SISTER WISDOM : build a better life

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God

by Sheila Walsh

Thomas Nelson Publishers; 3 out of 5 stars

I like this book, I do, so I feel kind of guilty being harsh in my review. But repetition bores me, and the writing in this book is very formulaic. Each chapter follows the same format: personal story or anecdote, parallel drawn to Biblical character, more insight into Biblical character interspersed with additional personal anecdotes, conclusion, and then the "transitional sentence" to lead into the next chapter. Read the rest of this entry »

From the feed reader...

• Abby at New Urban Habitat, Frugal isn't cheap: "But frugality can be more fun than the mindless consuming many of us got in the habit of doing in the previous decade, because we end up spending money on what we really want."
• Rachel at Small Notebook, My Real-Life, Practical Daily Routine: "Instead of having a schedule that would be ignored day after day in real life, I follow a daily routine of touchstones — key elements to mark a successful day.
• Philip Brewer at Wise Bread, What I've Been Trying to Say: "You can't go back and change decisions that have already been made, but that doesn't mean that the design for the rest of your life is immutable.  Start today to design the life that you want to be living."

From the bookshelf...

• Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living

Read my full review here.

Mini Review: Practical advice for personal growth and a successful life, from the era before self-improvement was the big market share it is now. Roosevelt is easy to read and understand but profound. Her advice is practical, with personal examples, and I found myself copying lots of quotes and wanting to paste them all over the walls in my bedroom.
Find it on Amazon.

• Mindy Stearns Clark, The House That Cleans Itself

Mini Review: If you're not a natural housekeeping/organizing goddess, you will love this book. The concept is that instead of fighting our naturally slobbish tendencies (or those of family members), we should identify them and create systems that work for us instead of against us. Brilliant! I love this! I always feel like housekeeping is a battle, and I've already used some of her ideas and seen some of the most irritating problems get much, much better. I'm going to be tackling more of my house this year and Clark's book is my guide.
Find it on Amazon.

What's your recommended reading this week?
Join in by linking up your post, or simply share in the comments below.

Edit: This was supposed to be posted last night, but I had some intense disagreements with my computer. My husband had to mediate, and we finally came to a happy, working agreement this morning... So:

Heads Up! Recommended Reading coming today!

Here's the deal: I love reading. I love reading great blogs and articles online, and I adore (as in, extreme twitterpation and heart palpitation) a great book.
On the other hand, I despise wasting my time on sub-par writing of any kind. I find, however, it's sometimes hard to put your finger on that great article or post or book or magazine you're wanting, when you're ready for your next great read.

Thus Recommended Reading is born.

Every Friday I'll be posting a list of what I've read lately that (I think) is worth reading: books, blogs, and otherwise which I can whole-heartedly recommend to you.

I'm hoping some of you smart women will join with me and either put up a post or leave a comment with your own recommended reading, because, see, this is all kind of self-serving. I get kind of, uh, tense (hyperventilating, spasms, hives, stuff like that), when I don't know what I'm going to read next. So if I can get some great recommendations, I can keep myself from those ugly little episodes.
I will thank you.
My whole family will thank you.

Tune in tomorrow later today for the first issue of Recommended Reading! I'll include a Mr Linky so you can link up if you've written a post. And here's a bloggie icon you can use to link back if you'd like.

Happy Reading! See you tomorrow.

I think that having learned our letters we should read the best that is in literature, and not be forever repeating our a b abs, and words of one syllable, in the fourth or fifth classes, sitting on the lowest and foremost form all our lives. {Henry David Thoreau}

There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read.  {G.K. Chesterton}

The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has Read the rest of this entry »

I've been reading a book from our church library: How to Keep Your Joy by Paul Walker. Why? Because I like being happy.

Most of this is simply verbatim from the book, the parts that I want to remember, hold on to, let seep into my life...

Joy is affected by our vocabulary.

Our words (in order to promote joy) should

• REFINE "no corrupt word"
• RESPECT "lift up, raise up, bring into symmetry and balance; accept others as important in the image of God. Disrespectful, irreverent speech breeds guilt, fear, suspicion, and distrust."
• RELATE
• REINFORCE "grace is positive reinforcement"
• REFLECT "the image of Christ in what you say"

*Interesting to me that Walker is talking about how our words, which we speak TO others, have an effect not only on the ones who hear but on ourselves, the ones who speak. When we speak disrespectful, coarse words we make joy improbable (if not impossible) for others and for ourselves.

"You have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you putoff, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians4:21-22

Joy is affected by how we plan our priorities.

1. Don't get caught up in the stress of the times. Set priorities so that the positives - energized by the Spirit of Christ - counteract and control the negatives. Never surrender to the negative signs of the times.
2. Seek what is TIMELESS: the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek means "to pursue actively"; we should be seeking to develop the highest that is in us, to live our lives in constant development of the spiritual nature that reflects the righteousness of God.
3. Sort out the temporary influences that could hinder your joy, by placing persistent trust in an unfailing God. Take a timeless approach to temporary situations.
4. Sanctify the tomorrows. "Therefore DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW..." Worry = low-grade fear; opposing forces; negative thought patterns; torment, confusion, helplessness; indecision; physical stress. Set apart the tomorrows as holy, belonging to God. All we have is the now, and this now is to be lived out according to the highest priorities given to us by God in the fulfillment of the self.

Joy is affected by how we discipline our desires.

"...when our desires are unrestrained and out of focus, we lose our joy."

We maintain joy by changing those behaviors that bring us sorrow, sadness, and difficulty. We make an intellectual-emotional-spiritual decision to function in a way that brings the highest productivity in our lives.

Joy is the result of self-control. Self-control comes from choice. Decide. Determine. Develop.

The key to determination is a sense of inner directedness that does not yield to the pressures of the age - that identifies with the highest rather than the lowest, the best rather than the worst, the ideal rather than the average, the excellent rather than the mediocre.

The determined life reaches for the deepest resources in Christ. Determination stands up and says, I'm taking charge of my life, my schedule, my attitudes, my responses, my behavior...I refuse to be immobilized by the lower nature and the works of the flesh.

PREACH IT, Paul Walker!

Joy is maintained (or destroyed) by the way we speak.

Joy is maintained by the way we plan our priorities.

Joy is maintained by the way we discipline our desires.

I recently took on the Book Blow-Out challenge from Blue Archipelago. (Which is a great book review site, along with my other favorite, Book Reviews for Real People.)
I "joined" the challenge on July 8th, and just today (the 14th) I posted my reading list.
I've been working my way quickly through the first book, however: Emma Brown by Clare Boylan (and Charlotte Bronte). I'm about 2/3 of the way through; I took a nice break on Saturday morning while Marzipan and Wick were napping and Joe was at work. Me, comfy chair, cup of coffee with French Vanilla Creamer... and a good book.
I'll post a review once I've finished it.
I love being a writer. It's such a great excuse to read all the time.

Everyone should read. Reading makes you a bigger, better person. I love reading, but I must confess that I am very particular about what I read. I have strict standards: Read the rest of this entry »

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The book: Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine, published by Free Press; available as an Amazon Kindle Edition, if you're so inclined.

The format: A month-by-month review of one couple's year without purchasing anything more than necessities.
The review: A more accurate description might be a month-by-month foray into the life and mind of a writer totally taken in by anti-Bush, anti-capitalism, anti-republican, anti-war cultural popularisms.

Let's not blame her. She is, after all, a writer living in New York City and New England. She has simply become what is accepted in her particular subculture. Honestly, when did you last hear of a pro-bush, New York City-based writer actually published?
I don't critique her in order to defend Bush. Frankly, I'm not a great fan myself, but my aim here is not to dissect the politics of the thing but to review the part politics play in her book. I picked it up because I am interested in people trying to simplify, in a less consumer-oriented life, in the reality of trying to live a little differently than the culture around you.

Levine provides a statistically supported, well-researched critique of consumer culture and is fresh and honest about her place in it. Her personal struggles with buying and not buying, her changes in lifestyle, her experiences in the social sphere as a non-consumer: these are the essays that pique and tingle. She is honest about her less-than-ideal habits, her penchants for newness (to which we can all relate), her failures; she is humble and realistic about her success.

She loses me, however, when she attempts to define the failings of capitalism and the problems with rich (read: non-third-world) countries by applying cliches of the liberal leaning to problems of commerce, economics, and wealth distribution. Stereotypes just don't do enough. The "bigger" issues, in this case, are not better for Levine.

Perhaps that's because, on the political spectrum, I am far more Republican than I am Democrat. Maybe I can't handle the criticism where it touches my party leanings.

Or maybe personal, real experience tells a story better than political musing. Where Levine remembers, and writes thus, the book is interesting no matter what your politics. When she doesn't, however, which is a lot of the time, she inspires me to take the title advice in real application to the book itself.

More: Levine's 2006 radio interview with Doug Henwood of Left Business Observor. (Downloadable or listen to streaming audio.)

Levine's 2006 radio interview with Diane Rehm of the Diane Rehm show. (Listen to a segment or purchase the cd or transcript.)

An interview (text) about Levine's 2002 book Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex from Salon.com. (There was a good deal of controversy about the book when it was published, which the introductory article summarizes.)

Levine's blog, her other books, and an excerpt from Not Buying It.