January Reading List Complete!

Last month I started a 2011 reading list month-by-month to help me schedule time for reading books that I've been wanting to read for awhile. I have so many books that I haven't read yet that are on my Goodreads account, but it seems like I never have time to read any of them. I think having a reading list for the whole year will help me stay on top of my reading. I decided to read two books a month - I think that's a fair amount of reading to accomplish in a month. With that said, I completed January's Reading List for this year!

January

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The first book on my reading list for January was "Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You" by John MacArthur. This book by far is one of the best books and studies that I've read - pretty much everything I've read by John MacArthur I've loved. In this study, we look at twelve different women from the Bible: Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Mary mother of Jesus, Anna, The Samaritan Woman, Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Lydia. Everything that made these women extraordinary was a result of what God did in their lives. God was the center of their lives, faith, strength, and heart. Their faith and hopes were Christ-centered and as Christians, our faith and hopes should be centered on Christ and Christ alone. These women also shared special feminine virtues and spiritual characteristics (humility, devotion, love, unwavering faith, motherhood, etc...) that also made these women admirable. Ultimately, God took these imperfect vessels, conformed them to His image, and used them for His glory. That is the overarching theme of this book. God is truly The Extraordinary One!

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The second book on my reading list for January was "Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer" by J. Oswald Sanders. I had started this book back in the spring of 2010, but once my student teaching began I never finished it. Sanders uses leaders from the Bible Paul and Peter as models to guide the reader in the development of becoming a leader. This book covers important qualities of leadership, responsibilities of leadership, and making/sending off disciples. I recommend this book for every leader in the church. This book helps the Christian reader to focus on what it truly means to be a leader and the importance and responsibility it holds.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." ~2 Corinthians 4:7~

" And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 

~ 2 Corinthians 3:18~

February Reading List

• The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

What books have you been reading lately?

Organizing and My 2011 Reading List

I recently stumbled upon the Passionate Homemaking blog through This Camera Tells My Story last week and after much thinking, have come to the conclusion that I am going to create my own Home Planning Notebook. My heart literally skipped a beat when I saw Lindsay's Home Planning Notebook because I love organizing...period. I've always been the organized, list-making, and planning ahead type of girl, but after reading about the Home Planning Notebook I realized I have a lot to learn and more room for growth in this area. In Lindsay's binder she keeps record of family goals, weekly plans, calendars, menu plans, finances, and family journal to name a few. Under Lindsay's goal section, she also keeps a book list for that year. My sis-in-law, over at This Camera Tells My Story just created her own book list for 2011 and I thought I would jump on the bandwagon as well. Keeping a book list for the entire year is such a good idea. I have so many books on my Goodreads account, but I never seem to have enough time to read all of them. My 2011 Reading List will definitely help me make the time to read. I don't know when I will have my home planning notebook completed, but I will post pictures as soon as it's finished. With that being said...

Here's My Reading List for 2011 and the first page ready to go in my Home Planning Notebook!

January

*Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You by John MacArthur
*Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders

February

*The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur

*The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

*Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

March

*Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer

*The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

April

*Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs

*True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

May

*Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham

*At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

June

*Desiring God by John Piper

*Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck

July

*Answering the Call: Saving Innocent Lives, One Woman at a Time by John M. Ensor

*Original Intent by David Barton

August

*Crazy Love by Francis Chan

*Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks

September

*Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-opening Journey Across the Life Line by Abby Johnson

*The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

October

*God's High Calling for Women by John MacArthur

*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

November

*The Truth War by John MacArthur

*Monster by Frank E. Peretti

December

*Living Under God by Toby Mac and Michael Tait

*Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

{I'm also reading A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George with my small group at Hope Baptist Church. We read one chapter a week, so it will take awhile to finish. I will also be reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, a daily devotional for the year. Because of the length of time spent on each book, I didn't add them to the list.}

Have you found any new ways to stay organized? What books will you be reading this year?