Favorites of 2010

My Lists of Books, Songs and Moments for 2010

• Books
1. Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl  -N.D. Wilson - I think this is a mind twisting look at the theology and plan of God, it is full of metaphors and unexpected, descriptive one-liners. It made me laugh out loud at my own absurd self-absorption.
2. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction -  E. Peterson - I now own The Message,  something I thought I would never do, and I have actually read some of it.  My favorite chapter in Obedience is about Psalm 125, which pictures God as the mountains round about us. This book speaks to me about fully trusting in God and His sovereignty.
3. Married to a Difficult Man - E. Dodd - This book is about Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, their life, marriage and ministry.  I came away saying to myself, "Who lives life this?"  The gentleness and piety they showed towards each other and others was amazing. It is  a great defense against the Romanticism which has strangled our modern idea of marriage.  This led me to read Edwards Seventy Resolutions which are mind boggling. 
4. Grand Illusions - G. Grant This is a book full of information about Planned Parenthood, Sanger, Abortion, Sex Ed in School and how the PP machine is almost everywhere.  I learned a lot of  specifics and how they are interrelated. Illusions was helpful in my discussions with friends and family who have teens in public high school.
5. Compendium of English Literature- C. Cleveland. E.C.& J Biddle Publishers. 1848.  Bunyan, Burke, Cowper to Swift, Tydale, and Watts - Just a few of the almost 100 names on the index of authors. Compendium is my oldest book and one of my favorite to browse.  Reading Cowper's "Knowledge and Wisdom" from its musty pages makes me want to gain the wisdom of those that have gone before. 
6. Ideas Have Consequences and excerpts from Reflections on the War in France - R. Weaver and E. Burke respectively.  Interesting and Prophetic. These books challenged me to see and pray for the larger picture of life that is not only outside my home's front door, but crouches in, if given opportunity. Worldview and Historical connections were engaging to the point of addiction.
7. Garden Graces - G. & K. Grant.  I love quote books and gardens.  Letters Home and Shelf Life in this series are also very good, but Graces is my favorite. This was my "go to" gift for gardening friends and family. 
8. Clementine Churchill- Biography of a Marriage - M. Soames.  A great biography written by their daughter.  I really enjoyed the excerpts of personal diaries and letters that essentially spanned over their lifetime.  "And her children will arise and called her blessed" comes to mind.
9. Moral Problems in Hospital Practices - P. Finney.  This is basically a treatment guidelines book for catholic nurses at the turn of the century. Problems challenged me on the definition of sanctity of life and in turn how we should view it as Christians. Not an easy subject... or maybe it is? I am still mulling it over.
10. Frugal Gourmet-  J. Smith.  I really like to read cookbooks, and this is the one I read most often, second to my stalwart standby, Betty Crocker. The little intros to the recipes are fun.  

• Songs- My most listened to CDs and Songs
1. "Better Together" - Jack Johnson  - Favorite line - "Love is the answer for the most of the world's questions..."
2. Pull Up a Chair- Nathan George Clark 
3. My Cry Ascends- Greg Wilber -"Come, Ye Desconsolate" Favorite line - "Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal."
4. Come Away With Me- Nora Jones, "Seven Years."  Favorite line -"Crooked little smile on her face, tells a tale of grace that's all her own." - I can't hear that line without smiling and seeing K.'s  itty bitty  face in my mind's eye.
5. His Story- Elvis
6.  The Ministry Years- Keith Green
7. Blacklands - Brother Down
8. Live - James Taylor
9. For the Bride - John Micheal Talbot
10. "Stuck Like Glue" - Sugarland - the mid-section rap is hilarious.

• Moments - Two on my List
• The Singing of the Doxology while stuck in a foreign country by a friend.  When I grow up... I want to revert first to trusting in God, instead of feeling anxious, and then remembering to trust!
• Crossing the 5K finish line with my daughter "in all our glory" LOL- for her - definately! for me - not so much.