Merry Christmas December 25, 2019

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

I am wishing a wonderful THANKSGIVING to everyone.

May you enjoy family and friends with a grateful heart!
This is My Song for today.

MBS January 2019 Reading List Wrap Up

MBS 2019 Reading List - JANUARY

Code for the list is:
A = Audible; ABJ = Audiobook Jukebox; ABB = Audiobook Boom
eb = eBook; ebA = eBook from Author; ebT = eBook from Tour
NG = NetGalley
P = Print; PT = Print from Tour
LBC = Ladies Book Club
TBR = From the TBR shelves prior to 2019
Favorite for January: Quinn’s Promise Rock 5.0
    The Name of the Wind 4.5
    Half Share 4.5

1. ebTBR/LBC- Book Review (First Book 2019): The Prayer of Jesus by Kevin Jackson; Christian, Spiritual Growth; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.
2. ATBR- Audible Book Review: The More of Less by Joshua Becker; Cleaning, Nonfiction, Self Help; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
3. NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Talon of Scorpio: A Novel of the Shadowstorm by G. T. Almasi; Conspiracies, Science Fiction; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
4. NG2019- #NetGalley Book Review: Don't Dangle Your Participle by Vanita Oelschlager; Children, Educational, Grammar, Writing; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
5. ATBR- Audible Book Review: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1) by Patrick Rothfuss; Action Adventure, Epic Fantasy; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall, Story and Narration.
6. NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones; Fantasy, Ghosts, Private Investigator; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
7. NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: A Flicker of Hope by Julia Cook, MacKenzie Haley (Illustrator); Children, Emotions, Self-Esteem and Self-Respect; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
8. NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: The Winter Mystery by Faith Martin; Amateur Sleuth, Mystery, Cozy Mystery; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.
9. ATBR- Audio Book Review: Promise Me Texas by Jodi Thomas; Historical Romance, Western; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall.
10. ebA2018- Book Review: Aether's Call by John Farr; Science Fiction, Space Exploration; My Rating: 2.0 of 5.0.
11. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Half Share A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 2 by Nathan Lowell; Mercantile, Sci Fi, Space Opera; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall, Story 4.5, Narration 5.0.
12. ATBR- Audible Book Review: The Land: Founding: A LitRPG Saga by Aleron Kong; Humorous, LitRPG, Science Fiction; My Rating: 4.5 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 5.0.
13. NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Quinn's Promise Rock by Christie Thomas and Sydney Hanson; Children, Christian; My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0.
14. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Defiance, Defending Home, Book 1 by William H. Weber; Post-Apocalyptic, Sci Fi; 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 4.25.

Total read = 14; TBR = 13; New Authors = 10
Audio/Audible = 6 (6 TBRs)
eBook = 2 (2 TBRs)
NetGalley = 6 (5 TBRs)
Print = 0

Goal Progress:

• ebTBRs - 2
• Author review title - 1
• New to me Series - 5
• Continuing for me Series - 3
• January title - 1
• Winter title - 1
• Alphabet letters covered - 13

My Word for 2019

I haven’t done a post the past years for my word although I have chosen them.
After my cancer treatment in 2014 my Word was Thankful.
2015: Embrace – I determined it was important to embrace each day as we don’t know how many days we have.
2016: Faith – I recognized that it is my faith that sees me through life with joy.
2017: Focus – I chose to focus on my relationship with God and allow that to lead me in life.
2018: I didn’t feel led to pick a new word and continued with the word Focus.
2019: I did a four day Bible study titled One Word That Will Change Your Life and then a five day Bible study, God + Goals.
After prayer and consideration and a list of half a dozen words, I determined my word for the year:

Intentional

I want to be intentional in my living, loving, praying, Bible study, relationships and sharing my faith. I want to work intentionally and use my resources intentionally with a goal of service.

As I was looking up the definitions of my short list words I found this video that I think goes well with the final word choice. I like the thought that God is intentional about me.

MBS 2019 Reading Goals: Yes – Challenges: Maybe

I’m not sure about posting or officially entering specific challenges for 2019 mostly because I don’t have the time to fully participate. BUT I do have reading goals. I will continue to track TBRs, Audiobooks and NetGalley specifically, even if not part of an online challenge.

I set my 2019 Goodreads Goal at 150. This is less than the last two years so it should be easy enough- I am seeking to minimize stress for the year in all ways possible. This will require about 3 books per week which is very comfortable for reading and review posting.

• I love audiobooks so reading 75 audiobooks a year is easy even if that is half of the scheduled books. By choosing 75 instead of 100 I am allowing for some longer books – like the first for the year: 27 hrs The Name of the Wind. 
• I plan to read at least 100 TBR titles and I plan to do better than last year (less than 24) reading my own ebook TBRs. The goal will be at least 24 or 2 per month.

• I plan to read 40 NetGalley titles.
• I plan to read a book for each season of the year and one for each month - TBR titles if I can.

• I hope to read at least 12 author review titles, whether audio, NetGalley or ebook. I do like to do some tour reviews during the year. I already have 5 author titles lined up so I may do more than 12.
• I hope to read at least 12 nonfiction titles.

I may still work with the Alphabet Challenge because it helps me pick titles from my huge TBR shelves. If I use this as a guide I plan to only work on 1 title per letter so I have more freedom on other titles.

Book Review (First Book 2019): The Prayer of Jesus by Kevin Jackson

This is a fine book to learn, or remember, the power of The Lord's Prayer.

The Prayer of Jesus
by Kevin Jackson

File Size: 2047 KB
Print Length: 146 pages
Publisher: The Association of Christian Businesses (May 13, 2014)
ASIN: B00KC8FVWC
Genre: Christian, Spiritual Growth
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

The Bible contains over three hundred references to prayer, and yet, eighty-five percent of believers are dissatisfied with their prayer lives. In The Prayer of Jesus, pastor, teacher, and author Kevin Jackson bridges the gap between the responsibility of prayer and the dissatisfaction we experience in prayer. He explains and applies the simple model for prayer which Jesus taught His original disciples. If you want to have a better, more consistent prayer life, then The Prayer of Jesus is the book for you.

Review:
I chose this book as my First Book of 2019 because I felt the need to strengthen my prayer life. As often is the case it is a good thing to go back to basics when you need a refresher.

Kevin Jackson doesn’t use a new prayer, but he uses the best prayer example: what most of us know as The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13. He separates the prayer into eight distinct petitions and then expands on the depth and import of each line. He shares other supporting scripture and attributes of God.

I liked how the study was set forth and I appreciated the questions at the end of each section. These give the reader the opportunity for self-examination and response to make sure the importance of the lesson has been absorbed. The end of each chapter also shares scripture references for added depth and then some example prayers using the petition.

After completing the study of the eight petitions, Mr. Jackson shares other prayer guidelines that can be used to add focus to daily prayers. Although I might not use the technique shared in this book for long stretches, I will implement it for a time to remind me of these petitions and the correct focus: getting to know God more deeply, not seeking things from Him. I think I might also find it helpful to include this prayer in my daily prayer time.

I was raised in a liturgical church where we said The Lord’s Prayer every Sunday. Perhaps that became a bit routine but for me it always had power to it. I have been in more evangelical, fundamental churches for the past 33 years or so and realize that I miss the power of saying The Lord’s Prayer and a few other choice prayers that I have in my childhood confirmation gift book, In God's Presence. I have started keeping that book with me. Now I just need to open it more often – maybe daily!

I appreciate this study by Kevin Jackson and recommend it to those who may not be regularly familiar with The Lord’s Prayer and also to those who need to be reminded of the purpose and power in prayer by looking at the Lord’s own example.

This is my First Book of 2019 title.
Source: 2014 Kindle TBR. This qualifies for TBR and Alphabet Challenge.

Happy New Year 2019!

As I wish Happy New Year to all, I acknowledge my Creator!
May God Bless us all in the New Year!

I pray that I might seek God's Will more fully this year.

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

MBS First Book Of The Year 2019: The Prayer of Jesus by Kevin Jackson

First Book Of The Year 2019. This is the sixth year First Book of the Year has been hosted by Shelia (Book Journey).

Over the prior five years I chose three books that fit with my Christian faith and I decided to stay with that goal this year. (One year was self-help and one was Vintage Sci Fi.)  I also chose a book from my TBR shelf (Kindle from 2014).

The Prayer of Jesus
by Kevin Jackson

The Bible contains over three hundred references to prayer, and yet, eighty-five percent of believers are dissatisfied with their prayer lives. In The Prayer of Jesus, pastor, teacher, and author Kevin Jackson bridges the gap between the responsibility of prayer and the dissatisfaction we experience in prayer. He explains and applies the simple model for prayer which Jesus taught His original disciples. If you want to have a better, more consistent prayer life, then The Prayer of Jesus is the book for you.

My photo for First Read: