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After work today I did a quick wardrobe emergency call. I wore this cardigan today to work and realized the reason why I do not wear it very often. This cardigan likes to gap between the buttons. So when I got home I carefully took off the buttons and sewed a straight stitch along the edge. After I sewed the cardigan closed I put the buttons back on. Now I can’t button and unbutton it and have to pull it on over my head… but no gaps! It is going back in my closet to be a regularly worn item.

It was sometime last year that I started reading this book. Last summer maybe? I had gotten to the second to last chapter of the book and then just forgot about it. As it was sitting on my shelf I got the mistaken impression that I had already finished it. Later when I took it off my shelf I was surprised to see that it wasn’t quite done. Since I finished the book in 2009 it can count towards my 52 books in 52 weeks goal.

The book itself was very educational. Some of the stuff didn’t apply to me at this life stage but it is good to be informed for the future. The book is written from a God-honoring financial perspective - to be a faithful steward of what God has given you.

Two of the things that I have been challenged with in regard to my finances are: Living within my means and keeping a budget. I read in a blog post recently that if you want to have the option of staying home with your kids then you need to practice drastically living below your income. In order to stay at home as a family you need to be able to live on one income. A budget helps you track if you are living within your means and what areas you can better manage.

Do not pick up this book to read if you have not read certain other books by Lawana Blackwell. I picked up this book from the library because I thought that it was a stand alone book. There are two sets of books - two series - that come before this book. Because of that I spent half of this book trying to figure out who everyone was and keep them straight. Even though I have read both of the previous series it was long enough ago that the stories didn’t really come back to me. My recommendation is to pick up the previous series before you would read this book. Don’t make the mistake I did and think this book stands alone.

Once I got everyone figured out I really enjoyed this book. It is not a real sugary romance, more like a weaving together of stories. The main romance was between the brother who loved his wife but she loved someone else. Books that show some of the struggle of marriage and not just the passion before the wedding are great in my opinion. I would like to see more books grappling with the sacrificial love a marriage takes.

One of my goals for 2009 was to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Here’s how I’ve done so far.

1. Priced to Move (Jan. 4-10)
2. Set Apart Femininity (Jan. 11-17)
3. Persuasion (Jan. 18-24)
4. Stepping Heavenward (Jan. 25-31)
5. Charade (Feb. 1-7)
6. Do Hard Things (Feb. 8-14)

I am about 4 weeks behind. Time to do some extra reading.

Image Via: We Heart It

I’ve read most of the books by Joshua Harris and have been challenged by them all. Do Hard Things is a book by his two younger twin brothers and is just as excellent. It doesn’t pull any punches as it challenges teens to rise above the culture’s low expectations and pursue godly excellence by doing hard things.

While I am a little older than their main audience - teenagers - this was just as challenging to me. Have I gotten comfortable in the status quo? As I was reading this book I was convicted by some of the choices that I made as a teenager. I am challended to make different choices now. How do I do this?

Some of the action steps I want to being are: 1) Joining and participating in the Rebelution forums. I need to be challenged on a regular basis as well as make some new friends. 2) Make a list of current responsibilities and hard things I have been challenged by. 3) Create action items to accomplish some of those hard things. 4) Continue to use my time more and more wisely to accomplish God’s design for my life. 5) Pray!