My Fiction Choices of 2016

As best as I can tell, I read 112 books this year (plus a few that I didn't count as they were quick re-reads when I needed something familiar and easy; I don't often record those ones). Here are my top picks for fiction, in no particular order (remembering that these are books I read this year, not necessarily books that were published this year).

1. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was interesting, and a frightening look at who we would be if all our evil was allowed to run free.
2. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. One of my Sunday School girls recommended it as the best book ever. It isn't, but it's pretty good and I enjoyed it. It was a nice, quick read.
3. Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson. I just like Dee Henderson. Her books are generally categorized as romance, but I find them to be so much more: mystery, intrigue, and real people with real issues leading real lives.
4. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye. This one was recommended by my nephew. I enjoyed it, although it was a bit predictable (fantasy, an orphan, a world to save).
5. Agatha Christie: Masterpieces in Miniature, The Sleeping Murder. Five Little Pigs, Sparkling Cyanide, Death in the Clouds, Murder at the Vicarage. What can I say: I'm an Agatha Christie fan. I like that her mysteries are not too obvious, but also possible to solve if you try hard enough.
6. Terry Pratchett: The Wee Free Men, The Wee Free Men, A Blink of the Screen. I'm also a Terry Pratchett fan.
7. My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel. I think it was the characters, how they played off one another, and how they changed that won me over. Also, the ending is not too stereotyped.
8. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. A friend was shocked that I hadn't read this yet, so I read it. It was really good. Spoiler alert: it actually does end!
9. Classic Tales and Fables for Children by Leo Tolstoy. Listen: if you need to read something by a Russian, Tolstoy's children's stuff is the way to go. Some of it is autobiographical, some of it is fiction, and all of it is interesting.
10. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. This one looks and feels like it should be old, but it was published in 2005. It's just a nice book, and reminded me of The Golden Name Day or Caddie Woodlawn or Understood Betsy in that it doesn't try to be "literature" or preachy or moralize. It's just a fun book about a family one summer.

There were others, some good and some less good, but these are my favourites. Another day soon I'll give you my fiction list.

Book Challenge

True confession time: I did not finish the 2016 book challenge found here. I tried. I read all of the light reader, all of the avid reader, and almost all of the committed reader (I missed a book about money or finance). I also read 35/52 of the obsessed reader (and I still have 2 days to finish the one I'm currently reading). I also read 4/5 of the extra credit (missing a book about business).

I also read other books that I couldn't fit into any of the categories (or that fit categories I had already used). I made up my own categories:

1. A sequel to a book you read last year: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
2. A random book that you found at the library while trying to remember what you were looking for: Guinevere’s Truth and Other Tales by Jennifer Roberson
3. A book you started to keep small children occupied (and then finished on your own): Scout The Secret of the Swamp by Piet Prins
4. The last mystery written about Miss Marple: The Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
5. A book with a number in the title: Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
6. A book originally published with a different title: Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie (previously published as Remembered Death)
7. A book that you read one Saturday when you should have been doing other stuff: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
8. A book with the word “clouds” in the title: Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie
9. A book of short mysteries: Five-Minute Mysteries 3 by Ken Weber
10. A book about books: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
11. A book about The Princess Bride: As You Wish by Cary Elwes
12. A book you read in an evening: Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
13. Another book by the above author: Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
14. A book you recommended to your friend’s daughter: London Stories by Jim Eldridge
15. A book with a great title: Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock Prado
16. A book of Christmas stories:
                a. Journey into Christmas by Bess Streeter Aldrich
                b. Christmas in my Heart vol. 1 by Joe Wheeler
                c. Christmas in my Heart vol. 18 by Joe Wheeler

Over the next few days (or the next week or whenever I get it done), I'll give you my top fiction and nonfiction lists.
I do plan to try the 2017 Reading Challenge. It's a bit more flexible as there are more several "a book of your own choice" listings, as well as generic "a book about theology"listings. We'll see how it goes. I like the reading challenges because they help me plan and organize my reading (except for the part where I read 18 books that didn't fit anywhere), and they get me reading a greater variety of books, including some I wouldn't ordinarily read. Plus, I just like lists!

What Christmas is All About

This is a busy time of year. There are concerts and parties and family time and stuff happening all over the place. It's easy to get so caught up in everything that's happening that we forget why it's all happening. Then people get grumpy and complain about all the consumerism and how much they don't like Christmas. On the other hand, there are the people who reject all the outside stuff of Christmas and insist that we can only think about the birth of Christ and not have any lights or presents or fun.

I love Christmas. I love the lights, and the presents (both giving and getting), and the food, and all the fun and laughter. And I love "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" and "God with us", and the promise of salvation. And I don't think you need to separate the two.

For those of us, though, who are finding things a bit too stressful, here's a reminder of what it's all really about:




Now, take an hour or so out of your day and go watch the whole thing while you sit by a lit-up Christmas tree and enjoy some Christmas baking and hot chocolate (or whatever says "Christmas" to you), or wrap some presents.

Enjoy Christmas. All of it.

Christmas Concert Stuff

Tomorrow is the Christmas concert at the church, so today was dress rehearsal day. Except that we weren't able to do an actual dress rehearsal; we just did a "this is the best we can do; forget about the costumes" rehearsal.

This year's concert has been a headache from the beginning, and yet I've been remarkably calm (although I've been accused of being stressed and upset, but that's just when I've been herding children into one spot and trying to figure out how to deal with problems; it seems that when I'm trying to do 3 things at once and I'm talking talking to 3 groups at once I seem stressed, even when I'm not).

Here's the issue: In October, I emailed the elder with the plans for the concert meeting, the practice times, and the dress rehearsal time. He told me that he would confirm with the other elders, and a few days later assured me that the times were all good.

What no one told me was....

1. The day of the concert meeting, we were going to have coffee/juice/cookies to celebrate the church's 11th anniversary and the installation of the newest elder/pastor, and that this would happen during my meeting. 
2. There would be a baptism the week of the first practice. They did give 30 minutes between the service and the baptism so that there would be time for practice, but since I also help back stage for the baptisms, it was a rather rushed and busy day.
3. They were going to welcome all the new members with a fellowship meal the day of (and the time of) the second practice. I gave up then and cancelled the practice.
4. The elder would forget to check that we could use the church for the dress rehearsal (we're not in our own building quite yet, so we rent another church for our services and other stuff), and we would show up to find that the other church was having choir practice on the stage, and that they had a funeral scheduled to start before we were going to finish.

So we had the "dress" rehearsal in the atrium, which worked, but didn't give us the right amount of room on our "stage", or the right amount of room for the wings so they know where to come on and off the stage, or the piano on the correct side. I know that last part doesn't seem like a big deal, but I had a hard time explaining to one adult how things would be for the actual concert. She was convinced that they children would be coming on stage on the side with the piano because they came on the side with the piano today. It was a very confusing conversation, and why would I confuse the children by having them come on the other side (also, the children weren't confused because most of them remembered how it was last year, and that hasn't changed).

We'll see how things go tomorrow. If everyone is on time (ha, ha....like that would happen), I'll have about 20 minutes to make sure the children know where to stand and the adults know where to send them on stage.

Last Night's Adventure

Last night, at just after 10:00 (maybe 10 after, maybe quarter past...somewhere in there) I was at the happy, relaxed part of my day, by which I mean I was in bed, reading a book, all warm and cozy. And then the fire alarm went off. I seriously jumped and looked around at first, not sure what was going on. Then I made the noise stop in the room and listened to make sure it wasn't just my alarm malfunctioning. It wasn't; I could hear the alarm in the hall as well. I figured I should probably leave.

I stuck my head out the door to check if I could smell smoke. Everything seemed normal, except for the alarms going off. Also, I could hear people moving around. I went back to my room, got dressed (I threw on socks and jeans, and pulled a sweater over my pjs), got into my boots and jacket, grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet, and headed downstairs.

Side note: Isn't it just known that when there's a fire, you don't use the elevators? Granted, no one in the building believes that there is ever a fire, since it's always a false alarm, which might explain the number of people using the elevator. I didn't; I used the stairs.

I did not go outside. It was very, very, very cold. Some people were outside, others we in cars, and the rest of us (at least those of us who came down) waited in the lobby where it was warm. We figured, if there was a fire, we could leave when the fire fighters came and told us to leave.

Soon enough the fire trucks arrived, and 3 firemen came in to the building. They looked at the alarm panel and determined that the alarm had started on the second floor (my floor). They came through the lobby, leaving their hoses by the door, although they had an axe and a pick. Obviously they didn't think there was going to be a fire (probably the lack of smoke; plus, no one would have called 911), because they took the elevator up to the second floor! So not even the fire fighters follow that policy all the time!

A few more minutes passed. We chatted a bit, continued to refuse to go outside, and admired the small baby who was not disturbed at all by the sirens. Eventually, the firemen came back downstairs and told us we could go back up. There was no fire, no smoke, and no reason to worry.

By 10:30, I was back in bed with my book, like nothing had even interrupted my happy time.

Christmas is Coming!

I was talking to my mum last weekend. She said "I have your Christmas parcel pretty much ready to go." I don't know how she does it. I had just started shopping the day before! I'm pretty sure I'll finish by Christmas, and even get the presents back East on time.

I do have the Christmas tree up. I don't have a colour-coordinated tree, with everything matching and elegant and stuff. That's not really my style. My tree is all coloured lights and a mix of ornaments, mostly ones that people have given me, or things that I bought because they made me smile. My favourite is a pretty, beaded angel. From the right angle, she looks headless (the wings hide her head). When I catch a glimpse of her, I am always startled by the headless angel on my tree.

I also have greenery and lights strung up along the long shelf on the wall, and a little Christmas village set up, with some lights and greenery and small Christmas trees.

I'm ready for Christmas to get here. Just in case you're not in the mood, I present my traditional Christmas video offering.

What I'm Reading

It seems like a good time for a roundup of what I'm currently reading so....

Out of the Blues by Wayne Mack
This book deals with depression and loneliness from a biblical perspective, and I think it's an excellent counseling book. I actually just finished it, so I guess I'm not currently reading it.

The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life by Charles Spurgeon (compiled and edited by Robert Hall)
I've been reading this for a few months. I read a bit, and then get distracted by other books. I only have 1 1/2 chapters left to read; I will finish it by the end of the year!

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Because: Brandon Sanderson. Need I say more?

Because He Loves Me by Elise Fitzpatrick
I've read this before, but it's been a few years We're using it for my women's counseling class this year. Since I'm the teacher, I thought I should at least re-read the book.

The Blessing of Humility by Jerry Bridges
It's Jerry Bridges. Of course I'm reading it. This is my "while I'm eating" book right now.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado
I picked this one up because of the title. I didn't pay much attention to the author's name, so when she talks about her sister Sandy, and then mentions that Sandy is a movie start, it took me a while to figure out that she means Sandra Bullock. And I actually finished it last night.

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan
Let's be honest: I'm not really reading this. I started it, but it goes on and on and it's very, very small print. I was reading it for "a book by a puritan", but I think I'll trade it in for Pilgrim's Progress. One day I'll finish this one, but it may take a very, very long time.

Christmas Concert

It's almost Christmas! At the very least, it's Christmas concert time again, and I'm spending my evenings listening to Christmas carols and trying to decide what to put into the concert, and where, and how. I want O Come, O Come Emmanuel, but I don't have anyone to play it this year, so I may have to live without it. I'm still looking for another song for the grades 2-4 contingent, so I can move Hark the Herald Angels Sing over to the little guys.

Also: my "multitude of the heavenly host" is currently sitting at 1 angel. Of course, I only have 2 shepherds, so it sort of evens itself out. I may have to recruit from the grade 4 kids to fill in the gaps, but that leaves me with fewer children singing, unless I can have them sing before the angels and shepherds need to be on stage, in which case it all works. At the same time, I need to schedule the child playing Joseph to do his musical number (with his siblings) at the beginning of everything, even though it fits best when the shepherds come on, because I cannot have Joseph get up, leave the manger, and grab a violin!

And....I already have parents asking if they can miss rehearsals, and they haven't even started yet!

Anyway, since I don't think I can have it in the concert, here are 2 of my favourite versions:

Remembrance Day

A Mix of Thoughts

I have too many passwords. It's amazing that I can log into anything on the first try. I often can't, and then I get frustrated with myself, the computer, and the world in general.

In Sunday School, I told the students that Tyndale and Wycliffe were "freakishly awesome", and then told them that I need a new adjective to replace "freakishly". They suggested awesome, amazing, and totally. I think that I won't try "awesomely awesome", but I might go with "totally awesome" and then try to slip in "totally radical" to see if they react.

Last week I was trying to explain about idioms and figures of speech to a student. The sentence was, "They were like three blind mice trying to find their way through a maze". She could not get what it meant, and thought that maybe they were blind or something. I finally got her to understand the concept, and then started telling her that she's just a blind mouse trying to find her way through a maze. She was not amused.

I have a pen in my office that was given to me by my MLA one day. He and the MLA from the next riding were at the bus terminal one day (I think the bus terminal is in the other MLA's riding, but it's close to the boarder between ridings and many of us come from the south and the next riding over). They had coffee, Timbits, and free pens. I almost feel bad about not voting for him.

We had our first Christmas Concert meeting yesterday. I guess it's Christmas time now. We start practices in 2 weeks. That gives me enough time to put the concert together (it's pretty much the same thing every year, with some changes to songs), and still gives us 4 Sundays to practice, plus the Saturday big rehearsal. This year the choir is joining us; they'll do a call to worship, and opening song, and then Silent Night at the end. They plan to sing the first verse in German, and then the congregation will join in with the rest (in English). I plan to tell my students, when they complain about how hard it is to learn the songs, that at least they get to do it all in English.

It's oddly warm for November. It's more like the beginning of October. It's nice.

About the Gospel

The new guy at church (usually known as Pastor Mike) has been teaching a membership class during Sunday School. Because I teach a Sunday School class, I haven't been in his class, but I've finally started listening to them on-line. While the class is officially for people planing to join the church, it's attended by any adult who wants to come to Sunday School (and some children as well), and it's an excellent review of what the church believes and why, and some key doctrines from Scripture.

Membership class 2 covered the gospel, what it means to be a Christian, and how to become a Christian (because while all members need to be believers, not all people who attend church are believers; also, it's a key doctrine).

So, if you're wondering what the gospel is all about, or even if you know (or think you know), I'd suggest that you head over to the church website and listen to him.

In fact, when you have time, you should listen to all of the Membership Class lessons. While I can only vouch for the first 3 (I'm still behind in my listening), I'm pretty sure they're all excellent!

A Word of Clarification

It has been pointed out to me that not all the Biblical Counseling students were happy, perky, and nice all the time. To be abundantly clear: most of them were like that, but a few were not. They were more down-to-earth and significantly less bubbly.

My apologies to anyone (Liz) who may have been offended by my characterization of the counseling students!

On Becoming a Biblical Counselor

Let me be upfront with you: I did not want to become a counselor of any type. I'm a teacher, and I'm a good teacher; teaching makes sense to me. If you want to learn about the Bible, I can help you. If you want to learn how to be a better Christian, I can give you books to read and even talk about them with you. I can pray for you and advise you. If you have issues that are big and need counselling...I can recommend some very good, wise, and sympathetic people! I have just never really known what to say to people in a counseling situation (except: stop sinning and read your Bible, and I think I need to be more detailed there).

Also, I looked at the Biblical Counseling students when I was at Masters (doing Biblical Studies, or "the course for people who want to teach, not counsel"). They all seemed so happy, and perky, and nice all the time. They just loved everyone and life was so wonderful and they were so earnest. I am not like that. I am sarcastic and blunt and I have issues of my own.

So what happened? Well, I have a very persistent elder who kept giving me books to read (which is cheating; everyone knows I'll read just about anything) and who insisted (and still insists) that I'm a good counselor. So I read the books and learned, slowly, that I don't have to be all the things those students seemed to be in order to counsel someone; I can just love God and love people and point them to His word. And I learned that counseling is sort of like teaching, only you have to spend more time uncovering what the person needs to learn. Finally, I learned that having my own issues makes people more willing to talk to me and listen to me.

After a while, I realized that when people asked me questions about the Bible and how it applies to their situation, or what I would do in a particular area, or just wanted to run something by me, I was counseling them. It wasn't too big and scary, and sometimes I could still be blunt (but I'm learning about gentleness and grace, and to save the sarcasm for more appropriate situations).

Then someone walked into my apartment one day for a discipleship session. It was supposed to be simple: we were going to read a book together and I was going to help her grow to be more like Christ. Only there were deeper issues, and they all spilled out that first day, and suddenly it was something bigger than we had planned. And suddenly I was officially counseling someone. It was a bit scary (it still is).

I'm still not sure I know what I'm doing. I just pray a lot, and search the Bible a lot for wisdom, and sometimes go to the aforementioned elder for advice and resources. And then I teach the women what the Bible says and how to apply it to their lives, whatever is going on. And I remind myself that counseling is just teaching people what they need to learn, and loving them, and letting God do His work.

It's Time to Start Again

Okay, let's try this blog thing again. I have a lot going on in my head, but there are some complications when it comes to blogging:

1. I don't want to share everything with the world (or the bit of the world that still reads this).

2. When I'm thinking about things that I could blog, it isn't always a convenient time to write.

3. I'm trying to stay off the computer in the evenings, there's not a lot of time to write in the mornings, and I'm usually at work during the day.

On the other hand, I like writing, and I do have thoughts that I can share. So here's the plan: I'm going to try updating the blog at least once a week. We'll see how that works for now.

And for those of you who have hung in there, waiting for words, I have 2 stories for you:

From work:

One of my students was trying to show off how smart he is, so I pointed out that I still know more math than he does. His response:
"That's because I'm only in grade 6, and you're in grade...adult!"

From Junior Church:

We were talking about Moses (who, despite what one small sweetheart thought, was never thrown into a pit by his brothers). We were talking about how God knew that Pharaoh would say No to Moses, and how God knows everything. We don't know everything: not us, or our parents, or the pastors, or anyone. Then this conversation happened:

Small girl, very thoughtfully: But I think Pastor James and Pastor Mike know a LOT about God and the Bible.

Me: Well, yes, or they'd have to or they wouldn't be very good pastors.

Smaller girl, with all the intensity of a Very Serious 4-year old: Pastor James and Pastor Mike are VERY good pastors because they teach us about God and Jesus.

There was general agreement, and I assured them that yes, I know that they are very good pastors. I was also trying not to laugh at how quickly they came to the pastors' (unnecessary) defense.

Christ is Risen!

For Easter

Why I Don't Despair

Sometimes things are tough, and sometimes I know that I'm not the Christian I should be. Sometimes (often), I fail, and fall down, and sin. That's when I take comfort in the knowledge that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and that I belong to Him forever. The good news of the Gospel is not just for the moment of salvation, but for the whole life of the Christian and all of sanctification.

About Following Christ

The song says, "I have decided to follow Jesus". "Decided": past tense. Like it was one decision and that's taken care of and now I'm happily following Jesus all the time.

It's not like that. Following Jesus is a series of decisions that we make every day, sometimes the same decisions over and over. Will I watch this television show, or will I read (or even watch, or listen to) something edifying? Will I waste time (sometimes just because I'm feeling lazy), or will I use my time wisely? Will I keep putting myself first, or will I reach out to others who may need me? There are so many decisions every day, and all too often I know I make the wrong choice. I choose to follow the world or my own desires, and not to follow Christ.

Today my heart is heavy. I have a friend in the hospital because of an intentional overdose. I don't know her very well because I didn't take the time to get to know her. She lives close to me, and she suggested a couple times that we get together for coffee. I was always too busy with too many things and too many other people, and always agreed that we need to do that "when things slowed down". You know how it is: things never slow down. I never made the right decision.

Today I am thankful that my friend is on the mend, and that she's waking up, and responding to people. I am praying for her recovery and healing, and I am praying for myself. I am seeking God's forgiveness for the choices I made concerning her (and rejoicing in God's faithfulness and His promises of forgiveness), and praying for the chance to make the right choice and be in her life.

Every day we need to make the choice to follow Christ. Today I remembered that my choice to follow or not follow affect not only my own life, but also the lives of those around me. It's a great responsibility, and only through the power of the Holy Spirit can I keep choosing to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.

New Year, New Attempts

I don't make New Year's resolutions. I still think the "new year" starts in September, when school goes back, and January 1st is just a nice holiday! Which is probably why this year, I started making some changes to my schedule and stuff in November and December, rather than waiting until January.

Once again, I'm trying to spend less time on the computer and more time on useful pursuits. To that end, I've set up a reading schedule with a book for each evening and I haven't been turning on the computer after work on weekdays. I read at least one chapter, and maybe more. I was doing a chapter a week for a couple books to slow down my reading (so I'm reading to learn rather than to finish the book). I'm not going to continue that slowly, but I am trying to read more nonfiction this year and to learn more. I've also started studying Greek again. I'm still near the beginning, but I'm slowly reviewing and learning again.

I also spent time cleaning things out. I've cleaned out the bedroom closet and the laundry room. Things aren't perfectly organized, and I'm not naturally tidy, so I can't say how long it will last, but at least it feels under control again. I still want to go through the kitchen cupboards and such, as well as the bathroom cabinet. I like feeling organized and tidy, even though I'm not that good at staying that way!

We'll see how things go this year.

60 Years Ago

On Sunday, January 8, 1956, Ed McCulley, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian landed their small plane on a beach in the jungles of Ecuador. They were waiting to make contact with some of the Auca people. They had flown over the villages several times, lowering gifts and calling out friendly phrases. Now they had found a spot to set up camp and were waiting for the coming Aucas. 

Back at the base, their families were waiting by the radio to hear from them. The call never came. The next day, someone flew over the camp and spotted the plane, stripped of fabric; two days later, they spotted the first body. Eventually, it was confirmed: all the missionaries were dead. 

This sounds like it should have meant the end of the mission labours. On the contrary, it only intensified things. More people applied to take the place of the pilot and hundreds volunteered for missionary service. Within three years, two of the women who had waited (Rachel Saint and Elisabeth Elliot) had moved to live with the tribe and taught them the gospel. Some of the murderers believed in Christ. 

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." -Jim Elliot

Non-Fiction Favourites

Today, here are the best non-fiction books that I read in 2015.

1. Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore. This is the biography of Adoniram Judson, and it is a great book. It makes Adoniram into a real person: he isn't always perfect, he dealt with a lot of health issues, and he spent his life working for the gospel.

2. John MacArthur, A Tale of Two Sons. It's a look at the story of the prodigal son, looking at the historical context and the role of the older brother as well as the younger brother and the father.

3. Carolyn McCulley with Nora Shank, The Measure of Success. What does it mean to be a godly woman in the workforce and in the home? Here women are pointed towards Scripture to make wise choices without all being shoved into the same box of what makes a "godly woman".

4. Tony Reinke, Lit. Yes, I read a book about reading books and why to read more books. I wanted to see how he argued in favor of Christians reading fiction. I already agreed with him, but I really liked the way he said it.

5. William Varner, The Chariot of Israel. If you want to learn about Elijah, his live, ministry, and time, this is the book for you. Plus, it has maps!

6. Malcolm Gladwell, What the Dog Saw. I just like Malcolm Gladwell's writing. He gives me new ideas to think about and new ways to look at the way the world works.

7. Molly Caldwell Crosby, The Great Pearl Heist and Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine’s Greatest Mysteries. Both books look at an event in history, which is interesting enough, but also the background that lead up to this event, what else was happening in the world, and all sorts of interesting historical information.

8. Michael J. Fox, Lucky Man. Who doesn't like Michael J. Fox? I enjoyed the backstage glimpse into his life and career.

9. Bill Bryson, the mother tongue: english and how it got that way. I like Bill Bryson's writing style, I like the English language, so I naturally liked the combination of the two!

10. Martin Dugard, Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone. This was an excellent book. It told the stories of both men's lives before and after they met up in Africa. It also brought the dangers and wildness and beauty of Africa to life.

11. D.A. Carson, Praying With Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation. This was good, both Scriptural and practical. It didn't just tell us to pray, but why to pray and how to pray.

12. Randall Monroe, What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. This is just fun. It answers very important questions such as: Could you build a jet pack using downward-facing machine guns?

13. Chris Brauns, Unpacking Forgiveness. Brauns cuts through a lot of nonsense about forgiveness by looking closely at what Scripture says about how God forgives and from there to how we are called to forgive.

There were other good books this year, but those are the best of what I read. I would recommend that you read all of them!

I'm off to start this year's reading (I already have a list of what I want to read; is anyone surprised?).