hostages were moved into a cellar-like room and were only allowed to come out once a day. The room was not tall enough to allow the hostages to stand; it lacked good ventilation, and the room was kept completely dark for most of the duration. Hallums and the other hostages were beaten as their kidnappers demanded to know details of their life so that they could determine how much ransom money to place on their hostages' heads.

Hallums was the last to leave the room beneath the ground, but no one paid his ransom. Special Forces rescued him nearly a year after his original abduction. At the time of the printing of the book, Hallums was the only hostage to have been rescued. Many others remain unaccounted for.

The book was well written and read very easily, but other than that I was disappointed. It was advertised as a story of faith; Hallums mentioned God maybe ten times in the book. It didn't seem to me that his faith played an integral role in surviving the experience; in fact when he was later giving advice to a pilot about what to do should she ever find herself captured, he didn't say anything about faith in our great and merciful God. This lack of discussion of the importance of faith left me wondering, "Why Thomas Nelson? Why not some other publisher?"

I also have concerns about the way in which he paints Iraq and many of the Iraqi people. At one point, he does paint with a broad stroke, explaining that many of the Muslims he knew were good, honest people whom he was proud to call friend. But that's where it stops. I cannot imagine what my feelings would be if I found myself in a similar situation, but we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Hallums never discussed this command from our Messiah, and it leaves me wondering if it crossed his mind at all. Because most of the American public is fairly ignorant to what the Muslim faith is, we too often stereotype all followers of Islam as members of jihad. Books like this one concern me because they, even if inadvertently, can easily perpetuate this misunderstanding, fueling hatred of all Muslims. We must remember our great and sovereign God wants all people to come to know him, including Muslims.

I no doubt have respect for him for surviving through this horrible ordeal; I would not wish it on anyone. However, if you want to read about a believer who was imprisoned multiple times, enduring beatings and torture, and remained focused on the love of Christ, I suggest reading Brother Yun's The Heavenly Man. That book is good for the soul.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Absent From Flesh

I love the music we sing at our church.  Not only are those who are leading the body gathered in worship through song incredibly musically talented and artistically gifted, but the choice of songs each week are simply amazing.  We don't sing a lot of 'fluff'.  We sing heady songs, rich with truth and life. 

The following is a video of one of my favorite songs we sing sometimes at Sojourn.  My husband found it and pointed it out to me when I kept humming 'Absent From Flesh' for a few days in a row.


Sojourn Music "Absent From Flesh" Live 06.05.09 from chuck heeke on Vimeo.

Big Truths for Young Hearts

Big Truths for Young Hearts is a phenomenal book by Dr. Bruce Ware, a professor at Southern (he is actually one of Isaac's professors this semester). The concept of the book was developed when Ware's daughters, both now adults, approached him about formally writing out the many theological discussions they had as a family. Ware made it a point to openly discuss doctrine and theology with his little girls as they grew throughout the years. As a result of his 'lessons', his children grew in the knowledge of the Lord and entered adulthood with a firm foundation of their spiritual heritage and faith. Would that every believer had the same experience!

The book is written in such a way as to appeal to more than one audience. Parents can use it as a guide to lead their children to discussions concerning key points of theology; individuals can read it to attain a basic theological education. I think many people are intimidated by the word "theology". It sounds so...serious and mature. But really, theology is simply the study of God (from the Greek theos meaning 'God' and logy meaning 'the study of' and no, I didn't pull that out of nowhere; I took Greek, kids!), and it is something we should make a priority to teach to our children. Far too often, parents provide abundantly for their children's physical, emotional, and intellectual needs, but neglect their spiritual needs. I pray that when Isaac and I are parents, we would take seriously our responsibility to teach our children about the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. I think this book will help provide a road map to lead our children to discuss the things of God; I plan on revisiting the book numerous times throughout the next several years for sure!

The book is divided into ten chapters, and each chapter has several sections within it which determine natural breaking points. At the end of each section, there are a few questions for further thought and discussion, as well as pertinent Scripture for memorization. I read a chapter a day; any more than that and you won't be able to fully absorb and process the material. If I were going through the book with a child, I would slow the pace down even more and work diligently at the memorization. Topics covered include creation, the Trinity, sin, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the Church. Ware does an excellent job of presenting some common errors and misconceptions about basic doctrines as well.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you have children. Even if you don't have children, the theological foundations discussed in this book are irreplaceable for believers.

Let Me Introduce You...

...to my new obsession.

This was my birthday present from my brother, and it is amazing.  I bring it into work occasionally so a select few of my coworkers and I can lust over it.  Mmm...far and distant lands...

First They Killed My Father

I kid you not, I started this book approximately twenty-eight minutes after I finished Pascal Khoo Twe's From the Land of Green Ghosts. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers is on my reading list for this year, and since I was able to get it from the library very quickly, I decided to go ahead and begin reading it, even though my emotions were already tenuous at best after finishing one book about genocide. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to pick up Harry Potter instead, and my hands gravitated toward the book with the little refugee girl on the cover.

First They Killed My Father recounts the experience of Luong Ung, a refugee who lived through the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh and its subsequent systematic killing of over two million Cambodians- almost a fourth of the country's entire population. Ung was one of seven children in an upper middle-class family; her father worked for the government as a high-ranking official, and the family led a relatively privileged life.

In April of 1975, Khmer Rouge soldiers entered the city and forced thousands of people to flee their homes and begin an arduous journey into the countryside. The Khmer Rouge ('Red Khmer' in French- Khmer is Cambodia's largest ethnic group) was a totalitarian regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. Its attempt at agricultural reform led to famine, and with its resolute stance on self-sufficiency in all aspects, thousands upon thousands of people suffered from starvation and treatable diseases during the Khmer Rouge reign. The regime would kill those individuals and families who were suspected of being capitalists, employees of the former democratic government, professionals (anyone with virtually any amount of education), and the ethnic and religious minorities. Though perhaps not one of the more famous cases of genocide, that which was committed by the Khmer Rouge was one of the most lethal regimes of the century; nearly one fourth of the country's population was murdered in the space of less than five years.

Because Ung's father had been a government official, the family fled Phnom Penh with others the day the Khmer Rouge took control of the city. The family relocated to live with their extended family, who lived in a small village, and the Khmer Rouge therefore saw them as 'unpolluted'. Eventually, Ung's family is forced to move from their family's village for fear others would realize they are from the city. Ung goes on to tell her harrowing story of survival, even in the midst of great pain and fear.

Despite the acknowledgement of the immense pain throughout the entire book, one of the hardest parts to read was one of the very last chapters, in which Ung is describing life in the refugee camp in Thailand. Here is a brief excerpt:

"Eldest brother!" I call, running up to him. "Did you also get dunked in the water by the Father?"
"Yes, he has made me a Christian." Meng chuckles with his friends.
"Why? I thought we were Buddhists."
"We are, but being a Christian will help us get sponsors faster. Many refugees are sponsored by church groups. Christians like to help other Christians."

Ouch. 'Christians like to help other Christians.' Does that punch you in the gut as it did to me? Yes, as Christians, we are to help our brothers and sisters. But I pray that no one would ever say of me that I refused to help someone because they are of a different faith; that is not love, friends! We are called to love our neighbor- not just those who sit beside us on the pew each week. I pray that the world would know we are Christians by our love- not just our love for other believers, but our love for all the nations.