What I've Been Reading: Before Bethlehem

In the name of all things Christmas, I had decided to try and do quite a bit of reading of books in the Christmas genre this year. Besides the 3 books I had purchased for Advent, I also purchased 4 other "Christmas" books.  One, by Melody Carlson (whom I loved to read as a teenager), was called "The Christmas Bus" and had all the makings of a Hallmark Movie.  Cute, clean, simple.  I found this book, Before Bethlehem, on my Book bub recommendation list and decided to purchase it.  If you haven't joined bookbub yet, stop reading this blog post, click on the link, and join.  Simply enter your e-mail address, what device you read on, and your favorite kinds of books, and you'll get a daily list of deals for your reader, many of which are free. 

While Before Bethlehem is entirely fictional, it was a nice read for Christmas time based on the Gospel.  I feel like sometimes, we read portions of the Bible so much, or we aren't really thinking about the big picture as we read them, and this book helped me to consider all of the different political elements that were going on at the time.  Sure, the Bible talks about Herod wanting Jesus killed and the Wise men telling Mary and Joseph about the potential harm Jesus was in.  But this book gave me a visual of what that really looked like. 

The book is told from the perspective of James, who the Bible identifies as Jesus' half-brother.  I know I've wondered a few times "how was he his half brother?"  Of course, if James was Mary and Joseph's biological son, it would make him half due to Jesus being incarnate.  Anyhow, this book acknowledges James as the half brother because of Joseph having had been married before.  His first wife died of fever many years previous to the setting of this story, and a Rabbi coerces Joseph into marrying Mary under the guise of protection for Joseph's family. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting things to me was the detail that was given to the variations of rock and stone that were written about in the book.  The author stated that the city of Jerusalem used stone that took on a white tone and I imagined to almost have a pearl effect.  I know this was a minor detail in the book and what the book was ultimately about.  However, just including it gave me such a better visual of what my eyes would have seen.  It also made me appreciate men a little (gasp!) because they so often notice these sorts of things, while I wouldn't have given it much thought. 

This book was just shy of 300 pages long.  I did enjoy it, but I really had to push myself through it quite often to get it finished.  It wasn't that it was boring per se.  It was very detailed and there was a lot that happened.  The book has over 400 reviews on Amazon, some of which were clearly upset that the author didn't give an exact account of the Birth Story as told from the Bible.  For instance, Mary went into labor before they reached Bethlehem, and a handful of Rabbi Shepherds delivered Jesus.  But if you just take the book for what the author states at the beginning that it is, a work of fiction, I think it's a very thoughtful and well written book. 

If you like history and the Bible, I think this would be a good book for you to read. 

One Stick of Butter Rice

Y'all, let me just tell you.  You're going to want to try this recipe.  We had it Sunday night with a Rotisserie chicken we had gotten this weekend, and some blanched green beans with bacon.  The rice may look less than pretty, but it is delicious.  Or at least my mom told me it was and I'm pretty certain she didn't just say it because she's my mom.

I got this recipe from Mique over at 30 Handmade Days.  I haven't checked the blog out too much to be honest, but I love me some good rice, and this blog stated that it was supposed to be the best rice you'd ever eat.  I was definitely game for that.

The ingredients are few and easy. Don't be insulted if you're not into canned soups....this one uses them, and I feel no shame over it.

When you have prepared it, no worries.  This dish is not the recipient of prettiest dish of the year.  If it looks similar to the picture below though, you've done something right!

 

It looks pretty scary, doesn't it?

The original blog post recommended doubling or tripling this recipe, and this was honest to goodness the only thing I regret not having done! 

Please, please let me know when you try this dish!  Next time I think I will add some slivered almonds or walnuts to it to add a more nutty flavor, but mushrooms were suggested also, if you like that sort of thing. 

Goals for my Thirty-First Year

Regardless of how much I hate New Year's Resolutions, my mind can't help but to think of different things that I want to achieve in this upcoming year.  I really would have liked to have attempted 30 goals for my 30th year, but let's be honest.  The arrival of my 30th year was joined with a great deal of stress and worry, where making it to the next day was often a goal all in itself.  So here I am, less than 2 months away from my 31st birthday - and I say there is no time like today to start a list.  Plus, if I get this list up and running even before Christmas, I have more time to make them happen AND technically they aren't New Year's Resolutions. 

Financial Goals

1. Pay $1,000 off of my Old Navy Visa card.  While I have 3 credit cards total (bad decisions as a new college grad nearly 10 years ago), 2 of them are getting paid off in 2015, but this one card is the one I still use....meaning the one I still have a measly about available a month on.  The minimum due is in the 80 dollar range each month, so I hope to pay 1.5 times that much ($120 monthly approximately) to start off with.

2. Put $600 a month minimum in my House Down Payment savings account each month. 

3.  Add $25 dollars a month minimum to Max's savings account.

4. Pay my mom for taking care of Max.  She does it for free right now, which I have been grateful for, but it's not what I want.  I started paying her a while back....and then with Christmas expenses, I slacked off (sorry, Mom).  If I put it out here for the world to see though, I will be accountable, promise!

Purchases

5. Join a Wine of the Month Club.  As of December 12th, I've already found one to join (a Texas one nonetheless) so all that's left is the signing up! And deciding once and for all if I want it delivered monthly or bi-monthly.  I know what I want....but don't know if that is wise or not! I joined right before Christmas and got my first shipment on December 23rd!  3 bottles for 35 dollars + shipping! 

6.  Purchase a pair of Jack Rogers  (may be opening a separate savings just for this reason!). Started a savings account on 12/26/14.  Currently has $23 in it! Average price of sandals is in the 110 - 120 dollar range.



Jack Rogers

7. Get Passports for both Max and myself.

8. Purchase a Silhouette Silhouette Cameo.  I've wanted one of these babies for years. Sometimes, I log onto QVC in hopes that they have caught on to my desire and are offering it on easy pay.  So far, no luck.  Boo QVC! With the money I got from Christmas, plus 100 dollars in Amazon gift cards, as of 12/28/14, I am only about 70 dollars away from buying one of these dolls! 

Spiritual Goals

9.  Attend a Christian Woman's Conference.  I've already found one to go to, just about an hour away from me.  This will be a long term goal though - once Max is old enough to start spending the night at his Dad's, I am going to plan to attend a conference at least once a year during those weekends to keep some of my anxiety at bay.  The one I was going to go to near me is already sold out, so I am on the search again!

10. Participate in a Bible/Christian book study at least each quarter of the year.  I am helping to lead one in the first part of the year, but hope to do some online if nothing else, as well.

11.  Become more giving.  Financially, of my time, etc. In that, I need to begin to tithe again.  Wow, this post has me being pretty transparent.  I go through years/months/weeks of being good about this, and then some years I do really poorly at this.  I also want to give to organizations I believe in more readily and on top of that, give my own time more readily to things I believe in and things that are going on around in my church and community.

12. Get more involved in Church here.  The likelihood of churches changing a great deal in this town are slim, and I absolutely refuse for Max to not be raised in church. I want and need it for myself as well.



Personal Goals

13.  Take a class of some sort.  Whether it's online, some sort of "craft" class, or a legitimate class, I want to be schooled in 2015.  Really, I've been thinking of taking some Seminary classes....eeks! We shall see.

14.  Read 31 books.  I don't think I'll make it to 31 goals for the year, so at least 31 books would be good.

15. Lose 20 pounds. Ugh....I really don't even want to include this.  It really takes on a sense of typical New Year's Resolution now, but I had to. 

16. Travel - I'm not certain of any where's yet for this next year, but travel always must be present!

17. Better my blog.

18. Go to a movie theatre more than once in 2015.

19. Start a hobby.  This will hopefully be tied to my Silhouette purchase, but all I know is that at the end of February, Max's time with his dad on his weekend will be doubling.  Lord knows I won't tolerate the thought of spending 8 hours a day on those weekends at school preparing like I tend to do with my four hours right now.  So I need something for me.....I am thinking something involving paint and rustic.


Far-Fetched-Maybe-Impossible-Goals

20. Buy a house.  A new street of homes is being added right in back of my parents and more are supposedly going up around town.  To own a home would be the top of the top on my dream list.....please pray for me in this area!


Of course there are also goals like "get along better with Max's dad," "take time for yourself," "press into your relationship with God," "grow your relationships with people," and "be a 'better' Mom" .  Those are daily goals though and I don't feel like they are anything I can truly put a check mark on and say "done."

What goals are you making for yourself in your coming year?

What I've Been Reading: Dear Mr. Knightley

If you enjoy Jane Austen's writing, then this is a book for you! I finished this book this weekend, and I am still thinking about it, so it is a great book to mention to you! While it has a old-fashioned feel to it in that the main character is infatuated with the writing of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and other literary classic authors, I feel like it is a nice, cozy book to read.  Yes, a book can be cozy.






Also, I loved that it was clean.  It didn't have any foul language and it wasn't sexual in nature.  Even at 30 years old, some books can still make me blush and squirm. It mentioned God quite a bit also.  So much so actually, that I pondered whether it was a Christian book or not.  Once I finished it, I noticed that another book written by this author, Katherine Reay, was listed under the genre of Christian Fiction.  So there's my answer I reckon! I plan to read Lizzy and Jane soon also. 




The book centers on the character Samantha "Sam" Moore, a now-grown orphan who has had a mysterious funding so that she may attend graduate school for journalism.  The only requirement is that while she is in school, she must write letters to the donor, who is going by the pseudo-name Mr. Knightley.  Although Sam was quite uncomfortable with the notion at the beginning, she begins to bare all.  The book takes us through the reasons for her being an orphan, her trying to process how to handle relationships old and new, and the struggles that come with graduate school. 




The setting of the book is Chicago, modern day.  I love reading about the different restaurants featured in the book, and another character in the book is an author.  I hadn't ever really considered it, but the book mentioned that he was in Chicago as he was writing a book, and was going to all of these restaurants for a better sense of his own book characters.




 Reason #327 I should write a novel someday?  I can go eat out, a lot, and call it research for my book.  Done deal.




There was only one chapter of the book that was not done in letter form, the last chapter, and I won't tell you why.  Although I had done some foreshadowing and guessed previously what was going on, the end of the book was still good. 




Since the book mentioned all of these great literary classics such as Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, etc. throughout, the first thing I did when I finished the book was to put all of those books on my Kindle as well.  And luckily enough, most of those are free.
 
If you're looking for an easy read that is clean and pleasant, this is definitely one that fits the bill.