Mackenzie's 2010 Book List in Review

At the beginning of last year, I posted my reading list for the year. I really enjoyed planning what I'd read and being intentional with this area of my life. So much so, that I'm currently working on my reading list for 2011, and I'll share that as soon as it is complete.

Today, though, I thought I'd share with you how I did this past year in completing my reading list. I certainly didn't read everything I'd intended to, but I read most! I also read quite a few books this year that weren't on my list.

Books on my list that I actually read:

• Death by Love: Letters from the Cross (Re:Lit) by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears
• Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit by Mark Chanski
• Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) by Barbara Kingsolver
• Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck
• The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• From Clutter to Clarity: Simplifying Life from the Inside Out by Nancy Twigg
• Humility: True Greatness by C. J. Mahaney & Joshua Harris

Books I'd planned to read this year, but didn't:

• The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis (I am putting it on my list for 2011.)
• The Majesty of the Law by Sandra Day O'Connor (I started it, but lost interest.)
• Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper (I think I'm intimidated! I am putting it on my list for 2011.)

Books that weren't on my list, but I read this year:

• Adopted for Life by Russell Moore - An absolute must read!
• Fields of the Fatherless by Tom Davis
• Hannah's Hope by Jennifer Saake - As I wrote in my review, apart from Scripture, this book has been the most helpful to me in processing our infertility.
• Why Was I Adopted? by Carole Livingston
• A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
• A Praying Life by Paul R. Miller
• So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas
  by Nancy Guthrie
• The Help by Katheryn Stockett
• Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan
• One with a Shepherd: The Tears and Triumphs of a Ministry Marriage by Mary Somerville
• Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• I probably forgot a few! :)

As I look over the books I've read this year, I can see the trends of the year - infertility, adoption, my growing interest in cooking and food, learning about Biblical womanhood, and a few historical fiction books sprinkled here and there.

I'm thankful for the things I've learned and the way God has used these books to shape and prepare me. I'll share my 2011 list very soon!

Family Time: Coming Soon!

I am very excited to have only three more days of work this week and then two weeks off for winter break! I am really looking forward to that time away from work and our typical routine and enjoy time with Cliff, friends, and family.

I can hardly wait for our out of town family to arrive! My sister Katie and her husband Brent fly in from Kansas on Sunday evening. Then on Tuesday my brother Bidong arrives from Nebraska to spend about 10 days here in Seattle. We love spending time with Kate, Brent, and Bidong and are so blessed by their friendship and love. (My parents are pretty great too, but they're not traveling in!)

I love that our family will be all together...that we'll be able to enjoy one another, relax, and remember what we're really celebrating. I pray each day that God would continue to burden my heart for Him; that I would be reminded that this season isn't about checking things off my list, decorating, or buying gifts for all the people we love, it is about Jesus.