Anne Bradstreet, by D.B. Kellogg

"Anne Bradstreet" by D.B. Kellogg, is a biography in the Christian Encounters series by Thomas Nelson. Kellogg describes the life of this amazing woman, as she deals with moving to the wilderness of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, starting and caring for her family while her husband was away governing the new land, and all the while writing poetry that described the love she had for her God.

I was fascinated by the descriptions of the Puritan lifestyle in the 1600s, and in awe of Bradstreet's courage as she cared for her 8 children, often while dealing with her own health problems. I was amazed at the depth of her poetry, and did not realized the impact it had on Christians not only in her day, but for generations after. However, not being a history buff, I was bored by the number of names and dates and the lack of narratives between them. This is a small book, and for readers who love to read history, I would recommend this series of biographys of lesser known Christian figures, but I do not think I will read any more.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Less deep, more updating...

This is just a post to update everyone on our lives, not a deep meaningful one!

School started, boys are having fun. Cade was bored last week, said he knew everything and should have skipped first grade. Campbell started MDO yesterday, won't hold on to the ropes to walk with, seems scared of them. Very strange!

The first week of Aug we were in Glorieta, NM with the inlaws for Music week. Had a good time, really enjoyed the weather. Second week was Preschool Playdays that I directed. Had a great week! Mom came in to keep Campbell for me, and was very helpful. I finally got my internet and phones working correctly since high speed had been installed in Jan. Third week was getting ready for school, going to the zoo, doctor's appointments, meet the teacher and me prepping for weekday teacher inservice. And then school started and 3 days of inservice. I taught 5 sessions I think. I love teaching teachers! I hope the Lord allows me to do more of that in my life. We had a lot of fun, or I did at least. I think the teachers did too!

Preschool started this week. I'm the Spiritual Curriculum Coordinator and sub. My schedule changed today, but as of now, I'll be working Mondays and Thursdays and Campbell will be going Monday/Tuesday/Thursday. Melissa and I sat down today and came up with ideas for me to implement this year with teachers and parents. I'm really excited to get the year started!

Jason and I started a new weekend Bible study class Sunday morning and we had 12 people!!! Very exciting! Its really strange to start a class from scratch, knowing your goal is to build community with this group of mostly strangers. But we'll get there. Jason and I haven't been in a class together in 7 years I think. He wasn't really there Sunday, but he'll be there more as the year gets going.

I'm trying to get back in the groove of things with routines around the house, but I'm not there yet. We won't talk about how long its been since I cleaned our shower.

Cooper had his first football game last Saturday. It was a lot of fun, but very hot. He's having a good time and learning a lot. Cade starts fall baseball Friday. Only one game and practice a week and they don't keep score. Very laid back compared to spring. He's moving up to machine pitch, so he's a little nervous, but excited to start. I think he's been a little jealous of football. Football practices have caused us to have dinner together at home at 5 each night, and its kind of been nice to have that structured time and schedule. I almost don't mind cooking. Almost!

I think that's about it for now. That's plenty! Our lives are full, but blessed. I am very thankful for all that God is doing.

I've given up on my Bible reading plan...

Kind of, sort of, not really. Believe it or not, being at a Baptist conference at Glorieta in August got me off my Bible reading plan. Being in 1 or 2 worship services and a Bible study everyday and spending the rest of the time running around with the inlaws, I got way off schedule. So when I got back, and realized how far behind I was, I had to ask myself what was more important, keeping up with the plan, or really spending time in the Word and with God. More than one worship song at Glorieta talked about not being in a hurry, waiting on God, resting in him, sitting at his feet. So I realized I knew what books I was supposed to be reading in, which will keep me focused on something, but I don't have to get in the trap of checking things off the reading list. I can easily fall into that trap!
So I am now on Psalms 101 and Romans 13. I don't know where I should be and am going to force myself not to look at the schedule. So I won't finish reading the Bible in a year, but that's not important. I have had some sweet time in His Word, I find myself longing for a few minutes to spend with Him, and I am reading with fresh eyes and ears, seeing things I have never seen before. I have realized the past weeks that my prayer life is deeper, I'm going to Him more frequently and with everything. I've caught myself changing my attitude about things that would have annoyed me weeks ago, both with my husband and kids, and my church family as well. I have turned off the tv at times of the day when I used to would have had it on just for noise or to fill my boredom. Now I want to use that time for more productive things. I have also turned off shows that I used to watch consistently and now realize are not things God would have me watch. (For instance, I just turned off the tv, there is nothing on, I used to would have kept flipping until I found something mindless, primetime is tv time!) God is giving me more and more opportunities to serve Him through many different outlets. And worship is more meaningful! I am so thankful! Its amazing what spending time in His Word will do for you. You would think in my 27 years as a Christian, with all that I have experienced and been taught, this would have not come as such a surprise to me. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I have been really in love with His word, but not since I had kids.
A part of me wonders if He has brought me to this place to prepare me for something bad coming up. I have often used that as an excuse to not sit at His feet. But the strange thing is, now that I'm here, I don't care anymore. Bring it on! I'm ready. Oh my goodness that's scary! Breathe Christy, breathe! I still mean it, but its hard to say. I know He is in control regardless. His ways are higher than mine, thank goodness.