A Melodious Sonnet

Planning: Second Week of July

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Well, it’s already quite late, and I need to head off to bed but before I do so I wanted to do a quick recap of last week’s plans. This next week is going to be pretty busy, so I’m not planning to do much at all. And besides a few basics (like sending the newsletter), I’m probably not going to be online much either.

But as for last week’s plans…I went off the rails a bit last week! Instead of working like I probably should have done, I decided to watch a couple borrowed movies instead (ones that need to be returned, but I want to review first). Besides that, we had visitors one day, which cut into my time a little. It was wonderful to have them here, though—well worth the “lost” time! Also, I realized Friday that I hadn’t even looked at my plans all week. Hmm…wonder if the old adage “out of sight out of mind” had anything to do with not much being done? Must remember to look each day next time!

Last week’s list:

  1. Schedule book reviews through the 24th (done Saturday)
  2. Edit reviews doc 6 (done Thursday)
  3. Upload the four reviews that weren’t ready before now (two done Saturday; the other two need to wait because they aren’t quite ready yet)
  4. Send this week’s newsletter (done Saturday)
  5. Prepare next week’s newsletter (begun Saturday, but ran out of time to finish)
  6. Do bookkeeping
  7. Set up affiliate program payments
  8. Do some much-needed sewing!

This week’s list:

  1. Finish preparing this week’s newsletter
  2. Do a little sewing (has to be done Monday)
  3. Reply to/take care of K and S’ emails (need to remember to do this next Saturday when I’ll have a little time)
  4. Send this week’s newsletter

Okay, that’s all I think I need to remember later this week.

Have a great week, and keep serving Jesus!

My Plans for the First Week of July

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As I sat at my blue collapsible table this evening, one wing propped open to give me a nice area to spread everything out on, I sipped my coffee and reviewed last month. There were a good number of things I got done in June, several that I didn’t even start, and a couple that were absolutely fun to do. The things that I didn’t touch were ones I really want to get done—need to do—but also ones that have grown to gigantic proportion in my mind so I haven’t even started tackling them. I want to work at them this month. At least get started on those hard things.

Most of the time, though, I get so focused on the urgent that I forget what’s really important—what I really ought to be doing. Finding the balance, between what needs to happen and what should happen is hard. I’m tired of just barely scraping by on my jobs. Tired of doing the absolute minimum for my commitments, making it look like I’m doing okay when underneath I really suspect I’m blowing most of my time. This month, I want to be different. So I’m dedicating it—rededicating it—to the Lord. Asking Him to use me and use my time to His glory. I want to be a tool. And this is the only way I know how to be a tool.

This doesn’t mean I won’t outline what needs to be done. This means that I’m saying “Here, Lord, this is what I believe I need to be doing now—should I do it? Or do You have something more important for me to focus on at the moment?”

Okay. I don’t know if any of that makes sense, but that’s what I’ve been thinking over this evening.

Reading Sacred Allegories

From my phone this week: Little brother enjoys coming out to my room sometimes, and often picks up the copy of Sacred Allegories that a friend gave us. He loves the detailed pictures in it!

Last week’s to-do list:

  1. Reply to emails in inbox (done Monday, except there’s one in the inbox now that I want to respond to ASAP)
  2. Edit doc 22 (done Tuesday)
  3. Upload reviews in doc 22 (done Wednesday and Thursday)
  4. Catch up on writing reviews (done Wednesday)
  5. Spend 2 ½ hours on new theme (this is one of those monsters I haven’t conquered yet…but I want to!)
  6. Send weekly newsletter (done Saturday)
  7. Finish I Needed a Neighbour (done Saturday)
  8. Spend 15 min. researching I Am Not Skilled to Understand (yeah…another “monster”. I don’t know why.)

This week’s list:

  1. Schedule book reviews through the 24th (already up to the 13th, but I need to get a bit further ahead)
  2. Edit reviews doc 6
  3. Upload the four reviews that weren’t ready before now (several were just published recently or will be published soon, and I don’t like posting the reviews until the books are actually available)
  4. Send this week’s newsletter
  5. Prepare next week’s newsletter (next week might be a bit hit-and-miss because of other plans, so I want to be ready in advance)
  6. Do bookkeeping
  7. Set up affiliate program payments (for some reason, I’ve never finished this…I don’t know why)
  8. Do some much-needed sewing!

Well, this week looks set to be an interesting one. We’re expecting some visitors who just “happened” to come across us online while searching for long-lost relatives (we sort-of know the relatives; they live about 7-9 hours south of us and we’ve met the family twice), and they want to meet us. We’re looking forward to that!

What are your plans for the coming week?

Ante Up!: A New Book by Chautona Havig!

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About two months ago, Christian author Chautona Havig released an interesting mystery named Sweet on You. Now, not too much later, she’s completed another book named Ante Up!. This one is the fourth in a series called the Aggie’s Inheritance series, about a young woman who inherited her eight nieces and nephews after her sister and brother-in-law died in a tragic accident.

I’m reviewing the story today, but a more in-depth review will be posted on the website on Friday, so keep an eye out for that in this week’s newsletter!

Ante Up! by Chautona Havig

This is another great story by Chautona Havig! I’ve been waiting for it for quite a while, so it was great to finally be able to read it now. Aggie’s family is growing in this story; it’s been four years since the last book and now besides her eight nieces and nephews she’s preparing to welcome her second baby! However, things aren’t exactly going as planned. After dealing with vandalism soon after returning from a trip, there are new complications in the pregnancy. Can she keep her faith, despite the apparent setbacks? Vannie and Laird are getting older too, and have struggles of their own to navigate. Can the family hold together—and Aggie keep her eyes on the Lord—during this difficult time?

This was a challenging book for me to read. Seeing Aggie go from a happy, content Christian to an angry, empty shell wasn’t easy. Thankfully, there IS hope even when all odds seem against you, and Mrs. Havig did an excellent job bringing that out. (I was really relieved when Aggie finally realized the aforementioned truth—the ending was satisfying, although I want more!) I was captivated the entire way through, even though the overarching theme is such a difficult subject. I came away feeling very encouraged. Can’t wait for the next book!

Note: This book does contain a lot of stuff about pregnancy in it, so it isn’t suitable for men or children.

Week 26 Plans

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Well, this week is bringing June to a close already! With the end of June comes the end of a couple challenges I’ve been running for myself (well, not really challenges as such; more like trying to do things a different way to see if I get different results).

The first “challenge” would be the weekly newsletter I’ve been sending instead of the usual monthly one. I’ve really enjoyed doing that! For some reason, it feels a whole lot easier and more personal than the monthly one—even though it takes longer to put together. I’m planning to continue that on this next month at least, and perhaps will make it a semi-permanent feature.

The other “challenge” would be these weekly goal posts. It’s been good to have a clear goal in mind the past four weeks, even though I haven’t managed to complete everything every week. I’m planning to continue this on through July, too.

Overall, I’ve had a great month. God has been so good to us! Our washer broke down a couple weeks ago, but it just so happened (one of those “only God” things?) that it was still under warranty! We were able to get a gift card for the amount we had spent on it, and soon after we got the gift card we were able to find a new washer. Then this past weekend, we’ve had a friend come to visit and more friends came for dinner one evening before the Creation meeting I mentioned last week. Overall, it’s been a great weekend—nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy a little fellowship.

I neglected to get a single picture from the weekend (maybe I was too busy socializing?)—sorry about that! So we’ll just have to have a picture-less post.

But on to last week’s goals, since that is actually the reason why I’m writing this evening!

Last week’s list:

  1. Proofread doc 4 (realized that this has already been done; started on doc 22)
  2. Send this week’s newsletter (finished Friday)
  3. Plan what I’ll bake Friday (finished Monday)
  4. Make a list of needed ingredients for baking (finished Monday)
  5. Bake stuff on Friday! (finished Friday)
  6. Schedule book reviews for this week (finished Thursday)
  7. Schedule book reviews for next week (almost finished Thursday; just have two days to go)
  8. Edit/post walnut picking pictures (finished and posted Thursday)
  9. Decide on hymn (finished Wednesday; chose I Am Not Skilled to Understand)

This week’s list:

  1. Reply to emails in inbox
  2. Edit doc 22
  3. Upload reviews in doc 22
  4. Catch up on writing reviews (I’m behind! I’ve been writing too many other things!)
  5. Spend 2 ½ hours on new theme
  6. Send weekly newsletter (maybe I’ll remember it earlier if it’s on the to-do list?)
  7. Finish I Needed a Neighbour (it’s short, which means I should get through it fast…right?)
  8. Spend 15 min. researching I Am Not Skilled to Understand (hopefully, eventually, I can write a “story behind the story” on this one…one day!)

Well, another week is here. And I believe—with a little extra time seeking the Lord’s guidance and taking time to meditate on the Word—that it will be a good week. Oh, and it’s only 9:30, which means I can indulge in a story before I go to sleep and still be asleep by 10 pm! Now how’s that for the perfect ending to a great Sunday?

What about you? How has your weekend been? What are you planning to try to accomplish this week?

Goodbye for Now

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I’ve been debating whether or not to share this, but I’ve decided I will. Death eventually happens to all of us—as Ray Comfort likes to say, ten out of ten people die. Over the last few months, two good friends of ours, both older Christians, have gone on to glory. Here are my goodbyes to them.

The following was written the evening we heard of Barry’s passing on.

I knew, when the phone call came in at 9:45 that evening, what it would be—even before Mom hung up and told me the news. The time had come to say goodbye. It hurts. We’ve seen it coming for years, and yet the pain is still there. Saying goodbye to someone dear is one of the hardest things any of us can ever do.

He’s been a close friend—surrogate Grandfather—for almost six years now. We’ve grown to love him, he us, and although we’ve had many differences over the years I think it’s probably always been obvious that he brought things up out of love and concern for our spiritual well being.

Goodbye for Now 01

Picture taken in September 2010. Barry loved all things trains, and made several steam engines of his own. Here, he is showing one of them to us.

I will always lovingly remember his example, his unwavering truthfulness, and his commitment to Jesus. I’m going to miss his messages to us, his sincerity, and the reverence he paid to the Lord. Not just me; we’ll all miss him a lot. It’s going to be hard to go to church and know that he’ll never come through those doors again, briefcase in hand, ready to share his most recent findings in Ephesians. Or Hebrews, or Genesis—whatever portion of scripture has recently captivated his attention.

At the same time, I am so happy for him. He no longer has to endure the intense pain from his many illnesses, no longer has to go through surgeries or see specialists he doesn’t want to see. No longer does he have to worry about his health and feeble body. He has gone to rest, a soldier of the cross to the very end.

There are some things I wish I could have said to him, some things I’m glad I told him. As a brother in the Lord, a teacher of the flock, and grandfather to more than just his family, he will be missed by many.

Goodbye, Barry. I’ll see you on the other shore.

Goodbye for Now 02

My sermon notes from the last message Barry shared. Looking back, it was incredible to realize what his last testimony to his church family contained. He was so happy then, even though he had been so sick. God was definitely with him the last few days and weeks he had on this earth.

My goodbye to another friend, Daryl.

It came as a shock that he was sick. We had seen him not too long before, healthy, happy, trusting his Lord. He had come up one Sunday morning to worship with us, and we had had a sweet time of fellowship—the kind that only can come between fellow believers. That day, we practiced the John 13 admonition to “wash one another’s feet”, something that I had never had the privilege to participate in although I was familiar with it from the believers we worshiped with in the States. It was a precious bonding day.

Now he was sick, and no one knew if he’d pull out of it or not. Then came the news that the family had to move, but thankfully they didn’t have to go far. Dad and my brothers went to help him butcher a few sheep, and when they came back we were saddened to learn how much worse his condition had gotten since our last meeting.

Soon, he was even worse. We visited briefly a couple times. The last time we saw him was a week and a half before he died. He was still the caring, loving man we had always known. Despite his condition and the fact that he was getting quite tired, he asked my brothers what they had been creating the last while. He still cared about our lives—even when his body was giving out. We prayed together one last time, although none of us knew then that it would be the last. We all hoped and prayed fervently that he would be healed. He had become a good friend to all of us.

Not long after, we heard that he had gone to glory. A terrible blow to the family, and one that rippled through all of us as well. He touched many lives. He gave himself tirelessly to point everyone to Jesus, even when he was sick. He will be missed—even by those of us who haven’t known him very long. He was a prayer warrior—a faith warrior—to the end.

Goodbye, Daryl. You will be sorely missed, but your legacy, your faith, your example, will not be forgotten by us.