I wanted to offer a year-in-review here at the blog, if for no other reason than to satisfy my own curiosity. I know that my posting has been sporadic at best, a practice that will certainly have an adverse effect on visits and corresponding stats. But, for what it's worth, as best as I can figure using blogger's own built in statistic generator, here are some interesting observations...
MOST VISITED POSTS of 2011
11. Pinterest Made Me Do It, in which I post pictures from my black interior door project
10. Bittersweet, my reflections on my son playing his last football game
9. The Cinderella Story that almost was, about my son's soccer team and their hard-fought bid for the regional crown
8. My best mothering advice, or the lack thereof, in which offer my words of wisdom (or, not) to my friend on the brink of motherhood
7. First Day of school (and proof positive that time flies), the obligatory front porch shot as well as a photographic comparison of my son on the first day of his last year of grade school and the first day of his first year
6. Twenty, in honor of two decades of marital bliss. Oh, and another photographic comparison. :)
5. A post I once thought I'd never write, that post being about a dog of all things.
4. Thankfulness on Thursday, a common sort of post around here, this one particularly thankful for the goodness that is the cheese ring and the celebration of a new baby.
3. Sunday Hymn: Be Thou My Vision, my favorite hymn, though I suspect that this post's popularity has more to do with Rebecca's link than my blog's popularity (humbling, but no doubt true) and certainly has nothing to do with my writing whatsoever since, you know, I didn't actually write it so much as type it... :)
2. Thoughts on Bible Study, in which I share a quote from Kathleen Nielsen's study on Psalms as I prepare to begin facilitating our group
1. Book Review: Feminine Threads-Women in the Tapestry of Christian History, another post in which it's popularity has little to do with my writing and mostly to do with referrals from another site. But, hey, I'll take the site visits however I get them! :)
MOST COMMENTED POSTS
5. Happy Blog Anniversary to Me!, with 13 comments
4. Friday's Fave Five (post tornado edition) and The evolution of a blogger, both with 14
3. What's On My Nightstand, April with 18 comments
2. Why I Don't Blog, with 19
1. Twenty, the most-commented post with 21
FAVORITE POSTS
Though it seems slightly self-serving, here are some of my personal favorites. I feel a little ridiculous in choosing the posts I like best out of my own writing but, hey, blogging by its nature is somewhat self-serving. So, with that caveat, here are some of the posts I enjoyed writing this past year, again in no particular order...
Bittersweet
I was my proud of my son Friday night as I watched him walk out of the locker room, face streaked with tears, heading straight for his daddy, hugging him and thanking him. "For everything," he said. I may have wept some too; who could not?
Words Fail
All in all, it was the kind of day so full of the goodness of the Lord that the keyboard and blogger are rendered inadequate to describe it.
A post I once thought I'd never write
She's been saved twice, once from the side of the road and now again through the miracle of veterinary medical practice.
I am glad.
My best mothering advice or the lack thereof
However, just because I am hesitant to speak as one who has emerged victorious in the mommy experience doesn't mean I have nothing to say. So, for my friend: what I have to offer isn't advice so much as it is lessons learned. Here's a few things, among many, that motherhood has taught me...
The evolution of a blogger
I've been thinking and as I reflect over my nearly five years of blogging (yes, five! Can you believe it?), I realize there are both lessons learned and blessings received, most of each being of the unexpected kind. In short I am not the blogger I was nor am I the blogger I thought I would be and for both I am glad.
Saturday morning thoughts following a Friday night win
I love Friday night football.
I love watching my boy play.
I love watching my boy catch a pass for a touchdown.
I'm just a mom
Yesterday the bagger at the grocery store asked me if I worked. "Nope; I'm just a mom," I said and I was glad for it. I'm just a mom, a very ordinary and flawed mom. I'm a wife, also ordinary and flawed. I know that my accomplishments, such as they are, will never be lauded at a luncheon nor will my picture adorn a wall of fame.
So, there you have it: a glimpse at Lisa writes..., 2011. Do you have a favorite post, either from this humble blog or your own? Link up and let us know. And here's hoping 2012 will bring many more opportunities for blog posts and comment conversation! Despite evidence to the contrary, I love blogging and I especially enjoy the interaction and friendship that I've discovered through this hobby. I look forward to all that the Lord has for us in the coming year...
Happy New Year, friends!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Favorite reads of 2011
Bloggers all over the web are posting their favorite reads of the past year. Ever one to copy a good idea, particularly one that will revive the blog however temporarily, I thought I would follow suit. Here are some of my favorites among the books that I read in 2011. It is not a "top ten" list per se, in that I've listed them in some sort of ascending preference; it's too eclectic of a list for me to rank a top favorite! Rather, these are the books I most enjoyed reading or that I learned the most from or both. I didn't include books that I had read previously (though certainly books like The Help and Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice and Peace Like a River, not to mention The Hiding Place and Through Gates of Splendor, are favorite reads in any year!).
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillebrand
Um, wow. Everyone raved about it and for good reason. If you haven't read it, you should, and the less you know about it the better.
MY FAVORITE READS OF 2011 (in no particular order)...
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillebrand
Um, wow. Everyone raved about it and for good reason. If you haven't read it, you should, and the less you know about it the better.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A beautiful, haunting story of two women in war torn Afghanistan. I was hesitant to read it but I'm glad I did.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
A beautiful, haunting story of the battle of Gettysburg, so beautifully written. I am so glad I stumbled upon a recommendation via a friend's Facebook status.
Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber
I think I told you of my threefold response after reading this memoir: 1) I want to visit Oxford. 2) I feel dumb. And 3) I am encouraged by the reminder that my faith is, among many things, also intellectual. In other words, it sustains careful thought and critical examination. I loved this memoir!
The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson
The big story of the Bible, the broad sweep of the gospel story from Genesis to Revelation, this book is a helpful examination of what Christians believe and why they believe it. Recommended by Rebecca of Rebecca Writes, this is an encouraging, faith-building, instructive read.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Perhaps my most surprising favorite! I mean, it's like 900 pages or something! But, I liked it. A lot. Especially when accompanied by the Masterpiece Theater miniseries.
Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word by Kathleen Nielson
As a (sometime) Bible teacher, this book was perhaps the most sobering as well as the most helpful book I read last year. It's like hermeneutics for dummies, like myself. I need to read it again.
March by Geraldine Brooks
A compelling and interesting novel about Mr. March of Little Women fame and his years in the Civil War.
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Theology 101, enough said.
Girl Meets God: A Memoir by Lauren Winner
Though Lauren and I would not agree on all points doctrinally, I found her memoir of her conversion to the Christian faith to be winsome and engaging. I enjoyed it very much.
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
I said I wasn't going to pick favorites but if I were to pick a favorite novel that I read last year this would probably be it. Not so very plot driven but written with such beautiful language and with such a compelling voice that I loved it. I cried at the end, which, for those of you who know me, is saying something.
The Organized Heart: A Woman's Guide to Conquering Chaos by Staci Eastin
Though Staci and I are blog friends, I'm not picking this as a favorite because she is a favorite but, well, because the title says it all. And because I need to read it again. And again.
Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life by Elyse Fitzpatrick
The gospel making sense in my daily life. Yes and amen.
Practical Christianity presented in clear, practical language. Another book I need to read again. And again.
The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
This is, I think, my favorite of Bragg's memoirs. He is a true artist with the computer keyboard and I love not only his prose but his stories of "my people," those of us from the South but not of the aristocracy that sometimes is identified as the Southern constitution. In this book, he alternates between stories of his father and his own struggles as new stepdad, both of which are sometimes hilarious and sometimes bittersweet.
What are your favorite reads of the past year? Do you have any recommendations for my 2012 reading list?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The reason for the season
I just glanced through a few posts from Decembers past and I noticed something of a theme: an acknowledgement of the lack of regular posting as well as a quick overview of the month's festivities and momentous events. I was thinking of posting something similar this morning but who wants to be so very predictable? Of course, one could argue that the fact of me actually posting something, no matter the content, is itself so squarely in the realm of the un-predictable that I needn't worry about unnecessarily boring the two or three of you still out there reading this blog with familiar content.
While there were certainly events worth at least a passing mention, such as my youngest boys' fourteenth and twelfth birthdays respectively, I'll jump to the end and tell you we enjoyed a very merry Christmas, as I hope you did, full of the blessings of family and food and gifts galore. It's true, Christmas loses some of its excited anticipation with the boys getting older, but still it was good. I struggled sometimes with the unexpected and sudden bout of melancholy here and there, plus I've been sick, but upon reflection there was (is) such an embarrassingly abundant outpouring of grace that I am humbled. And grateful. The Lord is good and He has blessed us beyond measure. Family, friends, health, freedom, laughter, love--all are ours and all are grace. Despite my many complaints and stresses in regard to the season, I am thankful for the opportunities that Christmas affords to spend time with family, to give gifts to those I love, to have the boys home from school for Christmas break, to celebrate the holiday over a plateful of good food, to sing songs of the nativity and to remember the baby born in Bethlehem.
Earlier this month I read the following from Tim Keller, as quoted in Nancy Guthrie's compilation Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas...
Surely there are many reasons offered for the season. Christmas is for giving, we say. It's about love and peace, goodwill and generosity. Perhaps some would stake the truest meaning of Christmas in its economic impact or determine the season is best celebrated by vilifying businesses who would dare wish us happy holidays rather than a merry Christmas.
While it's right and good to give gifts at Christmas, that's not where the true meaning of Christmas lies. No, as that Keller quote indicates, the reason for the season is that we are so wicked and so depraved and so willfully rebellious in our sin that we could never save ourselves. Indeed we would not want to. God had to come get us. He came, as a baby, fully God yet fully man, lived a perfect life, died a horrible, cruel death, and yet rose again to life--all to redeem us, to save us, to grant us new life in Him. This is Christmas: Jesus, the Word becoming flesh, dwelling among us, so that we might see His glory, the glory of the one and only.
May our Christmases be marked not only by shopping, giving, eating and such, but may we respond to Christ, the indescribable Gift, in repentance and faith, trusting Him to save us as He promised!
While there were certainly events worth at least a passing mention, such as my youngest boys' fourteenth and twelfth birthdays respectively, I'll jump to the end and tell you we enjoyed a very merry Christmas, as I hope you did, full of the blessings of family and food and gifts galore. It's true, Christmas loses some of its excited anticipation with the boys getting older, but still it was good. I struggled sometimes with the unexpected and sudden bout of melancholy here and there, plus I've been sick, but upon reflection there was (is) such an embarrassingly abundant outpouring of grace that I am humbled. And grateful. The Lord is good and He has blessed us beyond measure. Family, friends, health, freedom, laughter, love--all are ours and all are grace. Despite my many complaints and stresses in regard to the season, I am thankful for the opportunities that Christmas affords to spend time with family, to give gifts to those I love, to have the boys home from school for Christmas break, to celebrate the holiday over a plateful of good food, to sing songs of the nativity and to remember the baby born in Bethlehem.
Earlier this month I read the following from Tim Keller, as quoted in Nancy Guthrie's compilation Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas...
Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you.
Surely there are many reasons offered for the season. Christmas is for giving, we say. It's about love and peace, goodwill and generosity. Perhaps some would stake the truest meaning of Christmas in its economic impact or determine the season is best celebrated by vilifying businesses who would dare wish us happy holidays rather than a merry Christmas.
While it's right and good to give gifts at Christmas, that's not where the true meaning of Christmas lies. No, as that Keller quote indicates, the reason for the season is that we are so wicked and so depraved and so willfully rebellious in our sin that we could never save ourselves. Indeed we would not want to. God had to come get us. He came, as a baby, fully God yet fully man, lived a perfect life, died a horrible, cruel death, and yet rose again to life--all to redeem us, to save us, to grant us new life in Him. This is Christmas: Jesus, the Word becoming flesh, dwelling among us, so that we might see His glory, the glory of the one and only.
May our Christmases be marked not only by shopping, giving, eating and such, but may we respond to Christ, the indescribable Gift, in repentance and faith, trusting Him to save us as He promised!
"...and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Matt. 1:21
Monday, December 05, 2011
Status Report, December
Sitting...at the dining room table surrounded by boxes, wrapping paper, more boxes, a lamp, and other fallout from the two day long attempt at decking the halls. It's a mess in here.
Stressing...over the filth and mess that seems to cover every nook and cranny of my home! I know, I know, it isn't as bad as I think it is but it is bad enough to stress me out though obviously not bad enough to stop me from blogging about it instead of, you know, cleaning something.
Decorating...for Christmas and not hating it quite so much this year as I have in years past. Except for the aforementioned filth and mess of course. I have two trees up (go, me!) and even hung garland and wreaths outside. I am markedly less Scrooge-ish this year, though not completely free of Grinchdom. Hey, it's progress.
Listening...to Christmas music even. Sometimes I don't even know myself.
Wondering...if my wreaths are still on the windows. It's mighty windy out!
Thankful...for our Thanksgiving break and the time we were able to spend with family. We are so blessed. And what fun to hang out with my three little nieces and my nephew!
Reading...The Help. I read it a couple of years ago, back when it first came out, and all I remembered was that I liked it. Oh, yeah, and it had something to do with white women and their black maids in Mississippi in the 60's. Since that's all I remember, I'm enjoying this re-read with the discovery of a first read. I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. Y'all were right: it's good. Really good. Very thought provoking. Before that I read The Killer Angels and loved it. So, so good.
Thinking...through an email discussion I'm having in regard to so-called "Carnal Christians" and the tension between 1 John that states a believer who persists in sin isn't a true believer at all and the fact that believers sin. Hello, I sin, the chief among us. Isn't sin, sin? Or is it immaturity as my friend seemed to indicate? Sometimes semantics trip me up; hence the thinking before the emailing.
Closing...the chapter on my oldest son's football career with the awards ceremony yesterday. It's strange to think of it being over. For that matter, it's strange to think of all the many things that will be over this year, in one way or another!
Feeling...a little overwhelmed at this stage of life we are in. So much is ending, so much is beginning. So much is changing, and not all for the worst. So much is difficult. So much is so good that I can hardly bear it. I feel both more confident than ever and more insecure than ever. It's weird.
Anticipating...celebrating with the ladies from my church at our Christmas party tomorrow night. We always have such a fun time! I love my friends and sisters in the Lord!
Walking...the dog as soon as I get up from the computer. We need to hurry and get out before the rain begins. After the walk I have laundry (always and forever) to wash, dry and fold, supper to take to new parents (and thus a baby to hold, at least for a minute or two!), and yes, the mess and the filth I mentioned earlier to clean.
Wishing...you all a wonderful Monday!
Stressing...over the filth and mess that seems to cover every nook and cranny of my home! I know, I know, it isn't as bad as I think it is but it is bad enough to stress me out though obviously not bad enough to stop me from blogging about it instead of, you know, cleaning something.
Decorating...for Christmas and not hating it quite so much this year as I have in years past. Except for the aforementioned filth and mess of course. I have two trees up (go, me!) and even hung garland and wreaths outside. I am markedly less Scrooge-ish this year, though not completely free of Grinchdom. Hey, it's progress.
Listening...to Christmas music even. Sometimes I don't even know myself.
Wondering...if my wreaths are still on the windows. It's mighty windy out!
Thankful...for our Thanksgiving break and the time we were able to spend with family. We are so blessed. And what fun to hang out with my three little nieces and my nephew!
Reading...The Help. I read it a couple of years ago, back when it first came out, and all I remembered was that I liked it. Oh, yeah, and it had something to do with white women and their black maids in Mississippi in the 60's. Since that's all I remember, I'm enjoying this re-read with the discovery of a first read. I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. Y'all were right: it's good. Really good. Very thought provoking. Before that I read The Killer Angels and loved it. So, so good.
Thinking...through an email discussion I'm having in regard to so-called "Carnal Christians" and the tension between 1 John that states a believer who persists in sin isn't a true believer at all and the fact that believers sin. Hello, I sin, the chief among us. Isn't sin, sin? Or is it immaturity as my friend seemed to indicate? Sometimes semantics trip me up; hence the thinking before the emailing.
Closing...the chapter on my oldest son's football career with the awards ceremony yesterday. It's strange to think of it being over. For that matter, it's strange to think of all the many things that will be over this year, in one way or another!
Feeling...a little overwhelmed at this stage of life we are in. So much is ending, so much is beginning. So much is changing, and not all for the worst. So much is difficult. So much is so good that I can hardly bear it. I feel both more confident than ever and more insecure than ever. It's weird.
Anticipating...celebrating with the ladies from my church at our Christmas party tomorrow night. We always have such a fun time! I love my friends and sisters in the Lord!
Walking...the dog as soon as I get up from the computer. We need to hurry and get out before the rain begins. After the walk I have laundry (always and forever) to wash, dry and fold, supper to take to new parents (and thus a baby to hold, at least for a minute or two!), and yes, the mess and the filth I mentioned earlier to clean.
Wishing...you all a wonderful Monday!
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