Welcome to February! In my world, this is the last month of winter. In case you missed it, my word for the year is refine. For the next few weeks, I will update you on the four areas of refinement I have been working on this winter: soul, body, mind, and spirit. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you find something inspirational in today’s post.
Working
I have always considered my primary job to be the manager of my home. I love a front-row seat to my children’s lives, a privilege I do not take lightly. For many years, I worked from home in various capacities as well. When we moved to a new area almost 4 years ago, I had to retire from my piano studio. Since then, I have focused more on writing. Along with my family, I wrote our story of financial loss and business building in 2023.
In 2024, I contributed to an anthology by our writers’ group with stories of biblical fiction.
Since joining the Christian Writers Sanctuary, I have been able to help edit other authors’ stories. It has been such a fun journey. If one of your goals this year is to write or illustrate a book, I highly recommend you join our group. Here is our picture, a fun gift from our resident illustrator, John Collado. Can you guess which one is me?
Learning
While I have tried to cultivate a lifetime of learning, I have concentrated my efforts during the last few years. Getting my degree as an older, homeschooling mom means I must go slower than I would have 25 years ago. So, I am currently in Semester 10 of 13. At least, if everything goes according to plan. Fitting term papers and lectures around my other work sometimes create challenges. I have a nearly full load this semester, ranging from my last theology class to my first education classes, including a few ministry-related classes. The end is in sight, but I’m keeping my head down for another year.
Reading
Life would be very dull for me without music and books. I’ll get to the music part next week, but here are some of my favorite winter reads. As always, I do not endorse any book 100% except the Bible, so use your brain and judgment when choosing what you will read.
Best Biography/Memoir:
This book tells the story of home designer, Jean Stoffer, and how she built her business over time along with her family. She has had outstanding success as a businesswoman, but I loved her emphasis on family first.
My favorite quote from the book is:
I will never regret the career opportunities I turned down when the kids were young. Investing in my family back then…their souls, skills, and interests as human beings…led to such fulfillment.
Best Devotional/Theology:
I love following J. Warner Wallace’s work. He is a retired cold case homicide detective who used his forensic techniques to investigate the claims of Christianity. This is his latest work which gives examples from cold cases he solved to give us “leads” for life.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
…mistakes don’t have to define you if you allow them to refine you.
When we work with purpose, we are happier, more satisfied with our lives, more confident in our identity and role within society, and more connected to the people we love.
Best Personal Growth:
I did not expect this book to offer much new information. However, the author gave a lot of useful tools for eliminating distractions through different technologies. Eyal gave the most balanced view of technology and parenting I have heard. Instead of vilifying all technology and entertainment connected to it, he showed how to teach children to manage its distractibility.
I also liked how he connected fun and work in the following quotes:
Fun and play don’t have to make us feel good per se; rather, they can be used as tools to keep us focused.
Fun is not a feeling so much as an exhaust produced when an operator can treat something with dignity.
Best Fiction:
I always loved Anne of Green Gables as a kid. As a child, I read other L. M. Montgomery books including this one. When I recently received a new copy, I read it again. It’s such a delightful story!
If you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you’ll never be and you need not waste time in trying.
Fear is the original sin. Almost all of the evil in the world has its origin in the fact that someone is afraid of something. It is a cold slimy serpent coiling about you. It is horrible to live with fear; and it is of all things degrading.
Inspiration and Key Question for Winter Mind Refining:
My favorite speech of all time. I have quoted this line to my kids enough that they should have it memorized: “It’s not the critic who counts…the credit belongs to the man…in the arena…who…fails while daring greatly…”