What We've Been Into

Since dropping offline, I've found a few great resources that I've been wanting to share with you all. From face washing to books to music and apps, here goes!

Dana Dirksen's Questions with Answers CDs. Jessalyn first introduced me to Questions with Answers on Desiring Virtue. Though I haven't yet purchased copies of them, S and I love listening to them for free on Spotify. Think great theological truths and encouraging Scripture texts set to pleasant vocals and acoustic guitar. So many mornings I have felt strengthened and encouraged in my soul as I go about my daily grind, just listening to these songs. It also warms a mama's heart to here her toddler singing sweetly about the deep things of God.

The ReadingPlan App. My husband introduced me to this clever little invention. It offers you several Read Through the Bible in a Year programs, including the M'Cheyne plan that we've been using the past few years. It syncs the plan with the Bible on your device, so each day you can view the scheduled reading, click on it to read the passage, then return to the program and check off each section as you read it. It keeps me so organized, and I no longer am constantly losing and hunting down a piece of paper telling me what to read. As a mom of little people, I find that reading my Bible via phone or iPad tends to be much easier anyway. No page flipping single-handed while nursing or holding a baby :).

The Flavia DeLuce mysteries. Written by a 70-something first time novelist and set in 1950's England, these six books chronicling the life of 11-year-old aspiring chemist Flavia are both charming and entertaining. While they are very well written, with interesting characters and a setting to die for {crumbling English estate}, what I loved most about these books was my ability to put them down. Because of my propensity to do nothing but read once I've started a novel {to the neglect of all else}, I loved that I could thoroughly enjoy them when I picked them up, but easily put them down when the kids woke up or it was time for me to hit the sack. They flow at a slower pace, while still being delightfully engaging.

The Oil Cleansing Method. After bemoaning my twice failed attempts at going no-poo, my hopes for this all-natural and frugal alternative to skin care were not high. How pleasantly surprised I was! I've been using a combo of castor and extra virgin olive oil to wash my face since January, and love love love it. So what if I have to purchase the ingredients in the cooking oil and laxative aisles of Wal-Mart? Whatever works!

The Swagbucks TV App. Over the past couple years I've dabbled in earning Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. When I saw this post on Snail Pace Transformations, I knew that I wanted to get more serious about racking up those bucks. Looming on the horizon was my sons need for the next size car seat, so I downloaded this app and got busy earning. I was excited to earn a good chunk of the car seats cost this way! And you better believe I'm still using this puppy 6 days a week. Because who couldn't use a few free gift cards???

So that's what we've been into :). What good books or resources have you been enjoying lately? Please do share in the comments!

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Bible Reading Plan for 2012

(image via)

It's that time of year again; one year drawing to a close, the next one almost upon us. I am so excited! Niall and I have been busily planning things we want to work on as a couple and family for the new year. More about that in the week to come.

One thing I've been thinking about is how I am going to read through the Bible this year. For the past four years I have used the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan, an excellent tool that I very much enjoyed. It has you reading through four things at all times- the Old Testament, Wisdom Literature, the Gospels, and the New Testament. This is nice because it really gives you a feel for Scripture as a whole, so often my readings in the Old Testament would correspond with what I was reading in the New Testament or Gospels. The biggest perk of this plan though is that it goes only 25 days each month, leaving you on average 6 catch-up days! Because of the extra breathing room, it was the first Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan that I actually finished. As I became more faithful and consistent over the years, actually staying on time with the plan, I would use the extra days at the end of each month for more detailed Scripture studying. It was a great plan and I highly recommend it!

Because I've been doing it for four years, I decided that it might be nice to try something fresh and new this year. A lot of people in my church use the McCheyne plan, and my husband thought he would like to give it a try. With it you will read through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice. At this point I think I will probably join Niall, since I like the idea that we are reading the same portions of Scripture at the same time.

How about you? What plans have worked well for you in the past? What are you trying this year? I'd love to hear of different options! If you haven't made it a habit to read through the whole Scriptures yearly, why not start in 2012? It will be well worth your time!